by Bianca D’Arc
Both John and his right-hand man, Brody, were in the office. Trevor had talked to John a bit about his plans, but he didn’t know if the Alpha bear had told his second about it. Of course, if things worked out, everyone would know sooner rather than later, so it really didn’t matter.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Trevor said politely, taking the seat in John’s office right in front of the big desk. Brody was to his side, in the other guest chair.
“No problem at all. What’s on your mind, son?” John asked, his full attention on Trevor now that he was in the office.
“Thing is, sir,” Trevor figured straight out was better than beating around the bush, “I’d like to discuss that strategy we were talking about a while ago.”
“Good,” John replied while Brody sent Trevor a questioning look.
“Something going on?” Brody challenged, seeming annoyed to be left out of the loop.
Trevor came clean. “Beth is my mate,” he stated in a strong tone that brooked no argument.
Brody seemed to relax, smiling as he relaxed back in his chair. “Yeah, we kinda figured.”
“We?” Trevor asked the sheriff.
“All of us saw you claim her on the street when Ezra asked who she was. By now, we’ve learned to recognize the less obvious signs too,” Brody told him. “We all figured you were a goner.”
“Happily, a lot of my men have found their mates since settling here.” There was satisfaction in the Alpha’s voice. Papa bear was happy with his growing family.
But would he be as happy to add another bear to the fold? That’s what Trevor had come to find out.
“Thing is, I can’t really ask Beth to move to Wyoming. There’s not a lot of water on our mountain suitable for a mermaid. In fact, most of the water we do have is frozen a large part of the year.” Trevor tried to joke, but inside, he was nervous as hell.
A lot was riding on this man’s response to Trevor’s request. They’d already talked a bit about ways Trevor’s skills could mesh with the team already living in Grizzly Cove, but they hadn’t talked about this kind of personal stuff in their previous strategy session.
“I can see where that would pose a problem,” John allowed, but it sounded like he wasn’t going to make this easy. Like all good commanders, he had learned the value of making his subordinates squirm from time to time, it appeared.
Trevor took a deep breath and forged ahead. “Sir, I’d like your permission to join your community. Your Clan.”
John looked at him for a moment then answered clearly, “No.”
Trevor’s heart sank. What was he going to do now?
“Don’t look so glum, son,” John went on, smiling in a friendly way. “The guys and I anticipated your situation and had a bit of a discussion about it after you and I spoke the other day. We may have a solution that will benefit not only Grizzly Cove, but your current Clan, as well. First, tell me what you plan to report back to Major Moore about us and how we performed in the most recent action.”
“Sir, I’ve already made my preliminary report—just the brief after-action summary. The full rundown will go in tonight, and will include my personal impressions of you and your team. What I’d planned to tell the major is that you’re a lot more battle ready than you let on. You may call yourselves retirees, but that’s far from the truth, and I was going to propose the major seek an alliance with you and your men. He’s been looking for top-notch groups like yours to work with ever since the Lords warned of increased enemy activity. I think your team here would be a good fit with our mission.”
“Can you divulge your core mission?” Brody asked.
“To defeat evil wherever we find it.” That was the core of everything the Wraiths did, and it was the measure they took of each proposed job before they agreed to take it on. The Wraiths didn’t work for just anyone.
“Now that’s a mission I can get behind,” John agreed. “So, this is what we came up with. We’d like you to continue to act as a liaison between our team and your friends in Wyoming. We’ll grant you residency here in the cove, and a sort of dual citizenship—something we’ve never tried before, but that seems appropriate in this particular case.”
Trevor’s hopes rose again. This proposal was better than anything he had expected. He’d thought he’d have to give up his affiliation with his friends in Wyoming, as John put it, in order to make his home here in Grizzly Cove. In the normal course of business, he would have had to give up his Clan affiliation and try to form new bonds with the bears here, as a new member of their already established Clan. He would’ve been the low bear on the totem pole until he proved himself, which could take a long time.
The really special part about the group in Wyoming was that they weren’t just bears. He had friends and coworkers across species lines. They had become true brothers in arms over the years they had fought side by side. They were his family, and it would’ve been difficult to sever those ties. But he would have done it for Beth. She was his mate. She was his family now, too.
The solution John proposed gave him hope that he wouldn’t have to cut ties completely. Oh, there were a lot of details yet to be worked out, but Trevor would do everything in his power to make it happen. If Major Moore agreed, Trevor could have his cake and eat it too, in a manner of speaking.
“I’m going to formalize relations between the Wraiths and my team, with the understanding that our theater of operations will be limited to this region, for the most part. On occasion, I can already foresee that some of my guys will be only too happy to join with the Wraiths for the odd mission here or there. Some of us—especially the ones that haven’t found mates yet—still crave action in the real world from time to time. As you saw, we keep ourselves battle ready at all times. That seemed to be the wisest move, considering the unwanted attention we’ve unintentionally drawn from all sorts of evil opponents since day one.” John seemed to think about that for a moment. “There have been some good things to come out of it, though. The alliance with Master Hiram is one, and Major Moore will have to be aware that Hiram has been investing in our town and making friends among my people. I’ve been approached by Samson Kinkaid, the lion Alpha, as well. So allying with Grizzly Cove brings with it connections to a few like-minded others, and possibly more in the future.”
