The younger RCMP gulped noisily, but Corporal Jager radiated stern determination.
“We’d appreciate that,” he said.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Leif replied, keeping his tone polite when he wanted to roar. He needed to hug Fiona before he left.
An hour later, he and Arve returned.
“Did you find anything?” Josef asked from his position on the couch.
Fiona and his brothers were watching another Die Hard movie.
“We found a bullet embedded in the wall,” Leif said.
“We calculated the angles and discovered where the shooter stood to take the shot,” Arve added.
Runt’s eyes narrowed. “Did you get his scent?”
“We think so, although the track crossed with others and intermingled. We followed the trail to the Tundra Inn. The RCMP informed us they’d take it from there. It could be any of the guests or a smart local trying to muddy the trail. It didn’t help us much,” Arve said in frustration.
“So what do we do next?” Fiona asked.
Leif growled low in his throat. “We can’t do anything except watch our surroundings.”
Fiona tapped her fingers on her knee. “This might not be connected, but while I was in Winnipeg, there was a shooting. A lady right next to me died. I remember thinking my clumsiness saved me.”
The scared note in her voice didn’t go unnoticed by any of the brothers.
“What if the shooter meant to shoot me and missed?”
The next day.
“Fear has a scent.” Josef slung his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her with affection. “It’s coming off you in waves.”
“Well, if someone shot at you, you’d waft fear too,” she retorted.
His brows rose. “Waft?”
“Whatever word fits best.”
“The two events might not be related,” Leif said as he handed her a cup of coffee.
Arve scratched his chin. “But they might be. We should never discount our instincts, and it seems odd that Fiona was present at two shootings in two different towns.”
“Fiona will stay here in safety,” Leif stated.
“That’s a big, fat no,” she said before one of the other brothers agreed. “I am here for an adventure. You promised to take me out on the tundra again. I’d love to see more bears and I still haven’t managed to snap an owl photo. I should be safe enough with five big strapping bears surrounding me. This morning, we should go ahead as normal and approach the local business owners about using our service. You need me along for these talks because seeing you in a group makes people nervous.”
“She is right about her helping the humans approach us. We sold our produce because of her,” Stig said.
Fiona jumped to her feet and poured him a cup of coffee. “How is your arm?”
He showed her the pink mark on his biceps.
“Wow,” she said, running her fingers over his injury. “You heal fast.”
“Which is why it was better that the bullet struck me rather than you,” Stig replied. “We can’t keep Fiona locked up inside the warehouse. That’s not living. Besides, whoever shot at us might have intended to hit me. Maybe he hates polar bear shifters. A lot of the humans fear us. Shooting isn’t that big a leap.”
Kirk frowned. “What do we do then? I don’t want Fiona hurt.”
“My suggestion is that we continue with our day. Two of us can accompany Fiona around town. Now that we know something is amiss, we’ll be more prepared. The RCMP will make their presence obvious too.”
Leif plonked his empty mug on the table. “As much as I hate to admit it, Runt is right. We’re making guesses about who is the target. We’ll take one side of the street and approach the owners. Runt, you and Kirk can go with Fiona and approach the business owners on the other side. All of us will keep watch for signs of anything amiss.”
“And this afternoon, we’ll go out to search for polar bears,” Fiona said, rubbing her hands together. “If we don’t see any, you can all shift and strike a pose.” She winked at Josef. “If the humans turn their backs on your business, you can start up a polar bear tour company. You’ll always find bears, and you could take turns being a model for the tourists.”
An appalled silence fell, and Fiona held her breath, wondering if she’d teased past the point of good bounds. She stared at each of them, taking in their impassive expressions with increasing dread.
Josef broke first, his bottom lip quivering until he roared with laughter.
“Our girl has a sense of humor.” Leif tweaked her nose. “If you’re not careful, we’ll put you over a knee and spank you for misbehavior.”
