“Screw safe. I dare the jackass to come at me.”
“Viktor, save the Superman bit,” she scolded. “I’m just asking that you watch your backs. Please. At least until I figure this out. And maybe do a little investigating with some of your contacts. Find out who this Arty McDaniels really is.”
Viktor lowered his voice then, gentling his tone. “You don’t owe this Vitali anything, you know. How were you supposed to know our client was a maniac?”
Except, she did owe Cormac something. She’d helped this McDaniels find him. Handed him over on a silver platter. But it wasn’t just that. He was her intended. She’d avoid telling her brothers that for now, but she knew. She just needed to get used to the idea before she shared it with more people than those who already knew.
“I do owe him something, Viktor. I led McDaniels straight to him, and while I didn’t know that then, I know it now. What have we always said about this bounty business? Sure, it makes us money, but we find bad guys law enforcement can’t because we can track better than any human ever could. We do it because of what happened to Dad. In his honor.”
There was a low grumble from Vadim at the mention of her father, but it was a clear reminder of their reasons for taking up bounty hunting to begin with. It had begun to avenge his murder when no one else would investigate deeper. It had ended with Vadim near death, but they’d caught the bastard, and they continued to catch bastards for that very reason.
Some people managed to escape the law. Teddy and her brothers ensured criminals were brought to justice. They only took cases where the client agreed to meet with law enforcement officials if the bounty was captured—which McDaniels had agreed to do. In fact, he’d signed a contract saying as much.
They’d had all sorts of bounties over the years, deadbeat dads, murderers, domestic abuse cases, escaped convicts, and they never varied from their mission in honor of Maxim Gribanov. Put the bad guys away for good; truth, justice, the American way—or some such noble cause.
“But do you remember the last time you got this involved, Teddy? Look, I only say this because we almost lost you. That you’re even out on this bounty now was enough to send both of us over the edge. We didn’t like it. We’d have done it for you and given you the money if not for all that pride you have when it comes to being independent. I know you need the money for Sanctuary, but it isn’t worth your life.”
The animals at Sanctuary were her life, but no one understood that in quite the way another activist passionate about preserving wildlife would. “I remember what happened, and I promise you, this isn’t like that. Swear it on my trusty dart gun,” she joked.
“So why not just take this to the law there in New York, Teddy?”
“And say what? This random guy who probably gave us a fake name hired us for a bounty he never intended to pay up on because really, all he needed was someone who knew the forest to track down the guy he wanted to murder himself? Besides, did you listen to what I told you about the police and Cormac’s sister? What if the one guy we turn to is dirty like in Toni’s case? This is the mob we’re talking about, Vadim. They hacked off Cormac’s finger, for Christ’s sake.”
The idea made her want to spit nails. Toni had done the right thing, only to end up losing three years of her life in hiding because the cops were on the take. Who did you trust? No way was she taking a chance on trusting the wrong person.
“Okay, so we come to you and bring you home and keep you safe until we figure this out. End of,” Viktor said.
“No!” she shouted into the phone. “I’m not leaving.” Crap. How was she going to explain wanting to stick this out to them? She’d have to tell them the truth, and then they’d claim her judgment was clouded by lust.
“Why the hell not?” Vadim yelped.
“Because I’m not. I started this. I virtually handed Cormac’s location over to McDaniels. I’m not just going to run away from my part in this. Is that what you two taught me to do? Run away from my responsibility?”
Vasim blustered with a huff. “Don’t you think this is a little different than when you helped Kevin Lightfoot steal his brother’s X-Box 360 by hoisting him up onto the trellis so he could sneak into his brother’s room? It’s way different, Teddy. We’re talking a guy is trying to kill you. Kill you.”
She got his point. She’d definitely helped Kevin Lightfoot steal his brother’s X-Box 360. She’d gone into it with the promise she could play Halo. Okay, so she didn’t directly steal it, but her brothers had made her own up to her part in the whole mess because she was guilty by association.
“You’re right; it’s not the same thing exactly. But I’m not leaving. And I already told you, I have a werewolf and a hybrid and a very ragey ex-vampire watching my back. I’m safe with them. Promise.”
