They sat on the bench inside the hunting fort, and Grant’s weary body sagged against the cool wooden wall. Shay cleared her throat.
“Can I tell you something strange?”
“Stranger than people shifting into predatory animals?”
“Maybe.”
“Tell me, baby doll.” He took her hand in his. He wasn’t sure he could deal with more weirdness, but life didn’t always give a guy choices.
“You know how I’m really good at negotiation skills and with people in general?”
“More than just good.”
“Thanks, but um, there’s another aspect to that talent, and apparently it’s a bottomless-pit kind of talent.”
He raised one eyebrow.
“The guy in the SUV, the one who took me from the candy store? I screwed with his mind, and it was more than just an ordinary mind fuck. I try to never spend any time exploring that part of myself, but I didn’t have a choice today. I did things to him using nothing more than words and willpower. I made him scared and vulnerable, then dug deeper until he was so terrified he could barely move. It took so much effort I couldn’t keep it up forever, but I managed to get him to stop the SUV, and I got his gun. I used my skills in the ambulance too, to force the EMT to let us go without involving her partner.”
“You’re a psy. From what I understand, lot of people with psy talents don’t know there are others out there.” Grant smiled, trying to reassure her.
“The guy in the SUV called me a mindbender.”
“That’s kind of like a racial slur. Probably don’t want to use that term.”
“Noted.” She held the bear pendant between her finger and her thumb. The jeweler had been right. The necklace and charm had stayed with her during every shift she’d made. Shayla bit her lip and took a deep breath before going on. “I’ve never used these skills much before because I didn’t want to make a trip over to the dark side and end up all Darth Vader and stuff, but I thought you should know. I don’t know if it would freak you out to know what I can do, but I don’t think I’m ashamed of my talents, since they kept me alive. And, Grant?”
“Yes, baby?”
“I promise I’ve never used, nor will I ever use, my skills to force you to do anything or to hurt you or trick you into doing something. If it freaks you out, we can—” She shrugged, but he felt her worry, felt it like an initiator felt the pain of one he was bonded to, but she pushed ahead. “We can take a step back.”
He felt her fear at offering him that option, but she was offering anyway. He wasn’t the only one of them who was afraid to be left sometimes. Somehow, that made him feel better.
“I trust you, baby doll.”
She hugged him after he said that. Within minutes she was asleep in his arms. Grant didn’t sleep at first, convinced he’d wake and she’d be dead. He laid his hand against her chest so he could feel her breathing. Their little piece of solitude was kind of magical, but when morning came, they would need to get moving. Grant had to find out if Hunter had paid the men to find Shayla or if they’d been following the Finding Hidden Truths blog or the Weird World interviews and found her on their own.
Grant wasn’t above tearing into Hunter’s flesh or driving his fists into Hunter’s face to find the answers, though Carter had already assured Grant that Shifters United had threat managers who very much enjoyed employing brutal interrogation tactics. And apparently, Shayla was a psy and could do some interrogating of her own. That and the fact that she now had shifter strength, which came with the ability to also shift form to heal injuries, somewhat eased Grant’s fears that she’d be taken from him by another group of crazy Bigfoot hunters.
Grant wanted Shayla with him, as his wife and his mate. He would love her and protect her and do the absolute best he could to make her happy, but whether they ended up together in a forever kind of a situation was all up to her. He’d rent a beach house and take her on the vacation they’d talked about. Maybe she’d be so in love with him and so relaxed about getting away from work and everything else that she’d tell him yes to everything he asked in spite of everything he was.
The bear piped up in his mind. Shayla loves you. She loves you the way one mate loves another. Pay attention and you’ll see it. Stop fucking worrying. The bear might be right. Maybe his chances weren’t so bad—she was asleep next to him, wasn’t she? Sleep finally found Grant and took him under. He awoke to the sound of birds signifying sunrise, and the feel of Shayla lightly kissing his neck.
