VEX: Valley Enforcers, #1 (8 page)

I gave a half shrug. “I’d like to, but I’d have a hard time getting hired at a cheap chain store with my record. I really liked working at Rendezvous because they used vegan products. I went there after I got out and talked to them about starting work again. Michelle, one of the owners, was a complete jerk about it and said they had a reputation with high class clients who would feel unsafe around me.”

“What a bitch.”

“You’re telling me. I tried really hard not to play into the cattiness of a salon, but I swear she had it out for me from the moment I got hired. I don’t miss that part at all, but I do miss making people happy and getting to create something special for each client.”

“There’s a salon in the Valley near the library. You could always stop by and see if they’re hiring. I mean, if you’re planning on staying here a while. Plenty of places in Center Village, too. I’m sure they’re not all owned by people like Michelle.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“I want you to be happy. If selling your RV and moving to Washington DC makes you happy, do it.” He glanced over at me before returning his eyes to the bumpy road that curved through the mountain. “But if you want to stay here and move Big Betty to a
safe
area, like a campground, and let me take you out for dinner every now and then… I’d really like that.”

“It depends on how much work needs to be done on Big Betty, but I think I’ll be staying for a while. I can’t pass up a possible Bigfoot sighting, either. You know me. Always following the story.”

“So how did you manage to track Brown Bear Valley down?”

“Saw a story about a man turning into a bear on the side of the highway and decided to chase it. I figured it was the closest lead I had.”

He swore under his breath. “Deacon.”

“Deacon who?”

“No one you should be concerned with,” He dismissed. As we exited the maze of roads on the mountainside and onto the highway he reached up and itched his chin. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t trust you –”

“Never start a sentence with that.”

Vex tossed me a stern expression. “But Parker can’t know that you know
anything
about shifters. The stuff with the security breech and the cameras has everyone on edge and paranoid, and he already has a high strung personality so I don’t want him to freak out. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m a grownup, Vex. I know when to keep my mouth shut.”

“You won’t ask him if he’s a werebear?” He almost spat the last word out.

“Holy cheeseballs and crackers, Vex. No!” I snapped. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do trust you,” He sighed. “I just… like I said. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

I wanted to ask him to explain himself, but I could see Big Betty in the distance. We slowed down as we got closer, but the horror and rage inside me was spiraling out of control. Now that I wasn’t delirious and the sun was out I could see the extent of the external damage. Dents peppered the body of the RV. It was slanted towards the front, as the tires were slit, and the hood wasn’t completely shut.

I unbuckled myself and dislodged from the SUV before Vex even put it in park and turned his hazards on. Ignoring the ache in my side and in my chest, I ran barefoot across the gravelly roadside and threw open the unlocked door to my home.

And then I screamed.

Vex

I shuffled the wrinkled and torn papers together in an attempt to organize the mess of scanned articles, crudely drawn maps, and printed documents of eyewitness encounters. Acacia was adamant that none of her papers be thrown out, and though most of the stuff I looked at seemed fake or was a torn mess, I was eager to please her.

When I heard her scream I feared the worst, but her horror movie worthy screech wasn’t because a Bigfoot or an axe murder had spent the night in her RV. She screamed because in the light of day it looked like a tornado had gone through the entire twenty seven feet of the RV. I had been in a hurry when I was looking for her and didn’t really assess the damage, but now that I had a level head I saw just how ransacked the place appeared. I expected her to need a shoulder to cry on, but after releasing all her emotions through her ear splitting bellow, a look of determination settled on her face and she started barking out orders.

I picked up the glass while she changed. Jagged pieces of colored porcelain made a mosaic on the ground. The sight of her blood staining the ground made my bear go wild. I was already on edge from seeing her half naked in my bed and the dangerous game of flirtation we played. Hell, I’d been on edge
before
that. My bear recognized her as his mate and he didn’t understand why we hadn’t claimed her. I wanted Acacia forever, but I didn’t want to rush things with her and have her run away. I’d follow her to the end of the world, but I wanted her to love me willingly.

I trusted Acacia wholeheartedly, but I still felt the need to be reserved when it came to her and my clan. Most shifters who mate humans worry about whether their mate will accept the other half of their soul. I knew Acacia would. She believed in magic. But her readiness to accept the supernatural part of my world is the stem of my uncertainties. I no longer expected her to take secret information and knowledge of the shifter society public, but I was fearful that her eagerness to share and explore sectors of the unknown would lead to trouble.

