Authors: Kate Kent
Wow…Brad was so handsome, so muscular, so successful, and yet…he was so fucking ugly.
I stared at him.
“What baby? What’s wrong?”
He didn’t have a clue. He really just didn’t have a clue.
He reached over to put his arm around me and I pushed him away. This was the man I’d thought was my dream man, my forever guy, my life’s partner…and he wasn’t that at all. I’d wanted that special someone so badly that I’d imagined something that wasn’t…the same mistake I’d made with my first two husbands.
I felt like crying but I blinked back the tears. After all, the nights I’d gone through as a child, tormented because of the pain the scars caused me and from the teasing the other kids gave me…this grown assed shifter man was not going to make me cry again. My crying days were over.
“I appreciate you telling me how you feel, Brad,” I said coldly. I turned my back to him and walked towards the bathroom.
“Judith!”
I turned back to look at him. He was such a big man, but somehow he just looked so small on the bed.
“Oh, come on…if you really want to keep those scar things you can. I just don’t know why you would. You have a beautiful, luscious, curvy body. You’re a bit big, but I like that, more to hold on to.”
I watched as Brad drew the curves of a woman’s body in the air with his hands.
“And your ass, I love that bubble butt.”
“Ugh,” I curled my lower lip and shook my head. He just didn’t get it. Brad Stanford didn’t have a clue.
I turned away again and walked into the bathroom. I closed the door tightly and leaned against it. What the hell had I been thinking? With trembling fingers, I pulled on my red dress. I didn’t waste time to zip up the back. I walked back into the bedroom.
“Judith, what the heck…?” Brad raised his eyebrows.
“Goodbye, Brad,” I slipped my heels on, grabbed my pocketbook and headed towards the door. “I’ll let myself out.”
“Wait a fucking minute. You can’t go walking out on me. Get your ass back in here or I’ll…”
“You’ll do what, Brad?” I turned back to look at him. His nostrils were flaring and his eyes had narrowed into beady slits. What had I been thinking?
I opened the door to the apartment and walked out, slamming it shut. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest and my stomach was in knots.
I hadn’t gone a few steps before I heard heavy breathing behind me.
“Judith,” Brad’s voice called out.
I ignored him and kept walking.
“Judith, come on and give a guy a break,” Brad whined. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“Well, you did,” I yelled over my shoulder. I could feel my body shaking. “Just leave…leave me the hell alone!”
“Is everything ok here?” A man stepped out from behind a tree.
In the early evening sky I could make out a scruffy beard and the sound of a familiar bear’s growly voice. “Evan?” My eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes, it’s me Judith,” Evan responded. “Are you ok?”
“I’m here too,” Grant said, appearing beside him. “Did he hurt you?”
“What are you two fucktards doing here?” Brad grumbled.
“The question is not what we’re doing here. It’s what you’re doing here.” Grant cocked his brow. “Didn’t you hear the lady tell you to leave?”
“Like hell I will. This one’s mine,” Brad hissed as he moved closer to me.
I took a step back from him. No wonder people said Shifter Villages was rowdy. This was sheer craziness and I was right in the thick of it.
“No, she’s not yours,” Grant growled. Grant quickly walked towards me and wrapped his arm protectively around my shoulder.
Brad hunched over and I knew instantly what was coming. I recognized that posture from earlier in the evening.
“He’s shifting!” I yelled.
But it was too late to stop him. In seconds he had transformed into his wolf. His bones crunched and elongated as hair sprouted on his body. His pelt bristled as he bared his fangs, his lips spread wide open. Then he leapt onto Evan, knocking him to the ground. Pinning Evan down, Brad lunged for his neck, his incisors snapping.
Grant grabbed my arm and pulled me a short distance away. “Stay here,” he yelled.
I watched in shock as Grant transformed into his bear. If I’d thought Brad’s transformation was astonishing, Grant’s was even more so. His chest exploded, with tufts of dark blondish brown fur, and a giant hump emerged from his back. His sheer size overwhelmed me. I’d always thought of bears as cute and cuddly, but Grant was far from that. This was not your childhood teddy. Grant was monstrous!
He shot me an intense gaze, his snout flaring, and then he was off. The anger was palpable as the grizzly growled and rushed towards Brad and Evan. I’d never realized how fast bears could run and how huge they were. He towered over Brad.