She smiled wickedly. “Before we face the day, I want you to taste how wet I am for you.”
He didn’t get a taste, because he bent her over the bench and took her from behind. He did make her scream, though.
Chapter Fifteen
Shayla munched on a doughnut from the police station vending machine. Coffee grounds floated in her foam coffee cup, and she decided the station needed an anonymous donation of a superdeluxe, guaranteed-not-shitty coffeemaker. Not that she planned on spending any more time in a police station after the detectives finished with her and Grant, but officers had to drink that foul coffee, and that was almost tragic. She politely sat the cup back on Detective Jackson’s desk and swallowed a mouthful of bitter grounds and grainy creamer.
Detective Jackson brushed her bangs out of her eyes and laughed. “Yeah, I try to stay away from the coffee here. Normally I just drink tea because I can heat the water in the microwave and it doesn’t taste like recycled garbage.”
Shayla really wanted a shower and a drink of something that didn’t taste like a trash can. Preferably something with alcohol and fruit in it. A long nap followed by a medium-rare steak would be really good too. Then she planned to really check out her fox claws and fox feet and try some running and jumping. Her claws came out in excitement, and she hid them quickly.
Jeez, foxy, not in public.
Her foxy alter ego, other half, whatever, laughed and dared her to smile. Shayla felt sharp fox teeth descending, and she bit into her doughnut to hide her fangs. Not funny, foxy.
Not for you. Foxy laughed again at her own joke. Shayla would have to ask Grant if her fox sister was supposed to be such a brat. He’d probably be in with Detective Levi for a little while longer. The detectives were using the divide-and-conquer strategy to test for holes in their stories; Shayla was certain of it. She and Grant planned to keep their stories mostly truthful, leaving out the parts where Shayla had gotten shot and Grant had pulled a gun on the EMTs. And of course there’d be no mention of Shayla’s dark and powerful psy talent’s role in her survival either.
Instead of going home and showering after returning to Great Oaks, she and Grant had headed directly to the police station to get the whole giving-a-statement ordeal over with, after a call to Mr. Carter, of course, since he’d bought them time to escape. She and Grant went to the station still dressed in their dirty clothes—in her case, Mr. Carter’s shirt, hanging down to her knees, and her favorite black pants, which just might be salvageable. Gotta love basic black. Though she felt gross, they had agreed their situation would look more authentic and traumatic if they came to the station as soon as possible.
“If you have no more questions for me, Detective Jackson, I’ve got some for you.”
“Go ahead.” The detective had a soft, melodic voice. With her black combat boots, wavy amber hair, long bangs, and glowy skin, she looked more like a rock singer or fashion model than a detective. Though that was probably because as a kid Shayla had seem too many old-school crime shows featuring salty old men with bad fashion sense.
“I want to know if you have any evidence on Kendall Baron and Hunter Knowles, especially Hunter. Do you have any definitive evidence to prove he hacked my business and my bank accounts?”
“Nothing really on Ms. Baron, but we have a few promising leads on Hunter in reference to hacks, and those leads point to the likelihood that he or someone in his business at HJK Webmasters was behind the whole thing, including stalking your clients through social med
ia.”
“How about for my abduction? Any proof he orchestrated that?” How could she sleep if she didn’t know? If Hunter had done the unthinkable, and she was pretty sure he had, he could have her abducted again. He could hurt Grant. Losing her business would suck hard, but losing Grant would be unfathomable. Shayla needed answers. She needed someone to blame.
“We brought Hunter Knowles in last night after speaking with Mr. Carter regarding Mr. Knowles and the statements he made on his creepy little website. I don’t have any evidence right now to prove that he hired those two men to abduct you.”
Shayla sighed. She’d hoped to wrap this scary part of her life up and put an end to the worry.
“Do you want to know what I think?” Detective Jackson asked. Shayla nodded. “Besides trying to ruin your business, this guy is a threat. Maybe he wasn’t the one who had you taken from the gift shop in Amelia County or maybe he was. Either way, he is a threat to you. Please don’t try to meet with him again unless you have backup. He seems”—she paused—“unhinged. But not careless or stupid.”
