by Vella Day
The dim light from the one lamp in the trailer’s living room flickered, casting a sickening yellow pall over the room. Spittle dripped down her father’s chin, but he didn’t bother wiping it away. He rose to his feet and teetered, and then tapped her chest hard. “You’re my daughter. I raised you; spent money on you. I can do whatever I want with you.”
He was delusional. “You need help. Serious help.”
Quicker than she thought possible, Bill Laramie grabbed her arm and shook her. Lexi had had enough of being manhandled. Stealing herself against the upcoming pain, she slugged him hard, and he folded like a weak collapsible chair. Damn, her hand hurt.
His head hit the stained carpet and his eyes rolled back in his head. He was out for the count. Good. Lara should feel guilty that she’d had to resort to violence against her father, but if she hadn’t defended herself, no telling what he might have done next. Probably tie her up and then call Justin to come get her, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“You shouldn’t have hit me,” she said to the unconscious man. In her mind and heart, the pitiful person on the floor no longer was her father. The man she remembered had been clean and funny. When he wasn’t out working one of his two jobs, he’d played with her and her brother when they were growing up. What a shame that man had left this earth long ago.
“I’m leaving, Dad. Don’t try to follow me. You’ll never find me.” It didn’t matter he couldn’t hear her; she needed to say it.
Blood had congealed on her cheek caused by the blow, but right now, she wasn’t worried. Her wolf would heal her soon. With a heavy heart, Lexi spun on her heels and ducked into her temporary room at the far end of the trailer. She’d been stupid to agree to move back into his filthy hole in the wall last month, but her father had been so convincing. He told her that with her help, he could clean up his act. What a crock. The man hadn’t even tried.
Lexi quickly packed her one bag. Less than five minutes later, she was out of there, not daring to look over her shoulder. Once outside, the cold Vermont air bit into her skin, but at least it convinced her she was still alive. It was close to midnight, and even though she had excellent shifter vision, she needed the moon’s light to guide her. Her vision was blurred from the sheen of tears.
Unfortunately, as soon as Lexi slid into her 2001 Toyota Camry and twisted the key to start the engine, she flooded it. “Come on, come on.”
After waiting a minute, Old Betty fired up and she took off. Lexi hadn’t reached the edge of Windwood, Vermont before it occurred to her that while her dad wasn’t savvy enough to find her if she charged down south, Justin Kapok was. Damn. Credit cards would leave a trail of her travel. That meant she’d need cash.
Slowing down, she fished her phone from her purse, and dialed her brother’s number. He answered on the second ring. “What’s up, sis. Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“Funny.” She didn’t need to remind Ronan that her temporary teaching job had ended in December, and she hadn’t found another position yet. “Look, I’m sorry to bug you, but I really need your help.”
*
Sam Pompley held up his beer mug and tapped it against Connor McKinnon’s shot glass. “To a job well done,” Connor said. “Any time we take down a you-know-who, it’s a good day.”
“Amen.” Sam tossed back his drink. Shouts from the back room echoed through McKinnon’s Pool and Pub. Someone must have won a game.
Their case involved a Changeling who had tried to swindle one of the storeowners in town. The owner happened to be a fellow clansman of theirs. The owner had immediately contacted McKinnon and Associates for help. After tailing the culprit for a few days, they’d caught the bastard with the stolen merchandise and returned it to the store. The best part was that they’d been able to bring the thief in and he’d been arrested—not the usual end for a Changeling.
“For me, the game changer had been when you were able to get close enough to the man to do a mind meld on him.” Connor set his empty glass on the bar top.
Sam leaned back and smiled. “I can still see the guy’s face after he realized he’d led us right to the stolen pavers,” he said before draining his glass.
Connor chuckled. “I bet the bastard will be pondering for years to come how that happened.”
“That’s why I love what I do.”
They both laughed. Connor waved to his brother Finn, who was tending bar. “As much as I’d love to stay out all night and talk about our company’s highlights, I have to be up early. From the sounds of the winds out there, a winter storm is rolling in, and I don’t want to get caught in it like I did last winter.”
“I thought you enjoyed romping in the snow.” Connor was a werewolf.
“I do, but it’s not smart to attract attention in the middle of town.”
Sam wasn’t a shifter, but he understood the need to be circumspect. “We see wild animals crossing the street from time to time. I don’t think it would attract too much attention if you hoofed it.”
