BEAR FIRE:
Pine Ridge Shifters #4
by Belinda Meyers
Copyright 2016
All rights reserved
Cover image used with permission
Chapter 1
Eyes darting all about, Jackie Gage crossed the darkness of the parking lot toward the tavern.
Leaves crunched behind her. She spun, her hand flying to the pocket where she kept her knife. No one there. It had just been the wind.
Probably.
Breathing raggedly, flinching at every sound, she turned back around and pushed on toward the tavern. A cold breeze blew down from the mountain’s peak, and she shuddered. What in Sam Hell had made her think this was a good idea? She was a city girl, cat burglar extraordinaire, used to high rises and fancy cars. Instead she was surrounded by pickup trucks and cars on jacked-up wheels with rifle racks in the back.
Real good move, Jackie, she told herself. Another in a long line of excellent decisions. She was a master at them. Or mistress. Whichever.
A man spitting tobacco lurched out of the tavern entrance and reeled past Jackie. She recoiled and slipped around him, agile as, well, a cat. She shoved through the doorway and into the tavern interior. Instantly warmth and music surrounded her, along with the smell of beer and buffalo wings. She shuddered again, this time in relief to be indoors and out of the cold. She stomped her feet and blew on her hands. A few muscular guys sat along the bar, laughing and drinking.
“May I help you, miss?”
Jackie whirled to see a waitress smacking gum and looking bored. Jackie, who had once more gone for her knife, made herself relax. A beer would help, she thought. No. I need to stay sharp.
“Well?” said the waitress.
Jackie scanned for her contact but didn’t see him.
“I’d like a booth,” Jackie said.
The waitress looked her over. Evidently unimpressed, she made a hmmf noise and said, “Right this way, sug.”
She ushered Jackie over to a shadowy booth along the wall, and Jackie slid in, keeping her purse—and the special item hidden in it—tightly pressed against her thigh.
“What’ll you have, sug?” said the waitress between gum-smacks.
Jackie ordered a light beer just to make the woman go away, then gulped down several deep breaths and surveyed the darkened interior again. There a few guys and one woman played pool, there a group of rednecks, both men and women, slouched around a table and talked about sports and other boring things. One big guy played darts. No slim middle-aged man in golf clothes. Shit. What was Jackie going to do?
He’ll show up, she told herself. He has to.
If he didn’t, she was screwed. She’d come all the way up into the mountains to utilize the thing in her purse before the asshole hunting for it found her, but if she didn’t do it soon he would find her, and then she’d be dead.
After a while.
When the waitress arrived with her drink, it took all of Jackie’s self-control not to down the glass of foaming golden fluid in one swallow. Instead she pretended to drink it as the girl sauntered away, pausing to flirt with one of the rednecks talking about sports. Jackie couldn’t afford to dull her nerves. Not till this was behind her and her new life had begun.
Where would she go? she asked herself for the thousandth time. It was a topic she loved to fantasize about. She would be able to go anywhere in the entire world. Where should she choose? Paris? San Francisco? Something more exotic, like Shanghai? She smiled to herself in pleasant reflection. The truth was it didn’t matter. Anywhere would be better than where she’d come from, the life she’d led up till now. But that part of her existence was all over. She’d shed it like a snake shed its skin.
“It’s all downhill from here, kid,” she told herself as she pretended to sip her beer.
“Downhill from where?”
She snorted in surprise, blowing beer foam onto the table in front of her, then jerked her head up. A huge shape loomed over her, and for a moment her hand inched toward her hidden knife again.
She made herself relax. It was just one of the men from the bar—she thought it was the man who’d been playing darts. He was, admittedly, awesome to look at, with curly red-gold hair, wide shoulders that tapered down to a thin waist, and strong, powerful legs. Piercing blue eyes stared out of his ridiculously handsome face, and there was some amusement in that expression, but something else, too, something Jackie couldn’t quite place.
Embarrassment rose in her. He’d caught her talking to herself. Real good job, she told herself. She’d been alone too long. Talking to herself had become second nature.
Also, she realized she had beer foam on her upper lip. Mortified, she rubbed it away with the sleeve of her black leather jacket.
“N-nothing,” she said. “Never mind.” Then she realized it. “Did you come over here to flirt with me?”
He smiled. “May I?”
Before she could answer, he slid into the booth opposite her, and she was now almost at eye level (well, not quite—he was a foot taller than she was) with this giant male model of the mountains. Part of her grew hot at his proximity. Look at the size of those forearms! Down, girl, she told herself. Stick to the mission.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m expecting someone. If you’d just leave me in peace, that would be for the best.”
Instead, he flagged down the waitress and said, “Marlene, beer for me and another for the lady.”
Jackie fumed. “I said please leave.”
The man regarded her. Evidently he wasn’t accustomed to being rebuffed. And no wonder. He wore a blue T-shirt so tight Jackie could see his pecs jump when he shifted his weight, and his eight-pack quiver, just slightly, when he leaned over the table. The dude was ripped.
She tore her gaze away, feeling her cheeks grow hot. Despite herself, she downed a hasty sip of beer, thinking that the time had come when a little alcohol might actually be of benefit to her nerves, not a detriment.
