You Had Me at Cougar

by Terry Spear

  “The meal is great,” Ava said. “Thanks for inviting me over to have it with you.”

  Nina sighed. “About Chet?”

  “Ohmigod, he is sooo virile and hot and sexy and yeah, we really hit it off great. I never expected that.”

  Nina’s jaw gaped. Stryker chuckled. “You asked, Nina.”

  Nina clamped her mouth shut and then smiled and began eating some more of her french fries. “So, are you—”

  “Mating him?” Ava smiled.

  “Well? You can’t leave us hanging.” Nina bit into another french fry as if she were frustrated with her.

  “Yes. If it works out, definitely.”

  Nina stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “Seriously. Well, wow, this is great news.” Then she frowned. “You’re not leaving us, are you?”

  “No, I think he wants to move here and work with his whole team.”

  “Wow, here I thought we worked fast.” Nina smiled at her. “I’m happy for you.”

  “If it works out. I mean, I’m not sure he’s feeling the same way about me, but if so…” Ava shrugged. She would be thrilled.

  Stryker drank some of his water. “Sounds like the family’s growing by two more—Chet and his mother. That works for me.”

  Nina sipped from her drink. “Well, I…I can’t believe it. That’s wonderful.”

  “If it works out.” Ava would hate for word to be back to Chet that they were going to be mated when it was the furthest thing from his mind. But she really hoped they would. She loved how he accepted her gift of sight without reservation. Not all men she had dated had and if it worked out between them, she wanted to make him as happy as he made her.

  At the restaurant in Cody, Irena brought out two of their meals while Bridget was texting her mom. Travis had been surprised she wanted to go with him on this mission. But she’d wanted to finally go on an assignment now that the twins were two years old. He was glad to be working with her again though. They made the perfect team. Plus, when they could settle down for the night, they enjoyed all the benefits of being a mated couple. And with no little ones to worry about for now, it was like a second honeymoon.

  Travis was glad Chet had called him on this mission. Especially after Chet was on his own and then wounded during the last one. Travis only wished Bridget’s first mission back to work wasn’t so dangerous.

  Irena delivered the last of the meals. Luke poured honey into his tea and coated his toast with honey.

  “Irena, if some people don’t believe Joe did any of the killings,” Chet said, “are there any other candidates who could have done the deed?”

  Irena sighed. “Joe’s brother Rob. Or their friend Hugo.”

  Chet hoped, if Joe wasn’t the culprit, that one of these other men would pan out. “Do you have any idea where either of them are?”

  “They live here,” Irena said. “Hugo has a hot temper. Rob’s a womanizer. Joe is the one with all the plans.”

  “Thanks, Irena.”

  “I’ve got to wait on some more customers. Holler if you need anything more.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Bridget said.

  Travis eyed Luke as he poured more berry sauce on his waffles. “You eat like a bear.”

  Luke was just eating his waffles, smiling a little, appearing amused. “We live everywhere, like you do. And just so you know, I’m a black bear, not a grizzly.”

  “Oh, of course, that’s what Chet and Leyton told us,” Bridget said. “Are you from here?”

  “I grew up around these parts, but my twin brother, Nathan, and I ended up in Ely, Minnesota and call the North Shore our home now,” Luke said.

  “Oh, do you know a Jonathon Browning, per chance?” Bridget asked. “We met him in Yuma Town. He said he was chasing his sister, Ursula, to protect her from another bear. Blue?”

  Luke shook his head and cut up some of his blueberry sauce-soaked waffles. “Yeah, I know Jonathon. He’s my cousin and is interested in dating her. But she’s not interested in either of the bears. I keep telling him that. He needs to look elsewhere. Sister, eh?”

  Bridget smiled.

  “What kind of work do you do?” Travis wondered why Luke would be down here, ready to take care of Joe Sharp on his own. Maybe because he had his bear strength to back him up, just like the cougars were stronger.

  “I’m a special agent for Bear Relations in Minnesota. Gunnar Swenson is our sleuth leader.”

  “What does your leader think of you being here?” Bridget asked.

