“What makes the hotel staff think it’s a terrorist attack? I don’t see any weapons.”
On the screen, the men began to smash up the reception area, systematically tearing apart the elegant decor with their bare hands. When the hotel security staff approached them, they were flung aside like rag dolls.
“When the manager called me to warn me what was happening, a terrorist attack was his suggestion. That was because robbery didn’t seem to be the motive,” Rick explained. “The guy was a wreck. I don’t think he knew what was happening. The hotel security system allows the manager to isolate each floor. Right now, these guys are contained on the first floor. The elevators have been shut down and they can’t gain access to any of the other floors,” Rick said. “The problem is that the guests are going to start waking up about now. Once that happens, word will filter through to the outside world.”
“The guests are trapped on their own floors.” Ged pointed out.
“For now. These guys are still on the rampage in the foyer. It looks like they are trying to gain access to the elevators or the stairs, so that makes it appear that the guests are the target. The manager is locked in his office with those security staff who managed to get away.”
“Have the police been called?”
“They’re outside the hotel and the manager is communicating with them. They’re holding back from storming the building because some of the security staff who were injured when these guys stormed in are still trapped in the lobby with them. It’s a hostage situation that has the potential to go badly wrong.”
They were interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the band. The lead guitarist, Torque was accompanied by his wife, Hollie.
“Sarange volunteered to stay with the kids,” Khan explained. He and his wife never traveled anywhere without their two children. The friendship group had recently expanded further to include Torque and Hollie’s twin baby boys.
“What’s up?” Torque asked.
Ged measured the situation. If he said too much in front of Rick, he risked giving away his own shifter identity and that of his friends. It came down to how much he trusted this man. He shrugged.
“There is a group of bear shifters smashing up the lobby.” Just as he’d anticipated, Rick didn’t blink.
“Friends of yours?” Khan asked.
Ged shook his head. “There is also a female bear-shifter aristocrat asleep in my bedroom—” he held up his hand to prevent any comments “—we don’t have time for jokes. I suspect she’s the reason they’re here.”
“Do they want to harm her, Ged?” Hollie’s calm question got straight to the point.
“She’s escaped from captivity. I’m guessing they want to return her.”
Diablo flexed his muscles. “Then let’s take them out.”
“It’s not that easy. There are a lot of people around and there are security cameras everywhere. The police are outside and I figure the press will be onto it soon, if they aren’t already.”
Ged was trying to formulate a plan as he spoke. The worst nightmare of any shifter living in the human world was the loss of anonymity. Mortals enjoyed books, movies, comics, and games about werewolves and other supernatural entities. Let them get the tiniest hint that such beings existed alongside them and all hell would break loose. The peace shifters had enjoyed for centuries would be shattered. Old enmities would resurface, hunting season on shifters would probably be declared, there was a possibility experimentation might be sanctioned... Shifter Zoo? It didn’t bear thinking about.
“The police are here. Maybe we should let them take care of it?” Rick suggested.
Ged shook his head. “Those guys down there won’t hesitate to shift if they’re cornered. The place they come from is...unusual.” How could he explain his homeland to his friends? Callistoya had always been ruled over by bear shifters. For that reason, the tiny kingdom remained hidden from human sight. “They belong in a land where shifting isn’t hidden or private. They won’t understand the need to steer clear of publicity. No, we have to corner them somewhere away from cameras and other people.”
“I’ll get a plan of the hotel,” Rick said.
“Lidi climbed the balconies,” Ged pointed out. “Is there any chance the intruders could try the same tactic?”
“I don’t think so. They’re locked into the foyer right now and can’t break out. Plus, their focus seems to be on the interior of the hotel.” Rick turned back as he reached the door. “When you come down to the lobby, don’t take the main staircase. There’s a smaller one that the staff use. You’ll have the element of surprise if you come that way.”
Ged nodded. “Get the manager to tell the guests to stay in their rooms. I don’t care what message he gives them. Faulty electrical wiring, poisonous gas in the air, a problem with the early-morning croissants...leave it up to his imagination. Just make sure they stay where they are.”
When Rick had gone, Ged became aware of his other friends regarding him with curiosity. In all the years they’d known each other, he’d never revealed anything about his past, or shown any interest in a woman. He guessed the questions would come later. Would he answer them? Now was not the time to make that decision.
“Our first job is to override the hotel’s security system. I want to shut down every camera in this place. Then we need to back these intruders into a corner of our choosing while making sure they can’t gain access to the upper floors. If we can do that and also make sure none of the guests know anything about it, I’ll buy you all a meal in the best restaurant in Cannes.”
“Will the bear-shifter aristocrat be your date?” Khan was the only person who had the audacity to ask such a question.
“Don’t push your luck, tiger boy,” Ged growled. There was a hierarchy in the shifter world, but in this group it didn’t matter about tigers, dragons or wolves. Ged was in charge. Always.
Khan held up a hand in a peacemaking gesture and Torque stepped into the silence that followed. “Hollie and I will check out the security system.” He took his wife’s hand. “Nothing like a little dragon breath to fry the electronics.”
Ged watched them go. “Dev and Finglas, I want you to check out the elevators. They aren’t working right now because they are locked down, but once Torque and Hollie screw up the system they may start up again.”
Dev, the snow leopard shifter who was the band’s lead guitarist, nodded. “We’ll disable them.” He and Finglas, the werewolf bass guitarist, went out of the room.
Ged turned to Khan and Diablo. “A bear, a tiger and a panther. The three of us against four bears. How do we feel about those odds, guys?”
The sound of the bedroom door closing made him look up. Lidi was dressed in the clothes Rick had delivered earlier. Jeans and a gray sweater fitted her slender figure perfectly. Her long dark hair was tied back and, although she was still pale, she looked refreshed.
“The odds just improved.” The determined look in her eyes was stronger than ever. “Because now we’re four against four.”
* * *
Ged took Lidi to one side, speaking quietly so only she could hear. “You’re injured.”
“I was injured when I climbed the outside of this building and fought three men.” Did he seriously think he was going to shut her out of this, whatever this was? She had to remind herself that he didn’t know her very well. If he did, he’d know all about her tenacity. “I heard what you were saying. Four bear shifters? They are here to either take me back to Callistoya or to assassinate you. Maybe both.”
“You think Vasily sent them?”
She nodded, her lip curling at the thought of the man who