by Juniper Hart
Liv wriggled beneath him, turning her head away as he slashed for her jugular, but before his teeth impacted her skin, a shovel slammed into his brown fur, causing him to crumple on top of her.
Breathing heavily, she struggled to push the dead weight off her but he was too much and she cried out for the construction worker, who loomed above, his eyes almost maniacal.
“Help get him off me,” she instructed him. The man did not move, his jaw twitching as he determined what to do. Liv realized he thought her a threat.
“Please!” she insisted imploringly. “I tried to warn you.”
“You brought them here,” he growled. “I should smash your head too.”
“I killed that one,” Liv panted, her breathing uneven under Roderigo’s bear weight. “Please!”
He seemed to consider her words and finally relented, dragging Roderigo’s unconscious body off her trembling frame.
“We need to get out of here,” Liv told the worker urgently. She looked toward the street, silently praying that the scene hadn’t been witnessed, but her luck had officially run out. A small crowd had formed at the fence.
Liv jumped to her feet.
“Come on,” she told him again. “We really need to go before they send backup.”
The man muttered a curse under his breath and shook his head.
“I have a family,” he rasped. “They’ll come after my wife, my kids.”
Liv felt a pang of worry for the man but she shook her head vehemently.
“No,” she promised him. “They won’t. They’ll never know it was us. But we have to go, all right?”
He nodded and together, they slipped off into the night with their heads down.
“Do you live near here?” Liv asked him. “Can you get home?”
He nodded but looked uncertainly over his shoulder.
“What about you?”
Liv managed a forced smile.
“I’ll be fine,” she told him, the lie thick in her voice. The bear grunted and shook his head.
“Never mind,” he said. “I know somewhere we can go that’s safe.”
She eyed him warily.
“A friend’s house. He lives alone,” the worker explained impatiently.
Liv considered the words, knowing she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, even though she didn’t want to drag anyone else into the mess she’d made.
It’s a little late for that now, she thought grimly.
“Okay,” she murmured. “Call your friend.”
They slunk into the shadows as he took out his phone and dialed out, the conversation lasting less than a minute, but the worker spoke Spanish so rapidly, Liv didn’t try to decipher what he was saying in her daze. It didn’t matter. She was sure that this man wasn’t trying to see her attacked after saving him.
Or had he just saved her?
I just killed a bear. A gang-affiliated bear. I am in so much trouble right now…
She thought about calling Damon, first and foremost, but she knew that was impossible. What would he say to know she’d taken out one of his own? What would Lucien say?
Liv shuddered fully, goosebumps prickling her flesh almost painfully. Everything was overwhelming and she had no idea which way to turn.
The man disconnected the call and turned to her, nodding as he continued through the night.
“Come on,” he said. “It’s just in La Calendria. He’s expecting us.”
“Wait!” Liv called, hurrying to catch up with him. “What’s your name?”
The bear eyed her suspiciously and sighed.
“Miguel,” he muttered. “Miguel Santos.”
11
Deep concern twisted through Damon as he sprinted toward the gates of his community, his mind whirling. Miguel’s phone call hadn’t made much sense, but he had read the panic in his friend’s voice with clarity.
“I’m in trouble. Can I come to you?”
Damon had no idea what kind of trouble might find a man like Miguel, but he was hardly in any position to judge. Never before had Miguel called on him for anything. He gave Miguel his address, half-expecting his coworker to comment on the elite address, but the other bear didn’t seem to notice.
“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Which begged the question who “we” might be.
Nervously, he paced in front of the gates, waiting for any sign of his friend, but when Miguel finally appeared, Damon couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Consternation and elation struggled to take precedence inside him.
What is Liv doing with Miguel?
Damon rushed forward to meet them, noting the streaks of blood on both of them as they neared. Liv froze mid-step. She turned accusingly to Miguel.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she demanded, backing off. Miguel cast her a confused look but didn’t stop as he hurried forward.
“We’re in trouble, Damon,” he said urgently. “You need to hide us before Los Asesinos find us.”
Perplexed, Damon looked toward Liv, who remained in place, eyeing them both with deep uncertainty.
“Come inside,” Damon growled. “And tell me what happened.”
He turned to guide them toward his house, watching through his sidelong vision to see if Liv would follow. She hesitated until Damon spun back.
“Liv,” he barked in English. “Get inside. We’ve seen how well you fare when you’re outnumbered.”
She balked at the reminder but it seemed to get through to her and she ambled forward, her head hung low as she walked.
“You know her?” Miguel asked in disbelief.
“It’s a long story,” Damon mumbled, closing the gate securely behind him. He peered into the night, but he saw nothing that indicated that they had been followed.
“What happened?” Damon asked as they made their way toward the house but he was already getting an idea of the story. He glanced accusingly at Liv. “They came back to the site tonight, didn’t they?”
Liv nodded, visibly swallowing, but it was Miguel who spoke.
“She came to warn me but it was too late. They attacked me without warning.”