  Travis wondered the same. He assumed that others in the pack would take up the slack though.

  Chet finished his meal and sat back and was listening in to the conversation.

  “He understands why I had to be here, though he didn’t like that I’d been dating a human. That’s who killed her. Joe Sharp. At least we believe. Supposedly, he’s no longer here. I’ve had word he has gone to Loveland, Colorado. But I learned he owns a house in Cody, and since I am already here, I wanted to check it out just in case the other information isn’t accurate.” Luke took another bite of his waffles.

  “Irena told us about his mother’s house. But she also believes he’s innocent,” Chet said.

  “It’s certainly possible that he is.” Luke finished his meal. “I want to meet up with a grizzly, Cedric Shader, who’s in town. He has a special…talent for seeing future events. That’s where I’m headed now. To see him. He’s supposed to be working another case with the police here in town.”

  “Cedric Shader. He’s psychic?” Bridget asked, and Travis wondered if she was going to share her own ability with Luke, but she didn’t.

  “Yeah, if you believe in those things.” Luke smiled.

  Chet smiled too. “We always have an open mind. Loveland. That’s only a couple of hours from Yuma Town.”

  Travis suspected if Chet got that close to Yuma Town, he would make a trip there to see Ava.

  “Meeting with Cedric sounds like a great idea. Maybe we can be there for the meeting,” Bridget said. “If you give us your phone number, or email address, we can let you know when the man is history just in case we split forces.”

  The small smile Luke gave Bridget made Travis believe he had no intention of dropping the issue. They exchanged information though.

  Luke sighed. “You can come with me to meet Cedric. I’ll just text him to let him know you’re coming.” He pulled out his phone and texted him, then paused, got a text back and nodded. “He said the more the merrier when it comes to taking down a murderer.”

  “We appreciate that.” Chet got a text, and he shook his head. “Ava just learned that you and Bridget came up here to help me take down a murderous cougar.”

  “We didn’t tell her,” Bridget said. “We didn’t want to worry her. But a lot of people knew we were leaving and I’m sure the word finally reached her.”

  Chet texted Ava back.

  Bridget and Travis finished their meals.

  Luke got another text. “Are we ready? You can follow me to Cedric’s hotel. He said he just finished his job here.”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Chet said, and they all paid their dinner bills.

  In Travis and Bridget's car, Bridget drove, Travis sat up front with her, and Chet sat in the back as they followed Luke to Cedric's hotel.

  "I can't believe you keep helping each other out on missions," Bridget said. "I mean you and Luke, Chet."

  "I know. I was really surprised to learn he was here searching for the same guy as we are. It would help if we could combine forces," Chet said. "But those who fund our operations might not be game."

  "I'm sure if it involves bears too, they would help finance a joint venture if we ended up with one," Travis said.

  "You know the wolf who came through Yuma Town said that there is a United Shifter Force that jaguars created and wolves belong to," Bridget said.

  Travis looked at his mate in disbelief.

  "Didn't he?" Bridget asked.

  "Jaguar shifters?" Chet asked, never ha
ving heard of such an animal.

  "Yeah, I guess"—Bridget sighed—"I read his thoughts and he was thinking of the wolf and jaguar united force and was wondering if some of our cougars could join them. He must not have voiced the idea aloud."

  "United Shifter Force," Chet and Travis said at the same time.

  "No bears?" Chet asked.

  "No. Just jaguars and wolves. Maybe they've never heard of the bears," Bridget said. "We only just learned of them ourselves last Christmas."

  "True." Travis smiled. "I'm so glad you can't read my mind."

  She laughed. "Travis, I always know what you're thinking anyway."

  When they reached the hotel, Cedric greeted them warmly in the lobby. He had dark brown hair and eyes and was tall like Luke, about six-two, then they headed up to his hotel suite.

  Chet was hoping that Bridget would tell him about her ability so that Cedric would know they believed in him, but that was up to her to share that she had the ability with others. He would never tell anyone about Ava or her sister's abilities either. That was up to them.

