by Lynn Hagen
The cops hesitated and then waved the paramedics over. They quickly collared Leigh and then placed him on some sort of board before hurrying him away from the scene. Spencer could hear the sound of motorcycles off in the distance and felt like he was going to throw up. If the alpha made Recker leave town, Spencer wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He wouldn’t let his friend go this alone.
“What happened, Recker?” Bear asked in a calm, even tone.
Recker dropped to his ass, his legs bent, and his arms resting on his knees. “I lost my temper.”
And that would be an understatement.
Spencer moved closer to Recker when Maverick pulled into the parking lot, riding five deep. His damn knees buckled when he saw the men with the alpha. He knew three of the men were the Santiago brothers that ran the motorcycle shop. Their expressions were deadly as they dismounted. There was no way in hell Spencer would ever want to tangle with those three.
The other person was Hawk.
Spencer’s mouth went dry. The man was not the same guy who had come over for the cookout. No, this guy looked like he murdered people for a living. Gone was the carefree smile, replaced by a lethal scowl.
“What’s going on?” Maverick asked as he pushed his kickstand into place and stood to his full height. He was the tallest person Spencer had ever met. The guy was so freaking tall that Spencer always felt like he was going to get a nosebleed whenever he looked up at the alpha. Pointing at the cops, Maverick said, “You can put those away.”
One of the cops shook his head rapidly. “I’m six foot tall and I feel like a midget around you men. I think I’ll keep my gun aimed at the mountain ready to explode.”
Spencer knew the cop was talking about Recker. He quickly told Maverick what had taken place. As badly as he wanted to skip the part where Recker damn near killed Leigh, Spencer knew lying to the alpha was never a good thing.
“Cuff him,” Maverick said to one of the cops. “I’m taking him with me for his punishment.”
“No!” Spencer shouted as he fought the cop, who was trying to cuff Recker. If the alpha was taking Recker, his best friend was doomed. “You can’t have him!”
Bear tried to pull Spencer off of Recker, but he bit his mate, struggling to get free. “Please…don’t take him…please, I’ll take his place!” Spencer was losing his slip on reality. Maverick was going to kill Recker, or punish him so severely that Recker would wish for death.
“Stand down!” Maverick barked at Spencer. He buckled in Bear’s arms, crying hysterically as the cops cuffed Recker and put him into the back of the car.
Recker hadn’t meant to hurt Leigh.
He hadn’t.
“Stop crying, Spence,” Recker said from the open window that held bars. “I should have listened to you and stopped letting what people said bother me.” Recker’s voice was filled with resignation, as if he knew what was about to happen to him.
“Recker, no!” Spencer shouted. He wanted to hurt everyone around him. This wasn’t fair.
“Shhh,” Bear said as he rocked Spencer in his arms. “It’ll work out.”
Spencer didn’t see how. His best friend was about to pay for his temper. Recker wasn’t a bad man.
He wasn’t.
Helplessly, Spencer watched as the cop car pulled from the parking lot, the ambulance following. Maverick and his men left as well.
“Take him home,” Priest said, his jaw ticking with tension. The man had every right to be angry. Other than his stupid remarks to Recker, Leigh was a really nice guy. Lazy, but nice. Priest cared about his employees, and it was probably tearing him up inside to know that Leigh was hurt.
Wiping at his eyes, Spencer stood on shaky legs. “Please tell me Maverick isn’t going to kill him.”
Bear hugged him close as he helped Spencer to the truck. Once he was buckled in, Bear gazed at him with his smoky-grey eyes and Spencer felt his stomach knot up. “I can’t tell you what he is going to do, baby. I just don’t know.”
Spencer wasn’t sure what was happening to his life, but it felt like it was going to the dogs. Everything was going wrong. People were being hurt left and right. The only sanity he felt was his mate beside him. If anything happened to the guy, Spencer would just give up.
“I’ll call the alpha later and find out what is going to happen to Recker.”
Spencer nodded, telling himself that he needed to call Kenway and let him know. The buffalo would tell the others in the house. Kenway was going to be very upset. He loved Recker like a brother.
