Even now, he couldn’t regret what he’d done because he’d rather she was unharmed and angry at him than hurt. Angry, he could fix.
Even if the jealous, possessive animal inside him almost wanted to give up now that it looked like she’d chosen another male. Almost. In reality, every part of him wanted to fight. Fight until she was safe, fight until she was his, and fight until she was back in his arms.
He huffed as he ran down the road where they’d gone, trying to retain his human reasoning. He was Ryder Hart. Shrewd. Powerful. He made grown men tremble in boardrooms. He could control this. He could.
But his bear was still charging down the road, following the scent of the truck his mate had left in, staying just far enough out of sight not to scare her by letting her see him.
What he planned to do when he caught up, he didn’t know. He just knew that every part of him needed to see her safe. A little ways down the road, he stopped.
His head started to clear, and the scent of the truck was fading. When he did see Janna again, he needed to be Ryder, not a bear. A bear would only scare her. And yes, he would have to show her his bear; it was the only way things would make sense and she would know he hadn’t left her. But not yet. First, he needed to know she could give him a chance as a man.
Jealousy dug deep into his chest and he fought the transformation back into a man. Nothing good could come of wandering naked in the woods right now. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, which was very fast, back to the cabin and hurriedly transformed and changed into his clothes when he got inside the living room. Then he put on boots, grabbed his phone, and ran to the lodge.
He unlocked the phone as he ran, dialing the first number that came to mind.
“Ryder?” Riley’s voice was groggy, slurred. “What’s up, man? It’s late.”
“I need a guy on surveillance,” he snapped, hoping his brother would immediately catch the seriousness of his tone.
“Whoa, okay. Why?”
“I need one of your bodyguards. Can you spare him?”
“Sure, what happened? You okay? Where are you? I can come out.”
“I’m headed to the lodge. Almost there.”
“I’ll see you in a minute.”
Ryder reached the side door to the huge lodge at the same time Riley opened it for him. His younger brother drew him into a bear hug and held on tight, then released him. Ryder bristled at the contact. Not all bears liked hugs.
“Where’s Mike?” he snapped.
“He’s getting dressed. I don’t have them on duty when I’m just at the bar.”
“Why did you bring them, then?”
Riley shrugged. “You never know.”
Ryder put a hand to his face and sighed. “Fine. I’ll write down the address. I need someone outside. Watching for bears, in particular.” Since Mike was a highly trained wolf shifter, Ryder knew he could handle it.
Riley raised an eyebrow, finally grasping the seriousness of the situation. “Bears? Or bear shifters?”
“I think you know,” Ryder said.
“Shit,” Riley said. “Janna?”
Ryder nodded. “I had to leave her to transform. A bear attacked the window. She thought…”
“She thought you ran away!” Riley’s eyes widened and he barked out a laugh. “That’s hilarious.” At Ryder’s scowl, he frowned and shook his head. “I mean, it would be if it hadn’t blown everything to shit, right?”
Ryder just glared.
“All right, Mike’ll be on the job. How long do you want him?”
“No more than a couple days. I’m giving her space so she can cool down, and then I’ll talk to her.”
Riley sighed and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Ryder glared at it, and he removed it. “Look, you know women don’t actually want that, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean they hate when you give them space. When they say they need space, they usually want you to chase them. Sometimes they’ll get mad if you don’t.”
Ryder scoffed. “That’s absurd. Why would I go against what she wants?”
“Because she’s wrong and you know it. And it hurts her to be thinking the wrong thing, and you can correct it for her.”
“She wouldn’t talk to me. Hell, I don’t blame her. I don’t know what I would have done differently. I should have explained or something. I should have taken a second to tell her. Anything but just run out of the house and have her see me walk in a few minutes later, totally naked.”
“That does look weird, bro. All the more reason to track her down and make her see the truth.”
Ryder raised an eyebrow. “See, but that’s the thing with dating humans. I can’t just show up and intimidate her with my bear. It’d scare her.”
“More than seeing you run away from a fight to play naked in the woods? Nah, I don’t think so.”
When had his brother gotten so wise about women? Practice made perfect maybe, he thought skeptically. But he couldn’t deny Riley might be right about Janna. “What do I do?”
“Now that I don’t know. I’ll send Mike down there, but I’d get your ass down there as soon as possible.”
“Tonight?” he asked.
Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. Might be smart to let her get some sleep. How did she get back down?”
“Her ex,” Ryder said, blurting it out through a lump in his throat.
“Damn!” Riley exclaimed. “She threw you aside fast. You sure you want this one?”
Ryder’s expression darkened. “I only want this one. I’m going to fix this.”
“Sure, bro,” Riley said, shaking his head. “But how, I don’t know.”
“I’m an alpha,” Ryder said. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Sure.” Riley placed the call to Mike and then slipped his phone back in his pocket. “But maybe you’ll want to get down there and stay somewhere in town. So you’re close in case she needs you. And so you can see if the ex takes her home or to his place.”
