His Bear Hands (Bear Creek Grizzlies Book 1) by Layla Nash, Callista Ball Page B

Wanted to show the world that anyone who threatened his family would pay a terrible price. He started up the truck as he spoke to Finn. "Get Cooper and Noah. Distract the guests with something. Put Tate in the infirmary, and hide those other guys somewhere. I don't want the guests finding a bunch of dead bodies laying around. Then bring the other truck and meet us in town. They're taking Zoe to a place just south of Rosie's."
    "Roger," Finn said and knocked his fist against the side of the truck. "Go get her. We'll radio when we're on our way."
    Ethan leaned around Simon enough to say, "Call some of the neighbors, see if they can help clear the woods. There's no telling how many of these guys are out there."
    Finn nodded and headed into the lodge, just as Cooper lumbered across the drive, still in bear form. He gave a mournful grizzly groan and snuffled at Tate, still laying on the gravel. Simon refused to look back as he drove away from the lodge. He couldn't think about Tate yet. He had to find Zoe.
    Ethan didn't speak as the truck careened through the switchbacks, but kept loading magazines for the rifles they both carried. He'd known Tate, too. They knew from experience that it wasn't the hot anger that proved dangerous. No, cold anger meant clarity and precision. Deliberate and calculating. Perfect for vengeance. Simon gripped the steering wheel until the leather creaked. If there was so much as a scratch on Zoe, everyone Castellano knew would pay the price.

16

Zoe
    S he fell at least three times before she heard an idling car. A door opened and then the guy with a vise grip on her shoulder shoved her forward. She tripped and fell forward, onto a bench seat, and struggled to get her feet under her once more. Zoe wormed around to sit up, wrists aching as the plastic ties cut into her skin, and as the door closed, someone pulled the hood off her head.
    She blinked and sneezed, shaking her head to get hair out of her face, and stared around the inside of the car. It was one of the fancy town cars with a large back seat, almost a limo with a rear-facing bench seat as well. She faced Castellano and one of his right-hand guys, Joey. No one knew Joey's last name, and he always said it was better that way. Zoe gulped.
    Castellano frowned, heavy eyebrows drawing down, and adjusted the fine suit coat he wore even in the middle of the woods. "Zoe. You haven't been answering your phone."
    "Reception is terrible out here," she said, a little weakly.
    "Indeed." Castellano didn't blink as the car started moving, but Zoe almost fell off the seat. Her former boss studied his nails as he went on. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered you'd disappeared. And when I checked my bank accounts."
    She cleared her throat, unable to meet his cold gaze. She needed to buy a little time, that was all. "A misunderstanding, Mick. Really."
    "That's what I thought." The boss glanced at his henchman as he gestured at Zoe. "A misunderstanding, isn't that what I said?"
    "Yeah," Joey said, expressionless. He watched Zoe with dead eyes, and she shivered.
    Castellano folded his hands in his lap, unperturbed as the town car bumped and skidded along the unpaved road. "So now we have just a small mistake to resolve. Right?"
    Zoe's heart raced and she tried to swallow, tried to smile winningly. "Easy fix, Mick. Promise. We just need to find some good wifi, and I can put everything back the way it was."
    "Good. That's what I want, Zoe." Castellano's eyes narrowed as he sat forward, and Zoe recoiled on instinct. "Exactly the way things were. Is that going to be a problem?"
    "N-no," she said. She looked out the window for half a second, praying she would see a giant bear running beside the car, but nothing. Just trees and a hint of sky. Her eyes burned and she cleared her throat to keep her voice steady as she looked back at her former boss. "Not a problem at all."
    "Good." He glanced down at his phone, then handed it to Joey. "We'll make sure everything is back