by Anna Lowe
“I told you you’d regret leaving me,” he said, oh so casually.
Every muscle in Tim’s body coiled.
“And I told you my only regret is ever meeting you,” she snapped. Then she looked around, worried. “Where’s my mother? What have you done to her?”
Jonathan smirked. “So sweet of you to think of the old bitch. Don’t worry. She’s happily shopping in Waikiki. At least, for now.” His voice dropped in a clear threat.
“For now?” Hailey stuck her hands on her hips.
Jonathan laughed — the ass — and smiled. “Last chance, baby.”
Hailey shook her head. “What’s so hard to understand about no? I don’t love you, Jonathan. I never will.”
Jonathan sighed. “I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of that.”
Tim’s bear growled. Love is everything.
Before he’d met Hailey, he hadn’t understood that. But she’d opened the door to a hidden part of his soul and changed everything.
“I’ll give you everything. I’ll take good care of you,” Jonathan went on. “Like a princess.”
Hailey snorted. “What if I don’t want to be a princess?”
Jonathan went on as if he hadn’t heard. “All you have to do is follow my lead.”
Tim scowled. Did Jonathan really think that was all a woman might desire?
“No.” Hailey turned to stride away, but one of the others stepped forward, cutting her off. She spun back to Jonathan, furious. “You can’t force me to go with you.”
“Oh, but I can. You’re the perfect wife, and I want you.”
He might as well have said, That’s the perfect Mercedes-Benz or I want that Armani suit. As if Hailey were just another accessory he needed to achieve his ambitions.
“You have a choice, Hailey. Two easy options.” Jonathan grinned. “Option one, you marry me and live happily ever after. I’m going places, baby, and I’ll make you the most glamorous First Lady since Jackie O.”
Hailey scowled. “Why not the most glamorous First Lady ever, while you’re at it?”
Tim hid a snort. Hailey could certainly do glamorous — he’d seen the magazine spreads. But that wasn’t who she really was. Why couldn’t Jonathan understand?
“Option two,” Jonathan went on. “And let me warn you — you really need to consider this from my perspective. The next best thing to a Senate candidate with perfect credentials and a beautiful wife is a Senate candidate whose true love died tragically, leaving him mourning and alone, ready to serve the public in loving memory of his fiancée.”
Hailey stared, and Tim’s pulse went through the roof.
Connor, he growled.
We’re on our way, man, his brother replied.
On the way was good, but the distance was such that his backup wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. Tim wouldn’t mind taking on Lamar and the other shifters, but that increased the risk to Hailey. His feet twitched, but he forced himself to watch and wait.
Hailey glared at Jonathan. “Your true love dying tragically?”
He made a face. “Yes, I like the first option better, too. The choice is yours.”
“You’re crazy.”
Jonathan sighed. “Option two. Such a pity.” He reached into his coat pocket, drew out a sheaf of papers, and clicked a ballpoint pen. “I’ll need you to sign this, of course.”
Hailey’s jaw dropped, and Tim’s did too. Jonathan expected Hailey to sign some kind of agreement before he murdered her?
Hailey smacked the papers away. “What the hell is that?”
“The instructions to your lawyer to turn your property over to your beloved fiancé without further delay.”
Hailey’s face went blank. “What property? I rent my condo and—” Her expression changed, and she whispered, “You want my grandparents’ place?
Jonathan tut-tutted. “You really should have signed this over before.”
Lamar scowled. “That stubborn old man should have signed it over while he had a chance. See if you’re any smarter, Ms. Crusak,” he said, drawing out her legal name.
Tim’s mind spun. What did that mean? Why had Hailey suddenly gone so pale?
Then he remembered what she’d said that day they’d rushed over to Koakea after running into Lamar.
My grandfather was mauled to death by wolves.
Wolves — or shifters?
Lamar’s evil grin stretched.
Hailey covered her mouth and whispered, “You killed my grandfather.”
She whirled, ready to bolt, but Jonathan caught her arm. She twisted away, glaring at him. “You want to kill me, but you want me to sign over the deed first?”
