Authors: Hazel Gower
Growling at her silly thoughts, he pulled her to him and
kissed her until they were both fighting for air. “Little Red, I don’t do
anything I don’t want to, and we shifters always have a choice.”
He closed his eyes and breathed her sent in as she relaxed
in his arms. “How angry is Zack at me right now? I know I shouldn’t have spoken
to his mother like that, but that woman…”
Jake chuckled and leaned down to pick her up, cradling her
in his arms, before slowly walking back to the house. “Zack’s not angry, just
shocked that someone stuck up for him against his mother. She’s a force to be
reckoned with, and usually he just avoids his parents.”
“Oh, well, I’m glad I cleared that all up, and now I’m on a
roll, I might as well ask you the rest of what I wanted to ask.”
“You have more questions?”
She snuggled into him. “Yep, and my number one is why are
you so afraid to let go with me? I feel you holding back. I know you want to
say things, and you keep biting your tongue. Like about me going to this
concert, how I won’t let you or Zack pay for things, the fact I do so much for
my brothers, or even talk about your job. I want to ease your tension, not make
it bigger, and don’t think I haven’t noticed how much you avoid things. I know
you can’t tell me too much about your work, but, Jake, I’m willing to listen to
anything you have to tell me, be it little or a lot.”
Jake paused at the front door to stare down at her and
couldn’t help the words that came out of his mouth. “God, I love you. No one
else worries about me or asks every day how my day went, even when they know I
don’t want to talk about it. You don’t complain about my crazy phone calls in
the middle of the night. You’ve welcomed me with open arms every night since I’ve
met you. I’m so lucky to have you.”
Jake looked down to see tears rolling down
them away. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
She reached up and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed
his lips and whispered, “I’m crying because I’m happy. I love you too. I wanted
to save it to say to both of you someplace
special,
and I didn’t want to say it after my tirade to Zack’s mother, as I didn’t want
you to think I thought of you as an afterthought because I didn’t.” She brushed
her lips against his again. “Come on, let’s go and sit inside. I want you to
tell me what’s going on. Why you’ve been so stressed.”
He nodded and opened the door before walking straight to
the lounge room. He sat on the lounge without letting go of his precious
bundle. He stroked her hair as he thought of what to say. “There’s a shifter
killer on the loose. My partner, cousin, and his partner, are working nonstop
to find him. The last three killings have been people we knew. I can’t shake
the feeling he is deliberately playing with us. He is killing more and more. I
have to find him.”
She let out a big
sigh. “Why else are you holding back with me?”
He moaned because he knew he had to tell her. He couldn’t
keep holding back. “I don’t want to be too controlling, as I know you hate how
your brothers and father are. But I can’t help it.”
Jake gripped her hands and kissed her fingers. “Please
don’t get angry when I tell you this. When you’ve been working late at night
and are the last to leave work, I watch you to make sure you get in your car
and get home and lock your house. I also had your car checked, and a guy will
be installing a security system in your house. Oh, and I went to the fire
station and had a chat with your father and brothers. That’s why they haven’t
been around every morning and night.”
She stared at him, speechless, for a while before a car
horn seemed to make her shake herself, and she looked toward the door and then
back at him. “Give me a moment.” She got off him and walked out of the room.
He waited for her to come back. Zack walked into the room.
“Where’s
He pointed toward the door.
“Why did you let her leave?”
Getting off the lounge, he stalked over to Zack. “I didn’t
let her leave. Unlike you, I went after her.”
“Well, where the hell is she then?” Zack snarled back.
Jake felt his
clothes rip as his bear took over because he was angry that Zack had done
nothing to go after their mate. Muscles stretched and fur grew as he and Zack
both turned into bears.
A scream and a yell
had them both turning in their bear forms to see Sandy and her brother standing
in the lounge room entry.
white as a ghost as he pushed
them in their fighting stance.
pull her back, put her hands on her hips, and snarled, “You two boys were not
about to fight, were you?” They moved farther apart.
“You weren’t fighting over me, were you?”
He and Zack both hung their massive heads.
shocked Jake when she knew which bear was which.
“Jake, who
started this?”
my brother.”
He and Zack both
changed back. Jake watched as
brother Philip leaned against the wall.
“What the hell are you two?”
right? They’re bear shifters, you idiot. Hence,
us
walking in on two massive bears fighting.” She turned back to them and came up
to Jake. “I leave you for two minutes, and you’re fighting Zack. What the hell,
Jake?”
He shot a glare at Zack who grinned at him. “Ah, Little
Red, we were just playing right, Zack?”
