by Dianna Love
“That’s what my second wolf told me.”
No shifters from T-Bone’s clan were unaccounted for, so who had his alpha sent?
That wasn’t T-Bone’s problem.
This wolf was being paid well to make sure Elianna did not show up in five days. T-Bone had no intention of ever meeting her, much less in his territory.
If she did manage to arrive, his life would no longer be his own.
He hated to spend the money, but he said, “If I double the fee, are we good?”
The wolf didn’t jump at that offer.
T-Bone despised having to deal with this bunch of slimy wolves. “What’s it going to take to smooth this over, wolf?”
“Double the fee and Jugo Loco distribution rights.”
“No. Shit no. You think I want our shifters losing their minds on that jacked-up tea your bunch cooks up? Stick to hooking smaller packs on that drug. Not ours.”
“I’m not suggesting we supply your people. Your alpha rules most of Louisiana. We have to go around that state to make deliveries to the east. I simply want the ability to drive across without being detained. That’s not a lot to ask in exchange for bringing in a highly skilled shifter from our army.”
These wolves were the only group capable of handling this issue with Elianna quietly and without leaving a trail leading back to T-Bone.
But he trusted them as much as he did the rest of his own clan. Not one bit.
If he granted this wolf pack access through his alpha’s territory, the Black River pack would deal that Jugo Loco inside the state.
He knew it as he stood here.
You’d think gaining a Russian bear shifter of royal bloodline, and in her prime, would be bonus enough for the Black River pack.
Greedy bastards wanted more.
T-Bone was up to his neck in trouble if he backed out at this point, so he said, “Done. But you have to run your people through when I tell you. I’m not in a position to personally clear every shipment on a daily basis. I’m going to have to select a handful of our shifters who will look the other way for the right amount of money.” More money to pay out.
This bitch was costing him a small fortune.
“Understood, but we start moving our shipments through tomorrow.”
He hated the smug note in the wolf’s voice. T-bone added, “Now that you know all you need to know about this job, I don’t want any more excuses, Mateo.”
“We deliver results. With our new agreement, I can spend more money on this. I’m assigning the task to a wolf that specializes in difficult cases and who knows how to handle magic. Using magic is another expense, so you’re getting more than your money’s worth. You’ll be notified as soon as your female shifter is off the radar. I’d intended on keeping both of them, but we may have to kill her bodyguard.”
“Like I give a shit what you do with him, wolf? Just don’t leave any trail that leads to me.”
“Don’t insult me.”
Touchy wolf. T-Bone said, “Where are they now?”
“She and her bodyguard returned to their hotel. Evidently my wolf clawed her before the bodyguard showed up. My second wolf observed the bodyguard being chummy with her.”
As if T-Bone cared? He’d spent years working his way up the ladder in the Boudreaux Clan, but never expected his alpha to reward him with a mate.
He didn’t want a mate.
Not until it was time to take over as alpha. To satisfy his voracious sexual appetite, he took what he wanted from human women outside of his home territory who didn’t expect to see him again.
No cubs or any other bullshit family crap in the way.
What man would give that up for some damn Russian princess who would consider herself equal to him? Dream on, bitch.
His alpha had been seriously happy to inform T-Bone his life was about to go straight to hell.
Taking all that into consideration, if anything bad happened to this woman and her bodyguard, it was his alpha’s fault.
T-Bone grinned. Felt good to get that off his conscience.
But that damn wolf was still yapping about how his people operated.
Losing interest, T-bone asked, “How long will this take?”
Mateo paused and said, “Sometime during the five days you said she’d be allowed to travel first.”
“You can’t nail the timeframe down any better than that?” It was Saturday and T-Bone didn’t want to step away from the clan until this was done so he’d have the perfect alibi, but he hadn’t planned on screwing up his entire week.
“We’re successful because we don’t rush in without a plan. The only time we aren’t successful is when our clients fail to give us all the information.”
Just had to keep bringing that up, didn’t he? Ready to end this conversation, T-bone let the wolf get his say done.
“My people will wait for the perfect opportunity to neutralize the bodyguard and snatch her. Don’t call in the meantime. Wait to hear from me. Don’t interfere in any way, bear. Only a seriously suicidal person would intentionally become my enemy.”
T-Bone could turn into a nine-foot-tall monster that crushed anything in its way. He’d faced shifters of all sizes and types in battle, but that wolf’s warning sent ripples of concern across his skin.
Those Black River pack dicks were crazy fuckers.
He hung up his phone, thinking over it all to see if he’d missed anything. Felt like this was getting out of hand.
But the Russian alpha couldn’t blame Clan Boudreaux with failing to fulfill their end of the agreement if his daughter never arrived. The bodyguard’s employer had to know his business came with the chance of losing a man on the job, which left the female bear shifter as the only innocent in all of this.
