by Elena Aitken
Darryl grunted. The waitress reappeared to deliver Chloe’s Sprite and a mug of beer. His gaze momentarily redirected to the waitress’s short skirt and barely covered ass. When she’d left, he turned his attention back to Chloe. “What ya wanna know?”
She smiled sweetly and put her notebook on the table in front of her, being careful to squeeze her chest together a little bit as she did so. “The first thing I’d like to know is what your concerns were that prompted you to call us in the first place. Was there something specific that concerned you?”
“Yeah.”
Chloe waited a beat, but the answer didn’t seem to be forthcoming. “What was that?”
Darryl took a slurp of his beer. “Don’t like ’em.”
“What’s that?”
He put the beer down on the table and leaned forward. “I don’t like ’em,” he said again. “They’re bears.”
Chloe almost choked on her drink. It was shifter code. He shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t mentioned. She coughed and cleared her throat hard.
“Settle down, sister. I know you’re one, too.” He took another loud slurp of beer. A trail of fear slid down her spine. And she sat up straighter. “Didn’t know that when I hired you, though.”
You can do this, Chloe. She swallowed hard. Just do your job. That’s all she had to do. Her job. The same way she always did. She had failed Jordan Adams, but she was not going to fail Luke. She wasn’t going to fail any of them. She could do it.
“I can assure you, Mr. Ackerman, I wasn’t aware of the Jacksons’, well…situation when I took the job.” That wasn’t entirely true. Everyone in the western states knew who the Jackson clan was, but this mangy wolf didn’t have to know that. “And it in no way affected my investigation.” She pressed her arms closer to her side, pushing her breasts up even further. The move had the exact effect she was looking for. Darryl swallowed hard and Chloe could almost see his mouth start to water. Apparently wolves like a woman with curves, too.
She had to forcibly keep herself from shaking in disgust at the thought.
“Yeah, I know.”
“You know?”
“You found the trash, didn’t you?”
Trash? She hadn’t mentioned what she’d found on the property. Chloe almost squealed in joy. He’d slipped up. Luke was right; he wasn’t very sharp, but she hadn’t thought it would be that easy. She took a long drink of her Sprite to keep from smiling.
“I did have a finding,” she said easily when she put the glass down. “In fact, I think my findings will be very interesting to the state environmental commission. I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to do a full sweep of the area.”
Darryl sat back in the booth and stretched his arm out. “What’s that mean?”
“Just that once something is found on a property, often the state likes to conduct a thorough investigation of all the properties in the area to see if there are any other infractions.” She was lying through her teeth, but she was fairly confident Darryl wasn’t sharp enough to notice. “So I guess that means…” She pretended to look at her notes. “The Blackwood Ranch will need to be notified as well. But I’m sure—”
“The ranch?”
“Of course.”
“No.” He sat up, crossed his arms over the table and grabbed Chloe’s arm, knocking her glass over.
Chloe’s first instinct was to pull away and to her surprise, Darryl released her. “Excuse me? Mr. Ackerman. I don’t think—”
“I need to show you something.”
“Pardon?”
“Something that will change your mind about what you found.”
Chloe’s mind spun. He was changing tracks so quickly, she could barely keep up. “What I found? You mean the—”
“Trash. Yes.”
“I never told you it was trash.” She realized a second too late she’d given up her game, but if he noticed, he didn’t show it.
“I have more evidence in my truck. But you have to come now. Quietly.” He looked pointedly at her chest and raised his bushy eyebrows. “Quietly,” he repeated.
There was no way she should go with him. He was a wolf and clearly involved with the sabotage. He could be dangerous. Hadn’t Luke warned her about him? He was worried about this whole setup. She fought the urge to glance toward the kitchen, where she knew he’d be watching and waiting with Kade. But he hadn’t come out yet, so he must be okay with everything. If it wasn’t safe, he would have put a stop to it already.
It must be okay.
“We can’t hear anything.” Luke paced across the kitchen again. It was making him crazy. They’d been able to hear Chloe a little bit, but then things got muffled again and getting every second word wasn’t enough for him to know anything. “This isn’t working.” He turned to Kade, who nodded and tucked his phone into his back pocket.
“I agree. But I think we got him. At least, we have something and hopefully she’s getting something we can use, but—”
“What do you mean, hopefully? She’ll get what we need to take him down, Kade. My mate is more than capable.”
“Simmer the fuck down, Luke. I know Chloe’s capable, but I think we should hedge our bets, too. I’m sure the recording is working fine, but just in case, I’m going to get Blackwood so he can hear it from Ackerman’s mouth directly. You’re sure he has no idea?”
Luke nodded. “He may be a wolf, but Blackwood is straight up. I trust him. He didn’t know about this.”
“Good. I’ll be right back. Don’t make a move until we get back. We need Brian to hear it from Ackerman. Got it?”
Luke hesitated.
“Luke? Don’t be a hero. You’ll only make it worse.”
“I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Bullshit.” Kade stared at him. “Stay put. I won’t be long.”