  Luke introduced everyone and then they sat down in Cedric's hotel suite in the living room. "I don't have any visions of this guy, Joe Sharp."

  He offered them sodas and waters. Everyone opted for bottles of water.

  "My good friend Luke always thinks I can see visions of any of these guys or gals that we need to apprehend and know just where they are," Cedric said, passing bottles of water to everyone, "but it's not an exact science."

  "Right, but can you get anything from this?" Luke handed him a cell phone.

  Cedric arched a brow.

  "The scent on it."

  Cedric took the phone and sniffed at it. "Your scent. And I smell a male cougar's."

  "Which is Joe Sharp's."

  "How did you manage to get his phone and not him?" Cedric asked, a sparkle in his eye.

  "He slipped away from me," Luke said, disgruntled.

  "But he left his phone behind?" Travis couldn't imagine leaving it behind when it might even be able to incriminate him if they could find anything on it that could help in their investigation.

  "He might have left it behind on purpose to throw me off his trail if he thought I was tracking him through it," Luke admitted. "Do you see anything about him, Cedric?"

  "I see Bridget and Travis going home to their kids and the happy reunion. I see you have words about Jonathon saying a she-bear named Ursula is his sister and Chet's got packing boxes in his house. Nothing about Joe Sharp."

  "Do you want to help us with this investigation?" Bridget asked.

  "I've got another one I'm working on back in Kalispell, Montana. The police are expecting my help up there as soon as I leave here. I’m sorry I couldn't be of more assistance."

  "Do you see anything about Chet and Ava?" Bridget asked, glancing at Chet and smiling.

  "Now that's personal." Cedric smiled.

  "We're going to Joe's mother's home," Luke said to Cedric. "Do you want to go with us?"

  "Yeah, sure, I can do that. Since my case is done and I won’t be heading back to Montana until tomorrow morning." Cedric rose from his chair.

  "Should we go in two vehicles?" Luke asked. "You can ride with me, Cedric."

  “Well, it was great you were able to use your ability to know when and where the murderer would strike next on your last case,” Bridget said.

  Cedric turned to Bridget. "You can't see future events, can you?"

  "No."

  "But you have some kind of ability, don't you?" Cedric asked.

  Travis was astounded Cedric recognized it.

  Luke was studying Bridget, looking surprised and waiting to hear if it was so.

  She nodded. "I can read minds."

  Both Luke and Cedric looked surprised to hear the news.

  "I'll be damned," Cedric said, then smiled. “No one, except the homicide detective I was working with, knew I was the one who had seen a vision of the killer and the location and time of his next victim.”

  “You were thinking about it,” Bridget said.

  "Bridget keeps you on your toes when she's around," Chet said.

  "That must be hard on you, Travis," Luke said.

  "I can't read his mind. That's why I mated him, among other reasons, of course," Bridget said.

  Luke looked a little worried as if he had been thinking things he shouldn't have been. Travis was dying to ask Bridget, but she could turn off listening to other’s thoughts or she at least didn't let on that she listened to them.

  But Travis would love to know what Luke had been thinking.

  The bears and cougars split up and headed out in the two vehicles and after about twenty minutes they reached Joe’s mother’s one-story framed house. Curtains were shut on the two windows, a Beware of Dog sign was hanging on the gate to the wood fenced yard.

  The yard was neatly trimmed, like someone was still living there.

  They parked in the driveway and then they all got out of their vehicles. Chet, Bridget, and Travis went to the door. But the others held back, waiting to see what would happen and provide backup if they needed it.

  Chet knocked on the door, and to his surprise, a woman answered it. “Yes, can I help you?”

  “We are looking for a Joe Sharp. Does he live here?” Chet asked, thinking the woman was Joe’s girlfriend, or maybe she was housesitting.

  “That’s my triplet brother,” the woman said. “He has gone on a trip to Loveland, Colorado.” She frowned. “What do you want to speak with him about?”

  “We’re just looking into a matter that he may know something about,” Travis said vaguely.

  “Can I help you with anything?” the woman asked.

