Cynful: Halle Shifters, Book 2 Read online

  He skidded around the corner into the ICU nurse’s station. “I’m looking for Glory Walsh.”

  “Are you family?” Julian shook his head no. “I’m sorry, sir, no one’s allowed in unless they’re family. You’ll have to go to the waiting room.”

  He ground his teeth together. “Is Ryan Williams here?”

  The woman gulped. “I’m afraid we had to have him escorted out. He was far too disruptive.”

  Oh, shit. They had no idea what they’d done. They were lucky they didn’t have a rampaging Grizzly in the parking lot.

  “You understand you just kicked out her fiancé. He had every right to be here.”

  The two nurses exchanged a worried glance. “He didn’t tell us he was her fiancé.”

  “I’ll go find him and bring him back. I’ll do my best to keep him calm, but I’m sure you can understand why he was upset.” If he didn’t get to Ryan soon he had no idea what the Grizzly would do.

  He’d also have to figure out a way to get into Glory’s room. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jamie Howard’s personal number. He sniffed the air as discreetly as he could, hoping to catch Ryan’s scent. He followed it to the elevator and stepped in just as Jamie picked up.

  “Hey, Julian. How’s Glory?”

  “They won’t let me in to see her.” He’d called Jamie on the way to the hospital to inform him of what had happened and that he wouldn’t be in the office for a day or two. Jamie had told him to stay at the hospital until Glory was out of the woods. “Worse, they kicked Ryan out for being disruptive.”

  “Shit. Let me make a few phone calls. I’ll get you in to see Glory, you keep Ryan calm.”

  “I’m tracking him down now. I haven’t seen Tabby or Alex yet, and I haven’t found Cyn.” He ran his fingers through his hair. There were just so many things to worry about; it was starting to give him a headache. “I wonder if anyone has called Glory’s parents.”

  “You concentrate on Ryan and Glory. Let Alex protect Cyn and Tabby.”

  He stepped out of the elevator and followed Ryan’s scent out of the hospital. “Not good enough. I need to find out if Cyn is hurt.”

  “She would’ve called and told you if you she was.”

  Julian stopped and pulled the ear from his phone, staring at it in disbelief. “You don’t know her very well, do you?” He put the phone back to his ear in time to hear Jamie chuckle. “Her fucking jaw was broken and she didn’t call me because she didn’t want me to be bothered about it.”

  “Point taken.”

  Julian sniffed again and began walking toward the parking lot. He wasn’t catching a lot of rage in Ryan’s scent. It could simply be the hospital smells of worry, despair and sickness, but what he was catching off of Ryan was a strange calmness. That concerned him more than any amount of rage would have. “I think we have a problem.”

  “What?”

  He watched as Ryan drove sedately out of the parking lot. Even at distances he could see the five-inch claws wrapped around the steering wheel. “I think Ryan’s hunting.”

  “I’ll call Gabe, so don’t worry about that. You get back in and see what you can do about Glory. They should let you in now.”

  “Thanks, Jamie.”

  “I’m curious about one thing, though.”

  Julian stepped back into the hospital. “What’s that?”

  “Is your life ever boring?”

  Julian sighed. “Not since I came to Halle.” Hell, it had been downright somnolent before he came to Halle. He hung up the phone and stepped into the elevator, heading once more to ICU. This time, when he requested access to Glory’s room, it was granted right away.

  The sound of life support machines disturbed him more than he was willing to admit. Glory had tubes down her throat helping her breathe. Another tube stuck out of her chest, indicating a collapsed lung. She was pale, and almost as blue as her hair. They were giving her blood to replace what she’d lost. The sounds coming from the heartbeat monitor were far too slow for his liking.

  He could tell she was stable, but barely. A nurse was prepping her for surgery. How long had it taken them to get her stable enough for it? It wasn’t that far from Living Art to the hospital, but it had taken him an hour to get there. He could feel his Bear reaching for her, anxious to heal her. To see such a vibrant woman so wounded troubled him.