“No problem.” He told his little brother what he wanted to hear but he wasn’t making any promises he might not be able to keep.
“Good. You got this?”
Luke nodded again and Kade left. Of course he had this. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to his mate and yes, she might be more than capable, but she was still his. And he’d die before he let anything happen to her. He’d resisted the urge to look through the window in case he was spotted. He’d give it another few minutes and then he’d stick his head out. He had to give Chloe the space to do what she needed to do, but five minutes was enough. It was all his bear would allow.
“Where’s your truck?”
Darryl walked a few steps in front of her, leading her around the back of the building, and her instincts were going crazy. She never should have let him lead her away from the main street. She was being stupid, and she knew it.
But at the same time, she also knew she could hold her own. Besides, she had backup. She glanced down into her cleavage where she’d hidden the mic. Luke and Kade would be listening. They’d know if she needed help. Which was why despite Darryl telling her she needed to be quiet, she’d started to talk again.
“Why would you park back here? There were lots of—”
“I told you to be quiet.” He whirled around and grabbed her arm again. This time he squeezed and yanked her close so he was only inches away and she could smell his stale, beer-soaked breath. With his free hand, he reached into her shirt, between her breasts. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Get your hands off—”
“Just looking for this, sweetheart.” He pulled the mic from her bra and let his meaty fingers graze against her breast as he did so. He dropped it to the ground and squished the bug under his heel. “We don’t want those bears listening in any more than they should, now do we?”
“They know I’m out here.” Chloe tried hard to control her growing panic; a guy like Darryl would only feed off it.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But what are they going to do? Those stupid bears are more interested in protecting their beloved Ridge than they are about anything else. Especially some scientist lady.”
She shook her head. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” He sneered; his lips pulled back gruesomely over his teeth. “They thought you could get me to come clean about the garbage, isn’t that right?”
“Come clean about what?” Her arm ached from his tight grip, but as long as she could keep him talking, she could still get him to admit to everything. And something in his expression gave her an idea. “The trash they hid on their property? Pretty good idea, wasn’t it?” Chloe watched as Darryl’s face changed from smug to confused. She kept going. “I mean, you gotta think they saved a ton of money by hiding the trash on their property and really, it’s so big, no one would really notice. At least they—”
“They didn’t do it.” Darryl’s face twisted in anger. “Bears ain’t smart enough to think of that.”
Chloe shrugged and did her best to look innocent. “Then who could have thought of such a brilliant plan?” She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes; it was almost too easy.
Predictably, Darryl puffed up his chest and nodded sharply. “I did.”
“You put the bags there?”
“I did. Pretty smart, huh?”
She couldn’t answer right away because she never would have thought he’d actually admit to it. She prayed that even if the mic was gone, the app Luke had put on her phone was still recording. “Wow,” was all she could manage to say.
“That’s right. I—wait a minute. Are you trying to set me up?” His face morphed again. His nostrils flared, and she could see the wolf lurking just underneath. She was definitely dealing with an unpredictable shifter. And obviously one without much of a moral code—or any code at all.
Chloe shook her head. “You got rid of the mic, remember?” Her instincts screamed at her to get the hell out of there. “Which means, they’re probably on their way out here right now.”
“I don’t see ’em.”
She tried to spin around and look, but Darryl still had her arm in a clench. He spun her back around to face him, this time pulling her tight to his body. Chloe’s bear roared with objection inside her. She didn’t want to have to shift here. Not like this. Where was Luke?
“And ain’t that convenient?”
Before Chloe could squirm out of the way, he pressed his wet, sloppy lips to hers and shoved his tongue in her mouth. She pulled back, gagging. Her bear roared and she no longer cared whether she was too exposed: her animal was not going to be contained. But she needed him to let her go. She couldn’t shift while he was holding her. She needed space.
“Get your hands off me,” she growled.
“Or what?” he taunted her. “You been spending too much time up on the Ridge. Time you knew what a real man was—”
She shoved his chest, hard. Hard enough that he released her arm and stumbled backward into the garbage bins. It wasn’t much, but it might give her enough time to shift.
“Bitch!” he yelled behind her, but she didn’t look. Not until she heard a growl. A growl that sounded way too much like a wolf.
Her muscles twitched, and she turned, ready to shift.
But there wasn’t time. As she flew backward against the wall, she thought Darryl stunk like a wet dog who’d been rolling in the garbage; as her head hit the brick wall, Chloe’s last thoughts went to Luke.
Luke burst out into the bar, his eyes going directly to the booth Chloe had been sitting in. Empty.
He’d been waiting, listening in vain and waiting. But when he’d heard her voice in his mind, calling for him, there was no way in hell he was going to stand by and do nothing. His instincts were out of control. His mate needed him and now, as he stood in the musty bar, staring at the empty booth, he cursed himself. He never should have waited so long.
The parking lot was empty. The sun, starting to set behind the mountains, cast strange shadows along the few cars that were parked there.
No Chloe.
