“You better hope that bitch isn’t yours. Or I might fuck up your face just as payback for what she did to me.”
My gaze dropped to his wrapped hand. Pride surged through me. Mazy had taken care of herself. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t out there in need of my help. First, I had to take care of this idiot to make sure he made no more attempts at collecting a bounty that wouldn’t exist soon.
“Be very careful with your next words. If you agree to drop searching for this bounty, then I will only scar you up a bit. If you refuse, the brawler inside of me will decide your fate, and it’s not looking good.”
“I’m going to bring her in … dead.”
“I did warn you.” My voice morphed, becoming brutal as the beast inside took over. There was no stopping him when our mate was threatened.
My body shook, muscles expanded under my skin which began to give away to fur. My body expanded outward, becoming massive in size. My legs widened, the skin there pulled apart only to re-form to coarse fur traveling every inch of my new body. My clothes were torn to pieces, as I suspected they would be.
I landed heavily on my front paws, shaking the floor with a small tremor. My ears rounded out, my nose gave way to a snout. I breathed heavily, and the beast inside looked up at the shifter who would dare threaten our mate. Our Mazy.
A deafening roar sounded from my bear.
Fool pissed off the wrong grizzly.
Chapter 5
Mazy
The run to Lucky’s took three times longer than it took me in my human form. I had to keep finding places to hide. While this wasn’t the biggest city out there, it was large enough that people would be unsettled by seeing a mongoose running around. Some might mistake me for a small dog or odd cat if I ran past them fast enough. But I didn’t want to take the risk. It seemed easier to just keep out of sight.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on my bones, and a couple times I had the fleeting thought of stopping and just resting for a bit. The fear of Asher finding me, though, kept me moving.
Asher had been one huge mistake. When Mallory had been admitted to the hospital and showed no signs of getting better, the bills started to rack up. I had no money at the time. Truth be told, I still didn’t, but I made it work. I made payments on what I borrowed from Asher. He wasn’t the most unsavory loan shark out there; he had promised that if I never missed a payment we would be square. I think he had a soft spot for Mallory. I didn’t question it. I took the loan, and I was close to paying him back in full with interest. Why would he send a goon after me?
Maybe it wasn’t Asher. But then who? It had to be him. I would just try to get ahold of him from the number he gave me a couple years ago when we first made contact. On a burner … which I would have to get. First, though, I needed clothes. Then I had to check up on Mallory.
The line at Lucky’s was long and still going strong, meaning it was probably prime hour for the club. Dominic had been generous enough to allow me off work while the business with Winnie had been going on. The men that had been part of helping the slave traders were, um … terminated. Dominic’s words.
Carl manned the door. Relief tamped my fear. Since I had been away, hidden away and being protected by Lucas, I didn’t know who had been part of the slave trading group. It wasn’t many men or women from what I could gather, but it was good to know Carl wasn’t one of them. He was a gentle giant, even if his gorilla could tear the biggest brawlers out there apart. I darted across the street, getting closer to the club.
A human woman placed her delicate hand on Carl’s arm, trying to get his attention. He watched me, though, those eyes seeing all. With barely a nod of his head he acknowledged my presence and was giving me the okay to run in. The human who had been so eager to touch him before, took a step back when he turned all his attention to her. His eyes burned brightly with his animal so close to the surface, and he gave her a tightlipped smile. She looked a little unnerved by his animal, but immediately she put her one leg behind the other and twisted a piece of hair between her fingers. With a couple bats of her fake eyelashes, she was back to flirting.
I didn’t waste any more time watching them. The others in line were committed to waiting and toyed with their cellphones.
Once I got into the darkly lit club, I bee-lined it to the backroom where my extra uniform would be waiting for me. I tried to keep to the darkest parts of the club. While many patrons that frequented here now were shifters, it was probably best to keep myself out of the spotlight.
Humans were aware of shifters, had been for a while now. We have councils that work closely with the human government, and we always work on relations; sometimes shifters wanted to be free of questions. Shifters were prone to hatred and specie-ism as humans were. Some shifters hated humans as much as some humans hated us. Having a club like this was good for all parties. Humans were allowed in the club, but it was mostly dominated by shifters, especially now that it was opened by a shifter.
I slipped through the swinging door that led to the very back of the club where the changing room was. We had our own little lockers to use.
My eyelids drooped heavily as I made my way back through the rooms. Lucky’s had become a second home for me, and being here immediately put me at rest. The excitement of the night had worn me out. The multiple swift shifts had drained me and sleep tugged at me. I breathed in deeply.
I made it to the small locker room. There were two rows of lockers back-to-back and a bench seat on each side. It was really just a glorified changing room, small and cramped. Both men and women who worked here shared it. No one else was around, so I scampered over to my locker with a small burst of energy at the thought of being back in my human body, with clothes on.
The shift back to my human form was harder than any other time I have ever experienced. Then again, I had never tried to shift that many times in a row. Not to mention I had bruises still forming and healing from the assault earlier.