“They thought he was you,” Liv volunteered. She paused at the curb of his house, her eyebrows shooting up to stare at the building. “Is this yours?”
Damon sighed and nodded, opening the front door to allow them inside. He again locked the door behind them and peeked out the window to ensure that no one saw them enter. He didn’t know the neighbors all that well and he had no way of knowing if they were connected to Los Asesinos.
Don’t get paranoid now, he warned himself. This is not a gang neighborhood.
“Why are Los Asesinos trying to kill you?” Miguel asked dubiously. “And how could they possibly confuse us?”
Damon and Liv sighed in unison, exchanging a look before shifting their gazes away.
“Are you hurt?” Damon asked, his full attention on them. His gaze trailed over their bodies for signs of injury but they shook their heads in unison.
“I’m healing,” Miguel replied, ambling further into the house as Liv and Damon stared at one another. Relief shot through Damon and he exhaled.
“Why were you there? I warned you that you’re playing a dangerous game, Liv,” he growled.
“I saved him!” Liv shot back indignantly but Damon could read the guilt in her eyes. She lowered her head. “And I thought you were going to be there. I knew you could handle yourself against those two.”
A combination of exasperation and pride swept through Damon.
“You’re lucky it wasn’t worse,” he growled.
“It is worse. I killed one of them.”
Shock caused Damon to step back, his eyes wide.
“You what?” he choked.
“She had to!” Miguel jumped in from the living room. “I was outnumbered and—”
“Are you both out of your minds?” Damon roared, ushering Liv toward where Miguel stood. “They’ll come after your familia, Miguel. They wo
n’t let this go! Did anyone see you?”
Miguel and Liv were silent, refusing to meet his eyes. Damon groaned loudly, his head beginning to swim at the repercussions.
So much for staying off the radar. This was a catastrophe.
“We need to get Ana and the kids somewhere safe,” Damon said, thinking quickly before turning to Liv. “And you…you’re done with whatever story you’re hoping to get.”
Miguel blinked, perplexed.
“Story?” he echoed. Liv shook her head and put an arm out to stop Damon from talking but he wasn’t done. It was time to lay out all the cards on the table.
“She’s a journalist,” he explained. “She’s been playing with fire.”
Miguel’s mouth tightened reprovingly.
“You threw yourself in the middle of a bear gang for a story?” he demanded disbelievingly.
“I had it under control!” Liv insisted without any conviction. Both bears eyed her skeptically.
“Did you really?” Miguel scoffed.
“I saved your ass, didn’t I?” Liv shot back.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Damon growled, stepping between the pair as hostilities mounted between them.
“I had nothing to do with what happened tonight,” Liv went on, ignoring Damon’s attempt to keep the peace.
“No, you were just there for a damned article,” Miguel retorted. Damon had never seen his mild-mannered friend so upset.
“So what if I was? I’m only doing my job!” The defensiveness in Liv’s voice made Damon tense.
“No doubt reporting back to the demons about us,” he snapped.
“Nothing like that,” Liv countered quickly but she didn’t add anything else as she caught Damon’s eye. She sighed deeply.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Damon reminded the pair. “We need to formulate a plan.”
“A plan to combat Los Asesinos?” Miguel asked, almost rolling his eyes. “Are you crazy?”
“We need to get to Ana and the kids, first and foremost,” Damon said, stepping into action. “It will take the gang a while to figure out who you are so we might have some time.”
Miguel paled at the words, his perspective changing dramatically as he realized that his family was genuinely endangered.
“The kids,” he mumbled. “Ana…”
“We’ll get to them,” Damon reassured him and Liv nodded vigorously.
“We will,” she promised.
Damon grimaced, realizing that he didn’t have a car but Liv seemed to be reading his mind.
“I still have my rental. It’s parked behind my building,” she volunteered. She paused and cleared her throat. “And your car is still at the scene.”
Damon groaned with such force, it seemed to vibrate the floorboards.
“Screw my car,” he grunted. “This all started with that damned car.”
He turned back to Liv, who seemed abashed by his statement, and his face softened.
Then again, if not for that damned car, I wouldn’t have met her—much as she’s turning my life upside down right now, he thought.
He forced himself to focus on the matter before him.
“Give me your keys,” he said, extending a hand for her to drop them.
“I’m coming with you!” Liv insisted but Damon shook his head.
“No,” he said firmly. “We don’t need unnecessary attention and a demon in our midst is exactly that.”
She seemed hurt but Damon didn’t have time to nurse her ego in that moment. They needed to get Ana and the kids to safety before Los Asesinos came for their second round of revenge.
To Damon’s absolute horror, half of Ana’s family was at the house when they arrived in Liv’s Kia. The task of stealing Ana and the children away in the cloak of darkness was no longer an option.
“Damon!” Ana cheered when she saw him. “I thought we’d scared you off the last time you were here.”
Damon smiled weakly at her and shook his head, shooting Miguel a wary look.
“Ana,” Miguel said quickly, “I need to talk to you.”
