by Jenny Brex
“Like hell you aren’t,” he said, scooping her up and putting her in a fireman’s carry.
She beat at his back with her fists. “Put me down.”
“No.”
“Put me down, now!”
He slid her over his shoulder and into a standing position. “What’s your problem?”
She poked his chest. “What’s yours?”
Denver sighed. “It’s what’s best for you.”
“Why do you get to decide?” she asked, her voice smaller, almost child-like.
“Because I love you. I want you to be happy, and I think you need to go home.”
Lily’s stiff shoulders loosened. Relief washed over her. She whispered to him, “You love me?”
He cupped her round, cherub cheeks between his hands and looked into her eyes. “I do, but if you stay here, you’ll regret not getting your life back.”
“What if this is the life I want?”
He took her hand and sat on the sofa with her. “You can’t truly know what you want yet. Not enough time has passed. You were a prisoner for ten years. You haven’t seen your family or your friends. You need to get help and work through the feelings you’re going to have. They’ll come crashing down on you at some point. More than you’ll want to deal with. As much as I love you, I need to let you go so that you can finish healing.”
She looked at the ground. The sobs came heavy and hard. Lily wrapped her arms around her body and held fast. She knew he was right – but she didn’t want to go. She was afraid of the world. Afraid of changes. Afraid of life having moved without her. Afraid of living back in Virginia. Afraid of the emotions that would derail her over and over again. Afraid of being kidnapped again. Afraid of never feeling love like she did in this cabin with Denver. She hated being afraid. She’d been afraid for so long…and finally, finally she wasn’t. Not when she was with Denver. With Denver Beck, everything felt right.
Chapter 14
Lily dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello?”
“Mom, it’s me, Lily.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “It’s so good to hear your voice. After the other call, it almost felt like a dream. And now, here you are again back in my life. Oh, how I’ve missed you.”
“I know. I miss you too, Mom. Have you told Ian?”
“He’s excited to see you. When you get here, he’ll drive home. When will you be here? What’s taking so long?”
“I don’t have any ID, Mom. I can’t fly or take the train. We thought we could drive, but we’d have to take the Alaskan ferry that goes from here down to Washington, but again, no ID. We’re going to talk to the police and see if there’s a workaround with my current situation.”
“Didn’t they explain those things when you filed a report about that awful man?” she asked.
“I didn’t yet. I haven’t spoken to them. I wasn’t ready.”
“You what?” Lily’s mother was flustered. “Why would you let that horrible man get away with this heinous crime? He could be long gone.”
Lily held her tongue. She couldn’t say anything. If she told her mother that the monster was dead, there would be questions. “Mom, I’ve been through a lot. Please understand, I’m a grown woman and need to make decisions for myself. I needed time and space. I was left for dead. I’ve needed to heal.”
“Of course,” she said, her voice tense. “Please hurry home. I need to see my baby again.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Work faster,” her mother urged. “I just want you home. I hear your voice, but until I see you in person…well, it almost feels too good to be true. Like this is some lie or the joke’s on me and you’re not really there. I never gave up hope, but I found what little acceptance I could to maintain my sanity.”
“Right. Me, too,” she said quietly. There were days she had nothing but a shred of hope left and almost gave it up, but that hope saved her when nothing else would.
“I can send you money, what do you need?”
“No, it’s okay. Denver’s offered whatever I need. I love him, Mom. He’s been so good to me.”
Her voice shifted. “Love? Lily, you can’t be serious. You barely know the man. I’m sure it was a rush of emotions after everything you’ve been through.”
“No, mom. I know what love is. I love him.”
“Right, sure, if you say so.”
“Really? After everything I’ve been through, you can’t just be happy for me? Happy that I have a tiny slice of joy in my life?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset. I’m sure he’s wonderful. I’m happy you’ve got somebody by your side,” she said, but her words didn’t match her truth. She wasn’t a very good liar.
***
Denver drove Lily into town. His own area had no law enforcement – and the shifters watched out for each other. In this circumstance, they needed somebody that could get Lily proper identification.
“Be careful with your answers,” he said. “We don’t know where he is or what happened after you left.”
She nodded. “I know. It’s okay. I’d never betray you.”
“It’s for both of us,” he reminded.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Denver turned his truck off. “Let’s do this.”
Lily repeated back to him. “Truth and nothing but the truth – except for the afterward.”
“Yep, and the rest should be cake.”
“Okay.” She squeezed his hand, then got out of his pick-up truck.
Denver walked around the front of the parking space and met her on the other side. Taking her hand, they walked to the police station, if that’s what you wanted to call it.
“Back just a few years ago, we’d have to wait for a state trooper to be flown over in a bush plane. Try not to be impressed with the fancy place we have now.”
“This is like the size of a garden shed back home,” she said. “Okay, maybe a little bigger, but not much.”
“Yeah, we kick it up a notch for tourists with our outhouse-sized buildings.”
