Page 177 of Heartless

The world went mute.A violent shudder zapped down my spine.My hand blindly flew to grip Kelly’s clothing, and I pointed at the shadow lumbering toward us.

“Bear!”someone screeched.

It took long seconds before I realized I’d been the one who’d screamed.

****

Jake

Zook grunted.“Not long now.How’s the bambina?”

“She’s good,” I said to my cell.

Half a wing of the hospital had been requisitioned for the old fucker.Morrison was finally dying.After disconnecting the call, I stepped to the window of our small office and slid my hands in my pockets.How was Sienna going to take it?

Commotion behind me drew my attention and I pivoted just in time to watch Garrett Sullivan enter the room.

“Erica’s group’s back at Edie’s.”

That was two hours too early.“What happened?”

“Bear encounter.”

Fuck.Sienna.We jogged out of the building while I dialed Sienna’s number.Voicemail.

I started my truck while Garrett yanked on his seatbelt.

Scrolling through his phone, he said, “No casualties, but the group is pretty shaken.They caught some rain as well.”He shook his head.“Fuck.Erica worked so hard on that hike.”

We made the ninety-minute-long trip in an hour.Three steps out of the truck, Edie’s door opened, and Erica hurried toward us.

“Jake, I’m so sorry.It was a bad idea—”

“Where’s Sienna?”

She pointed at the store.“Edie opened the diner early.They’re all in there.I’ve called the hotel but it’s the busy season and they can’t send the transport earlier than scheduled.”

Garrett kept his voice low.“What happened?”

“Sienna spotted an adult male black bear.When it saw us, we made ourselves big, it worked, but that was the end of the hike.Then the rain started, and they practically raced down back here.I’ve alerted the park rangers for the sighting, and I got the group some towels.Edie and Ron brought them drinks and sandwiches.”

Garrett touched her arm.“Have you debriefed with your group?”

Her voice dropped.“Garrett, you don’t get it.Three of these women have a podcast and hundreds of thousands of followers.As a group they can reach millions of people.I heard someone mention emotional damage, and one of them called the newspapers.It’s not good, and if they sue us, the publicity will—”

I needed to check on Sienna.“Erica, if there’s a financial fallout, I’ll deal with it.You had an idea, and you couldn’t plan the bear.”

Her face fell.She needed to get past this.

“You said your sister’s a writer.If she’d been there, how would she react?”

“She’d be freaked out, and she would go into her head to process it or write about it.”Her back straightened.Resolve sharpened her gaze.“That’s what they’re doing.They’re processing.”

For the first time since she’d started working for me, I pulled rank.“Now go debrief with your group.”

In the store, Ron, standing beside the cash register, jerked his chin up.“Quiet bunch.”

Past the door separating the store and the diner, I scanned the room.Kel was standing at the back of the room with her shoulder slanted against the wall behind a table.Sienna was seated, clutching a mug between her hands with her face turned toward the window.