“Pooh,” she said in dismissal. “You wouldn’t hurt me.” An understatement. She knew—just knew—the Swenson brothers would protect her to the death and gnaw off their paws rather than make her unhappy. They gave her a sense of safety and this bustling home above a warehouse felt like the heart of something important.
Food for thought.
With their meal finished, they piled into what she privately dubbed the monster SUV. It needed to be large to fit the entire family.
As they passed the airport, two buses pulled out in front of them. A blue van waited to exit the parking lot.
Fiona piped up from the back seat, which they’d deemed safer than the front. “Oh, it’s a regular traffic jam. I didn’t think Churchill was big enough to have those.”
“One of the charter planes has arrived,” Stig commented. He sat beside her in the rear seat and held her hand. “They’ll fly out again this afternoon with a load of tourists.”
“Will this direct approach to grab customers work?” she whispered.
“It’s better than sitting on our backsides and waiting for business to meander to us.”
She nodded and promised herself she’d try extra hard to persuade some of these prejudiced humans that the Swenson brothers were reliable and wanted Churchill to survive.
Stig expected the human store owners to turn them away. In retrospect, Ma was right. The humans weren’t ready to accept the other species who lived amongst them. They should’ve remained anonymous, and would have if the old bear shifter hadn’t indulged in a boozy party and tried to impress the human woman he’d had his eye on. They now reaped the rewards of that fubar with suspicion and fear from the locals.
As he, Kirk and Fiona approached the first shop, a souvenir and bookstore, Fiona gripped his sleeve and tugged.
“Let me do the talking,” she said. “Kirk, you stay out here and wait for us. Stig, you remain silent and hand me the paperwork should I require it. Okay?”
Kirk grinned and offered a snappy salute.
Stig shrugged. “My turn in the next store. We’ll see who gets the most business, eh?”
Fiona thrust out her hand. “Deal. Shake on it.” Her blue eyes glittered with challenge, and she glowed with so much vitality, he toyed with the idea of tossing her over his shoulder and going somewhere private.
Bemused, Stig took her hand in a gentle clasp and she shook with enthusiasm.
“Do I get in on this bet too?” Kirk asked.
Fiona wrinkled her nose. “Of course, but I reserve the right to make you both take turns if you scare the people too much.”
Stig pushed open the door to the store and waited until Fiona entered.
“Oh! T-shirts. I need to buy one while we’re here.”
Stig followed her as she rifled through the racks. She ignored the white and black ones, pausing when she came to the colored shirts. “This red one is perfect.” She showed him one with the head of a polar bear, then tucked it under her arm. “Look at these little carvings. The ones Josef makes are much better than these. Oh, they’re plastic.” She pulled a face and replaced the white bear figurine.
“Good morning,” she chirped to the woman behind the counter.
Stig inclined his head as he acknowledged the store owner, but he stood back to give the illusion of space.
“
I’ll take the T-shirt please,” Fiona said and pulled her hot pink purse from the depths of her jacket. “I have a friend who carves small figurines out of wood. Would you be willing to view them with the object of selling the figurines in your shop?”
The tall blonde sized up Fiona before flicking a glance at him. “I only sell superior quality items in my store.”
“Of course,” Fiona said. “I can see that in this T-shirt. Josef’s work will appeal to tourists. He carves bears and they’re very cute.”
The woman nodded, a swathe of blonde hair caressing her cheek. “Bring them in next time you’re in town.”
“I’m Fiona McDonald. You are?”
“Penny Harrison,” the woman replied.
“Have you met Stig? It’s his brother Josef who carves the figurines in his spare time. Actually, that’s why we’re here. I’m sure you’ve heard about the ice road? We wondered if you wanted anything freighted from Gillam? We’re running an introductory offer and giving everyone who books ten percent off this week.”
They were? Stig frowned but remained silent. He forced a polite smile as the woman flicked a quick glance in his direction.
“I wanted to order furniture from a Winnipeg store. I haven’t because of the cost of the air freight.”