“Can we stop at the bakery? I need to talk to Kenway.” Spencer knew he had to talk to Kenway face-to-face.
“Sure, babe.” Bear steered the truck toward Sweet Delight as Spencer prayed Leigh and Recker both survived.
Chapter Nine
Bear scanned over the reports Fire Marshal Aaron had left him. He didn’t need to read them. He already knew how the fires started. They’d had one more last night, only this time the house wasn’t empty and closer to town. It had been someone’s home.
The arsonist was about to graduate from setting fires to murder. Thankfully no one had been in the house when it was torched. The only things left of the home was a gummy, acrid ash coating the tongue, charred timbers, and blackness of what used to be someone’s safe haven.
If the cops didn’t catch the culprit soon, Bear feared he would have dead bodies on his hands.
Pushing back from his desk, he rubbed his fingers in his eyes, tired as hell. Spencer was asleep in the media room. Bear couldn’t leave work and he hadn’t wanted to take Spencer home where he would have been alone. His best friend being arrested was hard on the small impala. Bear wished there was something he could do, but from the looks of Spencer’s coworker, Recker was in for a long night with the alpha.
Not only was Bear trying to cope with that mess, but the fires and Bailey as well. It seemed like a shit storm was raining down on him.
“You still awake?” Spencer asked from the office door, looking as if he were still half asleep. “I thought you would be passed out in the sleeping quarters by now.”
Opening his arms, Bear waited for his mate to fill them. Spencer settled in his lap, laying his head on Bear’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms tightly around the small man, enjoying the momentary solitude and peace.
This was why Bear liked the night shift. It was quiet and relaxing, not like the hustle and bustle of the day. Unfortunately, now that he was mated, Bear knew he had to switch to day shift. He wasn’t about to leave his mate at home alone, out in the middle of nowhere.
The air conditioner kicked on, and Bear could still hear the television down the hall. But he tuned those sounds out as he listened to the steady rhythm of Spencer’s heart.
“I hope every week isn’t this disastrous,” Spencer murmured. “I don’t know if I can handle it.”
Bear soothed a hand over his mate’s back. “It was a week to remember.” And it was only Monday. In the past seven days, it seemed like hell had broken loose.
“Did you call Maverick?”
Bear’s hand stilled. “Yeah.” He didn’t want to give Spencer the information he was given. But he knew if he didn’t, Spencer was going to bug him until Bear told him everything. “He has Recker locked in one of the rooms at the Den. He wants your friend to go through anger management before he lets him back out into the populace.”
Spencer leaned back, his cinnamon-brown eyes finally holding some sort of spark to them. In the hours since Recker was taken away, his eyes had dulled. “That’s a good thing.”
Bear shook his head. “He also has to do community service to pay off the debt of Maverick picking up Leigh’s hospital bills, and—” Bear sighed. “And if Recker pulls a stunt like that again, not only will he be banned from Brac Village, Maverick is going to put out the word that Recker isn’t allowed to join any pack…anywhere.”
“He’ll be an outcast?” Spencer asked, his voice dropping so low Bear almost didn’t hear him.
&nb
sp; “He nearly killed a guy for making fun of him, Spencer. That’s a bit extreme. We all understand that he is a rhino and has an extremely bad temper and charges at people for no reason or for something minor. But if Maverick deems him too dangerous to live in a pack, Recker will be banished to someplace remote.”
“He needs a mate,” Spencer replied. “He needs someone who will look after him and will teach him how to accept his shortcomings. As much as I’ve tried, Recker needs a steady hand. I can’t be there all the time for him, Bear.”
His mate sounded as if it was his fault that his best friend was in the trouble he was now facing. Bear wasn’t going to let the guilt fall on his mate’s shoulders. “Babe, it isn’t your fault. It is in his nature. Just like I crave sweets and am a solitary creature by nature. But I have to adapt or one, I won’t be able to work, and two”—Bear pulled Spencer closer—“I’ll become as big as a house if I eat all the sweets I crave.” Bear ran his hand over Spencer’s cheek. “He has to learn to adapt, Spencer. Just because he is a rhino doesn’t mean he can’t find some way to control his temper. He nearly killed Leigh.”