I was wrapping the bloody knife in a towel when she emerged from the back of the RV. The electric blue of her undercut popped brightly as if she had somehow managed to re-color the hair while I was picking up the broken dishes. The signature look of dark eyeliner and bright red lipstick was back. She changed her nose ring, and now what looked like a bull’s ring dangled from her septum. She wore a black v-cut tee with a skull on it and a pair of jeans that matched the color on her lips. Her battered looking combat boots tied off the look. If it weren’t for the bandage on her arm you’d never know she had been through hell the night before.

“My room doesn’t look too disturbed. I think the bulk of the shaking and shit was up here at the front. My full size Han Solo cardboard didn’t survive. Rest in peace, you scruffy nerf herder. You think my insurance will cover a new one?”

I slid the towel covered knife into the trash bag. “Only if you agree that Han shot first.”

“Ha!” She clapped her hands together. “Hell yeah he did!”

We started sorting out the mess of papers and books on the floor while talking about Star Wars. I wasn’t a huge fan, but Hakeem and I watched our hand me down VHS copy of Episode 4 so many times it overheated our tape player. The conversation didn’t last long, but not because of my lack of Star Wars knowledge. Acacia seemed deep in thought, and I didn’t want to disrupt her.

I heard the rumble of a vintage muscle car coming down the road. “Parker’s here.”

“Are you going to be an asshole like you were around your friend Justin?”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“That’s like saying ‘Sorry I robbed your bank. I didn’t mean to make anyone mad when I stole the money’ or something.”

I placed the clear container of paper on the table top. Acacia followed my actions. She stood up and slapped a manila folder exploding with handwritten notes into the tub. I heard the slam of a car door.  I sensed her trepanation. I sensed the weight of her fears. So in either an incredibly bold or a terribly stupid move, I pulled her against me and slanted my lips over hers.

She tasted like coffee and spearmint breath mints. Kissing her felt
right
. I never doubted the fates, but if there were any questions about Acacia being my mate they were gone the moment our lips touched. I never was very good with words, but feeling her body mold perfectly against mine while her lips parted in surprise and anticipation made me want to write poetry. I saw stars with Acacia.

I could hear Parker outside. Despite every cell in my body screaming at me to wrap her up in my arms and kiss her until the world fell apart around us, I pulled away from her. I knew the dazed look she wore was probably mirrored on my own face. She smiled a little and released her grasp on my shirt. I thought she was going to cup my face, but instead she chuckled and thumbed at the corner of my mouth.

“Lipstick.”

There was a knock at the door. “Vex? You in there?”

“Yeah. Give me a second! We’ll be right out.” I called out over my shoulder. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, I dipped down and pecked her forehead. “We’ll talk later. Come on.”

Outside, Parker was squatting near the slashed tire. He stood when he heard us approach and wiped his hands on his jeans.

“Thanks for agreeing to come out. I know things have been hectic with uh… work. I know you pulled a late shift last night.” Though he worked more than forty hours a week at the shop, Parker was adamant about volunteering for patrols.

“Not a problem.” He eyed Acacia almost suspiciously before sticking his hand out. “Parker Oakley. I run the shop in town. This is your RV?”

“Acacia Reed. Nice to meet you.” If she was aware of his scrutiny she didn’t show it. “Yup. Big Betty is all mine.”

Parker nodded his head slowly. “Vex gave me a heads up about what happened last night. Did you get a look at what attacked your RV? A bear maybe?”

“I didn’t see anything, but I don’t think it was a bear. Animals don’t attack unless they’re sick, injured, threatened, or are protecting something. I was hiking a few days ago and I didn’t see any bears around. I didn’t even see deer, actually, so I don’t think it was an animal.”

Parker’s eyebrows rose and he looked at me. “Hiking, huh? Out in this land? You don’t hunt, do you? This is pretty close to some private property. You should be careful.”

“I would
never
hurt an animal,” She said with an ardor that underlined her seriousness.

Parker clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Just a warning. I’m going to take a look under your hood and see what the problem is. Vex, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He waited until we were on the other side of the RV before his face fell into something grave and he started rambling. “Nick, one of my human mechs, was talking about a woman posting flyers and asking about werebears last week. Said she had blue hair and tattoos. Do you know about this? That’s her. It has to be her. I can’t believe this! You’re sleeping with someone who could be trying to expose our entire fucking existence? Jesus, Vex!”

“Stop,” I hissed. Parker and I weren’t exactly friends, but I liked the guy. I didn’t want to ram his face into the ground but I entertained the idea. “Acacia is my
mate
. Do not talk about her like that.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“As a fucking heart attack. Acacia has nothing to do with what is going on at the reserve. She was with me the day the cameras were found, and she has been with me every day since.” I played around with the truth knowing it would be better in the long run if she had an alibi. “The scent around the cameras was male. It isn’t her.”

“So her proximity to our reserve and the fact that she was poking around town is just coincidence?” He retorted skeptically.

