by Amelia Jade
Nadia’s head snapped up at that last statement. “That is enough!” Her words cracked through the room like a whip, slapping Jared across the cheek with enough force to make him rear back, surprise and anger mixing in his expression.
“What did you just say?” he asked in a deceptively soft voice.
“I said that’s enough,” she told him with a snarl. “Tell me Jared—whose last name I do not know—how many shifters have you saved by being here? How many of those shifters were killed to make Agents before you had ever even heard of what was going on here in King City?”
He stared at her stonily.
“Answer me!” she all but shouted.
“We saved fifty-two shifters on rescue missions,” he answered reluctantly. “And there were at least twenty-four Agents that had been injected before we arrived here and started our work.”
Nadia fixed him with a look that said, “You know you did a damn good job. Why are you wallowing in what you can’t control?”
He turned away. “You don’t understand.”
“Perhaps not entirely,” she admitted. “I’m not a shifter after all. But neither am I a little kid. And even a kid could see that you and your team have done more than anyone else. You’re still here fighting as well. You haven’t given up. You’re not running. You’ve saved almost as many as the Agency has taken. Perhaps more who became aware of what was going on and left before you had to rescue them. You’re trying to weigh yourself down with a burden that isn’t yours to carry.”
“But all the dead,” he protested.
“Don’t carry the guilt of their death,” she admonished. “Remember them, and do what you do for them, yes. But you cannot be held responsible for it.”
He opened his mouth to continue but she held up a finger.
“I’m not done yet. You aren’t responsible for their death, Jared. But,” she added, her voice turning hard and filling with anger as she thought of all the dead shifters, killed simply for their blood. “You can, however, be responsible for bringing justice to their killers. For avenging them.”
She saw the fire return to his eyes as her words hit him. His shoulders and spine straightened and the bow in his frame from the weight he’d been carrying on his mind seemed to ease, at least temporarily. She hoped he would come around, to see things from the more logical point of view, but even if she could help ease the burden he carried, it would be worth it.
He was a good man. There was no denying that.
The rest of their evening was uneventful. Another bland yet filling meal followed shortly after the conversation, and then it was time for bed. Nadia found she was exhausted anyway, so it didn’t matter that it was a little earlier than normal.
“Keppler.”
“What?” she asked, looking over at the couch from where she lay in the bed.
“My last name,” he said. “It’s Keppler.”
She smiled. “Goodnight, Jared Keppler.” Her head hit the pillow and she stared up at the ceiling.
“Sweet dreams, Nadia Samson,” came the soft, almost inaudible reply.
***
“Jared,” she said, putting her fork down on the plate, which was still three-quarters full of food.
“Yes?” he asked, looking down at his clump of gruel as well.
“We need—”
“Actual food,” he finished for her.
“So badly,” she said with a sigh, pushing the dish away from her. “I can’t subsist on this canned stuff anymore.”
He eyeballed his plate, then shoved it into the middle of the table as well. “Agreed. I’d rather fight a truck full of Agents than force another mouthful of this down.” He mimicked the actions of throwing up to ensure his point was crystal clear. “But it’s light out.”
She nodded. “It’s early though. We’ll put on ball caps, like you wanted, and just go quickly.”
“I don’t know,” he said with a frown. His eyes drifted back to the plate. “Ugh.”
Nadia knew she was going to win. It was just a matter of convincing him a little more. The prospect of danger made her feel a little more alive, which was not good, she knew, but it couldn’t be helped. She would go crazy having to continue to eat such crap.
“I kind of stand out like a sore thumb though,” he said.
“There has to be a way to make you less visible to the public,” she said thoughtfully.
He laughed. “Nadia, I’m over six and a half feet tall, and rather muscular. I don’t exactly scream subtle.”
A giggle slipped through her lips before she could press them closed. “True, but there are ways to make people focus on you less, thus allowing you to seem more inconspicuous.”
The shifter arched an eyebrow at her. His facial expression made it clear he didn’t believe a word she was saying.
“I’m serious!” she protested. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to walk to the store as a couple very much in love. Holding hands, close proximity, all that. People tend to look away from public displays of affection like that, out of an innate sense of wanting to give privacy to the couple. It’s a natural instinct. It will help you hide in plain sight, trust me.”
