Guardian Bears: Marcus (4 page)

D
espite the darkness
, Lisa felt a lot better on her way home from her mother’s. Spending time with her always made Lisa feel better about things, and the calm of the house rubbed off on her.
Maybe I should have talked to Mom about Marcus being with the Serpents? That might have settled my mind there, too.

But no. Even with her mother’s peaceful attitude, Lisa wasn’t going to raise a subject that would mean talking about the Serpents. She couldn’t face reminding her mother of them, and the pain that they’d caused her. It was the same reason she had never talked about being harassed by Cal.

No sooner had she thought of him than she heard the sound of a motorcycle on the road behind her. She winced, glancing back, and sure enough, there he was.

Is he following me now? How did he know where I’d be?
She didn’t want to think that Marcus had told him, but who else knew that she’d be visiting her mother tonight?

On the other hand, she wouldn’t put it past him to have lurked in the area on the off chance of catching her. He was the right kind of creep, she thought, to waste his evening like that.

She put her head down and hurried up. Maybe she couldn’t avoid him, but the sooner she was home, the sooner he would be out of her hair.

The bike crept up on her slowly, the sound of the motor low and menacing. As he approached, she looked back at him over her shoulder.

Cal’s dark eyes looked out at her from a grim, weathered face, black hair framing it. He was a big man, bulky and muscular but nothing like the sculpted muscles on Marcus’s lean frame.

Parking his bike, he got off and stepped towards her, a nasty grin on his narrow mouth. She turned without a word and set off again, trying not to let her anxiety show as she walked away.

“Hey, wait up,” he called after her. His long legs caught up with her in a couple of steps and his arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her in her tracks. “You gotta hear what I’ve come to say.”

Lisa struggled in his grip, and he laughed as she pulled herself out of his grip. She spun around to face him, face hot with anger.

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested!?” She spat the words. “I don’t want you, I don’t want any of your Serpent friends, I’m not going to be anyone’s old lady. Just leave me alone!”

Cal laughed, undeterred by her protests. “Don’t worry, babe. You’ll like it,” he promised, a nasty smile on his face as he reached for her again. She gasped, pulling away, but this time he wasn’t letting go.

That’s enough
, she thought, anger overwhelming her fear as he dragged her closer. Calling up memories of a self-defense video she’d watched once, she lashed out with her foot, kicking at his knee hard, and slammed her fist into his stomach with as much force as she could muster. Cal howled in surprise and pain, stumbling backward.

Lisa didn’t wait for him to recover. She turned and bolted, hearing heavy booted footsteps behind her as she sprinted away.

She didn’t get far before he caught up, and his hand grabbed her hair, yanking her back against him. Lisa tried to elbow him in the stomach, but she was off balance and only glanced off his hard muscle. She couldn’t fight against his strength, struggling helplessly as he pulled her close.

A car passed by, and she tried to get the driver’s attention, but it was futile. In a town like Coldwood, the odds of happening across someone willing to stand up to a member of the Serpents were slim to none. No one was willing to take on the gang, and that left everyone else on their own in the world.

“You bitch,” Cal hissed into her ear. “You’re going to pay for that!”

He slammed her into the wall, driving the air out of her lungs. Lisa struggled for balance, trying to remember anything else from that video that could help.

Behind them, another Harley engine roared to a halt, and she lost all hope. She didn’t have much chance of fighting off Cal on his own, but with one of his friends backing him up it was hopeless.

“Get off her. Now.”

The voice was low, angry, an inhuman growl. Lisa almost didn’t recognize it as Marcus’s. Twisting in Cal’s grip, she watched in shock as Marcus stalked closer, fury written across his face. He looked terrifying, eyes intense and narrow, fists balled, broad chest rising and falling as he struggled for control.

Cal dropped her and stepped back, snarling at Marcus as he approached. He didn’t look like he was about to back down. “This isn’t your business. Fuck off back to the compound, and get out of my hair.”