After a couple of painful moments, I was back to in my human form. Stretching my back and cringing at the tightness, I pulled my arms across my chest and then above my head. I didn’t waste time pulling out my shorts and fitted T-shirt. As I tugged the end of my red hair, the tangled mess pulled at my scalp. I wished that I could hop into the shower and wash away the evening’s events. My heart sunk. When will I even be able to go home?
What am I going to do?
The thought was staggering, and I sat back on the bench in the small locker room. My body shook with exhaustion. The weight of what would happen next sat heavily on my shoulders. I couldn’t think too hard about it right now. I had to go to Mallory. I had to know if she was okay.
Though it was dangerous to leave money at the club, seeing as there was no real security to keep people out of the backrooms, I kept some tucked away just in case. I reached under the shelf in my locker where I had an envelope taped. The envelope came off after a couple of tugs. I was relieved to feel the weight of the money still inside. It was also a relief to know that Dominic hired some trustworthy people. The betrayal of the old manager, Derek, stung. He had been more than just my manager; we had been friends for years.
I shook my head. Didn’t matter. He made his choice, and I was better off forgetting the bastard. Clutching the money close, I tucked the envelope in my pocket and headed out of the locker room. I took the rear hallway out to the back doorway that led to the dumpster. I hadn’t really been back here since Winnie disappeared—the thought still made me shiver. I had been so mad at her for the first couple days she missed, but when I found out why, I felt terrible.
The industrial metal door creaked open, sending shivers down my spine. It was safe, there were no men waiting in wake for a shifter to come out and pounce. It was a ridiculous thought, but one that I couldn’t shake. I dragged in a breath—just the regular stink of garbage, dirty sex, and stale beer. Stepping out from the door, I headed out to the alleyway.
The walk from the door to the open street was a lot less daunting
in practice than it had been in my head, but I still couldn’t shake the terrible feeling of being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I had an itch on my shoulder like someone was right there. Swallowing, I considered turning around, but I refused to do so. If someone was there, they would have grabbed me by now, and there was no reason to waste any more time.
The walk from the back alley to the street that sat on the side of Lucky’s, rounding the building to the front, was short and easy. Once I made it to the main street, Carl glanced up at me. He nodded his head and looked like he wanted me to come speak with him, but I just gave him a wave and stepped forward.
I had a bus to catch.
The bus stop wasn’t far from work, so I continued forward. Only halfway down the road I recalled that I didn’t have any shoes with me. My mind had been so focused on … well, everything else. I had ridden the bus many times and had seen a thousand different things, so I hoped that I could convince the bus driver to allow me on without any shoes. But a medical facility wouldn’t be too keen on letting me in without any.
I worried my bottom lip as I discerned what I could do.
“Mazy!” Carl’s voice came from behind. I turned around to face him, only to see he was closer than I thought with a stern frown on his face.
“I have been trying to get your attention. Why didn’t you come see me when I waved you over?”
“Oh … I …” I didn’t have an answer.
“I saw you come in, in your animal form. I figured you’d need these.” Dangling from Carl’s massive fingers were one-dollar flip-flops, but they were the best things I had ever seen. I looked to them and back to Carl. God, he was a fantastic man. I jumped forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, and held him close for a second.
“Thank you so much, Carl.”
“No problem, Mazy. Don’t know what you are up to on your vacation … Anyway, see you on Monday.” Carl waited for me to untangle myself from him and handed me the shoes.
Dropping them to the ground, I shoved my feet into the uncomfortable flip-flops. However, it didn’t even bother me, because Carl was officially my hero. Forget the capes, the man didn’t need one.
I snorted at his words, though. I wish I had just been on a crazy, fun adventure for vacation. Instead, I was on the run and trying to find my way to Mallory. The small reprieve I had was fleeting. Reality crashed down heavily on me.
Mallory.
I flopped my way to the bus station, my shoes annoyingly loud, but I had to ignore it. Best to remember that I had shoes in the first place. I didn’t have to wait long at the bus stop before the large, chugging metal beast pulled up to the stop. The bus whined as it came to a halt.
The metal door creaked open and I stepped up. After climbing up, I pushed money into the till, hating that I had to waste change because I didn’t have the exact amount. The money I had in my pocket was all I had to last me for now.
I repeated in my head constantly what had to happen. It was the only thing keeping me on track. Normally I felt level-headed, secure with my feet firmly planted on the ground. Now I felt as if I was floating, dangerously close to losing everything with one misstep.
Lost in my own thoughts, I stepped farther into the back of the bus, ignoring those around me and finding a seat on my own. I laid my head against the window and closed my eyes.
The bus lurched forward, and we were off.
Chapter 6
Lucas
The rhino’s blood dripped, pitter-patting to the floor from my claws. He was on the ground unconscious; I had dealt blow after blow, the bear clawing through the thick skin of the rhino, and dark rivulets flowed down from his body. My chest heaved, the bloodlust that had roared through my veins sated for now. The rhino would be stupid if he decided to come after my mate again.
The bear released his hold, and my body melted down to my human form. Fur pulled back to make way for light skin. Living in the Bayou had been a battle with my mother’s fair skin, which I inherited, according to ma mere.
