by Bianca D’Arc
If it was bounty hunters, that was another story. They were much harder to keep track of and pin down, and they weren’t organized into units like the soldiers of fortune. Plus, if bounty hunters had been set on Grizzly Cove, they had to have a target. Finding out who might have a price on their heads was going to be an interesting exercise…and a dangerous one. If they didn’t figure out who was being hunted in time, things could go downhill very quickly.
Trevor circled back after his trek through the woods and went straight to the sheriff’s office. Brody was coordinating the reports of strangers, and Trevor knew he’d be the man to alert about his findings. Brody would escalate it from there. The chain of command was there for a reason, and Trevor respected it.
When he reached the office, he found Nansee there before him, sitting at a conference table at which Big John was also seated. Brody waved him over and gestured for Trevor to join the group. Nansee and John nodded at him, but kept on talking, and when Trevor realized what Nansee was saying, he began to get an itchy feeling between his shoulder blades that was both familiar and terrifying.
Someone was hunting him. But that made no sense. They couldn’t be hunting him. There was no reason for it. Then, realization dawned. They weren’t hunting him. They were hunting his mate.
“Son of a bitch!” Trevor exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. He began to pace as worry set in.
“What is it?” John asked immediately, a frown marring his brows.
“Nansee’s talking about sharks in the water, seeming to cooperate with the minions. Well, hell!” he shouted. “I’ve just detected bounty hunters in the woods.”
“You did?” Brody asked sharply, drawing Trevor’s attention.
He was too agitated to calm down, even though he knew he was handling this badly. He hadn’t been so shaken since… Well, since ever. Then again, he’d never found his mate before and realized she was in danger.
“That or mercs, but I’d lay money on bounty hunters, considering there are motherfucking sharks in the water, playing for the wrong team.” Trevor ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Where’s Beth?” he asked Nansee directly.
Nansee figured out what he was getting at right away. He could see the knowledge in her eyes.
“She’s safe for now. Minding the children in the heart of our new territory. She’ll be there for another few hours.” Nansee rose from her seat, a worried look on her face. “I’ll pull her from the sentry roster, though I doubt those particular sharks could get through the ward. They’re as evil as the other things stalking the boundary. But you never know.”
“Good.” Trevor nodded.
“Just what’s going on here, and what does Beth have to do with it? Is she in danger?” Brody asked, his expression concerned.
Trevor looked at Nansee. “They need to know the details,” he said quietly. Nansee seemed to think about it for a few minutes, then nodded.
“Tell them while I go put our people on alert to watch over Beth,” she said, already walking toward the door.
When just the three bear shifters were left, Trevor sat back down, laying out what he knew for the other two men. He told them about Beth’s stepfather and that he was a shark shifter who surrounded himself with thugs. He relayed his suspicions about how Beth was treated as a youngster and what was almost certainly some kind of warped, abusive relationship between her mother and stepfather.
He also told them about the human odor trick the bounty hunters were employing to try to hide their scents. John nodded grimly at this report.
“I ran across that tactic once myself in Afghanistan. The shifter in question had rolled some poor homeless human drunkard and stolen his coat. The stench of the filthy thing fouled our trackers’ noses, and though the trail was easy enough to follow, it led to an ambush of shifter proportions rather than the drunk human we were expecting. Nearly lost a few of my men on that op because of that trick, so we won’t soon forget it.”
“I had something similar happen once, but it turned out to be a lone bounty hunter here in the States. He was a grizzly by the name of Ezra Tate. Not a bad sort, as it turned out, but there were some tense moments when I tracked him until we realized we were both after the same guy,” Trevor told them.
“What happened?” Brody asked.
“We tracked the target together. I let Ezra take him after I’d interrogated him for the intel my unit needed. My CO didn’t care what happened to the bastard after we got what we wanted so there was no conflict in letting Ezra take the bounty.” A thought occurred to Trevor. “I’ll give him a call. I don’t think it’s him up there in your woods, but he might know who is and what they’ve been offered…and for whom.”
John stood, his face grim. “Make the call. I don’t like the idea of anyone putting a price on the head of someone in my town. We need to get to the bottom of this ASAP.”
“Yes, sir.” When John spoke in that commanding tone of voice, it was hard to remember that he’d retired from the military.
Beth was grateful that Nansee had taken one look at her and assigned her to guard the children today. She was in no shape to be out there on the boundary, staring down sea monsters. Not after the devastating revelations of the night.
She’d found her mate, but it seemed like everything was stacked against her. Trevor was a traveling man, a soul who didn’t really have ties to any one place…except maybe that mountain in Wyoming he’d mentioned briefly. And how was a mermaid supposed to survive in the mountains? Or worse, traveling all the time from one war to another.
That was assuming he’d even want to acknowledge her as his mate. It might not be the same for him. He might not be feeling what she was feeling—or if he did, he might not want to follow through on it. He probably liked his life just the way it was and didn’t have room in it for a clingy female with baggage of her own.