His jaw slowly fell open. “You’re joking, right?”
Nadia shook her head.
“A super-affectionate married couple?” he asked slowly.
She nodded.
“This is just your excuse to be able to feel my muscles, isn’t it?” he asked with a resigned sigh.
“Busted,” she said with a laugh, standing up from the table.
Jared followed suit on his side, still shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this. This is ridiculous.”
But he didn’t pause as they tossed the remnants of their “breakfast” into the garbage and headed for the door. She flicked her hair half in his direction as she grabbed one of the ball caps hanging next to the door, then proceeded to tuck her hair up under it.
“Come on dear,” she said, teasing him.
“Yes honey, I’ll be right along.” He walked back into the storage room for a moment, and she heard him rustling with something.
“What are you doing?”
“Something to pay for it with,” he said, holding up some money he had found somewhere.
“I suppose that’s better than stealing it.”
“You were planning to steal it?” he asked in mild surprise. “How would that keep us undercover?”
She shrugged. “If you steal properly, they don’t know you did. Right? That’s how it works?”
He chuckled. “For a moment there I thought you’d done this before. But then you added that last little bit.”
“I’m not a thief,” she protested.
“I know that now,” he said, this time with a full-fledged laugh at her expense.
“Listen here, sweetheart,” she said with false sincerity. “Get your overly muscled self up the stairs and open the door like a gentleman, will you?”
He gave her a look that said, “I know you’re not that helpless.”
“You have the key,” she said in response to the glance.
“Ah, right, so I do.”
“Yep. Now tut tut, make with the chivalry, mister.”
Jared was halfway up the stairs at that point, but Nadia was positive she heard him snort.
“None of that in public please,” she said. “No husband of mine is a snorter.”
“What’s the number of my divorce lawyer again?” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.
“You don’t have one,” she supplied. “Because you love me.”
“Of course dear,” he said as they emerged from the shed into the backyard, blinking at the radiant sunlight together. “How could I ever forget that?”
She sniffed haughtily in his direction, then held her hand out expectantly.
“What’s that for?” he asked, brushing by her gently without taking it.
“It’s for you,” s
he told him.
“I already have two hands,” he said, holding them up in front of him and twisting them back and forth as if showing them off.
Nadia rolled her eyes in exasperation and snatched one from mid-air before he could react.
“You’re unbelievable,” she said as they walked out to the street. She followed him as he knew the area better.
“Hey, you married me,” he said with a shrug that bounced her hand up and down. “You knew what you were getting into.”
She looked over and up at him skeptically. “You’re getting into this a little too much,” she said.
Jared smiled. “Getting into what, dear? You? You know I love you so much. I thought I showed you that on our wedding night?” he teased maliciously, a smirk spreading across his face.
But Nadia wasn’t going to succumb that easily. “It would help if you had been able to show it again since.”
Jared gasped in mock hurt. “What are you saying, my love?”
“I’m saying shut up,” she said, trying not to laugh out loud.
“Oh, now now. Let’s not fight. Let’s talk it out, okay? Communication is key to a good, stable relationship. Remember?”
She took a deep breath to prevent her from punching him. “I suppose I earned this, didn’t I?”
His face split in a beaming grin. “You have no idea.”
Nadia lapsed into silence, shaking her head. It wasn’t over. Not yet. She was going to get him back, one way or another.”
He turned them onto another street, where houses gave way to small commercial lots, filled with individual storefronts.
“Shit.” The curse was pitched low and in her direction.
“What?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
“Police officer ahead, walking toward us.”
“Has he seen you yet?”
“Not yet.”
Nadia acted before she really knew what she was doing. She took an extra step, got in front of Jared and turned back to face him, bringing him to a halt. Then she reached up, grabbed his chin in both hands and pulled his face to hers.
The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as their lips met, the same tingle she had felt the day before rushing into her, only this time it was amplified tenfold as his powerful hands grasped her waist and pulled her in close.
She hadn’t meant to let herself fall into it, but the longer it went on, the more she melted into his arms, allowing the kiss to become more than just a façade. It became something tangible, a connection between them that she hadn’t expected to feel. It was as if an elastic band had suddenly snapped tight between them, inexorably bonding them forever, unless one of them cut it.
And his lips. Oh his lips.