Trevor knew Moore would be pleased with both of the existing connections, though they’d have to do a bit more recon on the master vampire. Any future alliances would have to be vetted, but Trevor had great respect for the bears of Grizzly Cove and their cunning Alpha. They wouldn’t get mixed up with anyone or anything that wasn’t on the up and up.
“I don’t think that will be a problem. The major has had me vetting possible allies for a while now, and Kinkaid is already on the cleared list. Master Hiram is on the list of possible allies, but we needed more intel before moving him over. Perhaps you can be of some assistance there.”
“I’ll do what I can,” John agreed readily.
“Hiram’s a good guy,” Brody put in as John pushed some files around on his desk.
“Now then, all this is contingent on whether or not your mate wants to stay here,” John continued. “I suppose she’s about to inherit a mansion on Catalina Island and a small business empire. She might not want to stay.”
“Negative on Catalina Island, sir. Beth is adamant about never going back there. The place holds some really bad memories for her. In fact, she’s asked her mother to come here and meet Nansee and the pod, so you might be asked to shelter one more mermaid if Beth’s mom agrees to come,” Trevor told him. “However, there will be a lot to settle, and the possibility of needing to travel to take care of some of it. There’s also the matter of Beth’s stepfather having been involved in several highly illegal activities. I’d planned to ask the major if he could spare some men to act as backup for Beth and me when we have to travel to dismantle some of the criminal enterprises, but if any of your men want an adventure, I’d be pleased to have them at my side, any time.”
Trevor rose, extending his hand to each of the men in turn. “Thanks for everything. I still have to talk to Beth about all of this, but I’ll let you know. I appreciate that you planned this far ahead for us.”
“I take care of my people, Trevor. That’s a promise.” John’s words were solid, just like the man himself.
“I can see why your team made you Alpha.” Trevor moved toward the door. “I always thought it was a bit odd—a bunch of independent bear shifters coming together here under an Alpha. That’s not usually the way for our kind, as you well know. But I see why now.”
John ducked his head a bit at the compliment, but said nothing as Trevor left his office. Trevor had things to do and people to talk to before he could lay out his plans before his mate. Goddess give him strength.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Trevor checked in with Jack by text message several times during the afternoon, to make sure everything was secure at the hotel. He had a few things to set up before he returned to his mate.
His mate. He savored that thought, hoping tonight would be the night that she’d accept him.
If she didn’t, he’d spend the rest of his days trying to convince her. Eventually, she’d give in. He had to believe that.
But he didn’t know where he stood yet. He’d been too cowardly to broach the subject with her to this point, so he wasn’t even sure if she was leaning for or against them spending the rest of their lives together. He prayed to the Goddess that the odds were in his favor.
He wanted everything to be perfect tonight. He’d asked the ladies at the bakery—after things had settled down from the battle royale that had taken place earlier in the day—to set him up with a romantic picnic dinner for two. Normally, Trevor probably would’ve hit up Zak to cook something special, but the other man had his hands full at the jail. Nothing fancy would be coming out of the Cajun bear’s kitchen today.
That was okay, though. The sisters who owned the bakery were supplying everyone with sandwiches, and it was all hands on deck in their little shop. They were more than happy to set up something nice for Trevor and Beth, once he asked.
The sisters gave him sly looks, and he realized his possible mating with Beth was probably one of the worst kept secrets in town. Only Beth, it seemed, didn’t realize his intentions at this point. It was enough to make a bear growl.
But she’d know tonight. In no uncertain terms. Trevor was going to lay his heart on the line for her and see what she did with it. He only hoped she would be gentle.
Trevor was used to battle and bleeding enemies, but putting his heart out there to be trampled on by the soft feet of his lover was something totally different. It was a lot scarier.
Beth was stiff from sitting so long by the end of the afternoon, but it had been worth it. She and Grace had begun to make inroads in tracking what Jonathan had been up to with all his shady businesses. They’d even managed to put an immediate stop to some of the worst things they had discovered. For example, they had been able to halt a huge shipment of illegal weapons before it ever left the warehouse. They’d also begun firing a lot of the unnecessary muscle her stepfather had employed.
The guards around the house on Catalina Island had been summarily sacked and replaced with some ex-Navy SEAL friends of Jack’s, who lived somewhat near in the area and were willing to help out for a few months, until things settled down. Beth didn’t want to leave her mother completely exposed in the big house, without any protection at all. The place was too much of a target. Jonathan had liked to live ostentatiously and had been conspicuous in every aspect of his consumption of Beth’s wealth.
Thank the stars that was over.