Jonathan nodded, all matter-of-fact. “Easier that way.”
“And if I don’t?”
He grinned — really grinned, like that was the best part of his diabolical plan.
Hailey read his expression before Tim could, and she blanched. “You’ll kill my mother if I don’t.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Oh, I won’t kill her. Lamar will.”
Lamar nodded and showed the points of his teeth. “With pleasure.”
The last of the blood drained from Hailey’s face, and she swayed on her feet.
“Either way, that property will be mine,” Jonathan crowed.
One of the security guards shot a knowing smirk to another, making Tim do a double take. What exactly did they have planned?
“Sign the land over to me, and nothing will happen to your mother,” Jonathan said. “If you don’t, you still die, and the land goes to her. She will sign it over to me, and then she will die.” Jonathan waved to the pounding surf. “It’s easy to stage a drowning, especially in a place like this. Another wouldn’t be hard. Or maybe a tragic fall…”
Lamar shook his head. “Something slow and painful.”
Hailey stared. “You’re ready to kill for a godforsaken piece of land?”
Jonathan snorted. “That godforsaken piece of land is sitting on one of the biggest virgin oil fields in the lower forty-eight.” Then his lips curled into a wolfish grin. “I wouldn’t have minded screwing your sweet ass either. Oh, wait. Maybe I still will. Second thoughts, baby? Option one is still open, you know.”
“Just get moving,” Lamar growled.
“Now, Lamar, don’t get greedy,” Jonathan chided.
Lamar’s face flushed. Like any alpha wolf, he hated to take orders. When Jonathan turned to Hailey, Lamar gave his men a curt nod. They fanned out to new positions, surrounding Jonathan.
Tim’s heart pounded faster. The shit was about to hit the fan, and Hailey was standing at ground zero. He calculated which of the men he’d have to kill and which he’d have to settle for merely knocking aside when he ran in for Hailey.
“Just sign it already,” Lamar barked at Hailey.
Jonathan’s face clouded. “You stick to your job, Lamar, and I’ll stick to mine.”
Hailey looked from one to the other and slowly backed away.
Yes. That way, Tim wanted to whisper to her. Get over toward the guy on your left. He looks like the slowest of the bunch.
But Hailey edged closer to another man instead. Tim wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. If only he could speak into Hailey’s mind the way he could talk to Connor or Chase.
Still, Hailey was his mate, so it had to be possible. Tim mustered all his concentration and pushed an image toward Hailey’s mind. The other way. Go toward that other guy.
She halted, looking around in confusion. Then she spotted the tiny opening to her left and edged toward it.
Yes! That way. Slowly. Keep going, he wanted to yell.
“I’m the one who put all this together for you,” Lamar barked.
Jonathan snorted. “You told me about the land, yes. But you wanted to kill Hailey outright. My plan was much better.”
Tim felt sick. Was Jonathan talking about his plan to woo Hailey and make her the last accessory he needed for a perfect political career?
Jonathan l
aughed, apparently unaware of Lamar’s growing anger. Did he even know the man was a shifter? Tim doubted it.
“Besides,” Jonathan scoffed. “You have no capital, no connections. You knew about the oil under that land, but you couldn’t do anything about it. Which is why you need me. Don’t forget that, Lamar.”
“You need me,” Lamar growled.
Jonathan made a face. “Yes, I do need you. I also pay you, Lamar. Like I said, don’t get greedy. This is just one step on a long road. I’ll make you even richer someday, you know.”
Lamar didn’t look like he wanted to wait for someday, and Tim crouched, ready to run in.
“You’re the one who can’t control one stupid woman,” Lamar snapped.
Tim nearly growled out loud. Hailey wasn’t stupid, and she hadn’t been put on earth to be controlled.
Jonathan ignored Lamar and turned back to Hailey. “Like I said, baby. Last chance.”
“How long do you really think she’ll play along for?” Lamar cut in. “Only one way to keep a woman quiet.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll come to see the light.” Jonathan grinned, looking Hailey up and down. “And you,” he said, turning to Lamar. “Don’t lose your head. I’ve got this under control.”
