“I don’t know about Barry,” he said. “I don’t!” he insisted when Alex growled. “He and Geoff said they had business to take care of. Dave is at the hotel where we’re staying. He’s not involved in this either. You have to believe me.”
Alex scowled at him, noting him flinch. Scaring the bad guys was more fun that scaring his staff. He turned to Ethan. “Take Leo and go pick up Dave.”
“Can I eat Dave?”
Lenny squeaked.
Alex rolled his eyes. “No, he’s another suspect and you’re taking him into custody. Remember the pesky questions we don’t want to answer.”
Ethan gave a loud, put-upon sigh. “Fine. Dana doesn’t like it when I eat people anyway. She says it makes my breath all icky.”
Alex snorted. He was fairly sure Ethan was joking.
***
Throughout the afternoon, the stiffness in Tara’s jaw started to ease off, allowing her to move it a little at first and then more as the day went on. Thank goodness for accelerated shifter healing. She could speak now as long as she was careful. Yawning was still a bad idea.
She sat on the couch, munching carefully on a cookie, looking at Alex’s baby photos. He was so cute. There were two photos side by side of Alex in the bath. In the first, he was a little baby, shampoo suds on his head, rubber ducky clenched in a chubby little fist. In the next, he must have suddenly shifted into his bear form. A bear cub sat in the bath, hair drenched, a look of surprise on his face.
“It was the first time he’d shifted,” Alex’s mother told her. “Couldn’t get him to shift back for hours. I had to blow dry his fur so that he wouldn’t catch a chill.”
Tara giggled. “He was so cute.”
“Still is,” his mother sniffed. “You two will make adorable babies.”
Tara choked.
“And here Alex is climbing his first tree,” his mother continued, absently patting Tara’s back. “Took him forever to get the hang of it. He would get up there but then he could never find his way back down. We were forever lifting him out of trees.”
Looking over, Tara saw a picture of a tiny bear cub hanging upside down from a tree branch. Then a picture of a small human Alex swinging from the branch. The next picture was of three bear cubs, two grizzly and one black bear. Alex’s siblings.
“Which is which?” she asked.
Alex’s mother pointed at the bears in turn. “That’s Alex. The other grizzly is Holly, my daughter. And then the black bear is my son Josh.”
“Ah,” Tara said. “Are there any non-bears in the family?”
“You’ll be the first that we know of,” his mother said, patting Tara’s knee. “For the longest time, inter-species relationships were frowned on. It was hell for those who found their true mates across species lines.” She sighed. “Thankfully times have changed. I’m just glad Alex found his true mate.”
Tara smiled warmly at the woman. Really, Alex’s mother wasn’t so bad once you got used to her. You know, if she was actually on your side... and kept at a reasonable distance. She still didn’t want to think about what the woman might have done to Barry to leave the kind of injuries she’d seen.
The phone rang and Anna excused herself to answer it. Tara continued to flip through the pages of the photo album. She noticed that his father was suddenly absent after a certain point. Alex had told her the story of what happened and it made her blood boil to think of Alex being abandoned like that. There was no excuse for his father walking out on his cubs. Still, the photos were happy ones. Alex and his siblings playing, both as humans and cubs. Normal childhood photos of normal children. Well, normal shifter children anyway. Birthday photos, summer photos outside in the sun, Christmas photos with Santa, and Halloween shots of them dressed up. Her own photos were much the same, just with fewer bears.
“That was Alex,” his mother said. “He has one of the men, Barry’s cousin and they’re picking up the other cousin now. No sign of Barry or his brother yet.”
Tara sighed. “I remember Barry talking about cousins but I never met them. His brother Geoff, is very like Barry.” She shuddered. “Any idea why they’re doing this? It can’t just be about bruised pride because I left Barry.”
“Alex said something about them wanting your money.”
Tara looked at her. “I don’t have any money.” All she had was her house which she was still paying off the mortgage for. Other than that, she had a couple of thousand in savings. She didn’t earn much at the café and bakery. Enough to live on but not much else. Certainly not enough to explain Barry’s persistence.
“He said your family have money.”
Realization set in. She shook her head. “Oh. No, my family don’t. My aunt and uncle have money, but my parents didn’t.” Even growing up, she had been aware of the difference. Her cousins never wore hand-me-down clothes like Tara and her sisters. Their cousins got more expensive presents, went on holidays, went to a fancy school. They weren’t spoiled, not at all. It was just different.
Anna tilted her head at her.
“My aunt married a man with money, so my cousins are fairly well off. My sisters and I? Not so much. He must have confused us with that branch of the family.” She sat there, stunned. “That’s what all of this has been about?”
All that pain of her relationship with Barry, all the emotional abuse, his harassment of her since tracking her down… all of it was for money that she didn’t even have?
“Your ex,” Anna said, looking at Tara. “He’s a bit of an idiot, isn’t he?”
Tara snorted. “You have no idea.”
Chapter 12
Alex peeked through the window. A brave man would simply open the door and walk into his own home. A smart man would first attempt to discover what he’d be walking into. Alex preferred smart over brave, particularly when it came to his mother. She’d had an entire day to come up with something fiendish. Hopefully Tara was coping with it. His mother may keep Tara safe physically, but her mental state would be a whole other story.