Marcus reached out to shove him in the chest, sending him back a couple of paces. “It is my business. This is my girl.”

“No she ain’t,” Cal said. “She’s no one’s yet. Could choose me as easily as you.”

“Doesn’t look like you were giving her a great reason to choose you,” Marcus pointed out with a snarl. He stepped forwards again, and Cal took another step back, watching his opponent. Marcus stopped once he was safely between Cal and Lisa, planting himself to defend her, waiting.

Cal didn’t have the patience to wait out a confrontation. Losing his temper, he stepped forward and shoved Marcus, hard. Marcus turned slightly, letting Cal’s push glance off him, and didn’t move. He wasn’t quite as bulky as Cal, but he didn’t need to be. His reflexes were enough to give him an edge, and his taut compact muscles looked more powerful than Cal’s heavy bulk.

Lisa watched, heart in her mouth, as the two men squared off to fight over her.

“You don’t want this to be a big deal, Cal. Trust me. Aside from what I’d do to you, what would Big Jack say?”

“Who gives a shit?” Cal snarled, circling Marcus. “You aren’t a Serpent, and this is our town. He doesn’t get to give my girl away.”

“She isn’t your girl,” Marcus said, voice low, calm, dangerous. “She’s not his to give away, either. She’s mine.”

Cal jumped forward at that, slamming a punch towards Marcus’s jaw. Marcus stepped back, letting the fist pass harmlessly through the air in front of him, and retaliated with a quick jab to the bigger man’s ribs. Cal stumbled back, gasping, but kept his guard up.

“I don’t care how much business you’re bringing in,” he spat. “We’re settling this here and now, and if that fucks up Big Jack’s plans, he’s just gonna have to deal with that.”

He backed off, pulling off his leather jacket and throwing it aside. Rolling up his sleeves, he showed off the tattoos covering his forearms. Lisa saw the feral grin on Marcus’s face as he took off his own jacket and dropped it.

He glanced back at her, and she shook her head, afraid. She didn’t want to see him get hurt over her, not if there was any other way. And winning here wouldn’t keep him safe, not from the Serpents, not once he’d picked a fight with them. He gave her a little nod of understanding before turning back to Cal.

“We don’t have to fight,” he said. “We can settle this another time, just walk away. But if you want to settle things, let’s get it done once and for all.”

“You walk away,” Cal sneered, seeming to draw confidence from Marcus’s reluctance to fight. “I promise I’ll look after your little friend here just fine.”

He stared at her and licked his lips, and Lisa shuddered in disgust. “No chance, I’m not spending another minute with you!”

“You’ll learn to like it, you’ll see,” Cal said, leering and stepping forwards. Before he could say any more, Marcus was between them, shoving him back and snarling. Cal grinned with a sadistic pleasure, and the fight was on.

The two men leaped at each other, fists flying in a blur Lisa could hardly follow. Cal’s jab smacked into Marcus’s blocking arm, and Marcus’s answering swing rocked his opponent back, but before he could take control of the fight, Cal twisted aside.

The two men snarled at each other, and she backed away, wondering if she should run. But she could hardly abandon Marcus when he was fighting for her.

Cal grabbed for Marcus, trying to use his bulk to immobilize him, but Marcus twisted aside with a grace she wouldn’t have expected from a man so big. He’d always been quick on his feet for a man his size, but now he was like lightning, his fists darting out in controlled punches to Cal’s side as he moved past.

Roaring in rage and pain, Cal turned, lashing out wildly. Marcus ducked his head, stepping closer and letting the blow glance off as he continued to pummel Cal. The big man roared in pain and grabbed Marcus, arms circling him in a powerful bear hug and squeezing.

Marcus grinned and slammed his head forwards, hard. His forehead struck Cal’s nose with a sickening crunch, and Cal dropped him, staggering back. Marcus shook his head and glanced back at Lisa.

