“Ivy.” He continued to look under desks, even those occupied by employees, as if they were hiding her beneath their legs.
Not finding Ivy anywhere, he asked, “Do you have another—” Then he saw another door. “Damn it.” He took off through the door.
“Who is he?” David asked Kendra. “I’m calling Deputy Sheriff Rowland Smith to help him track down his sister.
“I don’t know who he is. I’m going after him,” Kendra said.
“Hey, Rowland, I’m at the bank. A man is trying to track down his sixteen-year-old sister, who has run away. He’s like us, but not from here.” David called out to Kendra as she headed out the door. “Rowland’s on his way.”
She dashed off after the man, wishing she at least knew his name. She was following his scent as he was following his sister’s. But she’d already lost sight of him.
Grayson couldn’t believe the bank manager and Kendra, who had shot him!—had prevented him from finding his sister. He knew Ivy would try to meet up with the guy she’d met online, and that could be terrible news.
He could see her being taken hostage, or if he was the same age as her and she thought she was in love, that they would take off together somewhere and go into hiding. Was the guy even a bear shifter? Did he even live in Kalispell? Who knew where they might end up.
Since Billy went by the handle of Big Bear, it could mean he was a shifter, or he just thought it was a cool name. But if he wasn’t a bear shifter, his sister could have thought he was just from his nickname.
Then Grayson heard someone following him, and he turned around to see the pretty blonde behind him. Grunting at seeing her, he suspected she felt bad that she had nailed him with a taser when he was one of the good guys. “I’m Grayson Stone, by the way. My sister ran away from home to meet a guy online that we don’t know. Next time, maybe you won’t be so trigger-happy when you see a situation and jump to the wrong conclusion.”
“My sixteen-year-old twin sister died at the hands of a kidnapper some years ago. I’m sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion, but that moment in time just hit me, and I knew I had to rescue her, even though I didn’t realize you were just trying to help her. I’m sorry I tased you.”
“Hell, I’m sorry about your sister. I understand your frame of mind now. If I had been you, I would have most likely thought the same thing and reacted in the same way.” He checked his phone to see where Ivy was now. She was stationary. Great.
He ran off in her direction.
“How do you know where she’s at?” Kendra asked.
“I’m tracking her phone.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” She hurried after him.
“She has run away twice, well, three times, since our mother died. So I put a tracker on her phone after the first time.”
“You said she was meeting with some guy?”
“Yeah, some guy by the name of Billy. He goes by Big Bear also.”
“I’ve never heard of someone who calls himself Big Bear or who is named Billy.”
“She’s moving fast. She’s in a vehicle. Damn it.”
“Maybe he’s not a bad guy,” Kendra said. “Maybe he’s just sixteen like her and wanted to meet her. And she wanted to meet someone her age who has some things in common with her.”
“And if he’s not?” That’s what Grayson was worried about. “Hell, I’ve got to return to my SUV.” He raced back in the direction he’d come.
“Do you mind if I go with you?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, though she was following him anyway. She felt she had to help him after thwarting his attempt to stop his sister from running away.
“Yeah, sure.” He handed her his phone. “You can keep track of them while I’m driving.”
“Good idea.” She was glad he would let her help as they got into his SUV and took off. Then she saw the sheriff’s car. “There’s Deputy Sheriff Rowland Smith! He can help us. He’s a bear like us. And the sheriff and two other deputies are bear shifters also, though one is a black bear, not a grizzly.”
Grayson flashed his headlights at the deputy and pulled over. Kendra got on her phone and called the deputy. “Hey, it’s Kendra. We’re behind you.” She explained the trouble.
Rowland got out of his vehicle and walked back to Grayson’s SUV. “Do you have a photo of her?”
Grayson shared a picture of his sister with Rowland. “We’re tracking her on my phone. She’s in a vehicle about a mile ahead.”