  “Julian.”

  Just one whispered, tear-laden word eased his heart. Cyn’s face was swollen from crying, her eyes red and damp. She reached for him, and he pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair as she collapsed in his arms, all her strength deserting her. She sobbed against him like a broken child, and Julian understood why Ryan had gone hunting. He never wanted his mate to hurt like this again, and he would do anything to make sure it never happened a second time. “I’ll fix this, I swear.”

  She stiffened and lifted her head. “Can you leave us for a minute?”

  The nurse nodded briefly and left the room.

  Cyn took his face in her hands and glared up at him. “I won’t lose either one of you. Do you understand me? You only heal her to the point where she’ll survive with surgery, and let the doctors take it from there. You don’t risk yourself. ¿Entendido?”

  “I understand.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, healing the swelling from the crying and the headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.

  Already he could feel his Bear pulling him back toward the bed. Glory needed him. Ryan and Cyn were counting on him. He sat on the edge of the bed and took hold of Glory’s hands. With a deep breath he focused on the healing path, his instincts and his understanding of anatomy blending together as he began to repair the damage done to Glory’s body. The harm to her lung was severe, and by far the most traumatizing injury. He began the slow process of knitting together the wounded flesh, the torn blood vessels. The bullet had glanced off her ribs and entered her lung, deflating it like an overblown balloon. He was surprised she wasn’t in surgery already. Things must’ve been truly bad if the doctors said it would be better to wait. As it was, odds were good she’d lose the lower lobe of her lung and require months of therapy. Even if Ryan bit her now, the change wouldn’t repair the damage done.

  Julian did what he could to stabilize her condition and improve her chances in surgery, but unless he wanted to tip his hand or risk his own life, there wasn’t much more he’d be able to do. So he made sure she had the best odds possible before he pulled back from the healing path. He sighed as he pushed bone white hair out of his eyes. “She’ll live.”

  Cyn smiled and popped a baseball hat on his head, hiding the thick white streak in his hair. “Good job, Super Bear.”

  He allowed her to pull him to his feet just as the nurse walked back in. He smiled wearily at the poor woman. “Thank you.”

  The nurse’s answering smile was sympathetic. “You’re welcome.”

  Hours had gone by, and still there was no word on Glory’s condition. Cyn looked ready to tear her hair out in frustration. Gabe had called and told him he couldn’t find any sign of Ryan, which could be a good thing or bad thing. Good, because Gabe’s Hunter instincts hadn’t kicked in, meaning Ryan had not yet gone rogue. Bad, because nobody had a clue where Ryan was or what he was up to. Tabby and Alex had remained behind to close up the shop and get some plywood taped over the shattered window. A few policemen had come by to talk to Cyn and some kid named Tim about what had happened, but there wasn’t much she could tell them. None of them had caught sight of the shooter.

  “I thought you could use some caffeine.” Tim, the young man who’d been in the shop when Glory got shot, handed Julian the cup of coffee. Julian took a sip and grimaced at the bitter taste. Tim leaned closer, his expression somewhere between curious and concerned. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Go ahead.” He could guess what the boy wanted to ask him.

  “Why doesn’t one of you bite her and change her? Wouldn’t that heal all of her wounds?”

  Julian rolle
d his eyes. “Why does everyone think it works that way? Stupid Hollywood movies.” He leaned on the arm of a hard plastic chair and kept his voice low. He didn’t want any of the humans to hear him. “Look. Whatever injuries, diseases or other problems, physical or mental, that you had as a human will still be there when you get changed. If you have cancer as a human, you’ll have cancer as a Bear. If you have scars, they’ll still be there.” He took another sip of the really bad coffee and wondered if he could sneak out to Starbucks. “It’s nice to think that something as simple as a bite can cure everything, but this is the real world. Problems just don’t magically go away because you get bitten by a shifter.”