I gasped as the giant bear took a swipe at Brad’s fur with his sharp claws. The wolf howled in pain as blood gushed from an open wound. Brad had been holding down Evan to keep him from shifting and was gnawing at his neck, but with Grant on him he had no choice but to release Evan and try to take on the massive furry bear or try to get the hell away. As Grant roared, Brad realized he was no match for the grizzly. Letting go of his hold on Evan, Brad yipped and made a run for it, his neck bleeding as he ran.
“Thanks, brother,” Evan said, pulling himself up and dusting himself off. “You made short work of him.”
The grizzly nodded and rubbed his fur lightly against my skin. Then he moved a short distance away and turned his back to us. I watched, amazed as he transitioned from a burly bear back into his brawny man. His backside was strong and muscular with a firm ass coated with a light gleam of sweat. He yanked on a pair of jeans and his tee.
“Really Grant, thanks for jumping in there,” Evan grinned. “Brad was on my neck and I couldn’t breathe to transition. But next time, I get to be the hero.”
In the distance I could hear the sound of several fire truck sirens. Someone must have reported the fight and they were coming to break it up. Well, better late than never.
Grant laughed at Evan’s words, but his face grew serious as he looked towards me. “Are you ok, Judith?”
“I’m fine…a little shook up and shocked…but fine.”
“Shocked? What happened? Did Brad do something to you back there…?” Grant asked, concern creasing his face.
“No, it was just the shock of seeing you transition.”
“Oh, haha, you’ll get used to it.”
“What are you guys doing here anyway?”
Grant looked at Evan and shrugged. “We don’t like or trust Brad. We know what kind of shifter he is.”
“What do you mean?”
“He does a lot of real estate transactions and we think some of them are shady. No one has caught him yet, but we have our suspicions.” Grant said.
“Yeah he has a property management division also. We rented a property from him, the old Crazy Cakes Bakery site.”
“Was that the bakery that burned down?” I asked.
“Yep, that’s the place,” Evan nodded his head.
I furrowed my brows. “I remember Vic, the owner of the ‘Luscious Lad and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site saying something to me about his brother Max being blamed for that.”
“Yep, Deputy Bob had some lame excuse about Max being in the area and having a lighter. He arrested Max and threw him in the slammer. But he’s out now.”
“Anyway,” Grant said, “We think that Brad had something to do with the fire. We’ve heard his investments haven’t been going so well lately and he needed cash. We think he wanted to collect money on the fire insurance.”
“Whoa…” It was hard to believe that Brad could be so conniving, but then again…maybe not.
“Ok, ok…but why were you hanging around Brad’s house? Why not just report your suspicions to the police?”
“Well, to be honest, when we saw him leave the wedding with you, we were concerned about your well-being,” Evan said. “We just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you.”
“Oh wow,” I could take care of myself but it gave me a warm feeling inside to know they felt protective towards me.
“Judith,” Grant said softly He looked at me, his expression a mix of sweet love and sheer desire.
I could feel his warm cocoa eyes probing into my soul.
“We want to be with you all the time, in every way. We know you are our mate—our intended,” Grant motioned to Evan. “We both feel it.”
I glanced at Evan. He had that same longing and loving gaze in his eyes.
A shiver went through my spine. I’d always been the one to choose my man. Maybe it had something to do with always wanting to be in control, something I hadn’t been when I was burned. Maybe it was time to give up some of that control. I looked at Evan and Grant again. They were staring at me intently hanging on my every move and word—hope in their eyes. These two men had fought for me. They were kind and good, and even the scruffy beards had grown on me…in fact they were really kind of sexy. They deserved a chance!
“Those sirens just keep getting louder,” I said, desperate to change the topic. I was still reeling from the shock of Brad’s true colors. I wasn’t ready to jump into any kind of relationship with Evan and Grant—at least, not just yet.
Evan cocked his head listening. “It sounds like they’re close. Damn, someone probably started another fire!”
“Let’s check it out.” Grant grabbed my hand and we walked briskly, following the noise coming from the fire trucks to an area around the corner.
“Oh shit!” Evan grimaced, pointing to a building ahead of him. “The fire is at C and K Realty.”
“It’s right near the coffee shop,” I said, surprised. “I was there earlier with Brad!”
“It looks like it must have been set deliberately. It has the same M.O. as the other fires. Look at that!” Grant pointed to a high spot on the building.
Evan and I glanced at where he was pointing. The words ‘FU Dirk’ were spray painted in bold, red letters on the side of the business.
“Holy shit!” Evan exclaimed. “Come on. Let’s find out what’s going on.”