It wasn’t Elianna’s fault that she was going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the flip side, she shouldn’t have agreed to join the Boudreaux Clan sight unseen and she knew she lived in a dangerous world.
What female shifter wouldn’t in today’s anti-shifter climate?
Elianna was about to find out just how deadly it was once the Black River pack got their hands on her to use as one of their lab rats.
CHAPTER 14
Justin held the door open for Eli, who had an unsure expression in place. He wanted to say, “Be careful what you wish for,” but he doubted she would understand the reference.
“What is this?” she asked, her eyes taking in the very tall, two-story, open floor plan filled wall-to-wall with anything a person could want for hunting, fishing and camping.
“Jackman’s Outpost,” Justin replied. “It’s similar to a Bass Pro Shop or a Cabela’s.”
“What?” she asked as her wide eyes continued taking in everything in the busy store. Saturday was prime-time shopping here.
He had to keep reminding himself that she’d come from a place that probably didn’t have big-box stores. He asked, “Don’t you have a store for buying fishing and hunting supplies?”
“Yes.”
“What’s it called?”
She told him, but the words didn’t make sense.
He frowned at her. “Are you saying avocado?”
“Yes.”
He spelled it. “That’s a fruit here.”
“No. Avokado. With k, not c.” She looked around. “Why are we here?”
He tried out a new smile on her, hoping to crack that serious shell she lived inside. “Last night you said you would go shopping at my favorite place. This is it. I don’t get here often since it’s not near where I’m usually working, but I’m glad you suggested it.”
He’d been smiling for the last couple hours since leaving San Francisco and heading north. This store had always been a treat for him.
She glared at the stuffed brown bear standing upright near the entrance. “You like dead bear?”
The taxidermy structure did creep him out these days, but he hadn’t been able to shift when he first walked into this place. Later on, he fantasized about seei
ng the bear shifters who taunted him as a child turned into one of these.
Not a healthy thing for a kid to think, but he’d lived in an unhealthy state for one his age.
Still, Justin was not admitting any of that and giving her an opening to argue her way out of this place. He dismissed the stuffed animal as, “It’s not one of us. Okay, let’s get a buggy and get you shopping.”
“Okay, yes.”
He got a kick out of her new reply when she agreed with anything and pushed the buggy into the center of the store to get this show going.
An hour later, Justin was ready to admit defeat.
He had first steered her to women’s clothing where she surprised him by not selecting something she’d look good in walking a runway. Instead, she chose flannel shirts in muted colors, cargo pants and hiking boots. From there, she continued selecting items only an outdoors enthusiast would want, which included a pup tent.
When Justin tried to explain it would be too small for her, she gave him one of her what-is-wrong-with-you looks and said, “I know.”
From that point on, he withheld his opinion since she never asked for it, but he began to figure out that she was buying for someone younger than her as well. Whatever she bought for herself in clothing, she chose a mini-me version in the boys’ department.
He guessed the kid had to be around five to seven years old.
That explained the pup tent, sort of, but not really because she was a bear shifter headed to a bear shifter clan.
Did she think shifter kids in this country would need a tent? Was it for a kid back home?
For that matter, who was the kid that would receive the clothing?
Justin had to hand it to her, though. She was an efficient and frugal shopper, only turning to him for clarification of a price or tag description.
Hell, if he was really honest, he’d admit to having fun watching her shop.
She turned to the buggy Justin had manned while he followed her. Instead of shock over all she’d bought, she seemed to be taking inventory to determine if she’d missed anything.
When she finally caught his eye, she said, “Am done. What do you want?”
A smile.
He’d pay for all she’d picked out if she’d just smile.
No, he wouldn’t. He wanted to get an honest one given freely.
Shaking his head, he said, “I’m good.”
“You said this was favorite store.”
“It is.”
“But you did not enjoy.”
“You don’t think so?” he asked, expecting that to throw her sideways mentally.
She started to speak and stopped, clearly at a loss.
She was wrong about him enjoying himself. He’d become engrossed in watching how her mind worked and seeing her choices. Eli wasn’t at all what he’d first expected, and yes, he had given up trying to make himself call her Elianna.
That name was too formal for the woman before him.
There were layers upon layers of Eli he wanted to peel back one at a time until he found the person inside who showed her real emotions.
The one who laughed.
She had to be in there.
He did love a challenge and had yet to find one quite as intriguing as this bear shifter.
If he could get her out in the woods, he’d convince her to shift so he could see her bear. The one that Herc had been showing an interest in as well.
That was strange. Herc didn’t like female bear shifters.
Two bears, Herc murmured.
What are you talking about, Herc? Justin replied silently
Not one.
What in the world was Herc saying? Justin let it go and pushed the cart toward the checkout, where he suggested Eli use her credit card.
“Yes, okay,” she muttered as she dug into her pocket. She pulled the card out and handed it to Justin. “Here.”
Justin shook his head. “You do it.”
“Woman busy. You are more fast.”