She might never be totally free of her stepfather. As it was, she was always looking over her shoulder when she was on land. Except when she was on the streets of Grizzly Cove, she realized. This place felt safer than any other place she’d been since running away from her stepfather’s home.
The bears here made her feel as if nothing, and no one, could get past them to get to her. Even if they didn’t know about her problems, they would protect anyone in their territory. She knew that in her heart. And since meeting Trevor, she knew he would be the first one to stand up for her against anyone who might come looking for her.
He knew more about her background than any of the other bear shifters. He knew as much, if not more, than Nansee. Beth had trusted him with her fears and most of the story behind her need to escape to the pod. During those long hours of the night they’d spent together, she’d told him about growing up on Catalina Island and the gilded cage of a mansion Jonathan owned. She had told Trevor about her mother’s weakness for the despicable man she’d married and her seeming willful blindness where his threats to Beth were concerned.
Beth would never understand why her mother hadn’t left Jonathan long ago. She wouldn’t comprehend how she could let him overrun and control every aspect of their lives. How he could threaten them and still somehow have her mother’s loyalty. Beth suspected drugs. Or mind control. Something. There had to be a reason why her formerly sane mother had thrown her lot in with Jonathan—a man as evil as the leviathan, in his way.
He just hid it better. His evil was covered by thousand dollar suits and imported Italian loafers. His cunning only came out in sharp words—and occasionally in his sharp shark teeth, when he shifted, though he’d been shifting less and less as his land empire grew. What good was ruling a territory in the sea if he could rule on land, as well? Jonathan wanted it all, it seemed, and he was well on his way to achieving his goal in the most despicable way possible.
Name a shady sector of society, and Jonathan had his hand in it. Prostitution, human trafficking, drugs. He was up to his eyeballs in it all. His dirty empire had allowed him to amass a fortune, with which he hired
more thugs—shifters among them—to keep expanding his reach.
There weren’t too many young mer in the pod, but during the day, while their parents were busy on land, setting up homes and arranging for funds, clothing and other items they’d need if they were going to stay here any length of time, the children were gathered together into the deepest part of the cove where they were setting up a village, of sorts. It was the safest place they’d been able to manage so far. Patrols watched the perimeter, and the adults were quickly constructing a maze with the native plants and boulders that would allow only limited access to the most vulnerable places.
Beth was babysitting, for lack of a better word, along with a few of the more maternal females. It was soft duty, but one Beth took seriously. Guarding the young was an important task and one she would never take lightly, even if this duty was meant to help her get her head on straight after the emotional upheavals of the night.
Beth was watching three of the youngsters play when Nansee swam up to her, motioning for the others to take over while she led Beth away and then to the surface where they could talk. They could communicate underwater with a series of gestures that all mer knew, but for times when complex issues were to be discussed, nothing beat good ol’ English.
The news wasn’t good. Nansee had received reports on her way in that the sharks were testing the ward. A few were making some headway before being repulsed, and that was enough to raise the alarm among the patrollers. The waters of the cove might not be as safe as Beth had thought.
With Nansee’s permission and encouragement, Beth headed for land. It might not be any safer up top, but that’s where Trevor was, and she knew, deep in her heart, that her mate would do his best to protect her—even if he wasn’t up to acknowledging that they were, indeed, mates.
Instinct was screaming at her to go to him. That the safest place for her was with him. That he would help keep her safe.
Nansee escorted Beth to the boathouse and waited to be sure Beth was all right on land before the pod leader headed back into the water. She had to organize the defense of the cove, should the shark shifters somehow gain entry. Beth understood the priorities that Nansee had to deal with as leader, and she didn’t begrudge Nansee’s need to leave Beth alone once she’d made landfall.
Beth would find Trevor. That was her goal. He’d know what to do. He was some kind of badass mercenary soldier bear. Fighting on land was his bailiwick. If she could just find him, she couldn’t be in safer hands.
And as far as the relationship went, in the light of recent developments, the obstacles in their path didn’t seem all that important. When life and death were on the line, little things like where she lived, or whether or not he realized yet that they were meant to be together forever, didn’t really matter. All that mattered was being with him.
If the worst should happen, she wanted to be by his side.
The emotional turmoil of the last few hours was over. With a much clearer mind and fuller heart, she sought her mate.
She decided, then and there, that she would go to Wyoming to live with him, if that’s what he wanted, because living without him would be impossible. She’d been in physical pain since leaving him this morning, her heart aching. She had come to the realization—danger crystallizing her thoughts as nothing else could—that she needed him in her life, no matter the cost. She would gladly give up the ocean if it meant being with Trevor.
For a mer, there was no greater sacrifice. No greater token of love.
Now she just had to find Trevor and convince him that they belonged together. She had to be brave and declare her love, hoping that he felt the same way. If he didn’t, she would try not to be devastated, she promised herself. No, if he hadn’t come around yet, she would be patient and persevere. She would wait for him as long as it took. And yes, she’d accept whatever crumbs of affection he gave her.
She wasn’t proud. She would take what she could get. In a life starved of affection, Trevor was like the dawn of the new day. He was hope to her. He was love… Whether he realized it yet, or not.
