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her as much as she cared about them. They might be seriously messed
up in the head and have strange ways of showing how much they
loved each other, but love they did. He supposed he should get used to
it if he was going to spend any time with the strange women.
& trouble if he keeps playing around, one bear with a massive
beard told the other as they tramped towards them.
They were too arrogant to think anyone could possibly lie in wait
for them, and that was to Grant s group s advantage. Enraged and
startled bears were not easy to defeat, and if his nose was correct,
these were grizzlies, which meant they were tough as nails. Not good.
Stop complaining and do as you re told, the other bear
countered as he paused. We ll each have a turn with her before she
dies and no one will know.
What about that minotaur? We re not supposed to kill him, but I
think Dov is planning to. We don t get paid if he dies, remember?
Bear Two paused again, his eyes on the ground. That s true.
Well, we just won t let Dov kill him.
Have you ever seen Dov in a rage?
No, why?
Ain t No Bull 237
It s like
A loud explosion rocked the woods, sending both bears to the
ground. Grant and his group huddled closer to the ground as a blast of
massive heat roared through the air over their heads. He d never felt
anything like it in his life. What the hell had caused an explosion like
that? And why did he have the nasty suspicion Isola was at the heart
of it?
The bears regained their feet, their gazes concentrated behind
them.
I think that was our stash of ammunitions, Beard muttered
darkly as his eyes searched the woods around them.
There s no one out here, the other one mumbled as he started
back the direction from which they came. Ben sent us out here for
nothing.
Beard didn t follow right away, his keen eyes sweeping the
landscape. Grant held his breath, certain the bear would discover
them, but after several tense minutes, he too started back in the
direction of the explosion.
The group waited another few seconds though Grant was chafing
to follow. Isola was where the explosion was, he knew it as surely as
he knew he loved her more than life. Please don t let her be hurt, he
prayed to the gods. He didn t know what he d do without her.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Saga gave the signal for
them to move out. They crept through the woods, following the bears
back to their encampment. The closer they came, the stronger the
scent of brimstone and ash became. The trees were burnt to a crisp in
a perfect half-circle. The snow had melted, leaving a muddy mess
behind.
Grant noted all of this, but his focus was on the large field at the
edge of the woods. Bears fought against& nymphs. He stopped dead
in his tracks, everyone else following suit.
What the hell? Saga breathed as she took in the ferocious
fighting going on.
238 Danica Avet
Not able to help the smugness he felt, he looked at them. Isola
and I told you.
* * * *
Izzy cursed as her knees buckled again. Dov didn t even pause,
pulling her through the tunnels beneath the shack. The explosion had
tossed him on top of her which had broken the chair she d been tied
to. She d tried to get away from him, but the wily bear had tackled her
and cuffed her on the back of the head with one of his gigantic fists.
It was nearly impossible to walk with her hands tied behind her
back and her feet shackled together, but she tried. She thought she d
finally caught the rhythm, but no such luck. She stumbled, falling to
her knees behind Dov. He just tightened his grip on her arm and
dragged her.
Ouch, you bastard! I m getting stone burn here!
Her leathers had shredded at some point during the explosion and
escape attempt. The tunnel was solid rock and no one had bothered
putting soft carpeting down on the floor to protect helpless Amazons
from getting their legs torn up.
You ll get more than that if you don t shut up and walk, Dov
said absently. His head was held high as he scented this way and that.
Who blew up your shit anyway?
She knew it wasn t her people. She was the only Amazon in her
tribe with the demolitions bug and she seriously doubted the Council
would want to make a big Hollywood-type production of a simple
rescue mission. Besides, the heat that had nearly cooked them alive
had been scented with magic. It had been no chemical accident, but a
fire bearer who d set off that explosion. So either the killer nymphs
had come back for round two, or someone pissed off a fire elemental.
Izzy stopped, forcing Dov to throw her over his shoulder to keep
moving. Fire elemental. Why hadn t she thought of that? Ormond
Steele was a fire elemental one of the most powerful beings in the
Ain t No Bull 239
Veil. Elementals were their elements, they lived and breathed it and
only another elemental could defeat them. But why would Ormond be
after Izzy and Dov? It was Grant who d been the original target.
She stared at the flagstones as Dov carted her down the corridor.
So maybe it wasn t Ormond, but someone else. But who
Dov, a feminine voice purred from somewhere ahead.
A jolt went through Dov at the sound of the voice and he tensed as
though faced with another predator. Izzy tried twisting in his hold to
see who could have Dov so freaked out, but the most she did was hit
herself in the face with her ponytail.
Avyn.
Avyn?
This isn t the minotaur, Dov.
He fidgeted, which was a very unpleasant sensation for Izzy. She
closed her eyes as nausea flooded her. It was like being on a very
small boat in a very big ocean. Bleurgh.
I know this isn t the minotaur, Dov muttered as he shuffled his
feet slightly. She s bait.
Bait.
Yes, they re mated. Even as he said the words, the arm clamped
around Izzy s legs tightened.
If she hadn t been so sick to her stomach, she would ve protested
the hold, but as it was, she just moaned a bit. He needed to put her
down or she d hurl all over his back, which he so deserved.
And just where were you going with your& bait, Dov?
I don t answer to you, woman, Dov growled taking a step
forward.
No, but you do answer to Ormond and I m almost positive he
said he wanted the minotaur, not some overly rounded Amazon.
Overly rounded! Oh these people were just asking to have their
asses kicked!
I want the Amazon.
240 Danica Avet
There was a beat of silence as though the woman was surprised.
Then she spoke again. That doesn t signify at this moment, Dov.
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