Page 16 of His Bear Hands (Bear Creek Grizzlies #1)

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 where it should be, then we can talk about the future. Your future."

"My future?" Zoe's voice went a little high at the end, particularly as Joey put the phone away and revealed the dull gleam of a pistol at his belt. She'd always known Castellano wasn't a good guy, but she'd overlooked some of the more questionable business practices because they didn't really affect her. Except now they did. Her palms started to sweat as the car sped up.

Castellano let the silence stretch, his fingers drumming on his knee.

Zoe sank lower in the seat and fiddled with the plastic on her wrists. The bear didn't want to be there, wanted to transform and scare the bejesus out of these guys. But Zoe knew perfectly well that they would shoot her, and chances were, she wouldn't be a very good bear to start with. She'd never done it. What if she got stuck? What if she couldn't walk or think or anything? She shivered and swallowed a knot in her throat.

Plus, Castellano would see it as another thing to exploit. Imagine having a trick bear. She'd end up in a cage for real, trotted out to entertain his business partners. Or... Worse. It could be so much worse. So she had to stay human. Definitely human.

She could get out of this. She had to get away from Castellano and his guys. Then she could call Tate or Simon and figure out what to do next. But first she had to get free.

The car turned onto a paved road and she twisted, trying to figure out where they headed. Castellano ran a hand over his balding head and made a face. "This is the worst part of the country. Unbelievable. Not a decent restaurant anywhere."

"And terrible wifi," Zoe added, trying not to get her hopes up. "So far the only place with connectivity is that bar. The one in the town. That's it."

Castellano rubbed his jaw and watched her without expression. "Convenient, no?"

"Incredibly inconvenient." Zoe took a deep breath and steeled what remained of her courage. "If you want all your files back the way they were, as fast as possible, it's very inconvenient. But unless you want to wait until we're all back in Seattle or somewhere, that's the only option."

Joey grunted. He didn't look happy as Castellano directed the driver toward town, and the car accelerated. Zoe wiggled her fingers and wished the feeling would come back, otherwise she'd never be able to work fast enough to stay alive. She bought herself a little time, maybe, if they took her to Rosie's. And if Rosie were there, maybe she would call Simon.

She tried not to hope too much as the car pulled into the tiny, desolate town. Hard to believe she'd only been there two days. So much had changed since then. The town car pulled to a halt in front of the bar and the driver came around to open the door. Zoe held out her wrists. "I can't type like this."

Castellano gestured, and Joey leaned forward to slide a knife under the plastic ties. As Zoe leaned to get out of the car, Joey caught her arm and the knife prickled against her side. "Don't do anything stupid, kid."

She held her breath but tried for attitude as she raised her eyebrows. "Do I look stupid to you?"

"Don't answer that," Castellano said. He gestured and moved toward the door. "Let's go."

Zoe blinked as the sunlight blinded her but staggered out of the car. She looked around the empty street, wishing to see Simon or Ethan or Tate or anyone friendly. Instead, Joey and Castellano flanked her as they walked toward the bar. The gravel crunched under her feet. Inside the bar was as dim as she remembered, and a great deal emptier than the last time she'd been there. But Rosie still worked behind the bar, raising her eyebrows as they walked in.

She started to speak but something cut her off and her head tilted. She sniffed the air briefly, then pasted a mostly sincere smile on her face as she leaned on the bar. "Hey there, honey. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to call in that favor." Zoe smiled but widened her eyes and hoped that Rosie would pick up on her distress. "Could we use your wifi for a second?"

"Sure, sug." Rosie gestured at one of the somewhat clean tables. "Set up shop wherever you need. Did Simon and the boys come as well?"

"No, they're back at the lodge." Zoe swallowed panic as she shuffled over to the table and eased into one of the chairs. Castellano sat next to her and handed her a laptop while Joey folded his arms over his chest near the door. No getting out that way. Rosie remained at the bar, cutting lemons, and watched with a jaundiced eye as Zoe opened the laptop and started typing.

The bartender set the knife aside and fussed with something under the bar. "You want anything for lunch, honey? I'm supposed to meet Sam next door, and —"

"We're fine," Castellano said, the muscle in his jaw jumping. Zoe had seen that look before. She prayed Rosie left it alone.

Rosie only arched an eyebrow and gave one of the most expressive sniffs Zoe had ever heard. The bartender said, "Suit yourself," and sashayed out the back door.

The moment the door clicked shut behind her, Castellano slid a crumpled piece of paper across the table. "This is the bank account number where I want all my money returned. And this is where you're going to drop all the files you stole."

Zoe held her breath and nodded, reaching for the laptop. "This might take a while. There was... a lot."

"I know," he said. His voice carried a hard edge, and Zoe's heart sank. Men like him didn't forgive much. Her fingers trembled as she touched the keys on the laptop, and she clicked slowly to work .

She tried not to think of Joey, standing by the door with his gun and complete lack of humanity, and focused instead on Simon. He loved her. He wanted her to stay. He would find her.

He had to find her. Fast.