  “Oh.” Tim grimaced in sympathy. “That sucks.”

  “On top of that, it takes days for the change to fully manifest itself. Most people can’t change into their new animal form until about a week after getting bitten. I’ve heard of cases where it goes faster, but those people are incredibly strong-willed.”

  “So Cyn got bit almost a week ago?”

  Julian froze, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “She got bit last night.”

  “Then how come she had claws?”

  Julian’s gaze darted over to where Cyn was resting. She was half asleep, her head resting on Alex’s broad shoulder. His mate was exceptional in all respects, and he couldn’t be more proud of her. “Because she’s Cyn.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cyn stared at the plywood over the window of her dream shop. What was she supposed to do now? Without Living Art, she’d lose not only her livelihood but her independence. She’d be forced to rely on Julian for everything. No matter how good a man Julian was, she’d never be able to tolerate that for long. They had to find whoever was targeting her and her friends and end this.

  Glory had been in the hospital for two days. Thanks to the damage the bullet had caused, part of her lower lung had been removed. She was in a lot of pain and cranky as hell. The two tubes in her side were driving her crazy, but the doctors had told them that they’d be removed tomorrow. The physiotherapists were encouraging Glory to cough, something she wanted to do about as much as she wanted to shove red-hot pokers up her ass.

  They were no closer to finding the shooter. Cyn knew at least some of Glory’s crankiness came from fear rather than pain. Alex and Tabby were practically living at the hospital while the entire Williams-Bunsun clan hunted for Ryan, who was still missing. Gabe had told her in private that something was rattling the Hunter within him. If Ryan had gone feral from Glory’s injuries nothing would save him from Gabe.

  “We’ll find him.” Julian wrapped his arms around her and propped his chin on her shoulder. He’d left his hair down, and the strands were cool against her cheek. She could smell the coffee he’d had prior to driving her over to the store on his breath. They were sitting in his car, Julian unwilling to allow her out of it, or anywhere closer to Living Art than they already were. She understood his concern. If the shooter was keeping an eye on LA then she’d be a prime target. She still wasn’t certain whether Glory was the one the shooter intended to hit or not.

  If he’d hit Tabby she could have lost the baby.

  The low growl that reverberated through the car startled her. What surprised her even more was that it came from her. “I want to play hacky sack with their nuts.”

  He snorted a laugh. “That’s the best you could come up with? I’m disappointed.”

  “Did I mention they’d still be attached?”

  “Mm. In that case, I know a couple of Grizzlies who should be more than happy to play with you.”

  “If you can find them.” She sighed wearily. “I think part of the reason Glory is so pissy is because Ryan’s not there. No matter how much she squirms and complains, she cares about him.”

  “Do you have any idea why she’s fighting their mating so hard?”

  “Her father was an absolute jerk. I mean, my mother didn’t say boo without my father’s permission, but he was never abusive toward her. He just ran her life like it was a military operation. To him, it probably was.”

  “And Glory’s father was abusive.” Julian’s tone was thoughtful, as if he was trying to figure out a unique puzzle and didn’t have all pieces.

  “Her father was extremely conservative. He was a firm believer in spare the rod, spoil the child, and was exceedingly possessive toward his wife and children. If anyone showed an interest in any of his daughters he would run them off. I’m not certain all the methods he used were legal.”

  “I’m thinking he’s no longer around?”

  “He may be. I’m not sure. He and Mrs. Walsh left the area about two years after Hope disappeared. He took Faith and Temp with them, but left Glory behind. I think they’d argued, and she refused to go with him. Since she was eighteen, he couldn’t force her, but he could make her life hell. He left her with the clothes on her back and whatever was in her wallet at the time. Thank God my mom let her live with us until we could get an apartment together.” She winced, remembering how Glory had looked that day. “She had bruises all over her, Jules.”

  He winced, but didn’t question her about that. “I didn’t know Glory had a missing sister.”

