“What’s up, Mika? Anything new from Ms. Carter?”
“That’s why I’m calling, boss,” Mika’s deep voice rumbled through the phone. “Mia stayed with me while I questioned Ms. Carter about that night, and when I asked about the artifact, Ms. Carter remembered where she put it. Mia just left to go to the house and find it. I told her to wait, to let me call you and have one of our cars go over, but she wouldn’t hear it. Said she knew right where it was and would bring it to you at the station after retrieving it.”
“Shit,” Drake said, knowing that if Mia got it in to her mind to do something, no one, not even the large and intimidating Mika, could make her change it. “No worries, Mika, you stay there and finish your report. I’m with Ty now, we’ll head over to the house and head her off.”
“Yes, sir,” Mika said before he disconnected.
“What is it?” Ty asked, ready for action.
“Mia’s mom knows where the artifact is, so Mia left Mika at the hospital to go find it and bring it to us.”
Tyson shook his head. He knew Mia was stubborn.
“How the hell’s she even getting there? Didn’t you drop her off?”
Drake didn’t know how she’d get to her mom’s, but he knew Mia, and figured she was likely already there. He knew she was thinking of getting the bowl, or vase, or whatever it was, and not of the possible danger. But still, Drake was gonna tan her ass when they got home.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to head over there.”
“I’m right behind you.”
Chapter Thirteen – Mia
She ran up the stairs and in to the attic, her heart pounding from her run from the hospital to the house. Mia was glad she’d thrown on sweatpants and sneakers when they’d gotten the call that her mother was awake. It was impossible enough for her to run when she was suited for it, so being in heels would have made the trip a lot longer. As it was, the amount of time it took her to run the ten blocks was shameful.
“Looks like I need to start hitting the gym,” Mia muttered, as she moved through the dusty attic.
She passed her old doll house, her mother’s wedding dress, and a collection of old roller skates, before she fell to her knees and pushed back a small area rug. Moving her hands until she found the loose board, Mia wedged her fingers in the crack and lifted.
Mia had been the one to find this hiding spot when she was a little girl. She’d hidden toys, presents, and eventually cigarettes in the floor of the attic for years before anyone else found her coveted spot.
It was the cigarettes that got her caught, and her mother had grounded her for a month when she’d found them, forbidding Mia from ever hiding anything in the attic again.
It looked like her mother had taken over the hiding spot as her own. It had never occurred to Mia that her mother would have started using it and would hide the artifact in there.
Lifting the board, Mia didn’t immediately see the vase that had been handed down for generations; instead, she found a dusty old hot pink shoe box. Sitting back on her heels, Mia placed the box on the floor in front of her, opened the lid, and gasped.
The letters.
All of the letters she’d written since the day she’d left were in the box, addressed to Drake and unopened.
Running her finger along the edges of the envelopes filling the box, Mia felt her eyes well up
and wondered for the hundredth time why her parents had done this to her. Why keep her away from Drake? Why intercept her letters and hide them? Didn’t they care about her happiness? Were they that cruel?
Obviously they are, Mia thought, as she set the box to the side so that she could take it with her when she left the house.
Reaching inside, she felt around the dark space until her fingers hit something hard, and she lifted the vase out, blowing some of the dust off. Mia smiled at the family heirloom that her mother had always promised would come to her eventually.
“Thanks, I’ll take that,” an unknown voice said from behind her, causing Mia to turn her head abruptly, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders.
A man stood blocking the entry to the attic, gun raised and pointed right at her.
He was of average size and had greasy hair, a crooked nose, and what looked like three-day-old clothes.
“C’mon,” he said menacingly. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up here for days, having to deal with cops and fucking bears. If I wasn’t getting paid so good, this shit wouldn’t be worth it. Now, move your fat ass and let’s go.”
Mia bristled at the insult and asked haughtily, “Go? I thought you came for the vase.”
“It started out with the vase, but when your dipshit mother screwed things up by getting shot and causing you to fly your fat ass to town, my job got a lot bigger.” The greaser chuckled at his own rude joke, then added, “Now move it. I gotta get you to the rendezvous point to deliver you and the vase, and I’d like to be gone before that podunk sheriff arrives.”
Pissed at the thief, mildly worried about the gun, and curious to see who wanted the artifact, Mia walked past him and down the stairs, giving him a wide berth as she wondered if fighting him would be a wise move or not.
Deciding that she’d rather find out what was going on than take the jerk down and get away, Mia let him lead her to a blue Ford pickup, while plotting her revenge.
“Get in and lay down and outta sight.”
Mia followed his instructions, and as they pulled away, she swore she heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
“Too late, assholes,” her captor said in a creepy, singsong voice as they drove off.
After a few moments of silence, Mia asked, “Where are you taking me?”
No answer.
She tried again. “Who hired you?”
Still, nothing.
“Why—”
“Shut it,” he snarled, and Mia figured it was best to just wait and see what happened.
After she counted to sixty twenty times, they pulled off the road and hit what felt like rough terrain. A few minutes later, the truck slowed and then stopped.