Vadim barked at her, “How do you know you can trust these people? You don’t even know them. That’s insane.”
“I don’t know anything. I just know I’m an adult. Cormac’s been on the run for three years. We were going to collect a hefty bounty if we caught him, and even after I sent that jackhole his money back, I ended up leading that prick McDaniels right to him and he tried to kill me. Because he now knows that I know he was full of shit, telling us Cormac killed his friend. No way I’m walking away from this. Look, I have to go. I love you both. I promise I’ll keep in closer touch. I have a confession to make to Cormac and the ladies. In the meantime, why don’t you two go drum up some business now that we’ve lost the Vitali bounty and it’ll be on me—”
“Teddy! This isn’t about the damn money!” Viktor shouted.
But she knew better than to try to convince them she was doing the right thing. “Stop yelling at me and listen. I’m going to trash this phone because it wouldn’t surprise me if McDaniels tapped it to track me. He managed to find out I was here in New York somehow. I’ll get the burner from my backpack and text you with the number. Talk to you soon. I love you both.”
She hung up to their loud protests and closed her eyes, blowing out a long breath.
Okay, so one confession down, one more to go. The worst of it was yet to come, but she was determined to get everything out in the open.
“The Vitali bounty?”
Fuck all.
Chapter 9
Cormac’s voice, full of anger, forced her to acknowledge his presence whether she wanted to or not. Flames crept up along the back of her neck and onto her cheeks. Licking her lips, Teddy gazed up at him. Gone were the soft glances he’d shot her way over breakfast, now replaced with hot eyes full of accusation.
Closing her eyes again, she inhaled and said, “I know what this sounds like, Cormac, but I need you to just hear me out. Please. This wasn’t how I meant for you to find out.”
“Aw, c’mon, Teddy Bear. You didn’t mean for me to find out at all. Skip the bullshit.”
He’d had a hard enough time trusting Wanda and crew—to ask him to trust her once she told him why she’d really been out in the woods was going to be impossible. But she was going to give it a hella shot anyway.
“Just let me explain. Just hear me out. You can do whatever you want when I’m done.”
That pulse in his jaw ticked; even beneath his beard she could see his fury. “Can’t wait for this explanation. Are they going to be as lame as all the others? You know, like I’m your life mate? Gotta tell ya, I was this close to believing you. You’re really good.”
Jumping up from the couch, Teddy almost tripped over the four-foot tall silver knight in shining armor Nina had next to the fireplace, holding the poker. “That’s not how it was, Cormac. I was telling you the truth when I said you were my life mate.”
God, even to her ears that sounded shady.
Oh Lord. How was she ever going to explain this to him? How could she ever make this right, make him understand? She should have said something right from the get-go. The second she realized Cormac wasn’t the bad guy and before they’d come to New York.
Her stomach pitched and rol
led, but she forged ahead. “If you’ll just hear me out. Let me tell you what’s really going on; it might not make anything better, but at least you’ll know the truth. I’ll leave if you still want me to when I’m done.”
The thought of leaving wrenched her gut, and this after just two days. It was almost unbelievable, except for the stories her mother had told her about how she’d know. How she’d doubt the validity of her feelings, how she’d have to be patient and allow them to grow, but Masha Gribanov had been firm on one thing—she’d know.
Nina’s dark head popped around the corner just then, her expression irritated. “Dudes? What the fuck is the holdup in here? Are you two already playing kissy-face? Christ, it’s been less than two days. Does anybody bother to get to know each other before they’re skippin’ off to play hide the salami? Jesus and some overactive hormones, you kids these days. You know too much. I blame social media,” she said on a snort.
But no one was laughing.
Cormac began to speak, but Teddy held up her hand. “Nina? Would you ask everyone to come in here, please? I need to talk to you all.”
