Taming The Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 5) (7 page)

“Lorni!”

Lorni spun round with a
startled cry. When she saw Kaylee jumping out of the car, the fear
on her face dissolved and she managed a shaky smile.

“Kaylee, what are you
doing here?”

“I came to see you,”
Kaylee said, linking her arm through Lorni's. “How are you
doing?”

“Not so good,”
Lorni admitted. “Come into the house. Loretta and Mac are at
work. I wish I could go back to work too, but...” Lorni
sighed and closed the front door behind them. “I...I'm really
glad you came, Kaylee.”

Kaylee went with Lorni to the
kitchen and helped her make two cups of coffee. Lorni had dark
circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't been sleeping
well for many nights. As they sat at the kitchen table, Kaylee made
small talk and told Lorni about her new job and some funny, minor
mistakes she made on her first day. She just wanted to get Lorni to
laugh and start talking. There was something on Lorni's mind, she
could tell.

After a pause, Kaylee put
down her coffee cup and said quietly, “You said you wanted to
get back to work. Do you want to go back to your shop, Lorni?”

Lorni looked at her and her
eyes lit up briefly. “Yes,” she said at last. “I
do want to go back to the shop. But Loretta and Mac are worried.
They want me to just close the shop and move here and stay with
them.”

“They care for you.”

“I know they do. But
the shop...I can't give it up. Finley, my late husband, and I set up
Nuts and Bolts together. We were a team, a dream team. The shop
isn't much, but I want to keep the dream alive. I want my life back,
Kaylee. I want to go home and open up the shop. I'm going crazy
sitting here, doing nothing.”

Lorni grasped her hand
tightly, almost desperately. “Would you do something for me,
Kaylee?”

“Anything.”

“Could you...drive me
back to the shop? I won't stay long, just an hour at most,”
Lorni pleaded. “I just want to see that nothing has been
broken or stolen.”

Kaylee nodded. What harm
could it do? In fact, it might do her a ton of good. The poor woman
was driving herself to distraction worrying about her shop.

“Okay.” Kaylee
pulled out her car keys from her pocket and stood up. “Let's
go right now.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Kaylee pulled up in front of
Nuts and Bolts and looked around at the few shops that were opened.
In the day, the quiet street looked peaceful and safe. There were
people strolling in and out of the small shops and the row of parked
cars along the street indicated that there were people working in the
tiny offices above the shops. It was very much cheaper to rent an
office space here instead of in the town center. There were a few
accounting and printing firms here, a dress shop, a cafe and Lorni's
hardware store.

There was a constant hum of
activity during the day, and Lorni told her that Nuts and Bolts had a
stream of loyal and regular customers.

“Of course we had more
customers when Finley was around, but even now, Nuts and Bolts is
doing okay.
I
am doing okay,” Lorni said. “We
started it together, but now, I'm running the business myself. I'm
proud of it, proud of me. And I'm sure Finley would have been proud
of me too. There's a small community here, at the edge of town.
I've been a part of this close-knit community for years. I don't
want to leave and move to the town center. I like it out here. We
all do. Loretta and Mac don't understand. They prefer a busier,
more bustling atmosphere. At night, when all the shops are closed
and the office workers have gone home, it does get very quiet. But I
have neighbors. There are people living here. True, there are quite
a number of empty houses out here but some people have recently moved
in. I moved here with Finley, and I want to continue building my
life here. I don't want to run from my life. I shouldn't have to.”

They entered Nuts and Bolts
together. Kaylee looked around the neat little shop as Lorni
scurried around opening drawers and doors and checking her supplies.
Kaylee saw Lorni's face light up with enthusiasm and she had a spring
in her step as she bounded around her shop. She was in her element
here.

“I can build you a
table,” Lorni said, grabbing a rag and wiping the layer of dust
off the counter.

“What?”

