Page 6 of Sanctuary

The man, Lance, finally stood, holding his stomach. “This isn’t over, Gemma,” he spat, then looked at Eric. “You’re going to regret this.”

“Doubt it,” Eric spat back, wanting nothing more than to land one more punch to the arrogant asshole’s face. “Get the hell out of here.”

Lance looked at Eric before turning his attention toward Gemma. “This another poor unknowing hired hand I’m going to have to chase off? When will you learn, Gemma?”

Eric had enough. He stepped into the man’s line of vision, blocking Gemma. “You hard of hearing?” Eric growled, taking a step forward. Satisfaction swept through him when the man stepped back, fear flashing in his eyes for a brief second. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“Who are you?” The man tried to appear strong, but Eric knew his type. He was a piece of shit who picked on people who he thought were below him. He used his status to get what he wanted.

“You don’t want to know the answer to that question.” Eric’s voice was hard, but the half-sneered grin on his face was pure evil. One thing Eric hated was a bully, especially one who used his strength against a woman.

“You don’t know who you are messing with.” Lance’s attempt at sounding unaffected fell flat when he stuttered the last word.

Something then caught Eric’s attention, making his eyes leave the man for a split second. The sheriff’s car was on the road trying to hide behind some trees. The hardness in Eric’s eyes strengthened as he looked back at the man. Gemma was right; the sheriff was in this man’s deep pocket. “Yeah, I do.” Eric leaned in closer. “A piece of shit who hides behind the sheriff.”

Lance did look toward Gemma, and no one missed the warning look he shot her. He turned, with Jase following and holding his bloody nose, got in his truck, then backed out of the lot with gravel flying everywhere. He wanted to go after the bastard but stopped himself. He hoped he didn’t regret it but knew he would because this was far from over.

Eric waited until the truck was out of sight and the sheriff’s car was going in the opposite direction before he turned on Gemma. “Are you crazy?” He stomped toward her, grabbing the shotgun out of her hand.

“Yes,” Larry answered for her.

Ignoring Larry, Eric glared down at Gemma who seemed to be holding on by a thread. He could see her shaking, saw the uncertainty in her eyes as everything came crashing down on her. It was then his respect for the woman grew as she collected herself before him. The shaking calmed to a complete stop, and her eyes cleared as they narrowed.

“Screw you.” She pushed past him and rushed away.

Eric stared at her, holding the shotgun. “A thank-you for saving your ass again would be nice!” Eric yelled after her with a shake of his head.

“Don’t hold your breath on that.” Larry snorted as he headed back toward the enclosure, seemingly unaffected. Eric couldn’t help but wonder if this was a regular occurrence.

Shaking his head, Eric watched Gemma disappear behind the trailer. His eyes then roamed to the enclosure holding the wolf who stood staring at him. “We’ll talk later,” he told the wolf, then headed toward Larry. If he knew anything about women, and he did, Gemma needed a cooling off period. But soon they would be having a long talk.

Chapter 5

Gemma lost herself in work like she always did when things were bad, but this time it wasn’t as easy. It had been at least two hours since the confrontation with Lance, and she couldn’t brush it off. No, this time someone had been there to stand up for her, and what did she do? Yell at him for his trouble.

With a sigh, Gemma left the enclosure after giving Ari his medication. Closing the gate firmly, she leaned against it feeling more tired than she ever had in her life. Her eyes scanned the property, and she briefly wondered if it was all worth it. Was the battle she faced every single day worth her feeling as if she were well in her fifties rather than her twenties? She was tired, so very tired.

Her gaze landed and stopped on Eric’s SUV still parked in the same spot. She shouldn’t have reacted to him in such a way after he’d defended her. She knew that, but she wasn’t used to being protected so had reacted horribly. Figuring he was with Larry, she went in search so she could apologize.

Hearing his quietly spoken voice, she headed in the same direction and found him with the new purebred wolf in the enclosure. She stopped and watched as wolf and man became familiar with one another. She couldn’t quite make out what Eric was saying, but the wolf watched him with such intensity that Gemma would have sworn the wolf knew exactly what was being said.

Her feet shifted, causing a stick underneath her boots to snap. Both Eric and the wolf turned their attention toward her. With her cover blown, she headed their way.

“Seems you’re making better progress than I was.” She nodded toward the wolf, her eyes shifting away from Eric’s watchful gaze. “Can you tell if he’s injured?”

Eric stared at her for a minute before answering. “He’s fine.” Eric slowly stood from his crouched position. “Are you okay?”

For some reason, those words coming from him were too much. No one ever cared if she was okay, except maybe Larry, and that was just because he needed his job. She felt the tears she had refused for so long threatening the back of her eyes. Tears showed weakness, and she couldn’t be weak. Her grandfather always told her that tears solved nothing and made your nose runny. He was right, but damn, she suddenly wanted nothing more than a good cry. Screw her nose. They clogged her throat to the point all she could do was nod. Her head bowed so all she saw was dirt, until a splash of one tear splattered against her dusty boot. Her nod became a shake of her head.

She heard the gate open and close. Through her tears, another pair of boots came into view, and she was totally afraid of losing every ounce of control she had left.

“Gemma.” Eric’s voice was soft with a demanding edge. He clipped her chin gently and brought her face up to his. “I will make sure nothing happens to you or your wolves. Do you understand me?”

He was a blur, so his expression was hard to read, yet his voice filled with promise, making it hard not to believe what he said was true. “Why do you care? You don’t even know me.”

Eric hesitated before answering her. “I know you better than I think either of us realize.” Her vision cleared and she witnessed a puzzled expression on his face before he wiped it away.

Before Gemma could ask him what that meant, Larry came up. “Hey, everything is finished.” Larry looked closely at Gemma. “Are you crying?”

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