“Just as long as he doesn’t have a death sentence hanging over his head, I can live with his punishment. Will I be able to call him?”
Bear shook his head. “Not until he gets the anger management he needs. Maverick doesn’t want any outside interference. Trust me, the alpha did Recker a favor. If he had gone to jail, Recker would be serving time for what he did to Leigh. Whether you believe it or not, Maverick is helping Recker, not actually punishing him.”
“Can we change the subject?” Spencer asked as he yawned and sat forward, looking devastatingly handsome when sleepy. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”
Bear understood his mate’s need to escape the doom and gloom. It seemed to be getting thick lately. “I have an idea.” Bear ran his hands over Spencer’s back and then cupped his tight little ass. “We can—”
“Hey, boss,” Reno shouted through the closed door. “I think you need to come outside.”
Bear didn’t want to go outside. He wanted to play with his mate. There was an urge inside of him to stomp his foot and shout no. Lately, it seemed that every time he tried to steal some moments with Spencer, something was going on to take him away.
He was getting sick and tired of the interruptions.
“You better go see what he wants.” Spencer pulled from Bear’s lap and walked toward the office door. “I’m going to go finish watching television.”
Murdering someone looked pretty good to Bear right now. If this wasn’t important, Reno was going to be his first victim. As he walked down the hallway, the new guys followed. Bear didn’t protest. Sampson and Flint needed to get their feet wet with whatever was going on. They were fresh out of the academy. They were as green as the trees outside.
Bear slammed his hand on the metal push bar on the door and walked outside. It was well after midnight and the streets should be pretty lifeless. Although a few businesses stayed open twenty-four hours, this wasn’t the busy city.
Reno pointed toward two men arguing on the sidewalk right in front of the firehouse. “You called me out here to watch this?” Now Bear knew he was going to kill Reno.
“Just listen,” Reno said as he held a hand up.
“I’m not fucking Bailey,” the taller of the two men shouted. “I don’t know where you’re getting your damn ideas from.” The guy yelling tried to walk away, but the shorter of the two grabbed the tall guy and yanked at his arm.
“I’ll kill his ass if I see you with him again. I’m not playing around here, Harley. I won’t share you!”
Bear’s eyes skimmed over the tall man. He wasn’t bad looking, but Bear didn’t see why men were going nutty over Harley. From the way Bailey had been acting, he would’ve thought the man a god. Harley had black wavy hair to his shoulders, a strong jaw, and a broad build, but he was kind of common looking.
The man must have a dick made of gold.
“Should we tell somebody the guy is threatening Bailey’s life?” Reno asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I called you out here because that’s not the first time he said that since standing there. The more witnesses the better.”
Bear agreed but wasn’t sure the cops could do anything about the threat. They just might say that the short guy was letting off steam. “Who is that standing with Harley?” Not that Bear knew who Harley was. But now he had a face to go with the name.
“Beats me,” Reno said. “Never seen him before in my life.”
“Is it always this lively around here?” Sampson asked as his eyes cut from Bear to the two men arguing. He seemed very engrossed in the spat. “And here I was kind of dreading moving into a small town.” The new firefighter nodded toward the quarreling men. His voice was humorous, but his eyes were way too intense to match his tone. “Looks like there’s plenty of entertainment.”
Bear rolled his eyes. This was not entertainment. This was a guy who was playing with fire. Harley was screwing around with more than one guy, and apparently, breaking hearts. The man disgusted Bear.
“Oh,” Spencer said as he walked out of the side door, coming to stand next to the men. “I knew it!”
“What?” Reno asked as he glanced around Bear. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t start,” Bear warned his mate. “No more gossiping.”
Spencer waved a hand at Bear as he hurried over to Reno. “The tall guy is Harley. He’s a slut. The guy has apparently been screwing anything that isn’t nailed down. And now all the men are finding out about each other.” Spencer pointed toward the two men standing out front. “That’s Tommy and Harley. Tommy works down at the twenty-four-hour Laundromat.”