My bear, proud of his work, wanted to find our mate and … well, fuck. He had fought hard and my brawler of a bear got extremely turned on after a fight. Instead, I would have to pull this fucker out of my mate’s house.
The room was even more of a mess now. What before had been bad was disastrous now. Blood, both his and mine, coated her things from clothes, to trinkets, to her dishware. I’d help replace everything; after all, some of it might have been salvageable before I started a fight in her living room. The worse was the bright blue cushions that were already destroyed, but now they were soaked in blood.
“Merde … she will kill me.” I shook my head, ignoring the fact that, that was something I was seriously considering right now. I respected women because of my upbringing, but I never had much more than a passing fling—mutual on both parts. The women I was with knew what they were getting into, and if any seemed like they wanted to try for more, I would move on. I wasn’t in the business of breaking hearts, contrary to popular belief.
Instead of trying to tiptoe around her things, I started to kick things to the side, making a path way. The brute of a male that lay on her floor would be too heavy to carry for long. She wouldn’t be able to return here for a couple of days, which means she could stay with me. She didn’t need to know the other apartments in my building were vacant; she would stay right with me. The bear rumbled contently at that.
I stepped forward and debated if I could find some clothes in Mazy’s room that I could wear. I didn’t mind walking around in the buff because I was well endowed, but I didn’t want any other males to feel inadequate.
Stepping around the unconscious male, whose clothes were too torn and bloody for me to take anyway, I went to Mazy’s room. The room, if one could call it that, was more like the size of a large closet. The full size bed took up most of the room with a nightstand next to it. Her modest gray comforter was pulled back from a hasty get out, the sheets underneath were wrinkled. It hadn’t been touched since the day she decided to go after her friend. Mazy was definitely a brave woman.
I smiled, remembering the night that I hadn’t been able to be away from her any longer. I had snuck into the guest bedroom I made up for her. She was sound asleep curled up, her legs tucked up tight to her chest, her arms cradled close. Her long, lithe body compacted and tiny as she slept. Short little breaths, that cherry hair.
Merde. My dick drew tight against my body, stirring with desire for her. It was bad enough I was riled up from the fight, but just remembering her like that, her scent a constant stream in her room, I was fucking done for. The thought of stroking myself popped into my head before I quickly banished it. My mate was in danger, and I needed to find her. There was no time to stop and pleasure myself.
That night when I had snuck in bed with her, my entire intention was to sleep. My bear had been restless with her so close but not in my arms. Months of pining for her from afar had finally caught up to me. I needed her in my arms.
Mazy had woken up a little after I snuggled in close. I wasn’t ashamed of the fact that I was completely turned on by her and my erect dick had been pressed against her back. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been that close, and I probably deserved the black eye she gave me. My lips twitched upwards into a smile at the memory. But a moment before she punched me, she had snuggled backwards and released out a quiet-as-hell moan that made me want more.
I stepped farther into her room, determined to forget those thoughts for now. First, I had to find some type of covering, then dispose of the rhino. Mazy’s closet of a room had an even smaller walk-in closet where it was perfectly organized. Her underthings and more delicate items were in a storage cloth tote tucked into an organizer. The shelves were a mixture of her shirts and pants. Hanging, she had a few sundresses and one stark black dress. I found an oversized flannel T-shirt in her neatly folded shirts and pulled it out. It was a little tight on, but at least it covered half of me … though not really the half I needed to worry abo
ut.
I kept looking and found a pair of heavy gray sweatpants. I pulled them out and tugged them on. They were extremely tight around my thighs and calves.
Emerging from the closet, I walked out to the kitchen stiff and uncomfortable with my attire. The drawers had mostly been emptied, and trying to find some scissors in the mess on the floor would have been a complete waste of time. I found a knife and made a cut right below the knees in the sweatpants and ripped the fabric the rest of the way. I would have just used my claws but wanted to save my energy. There was no point in doing a half shift for something I could easily do with a knife.
The rhino hadn’t moved an inch, which was good. I didn’t need him regaining consciousness. I walked back to Mazy’s room, glad that at least the rhino hadn’t torn apart her bedroom. Perhaps she walked in while he was about to. I didn’t know, but for the most part it looked untouched. She would need clothes, and maybe I could bring some of the few things in here that hadn’t been destroyed.
My programs worked fast, but the mercenaries out there worked fast as well. Who knew how long it would take one of them to find her bounty before I could pull it or mark her as deceased. The urgency to find her and get her back to my house pressed on me. I was wasting too much time. I could leave the rhino here and take what I needed. But leaving him here, in her home … My bear bristled in anger.
No. Not acceptable.
I went to her closet, pulling out varieties of clothes for her, then grabbed a duffle bag that had been tucked away in the corner. With a handful of clothes in one hand and the duffle in the other, I stepped out of the closet and set everything on her bed. There was a frame that was faced down on the comforter that I had missed the first time around. My brows bunched together as I stared at it.
My theory on the rhino coming in here seemed more solid as I picked up the frame and turned it over. The picture struck me.
Contracted: Mercenary Shifters (Mercenaries for Hire Book 3) Page 3