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Bu
“Speaking of which, we tried calling him to make sure he was all right and didn’t get an answer. You mind going to his place and checking on him?”
How the hell had they gotten Julian’s number? Bu
“Will do. Thanks, son.”
“Night, dad.” Bu
He got out of bed and reached for his jeans, wincing slightly at the pull of his tattoo.
“Alex?”
Damn. He hadn’t meant to wake Tabby. “Go back to sleep, baby.”
“Everything okay?”
“Chloe woke up.”
Tabby sat halfway up, propping herself on her arms. “Really?”
He nodded and pulled on his pants. “I’m heading out for a little bit. If I’m not back in time for you to head to work, I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”
“Will the hospital let you in at this time of night?”
He thought for all of a second about lying to her. “I’m not going to the hospital.
The family wants me to check on Julian, make sure he’s okay.”
She sat up fully. “I’ll go with you.”
He shook his head. “You have work tomorrow. Besides, if something is wrong I’m a Bear. I can try to heal anything that might be wrong with him.”
“He’s my friend, I need to be there.”
He put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down. “He’s family, and I’ll take care of it. If I’m out later than pla
She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “You’ll call me if anything’s wrong.”
It wasn’t a question, but a demand. He nodded. She’d want to know if Julian was all right. “I promise I’ll call if I find anything more than Julian sleeping.”
She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. “Okay. Be careful. Whoever attacked Chloe is still out there.”
He raised one brow at her.
“I don’t care if you are a fucking grizzly. Even you can be taken down with the right hit to the head.”
“Yes, Mama.” He wondered if she knew that small-caliber bullets would literally bounce off his skull when he was in Bear form?
She shook her head and settled back down. “Please. Take care. For all we know, whoever attacked her is going after your family.”
He paused. That thought hadn’t occurred to him. He figured it had something to do with Chloe being alone, or being a Fox. Why would anyone go after her for being a Williams? “That makes no sense.”
“Your family is well-off. It could have been a kidnapping plot gone wrong.”
He shook his head. “No. She was beaten, remember? That speaks of anger.” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“You think whoever beat her knew her?”
“Maybe.” He rubbed his face. It was too damn early to think, but he had to. If Tabby was endangered because of what had happened with Chloe, he’d never forgive himself. “I’ll find out if she remembers anything when I see her later.” He pressed a soft kiss to Tabby’s forehead. “You go back to sleep. I’m going to finish dressing and get out of here.”
“Okay. Take care, sugar.”
“Love you, baby.”
She smiled sweetly. “Ditto.”
He chuckled and stood, buttoning his jeans. “Brat.”
“Your brat.”
He gri
He finished dressing as quietly as he could. He pocketed his keys and phone, threw on his jacket and boots and headed for the door. The fall air would be cold this time of morning. He listened for a moment, reassuring himself that Tabby had gone back to sleep before slipping out of the hotel room. He made his way to the parking lot and started his bike.
It didn’t take long to get to Julian’s apartment. He wasn’t surprised when, at this hour, there was barely any traffic. He pulled into the parking lot and headed for Julian’s door.
He reached the door and pulled out his cell phone. He was starting to wake up, thanks to the brisk air. He dialed Julian’s number and listened to it ring.
No answer. Shit. He rang the doorbell.
Then he rang it again.
He knocked. Then he pounded. “Shit.” Something was wrong.
He called Gabe. The man answered on the second ring, sounding wide awake. He didn’t bother with a greeting. “Julian isn’t answering his door or his phone. He used his abilities to wake Chloe up, and now I think he’s in trouble.”
Gabe didn’t even hesitate. “I’m on my way.”
“I’m breaking in. Don’t arrest me.”
“You have reason to believe he’s in distress. Break away.”
Bu
His hair was completely white.
Bu
Nothing. Julian was completely healthy and thoroughly unconscious.
He pulled himself back up the healing path, wondering what the hell he should do now. Wait. He peered closer at Julian’s head and huffed out a relieved breath.
Black strands were slowly appearing among the white. The Spirit Bear would be fine.
He sat back and waited for Gabe to arrive.
“Hell. What did you do, rip the door of the hinges?”
Speak of the devil. Bu
Gabe whistled. “I didn’t think Bears were that strong.”
“Black Bears aren’t,” Bu
“Right. Grizzly. I keep forgetting that.” Gabe propped the broken door in the opening and made his way to the sofa. “How is he?”
“Waking up, I think.”
“Why is his hair white?”
“He’s Kermode, remember? Their hair does this when they’re healing.”
“Or spirit-walking,” Julian groaned. His eyes opened and Bu
“Yeah. I got the call. The family asked me to come check on you when you didn’t answer your phone.”
Julian grimaced. “Told them I needed lots of privacy.”
“In this family? You’ll be lucky if you get to take a piss alone from now on.”
Julian frowned. “I’m not family.”
Gabe began to laugh. “That’s what you think. I just came from the hospital. Trust me, you’ve been informally adopted. By a bunch of grizzlies, no less.”
Julian’s eyes went wide. “Grizzlies? ” He stared at Bu
Bu
“Besides, the ones you really need to worry about are the Foxes,” Gabe added.
“They’re sneaky. You’ll never see them coming.”
Now it was Bu
Julian shivered. “Why is it so cold in here?” He looked over at his door and frowned. “What the hell happened to my door?”