Page 19 of Bad Blood Bear

Lissa couldn’t help it. When he touched that spot, panic flared through her, and she flinched away.

His fingers froze, but he didn’t pull his hand back. “I won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice so low it was almost a whisper. “But I need to see.”

She finally managed to meet his eyes. Those soft green eyes held her gaze, and she felt something relax inside her that had been coiled up tight with fear ever since she’d first laid eyes on Brother Damien.

He moved his fingers to the collar of her t-shirt and pulled it aside. He dropped his gaze to the exposed skin.

She knew what he’d see there. A bite mark—the one Brother Damien had given her that horrible night. She could still feel his teeth deep in her neck muscle, the pain and the fear and the blood pouring out…

Tank was staring at the mark. “Who did this?” His voice was low and deadly.

“A man named Brother Damien,” she said in a small voice. She closed her eyes. Her secret was out now.

His voice got lower and more gravelly. “Did he explain to you what it meant?”

Her eyes flew open and she stared at him. How would he know what it meant? Did he know what Brother Damien had done? Why she was like this?

She said, “He told me he was the Bear God Incarnate and I was his consort. He said—he said it would make me worthy of him—that it would put the spirit of the bear in me too. He did the ritual and then he—he ripped my shirt off and he bit me. Then he tried to take the rest of my clothes off. I knew he was going to rape me and I—I fought. I got away, and I never went back.”

Tank was staring at her. “Where was this?” he demanded.

“At the cult where I used to live in Arkansas. The People of Ursus.”

Tank pulled her shirt back to cover the scar and sat back in his seat. “Fuck,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Yeah,” she said, looking out the windshield. “That’s pretty much what I said.”

She watched Tank out of the corner of her eye. He had his lips pressed together, as if he was trying to keep from saying something.

“You know what he did to me, don’t you,” she said. “You know why I’m like this now.”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“Please tell me I’m not really the consort of the Bear God Incarnate. Or a zombie queen.”

Tank gave a huff of not-very-amused laughter. “No,” he said. “And, no.”

That was a relief—kind of.

“Then what?”

He shook his head. “It’s complicated.” He started the engine and put the truck in gear. “We can’t do this here,” he said. “I’m taking you home.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the road that led out of town. As they neared the abandoned service station, Lissa started hunting around in the mess of garbage for the manila envelope that held her belongings and her paperwork. That still had to be dealt with, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

She looked up just as they were passing the squat. Lissa turned to watch it go by, then turned back to Tank. “That was it, Hulk.”

“I know.”

“I thought you were taking me home.”

“I am,” he said. “I’m taking you home with me.”