Laid Bear by Eve Vaughn (e books for reading .TXT) 📕

He held her tight. “It’s going to be okay, baby. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Heath came behind her and kissed the back of her head.

“It’s over now, baby.”

Logan moved beside her and nuzzled her leg. He remained in bear form.

When she finally calmed down, Gavin asked, “Who was he?”

A wave of pain swept through her body, causing a fresh stream of tears to glide down her cheeks. “My father.”

Chapter Fourteen

Zora thought she’d feel relief to finally have this chapter in her life closed for good. After all, now that her father was dead, she’d never have to worry about looking over her shoulder again or wondering if someone was out to do harm to her and her men. But all this brought up an intense pain that ripped her heart to pieces. She’d already told herself her parents hated her, but to actually want her dead? The foul things her father had said to her cut deeper than the sharpest knife.

As Heath carried her out of the woods, she rested her head against his bare chest and silently cried.

“It’s going to be okay, baby. We’ll get you home so you can rest,” he whispered to her.

“Resting isn’t going to change what happened today. My father wanted me dead.”

When she thought back to the harassing calls, she’d assumed they were from Dale because he knew things she’d told him about her family. Because she’d been estranged from her parents for so long, it didn’t occur to Zora her father had been behind the calls. What really turned her stomach were the sexual references he’d made toward and about her. He’d made comments about her body. Just the thought of it made her gag.

“That man wasn’t your father, Zora,” Heath said from beside her. “No father could treat his child in such a way. It doesn’t matter that he raised you like his own, he lost the right to call you daughter when he treated you the way he did.”

Raised her like his own? She didn’t understand why he’d worded it like that, but she didn’t bother to ask him what he meant. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact her own father had tried to kill her.

The rest of the way, they walked in silence, Heath carrying her and Gavin walking beside them. Logan was still in bear form. Just as they were at the road, Logan stopped.

“What’s the matter, Logan?” Heath asked.

“Blood. Lots of it.”

“That’s probably the blood covering us,” Gavin answered.

“No. Not ours. Someone else’s. It’s similar to Zora’s, but not hers.”

Zora could hear what Logan was saying through their mental link, however she had no idea what he was talking about. But Heath and Gavin seemed to. Both men paused and sniffed the air.

“You’re right,” Heath finally answered. He transferred Zora into Gavin’s waiting arms. “Gavin, put Zora in the car.

Zora, you wait for us and don’t move. Logan, I know you’re still angry but I’m going to need you to change back. Let’s get dressed and see who it is. There’s an extra pair of jeans and a T-shirt in my trunk.”

Zora wanted to protest but knew there would be no point in arguing with them when they were in protective mode.

Gavin set her in the passenger seat of his Range Rover. “Stay here, Zora.”

“What about my car? We can’t just leave it here in that condition. Someone may drive by and contact the police when they see it. Maybe I should stick around for a tow truck?”

“One of us will come back and get your car. You’re in no condition to sit around waiting for a tow. Physically or emotionally.”

“Are you telling me that as a doctor?”

“No. I’m telling you that as someone who loves you. When I think we could have lost you… ” He leaned over and gave her a hard swift kiss. “Stay put.” He closed the passenger door on her before she could argue further.

Thankfully, only a couple cars drove by and they both sped along without stopping. She watched out of the window as the men gathered their clothes and quickly put