by T. S. Joyce
Jenny toted three bags and together, they shoved them into the back seat of the truck before dashing across the street to the diner. With a frown puckering her dark, delicate eyebrows, Jenny checked her phone as they sat in a booth against the big window. “I texted Blaine to meet us for lunch but he hasn’t responded.”
Hannah pulled the plastic menu from the holder by the ketchup and said, “Maybe he’s really busy at work.”
Jenny’s eyes were closed off and thoughtful as she cast her gaze to Blaine’s police cruiser across the street. Okay, so maybe busy didn’t often apply to the department of Sheridan, but Hannah couldn’t imagine Blaine ignoring his wife on purpose. Every time she had seen him, he’d bent over backward to make sure Jenny was comfortable and happy, and she did the same for him. Their relationship was inspiring.
Eventually the waitress brought out cheeseburger baskets and twin ice waters and Hannah kept up the conversation because Jenny seemed to become more and more uneasy. It wasn’t until the slice of cherry pie was set on the table in between them that Hannah felt it too. That instinct of wrongness that Jenny’s furrier side had probably been feeling all this time. A chair clattered against the tile as a man backed into it, and he stared at the window with wide eyes.
Across the street, three police cruisers, including Blaine’s, lit up the little town. Seconds later, the sirens sounded as they pulled from the parking lot and blasted up the road. Jenny’s face had gone an ash gray color and her chest heaved as if she couldn’t catch her breath.
“He’ll be fine,” Hannah said, patting her hand. It was his job. Whatever crime he was chasing probably happened more than Jenny knew. She usually wasn’t in town to worry over him, was all. He’d be back in Bear Valley, telling her all about some moonshining mountain man who’d killed a neighbor’s mountain goat at dinner tonight.
The rubberneckers stretched against the windows until the wailing cars disappeared up the highway.
Jenny’s voice trembled when she whispered, “I think we should go home now.”
“But we haven’t finished the pie yet.”
Standing, Jenny threw down a twenty and bolted past the onlookers talking in trios about the possibility of real crime near their town. Hannah grabbed her purse and ran after her.
She barely had the truck door closed before Jenny peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter Six
Riker tossed his pen onto the stack of paperwork littering his desk. Cameron had just left and the meeting had been long and tedious. Financial talk always wore him down. They were possibly the most important meetings he conducted and he and Cameron worked well together, but half the time he had to slow his second down and ask him to use smaller words. Riker was an intelligent man, but Cameron’s brain worked on a different wavelength.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he hoped the tension headache that loomed just behind his eyes would stay at bay. He still needed to visit the fields and address two foremen complaints before he could take a break. Before he could see Hannah again.
The office chair creaked as he relaxed into it. She was probably having fun with Jenny and the corner of his lip lifted in a smile. He’d been doing that a lot since she came into his life. Before her, he’d thought leading his people was the only thing that could make him feel satisfied. Now, he practically whistled wherever he went.
A vision of Hannah, teasing her slick opening with her finger brushed his mind. She’d been so confident in her body last night, so open with what she needed from him and his cock twitched to life just thinking about her.
He’d been wrong. His mate found lots of ways to make him happy.
A sound caught his attention and he froze, listening. Not a sound exactly, but something just above his heightened senses. The hair on his neck rose with a chill and he massaged the cold skin there. Standing, he strode to the front door and waited. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and none of the other shifters who ambled around the row of houses near the office building seemed wary.
His crazy bear. He’d been overprotective since Hannah had vied to be mated to him. Now, every damned out of place cricket set him off. Rubbing the back of his prickling neck once more, he turned to shut the door.
There it was again. Faint, but he could hear it if he tuned out the forest sounds. Cameron talked easily with Nathan Billings near the tree line, and when his head snapped to the same direction, Riker knew it wasn’t just him.
“Cam.”
“I hear it.” Cameron jogged toward him, his notebook flapping haphazardly with the jouncing movement.
Narrowing his eyes, Riker asked, “What is it?”
“Sounds like sirens, sir.”
“Shit.” Cameron was right. As soon as he said the words, the familiarity clicked into place. Running, he took off for his house, which was positioned at the mouth of the road. What if Hannah had been taken or something had happened to her while she and Jenny were in town. Oh, God. What if he’d lost her and this was the moment that destroyed his life?
Minutes felt like hours as he paced the yard. Scrubbing his hands through his hair, he tried to settle enough to hide the feral glow that would light his eyes if he let his bear push him too much. The clan was gathering, men and women jogging from the trails that snaked through their sanctuary. Cops on bear shifter land was bad. Really, really bad.
Three cop cars, blaring lights and sirens pulled into the yard, skidding to a stop in front of him. The crowd around him looked scared and restless.
“Keep calm,” he ordered. It wasn’t just his bear that was a concern. One misstep from any of the eighty shifters gathered here and they tipped their hand, spilled their secrets. Every last one of them would be at risk. Not just their clan, but the Raiders, the Rocky Hunters, Blood Den, the Long Claws, all of them. Every last clan from here to the end of the world would be hunted down if humans figured out they weren’t the superior species.