He crossed his arms. “You are just as fast.”
“Why ruin good day?” Eli snapped at him.
“I’m not. I don’t know how often we’ll be shopping together and figured you’d want to know how to use the card later on by yourself.” He stopped short of saying after he dropped her off, because he wasn’t in such a hurry to do so anymore.
Gifting him with a loud sigh, she turned to the woman running the register and waited for directions. With some pointing and explaining, the woman walked her through processing the charge and requested Eli’s ID.
Thankfully, the shifter ID looked just like a passport and even had a decent image of Eli for comparing, right down to the disgruntled expression.
Justin wished Eli had been given a driver’s license instead, but thankfully not all cashiers could immediately tell the difference between a shifter passport and a human passport with just a visual check.
If Justin had to guess after watching Eli shop meticulously, which probably included keeping a running total in her head, he’d say she was the type who wanted to be good at what she did.
Not to appear as a clueless foreigner.
Once the transaction was completed, a smiling cashier handed over the credit card and thanked Eli for her business.
His little hedgehog politely thanked the woman for excellent service.
If Justin hadn’t picked up all the bags and made for the exit, Eli would still be standing there in a mutual admiration contest with the woman. But all joking aside, he was starting to see new pieces of Eli and liked what he’d observed.
She sure hadn’t turned out to be a diva princess.
Had she bought all of this for something she had planned once they reached Clan Boudreaux? Why not wait until then to shop? Half of this would be too hot in Louisiana for a shifter, even in the winter.
More for him to figure out, but the largest puzzle piece was why Eli had refused to shift into her animal last night.
Her bear had to be ready to run after that long sea trip and Eli’s injury. Herc would have been upset with Justin if he stayed human for no obvious reason after being wounded.
Justin seethed every time he thought about that wolf shifter attacking her. In hindsight, he’d let the predator off too easy. The San Francisco wolf alpha had better come up with a name and origin for that rogue soon.
With the bags stuffed into the back of his big sport utility rental, he shut the rear gate and told Eli, “I have a surprise for you.”
Her face fell and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “No surprises. More shopping.”
What the hell? He repeated his mental mantra of not losing his temper and asked, “What are you looking for?”
“Maps. Want maps of ... country.”
“This entire country?” he asked.
“No.” She concentrated a moment and said, “Forest and mountains. No cities.”
“It’s a big country. Do you have a specific place in mind?” Hopefully mentioning mountains ruled out Louisiana.
“North. Snow in winter.”
Damn, that just played into his hand. “I know exactly where to find what you’re looking for and the maps won’t cost you a penny.”
Her face softened with relief. “Yes, okay. Free good, but no steal.”
He scowled at her. “Why would you think I meant we’d steal them?”
“You change words and trick me.”
“Like when?”
“You lie and close room.”
She had a point. “Okay, I might have misled you a little about the hotel room, but I am not going to lead you into trouble like stealing.”
“Maybe.” She turned for the passenger side.
He stepped past her to open the passenger door.
Those crystal blue eyes lifted to his and threatened to pull him in so far he’d never be able to climb out.
“Thank you for best store and shop with me. You nice.”
He didn’t get a smile, but her words were sincere and hearing her say
he was nice at this point carried more weight than other women fawning over him in the past.
Spending so much time with this one could be dangerous.
CHAPTER 15
Glacier National Park, Montana
Elianna would never have thought she could spend this much time inside a vehicle with a strange man and like it.
They had left San Francisco two days ago, visited Justin’s favorite store, which was now her favorite, on the way to Oregon and explored beautiful giant trees along the way.
Redwoods. She wanted to show Nico. He would look like a bug in that forest.
Justin never tired of any request she made.
He did not change his mind about staying in the same hotel room, but she had no complaint. How could she, when she woke to see so much of him sprawled on the second bed every morning?
That never got old.
Feeling safe was nice, too.
He called today’s travel a “Sunday drive” through amazing national forests in Idaho. She would like to take Nico on Sunday drives some day.
Every stop Justin picked had been perfect.
She felt better about coming to this country even if she only had now three and a half days left to travel.
This was no vacation. Justin might think so, but she needed to know this land for the future.
From the passenger seat, Elianna studied the map of Idaho spread across her lap, amazed at how many roads connected every place here. She stopped trying to figure them all out and just enjoyed the view as they rode through beautiful country. Now she understood Justin’s confusion when she told him PK had no roads connecting it to anything else in Russia.
If there had been even one road out, she would have taken Nico and ridden a bus north.
Maybe she could have saved her mother, too. She doubted that, but she would have tried.
Her mother would not have left Alexandre even though it sounded as if Elianna’s father had not misled her mother. Still, every time Elianna recalled how her mother had died, her chest ached.
“You doing okay, Eli?” Justin asked from where he drove this big vehicle with one hand. So at ease and happy.
Silly man would not stop calling her Eli.