“C’mon fatty, let’s go.”
“Really?” Mia asked, fed up with his stupid comments. “Is that all you’ve got? You can’t come up with something more cutting than fat, fat ass, and fatty?”
He glared at her as she sat up and got out of the truck. She surveyed the heavily wooded area but didn’t see anyone or anything that would give her any answers.
The greaser walked up behind her and shoved her in the direction he wanted her to move. His gun pressed into her shoulder blades as they walked through the trees. After a quarter mile, they entered a clearing, and Mia saw what looked like a small shed, but when they got closer, she realized it was one of those tiny houses that were sprouting up all over the place.
Mia’s attention was drawn to the door when it opened, and she stopped in her tracks with a gasp.
“Dad?” Shocked to see him standing there, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to once again save you from yourself.”
Chapter Fourteen – Drake
“Drake,” Ty called, lifting his chin toward the house and indicating the front door, which was wide open.
Drake nodded and moved quickly, gun at the ready as he took point and entered the house, Ty a couple of feet behind him. They went through each room, clearing it to be sure no one was waiting, then went up the stairs to the attic.
“There,” Drake said, when he was sure the room was empty. A floorboard was raised with a pink shoebox on the floor in front of it. “She was here.”
“Do you think she went to the station?”
“There’s no sign of a struggle, but I can’t see Mia leaving the front door open like that… unless the suspect came in after she was gone. Call Alice and see if Mia came in. I’m going to go through the house one more time.”
Drake opened all of his senses as Tyson made the call, and when he got to the top of the attic stairs, he pick
ed up the scent. Not Mia’s sweet floral scent that was permeating the house, but the sour stench of sweat and body odor.
“Alice hasn’t seen or heard from Mia,” Ty said, as he shoved his phone in his back pocket.
“He was here,” Drake replied. “I’m going to go after them.”
“How? We can go back down and check for tracks, but unless we get a tip, I don’t know how we’re going to find this guy. We haven’t been able to so far.”
“I’m going to shift,” Drake said, holding up his hand when he saw that his friend wanted to argue. “I’ll be able to track his scent. I know it’s not what we’re supposed to do, Ty, but I have to do whatever I can to find her, and if the clan wants to punish me for it, so be it. All that matters is that I get her back.”
“I get it, brother, I do,” Ty said, moving toward him. “But what are you going to do when you find them?”
Drake shrugged.
“I’ll figure something out.”
Rushing out of the house and out the front door, Drake kept the scent to the sidewalk, where he lost it. Ms. Carter’s house backed up to the woods, but being close to town made things more difficult. They were never supposed to shift this close to town, and there was a good possibility that Drake’s bear would be running through populated areas in order to follow the trail to Mia.
But like he’d said to Tyson, he was willing to suffer whatever consequences his rule breaking resulted in, as long as he got to Mia before she came to any harm.
He went around to the back of the house and took off his clothes, not caring in the slightest if anyone happened to see him naked in the woods. Drake was one hundred percent focused. He needed to get to Mia.
Drake relaxed his body and cleared his mind. Shifting could be painful if you resisted, but he’d done it enough now to allow it to happen without feeling it at all.
His bear extended to its full height, roaring wildly at the fact that his mate was in danger. Within seconds, he caught the scent of Mia’s capture and took off running. Drake felt the wind rushing through his fur as his paws slapped against the pavement. He veered out of sight when possible, but he heard the startled scream of someone as he broke through the trees and took off down the freeway.
Luckily, he was left alone and was able to follow the trail to the woods as he tracked Mia and the elusive thief. The people of Spring Creek were no strangers to bear sightings, and all except a small few knew that shifters lived in the outskirts of town, but his clan had always made it a point to keep their bears safe and in the shadows. Not just for the safety of the townspeople, but for the safety of the clan. The last thing they needed was hunters from out of town catching wind of their existence and deciding they wanted to come to Spring Creek to hunt.
Drake knew these woods well, and had traveled them often, which was why he was surprised to see that a tiny cabin had been erected about five miles off the highway.
Treading softly, Drake approached the house, scenting not only Mia and her capture, but a third human as he neared.
“Holy shit!”
Startled, Drake’s bear roared as he swiveled just in time to see a man step around the house and lift a rifle, aiming the barrel right at him.
Without thought, Drake moved as the man pulled the trigger.
He felt the bullet pierce his flesh, but didn’t stop advancing until he felt the satisfying crunch of bones as he clamped down. Blood flowed in his mouth and he moved his head rapidly, tearing at the thief until a noise from his left distracted him.
Mia stood at the entrance to the house, a look of horror on her face and a knife at her throat. He moved to advance on the man holding her when Mia threw her hands up and screamed.
“No! Stop! He’s my father.”
Drake stayed where he was, waiting until Mia’s father lowered the knife to shift back to human form.
“Please, let me go to him,” he heard Mia plead, as he shook his head, waiting for his equilibrium to right itself.
“No,” her father replied. “Be still.”
Drake raised his head and saw them go back in to the house, leaving the door open for him to follow behind them.