“A hot girl comes into a bar and sits alone, but then won’t accept a drink from a fella?” the (damn hot) guy said.
“What of it?” she fired back.
He held up his hands, palms out. “Whoa there, lass. I’m just talkin’. I’ll leave if you want, but let me figure this out a bit.” His brows drew together. “You meetin’ your boyfriend?”
“No. But I’m meeting someone.”
“Your husband? I don’t see a ring.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Then I guess you don’t need glasses, Sherlock. No, no husband. No boyfriend, no husband. Just a gal having a drink if that’s okay.”
He peered at her glass. “But you’re not doing that, either, are you? You haven’t touched a sip till just now.”
Slowly he looked her up and down, and Jackie squirmed under his scrutiny. An expression was coming over his face, and it wasn’t the simple flirty look he’d worn before. It wasn’t fear, either, or suspicion. It was interest. She had piqued the curiosity of this god-like mountain man.
“Look,” she said, “I appreciate the offer of a drink, even the company. But I don’t have time right now.”
The waitress arrived with the drinks and set them down. Smacking her gum, she flashed the man a blazing smile that, despite everything, sent a spike of jealousy shooting down Jackie’s spine.
“Everything all right, Matt, sugar?” she said. He got the full sugar, not just the sug the waitress had given Jackie.
“Everythin
g’s just fine, Marlene. Except that I’m being given the heave-ho.”
Marlene’s gaze flicked to Jackie, and she looked like she was eyeing a bug she’d tried to scrape off her shoe but which was still magically clinging there, however mangled and flattened.
“Some women don’t have the sense God gave a cracker,” Marlene opined to Matt, then blessed him with another dazzling smile, revealing a mouthful of nicotine-stained teeth. “Other girls don’t have that problem.”
“Thanks, Marlene.”
The waitress turned her smile on Jackie, only when she did it became withering. “Later, darlin’.”
She sauntered away, waving her ass with more aplomb than strictly necessary. To Jackie’s surprise, Matt didn’t watch Marlene go but kept his eyes on her instead. He didn’t seem ready to leave Jackie quite yet, but he also seemed to realize it was his duty as a gentleman—and he really did seem to be one, damn it—to withdraw. She’d given him the boot, after all. Only a jerk would stick around when he wasn’t wanted. For a moment, Jackie wished he were a little more of a jerk.
“Keep the drink,” he said. “That is, if you do start drinkin’. I’ve got a game of darts to win, anyway. It was nice to meet you …”
He held out, waiting for a name. Jackie was tempted to either ignore the request or give him a false one. Not knowing why, exactly, she said, “Jackie.”
He grinned wide. He had a great smile, full of strong, even white teeth. “Jackie. It was a pleasure.”
He reached out a huge hand, and she took it. His flesh was hot. Instead of shaking her hand, he brought it to his full lips and kissed it. His lips were even hotter. Hot and soft. At the contact, she felt heat flood her core, and she twisted in her seat.
“If you change your mind, I’ll be over there,” Matt said, and inclined his head toward the bar. “I’ll be the one winning.”
Chuckling endearingly at his own joke, he rose from the booth and returned to the bar. Jackie couldn’t help but watch him go. His jeans were as tight as his T-shirt, and they showed off his muscular ass to great effect. They don’t have guys like him in the city, that’s for sure, she thought. For a wild moment she considered calling him back and letting him buy her that drink. But that was crazy talk.
Right?
Before she could decide, another shape slid into the seat Matt had just vacated, and Jackie flinched at the suddenness of its arrival. The newcomer moved like a ghost. It was a lean man, darkly dressed, and his furtive eyes darted to either side out of a waxen, pale face before settling on Jackie. She felt ice touch the back of her neck.
“Are you Jackie Gage?” said the newcomer, whom Jackie placed in his mid-thirties.
Gathering her nerve, she nodded. “Who are you? You’re not Tannenbaum.”
“He couldn’t make it.”
“Why not?” Jackie heard both the irritation and the fear in her voice. Most of all, she heard the strain. This was her last step, the final hurdle she had to leap over before all this was finished. Before it was all behind her, and her new life could begin. In Shanghai or Paris or wherever. And it had been so close. Now this. But just what was this?
The pale man swallowed, his weirdly large Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his skinny throat. “He just couldn’t.”
“Why?”
The man lowered his voice and leaned in close. Sensing he was about to whisper, Jackie leaned in, too.
In a soft, sibilant voice, the man said, “Because he’s being watched.”
It was Jackie’s turn to swallow. “Shit,” she said. “That means they know I’m here. Or at least that I’m coming here.” She made a fist, then forced her fingers to relax. Getting upset wasn’t going to help her now.
The pale man leaned back. “He’s in hiding. He won’t come out.”
“Where?”
The man nodded, as if he had expected this. “His price is double now.”
Jackie sensed that if she balked, the man wouldn’t provide Tannenbaum’s location. “Fine,” she hissed. “Double it is.” She wondered how much Tannenbaum would see of it. This shaky little weasel might just take off with the whole thing.