“First get him a cerveza,” Ana chided her husband but Miguel pulled her into the kitchen and away from the group as they encircled Damon. To add to his dismay, Mari was among the family members and she plopped herself next to him, trailing her finger over her cheek. Damon pulled back with some annoyance. He was not in the mood to fight off her advances, not when Liv was waiting for him back at his house.
“Hola, papi,” Mari said coyly. “I was hoping to see you again. Let me get you a drink.”
“We’re not staying,” Damon said crisply, looking toward the kitchen where the couple was in deep, intense conversation. Mari scowled.
“Don’t play hard to get now, papi,” she purred in his ear. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had two women fight over you before.”
Damon stepped away, putting as much deliberate distance as he could between himself and Mari.
“I’m seeing someone,” he told her coldly, his eyes darting around the room until they rested on Cara and Jose sitting in front of the television. He moved toward Miguel’s children, crouching down.
“Hola,” he said, trying to muster as much friendliness into his tone as he could with Mari shooting daggers into his back with narrowed eyes. “Do you remember me?”
The children turned to him and nodded slowly.
“Si. You work with Papi,” Jose recalled. His younger sister nodded in agreement.
Worked. I worked with your father.
“Si,” Damon replied, smiling warmly. “You guys are going to come and stay with me for a while but you have to keep it a secret, okay?”
From the neighboring room, Ana’s voice rose and Damon grimaced, realizing that the plan was not going as smoothly as he had hoped.
“Why?” Cara whined. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Shh,” Damon urged, looking behind him. It felt like all eyes were on him.
He wasn’t going to get the kids out discreetly.
Before he could answer Cara, Ana stormed toward them, her hazel eyes glittering with anger and worry.
“Everyone out,” she barked at her family. “You two, into your rooms.”
The children gawked at her but they obeyed her order as her family was abruptly herded out. When the three adult bears were alone, Ana whirled to glower at him.
“What trouble did you get him into?” she demanded. Damon gaped at her.
“What?” He shook his head. “Ana, this isn’t the time for drama,” he told her flatly. “Just pack some things for you and the children so we can get out of here.”
Ana scoffed and spun away, muttering about fools and their need for excitement before disappearing down the hall after her children.
“Sorry about that,” Miguel sighed when his wife was out of earshot. “She’s never been away from the pack for even a night. She’s just worried.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Damon said grimly. “I would be worried if I were her too.”
“I should get some things too,” Miguel mumbled, shuffling away. Damon remained in the messy living room, the tension inside him mounting.
This is only a temporary solution. Eventually, Los Asesinos will figure out where Miguel is hiding…and Liv.
He pursed his mouth together and closed his eyes, wondering how he’d allowed everything to spiral so completely out of control in such a short time. A week ago, he had been comfortable in his life, glad to be free of his father. Suddenly, he was again entangled in a mess that was leaving him breathless.
I shouldn’t have let her into my life. I was so careful…
Yet even when he herded the Santos family out of the house and into Liv’s Kia, he knew that he was in too deep now to walk away from either Miguel or Liv.
Especially Liv.
Maybe I can get them all out of the country, he thought, pulling away from Miguel’s neighborhood. He knew how well received that would be by Ana but it was safer than the alternative.
“What are we going to do now?” Miguel murmured quietly so as not to let his wife hear from the backseat. Damon offered him a weak, unconvincing smile.
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised his friend. He just had no idea how.
12
At first, Liv didn’t know what to do with herself inside the big, empty house. For a few minutes, she simply sat on the couch, trying to rationally evaluate the situation at hand. When that got to be too much to consider, she rose and began pacing the room and that was when she realized just how expensive the furniture was in her midst. Curiosity overrode her tension and Liv began to look about the house unchaperoned, her eyes widening at every turn.
It wasn’t just the main floor that boasted pricey belongings. Damon’s closet was filled with designer names, his shoe rack filled from top to bottom. None of this fit with what Liv had learned about Damon over the past few days.
How is he affording this if he’s working as a construction worker and not using his father’s money?
Even if he was a decent saver, squirreling away all his paychecks from the army, the cost of the items inside the house didn’t add up.
Not to mention that brand new Renault he was driving. Where did it all come from?
The question nagged at her as she wandered both floors, checking out the fully stocked house and modern furniture. The more she snooped about, the less she understood.
Like I need more to think about right now, she thought furiously, eventually finding herself back in the living room to wait for the men to return. She was antsy sitting in the room, the desire to keep moving flowing through her veins.
She had purposely kept her cell phone off, concerned that one of the other operatives might try to reach out to her at an inopportune time. The phone she used to contact Lucien was still at her apartment. Once Damon returned, she would go and collect it and whatever else she could pack. She wasn’t sure what she’d do from there. She couldn’t very well call Lucien with an update. She could anticipate his response easily.
Maybe she could just stay with Damon.
Sensibly, she knew it was a terrible idea, but in her heart, she didn’t want to leave. Impossibly, she and Damon kept being thrust back together, despite her best efforts to stay away. Maybe it was time to stop fighting fate and let this run its course—whatever it was.
