by Kim Fox
Chloe let out a smile as she massaged her heel. She had her reporter face on all morning; refusing to laugh at his jokes, taking a stern, hard approach with him. She always got better results with the bad cop persona. People always gave out more info when they were intimidated.
But she kind of liked him. She was intrigued.
You’re here for a story. That’s it.
She stretched her feet out on the bed and laid down on the pillow. It smelled like him. Like musky campfire. She breathed in the scent and closed her eyes.
She was tired. She had been through the mountains of Montana asking questions for weeks. She couldn’t count how many doors got slammed in her face, how many people cursed her and ran away. Her boss was getting impatient. She kept lying and telling him that she was on the verge of breaking the story. The past few days he hadn’t even bothered to check in with her. Her journalist career was on the line with this article, and the line was as thin as dental floss.
But it wasn’t just her career. This was important to her. It had always been important to her. To prove to everyone that she wasn’t crazy. But mostly to prove to herself that she wasn’t crazy. That thing that she had seen all of those years ago was not in her mind like everyone had told her.
They had told her that her mind was sick and was making things up. They sent her away to that dreaded place and locked her up with all of those crazies. But she knew what she saw.
She wasn’t like them.
Chloe knew what she saw and it wasn’t made up. That thing had killed him.
She was determined to discover the truth and tell the world.
two
Chloe hung her jacket on the hook behind the door and unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. It was hot today and she was regretting wearing her pantsuit. But people tended to answer more questions when she was dressed up and looking professional. Although she could be wearing a full evening gown with glass slippers and no one around here would talk to her about shifters.
She opened the door and stepped down the steps of the cabin in her bare feet. Keene was sitting on a big rock staring at the cabin. His head popped up when he saw her and he ran over like a faithful dog with a big smile on his face.
“Do you have everything that you need?” he asked.
“So where are all of these werebears that you promised?” she asked.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Thirsty?”
“Is he a werebear?” she asked pointing at Sander in the kitchen.
Keene was biting his bottom lip.
“Are you?”
A pretty girl with brown hair and the brightest green eyes that Chloe had ever seen was walking over with an armful of folded clothes.
“These are for you,” she said, handing them over, “while you’re here.”
Chloe took them and smiled. She was from the city and wasn’t used to people being so nice and generous. “Thank you.”
The girl introduced herself as Jessica. She was cute and shy and Chloe liked her already.
“That’s Finch’s mate,” Keene said when she left.
“Mate?” Chloe asked, looking at him sideways.
His eyes opened wide. “Girlfriend,” he said. “I spent some time in Australia. I call everyone mate.”
“Yeah that makes sense,” Chloe said sarcastically.
He sighed with what looked like relief. “Come. I’ll introduce you to Finch and Amanda.”
“I had asked you a question,” she said. But he was already gone.
She caught up and they walked together towards the runway. There was a large white plane sitting on it with the cover of one of the engines open. Chloe froze when she saw the decal on the tail of the plane. It was a large bear roaring. Could these people actually be werebears? No. They’re too nice. Werebears were killers. Horrible monsters that needed to be destroyed. But there was something about this place that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. These people knew more than they let on.
There was a tall, thin man and a beautiful, thick woman leaning over the plane’s engine, looking inside. They were clunking away at the parts and stopping to argue every twenty seconds or so.
Chloe glanced at Keene out of the corner of her eye. He took long, fast strides. He was big and powerful and that thrilled her. She had always been attracted to large men but this guy was on another level. He was on another planet. Hell, he had his own gravitational pull.
Quint ran over to meet them carrying a long ceramic mug. He was a handsome guy. They all were. He had a long beard with tattoo sleeves on both arms. His hair was long on top and brushed messily to the side with the sides of his head shaved.
He handed her the mug. She took it and smelled it. Her eyes watered at the strong smell of garlic and gasoline. Not more of this horrid wine.
“Thank you,” she said.
“There’s more where that came from,” Quint said and headed back to the kitchen.
“Great,” she mumbled.
Keene laughed.
“I don’t really like it,” she said, holding it away from her like it was poison, which it probably was.
Keene took the mug, his huge fingers brushing her hand. Warm shivers shot up her neck at his touch. He downed the mug with one gulp.
“No one likes it,” Keene said, sticking his tongue out and gasping for air. “Except her.” He pointed to the girl working on the plane.
She was short and curvy but full of bite. “You’re not putting that thing in my plane Finchy,” she said, raising a wrench over her head in a threatening manner. Her hands were stained with oil.
The tall, sexy guy was holding a roll of duct tape in his hand. “It works Amanda. I’ve done it before.”
“On the plane that you crashed?” she asked, nodding her head. She had a crooked tooth that somehow suited her nice smile. “Why don’t you go help Sander in the kitchen? Maybe he has a lasagna that needs some duct tape.”
“Hm hm,” Keene coughed. They stopped their bickering and turned around.
“You’re Chloe Sparks,” Amanda said pointing at her.