Ryder felt his bear rise up inside him. He wouldn’t let that happen. Scott would only take advantage of her and hurt her again. He liked to think Janna would never go for it, but he’d left her hurt and probably feeling vulnerable.
Still, he’d tear Scott apart before he let him touch her.
But what if Janna wanted Scott to touch her? The thought made him nearly lose control of his bear right there.
But then he took a deep breath and summoned the rational mind that had made him who he was. In this fight for his mate, brain would be just as important as brawn.
And his brain combined with his passion had never let him down.
“I’m going down there. But I still want Mike.”
“Sure thing. I’ll text him your number. He can keep you updated. Where will you stay?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ll sleep in the woods if I have to.” He turned to go and then stopped and put a hand on Riley’s shoulder. Riley looked shocked at the contact. Ryder shrugged. “Thanks for the help.”
“Sure thing,” Riley said. “And Ryder?”
“Yes?”
“I smelled it too. She’s at least part bear. That’s why she’s having so much trouble. When you tell her, at least a small part of her should accept what you say as the truth.”
“I hope so,” Ryder said, turning to go.
“What will you do if she doesn’t?” Riley called after him.
Ryder looked at his brother over his shoulder. “I’ll negotiate.”
At that, Riley went completely silent and then barked out a laugh.
Ryder went back to the cabin, packed, and then got in his Range Rover and headed out into the snow-blurred night.
He’d be there for his mate whether she wanted him or not. And then he’d make her see she was meant for him, by whatever means necessary.
* * *
When they arrived back at her place, Scott helped Janna out and followed her up to the door.
Now for the awkwa
rd part, she thought.
She gave him an awkward hug, which he barely returned, but he still didn’t leave.
“What happened?” he asked.
She folded her arms over her chest and looked down. “I don’t want to talk about it. Look, Scott, I appreciate you picking me up, but after you hurt me, I’m not really interested in anything further with you.”
He sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You were the best thing that happened to me. I guess I just… wasn’t thinking.”
She set down her suitcase with an exasperated sigh. “You were thinking, all right. You were thinking with your other head, and now you regret it because she left.”
He frowned, pouting. “Look, can’t we let bygones be bygones? You’re not the woman I cheated on. You’ve been getting stronger every day. I can tell. When you called me, I thought you were ready to bury the hatchet.”
“No,” she said, shocked he could even think that. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to bury the hatchet. Do you know what you did to me, Scott? How hard you made it for me to trust men after that?”
He scowled. “Apparently not enough for you to not run off with that Ryder guy. I guess money talks, huh, Janna?”
She frowned. “That’s none of your business. I’m not yours anymore. I’m not sure if I ever was.”
“You were mine,” he said, and the wistful look on his face almost made her heart twinge with a bit of regret for how things had happened. But they couldn’t go back. Even if she was learning to let other men in, she couldn’t with him. She’d be stupid to.
Maybe some people could overcome cheating. Especially if the partner confessed. But she’d caught him, and he’d stayed with the other woman as long as he could.
He only came back to Janna when she was the only option.
At least Ryder had treated her like the first option. He hadn’t come on to any of her friends. Well, she didn’t know what he’d done when she wasn’t around, but he’d been around her pretty much since he’d gotten into town.
Nothing made sense. From the minute he’d met her, he’d been protective, brave, strong. Why did he run?
But her heart sank as she wondered if she was simply trying to find a way to let him off the hook. Or was it just that her intuition kept saying there was more to it than met the eye?
She couldn’t tell and she was too tired to do it right now, with Scott on her porch.
“Good night,” she said. Then she turned, unlocked the door, and went inside, not waiting for Scott to protest.
The apartment was dark and a little cold. She’d turned the heat down before she left.
Everything here was so familiar. Knickknacks she’d had since she was little littered the fireplace mantle. The small living room had a couch, a worn but practical rug, and a comfy chair by the window where she could read. There were still books strewn across the seat.
She walked to the chair and slumped down in it. She picked up one of the romance novels she’d been reading previously and leafed through it.
Book romance was a little unsatisfying after being so close to the real thing. She bit her lip and closed the book, setting it on her lap. Then her eye locked onto something outside, and she sat up a little, staring out.
There was an unfamiliar car parked on the other side of the road. The windows were tinted so she couldn’t see inside. A shudder of fear went through her, and she remembered the phone message. She stood to look out the window. Scott’s truck was gone. Supposedly, he’d gone home with his tail between his legs.
She was proud of herself for standing up to him. She could remember a Janna who wouldn’t have. Who would have begged him to come back. But she knew she was worth more now. Ryder had made her feel that way.
But then he’d run. But that didn’t change the things he’d said or the way he’d only had eyes for her or the way he made her melt in his arms.
Her brain searched for something that would make everything fit, but she could sense that whatever it was, the answer was just beyond the realm of her comprehension.