Bear heard a low, menacing growl coming from Sampson and assumed the man disapproved of what was going on.
“No shit,” Reno said. “Just how many men is he fucking?”
Spencer shrugged. “Lord only knows.”
“You’re not going to touch a hair on Bailey’s head!” Harley shouted. “You’re going to take your ass back to work and stop harassing me.”
The guy had some nerve. He was running around sticking his dick in everyone’s hole and getting mad when confronted about it? Bear wanted to walk over to the arguing pair and smack the shit out of Harley.
The two finally walked away from each other, Harley in an angry stride, Tommy looking like a kicked puppy. Maybe it was time that Bear had a talk with the alpha. Normally, Bear didn’t interfere in people’s lives. But Harley was asking to get his throat sliced by one of the scorned men. He could see the writing on the wall.
“Back to watching television,” Sampson said as he walked back into the building, his voice flat. Flint was next, leaving Reno, Spencer, and Bear outside.
“I didn’t think Tommy was the type,” Spencer said as his eyes followed the small man walking down the street. “He’s so sweet and nice. Why would he get involved with someone like Harley Grouper?”
Bear had no idea why some men fell for guys who were no good for them. He never understood the bad-boy image some men salivated after. They were only asking for trouble when getting caught up with those types of characters.
* * * *
“You have that look in your eyes,” Spencer said when he walked out of work and saw his mate waiting for him by his borrowed truck. Bear wasn’t sitting inside the truck. He was leaning by the passenger door, a shitty-ass grin on his face.
“I stopped by the hospital. Leigh is doing much better. His jaw is wired shut, but the doctor said he didn’t suffer any other injuries. I also called the hospital where the cashier was taken. He’s recovered and at home resting. So, I had a little talk with Maverick and he’s agreed to allow you to visit with Recker.”
The guy looked like he was bursting with pride at what he had accomplished for Spencer. He threw himself into Bear’s arms and hugged him. “Thank you.”
“It’s only an hour, but I figure that was better than nothing.”
An hour was plenty of time for Spencer to visit with his best friend. He missed the big lug head. Spencer was almost bouncing with anticipation as Bear drove him out to the Den. He knew this wasn’t going to be a joyous occasion. He wasn’t going to fool himself into thinking everything was going to be all right now.
Recker had a long way to go. The man’s anger had been getting worse over the years, despite the help Spencer had tried to give him. He still firmly believed the rhino needed to find his mate. He doubted that solution would be a cure-all, but Spencer knew in his heart that it would help the guy tremendously.
Regardless of what he was telling himself, when the large house came into sight, Spencer felt the anticipation building. The tires crunched over the gravel as Bear pulled up next to a row of trucks and parked.
Spencer had never been to the alpha’s house before. The sheer size of the place was intimidating. Not only would he see his best friend, but Maverick as well. Maybe. Spencer wasn’t sure, but after their last meeting, he was hoping he didn’t run into the guy.
His stomach rolled, though whether from the adrenaline that was pouring through him or the fact that he hadn’t eaten today, Spencer couldn’t be sure. For a second, he wondered if this was such a good idea. Now that he was here, a knot of dread formed in his gut. His emotions seemed to be all over the place, going from one extreme to the next.
“Are you going to be okay?” Bear asked as he joined Spencer at his side, wrapping a large arm around Spencer’s shoulder. “We don’t have to be here if you’re not ready to face this.”
“There’s nothing to face. He’s my best friend and Recker needs to know that he’s not in this alone.” A soft breeze blew by, Spencer lifting his face to enjoy the scents of pine, cedar, and an earthy smell that told him there was water close by. It was a light scent, probably a pond. There were woods running along the back property line, branches blowing at the top of the trees, giving the place such a serene appearance.
The woodsy feeling made Spencer miss Bear’s cabin. He had yet to explore the forest in his mate’s backyard while in shifter form. Just the thought of drinking from the babbling brook and feeling the breeze skim through his fur had Spencer excited in ways he hadn’t felt lately. All he wanted was the peace and tranquility Bear’s home gave him.