“Is he still here, at the station?”
“We tracked him down yesterday night and brought him in for questioning since we were already looking into him as a suspect for the hacking issue with your business. He’s lawyered up, though, and will probably be leaving any moment. We’ll take care to make sure he doesn’t see you on his way out.”
“Actually, I’d like to see him, if possible.” It probably wasn’t protocol but…
“Are you sure you want to?” Detective Jackson looked worried, which in turn made Shayla a little edgy.
“Is he cuffed?”
“No. Considering current lack of evidence and all. Do you still want to see him?”
“Yes. Please. I’d like to see him. I have good, um, negotiation skills. I’m good at getting information without being all scary and intimidating. Let me see if I can get anything we can use.”
“Can’t hurt to try. Especially since the guy the candy-shop owner shot communicated only with an anonymous account on the dark web to get assignments like the one he and his partner accepted when they tried to get away with you. There’s a middleman or broker somewhere in between, but the guy knew nothing more, and he was questioned pretty hard for a man recovering from surgery to remove a bullet from his shoulder.” Detective Jackson sniffed the air and made a sour face. “Mr. Knowles just left a conference room, and he’s headed for the back exit. What do you want to do? Let me know.”
“I’ve got a few things to say to him. Lead the way.”
“Follow me. You know I can’t leave you two alone, right? If he’s found guilty, and that’s a big if, he won’t be able to bother you, but if you piss him off now—”
“I don’t like the word ‘if.’”
“Me neither, but as a detective, I do like proof. What I do know is he has a special kind of hate for you. I can feel the anger and the intent when he speaks.”
Shayla could morph into her fox form and tear Hunter apart until he gave her the answers she wanted, but there’d be no explaining that scene without giving away secrets. Plus, he might be innocent. Well, innocent of hiring two guys to abduct her, anyway. She’d talk to him, see where things led. When Hunter noticed her, he did a double take.
“Shayla! What the hell? Accusing me of having you abducted—really? I’m about to walk out of here, ’cause the cops have no proof. Nothing. My lawyer knows you’ve already held me and inconvenienced me for long enough. Too long, actually. I should file a complaint.”
Shayla smiled at Hunter and then at his lawyer. “But you won’t file a complaint, because your lawyer knows you’ve suffered from delusions, among other mental health issues, and you have a history of harassing me. He needs you to appear cooperative and not look like an angry conspiracy theorist with a grudge.”
Hunter’s jaw tightened, and his mouth flattened into a hard line.
The lawyer put a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Don’t let her bait you. Let’s go.”
But Hunter couldn’t take good advice. He started to say something, and Shayla cut him off.
“Hunter, you need to let this go. Stop pursuing this idea that I’m some sort of unnatural, immortal freak. You’ve got to move on before this obsession ruins your life. Look at yourself right now, in a police station being questioned.”
“I can’t stop now. I know the truth. I won’t quit until I’ve exposed enough of your kind to make the world believe.”
“You will stop.” Her words sounded like a command, but she’d pulled her punches. Hunter’s brain had been scrambled enough, and a push might fry it or send it somewhere even darker than just believing in vampires and genetically altered superhumans.
“Let me know when you’re ready to talk. In the meantime, I’ve got some reviews to leave on social media about a certain advertising business. I’ve got lots of time to kill this weekend, just messing around on my computer.” His grin was twisted, almost sexy, but mostly mean and crazy.
Hunter needed to leave her alone, and right or wrong, she had the ability to make that happen.
“Your blog followers will get sick of all your stupid shit now that you have no proof, and then your business will fade into nothing. Just. Like. You.” She didn’t raise her voice but forced that idea deep into his head. Then she softened her tone. “Or you could stop.” She made the word stop sound like the hottest, sexiest, most comforting idea ever. “Stop while you’re ahead.” She left him a way out with that last part.