He couldn’t see anything, so he prowled around to the back of the house and peeked through the kitchen window. Nothing. The place looked freakishly neat, just as it had since his mother arrived. There was no sign of his mother or his mate. Surely they wouldn’t have gone out somewhere. Not with everything happening. Unless… surely his mother hadn’t gone out to hunt Barry down. Normally, sure, but Alex had asked her to protect Tara. He’d been proud of himself for thinking of that. Not only would his mate be protected, but it would also keep his mother from going out and doing something he’d have to arrest her for. Two birds with one stone. Yet, there was no sign of anyone inside the house. Frowning, he turned around and squealed, clutching at his chest.
“What are you doing?” His mother asked, standing behind him with her arms crossed. Tara stood next to her, clearly trying not to laugh. She was failing miserably. He shot her a dirty look.
“Why are you two sneaking up on me?” he asked, his voice slightly whiny. He cleared his throat.
“Why are you skulking around your own house and peeping in windows?” his mother asked, one eyebrow raised. “You look like you’re casing the joint.”
“Just checking everything is secure,” he said, shrugging. She’d buy that, right?
“Any reason it wouldn’t be?” his mother asked, arms still folded.
Alex feigned another unconcerned shrug. “With everything that’s been happening lately, I just thought I should make sure.” That was a reasonable excuse, right?
His mother narrowed her eyes at him. “So, you’re saying that you don’t trust me to keep your mate safe?”
Uh oh. He knew that careful tone of voice. Time to backtrack. “Of course you can. I’m just extra jumpy lately, that’s all.”
“So, is it that you don’t think I’m capable of defending Tara? Or is it that you think I’m not smart enough to know what to do? Or maybe you think that I’m a danger to her in some way? Which is it,
son?”
He glanced at Tara, but she just shrugged and smirked at him. Traitor.
“Alex, dear,” his mother said. “I’m waiting. Why don’t you trust your own mother? The woman who gave birth to you… and don’t think that was easy.” She shook her head. “The woman who fed you, bathed you, protected you. All of that, and now you think I can’t take care of your mate.”
“Of course you can,” Alex said, his eyes dancing, trying to find the nearest escape routes. “I just wanted to help… but I can see that everything is under control, so I’m just going to go hop in the shower. Okay, bye.” With that, he fled. He didn’t stop running until he was in the bathroom with the door firmly closed.
***
“That was cruel,” Tara giggled.
“Eh.” Anna shrugged. “I like to keep him on his toes. We wouldn’t want him to get complacent and lazy.”
With that, they followed Alex into the house.
“So, Tara,” Anna said as they sat down. “You mentioned sisters? Cousins? Are any of them unmated? When can I meet them?”
“Ummm.” Tara looked helplessly at her. “I have two sisters but only one of them is in town right now.”
“And she’s unmated?” Anna looked expectantly at her.
“Uhhh, yes.” Surely, this wasn’t going where she thought it was.
“Good, good.” Anna clapped her hands together and stood up. “Now that Alex is sorted, I need to turn my attentions to his brother. Josh needs a mate too.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t suppose you know of any unattached males, do you? For my daughter.” She shook her head. “Nevermind. Let’s just get everyone here and see what happens. It’s Josh’s turn first anyway. I’ll call him and tell him to get his furry butt down here.”
Anna left the room to make some calls. Tara sat there, feeling like she’d just been tossed around by a hurricane and then abandoned where she fell. What would be easiest… warning her family or just tossing them to Anna and saving herself?
“I recognize that dazed look,” Alex said, coming to sit beside her. His hair was slightly damp from his shower. “I’ve seen a lot of people wear that look around my mother.”
Tara looked up at him. “I think she wants to set up Sara with your brother.”
“Excellent!” He grinned at her.
“What?” She looked at him incredulously. Hadn’t he heard her?
“If she’s trying to set up my brother, then it means that she’s no longer harassing us,” Alex pointed out. “This is a good thing.”
“We are not tossing Sara to your mother to get her off our backs!” she hissed at him. No matter how tempting the idea was. She glanced around, making sure his mother wasn’t in earshot. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d thought she was alone, only to turn around and find Anna Russell standing right behind her. The woman was practically a ninja.
“Why not?” He seemed genuinely confused. “I’d happily sacrifice my siblings to distract the woman.” He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Sara isn’t like me,” she explained. “Sara and your mother in the same room would be a recipe for disaster.” She shuddered. No good would come of that combination.
“But it would…”
“No,” she said firmly. “Sara has a temper. Let’s not test what happens when your mother pushes her too far.” Honestly, she wasn’t sure which of them she was more afraid for.
Alex frowned, going quiet for a moment. “Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. With everything else going on, I didn’t get a chance and then I forgot.” He took a breath. “It’s about Sara.”
Worried now, she reached out and touched his arm. “What about her?”
“I got a phone call,” Alex explained. “It was an old friend of mine who is a cop in Wolfton.”