They walked into the common building which housed the post office, the police station with one safety officer, and the local notary.
“Wow,” she whispered. “Three desks. That’s three offices?”
“Can I help you?” a woman asked.
“I need to speak with a police officer.”
The woman looked over her shoulder. “Chuck, this one is yours.”
The man waved them over to his desk. “How can I help you?”
When Lily thought of a police station, this was nothing like she pictured. Denver lived just outside of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a remote village. The biggest town over was still quite a haul. On the drive, he asked if she wanted to see where she’d been, but she quietly declined.
“Never again.”
He didn’t know if it would help or hurt to see it, but left the choice to Lily.
The couple sat in front of the man.
“What can I do for you?” the officer asked.
“Lily,” Denver nudged.
“My name is Lily Scott. My full name is Kimberly Ann Scott. I was kidnapped ten years ago by a man at a rest stop on the highway.”
The officer’s eyes shot open wide.
“I escaped, but he caught me. He then beat me and left me for dead in the woods.” She spoke calmly, detached, trying to get through the story. “This man found me and took me in, healing me in the process.”
The officer eyed Denver up.
“I’d like to find a way back home to my family in Virginia, but I have no identification. That means no plane, no train, no ferry,” she said.
The officer sized the couple up, and then challenged her. “So you’re telling me that you were kidnapped ten years ago? You just got free? This guy found you, but you need ID to go home?”
She nodded.
“Just like that. How stupid do you think I am? All calm, cool, and collected. Let me tell
you something, missy, if I’d been kidnapped and finally got free I’d be shaking or crying or something. It’s like a well-rehearsed story going on here. Next thing you’re going to tell me, you have no idea who did this. Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
Denver bristled and slammed his fist on the officer’s desk. “How about a little respect? She’s been through hell and back, and that’s how you’re going to talk to her? I found her practically dead, barely breathing, nothing but bruises from being beaten, and so help me God if you don’t show this girl some respect, you may have to lock my ass up to stop me from chomping your ass.”
“Cool your jets, son, take it down a notch. That’s no way to talk to an officer,” he said, standing up, trying to look taller.
“And that’s no way to talk to my friend.”
The men exchanged glares.
“And how did you find her in the woods? You’re just walking along and there she is? Some sort of coincidence, don’t you think?”
“I swear to God,” Denver cussed under his breath. “Yes, I stumbled upon her. Damn thankful it was a coincidence, or she could be dead by now.”
“Please,” Lily urged. “Please, help me. Look, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be. Nobody schooled me on how a kidnapped victim should act after a year, two years, five years, or ten years. All I know is that in order to survive, I had to shut down as much as I was able emotionally. I’m sorry if I’m not acting the way you think I should. It’s the truth. I’m sure it was all over the newspapers at some point. I’m the little girl a monster kidnapped away from her parents when I was only fourteen.”
Chuck swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I should have thought of that. Yes, of course, you’re the one that suffered. Let’s start over and get your information down. You said you went missing how long ago? And where was it? Right, and what can you tell me about…”
Lily was exhausted. She went through the entire ordeal to find out he’d have to pass her information on to his superior who would then file it with a larger department that had better access to federal information. Living in the outlands and bush of Alaska, nothing happened quickly.
Eventually, things would get sorted out. Once that was done, they’d match her for fingerprints, old records, and then if everything was as it should be, they’d work on identification next. They’d be in touch, or better yet, stop back in about a week and see how things were moving along.
By the time they left to go back to Denver’s house, Lily was done. Nothing would pull her out of this funk. Absolutely nothing.
Oh. That? Well, okay.
Chapter 15
“This is going to take a while, isn’t it?” Lily asked. “It’s weird you don’t have a police department, but I guess out here there aren’t that many people.”
“Yeah, we try to watch out for each other, and you’ve got to be prepared for pretty much anything. Some people choose to live up this way, while a lot of us grew up in the northern parts of Alaska. It’s home, so it’s what we’re used to.”
“I can understand that. It’s night and day from how I lived back home. What do you do for money? Do you just live off the land?” It was all such a different experience.
“A lot of us do odd jobs, helping out in town, flying supplies in small bush planes, some are truckers, others find jobs in surrounding areas… Money is money. We all need it time to time.”
“What do you do?”
He smirked. “If I told you, I’d have to finger you.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Wait, what? Isn’t the expression kill you?”
“It is, but that wasn’t what I said.”
“What did you…” Her eyes grew wide. “Denver! It just hit me.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to lie. I don’t want you to go. I’m torn between tossing you out so you can figure out what you want out of life and not wanting you to leave. Can’t your family come up here? I mean, we can sort out the ID stuff. You’ll need that, but the thought of you going back to Virginia is tearing me up.”
She was hopeful. “Yeah?”
He rolled his head, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m trying to do the right thing by you. It’s harder than I expected. Could you love a half-breed forever?”