Blaine stepped from his cruiser and Riker jogged toward him. “Hannah?”
Blaine shook his head and slashed his hand through the air in front of him in warning. She’s fine, he mouthed.
The entire police force of Sheridan was here and Riker held out his hands, confused. “Why are you on our land then?” Blaine didn’t want the deputy and rookie who followed him to know of his affiliation with the place, so be it. But he had little patience for trespassers without good reason.
“Benson Riker,” Blaine said, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “You’re under arrest.”
****
By the time Jenny pulled up to Bear Valley gates, it was apparent something was horribly wrong. Skidding left and right, Jenny was relentless on the gas as they blasted down the dirt road. Juniper, Oak, and Engelmann and towering Lodgepole pines blurred by, all so green and vibrant in their summer color, it began to make Hannah carsick. When they finally pulled in behind the police cruisers, the scene before her was nothing short of horrifying. Riker was in handcuffs, his downturned eyes blazing, and Blaine was leading him to his car. The lights, red and blue, were blinding in the shadow of the mountains but at least the officers had the decency to turn the sirens off. The crowd surged as Riker was led away and Hannah threw open the door and ran for him.
“What are you doing?” Jenny cried, but one warning glance from Blaine stopped her in her tracks.
Hannah tried to catch Riker’s eye, but his gaze stayed on the ground. When his shoulder brushed hers, he glanced up at her so quickly, she almost missed it. The color of his eyes couldn’t pass for human if his life depended on it. Blaine’s deputies weren’t in the know and Riker had some serious covering up to do. “What is he being accused of?” Hannah asked Blaine, fighting to control the panic that threatened to close up her throat completely.
Blaine put a hand on Riker’s head and guided him into the back seat of his cruiser. With a tortured look at Hannah, he said, “Murder.”
Murder. The word filled her with green sloshing sickness when he said it like that, but which murd
er was Riker being accused of? He’d been on a maiming spree trying to protect her, but it was all in self-defense. And they were all fucking soulless criminals bent on torturing innocent people. Society wasn’t exactly going to miss them. Riker had probably saved countless lives by ridding the world of those serial murderers.
She looked to Jenny for help, but the woman shook with barely checked fury and her husband withered under her murderous glare. The mass of shifters faces ranged from fearful to enraged, and a group of men heaved toward the cruisers.
“Stop,” Hannah yelled, rushing forward and putting her hands up to slow their progress.
“They’re taking our alpha,” a man growled.
“And they’re taking my mate. But they’re cops,” she admonished low. “Our rules don’t apply out there. I’ll figure this out, but you’ll have every state trooper in Montana down on this place if you resist on his behalf. Back. The fuck. Off.”
By inches they retreated and the cruisers whipped around the yard and disappeared down the dirt road. Scanning the crowd, it looked like only about half of the clan were here. Merit stood in the crowd, a cruel smirk twisting her lips, but Hannah didn’t have time for her. No doubt she’d twist this any way she could to anyone who would listen, but right now, Riker was who mattered.
“Council members!” Hannah called. “Are any of the council members here? And Cameron.”
Four of the six council members stepped forward, as well as Riker’s second, Cameron.
“Pow wow,” she said breathlessly, gesturing toward Riker’s front porch. When the last, an old man named Dillon, caned his way up the stairs, she lowered her voice and leveled with them. “What does this mean for the clan? What are the laws? Who runs the show while Riker is locked up?”
“Usually the mate of the alpha can take over if he is gone for only a few days, but you haven’t been officially initiated as his mate or as part of the clan.”
She waved her hand. “That’s fine, I’ll be in town trying to figure out what is happening with Riker anyway. Who’s next?”
Brody, the youngest member of the council pushed his glasses further up his nose. “Then it would be the second, Cameron, but this is only a temporary fix, Hannah.”
“What do you mean?” She didn’t want to make them feel rushed, but nearly all of her mind was behind the wheel of the truck already and blasting down the dirt road.
“Five days. The alpha has five absent days before alpha challenges can be issued and another can take over. And Riker has already spent two taking you to New York.”
Shit popsicles! After everything, Riker could still lose his rank in the clan if she didn’t find a way to spring him from jail in three days’ time.
“Nobody wants that,” Cameron said in a quiet voice. “We’ve studied the challengers and none are up to follow in Riker’s footsteps. He’s been good for the clan, but it’s more than that. If the other bear shifter clans catch wind that Bear Valley is in turmoil, they’ll attack. We need Riker to run this place, but we also need him to lead us into battle if it comes down to it. No one can touch the number of fights he’s led us through. He’s a brawler. We need him as ruling alpha.” His blue eyes were so earnest, pleading for her understanding.
With clenched hands, she gripped her hair at her nape, then puffed a gust of air. “Okay, Cameron, you and the council keep this place running. I’ll be in touch the minute I have news.”
Dillon handed her a cell phone. “Press one. It’s speed dial for Brody. He can keep us up to date on anything you find out. Do you need an escort?”
“The less bears in town right now, the better. I’ll call.” She pocketed the phone and jumped over the stairs, then cut through the milling crowd. “Jenny, you stay here,” she called, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded.