“That’s where my family live,” Tara said slowly. “Where I used to live. You know, before…” Yeah, before Barry had made her life so intolerable that she’d fled the entire town to escape him.
“I know.” Alex reached over and picked her up, moving her so that she sat sideways on his lap, his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She breathed in his scent, allowing it to calm her. Warm male with a dash of bear. They should bottle that. Alex rubbed her back. “Sweetheart, it seems that Sara has managed to get herself into some trouble. I don’t know all the details, and as far as I know, nobody is looking for her.”
She stared up at him, her hand on his chest. “Tell me. What did she do?”
He sighed. “She beat up on someone. Badly. Apparently the guy had it coming, but there’s still some concern over the amount of damage she did.”
“I told you,” Tara said with a sigh. “Sara has a temper. She always has, and it’s always led her into trouble.” Ever since they were kids, Sara was the one who would pick fights. Teenage Sara had been a nightmare, but Tara had thought that her sister was mostly under control now. Sure, she had the occasional burst of temper, but it had been a while since there had been any repercussions. Adult Sara had seemed to be calmer, more capable of restraining herself.
“The police aren’t interested in arresting her,” Alex assured her. “My friend is just concerned and thinks we should keep an eye on her.”
Tara nodded and snuggled into his warmth. “Alex, I know we’re newly mated and we should be together… but…”
“… you need to spend some time with your sister,” Alex finished for her, kissing her forehead. “I understand, sweetheart. Whatever is going on, you need to be there for her. I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled at him, then reached up to kiss him. His lips were warm and she nibbled at them until he took over the kiss, delving deeply and passionately. His hands slid down her back to span her waist and turn her around to straddle him. She settled over him, rubbing herself against him as they continued to explore each other’s mouths. His hands smoothed over her hips to grab at her ass, pulling her closer into him. She could feel his hardness against her and she gave a little moan of delight into his mouth.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just passing through.”
His mother’s voice startled her. She stiffened, pulling away from Alex and looking at his mother who was rifling through a drawer.
“Found it!” Anna waved an address book in the air. “You two just carry on making those grandcubs. Forget I’m here. I’ll just be upstairs calling your sister.” She paused, looking at them. “Well? What are you waiting for? Those babies aren’t going to make themselves.” Shaking her head, she left the room.
Tara leaned forward, resting her forehead against Alex’s.
“That didn’t happen,” she said. Her cheeks burned so hot that she was sure they’d be scarlet. Hell, if they got any hotter, they’d probably burst into flames.
“It did,” Alex said with a groan. “You sure you don’t want to toss Sara in her direction?”
“Let me think about it.”
Chapter 13
“Morning,” Sara said, sitting down at the kitchen table.
“Morning,” Tara answered, dishing up breakfast. Alex had dropped her at her house this morning, warning her to stay with Sara until he came back to get her. The whole protective mate thing was kind of hot, and yet also annoying. Still, she knew that Barry was still out there and she didn’t want to face him alone. Her newfound confidence only went so far.
Tara looked over at her sister. Sara was subdued and quiet, her skin was pale, dark circles were appearing under her eyes, and she seemed to have lost weight. Enough was enough.
She slapped down a plate of bacon and eggs on the table in front of Sara. Her sister looked up at her.
“Eat and talk,” Tara said.
“Sis…”
“No,” Tara said, holding up a hand. “You have been moping around since you got here. Something is clearly going on and I have been waiting patiently for you to tell me what’s wrong. It’s t
ime, Sara.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” Tara insisted. “I am your sister. You know that I love you, no matter what. I am always, always, on your side. You can tell me anything and I will do whatever you need me to do. I just want to help, Sara. Please.”
Sara looked up, tears filling her eyes.
“I accidentally got mated,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
Tara felt her ass hit the chair with a thump, unaware of actually sitting down. Her sister was mated? Accidentally? How the heck was that even possible?
“What?” Yeah, that was the best she could manage.
Sara stifled a sob. “Do you remember Ryan?”
“That total asshole?” Tara remembered him well.
Her sister gave her a sad little smile. “Yeah, that one. In the last few years, he’d started paying more attention to me. Back in high school, I would have killed for him to notice me, but he always made it clear I wasn’t good enough.”
“I remember.” She remembered teenage Sara crying herself to sleep on numerous occasions because of nasty comments from Ryan.
“Well, he seemed to change his mind a while back.”
“And you dated him?” Tara asked, incredulous. “Sara, he was a teenage crush. I thought you were over that long ago. You haven’t mentioned him in a long time.”
“I was over it! I told him to get lost, but he was so persistent.” Sara looked down at her plate. “He’s not my true mate anyway. I realized that once we grew up.”
“Then how on earth did you end up mating him?” Tara asked. “And how do you accidentally mate someone?”
Sara was quiet for a moment. “He cornered me one night. I’d been out in the woods and I was still naked from shifting. He…” She broke off, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Sara?” Tara had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was going. Nausea rose and she squashed it down.
“He forced himself on me,” Sara sobbed. “I tried to fight him, really I did, but you know how strong he was.”
Bearly A Squeak Page 10