“Shut up! Don’t fuck with my head!”
He took a swing at her and barely missed. Hunter’s lawyer grabbed him by the shoulders, but Hunter shrugged him off. A few uniformed officers came running, but Detective Jackson waved them away. The detective flashed a brief smile at Shayla, displaying some sharp teeth. Shayla smiled back, showing a hint of foxy’s beastly teeth. She and detective Jackson had a new understanding.
“And Hunter?” Shayla’s voice rang out sweet as a siren’s, and Hunter looked back at her as if she were the loveliest, most enchanting woman. “One day, the monsters you’re looking for will find you, and they won’t think twice before they show their teeth, beat you bloody, and leave you for the bugs to eat. Don’t let them find you.”
Hunter let out a strangled, gurgling sound, then took a ragged gasp. He fixed her with a defiant glare. “I’ll use every resource I have to expose you for a freak.”
An officer rushed over and quickly restrained Hunter, who struggled pathetically while his lawyer kept telling him to be still and cool it. Detective Jackson made no move to intervene.
“I’ll fucking kill you,” Hunter yelled at Shayla as the cop tried to walk him toward the exit.
“Shit!” His lawyer face palmed. “Just shut up, Hunter, before—”
“Too late,” the cop told Hunter’s lawyer. “The threat’s already been recorded.” He pointed toward the center of the room where a disco-ball-looking camera hung from the ceiling.
The lawyer went to grab Hunter’s arm, but Hunter kicked him before managing to break away from the cop restraining him. Shayla stood still. For her plan to work, she couldn’t run away and hide. Hunter punched her, right in the chest. She staggered backward but caught herself in time to keep from falling on her ass. The cop tackled Hunter to the ground. A whole lot of anger had been packed behind Hunter’s fist, but she could heal the injury later. Hunter, on the other hand, was about to get his mind irrevocably fucked up.
She waited for the cop to drag Hunter up off the ground and pin his arms behind his back before she approached him again.
“Miss, please be careful. We’ve got to take him to another room, maybe call someone from the mental health department in,” the cop cautioned.
“I won’t get too close, Officer. I just wanted to tell Hunter I hope he gets the help he needs. And Hunter?”
He jerked his head toward her. “What?”
“You’ll never be safe again.”
Every ounce of strength
she had went into slamming those words into his mind with all the fear-inducing force she could muster. She ripped further into him, tearing apart threads of thoughts and memories, destroying his confidence until his mind felt like an angry two-year-old’s who didn’t get extra juice.
She turned away so she didn’t see his face as he started a screaming rant about monsters and selfish spoiled rich girls who ruined his plans. The he threw in some doomsday shit about how everybody was in danger of genetically enhanced humans taking over the world.
“Shut the fuck up, you stupid, crazy cracker!” someone in the station yelled.
Shayla grasped Detective Jackson’s arm in an effort to stay upright as they walked back to the detective’s desk. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she shook. The detective’s silence was most appreciated while Shayla worked on composing herself. The pack of cookies another officer brought her helped too. Grant joined them a few minutes later.
“Hey, baby doll. You okay? I heard a bunch of screaming.”
She felt his concern though their bond and stood to hug him and show him she was all right, despite being pale and sweaty, but nearly collapsed in his arms. She’d used up a lot an incredible amount of energy with Hunter.
“You’re both free to go home now. Mr. Knowles will be here for a little while getting booked on assault charges,” Detective Jackson informed them.
Grant’s head jerked up. “Who’d he hit?”
Detective Jackson nodded at Shayla.
“He’s dead,” Grant growled.
Shayla brought her hands to Grant’s face, forcing him to meet her gaze. “No. I took care of it.”
His eyes widened in comprehension, and he dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I’d choose you as my partner in a fight any day. Let’s get the hell out of here and go home.”
Stranger Creatures 2: Bear's Edge Page 16