Nina exhaled with a loud grunt. “We have shit to do, people. Do you know what day it is? It’s fucking Sunday. The Walking Dead’s on Sunday. It’s Carl’s favorite show. It’s Nina and Carl time, every week on Sunday. We put Charlie to bed, we roast up some broccoli, and we watch his sorta people eat other people while Rick Grimes cries and I eyeball Daryl and his bow and arrow. I wanna wrap this shit up so I can get my Daryl on in peace without all the whiny, ‘OMG, my life’s in danger’ shit hanging over my head. Also, Facebook never fails to fuck it up for me with spoilers. You’d think it took an act of God to put a spoiler alert in your post. But no, that jackhole friend of my husband’s, Norman, is all up in my feed every GD time. What’s so important that we’re not gettin’ on with this crap already?”
“I lied,” Teddy blurted out, swallowing hard.
Nina’s beautiful eyes narrowed, placing her hands on her slender hips. “About?”
“Pretty much everything,” Cormac said.
“Not everything!” Teddy defended on a shout. Almost everything. There was a difference.
“I knew it!” Nina barked with a clap of her hands. “I fucking knew it. There’s always something. Who says I need my special spidey powers to detect bullshit? Didn’t I say that from the frickin’ start? You got some secret, Teddy Bear, and it’s gonna mess everything up. Then everyone’s gonna be all in an uproar. Pooh Bear over here’s gonna be all mopey and broody. You’re gonna be all drippy snot and tears. Swear to God, I could’ve written down how this was gonna go. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”
“Nina!” Wanda tapped her friend on the shoulder, her stern teacher’s face in full disapproval mode. “Why are you carrying on? Did we run out of Doritos already?”
Nina threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Because we got trouble. Just like we always do. Teddy says she has something to say. You know what that something is, Wanda? It’s some confession that will keep these two knuckleheads from focusing on what’s important. Catching that motherfucker Stas. It’s just like it always is. Sure, the players are different. It’s not a vampire or a genie this time but a damn pair of bears. And no, we didn’t have to go through the whole, ‘I can’t believe I’m paranormal’ bullshit therapy session we usually have to give our moron clients, but it’s all the same in the end.”
Wanda’s gaze turned to them. Gone was the gentle, sympathetic Wanda, replaced by suspicious, tell-me-everything-or-I’ll break-your-legs Wanda. “What’s going on?”
“I’d like everyone here so I only have to say this once,” Teddy said.
“Ass-sniffer? Stop curlin’ your fake eyelashes and get the fuck in here!” Nina crowed toward the kitchen area.
Marty flew around the corner, her boots skidding to a halt when she slammed into Nina and almost dropped Lenny. “What’s wrong?”
“Please sit, Marty,” Teddy requested, keeping her eyes averted from Cormac’s stony gaze.
As they all took their places on the couch—well, except for Cormac, who defiantly stood in the doorway—Teddy fought to keep tears from falling from her eyes.
She didn’t even know these people, and now she was going to tell them something that would make them hate her guts.
Way to make friends, Teddy Bear.
* * * *
“You’re a fucking bounty hunter?” Nina asked, and if Teddy was correct, there was a hint of admiration in her tone. Which was better than her scorn. Nina’s scorn hurt, and she didn’t have a reason why, but it stung like a thousand bees.
However, she didn’t want praise. She wanted them to give her the kind of hell she deserved for keeping this from them, and then she wanted forgiveness.
From a group of people she hardly knew. Why?
When she finally answered, her voice sounded small to her ears. “Not in the conventional sense, I guess. But that’s mostly what we do. We’re usually hired privately, and we always tell our clients they have to agree to meet with law enforcement if the bounty’s caught. There are no exceptions, and we make them sign a contract to that effect. Then we hunt the bounty down and bring them in. We’re really good trackers because we’re bears. It gives us an advantage. Also, I know the forest like my own backyard. So when we have a bounty in Colorado, I almost always take it. Oh, and…on a final note, my last name isn’t Jackson, it’s Gribanov.”
“So the dart gun story was a lie?” Marty inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.
She looked directly into Marty’s eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry. I do use it for my work with the animals at Sanctuary, that’s my day job, but as described by Arty McDaniels, we knew Cormac would be too big to contain without some help.”
Nina beamed from her place on the couch and slapped her thigh. “Hah! You’re a salty bitch, kiddo. I don’t see what the fucking problem is. She did her job. Now she’s telling us about it. What’s the big shit in that?”
