Page 9 of Flare
Emily’s thoughts whirled crazily, trying to figure out how to buy herself enough time to get the hell away from him.
If he’s angry now, just wait until he finds out that I didn’t finish his precious investor presentation!
The meeting was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. tomorrow at the Summit Ridge Equity offices downtown.
“I—I was just looking for copies of the contractor bids and supplier contracts,” she protested.“The files…you always have stupid names for them… so I thought—”
“Youthought.” He laughed, a sharp, bitter sound.“Emily, if you were anyone else, I’d have you fired and blacklisted before dinner.”
She swallowed. Her throat suddenly felt as dry as desert sand.
He stalked across the living room until he was looming over her.“Where’s that drive?”
She blinked.“There isn’t any drive!” she blurted and instantly regretted it.Stupid! He knows exactly what you did!
Andrew blew out an angry breath.“Stop lying to me.”
This close, she could see that his eyes looked more gold than blue now.
“I—” she croaked.
He slammed his palms against the back of the sofa, on either side of her head, caging her in. The slap of his hands against the smooth leather echoed from the vaulted ceiling.“Emily. The drive.Now.”
Her mouth dry with terror, her heart drumming in her ears so loudly it deafened her, she reached down and fumbled for her purse. With numb fingers, she fished out the USB stick from its hiding place.
Her hand shook as she handed it to him.
Andrew plucked it from her grasp. Then, still caging her with his body, he looked down at her like a panther sizing up wounded prey. She tried not to shrink back, but couldn’t help herself.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Andrew said, dropping all pretense of civility.“If youevertell anyone about these files, I’ll know. There is no place you can go that I won’t be able to find you. Do you understand?”
She nodded, mute.Please don’t let him guess about the cloud backup.
He leaned in, so close she could smell the faint ghost of his aftershave, the scent he only wore when meeting clients.“You belong to me, Emily,” he grated.
“No. You don’t own me.” It would’ve sounded braver if her voice hadn’t emerged in a terrified squeak.
For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just stared at her, breathing through his nose, jaw clenched. His eyes went totally gold, blazing with eerie rage from his tanned face.
“You don’t get it,” he said.“You’remine, Emily. My mate. Forever.”
Oh, God. He’s going to kill me.Emily shrank into the sofa cushions.“I—yes, of course. I’m so sorry, Andrew. I didn’t mean to—”
His face twisted. He turned away from her. For one breathless moment, she thought it was over.“Mine.” His voice sounded thick, blurred now.
Then she heard the sounds.
At first, just a popping, like the cracking of knuckles. Then the wet, horrible grind of bone shifting against bone. Andrew’s suit strained, the back tearing as his shoulders swelled beneath the fabric. The air filled with a smell like musk and earth and something ancient, feral. His expensive leather shoes split down the middle, feet ballooning, toes flattening into blunt, black claws. The seams of his clothing ripped, and shirt buttons popped off in all directions.
And just like that, Emily found herself in the middle of a horror movie.
A detached voice in her head wondered if she should scream or try to run away. But all she could do was stare, frozen in disbelief, as Andrew vanished under an avalanche of muscle and fur.
He doubled over, falling to his hands, and then—like a nightmare in fast-forward—hegrew. His limbs thickened. His head elongated, ears migrating upward and outward.
Seconds later, a massive grizzly bear filled the space where Andrew had been.
He was enormous, easily twice the size of any bear she’d ever seen while growing up in rural Idaho. His fur was light brown, highlighted with gold, like sunlight on whiskey.