  “She was the oldest daughter, and Glory’s twin. She claimed she was going to the library, but she never came back. The police weren’t able to find anyone who had seen her. They never found a trace. All the Walshes were devastated, but Glory most of all. They were sixteen, and did everything together.”

  “Wow. Has she told Ryan about any of this?”

  If she did, he never would have disappeared the way he had. Ryan just didn’t have it in him to hurt Glory like that. She was willing to bet that was why Glory was flipping out. It was like losing her sister all over again. “None of us talk about it, especially in front of Glory. Hope’s disappearance is still an open case.”

  They were quiet for a few moments, each absorbed in their own thoughts. “Glory, Hope, Faith and Temp?”

  Cyn rolled her eyes. Poor Temp. “It’s short for Temperance.”

  “That’s a horrible thing to do to a little girl.”

  “It’s a worse thing to do to a little boy. Especially when he’s the oldest child and gets to watch his sisters get fairly normal names.”

  Julian whistled and tugged on a lock of his hair. “So how many black belts does he have? He must’ve gone through some major ass kicking’s in school. His butt must still be black and blue.”

  He had the uncanny knack of making her smile even when she was at her worst. “He always said he would’ve felt better if the girls were named Chastity, Prudence and Patience.”

  “I could totally see Glory rockin’ the name Prudence. It suits her to a T.” She could hear the faint hint of laughter in his voice. “We could call her Prue, Prude or just plain Dence.”

  “I vote for number three.” And dammit, there it was, that stupid little giggle. He always managed to get one out of her.

  “Was Temp anything like their father?”

  “That’s the strangest part. I would’ve said no, but he went with his father rather than stay behind.”

  “He might’ve been trying to protect Faith.”

  “Maybe. Mr. Walsh was a mean S.O.B. Faith was only twelve when they left; she’d be eighteen now. None of them have tried to contact Glory since they left.”

  “Was she supposed to go with Hope that night?”

  “Yeah, I think she was.”

  She stared at her shop, weary to the bone. It would be quite a while before the authorities would allow her to open up again. While she understood it, it still broke her heart. As it was, she was pretty sure her insurance was going to go through the roof. She ran her fingers through her hair. “Good-bye, lease. I will miss you.”

  “Your landlord is going to kick you out?”

  Her place had come under fire far too many times for any landlord to let it go. “I’ve received notice to vacate the premises, and I won’t be getting my security deposit back.” She sighed. “At lea
st I own all the equipment.”

  “Then you start over, somewhere else.” Julian touched her cheek in an attempt to soothe her.

  She shrugged. Cyn was a fighter. She would mourn her lost dream, but she wouldn’t let it keep her down for long. She’d start a new dream. “I’m going to look into a new place nearby. I love this neighborhood, but I’m not sure they’ll love me when this is all over.”

  “You’ll be fine. None of this is your fault.”

  She shrugged. It might not be, but that wouldn’t matter. If the other landlords blacklisted her she’d be forced to move.

  Damn it. She really loved this neighborhood.

  “I want to meet your parents.”

  She should’ve expected that request, but for some reason it still startled her. “My father is dead. He died when I was sixteen, of a heart attack.”

  His arms tightened around her briefly, hugging her close. “I’m sorry to hear that, sweetheart. It must have been rough for you and your mom.”

  She relaxed back into him, letting him take her weight. There was no sympathy in his voice, just calm acceptance. She would’ve brushed off any hint of pity. It was over and done with a long time ago. “It was harder on my mom than on me. She couldn’t function without my father. Bills didn’t get paid, groceries didn’t get bought. Trash started to pile up because she couldn’t bring herself to clean. I learned how to cook so we didn’t starve to death. I also learned to use the Internet to pay our bills.”

  “I always knew you were strong.” He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck, right above her mating mark. “That strength will get you through what’s going on now.”

  She stroked his cheek. “I still want to play Jenga with their bones.”

  He grinned against her neck. “I love vicious women.”