She saw the glint of steel in Cal’s hand. Quick as a snake, the biker had pulled a knife while Marcus’s attention was on her. Blood streaming from his broken nose, he leaped back into the fight.

“Look out!” she shouted, heart in her mouth, watching the blade as if it was in slow motion. She was sure she was watching Marcus die.

But he was faster than she’d thought possible. No sooner had she shouted her warning than he was twisting out of the way, his arm coming up to block. The blade bit into his flesh, scoring a bloody gash along his right forearm, but he kept it away from his body. His left hand came up in a short, sharp arc, smashing into Cal’s face with enough force to lift him off his feet and carry him backwards to land in a heap six feet away.

Lisa blinked, caught between shock at his wound and surprise at his strength. That punch just didn’t seem possible. No one could be that strong, could they?

It looked like something out of an action movie, and even there she’d have thought it was unbelievable. But here, in the street, it was very real. Cal was lying on the ground, flat on his back and unmoving apart from the slow rise and fall of his chest. She was glad of that - if Marcus had killed him, there’d be all kinds of trouble for both of them.

“We’d better go,” she said, trying to focus on the immediate and leave worrying for later. “We shouldn’t be here when he wakes up. And I’d better have a look at that arm of yours.”

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d patched him up after a fight, after all. And someone had to.

He looked at her as though he was surprised by the invitation, and then nodded. Picking up the knife Cal had dropped, he frowned at it and then threw it away before following her home.

* * *

M
arcus made
a quick phone call to Lewis before sitting down to let Lisa tend his wounds. He couldn’t just leave Cal lying there unconscious, no matter how much he deserved it. He didn’t go into details, just let Lewis know the basics before hanging up.

That done, he put the Serpents out of his mind. Sitting at Lisa’s kitchen table as she fetched her first aid kit, he half smiled at the old memories it brought up. He’d gotten into more than his fair share of fights growing up, and she’d been there afterward when he needed help.

Not when it was the other boys at school, those fights had never gone so far and Marcus had usually won them anyway. But there were always older guys hanging around, the one’s who’d ended up with the Serpents, and he’d never been one to back down from bullies.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Lisa said, breaking into his reverie as she rubbed an antiseptic wipe over the cut on his forearm. He looked at it critically and knew it would heal up fine in a few days. He’d always healed fast, after all.

“I wasn’t about to let him hurt you,” he replied, shrugging. “I’d never let anyone hurt you.”

“I can take care of myself. I’ve had to, since you left.”

Marcus winced at that - her words stung more than the cut did. “I never meant for you to be alone.”

“Then why did you have to leave?” Her voice was tight, full of carefully controlled emotions, and her hands trembled as she cleaned his wound. “You could have been here, with me.”

“I had to,” he started, and then stopped. It was hard to put his reasons into words, especially when there was so much he couldn’t tell her. So much that had to stay secret while he worked.

“Lisa, I had to figure out who I was, who I am. You know I never fit in around here, and the military gave me a chance to grow and be someone good. If I’d stayed here, I wouldn’t have amounted to much more than another thug in the Serpents, I think.”

She grimaced at that, rubbing the wound with a little more force than necessary. “But now you’ve come back and you’re hanging around with them anyway.”

“I’ve got my reasons for that,” he said. “I just can’t talk about them, not yet. I promise I’ll tell you what’s going on when I can.”

Taking out a gauze strip, Lisa dressed the cut carefully, with the tenderness he remembered, though her voice was still tense. “You are always keeping secrets from me. I don’t like that.”

Marcus sighed. “I don’t like it either, but I don’t have any choice. I’ll tell you what I can, when I can.”

It hurt him to deny her, but there had always been things he needed to keep from her. From everyone. How could he share that he was a bear shifter? He’d never trusted anyone with that secret before he joined the Army. Even then, he’d just had the good luck to be spotted by people who already knew about shifters.