Blain didn’t want Jenny involved and Hannah didn’t know why. She didn’t know anything. Blaine wouldn’t betray them though. He just wouldn’t. She clung to that instinct as Jenny nodded absently, her gaze still glued to the road with the settling dust trail.
“I’ll be back as soon as I find out anything. Everyone, just stay here.” Hannah bolted for the truck and twisted the keys in the ignition. The engine roared to life and she followed the cruisers out of Bear Valley.
Over her cold, lifeless body was that all the time she got with Riker.
Chapter Seven
Damn, damn, double damn. Riker had killed uncountable shifters in the battle’s he’d fought, but surely the charge wasn’t for one of them. The bear clans seemed to keep their deaths a very private matter. If he were being charged as a suspect in a bear murder, one of the rival clans would take the blame, which would cause Bear Valley to wage war. Maybe that’s what they wanted.
Or it could be the slew of Stone’s men who’d attacked the valley seven deep. She hadn’t any idea where the clan had buried those bodies, but they sure as sugar hadn’t invited the police to look upon their bear ravaged corpses. If the charge were for one or all of those men, no judge was going to tie a bear attack to Riker. Unless the police thought Riker had trained the bears or maybe threw the attackers into a bear pit. The idea that Blaine’s deputies knew about their shifter sides was just too disturbing to think about, so Hannah’s mind whirled around that little gem.
There were also Riker’s guards and Jeremy who’d been killed in battle, but unless the cops had dug up the clan graveyard, they wouldn’t suspect foul play. And Riker wasn’t responsible for their deaths. He’d tried to save them.
That left Dane and his two lackeys up in New York. Riker had definitely killed them.
Hannah parked the truck in the only remaining spot in front of the police station. She gripped the wheel and took a long, deep steadying breath. If she could keep her cool, she would find out more information. If she flew off the handle, which she definitely felt like doing, they’d clam up on her and she’d have to slink back to the valley empty handed. She would have to go back home without Riker. Tears burned the back of her eyelids and she blinked to keep them at bay. “Buck up, girl,” she muttered. He needed her.
A bell rang out as she opened the door to the station. The office was bathed in beige and the lack of color gave it a sterile feel. An oversized desk cluttered the front and two more sat against the walls. Blaine and his rookie sat at them, on the phones while the deputy, Bryant, his nametag read, stared at her with blond, winged up eyebrows from his seat behind the large front desk. His cold expression said she’d already irritated him somehow.
It was the sight at the back of the room that held her frozen though. A barred cell took up the wall, and though it was large, it wasn’t nearly big enough to hold a man, or shifter, like Benson Riker.
Riker paced, shoulders hunched and eyes bright, reminding her of a pair of sun bears that had manically travelled the fences of a zoo she’d been to once. He was caged and the tension in his strained body said he wasn’t handling it well. She felt claustrophobic just watching him.
His nostrils flared and he turned that inhuman gaze on her. His hands wrapped around the bars and he pulled so hard the metal clanged.
“Cut it out,” the rookie yelled.
Riker looked away just in time for him to miss the churning color of his eyes. Oh, man, this was bad. Sooner or later, Riker’s bear was going to escape his human skin and all of Bear Valley’s secrets would pour into the police station.
When Riker lifted his cold gaze to her again, she mouthed, Easy, my love. She had to do something.
“Lady,” Bryant said in an irked tone as he waved his hand in front of her. “Can I help you?”
“That’s my…” She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “He’s mine.”
Both gold eyebrows arched now and his green eyes tightened. “He’s your what?”
“Hus—fiancé. He’s my fiancé.”
“I don’t see a ring on your finger.”
Right. She rubbed her thumb across the inside of her naked ring finger. “I left it at home. Sorry, this has a
ll been really unexpected. Can I talk to the sheriff about why exactly you’ve arrested him?”
“Sheriff is busy. You can talk to me.”
“It’s okay,” Blaine said from behind him. “Please step into the back room and I’ll explain as much as I’m able.” He turned to Bryant. “I’m waiting on a call. Can you keep an ear out for it?”
“Sure thing.”
As she passed by, Bryant watched her like a vulture and it made her skin crawl. Riker’s lip lifted in a snarl and his glare bored into Bryant’s back, but she shook her head. No need to get even more worked up.
A small office at the back of the station harbored a single table and two chairs on opposite sides of the cold, metal furniture. An interrogation room. Blain closed the door softly behind them and she scanned the corners of the room. Two cameras pointed directly at her from the ceiling.
With a wave, Blaine said, “They’re turned off. Not much use for them. Days are usually quiet around here.
Feeling wary still, she pursed her lips. “Can they be turned on from in there?” She pointed to a wall of mirror glass she was going to go out on a limb and guess was two-way.
“Yes, but the door creaks no matter how slow you open it. We’ll hear it if someone gets in that room.”
“Good. Then what the shit, Blaine? You realize you have a fucking alpha werebear pacing your jail cell, right? Bear, tiny cage, they don’t mix well if you catch my drift. He’s teetering. If you don’t realize how tight he’s strung, you’ve lost your damned mind.”