“I've been working on a
table,” Lorni said, flashing a broad, proud smile. It was the
first time she had seen Lorni smile and it was beautiful to see.
“It's almost done,” Lorni went on excitedly. “I'm
pretty good with my hands. Finley taught me some, and I picked up
the rest myself.”

“I think you are
awesome,” Kaylee said sincerely. “You really belong
here, and Nuts and Bolts belongs to you. You're right. You
shouldn't have to leave. You have a right to your life, to be safe
right where you are.”

Lorni beamed. “You
know what, I'm going to re-open my shop right now!” With that,
she went to the door and flipped the “Closed” sign over.

Lorni laughed and clapped her
hands. “It feels so good to be home! I'm going upstairs to my
apartment to grab a few extra packs of nuts and bolts.” Lorni
grinned and winked. “Can you man the store for me for a
minute?”

“Sure.”

Kaylee watched Lorni hurry to
the back of the shop and disappear up the stairs. Lorni lived just
above her shop, and the narrow stairs led straight up to her place.
It was a tiny one-bedroom apartment with a kitchenette and a
bathroom. Finley had done up the place real nice so that it was
roomy and cozy, Lorni said. As a young couple, it was just right for
them, and now that she was living alone, it suited her very well.
“It's easy to clean and maintain,” she'd told Kaylee.

Kaylee looked out the shop
window at the cafe opposite. It was closed, but Lorni told her that
it was usually open all night. The owner, Sam, was a vampire and
the Midnight Cafe's lights would flick on once the sun set.

“Are there customers?”
Kaylee had asked in surprise.

“Oh yes. Not many, but
people do stop by for a coffee and a good sandwich throughout the
night. Sam usually keeps an eye on my shop and apartment at night,
but he's out of town. He had to attend his coven's yearly meeting in
the city. He's gone for a month, but he should be back soon.”

Kaylee smiled. Lorni had
blushed when she was talking about Sam. A budding romance between
the vampire and the stubborn, feisty widow? That's awfully sweet,
Kaylee thought.

Kaylee drummed her fingers on
the counter. What was taking Lorni so long? Maybe she should go
upstairs and give her a hand.

Kaylee went to the stairs and
whistled. “Lorni, do you need any help?”

There was a thump and a soft,
muffled whimper. She heard frantic scrabbling and scratching sounds
along the floorboards above.

“Lorni? Lorni, what's
happening?” Kaylee raced up the stairs and ducked just in time
as a blow glanced off the side of her head.

She twisted away and managed
to scramble to a corner of the small apartment. A pair of yellow
eyes fixed on her and a fist slammed into the wall just inches from
her face.

Kaylee blinked rapidly and
saw a man holding Lorni by the throat with one hand. The man was
wearing only a pair of dirty jeans and she saw black fur sprouting
from his back and chest. She recognized him immediately. The rogue
wolf.

He was half-shifted, and
while his shape was still largely human, his facial features had
turned wolf. His claws and teeth were long and deadly, and Kaylee
knew that she was staring into the eyes of her killer.

No! She couldn't allow him
to kill her and Lorni.

“Lorni!”

Lorni's eyes fluttered open
but she couldn't speak. The huge, hairy fist squeezed tighter around
her neck, cutting off her air supply. Lorni made a wheezing, choking
sound and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Kaylee glanced desperately
around the small apartment before the rogue wolf came at her again.
She saw a cupboard door swinging on one hinge, and guessed that the
wolf had hidden in the cupboard, waiting for Lorni to come back to
her apartment.

The rogue snarled and flung
Lorni into a corner. Kaylee heard a sickening thud and Lorni didn't
move.

Kaylee tried to still her too
rapid breathing. The next few seconds were crucial. There was no
time to scream for help. And she couldn't leave Lorni.

Silently, Kaylee reached for
the dagger in her boot. Her fingers closed around the jeweled hilt
and she gripped it tightly.

As the rogue widened his jaws
and charged at her, Kaylee yanked the dagger out and raised it with
both hands.