It sure didn’t look like it, not from Tim’s vantage point. The security guards had all taken a step closer, and like any good betas, their allegiance would lie with Lamar, not their human boss.
“Lose my head?” Lamar turned bright red. “Lose my head?”
The air shimmered around Lamar’s shoulders, signaling an imminent shift. Tim took a deep breath, ready to barrel forward.
“Maybe you’re the one who needs to know about losing for a change,” Lamar snapped.
“Uh, boss…” one of his men murmured, trying to calm him down.
The others looked on nervously. Whatever their plan had been, Lamar was about to blow it to bits. Even Hailey patted the air with her hand, signaling for Jonathan to back down.
But Jonathan just laughed. “Lose? I never lose.”
Lamar clenched one fist, and Tim watched as wolf claws extended from Lamar’s hand.
“You will this time,” Lamar growled.
Jonathan snorted and turned to Hailey, putting his back to Lamar. A fatal mistake Tim could see coming from a mile away. He shot forward, racing toward the huddled group. Not to save Jonathan’s sorry ass — too late for that anyway — but to save Hailey.
“No!” Hailey shrieked as Lamar raised his arm.
Jonathan didn’t even look over his shoulder. “Don’t mind him, Hailey. All bark and no bi—”
The word bite turned into a shocked gasp as Lamar lay his claws across Jonathan’s neck and ripped savagely to the side. Jonathan dropped, clutching his throat, making horrific gurgling sounds.
“Jonathan!” Hailey cried.
Lamar pushed away the nearest of his men. “Either way, she has to die. And either way, the profit is all ours. We’ll get that bounty Moira offered — and the oil field, too.”
Moira? Tim narrowed his eyes as he ran. What did that scheming she-dragon have to do with all this?
“You beast!” Hailey screamed at Lamar.
The words filled Tim’s mind as he ran down the dune. He shifted in mid-sprint, wincing at the thought of what Hailey would see. She’d cringe at the sight of a huge grizzly with its jaws held wide, ready to rip Lamar and his men limb from limb. To her, he’d be another murdering shifter she would never be able to face. A beast.
I love you, Hailey, he whispered, wishing she could understand.
Then he steeled his nerves and bared his teeth, ready to take out the shifters who dared threaten his mate.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hailey stumbled back as all hell broke loose. Everything happened at once, and her mind could only process it in slow motion.
Jonathan fell in a pool of his own blood. Lamar stepped forward with a murderous scowl, holding out fingers that ended in claws. His teeth extended to inch-long fangs, and his ears peaked into canine triangles. Behind him, something huge, brown, and furious came hurtling down the dunes.
Hailey opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
A grizzly. A wild grizzly…
Her thoughts caught, looping around and around.
A grizzly with hazel eyes that begged for forgiveness. The tracks she’d seen that morning outside the house. The familiar, knight-in-shining-armor determination in every rushed step the bear took toward the men threatening her.
She struggled to connect the dots until all those threads came together in one tight knot.
“Tim,” she whispered, buckling at the knees.
Lamar and his men whipped around, half a step too late. The grizzly flung the nearest man aside. It bulldozed straight over the second man, intent on getting to Lamar. The others scattered, shouting, and Lamar snarled.
Run, Hailey! Run! she swore Tim shouted into her mind. The words were faint but urgent, and spoken in the lowest bass she’d ever heard him hit.
Years ago, her grandfather had screamed those very words, and she’d had no choice but to run. She didn’t really have a choice now, but her grandfather’s murderer — Lamar — stood before her, and running felt wrong. A spot in the center of her chest burned, but she swatted at it, only to feel her necklace jerk. Then she jumped sideways, dragging Jonathan with her just in time to avoid the collision of the grizzly and Lamar, who was fully in wolf form. They fell to one side in a flurry of vicious snarls and bites.
The sounds Jonathan was making terrified her in a different way, and she crouched over him, not knowing what to do.
The pearl around her neck warmed, comforting her the way her grandfather would have been able to with one You can do this look.