“Is it ready-made or kitset?” Stig asked.
“It comes in flat packs,” Penny replied.
“If you can get it to Gillam, we’ll bring it to Churchill,” Fiona stated. “Would you like to talk price?”
Penny wrinkled her brow, then her forehead cleared, and she gave a decisive nod. “Yes.”
“How many flat packs will you want to ship?”
“Five,” Penny replied, seeming more relaxed the longer they conversed.
“Perfect. The freight on that will be five hundred and fifty dollars.”
Stig held his breath and fought to stay impassive. Fiona had added on money rather than giving a discount.
“Done,” Penny said. “That is a third of the price of the air freight. How soon can you ship them?”
“We’re not doing another run until Monday,” Stig said. “That would mean you should have your delivery by the end of the week.”
“Where do I sign?”
Stig pulled out a contract and Fiona filled it out for Penny to add her signature.
“Thank you,” Fiona said when they concluded their business. “I’ll bring you a selection of figurines tomorrow.”
Penny smiled—a natural smile and one that Stig seldom saw from the humans. “Sounds great.”
Outside, Fiona beamed. “How did I do?”
“We concede,” Stig told Kirk. “Fiona gets to approach all the store owners. You go with her for the next round, and you’ll see what I mean.”
They took turns escorting Fiona into the stores, pubs and different tourist accommodations with their stack of orders growing. Not everyone wanted to ship with them, but a high percentage placed freight orders.
“Is it my imagination or is someone spying on us?” Kirk murmured. “The back of my neck is itching something fierce.”
“I can’t see anyone,” Stig said at the supermarket as he used the big front window like a mirror to see the buildings and people behind them.
They gradually made their way to Gypsy’s, where they’d arranged to meet the others.
“How did you do?” Leif asked. “We scored two orders, which was better than I anticipated.”
“We need to pay Fiona a commission. Apart from three businesses, everyone placed an order. Fiona gave them all a ten percent discount,” Stig said.
Leif frowned. “But our prices are already rock-bottom.”
“She told them they were getting an introductory discount, but she added ten percent. We’ll be making a healthy profit on the next five or six runs.”
“Five or six?”
“Yeah.” Stig laughed. “Fiona wants a hot chocolate. Believe me, she deserves more than a hot chocolate. She also talked to Penny at the bookstore about Josef’s figurines. If Penny likes them, she’ll sell them on consignment.”
Leif grinned. “They won’t litter the kitchen counter anymore.”
“Exactly,” Stig said. “Or the floor in the middle of the night.”
Leif scanned the interior of the café. “Where is Fiona?”
“She went to the ladies’ room. She shouldn’t be much longer.”
Fiona hummed as she washed her hands. She could live here even with the cold. She liked the locals and saw their reserve as worry rather than dislike. Shifters living amongst them made them fear for their children. But now that Stig and his brothers were helping them, they’d relaxed a little. It would take time, but it was easy to imagine a happy future here. She could keep her house in Florida as a respite from the cold or perhaps sell it…
She pushed open the door and crashed into a solid body. A familiar scent filled her nostrils, and panic roared through her as she backed up a step. She swallowed, curling her nails into her palms to halt her escalating fear. “R-Robert! What are you doing here?”
Her estranged husband prowled closer, his eyes wild. His hair had grown beyond groomed to shaggy, and he hadn’t shaved for at least a week. His clothes, normally immaculate, bore wrinkles and a yellow splotch covered the right side of his jacket.
“You bitch. You cut off my access to money and made me a laughingstock. I don’t agree to a divorce.”
“Too bad. You can go to hell and fuck yourself!” Fiona straightened her shoulders and glared at him in a manner she’d never have dared in the past. “My money,” she stated and went to brush past him.
“Don’t walk away from me.” He grabbed her forearm, his fingers digging into her limb with brutal intent.
“Let me go. I have no interest in you. The divorce will go through, and I’ll never have to see you again.” She let disgust fill her gaze and wondered how or why she’d ever found him attractive. When he continued to hold her captive, she stomped on his foot, using every bit of her strength.