“You’d be wrong. People think bears are cute, but wolves? They’re touted as a menace to society because they eat the farmers’ chickens. It’s not like I haven’t been mistaken for a real wolf and been shot at.”
“That would suck.”
Finn waltzed over, and Connor slapped a twenty on the bar. “You leaving so soon?” Finn asked.
“Work calls or rather my bed calls. This should cover both our drinks. Keep the change, little brother.”
Finn grinned. “Thanks.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sam said.
Connor clasped a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You deserved it after helping catch that thief.”
Sam slid off his stool. Both of them had parked in the alley in back because all the close spaces had been taken up in front. Bad weather always brought people inside. As they stepped out back, a strong blast of wind air snaked up Sam’s jacket, forcing him to button up. A scraping sound in the direction of the dumpster caught his attention. “What’s that?” he asked.
“I sense a shifter.” Connor stopped, looked around, and then headed in the direction of the noise.
The wind whipped around the alley, lifting the snow covering the ground and shooting swirls into the air. Unfortunately, the fresh air wasn’t enough to mask the stench of the trash. Sam caught up with Connor just as he lifted the lid of the big trash bin.
“What the hell?” Connor said.
Sam peaked in. A small wolf was inside, her face smudged with some kind of food goo. Her eyes widened, and then a low throaty growl escaped. While Sam wasn’t a shifter, he knew that werewolves or any kind of shifters didn’t dumpster dive. “What are you doing in there?” he asked, knowing full well he wouldn’t receive a response.
Connor nudged him. “She’s obviously hungry.”
That much Sam had figured out. During his many tours in Afghanistan, he’d seen hunger, and it tore at his heart every time. He addressed the pretty wolf with the gold and brown snout. “If you shift, I’ll buy you dinner.”
The wolf shivered and then bared her teeth in a highly aggressive manner. Not to be deterred, Sam edge closer, and the poor creature backed up despite having little room to maneuver. While he was no shifter expert, from her body language, the poor thing was scared.
“If she shifts, she’ll be naked, and I doubt she’ll like that,” Connor said.
Sam hadn’t been thinking. He whipped off his jacket and placed it on the rim of the dumpster, trying to ignore the brutal cold seeping into his skin. “Put this on and then come out.”
He nodded to Connor that they give her some privacy, and they jogged back to their respective cars. As Sam unlocked and then slipped into his four-door truck, the jacket disappeared. He started the engine and turned the heat to high, watching and waiting. A minute later, a petite woman crawled out wearing his camouflaged wool Pea Coat. The fabric covered her butt, but not much else, causing something inside him to spark. What the heck was that about? Okay, those legs of hers wer
e attractive.
She darted down the alley to an old Toyota Camry, and he winced at what it would be like running barefoot. While it was lightly covered in snow, rocks protruded randomly, making the way painful. Their dumpster girl, however, acted as if she was moving across a soft carpet. She jumped in the back of her car, hopefully to change.
A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his window. The woman was holding out his jacket. Instead of lowering his window, he pushed open the door, and she jumped back.
“Thank you,” she said before turning away.
Sam snatched his coat, slipped his arms in the sleeves and jerked it up and over his shoulders. “Wait. My offer still stands to buy you dinner.”
She shook her head. “I’m not fit company.”
Connor’s door eased open and he got out, but he remained by his car. “Where are you staying?” Sam asked in as non-threatening a tone as possible, hoping she didn’t say her car.
She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and rubbed her arms. Thankfully, she wore a down jacket and a wool cap. “I’m just passing through.”
“That didn’t answer my question. You have to sleep somewhere.” If she owned a car, why was she looking for food in a dumpster? Her speech sounded educated, so she probably wasn’t a thief. “Do you need any money?” Sam pulled out his wallet and extracted the only two bills in there. “Here’s forty bucks. Go buy yourself some food.”
“I can’t. Thank you though.”
Before he could stop her, she ran off and hopped into her car. Normally, he would have shrugged, content that he’d tried to help, but there was something about this delicate creature that spoke to him. He refused to address how his sexual interest in her had flared. It must have been that second beer he’d had.
“What’s she doing?” Connor asked as he stepped next to him.
“Leaving, I guess. I tried to give her money, but she wouldn’t take it.” Her engine sputtered. The car chugged a few feet and then died. She slapped her hand on the dash then lowered her forehead to the wheel.
“I’m going to see if she needs help,” Sam said.
Connor reached out to stop him. “Let her come to you. It’s less intimidating for her that way.”