“Hang on,” she said, stripping off her shirt to cover the gashes on Jonathan’s neck. It was too late, and she knew it, but she had to do something.
Jonathan’s panicked eyes landed on her with a surprised look, and she nearly huffed. Yes, she despised him. But, no, she wasn’t about to watch while he bled to death.
“Hang in there,” she said, dragging him another yard.
The pool of blood spreading around Jonathan was horrifying enough to behold, but when her eyes strayed to the side…
Tim had only ever been kind and gentle around her. Now, he was all warrior. Fast, furious, and ruthless. All wild animal.
Of course, wild animals weren’t supposed to act selflessly. Not in defending humans, at least. But there he was, putting his life on the line for her.
Blood splashed, and Hailey looked away, trying to think. She could scramble over the dunes, get into the car, and lock herself in. She could drive off for help. She could—
“Run,” Jonathan whispered with the wide-eyed look of a man who’d realized too late how dirty his own dealings had been. Then his eyes hardened on some point over her shoulder, and his body went stiff.
“Jonathan,” she cried, shaking him.
His lifeless eyes stayed on the sky, unblinking.
Go, Hailey. Run! Tim yelled in her mind.
She forced herself to look up and around. Jonathan was dead. Lamar’s men were slow to regroup, and if she hurried…
She forced her legs into gear, grabbing a bat-sized length of driftwood as she ran for a gap between two of Lamar’s men.
“No, you don’t,” one barked, reaching out.
She swung the wood, smacking his arm away, and darted left. By then, the second man had noticed her. Make that, a wolf had noticed her, because there was a mangy gray canine where the man had been. It clacked its jaws, driving her toward the first man. Hailey sprinted onward, no longer intent on getting through them, just on reaching the lifeguard tower. The ladder was steep and narrow, with just enough space for one. A position she had half a chance of defending if she held her shit together long enough.
She sprinted like never before and leaped for a rung halfway up. Her foot slipped, making her shin bash against a steel rung,
but she caught hold and hauled herself up just in time to avoid the wolf’s outstretched jaws. The second she reached the top, she spun and swung the stick.
“You bitch!” the man exclaimed, falling back along with the wolf. Both had reached for her, and both dropped to the ground. The wolf snarled, licking the red welt across his snout. The man ripped off his jacket and arched his back.
Hailey gasped as the man turned into a beast. A bear like Tim, yet nothing like Tim, as it turned out. Tim’s pelt was the same rich brown color as his hair, and the tips shone in the sun. Every move he made was swift and calculated. The man, on the other hand, turned into a bear that looked as if the winter had stretched on far too long. His fur was scraggly and unkempt, his eyes wild. He took two steps toward Hailey, and her knees shook. If he stood on his hind legs, he could easily reach the tower, and she doubted her stick would do much against that beast.
But the last of Lamar’s men — the last in human form, at least — stepped over and yelled, “I’ll get her. You help Lamar finish that bastard off.”
Finish Tim off? Hailey nearly cried out.
Lamar had been joined by a second wolf, and the pair fought Tim, showing speed and agility a bear could never match. Worse, the dark-colored bear was lumbering over to join them, making it three to one.
Within seconds, the fourth man had turned into a wolf too, and kept Hailey cornered in the lifeguard station. It paced back and forth, showing its teeth. Staying out of reach, the bastard. All she could do was stare at the fight. Tim stood firm, taking powerful swipes at each foe, but how could he possibly beat those odds?
The dark grizzly charged Tim, and the wolves scattered, letting the two giants duke it out. Hailey cringed as roars split the air. She had no idea bears could pull their lips that far back and expose so many teeth, but Christ, they sure could. Their six-inch claws slashed at each other’s flanks.
“No,” she croaked. She’d never seen anything so brutal in her life.
That spot on her chest warmed, and she caught the pearl without looking down. Her fingers played over the familiar, uneven surface. The pearl had warmed in the past — just enough to make her wonder before shaking the feeling away as the work of her imagination. But her pearl had never heated like this, almost burning her skin.