“Well, you wouldn’t, ex-bloodsucker, because you’re dead and cold inside. Your heart is black and shriveled,” Marty reminded. “She told Cormac he was her life mate, Nina. You know how serious that is in our circles.”
“Okay, let’s be fair to Cormac. I did lie to him. He has a right to be angry,” Teddy defended, and hoped she didn’t sound like she was sucking up. “But I wasn’t lying about his role in my life. It caught me off guard, too, but Cormac is my life mate.”
She just had to wait until he knew it, too. Would he know? Ever? Her mother hadn’t ever told her much about how her father had felt during their courtship. Had he known her mother was the woman for him?
When Cormac finally spoke, it was to condemn her. “Nah. I don’t believe that. I’m just your cash cow.”
Clenching her teeth, Teddy repeated, “I told you, I called the bounty off last night when I realized something wasn’t right. I can’t prove that to you, but it’s the truth. I can prove the return of the money, if you’re interested. I can show you my account at my bank.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Look, you should be angry with me. That’s only fair. But as angry as you are, we have a bigger problem. We have targets on our heads right now, Cormac. We don’t have time to argue with each other about what a liar I am.”
“But here’s a question for you, life mate. Why should I believe this isn’t some huge ruse? How do I know that ‘attempt’ on your life wasn’t just some show you were putting on?”
Teddy glared at him hard, ignoring his dark beauty, ignoring his anger. “Because you woke up this morning. If I was a part of this, don’t you suppose I would have just killed you in the forest? Or even if I didn’t get a chance to do it then, why wouldn’t I have whacked you in your sleep? You’re not a stupid man, Cormac, but that was a stupid theory.”
He glared back at her, but he kept his gorgeous mouth shut.
“So what you’re telling us is the gentleman who hired you is the man who tried to kill you last night? You’re sure?” Wanda asked, the wh
eels in her head clearly turning.
Teddy nodded. “I’m as sure as the nose on my face.”
“Which grows longer by the second,” Cormac snarked.
“Oh, shut the fuck up, Lumbersexual, and quit beatin’ the kid down,” Nina ordered, her brow furrowed in a deep frown. “Think about what it was like for your brooding ass to take a chance and trust us—or anyone, for that matter. Teddy Bear didn’t know what the fuck was going on. She didn’t know us. She didn’t know you. So she weighed her options and stayed cool. Not many chicks do that these days. They wring their hands and whine. She came clean two days after meeting us. Not two years, Grudgey. Get over yourself and all your heavy-handed, holier-than-thou crap and give a kid a break. And remind me to tell you about Toni, and how she can tell if you’re a lying sack o’ shit by making your nose grow right on your fucking pouty face.”
Cormac rolled his eyes. “Oh, c’mon, Nina. She cannot.”
Nina strolled over, yanked a tuft of his beard and flipped him the bird. “The fuck she can’t. I wish she was here right now. She’d give you hell for being such a dick to someone who’s just trying to help you. Fuck, men are such pissy bitches.”
Marty nodded her head in total agreement with Nina. “She can, Cormac, and she can also breathe fire. Just so’s ya know.”
Wanda hopped up from her place on the couch and warmed her hands by the fire. “Okay, so all this aside. The man who hired you tried to kill you last night. That’s a fact. Which means he used you to find Cormac for him because you’re known for your tracking abilities. How did he know to look in Colorado to begin with, is what I want to know.”
“How did you know?” Cormac wondered out loud.
“You’ll never believe us,” Marty said on a grin.
“Let me guess, a crystal ball?” Cormac asked, but his tone suggested he was being a smartass.
“Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! Winner-winner-chicken-dinner, Grizzly Adams. And don’t start hollering about how we’re crazy. You’re a bear because some Russian dude bit your leg, okay? If you’ve finally swallowed that shit, Roz’s crystal ball in Shamalot shouldn’t be a fucking stretch. So can the disbelief and the implication we’re a bunch of liars, because it damn well pisses me off,” Nina ordered, reaching for a large silver bowl filled with miniature Almond Joys.
Bearly Accidental (Accidentally Paranormal Book 12) Page 10