She hadn’t really had time to stop and think about what she had done, but oddly, taking Jonathan’s life—the way it had gone down—didn’t really bother her. It wasn’t like she had murdered him in cold blood. She hadn’t poisoned him, or lay in wait, or planned anything. No, he’d died as a direct result of his actions. Beth had been protecting her mate.
It was a shifter thing. Something mer, and all water shifters, understood. Protecting the mate was paramount. No one came before one’s mate.
And Beth had been a member of the hunting party long enough to understand killing and death. She’d hunted to feed and protect the pod. She’d made her share of kills.
It had been hard at first, since she’d been raised mostly on land, and had never learned the ocean skills necessary for survival in the deeps. But her sisters in the hunting party had taught her the ropes. They’d been with her for her first kills and helped her learn and grow into a viable member of their team. She loved them—each and every one of them—for their patience and the care they had taken with her when she’d been so green. They were truly her sisters, and the fact that they’d been there to help her in her hour of greatest need would never be forgotten.
She’d thought moving to the cove had meant the end of her new family, but the battle early this morning had proven the exact opposite. It wasn’t the end, but a new beginning, with a vastly expanded network of family members willing to help in times of crisis. She owed the bears a big apology for being such a pain in the ass since coming here. She realized now how patient they’d been with her and how gentle.
They could’ve torn into her at any time for some of the things she’d said and the actions she’d taken out of fear, but they’d held back. They’d given her time to figure things out. They’d acted like older siblings who knew, eventually, their recalcitrant little sister would get her shit together. She owed them all a debt of gratitude.
And now that she had her father’s money at her disposal, she might begin to repay them in more tangible terms. The bears and her pod, both. Once she had a full picture of what was left after Jonathan’s empire of evil had been dismantled, Beth planned to meet with Nansee and John to see how she could help the pod and the town with what was left.
The Catalina pod that her father had ruled was no more, but its legacy would live on in the newly-named Grizzly Cove pod. She knew her father would have been happy to finally see the wealth of his people go back to where it belonged.
“You know, judging by these bank balances,” Grace had told her late in the afternoon, once they’d cracked the online banking portion of Jonathan’s portfolio, “your stepfather actually made quite a bit of money for your trust fund. He doubled it, in fact.”
“It’s ill-gotten gains, in all likelihood,” Beth had replied.
“The past can’t be changed,” Grace said, putting her hand over the back of Beth’s hand where it rested on the desk. “What matters is what you do with it now.”
Beth had agreed with the wisdom of her friend’s words. Even now, as she closed up the makeshift office for the night and stretched her weary muscles, she was thinking of all the ways she could help the town and the people with all that cash. Grace was right. Beth would make it her mission to do good with the money her stepfather had made.
Grace and Jack took their leave only when Ezra returned to keep watch. Beth hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk to Ezra, and that didn’t really change for the short time he sat with her until Trevor returned. The big bear bounty hunter was really a man of few words. Try as she might, she couldn’t coax more than a few syllables out of him at a time.
Then again, he was probably just as tired as she was. Even more so. He’d been in the thick of battle and had been standing watch through the night before.
“When was the last time you slept?” she asked him now, as they sat together in the room that had been turned into her temporary office.
“I’ll sleep when Trev gets back.” That was one of the longest sentences she’d managed to get out of him so far. She counted it a victory, of sorts.
“Did you get hurt during the fight?” She had the sneaking suspicion the big bear wouldn’t admit to pain, but she couldn’t help asking.
To that ques
tion, he only shrugged. Hmm. She was right. Ezra wasn’t one to make a fuss about a little blood. Obstinate man.
“Did the doctor at least take a look at you?” She tried again.
“What for?” He shrugged again, and she thought she detected a bit of a wince, but she couldn’t be positive. “I’m fine.”
“Look, Ezra. I want to thank you for coming all this way to help me and Trevor. I can see you’re a true friend to him, and it means a lot to me that you were willing to forego the enormous bounty Jonathan had put on my head and actually help me.” She waited, but that didn’t even rate a single syllable in reply. Maybe her next words would elicit a real response. “I want to pay you.”
He seemed to perk up, but the expression on his face appeared a bit insulted, if she was any judge. Of course, he might just have indigestion for all she knew. The man was hard to read.
“I mean…like…give you a job,” she tried to clarify. “If you want it. As you can see, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to close down all of Jonathan’s illegal operations.” She gestured to the mountain of paper she’d generated today that sat on the desk behind her. “I could use some help. Help I can trust.”
Now, he looked more interested.
“What would you want me to do?”
Well. Seven whole words, but still all single syllables. Still, it was a longer sentence, as Ezra’s sentences went, so she’d take it.
“Troubleshooter,” she answered immediately, having thought this through during the afternoon when she looked at evidence of some of the more complex operations and realized shutting them down couldn’t be done remotely. “Take this for example.” She reached behind her for a sheaf of papers. “This business looks legit on the outside, but Jonathan didn’t have a single legitimate bone in his body. There’s something fishy going on here, but it would require boots on the ground—to borrow one of Trevor’s phrases—to figure out what’s really going on and how to put an end to it.”