He let out an unearthly howl, but Fiona ignored him and rushed toward freedom and her men. Another man blocked her escape route.
He pressed a gun into her ribs and she careened to a halt. It was the dark-haired man she’d seen around town. His eyes were a cool blue and a hint of cruelty twisted his lips. “Robert isn’t done talking to you.” He pushed through the door and stepped into the main café, dragging her after him. With a curt gesture, he urged her toward the exit. “We will leave these people to their coffee.”
Fiona glanced at Leif and Stig and a family group sitting at the neighboring table. The lady behind the counter had wandered into the kitchen with an order. Where were the others? Kirk had been sitting at the table with Stig and the others hadn’t arrived yet.
“Your friends won’t help you now. Your luck has run out.” Robert backhanded her across the face, malicious victory twisting his thin lips.
The force of the blow sent her sprawling. She hit the floor hard. Pain seared up her cheek, and she tasted blood as she struggled to stand. She bit back a moan, hating to give Robert the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.
Robert laughed. “Get moving, bitch.”
She remained in place. Did she look that stupid?
The appearance of the man with the gun had confirmed her theory about the shootings. She had been the target, and if she willingly walked outside with them, she wouldn’t live to have a future with her men. The Swenson brothers made her deliriously happy, damn it, and she hated to lose what they were building together.
She refused to follow Robert’s orders without a fight.
He’d hit her again if she dawdled, so she pretended to trip and fell against him. He backhanded her hard. She saw stars and tasted more blood. With a groan, she crumpled to the floor. She gritted her teeth. No pretense required. Her face ached and her nose felt as if it were on fire.
From her position on the floor, Fiona slid a glance at Stig and Leif. Fury etched into their features, and t
heir bears shone in their eyes, itching to get out and wreak havoc.
“Get up bitch. I didn’t hit you that hard.” Robert kicked her in the ribs to hasten her along.
“Hurry,” the man with the gun ordered. “Someone will come inside soon. You, there.” He pointed his gun at Leif. “Move again and I’ll shoot you.”
Time for action. Fiona pushed to her feet with a pained grunt. She staggered into the gunman and knocked him off balance before Robert had a chance to stop her.
The kitchen door sprang open and a RCMP burst through in a flash of blue. Leif shifted and jumped at the gunman while Fiona took advantage of the diversion to punch Robert as hard as she could in the stomach. While he groaned, she kicked him in the groin.
He howled like a girl and fell to the floor, holding his groin and writhing in agony.
Fiona booted him in the ribs, pleased she wore her sturdy boots.
“How do you like that?” she shouted. It felt so good, she kicked him again.
Another RCMP burst through the front door, followed by a huge polar bear. The bear let out an enraged roar and charged over to Leif and the gunman. He roared a second time, his fury reverberating inside the café as he smacked the gun from the gaping man’s grip.
Kirk and Josef raced inside in their human forms.
“Fiona!” Josef dodged the gunman and the two bears. He skidded to a halt in front of her and cupped her cheek with a gentle touch. “Are you all right?
Fiona gingerly fingered her face. Nothing seemed broken, though her entire cheek ached. “Yes, I’m fine. I need a napkin.”
“Let me,” Kirk ordered.
She held still while he cleansed her face.
“You have a cut on your cheek. It’s not bad enough to need stiches,” Josef said.
“Robert always wears his family ring. He struck my nose. It’s sore.”
“Your nose is red, but I don’t think it’s broken. We’ll take you to the doctor and get him to check it,” Kirk said.
The two officers, with the help of her men, soon had Robert and the gunman restrained. The RCMPs marched them away after requesting that Fiona come to the station to make a statement.
Slowly, she scanned the café and the frozen family group still seated at the far table. “Are you okay? This is my fault. I’m so sorry.”
Fiona's Mates_A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance Page 13