“Go to hell!” she
screamed.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Winston didn't bother
flashing the lights on his Sheriff's cruiser or sounding the siren.
He heard screeching tires as he turned a corner sharply and sped down
the street. He was probably going the wrong way and the Sheriff part
of his brain told him to give himself a ticket.

But traffic violations were
the least of his concerns right now. He could sense his mate's pain
and distress. Kaylee was in trouble, and the mate bond was pulling
his lion straight to her. He sped to the edge of town and blinked as
he braked hard in front of Lorni Jones's shop.

They were in Nuts and Bolts.

He could scent them. Kaylee,
Lorni and the wolf.

He knew who the rogue was.
Jakim Daud belonged to the Redmoon wolf pack. The Redmoon wolves'
territory was in Red Creek, a neighboring town, but Jakim had escaped
to Shadow Point. The Alpha of the Redmoon pack had given the order
for Jakim to be destroyed after Jakim attacked and killed three
she-wolves in the pack.

Winston unsheathed his claws
as he ran straight into Nuts and Bolts. He could scent blood, and
the pungent smell of fear and anger. He was up the stairs in an
instant, and Kaylee's fast, hard breathing sounded too loud in the
small apartment.

Jakim's furry back was to
him. The rogue had Kaylee pinned to the ground and was snapping his
dripping jaws inches from her neck.

Roaring with rage, Winston
grabbed Jakim and threw him against the wall.

Jakim pushed himself up and
faced Winston. The golden, gleaming hilt of a dagger was sticking
out of the rogue's chest.

His brave, clever Kaylee had
managed to stab Jakim in the chest. Too bad she missed his heart.
Still, she had succeeded in weakening the wolf and saving her own
life. She had bought herself time and allowed Winston to reach her.
If the wolf wasn't in such a weakened state, he would have finished
her off and ripped her to shreds by now.

Kaylee crawled to Lorni and
cradled her head in her arms. Winston stood and shielded the two
women from the rogue, his claws and fangs elongating as his lion
rippled just under his skin.

Jakim was now more wolf than
man, but he couldn't shift fully into his wolf form, not with a
silver blade embedded in his flesh.

There was not a trace of
sanity or humanity left in Jakim's glowing, feral eyes. The predator
in him had overtaken his senses, and he now lived for the thrill of
the hunt and the kill. Shifters who had less self-control and
restraint were more likely to turn rogue. They lacked the strength
and discipline to control their beasts, and eventually, they would be
completely ruled by their savage, animal appetites and wants.

Jakim was an animal, but he
wasn't stupid. He had an animal's cunning and instinct, and Winston
saw his yellow eyes flick to Kaylee and Lorni. He was still trying
to reach his prey, to spill and taste human blood.

With a snarl, Jakim leaped up
from a crouch, aiming straight for Kaylee. Winston moved in a flash
and sliced his claws across the rogue's belly.

Winston brought the rogue
down before he could reach Kaylee. As Jakim writhed on the ground,
Winston grabbed the jeweled hilt of the dagger and pulled the silver
blade out of Jakim's chest.

As Jakim began to shift into
a full wolf, Winston roared and plunged the silver blade straight
into the rogue's heart.

The glow left Jakim's yellow
eyes. He remained in his half-wolf, half-human form, his inhuman
face twisted in a vicious, ugly smile.

Winston stood and turned to
Kaylee. She was shielding Lorni with her own body, even though she
was shaking violently.

“Kaylee...” he
growled her name.

She looked up at him and
stared at the dead rogue at his feet.

“Lorni...she's hurt...”
was the first thing Kaylee said.

Winston knelt and put his
arms around Kaylee. He just needed to hold her for a moment. His
mate was a lioness at heart. She had protected Lorni and herself
from a rogue wolf shifter.

Winston radioed for an
ambulance and backup. As he kissed Kaylee's matted blond hair, he
could hear the sirens in the distance. His deputies would be here in
a minute.