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One of Parker’s hands desperately gripped the back of Moe’s jacket, the other his belt. She was going to be horizontal any minute. “That place is fifteen miles from here.”
The bloke rubbed a hand over his face, tapping the stick on the ground to get the bear’s attention. “Nah, not the one on the maps. A much smaller community that popped up back in the fifties and failed just as quickly. The mine had a sort of revival and was profitable then, and that’s when they built the quarry next to it. The employees needed somewhere to live, but since the mini-boom didn’t last long, the town never expanded beyond a grocery store, gas station, and a few residences. I’ve got a cabin there.”
With the sounds in the distance, Moe’s body pumped fresh adrenaline, tensing for fight or flight, but his brain told him to slow down and think this through. “I thought you said you saw us coming up the trail.”
“I did. Name’s Gus, by the way.” He pointed to a spot over Moe’s shoulder. “There’s a cut off by the dead oak you passed on your way. Leads to a clearing that will take you to an underpass. Been used by plenty of locals through the centuries, first the Natives, later on, the quarry workers. There was once an ancient river that ran through here, and when the water got diverted years ago, it left a shortcut from here to the other side of the ridge. It’s the only sane way to get there. Cut through that and find the cabin on the northeast side of the gas station. That’s mine. Not much to look at, but I have supplies.” He glanced at Parker. “You best get moving.”
“What about a phone?” she asked, her words slurring as if she were drunk.
“There’s a landline at the station. Not sure if it works.”
Moe edged farther into the shadows as the bear swiveled its head to stare down the hill at whoever was approaching. “How do you communicate with people?”
“I don’t.”
Okay, then. That wasn’t going to be much help. “If we could get to the main road, we could wait for our team.”
Two things happened at once—a gun went off and the bear reared back on his hunches and roared. Spittle flew from its open jaws.
Both sounds pierced Moe’s ears like an ice pick with barbs. He shoved Parker to the ground and dropped to cover her body, scanning for the origin of the gunfire. Gus yelled, the bear roared again, and a man raced from behind a boulder, pointing a pistol at Oscar.
As Moe raised his head to peek between Oscar’s legs, he saw Romalov. The asshole stopped his advance, his mouth falling open as he stared up at seven feet of black bear.
Gus laughed. “Oscar isn’t much for guns, asshole.”
There was shouting below and the sounds of more terrorists on the way. Moe considered shooting at Romalov, but with Gus and Oscar in the middle of a fight, things would go bad.
“Where are they?” Romalov backpedaled and tried to peer around Oscar and Gus. “Which way did they go?”
“Who?”
The Russian pointed the gun at Gus’s head. “Tell me or die.”
That was a mistake. One beefy black paw sliced through the air, smacking Romalov upside the head. The blow sent him sprawling to the ground and the bear descended on him.
Gus yelled, “Get moving!”
Moe didn’t wait to see what happened next. He scooped up Parker and sprinted into the woods.
TWENTY
Parker’s world went tipsy turvy, the sun in the leaves overhead creating a kaleidoscope of colors against the back of her lids. Feeling helpless sucked, and she hated that Moe had to carry her once again. “We can’t…leave them,” she ground out.
He was breathing hard but hadn’t slowed, even for fallen branches and other debris. “The fuck we can’t. Did you see that bear?”
The jostling made her head hurt more. It felt like someone was attacking her cranium with a sledgehammer, and it was almost impossible to stay conscious. She couldn’t believe his speed over the ground to get them to the trail. Was it adrenaline giving him his supernatural abilities? Or maybe, it was because she was so dizzy and lightheaded that it seemed as if they were flying. “He’s an old man. The bear doesn’t even have front claws.” Moe grunted but said nothing, and she felt herself slipping. “Promise me…”
She couldn’t focus. Everything was shutting down. His voice came from far away. “Promise you what?Parker!”
She was definitely flying now but the world went dark.
When she came to, they were inside a dimly lit and musty passageway. Moe had turned on a flashlight and she caught vague glimpses of stalactites. The air in the cave was heavy and humid, making breathing an effort.
He noticed she was awake and heaved a sigh. “Thank the bloody stars. I thought I was going to lose you.”
His voice was strained, hoarse. It was still good to hear it. “I’m going to throw up.”
She was instantly dumped onto her feet, an arm going around her stomach as she did, indeed, vomit. There wasn’t much to it and she didn’t feel better afterward, which sucked balls becauseshit. Like she wasn’t vying for the saddest team leader of the year already, she had to puke in front of her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. On-hold boyfriend.Whatever. Her whole body throbbed in time with her head, and she just wanted to lie down, close her eyes, and go back to sleep.