All she had to do now was find him.
CHAPTER TEN
Trevor’s sixth sense was telling him something was wrong even before he hit the far end of Main Street, up by the half-completed hotel where he had been staying. The hotel was on one end of the main part of town, too close to the woods for comfort now that he knew hunters were wandering around loose up there, in all likelihood, searching for his mate.
It wouldn’t be safe to keep her there another night. He’d have to find a better place to keep her safe, if she was willing to stay on land with him. He hoped like hell she was, because he thought he just might go bat-shit crazy if she insisted on staying in the water, despite the risk of shark shifter goons coming for her.
For all he knew, a few of those predators had come in on two feet, through the woods, with the bounty hunters. If they were already in town, they could probably slide into the water from the side of the barrier and wreak havoc. Trevor wasn’t absolutely certain about that. He’d have to check with the strega on exactly how her ward was set up. But for right now, he wasn’t taking any chances.
He had to get to Beth and keep her with him on land. Then maybe they could figure out this mating business between them. He had no idea if she was feeling the same pull that he was experiencing, but if he had to, he would wait for her forever. He would protect her with his life, and all his skill. He would put her happiness before his own, and he’d live wherever she wanted.
If she chose the sea instead of him, he’d get as close as he could. He’d buy a beach house on the shore and make it clear to her that she was welcomed there any time, day or night. He’d do whatever it took to make her realize that they belonged together.
The immediate danger was real enough. Trevor had called his friend, Ezra, and confirmed the bounty that had been put on Beth’s head. The only consolation was that it wasn’t a dead-or-alive kind of contract. No, the slime ball who had put a price on Beth’s head wanted her alive and not permanently damaged.
That word irked Trevor. She couldn’t be permanently damaged, which meant it was okay if she was damaged in the process of capturing her. What kind of fiend put that kind of contract out on his own family? Even if they weren’t related by blood, Beth was still Jonathan’s stepdaughter. Shouldn’t the shark-faced bastard be a little more cautious with her safety?
Ezra just happened to be a couple of hours away, in Oregon, and had volunteered to come up and help Trevor, since the bounty he was hunting had led him to a dead end. Trevor saw the sense in having a bounty hunter’s input in chasing down others of his kind. Ezra was a stand-up guy, but many others who found themselves employed in hunting others for money weren’t so scrupulous.
Ezra knew most of his competition and could give Trevor the inside track on how they operated. He’d be a great help in this particular situation, and Trevor had convinced Big John, vouching for Ezra with the Alpha bear.
After gaining John’s approval for his plan, Trevor went back up into the woods to do some quick recon. Ezra had given him a few things to look for, and Trevor wanted to collect as much intel as possible before his old friend arrived.
He was just on his way down, back to town, when the little hairs at the back of his neck started to itch. He knew that feeling. Something was about to go down, and it wasn’t anything good.
Trevor pulled his bowie knife from its sheath as he moved out of the trees and into town. It was the largest blade he wore at the moment, having disarmed for the most part on arriving in Grizzly Cove. It just wasn’t done to walk around a civilized town armed to the teeth. But his instincts were telling him now was the time to arm himself if he was going to do so because something was happening…right now.
He didn’t have time to stop in his hotel room and get his weapons. The knife and his bare hands would have to do, but he wasn’t too worried. Even against shifters, he was known as a fighter to be reckoned with. He didn’t engage in h
and-to-hand combat as much as he used to, but some skills, once learned, were never completely lost.
Then, he saw them. Five men gathered around a central figure. A smaller figure. Oh, hell, they were surrounding Beth, right there at the dark end of Main Street with nobody else in sight.
Son of a bitch!
Trevor was still over ten yards away, but he had to get those bastards away from his mate. He put two fingers to his mouth and let loose with a piercing whistle. Not only would the bounty hunters hear him, but if anyone else was around, they would come along eventually to see what the noise was about. Trevor hoped backup would arrive soon, for Beth’s sake, but one glimpse of the terror on her face was enough to fuel his ire.
He’d mop the floor with these bastards regardless of who came out to help…or not. They’d scared his mate, and for that, they were gonna bleed.
They’d all looked up at him at his whistle and were now sizing him up as the front three came forward to meet him. They were working together. Shit. The bounty must be damned high if they were agreeing to pool resources and split the money five ways. That was the one thing Ezra hadn’t known off the top of his head. He’d promised to look up the details and have that information for Trevor shortly.
The two in back made a move to grab Beth, one on each side. She shied away from them, and Trevor got even more pissed at the stark look of terror on her face. These bastards weren’t just going to bleed. Trevor might just have to kill them.
“Hey, assholes!” he shouted to the goons behind her. “Touch her and you die. You get me?”
The three in front advanced closer, but Trevor noted with satisfaction that the other two merely flanked Beth now, but didn’t make a move to grab her. He guessed they were waiting to see which way the fight went before they took the chance. Fine with Trevor. As long as they didn’t touch her, he wouldn’t kill them. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make them pay for scaring her.