She nodded.
“What are you doing here?” Amanda asked, wiping her hands on a rag that looked dirtier than her fingers.
“Chloe is doing a news article on Smokejumpers,” he said. “She is going to be hanging around the camp to see how we do things.”
Finch watched her with a guarded expression, like he didn’t trust her. Amanda stuck out her black hand. “Well it’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m a big fan.”
Chloe shook her hand and then held it out to her side not wanting to stain her clothes.
Amanda looked around. “Where is the camera crew?” She shook out her hair and fixed her shirt.
“It’s for a magazine,” Chloe said.
“Oh.” Amanda looked disappointed. They chatted for a bit, with the tall guy never saying a word. All of these guys had something against reporters. It was strange.
They moved along and Chloe walked into the forest with Keene. The trees were tall and beautiful, enveloping them with their leaves. A woodpecker landed on a dead tree in the distance and hammered it with his beak. A loud knocking sound filled the forest as the bird tried to break through the thick trunk to eat the tiny bugs inside.
“So we may get a call for a jump in the next few days,” Keene said, moving his hands rapidly. “You can ride along, even parachute down and see how we put out the fire. It will be a great story.”
Chloe stopped walking. “That’s not why I’m here,” she said. “And you know it.”
He slumped his shoulders and looked down.
“You promised,” she said, “to tell me everything.”
He just stood there with his head down looking defeated. Chloe actually felt bad for him but she had to ignore the pity. She had to find out the truth. For her own sanity.
“Can shifters change into other animals?” she asked.
He nodded his head.
“Which ones?”
�
�There are the top predators,” he explained. “Bears, lions, tigers and wolves. Then there are the lesser shifters. Foxes, mountain lions, coyotes.”
“How come people don’t know about them?” she asked. She couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth but for some reason she didn’t think that he would lie to her.
“Some people do,” he said. “Shifters tend to live in the forest. You won’t find them living in the city.”
“Why not?”
“Because they need to phase. They have to let out their inner animal as well. Or they’ll go nuts.”
“None of them live in the city? What about crocodile shifters in the sewers?” she joked.
He shook his head. “It’s only mammals,” he said. “The animal has to have evolved from humans. Except for…” he trailed off.
“What?”
“There are dragon shifters but they’re very rare and I’ve never met one.”
Dragon shifters? Okay this guy is full of shit.
She shook her head and walked back the way they came. What a waste of time.
“Where are you going?” he called out.
She spun around with her legs planted wide. “I am through with you wasting my time.”
He jerked his huge head back. “I’m answering your questions.”
“With lies.”
He stared at her with a confused look on his face. His windshield sized forehead was wrinkled and his mouth hung open. She giggled. He looked ridiculous.
“Dinner!” someone hollered from back in the camp. The woodpecker panicked and flew away.
“I’m leaving,” she said and walked down the path. His heavy footsteps thumped behind her.
That same animalistic grumble from earlier echoed through the forest. It sounded like a bear. She whipped her head around and Keene was staring at her ass.
He jerked his head up and looked at the sky, concentrating really hard on the clouds. The grumbling sound faded.
That came from him.
She watched him closely and he looked away nervously. She squeezed her purse, holding it close to her body in case she needed the gun hidden inside.
“Maybe I’ll stay for dinner.”
Keene sat down at the picnic table squeezing down between Amanda and Quint. He never took his eyes off of Chloe who was sitting in front of him. He moved his arm out to make room and his elbow dug into soft flesh.
“Watch it Keene,” Amanda said, elbowing him back.
“Dude go sit over there,” Quint said pointing to the empty spot at the end as he was almost pushed off of the bench.
But Keene wasn’t moving. He had the perfect view of Chloe and it would take a bulldozer to move him from it. His bear purred lightly inside of him. Not loud enough for her to hear but the werebears at the table took notice.
“Hopefully we’ll get a forest fire for you soon,” Beckett said to Chloe. “We wouldn’t want you to have to hang around here for too long, looking at our ugly mugs.”
She glanced at Keene and back to Beckett. “They’re not that bad.”
Keene squeezed his fist under the table. That was kind of a compliment. I’ll take it!
Sander served everyone dinner; roasted rabbit in a creamy veloute sauce with fresh, grilled asparagus and red bell peppers.
“This looks delicious,” Chloe said. “Thank you.”
For once in his life, Keene couldn’t eat. His stomach was a mess of nerves with this beauty in front of him. He watched as she took an asparagus on her fork and bit its head off. I guess the feeling is not mutual.
“So what is Grayson Anderson like?” Amanda asked, cutting into her meat.
“He’s a dick,” Chloe answered.
“Really? He looks like such a gentleman.”
Chloe chuckled. “Not if you’re the intern that gets his coffee order wrong. It’s all a show for the camera.”
Keene held his fork and watched her lips as they moved. Her nose scrunched up when she spoke, pushing her black rimmed glasses up. It was adorable.