So she continued to watch the SUV, letting the fear keep her awake. She’d known the person who left that message wasn’t Scott. It just didn’t fit him.
She checked the clock over the mantle. Midnight. Still too late to call Leslie or Kylie, but she hated being alone. Any of her other friends she’d made in the town had kids and couldn’t be woken.
Maybe it was time to get a cat.
Or go crawling back to Ryder, willing to accept he was a fraidy-cat who liked to run away from bears.
But she knew that was probably just the tiredness talking. She decided nothing was happening in the SUV that she should worry about. Nothing she could do either way. Someone was probably just visiting family. She stood, checked the deadbolt, turned off the lights, and headed upstairs.
She turned on her bedroom light and slowly changed, taking clothes off her aching body. Both the adrenaline of the bear attack and the ardent love Ryder had made to her had tired her out.
But she knew which she preferred. She thought of his large hands smoothing over her body, heating her skin as he whispered sweet words. She changed into soft pajamas and lay there for a few minutes, touching her own skin and wishing it felt like it did when Ryder touched her.
Why couldn’t she stop thinking of him, even when he’d proven her worst fears to be true?
She guessed, as with Scott, it would take time. But she had the feeling it would take a lot longer with Ryder than it did with Scott.
There were moments with Ryder she was sure she would always remember.
On that thought, and a few others about their time together, she fell into weary sleep.
Chapter 15
When she woke, everything seemed clearer. The sun streaming through the icy patterns on the window lit up the room and cast light over the bed. She pushed hair out of her eyes and let out a long sigh. She stood, pulled on a robe, and walked to the window to look down. The SUV was still there, but nothing out of place seemed to have happened.
She checked her phone. No messages.
Did she want Ryder to call? She didn’t know. She’d told him she needed to cool off. Was that true?
She put a hand to her head. She already felt better this morning. Ready to talk, ready to forgive. But then the shock, the fear of being left alone all came rushing back. And he’d done it right after she’d told him how much Scott had hurt her. Right after he’d promised not to abandon her.
Maybe that’s why he’d said it was the worst possible time. Because he knew showing his cowardly side at that moment would ruin things.
But that just didn’t seem like the Ryder she knew. She walked down into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. She’d need about a gallon to feel conscious after the night she’d had. Maybe she’d let Sherry run the store this week anyway. Take a much-needed vacation. She’d bet Leslie would be up for traveling somewhere fun, and Kylie too if she didn’t sub any other days this week.
But Ryder…
She couldn’t stop thinking of him. Of how incredible the night had been before it’d gone bad. Of him asking her to spend her life with him. Him saying he loved her. But how was that possible with what came after?
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Ryder? She ran to the door to open it, knowing it was foolish how quickly her heart leapt at the thought of seeing him but eager to work things out between them.
There had to be a way to explain it. There just had to. Part of being rational was knowing when something didn’t add up and the only rational thing to do is look into it until it does.
There’s always a reason if you’re brave enough to find it.
Ryder was worth the chance, and he’d certainly put himself out there for her emotionally after they’d made love.
She yanked open the door and gasped when she saw not Ryder, but Barry. Ryder’s father’s embezzling accountant. His graying hair was slicked in a comb over, and there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Barry!” she exclaimed, pulling her robe tightly closed, glad her pajamas underneath were thick and full length, covering everything but her hands and feet. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d left town.”
“And leave you here to tell everyone what a screw-up I was?” he asked, pushing his way past her and inside before she could block the entrance. Dammit, after this, she was installing a peephole on her door whether her landlord okayed it or not.
Still, the short man didn’t scare her. He was barely 5’10”, just slightly taller than her but much smaller due to being skinnier. If he aggravated her, she could probably sit on him. After seeing what he’d done to Ryder’s family, she’d be happy to.
“I’ve been going over your records, yes,” she said, holding the door open and gesturing for him to go out. “We can talk at my office if you want. Later.”
He eyed her warily. He was wearing worn, faded gray sweats over his bony body, and he looked like he hadn’t eaten or slept enough lately. He looked… slightly feral.
“Fine,” he said. “When?”
She looked at the kitchen clock. Anything to get Barry out of here so she could get ready. “How about in an hour?”
“Perfect,” he said. “You still at the same place?”
“Of course,” she said, lifting her chin. She didn’t like the way he was leering at her as he left.
“See you then,” he muttered, and she took great pleasure in slamming the door behind him.
She sighed and looked at the clock again. No time for coffee. She needed a nice long shower and to get dressed and get her hair back in control. She’d pick something up after meeting with Barry. Not that she expected much to come of the meeting, but at least it’d be safer out in public. Not that Barry would hurt her. But she had some pretty unpleasant things to say to him about Ryder’s family business and how he’d treated it, and she wanted witnesses if something went wrong.
Barry looked like a man with nothing to lose.
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