As we moved closer to the building, I covered my nose to avoid inhaling the smoke. Dozens of people were hanging around rubbernecking as the firemen worked the blaze. Sherry’s wedding reception had been held close by. Thank goodness it had ended earlier in the evening. I recognized the waitress, Marcie Shore, from the coffee shop standing close to the building. She was next to a man in a police officer’s uniform.
“I see Dirk Matthews,” Grant said, pointing to the man in uniform next to Marcie. “He’s the town sheriff. Let’s go talk to him and see what’s going on.”
We made our way over to the officer. He saw us approaching and waved his hand. I nodded at Marcie, but she frowned as she acknowledged me. I had to wonder what I’d done to make her dislike me so much.
“It looks like we have the fire almost under control now,” Dirk said. “Unfortunately, the fire department has had a lot of practice lately.”
Evan nodded. “Sorry the fire department is so busy, but glad things are under control.” He pulled me next to him. “This is Judith, Judith Banks.”
“She’s from Pennsylvania,” Grant added.
“Dirk’s our town sheriff, Judith. He’s the best.” Evan said. “It doesn’t hurt that folks are afraid to cross him. He’s a tiger shifter.”
The sheriff leaned in, his weathered face inching close to mine. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you Evan and Grant’s mail order bride?”
I felt my face flush. What was I supposed to say?
“We’re hoping she’ll be our bride,” Grant said, his jaw set firmly.
“I met a pretty woman named Sherry at another fire. She’s a mail order bride too—she got married to one of my buddies, Adrian Landen, just today as a matter of fact.” Dirk grinned.
I smiled. “Yes, I know her. I was at her wedding earlier. She was one of my co-workers before she and Adrian got engaged.”
“You mail order brides sure do heat things up around here,” Dirk chuckled. “Just kidding, I know you had nothing to do with it.”
“Any idea who started the fire, Sheriff?” Marcie asked.
“I still think it was Max,” another man in uniform grumbled.
“This is Deputy Bob Griffith, Judith,” Grant said, pointing to the man. “He’s Dirk’s right hand man.”
I could see Deputy Bob wince at the words ‘right hand man’.
Deputy Bob held out his hand. “Welcome to Shifter Villages. We’re known here for our rocky terrain,” then added sarcastically, “and our fires and theft.”
“Don’t be scaring the lady, Bob,” Grant said. “I’m sure the culprit will be caught soon and Shifter Villages will be back to being the peaceful, loving town it is.”
Dirk laughed. “Peaceful? This place can get hella rowdy, and don’t let anyone tell you any different Judith. But in the past it’s just been shifters having fun. But lately…well, it’s gotten pretty damn serious. I’ll get to the bottom of it,” he added sternly.
“Have you looked into Brad Stanford? I don’t normally point fingers, but I hear he’s been having some money issues so he’s got the motivation. You better talk to him, but ah…he’s a little messed up right now, so he’s probably at home licking his wounds,” Grant said.
“Messed up? Why so…have you boys been fighting?”
Evan made a face. “We had a brawl tonight, but he was asking for it.”
Dirk shook his head. “Well, I can talk to him and find out where he was when the fire was set. What time were you all slapping the shit out of each other?”
“It was about fifteen minutes ago,” Grant said.
“Well, the fire was set before that.”
“I, uh, I was with him before that for about an hour.” Ugh. I hated to admit I was with Brad, but I couldn’t let them focus their attention on him and not find the real fire starter.
Dirk raised his brows. “Well, the fire was probably started about two hours ago and it festered till someone saw it.”
“See there, two hours ago. That’s when we were talking at the wedding reception and Brad wasn’t there,” Grant pursed his lips.
“Yep, he was missing in action,” Evan grunted, “when he could have been busy with this sweet little thing,” he pointed at me.
I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Sweet little thing.’ No one ever called me that.
“Maybe he was busy starting fires,” Grant chimed in, waving his hand at the C and K Realty building. “Yeah, I’ll bet he did it.”
“No, it wasn’t Brad. It definitely wasn’t Brad.” Marcie hadn’t said too much of anything, so it was a surprise to hear her voice break into the conversation.
Evan furrowed his brow. “How do you know?”
“He, ah, was…he was with me,” Marcie said, stumbling over her words.
“Well,” Dirk said, “that coffee shop you work at can get awful busy, and the fire was right close. I guess it’s possible he left for a few minutes and started the fire.”
“We weren’t at the coffee shop,” Marcie stared directly at me, her eyes focused on mine. She shook her head sadly. “We were at my apartment, in bed together.”