“Of course it’s a coincidence.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Trust my judgement, Parker. Trust me. It is my job to make sure the clan is safe. Do you really think I would jeopardize that for a woman? I have sacrificed for this clan, and I will continue to sacrifice for the clan. I have earned my position and I think I require a little more respect. Now will you please figure out what the hell is wrong with this hunk of metal?”

I watched the tension roll along his jaw. Parker was a passionate man. He never did anything half assed. He was almost obsessive. When it came to the safety of the clan, especially after he mated a human woman named Callie, he got a little more extreme. Nate, his best friend and another bear in the clan, mated a rogue shifter who had killed a human. I was on the team that went looking for Nate, who at the time had been presumed lost and possibly dead. We found him in bed with Orsa. That day was intense for everyone involved, but Parker seemed to have the most issues with bringing the two back to the reserve. Though years had passed since Callie and Parker mated and married, his protectiveness hadn’t waned in the slightest.

“Yeah. I’ll check it out.” He paused before adding. “You know I have to tell Deacon about this, right?”

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to bleed him. If I would have known that people in the Valley had looked at the flyers before I collected them I never would have called Parker. I didn’t want Deacon involved. I didn’t want clan politics clashing with my personal life.

“Before you run to the Alpha, remember that you have been in my shoes. Acacia is human. She can’t protect herself like we can. I don’t even know if there is something… or someone that she needs protected from in the first place. She’s mine. Mine to love, mine to protect.”

“And put yourself in my shoes, man. What if she
is
a threat? Callie and I are trying to have a baby. I can’t put my family in danger. Callie or the family that exists beyond the walls of my home. You need to tell Deacon about her or I will. I’m sorry, but he has to know.”

“Do you think right now is the best time for me to approach him? Honestly. His plate is full dealing with everything.”

“Your mate has a connection to the clan that may or may not extend beyond her relationship with you. I don’t know what she knows or if she knows anything at all, but Vex, you can’t keep him in the dark about this. We can fight about this later. Challenge me and we can bleed it out. But look at it through my eyes first. I’m going to check this thing out and see what’s wrong, and then I have to get home to take Callie to a doctor’s appointment. One of the kids at the shelter got her sick.”

“I appreciate it,” I muttered. I kicked the gravel as I walked around the front of the RV and searched for Acacia. She was on the phone a few yards away. Her eyes found me, and a few seconds later I heard her issue a goodbye to whoever was on the other end of the phone.

“I called Aiden to let him know about my RV troubles. I think he was relieved. Glad I’m safe and everything is okay, obviously, but relieved that I won’t be couch surfing.”

“Doubt it. He seems like a good brother. You told him about your uh, supernatural encounter?”

She snorted, “No. Just told him I broke down. I have enough money saved to make it to DC on a bus, but I like it here. I told him I’d probably be staying even if Big Betty hadn’t pussed out on the side of the road.”

I needed to tell her about Parker’s warning. I needed to tell her more about the clan and shifters and come clean with all the little pieces of information I’d been withholding. Everything was spiraling out of control, and I was losing my grip on the ropes that tethered me to the ground.

“Anyway,” She continued with a slight smile. “He asked if the guy that was keeping me in Montana was cute. I told him cute was an understatement and that the guy was like something out of calendar of half-naked firemen mixed with a
Game of Thrones
character.”

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted.”

“Definitely flattered.” Her face twitched with apprehension as she looked over to her RV. “Are you in trouble?”

“Maybe,” I answered honestly… which only made her panicked look grow. “We have to talk later. I need to tell you more about me. About my clan. But Parker is threatening to tell my Alpha about you if I don’t do it first. I don’t know what to do.”

“Why is he threatening to tell him about me? Isn’t it okay to be with a human? I mean, not that we’re together or anything, but I thought you said –”

“We’re together,” I confirmed, finding her eyes so she could see the truth that was on the surface. “You remember the whole ordeal with the cameras?”

She paled. “He thinks
I
am behind that? No! I wouldn’t do that.”

“One of his workers was talking about a tattooed woman with blue hair asking about werebears.” Acacia winced, but she remained silent and let me talk. “Don’t stress about it, okay? I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you.”

“Hey!” Parker called out. He started walking towards us. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“Good news,” Acacia said quickly. She stepped away from me and cross her arms nervously. “Always start with the good news.”

“There isn’t any serious damage to the RV. It’s fixable. Bad news: there is a bunch of little things that might add up to a big price tag. I’m also going to have to order parts, and they will take a week or so to get here. You only have one slashed tire, and that will run at about three hundred bucks. I’d recommend replacing both front tires so they drive even, though. You’ve been in contact with the police?”