“Crap. You two suck at lying right now, but I have a bigger
problem now. What do we do with my brother now that he knows?”
Jake had no clue. He looked Philip up and down. “
You going
to tell anyone what you saw?”
Philip shook his head frantically. “Who the hell would
believe me anyway? I would be committed.”
****
Zack couldn’t believe what
over the shock of her sticking up to his mother and saying how she loved him,
he had the courage to do what he wanted to do. He’d called his mother back and
told her that he was disappointed that she wasn’t happy with any of his career
choices and that she hadn’t even seen his shop to judge him. He’d even told her
he wasn’t going to the engagement party because he didn’t support his sister
being persuaded into marrying someone she didn’t love.
He and his mother had a huge argument. He’d ended by
telling his mother that if she ever spoke to his mate like she did today, he
would publicly disown her, and she would never see any grandchildren he had or
him again.
The whole drive back to
million miles an hour. His mate had stuck up for him and loved him for who and
what he was, tattoos and all.
He wanted to tell her he loved her but in a big way. Zack
had already had an idea the other day when she’d visited him at work, but now
it was more fully formed in his mind.
At the self-defense class, he couldn’t focus and his bear
wanted to be at home snuggling with their mate, not teaching her how to defend
herself.
When they arrived home after self-defense class, he sat
quietly thinking things over as he ate dinner. Together they watched some TV
before
Chapter
Eight
of bed. What if she got fired? What if she lost her house because she couldn’t
find another job? What if…?
“You’re thinking too
hard,” Jake murmured
She groaned and got out of bed. “Where’s Zack?”
“He had to go meet a contractor at six, so he snuck out. He
didn’t want to wake you. We know the last couple of days have been big ones.”
They’d arrived last night at her house and relaxed for a
while before they had to go to self-defense class.
Zack both ganged up on her. If they or her brothers weren’t around, she needed
to know how to defend herself.
Zack had been quiet all night and didn’t say anything about
not going to his sister’s engagement party. He didn’t say much at all after her
brother left. She tried not to let it bother her, but he still hadn’t said
anything to her about the conversation with his mother. The worrying was
winning.
After getting dressed, she went to work hoping she still
had a job.
hours and started to relax as nothing had been said about Saturday night when
her boss called her into his office. He sat behind his desk with an
uncomfortable look on his face.
“
Er
, um,
the way it is at the moment, we are looking to do some downsizing.”
continued, “I’m really sorry to say this, but we have to let you go. You will
get a redundancy package and a wonderful recommendation for your next job. We
would like you to finish out the
da
—”
Taking a deep breath, she stood as her temper started to
make itself known. She knew they weren’t laying her off because of the economic
crisis. It was because of Saturday.
because she was with two men. Right now she really didn’t care.
She cut him off. “What part about Saturday night is getting
me fired? Is it because I’m seeing two men? Or is it because one of those men
almost killed your brother?”
Her boss wiggled in his seat and looked anywhere but at her
as he mumbled, “A little bit of both, but mostly that you embarrassed Richard
in front of everyone. Look, you’re a nice woman, but we have a reputation, and
I think it will be best after Saturday that you find another job, so it’s not
uncomfortable around here.”
“Uncomfortable for
who
?”
Her boss cleared his
throat several times.
stood and walked to the door. “I will be out of here in ten minutes. Bye.
Oh, and good luck finding someone as good as me.”
After storming to her desk, she dumped the contents of her
drawers into a box with the rest of her things. She grabbed her bag, marched
out of the office, got in her car, and drove to the police station to kill one
big bear.
On the way to her destination, she stopped at the shops to
buy some doughnuts as she was sure that’s what cops were supposed to eat.
Arriving at the police station, she parked as close as
possible, picked up her box of doughnuts, and walked in and up to the
reception.
fiancée
to surprise him with some doughnuts. Any chance I can pop up and see him?”
The woman behind the desk smiled at her and
“Would you like one?”
“I had heard gossip that he was getting married soon.
Congratulations. He’s quite the catch.” She eyed the doughnuts, grabbed one,
and pointed. “He’s on the second floor to the right in the Homicide department.
I can’t send you up alone, so I will call his partner and get him to meet you
at the lift. It’s through the security door to your left. ”
“Well, at least I will be in the right department when I kill him,” she
muttered.
****
Jake sat with his cousin Brock and his partner. David had
disappeared a few minutes ago after the phone rang. Together they looked
through the photos of the shifter killings again, trying to find some new clues.
He was tired already and sick of finding nothing. “Let’s give it a rest for
now. We’ve been going over these for the last three hours and haven’t found
anything.”