The pale man let out a rattling breath, then withdrew a piece of folded paper from a pocket of his dark, ragged-looking clothes and slid it across the table to her. Jackie snatched it up, scanned the writing and raised her eyebrows.
“An address,” she said. “But that’s no use to me. I’m not from here.”
“Then get a map.”
She started to protest, but the pale man was already sliding out of the booth. Jackie hadn’t seen him enter, and now she saw why. He didn’t leave by the front door but skulked down a hall with a bathroom sign over it, presumably to a rear exit.
Damn.
Jackie frowned at the address. Sure, she could find a convenience store—provided the town had one—buy a map and then make her way to the address. But she’d have to do it all at night, in a strange town, and on foot. She’d taken the bus here, having left her car back in the city and taken a series of buses and taxis and trains to get here. She’d wanted to leave no trace of herself on the way here, and she knew the airports would be watched. But somehow her hunter had found her anyway, it seemed. That is, if Tannenbaum really was being watched.
Damn, she thought again.
At night … on foot … alone …
She chewed her bottom lip. Her gaze swung up, from the piece of paper to Matt, laughing at one of his own jokes as he threw a dart at the board. Bull’s eye! His friends at the bar groaned, and Matt’s grin widened.
Sucking down a breath, Jackie shoved the piece of paper in a pocket of her jeans, tossed down a few dollar bills, then gulped the rest of her drink. She needed all the courage she could get.
Leaving the booth, she approached Matt, who was just tearing his darts from the board.
“Change your mind?” he said. To his friends at the bar, he said, “This is Jackie.”
“Nice to meet ya, Jackie,” said one, and the others echoed the sentiment. One was a woman wearing the jacket of a sheriff or policewoman. The wide-brimmed hat rested on the bar. She must be off-duty. Her eyes were kind and her face very likeable.
“I’m Barb, hon,” she said. “Want to join us?”
“For darts or beer?” Jackie said.
“Why do you have to choose?” said the tall man beside Barb. He leaned into her and wrapped an arm around her. The policewoman leaned back into him, and Jackie was touched by the love she felt between them. It was something she knew she would never experience, and a pang of sadness rose in her. Quickly she shoved it down.
“Never mind,” she said. “I’m not in the mood.” In case they had taken offense at her tone, she added hastily, “I just … it’s … complicated. I would like to, I just can’t.” She cast a look at Matt, hoping he would throw her a lifeline.
He was watching her with interest. The amused look in his eyes had left him, replaced by a strange sort of seriousness. Like he was studying her or something.
“Can I have a word?” she asked him. “I mean, in private?”
Chapter 2
Matt had never seen a girl like Jackie, that was for sure. All city-tough and street-smart, but with something behind that. Something mysterious and deep. Something that intrigued him.
Plus he loved the way her black jeans hugged the curve of her hips. She wore a black T-shirt under her black leather jacket, but even though the jacket hid her bosom he could tell it was just as generous as her hips. But what really captured him about her were her eyes: green and deep and mystical. Maybe even a little haunted.
Staring into them, his bear gave a low, mournful grunt inside him, and Matt had to cover his surprise by clearing his throat. What had that been about? His bear had never made a sound like that before. It had been a sad sound, but not, he thought, because this woman made him feel sad but because it made him realize he had been sad. Until now, that is. As if he’d just been waiting for her to come along.
Which w
as ridiculous.
Frowning, he allowed Jackie to lead him into a quiet corner of the tavern. She studied him with those strange green eyes and said, “I need a favor, Matt.”
“Better be a good one,” he said. “I was on a winning streak, and that’s rare when you’re playing Rick. He’s as lucky as he is annoying.”
“I need to get to this address.” She passed him a slip of paper, and he scowled down at it. “Can you get me there? I’m new in town,” she added, as if he hadn’t figured this part out. “I don’t know where it is, and I don’t feel comfortable traveling by myself.”
“And you feel comfortable with me? I could be some nut.”
Her eyes roved up and down him, and he liked the way they lingered on his chest, then hastily switched to his face. “I trust you,” she said. “Plus, I’ll pay you for it. How’s two hundred dollars sound?”
“To take you ten blocks? You don’t need to pay me, darlin’.”
“It’s Jackie. And I need to. It could be …”
“Yeah?”
“Dangerous.” She glanced at the floor as she said it, as if she couldn’t bear to meet his eyes.
He wanted to reach out and tilt her face up with his hand, but he thought that might alarm her. She seemed jumpier than a live wire in a hurricane.
“Well, in that case,” he said, “I really won’t take your money.”
The air seemed to go out of her. “What about for three hundred? I don’t have any more. At least, that isn’t committed elsewhere.”
He chuckled. “Hon—I mean Jackie—if you’re in trouble it would be wrong to take money to help you out of it. I’ll do it for nothing.”
Her eyes got ridiculously huge. Again he had to stop himself from reaching out to her. She just looked too adorable.
“You’re kidding, right?” she said. When he shook his head, she said, “Wow. I really am in the sticks. I mean—” she blinked rapidly “—people don’t do stuff like that in the city.”
He didn’t take offense. “What city you from, exactly?”
Bear Fire: Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BBW) (Pine Ridge BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance Series Book 4) Page 1