His friend had a point. “I’ll give her a few minutes, and then I’m stepping in.” While he hadn’t been a mechanic in the service, he knew his way around a car engine.
They returned to their warm cars and waited. Sure enough, five minutes later, their little dumpster girl stepped out from her car, the wind buffeting her so much she had to battle against it.
As much as Sam wanted to shield her from the weather, he believed what Connor said; their little wolf needed to approach them. This time when she knocked on Sam’s window, he rolled it down. “Change your mind?”
“Kind of. My car seems to have run out of gas.”
He didn’t need to ask why she didn’t buy some more. “The offer for the money still stands.”
She pressed her lips together. “How about that meal instead? It’s hard to think on an empty stomach.”
“Dine in or drive through?”
The cute shifter smiled briefly. “Either works for me, as long as it’s warm.”
“I have a plan. Get in the back of my car, and I’ll speak with my boss.”
“Your boss?”
“The other man.” He nodded to Connor’s car. “I work for McKinnon and Associates. We’re a security agency.” Her eyes glowed, implying she might be running away and could use someone to look after her—or else that had been wishful thinking on his part. He stepped out and held open his truck’s back door. “Hop in. I’ll get your luggage.”
Wolf lady sucked on her bottom lip as if she couldn’t decide whether to trust him. “Why are you doing this?”
That question took him by surprise. “Because I’m a nice guy?” Her eyes narrowed. “I just returned home after several tours in Afghanistan. Helping others is ingrained in me.”
Her shoulders seemed to relax. “What about your friend?”
She was cautious, and he liked that. “Connor McKinnon runs McKinnon and Associates. He’s a good guy. Trust me.”
The wind howled and more flurries fell. “Okay.” She slipped into the back seat but kept her gaze on him. Someone must have done a number on her. By the cut on her cheek, she’d had a rough time lately.
Sam hoped he was doing the right thing in giving her shelter, praying the Changelings hadn’t sent someone as lovely and vulnerable as this woman to infiltrate their camp.
HIDDEN REALMS OF SILVER LAKE (Paranormal)
Awakened By Flames (book 1)
Seduced By Flames (book 2)
Kissed By Flames (book 3)
WERES & WITCHES OF SILVER LAKE
A Magical Shift (book 1) – FREE
Catching Her Bear (book 2)
A Surge of Magic (book 3)
The Bear’s Forbidden Wolf (book 4)
Box Set(books 1-4)
Her Reluctant Bear (book 5)
Freeing His Tiger (book 6)
Protecting His Wolf (book 7)
Waking His Bear (book 8)
Melting Her Wolf’s Heart (book 9)
Her Wolf’s Guarded Heart (book 10)
His Rogue Bear (book 11)
PACK WARS (Paranormal)
Training Their Mate (book 1)
Claiming Their Mate (book 2)
Rescuing Their Virgin Mate (book 3)
Loving Their Vixen Mate (book 4)
Fighting For Their Mate (book 5)
Enticing Their Mate (book 6)
Complete Box Set (books 1–6)
MONTANA PROMISES (Full length contemporary)
Promises of Mercy (book 1)
Foundations For Three (book 2)
Montana Fire (book 3)
Hart To Hart (book 4)
Burning Seduction (book 5)
Montana Promises Complete Box Set (books 1–5)
ROCK HARD, MONTANA (contemporary novellas)
Montana Desire (book 1)
Awakening Passions (book 2)
PLEDGED TO PROTECT (contemporary romantic suspense)
Panic and Passion (book 1)
Danger and Desire (book 2)
Terror and Temptation (book 3)
Pledged To Protect Box Set (books 1–3)
HIDDEN HILLS SHIFTERS (Paranormal)
An Unexpected Diversion (book 1) – FREE
Bare Instincts (book 2)
Shifting Destinies (book 3)
Box Set (books 1–3)
Embracing Fate (book 4)
Promises Unbroken (book 5)
A NASH MYSTERY (Contemporary)
Sidearms and Silk (book 1)
Black Ops and Lingerie (book 2)
SOUTHERN SHIFTERS KINDLE WORLDS
Bear ’N Dirty
Author Bio
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Not only do I love to read, write, and dream, I’m an extrovert. I enjoy being around people and am always trying to understand what makes them tick. Not only must my books have a happily ever after, I need characters I can relate to. My men are wonderful, dynamic, smart, strong, and the best lovers in the world (of course).
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