  “Is your other brother, Rob, about?” Travis asked.

  “No. I have no idea where he is. I rarely see him. He comes and goes as he pleases. We all inherited Mom’s house, so he’s welcome to stay here, but he prefers not to. I have rules and he doesn’t like them. Mom put me in charge of the home, and we can’t sell it. I was always the more levelheaded of the three of us. I’m Nancy, by the way.”

  “I can understand that,” Bridget said. “I’m Bridget and this is Travis and Chet.”

  “And the other two men?” Nancy asked.

  “Cedric and—”

  “Oh, that’s Luke. I recognize him now.” Nancy lowered her voice and said conspiratorially, “Do you know he is a bear shifter?”

  They smiled. “Yeah, and so is Cedric,” Chet said. “Do you know anything about Hugo, your brothers’ friend?”

  “No, I have no idea where he is.”

  “But you’re dating him,” Bridget said.

  Nancy’s blue eyes rounded. Chet suspected that Bridget had read her mind, or Bridget would have told them earlier about Hugo’s girlfriend being the triplet sister to Joe and Rob Sharp.

  “What is this all about?” Nancy asked again.

  “You might have heard the rumors about the cougar women who have been murdered,” Bridget said.

  Chet assumed Bridget knew what she was doing. He was glad she was on their team again.

  “Of course. Within the shifter community, we all have heard about it. It’s just ghastly. No woman is really safe, you know. Wait.” She frowned at them. “You don’t think my brothers or boyfriend had anything to do with this, do you?”

  “Joe’s name keeps coming up, but others have said he isn’t the culprit. That someone else is. That’s when Rob and Hugo’s name came up,” Bridget explained.

  “No way.” Yet Nancy didn’t seem convinced of it herself. Her face had turned ashen, and she was giving off a volume of anxious scents, her heart racing.

  Chet hoped she was thinking about the men and was giving Bridget clues about the possibility that one of the men was involved. He and the others were letting it be Bridget’s call to pursue the discussion with her further. At least, Nancy didn’t just shut the door in their faces.

  “If you don’t believe that any of the men did this horrib
le business, does any other shifter come to mind?” Bridget asked.

  Chet was amused at her choice of words.

  “If you’ve smelled the crime scenes, you should know who was there at them, right?” Nancy seemed to be holding out hope that the men in her life hadn’t done this.

  Travis and Bridget looked at Chet since he was the only one who had been investigating this so far. Though maybe Luke had been at the crime scene where his former girlfriend had perished.

  “I have,” Chet said, “though I don’t know which cougars the scents belonged to. That’s one reason we need to speak with Joe. To help clear his name.” Unless of course he used hunter’s spray to disguise that he was at the scene of the crime. “But since some believe he’s involved, we have to look into his story.”

  “He was dating one of the dead women,” Nancy said, letting her breath out. “Her parents probably are the ones who believe he did it. But he wouldn’t have. He was planning to mate her. But her parents didn’t like him. They felt he wasn’t good enough for their daughter. That he didn’t earn enough money and he has been in trouble with the law before. Fights with men in bars, mostly. He’s easily riled.”

  “We thought Hugo had the hot temper,” Bridget said, at least based on what Irena had told them at the restaurant.

  Nancy chewed on her lip. “Uh, yeah, he does. His temper is worse than Joe’s any day. But neither of them is ever violent toward women. Only guys who give them grief. And believe me, you don’t wimp out in a bar around here. If some guy gives you trouble, you stand your ground and ensure they know you’re not worth the trouble. We’re cougars after all.”

  “And Hugo? Doesn’t he like the women a little too much?” Bridget asked.

  Nancy narrowed her eyes at her. “That’s in the past. Once he started dating me, he stopped chasing after other women.”

  Once a womanizer, always a womanizer, Chet was thinking. And if Nancy couldn’t see the truth, she would most likely be in for a rude awakening some day in the future if not sooner.

  “So if you’re dating Hugo, where is he now? Does he stay with you?” Bridget asked. “And what does he do for a living?”