Chapter Fifteen – Mia
Tears streamed down her face as she watched the door from the bench her father had forced her to sit on. At any other time, she would have been charmed by the tiny house with the compact kitchen, living space, and loft, but now, she was too frantic to take it all in.
Drake had been shot.
She knew it was him the moment she’d heard the enraged roar. Mia wasn’t sure how she knew, but instinctively, she did. Maybe it was because they’d claimed each other. She hoped she got the opportunity to ask him later, but for now, she just prayed he was all right.
Mia tried to jump out of her seat when Drake’s feet hit the entrance, but her father’s hand on her shoulder shoved her back down.
“Drake,” she called, her eyes roaming over his naked skin, searching for signs of injury. There was blood on his chest and arms, but she couldn’t tell if it was his or not. “Are you hurt?”
Drake’s eyes stayed on her father, fury written all over his face, but his voice was gentle when he answered. “I’m fine, babe. How are you holding up?”
“I’m ready to go home,” she said, making a half-hearted attempt at a joke, but Drake didn’t even crack a smile.
He kept his gaze on her father’s face and promised, “We’ll go home soon.”
“The hell you will,” her father said, speaking to her fiancé for the first time. “Mia is going back to New York with me. This is the last you’ll see of her.”
Drake stood tall, fisting his hands as if he were ready to attack.
“Don’t even think about it,” her father said, one hand holding the knife, the other pulling a gun from behind him and pointing it at Drake. “It’s quite simple, either she leaves with me peacefully, or I kill you and take her by force. It’s entirely up to you.”
Mia looked at her father, shocked by his words and his actions.
“What is going on with you? Why are you doing this?”
She’d known her father had never approved of her relationship with Drake, but she’d always thought it was because of how young they were. Apparently, it went deeper than that.
“For Christ’s sake, Mia, do you really think I’m going to let my daughter be with some bear shifter? It’s disgusting. He’s a filthy animal and you’re a world-renowned model. I’ll take you back home with me and we’ll get you set up with a nice, respectable man. A rich, human man.”
“No, Daddy, I love him. If you’d just give Drake a chance, you’d see how good he is to me. I’m not going back with you. We’re getting married.”
“The hell you say,” was her father’s response. “You forgot about him once, Mia, you’ll forget about him again.”
“I didn’t forget about him, you and Mom made me think he didn’t care about me. I found the letters, I know you guys intercepted them somehow.”
“Your mother was a fool to keep them,” he replied blandly, then turned the safety off on his gun when Drake made a move toward him. “For God’s sake, cover yourself. Throw him that blanket, Mia.”
Mia did as her father said. Drake wrapped the blanket around his stomach, then he shifted his gaze to her and said, “It was your father that hired that thug to steal the artifact from your mother. He’s the reason she’s in the hospital.”
She sucked in her breath and looked at her father, wondering how she’d ever believed he was a good man.
“How could you? Mom was your accomplice in all of this, why would you hurt her?”
“She was never supposed to get hurt. She ruined everything, stupid woman,” he said with a scowl. “I tried to get the vase in the divorce, but because it came from her ancestors, the court said it was hers… But her father had intended it to go to me. It was rightfully mine. I asked again over the years, but she insisted she was saving it for you, said it was your birthright. I met Collins one night in
a bar when he was talking about a painting he’d stolen. One thing led to another and I asked him to get the vase for me. Your mother wasn’t supposed to be there, and she certainly wasn’t supposed to go after him with a bat and get herself shot. Her stupidity snowballed into all of this mess. You flying here, hooking back up with him, none of it was ever supposed to happen.”
Mia looked from her father to Drake and back again, and decided to try and reason with him.
“You can have the vase, just let me stay. You’ll never have to see me or Drake again if you don’t want to, but we’re all adults now. Can’t you just let me make my own decision and be with the man I love?”
“You obviously don’t have the ability to think rationally when you’re around him, Mia.” Her father raised the knife and pointed it at her, the gun still trained on Drake. “Now stand up and bring the vase, we’re leaving. You,” he said to Drake, “Don’t even think about trying to stop us, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.”
“Drake,” Mia cried, unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t want anything to happen to him either.
“Go with him, babe, it’ll be okay. He can’t run far enough away. I’ll find him, and I’ll find you. I’ll bring you home.”
“Don’t be stupid, Dad, Drake’s the sheriff, you won’t get away with this. Just go and leave me behind.”
“He’s the sheriff in a shifter town that no one cares about, Mia, and I know why he didn’t come after you last time. I’m not worried. Let’s go.”
“I love you,” she said, as she once again left Drake behind.
“I love you too, Mia, and I’ll see you again soon,” Drake promised.
Chapter Sixteen – Drake
Drake waited until he heard them drive away before he shifted. He knew he wouldn’t be able to control his bear and stop himself from killing Mia’s father if he got his claws on him. He needed to calm down and think rationally about what his next move was.
Mia would never forgive him if he hurt her father, and he’d never forgive himself if something happened to her.
Her Bear for Life (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Second Chance Shifters) Page 5