Sander was staring at him with a concerned look on his face. “Is something wrong with the food?” he asked.
“Yeah the taste,” Keene said.
“You’re not eating,” Sander said with a flinch. “You don’t like it.”
“I never like it,” Keene replied.
“You always say that but you always eat it.” Sander’s shoulders drooped forward. “He’s never not eaten my food before,” he muttered under his breath. He stared at the food in front of him like it was vile.
He jumped up and began snatching everyone’s plates off the table. “I’ll make something else.”
“Sander it’s fine,” Beckett said, as Sander wrestled his plate out of his hands.
“It’s not fine,” he said, the color draining from his face. “I’m humiliated.” He ran to the kitchen with an armful of plates.
Chloe finished chewing the asparagus in her mouth and looked down at the bare table in front of her.
“He’s a little sensitive with his cooking,” Beckett explained.
“So,” Ellis said, “can I be on the cover?”
“You?” Quint said with a snort. “I think the clear choice would be me.”
Chloe played with her hands on the table. “I don’t know if I’m going to get the cover.”
“How about a group shot?” Alexi said, rubbing her belly. “You’re all so handsome.”
“Yeah but I’m the handsomest,” Keene said.
Sander was banging trays around in the kitchen and muttering to himself. Keene glanced back and he was pulling a stack of frozen pizzas out of the freezer.
Beckett took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “I was thinking that you could leave our faces out of the photos. Just body shots.”
Chloe looked at him funny. “I don’t think that would work.”
Beckett bit his lip and thought about it for a few seconds. “Never mind. I’m sure it will be fine.”
She was about to ask him something when Sander sat back down at the table, interrupting them. “Pizzas will be ready in ten minutes,” he said. He exhaled in relief. “I know that Keene likes those.”
Chloe sipped on a mug of tea that Keene gave her as she watched the guys clean up. The three women were sitting around the fire talking as Alexi painted their nails. The short, muscular, hot guy with the eye patch brought the three of them a piece of cheesecake each. What is this place? Porn for women?
She sat at the picnic tables with Keene. He had his hands clasped together under his chin and was staring at her with puppy dog eyes and a big, goofy grin on his face.
She took a sip of the minty tea and leaned closer to him. “So do werebears live in the woods?” she asked.
His grin faded. “Can’t you just enjoy the silence?”
“I’m here for answers not for tea time.”
He lowered his hands and postured up. “Do you not like it?” He looked panicked.
“No it’s good,” she said, wrapping her hands around the warm mug and breathing in the minty scent. “Actually it’s really good.”
“Jessica and Alexi grow the mint in the garden,” he said.
She took a sip. Back to business. “So where are they?”
Keene pointed over his shoulder. “In the herb section next to the tomatoes.”
Chloe sighed. “The werebears. Where are they?”
Keene looked at the mug in his hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to see the mint plants?”
Chloe cursed and pushed out of the picnic table. This clown had been leading her on a wild goose chase all day. It was time to leave.
He seemed to have answers but he sure as hell wasn’t giving them to her. And she was getting sick of asking.
She stomped back to the cabin. He was chasing her, calling her. She ignored him.
He ran in front of the cabin door and blocked it. “Move,” she said.
“Why do you want to know so bad?” he asked, his back flattened against the door.
&nb
sp; “The truth has to come out.”
“Why? So innocent people can get hurt? Be put in prison?”
Her body became tense, her heart pounded. “No, so killers can get their due. So these monsters won’t be able to just kill in their animal form and then get away with it.”
Keene gave her a long, pained look. “Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know,” she said. She stepped forward and pushed him away. The deep, grumbling, bear sound emanated from his chest.
“What was that?” she asked, with her hand frozen on the door knob.
“I have gas.”
“Bullshit.”
“Want to smell my underwear?” he asked with a smile.
“Ugh,” she opened the door and slammed it closed behind her.
Chloe was pissed. More at herself than anything. How could she let a redneck, country boy of all people, sweet talk her and give her the run around?
This had cost her a whole day. A day that she didn’t have. She was already way behind on her deadline. She had been feeding her boss lies that she had something good and now it was blowing up in her face.
She had nothing. She’d have to go back into town and try another approach. Go through the police files, talk to more people. She wasn’t ready to give up yet. She owed it to her Dad’s memory.
Chloe was changing back into her pantsuit when her purse started to vibrate. She ran to the bed and pulled out her cell.
Shit.
It was her boss. She took a deep breath and answered it. “Hi Phil.”
“Give me some good news Sparky.”
“I have great news,” she lied. “I met a source that says he knows where the werebears live. He seems really promising.”
Chloe heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “Are you sure he’s just not trying to get into your pants?”
“Phil!”
“You’re a week overdue.” Chloe’s pulse went into second gear. “It’s time to end this fool’s errand and come back. Kim Jong what’s-his-face is threatening to invade South Korea and I have to send someone over there asap. And that someone is you.”