“Only if he has a really big dick,” she said with a straight face.
Denver busted out laughing. “I wasn’t expecting that. Well, I may qualify. Would you like to check for yourself?”
“I’ve heard rumors,” she said. “Heard you’re hung like a bear, big old penis to match your broad fuck-me shoulders.”
Denver arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a dirty talker? Where did that come from?”
Lily giggled. “I have no idea. It sounded cool in my head, so I said it.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Call your mom, tell her to hop a flight and we’ll meet her in a busier part of the state. Not a lot of hotels around these parts.”
“Can I call her later? I was kind of hoping to-”
“Say no more.” He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. “Forget this crazy idea of leaving. You’re mine, baby.”
***
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The last thing he expected was for someone to be at his door. Denver was annoyed at the timing. “Stay here.”
Lily was curious, but did as he said. Besides, she felt safer tucked away. The less people who knew she was there, the better.
Denver made his way to the door. “Yeah?”
“Hey, Denver. We’ve got a problem,” the gruff voice mentioned.
“What is it?”
“Can I come in?”
“Sort of a bad time.”
Jake raised an eyebrow and inched in a bit. “What have you got going on in there? A nice piece of tail? Good for you, it’s been a while.”
Denver glared at his friend. “Just tell me.”
“It’s the land. They’re putting pressure on us to give up our ground. The payout they’re offering is less than half of what it’s worth,” he spat out.
“Oh, shit. I thought…” he stopped talking.
“Nah, we’re good,” Jake said, settling his friend’s rattled nerves.
“Okay. When did you get the latest news on the land?”
“Ran into Marlin, and he filled me in. It’s not good. It’s barely legal. Bastards.”
“Can I catch up with you later? I’ve got company.”
“You old dog; go get her,” he said. “Stop by tomorrow. Let’s talk. We need to get King in on this. Those bastards are tightening the screws. Forget that. I’m ready to stop this before it goes further. It’s time to break up the bullshit. Our rights are being violated.”
“Right, tomorrow,” he said, then nudged his friend out the door.
Denver went back to his bedroom where Lily waited.
“What was that about?”
Denver shoved his hands into his pant pockets. “They’re trying to push us out, move us to a new area, and take back this land. They intend to add it to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, expand more preserved land, but it’s been in our family for years. And they’ve already pushed us this far up north. Earlier generations lived lower in the state, but the pressure to keep us in hiding and put us away was too much. We migrated farther north and stayed. Now this?”
“But aren’t shifters known around these parts? Don’t they understand you’re just being who you are?”
“Yeah, but some people want to make us out to be bad guys because they don’t understand our genetics.” He walked around to the side of the bed, then sat down. “Where were we?”
“Wait,” Lily said, stopping his moves. “So, they want to buy your land at less than the value. What happens if you say no? Do they just take it anyway?”
“That’s a good question. There are legal ramifications, but I’m not into lawyering or understanding the fine print. King is better with that kind of stuff. He’s one of my other close fri
ends. I’m not sure what I want. Jake wants to be in a more open society again like it used to be years back, where our interactions aren’t as taboo. Old times. King likes to be set off separate and not have to worry about people crucifying us for being some kind of freaks as some of them call us. An open society would be good for all of us. I just don’t know if we can go back that way again so easily. Not up here, but maybe in some of the bigger towns. People have strong opinions on both sides of the coin.”
“And you? What do you want?” Lily asked, fascinated by the information.
“Me? I want to get married to a sexy, sweet girl named after a flower and have babies. I want a nice yard for them to play in, a good education for them, and a happily ever after. When it comes to my home, I want to stay. When it comes to more open interaction, I don’t give a shit. I’m a loner. But I resent them wanting to steal my land.”
“Did you say married? And babies?” Lily crinkled her nose.
He was perplexed. “Yeah, I think I did. I’m not sure what happened there.”
She poked him. “And you were ready to send me on my way? How does a silly old bear fall in love in such a short time anyway?”
“It’s primal. Come here, let me show you,” he teased. “Why don’t you let me give you one of those orgasms you raved about?”
She blushed. “Okay. I mean, if you insist.”
Denver laughed at her reaction. “One minute you’re talking about my big dick, now you’re blushing?”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Ooh, is that a threat or a promise?”
Chapter 16
The following week, they were able to go back to see Officer Chuck. He’d called Denver’s phone and let them know that he was able to assign a temporary ID. She’d then have to take it to one of the larger cities and have it authenticated via their network. His office didn’t have the necessary equipment, but due to her unique circumstances they were able to file the report. Things checked out.
There was just one problem, they couldn’t find her supposed captor. They suspected he left town, though nothing at his home seemed disturbed like he was in a hurry to get out of there. They suspected he had a duffel bag ready to go. He didn’t even take his truck. He simply disappeared. Did they know anything? Or could they offer information into his whereabouts?