Page 28 of Hot For Her Bear

He casually locked the door and spun around.

“Hello, Saffron.” A sadistic grin spread across his face. There was not a single scratch or scar on him. His amber eyes glowed bright, and his fangs were brandished. The growl that burst from him had Capri and Moss freezing in place. “You didn’t think you could get rid of me that quickly, did you?”

Saffron glanced at her employees and uttered one word. “Run.”

They both hesitated for a moment before taking off to the back of the store. There was an exit back there. She prayed they would call the police. Bishop gave a roar. His eyes flicked between her and her employees.

“I don’t need them anyway.” He stalked to the counter. “You’re who I want.”

“We thought you’d died.” She tried to stall and get him to talk; maybe Capri and Moss would send some help her way. She was happy they were able to get away. She wouldn’t know what she would do if Bishop hurt them. They were good people and didn’t deserve to be caught up in this madness.

“You thought that bitch would be enough to take me out?” he hollered. He appeared to grow even larger as if he was about to shift.

She wouldn’t stand a chance against a pissed-off, eight-foot-tall grizzly bear.

She tried to run, but he was too fast for her. He hopped over the counter and grabbed her by her hair. She cried out from the sharp pain in her head. Saffron swung her aims, determined to get away. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she was a dead woman.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” she shouted.

He had the nerve to laugh at her feeble attempts to free herself. He wrapped one of his meaty arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet. Saffron kicked and screamed, hoping someone would hear her.

“I had you first.” Spittle flew from his mouth.

She continued to struggle as he carried her toward the back where the large freezers were located. Fear unlike anything she’d ever known entered her. What was he going to do with her?

“Then that bitch came along and stole you.”

“But we are mated now. Does that not mean anything?”

He paused for a brief moment, and Saffron had a small amount of hope that if he heard they were officially mated, it would change his mind and he would leave.

But that wasn’t the case.

“If I can’t have you, then that bitch will be without a mate!” Dark hair fluttered along his forearms, then receded.

Bishop was close to shifting, and Saffron wasn’t in the mood to meet his bear up close and personal.

He opened the freezer and tossed her into it. She fell to her knees of the small, cold room. They kept the freezer below zero. Shelves with gallon drums of ice cream lined the walls around her.

She could already see the puffs of her breaths. Goosebumps lined her arms.

“You can’t leave me in here, I’ll freeze.” She scrambled to her feet. Her body was already growing chilly, and he hadn’t even closed the door. Normally when she had to come in here, she would wear gloves and a fleece jacket that she kept hung on a hook outside the door.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get pretty warm soon.” He slammed the door shut.

She let out a scream and banged on the steel door. There was no handle from the inside. There was a doorstop outside that they used to keep it open when they were storing the large tabs of ice cream. Never would she have thought she would need a freezer with a handle on the inside. Ice cream didn’t magically get up and walk away.

She screamed repeatedly until her throat grew raw. Finally, she stood still and tried to see if she could hear him outside the door.

Nothing.

The door was solid steel.

You’ll get pretty warm soon…

What the hell did that mean? Tremors racked her body. She ran her hands along her arms, trying to create warmth. The chill was already settling in. Was he talking about letting her freeze to death? She had heard stories that people who froze to death experienced a warming sensation before they died.

The only other way she would be warm would be—

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