She was in trouble. He knew it with every fiber in his body, just the way he knew that if that mangy wolf had anything to do with it, he’d rip it apart. Luke focused and sniffed the air. She was close.
He followed the scent of his mate around the side of the building and immediately his vision clouded over with rage at what he found. Ackerman, or the wolf he assumed to be Ackerman, stood over his mate. She was knocked unconscious, but Luke knew she was breathing. As for Ackerman, his breath was going to be limited.
Very limited.
Without bothering to remove his clothes, Luke shifted at the same moment he lunged toward the wolf. The dog turned and looked at him, his lips pulling back over yellow canines in a snarl before he, too, charged.
The two animals met in a flurry of fur, teeth, and claws.
A sharp pain burned Luke’s back leg, but he barely registered the wound as he dove again for Ackerman. Normally an alpha bear and wolf might be an even match, but there was no way Darryl was remotely close to alpha of his pack, never mind the fury of an alpha bear whose mate had been threatened. It didn’t take long for Luke to gain the upper hand in the fight.
With a swipe of his paw, he sent the dog flying into the wall, where he landed with a hard crack, but Luke was out for blood. And he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he had it. He stalked over to his prey and pulled him out into the open.
“Luke!”
Somewhere through his rage, he heard his brother’s voice behind him but he was focused. He stood on his hind legs and let out a roar that shook the ground around him. No one hurt his mate and Luke was going to make damn sure he made that clear. He bared his teeth and eyed the dirty fur that covered the wolf’s neck.
“Stop!”
Luke froze. Chloe.
He turned his heavy head and looked into Chloe’s eyes. Brian and Kade helped her stand and she leaned on Kade for support. “Don’t, Luke. Don’t hurt him.”
He growled.
“He’s not worth it.”
Luke looked back to Darryl, who’d shifted back into his human form. He looked even more pathetic lying naked on the ground, fear blazing in his eyes, blood dripping from his shoulder and face. Luke growled again and turned, his eyes locked on his mate.
“He admitted everything,” she said.
“You can’t prove anything, bitch.”
Without looking, Luke swiped a paw in Darryl’s direction and tossed him like a rag doll a few feet away, where he landed with a thud.
“You deserved that, asshole,” Kade said.
Luke stalked over to his prey, still not convinced he should spare the idiot.
“I recorded it on my phone,” Chloe said. “It’s all here.” She held up her phone.
“Is it true?” Blackwood walked over to where his cousin lay and looked down at him. “Did you do it? Did you betray our friends?”
“Friends?” Darryl spat and sat up. “They’re bears. And they’re taking your business. I did what I had to.”
“You’re an idiot,” Brian said. “I should let you end him right now.” He looked at Luke, who was still ready to finish the job.
He wanted to. He wanted nothing more than to raise his paw and wipe the lowlife right out of existence. He looked over at his mate. She waited. He knew she wouldn’t try to stop him. She knew him too well. Even though they hadn’t even known each other a month, she knew him. More than anyone ever had, Chloe knew him. The very heart of him. And although she knew him well enough to know that if he needed to take care of Ackerman in order to feel as though he’d handled the situation, that’s what he needed to do. But judging by the look in her eyes, she also knew that he wouldn’t do it.
He couldn’t. Not for this. But if he ever laid a hand on his mate again, the situation might be different.
With one more look in Chloe’s direction, Luke turned back to his victim lying beneath him. He raised a heavy paw and with tempered force, swung at Darryl, who went skittering across the pavement and into a pile of garbage bags. Satisfied with the noise the wolf made, Luke made his way around the corner and to his tr
uck, where he’d left a spare set of clothes.
Chapter Twelve
December
* * *
When Chloe decided to surprise Luke by catching an earlier flight so she would be home two days earlier, she hadn’t factored in what the weather in Montana in December could be like. She was thankful that she decided to rent a Jeep at the airport to make the drive. The four-wheel drive was definitely coming in handy as she navigated the treacherous mountain roads on the way to Grizzly Ridge. But despite the danger the snow brought, it sure was gorgeous. And nothing was more Christmasy than a snowy mountain lodge.
It was certainly different from the last holiday season she’d spent holed up in a hotel room in Florida. She could have gone home, but it seemed easier to stay and work instead of dealing with the questions from her family about why she was still single and working all the time. This Christmas would be different. Very different. In only a few weeks, Chloe would be spending her very first Christmas as a mated woman.
It still sounded so strange to her, but it definitely didn’t feel strange. In the few months that she and Luke had mated and made the decision for her to stay at the Ridge with him, everything felt right. Really right. Especially now as she pulled the Jeep into the snow-filled driveway in front of the Den.
The lights were already on even though it was still early, but with the snow landing on the peaks of the log building, covering the lights, the glow was magical. She could picture the oversized tree they’d put up the week before she’d left. They’d all gone out in the woods to cut it down together and spent the rest of the day decorating. Chloe had never felt such a sense of family as she had with the Jackson clan. She could picture them now, probably spending the afternoon all enjoying an afternoon of no guests, sitting by the fireplace in the main room.