He was soft and warm, yet hard at the same time. Not like that. But firm in his grip, yet gentle in his touch. Electrical shocks rushed along her nerve endings as the moment continued.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity and a split second at the same time, they parted, just enough for them to glance around.
“He’s gone,” Jared said softly.
Nadia swayed to the side slightly, looking beyond his broad shoulders until she saw the cop continuing his walk farther down the street. She used that time to gather her composure, take a breath, and come back down to reality.
“You know,” he said as they resumed their walk, “you should have been an actress.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment by that or not.
“Well, that kiss felt very real for a stunt,” he said.
Nadia did punch him now. In the arm.
He didn’t even react.
She arched an eyebrow when he looked over at her.
“Ow,” he said dryly. “Better?”
“Of course,” she said out loud. Her insides were still following the world’s craziest rollercoaster, looping and dropping at a pace that made her unsteady on her feet.
Amidst it all, one thought kept coming to the fore.
It felt real to me too.
Chapter Nine
Jared
The plastic bags hooked over the fingers of both his hands just didn’t seem as enjoyable to him as entwining his fingers between Nadia’s, their arms swinging slightly as they walked. It had shocked him just how much he’d enjoyed their banter and closeness. It had started off as a reluctant act, but very quickly her wit had risen to the surface, and he found himself enjoying her company immensely.
She’d always been beautiful in his eyes, and the long locks of brown hair that bounced slightly as she strode along next to him captured his attention as effortlessly as the green in her eyes. She was strong and powerful of personality, in a way that he had only ever known among shifters. Yet despite the relative frailty of her physical body, what it contained was a core practically bursting with strength of will. It was addictive, and he found himself wanting more.
Then there was that other little thing they’d shared.
A kiss.
He’d gone along with it because he understood what she was trying to do. People didn’t stare at others sharing a kiss, even if it slipped into the realm of passion that theirs had. They would glance, some would smile, and some would frown in disgust. But otherwise the eyes of those around them would slide off as they witnessed something normal in the world. People would go about their everyday activities and forget all about him and Nadia.
But Jared couldn’t forget. Not after what the soft press of her lips to his had awoken inside of him. His bear, previously understanding and willing to be patient—practically unheard of for bears—was now awake and restless, a constant press on his brain that told him to do whatever it took to kiss her again in private and see where it went.
All those thoughts came to a screeching halt as they turned off the busier street onto the side road that the safe house was located on.
“What the hell?” Nadia said before he could get in a word.
Down the street, almost out of sight, a crowd of people wearing uniforms and driving cars with blue, red and white flashing lights were milling around. Mixed in with the uniformed officers were other men, dressed in more military-cut outfits.
“Agents,” he hissed. “How the hell did they find us?”
His eyesight allowed him to see that they weren’t at the safe house, but they had closed off the street at the far end.
“They’re searching all the houses,” Nadia said at the same instant he realized that’s what they must be doing.
“Okay, well, we’re going to have to move on from this one,” he said, cursing under his breath. “We might all be compromised now. Come on, this way.” He crossed the street, heading for the closest house to them, hoping that anyone watching them might not think twice if they didn’t come any closer.
He took one last glance over at the group as they continued to move up the street. A closer figure caught his attention.
“It’s the same damn cop,” he said angrily. “He must not have fallen for our ruse.”
“Damn,” Nadia swore. “I was positive it would work.”
“We need to move though, and quickly,” he said as they disappeared into the backyard of a random house. “If they’re working with the police, they’ll be setting up a perimeter as soon as they find the safe house, and we need to be on the far side of that. They have more manpower now if they’re outright working together, and I can’t kill the police officers. They just think they’re doing their jobs.”
Nadia nodded sagely, stopping to drop her groceries. He did the same, snagging a package of dried meat and shoving it into his pocket, just in case.
“So, where to now?” she asked, looking around.
“Up and over,” he told her, pointing to the fence.
He helped her into the next yard and they cautiously moved out onto the next street, which ran parallel to the one they had just left behind, keeping an eye open for any patrolling police vehicles or Agency SUVs.
“Where’s the next safe place we can go?” Nadia asked, her voice pitched low.
“It’s a bit of a trek,” he told her. “But I have an idea, follow me.”
He led her up the street they were on into the busier section. They cut between stores where they could, and moved casually through the more populated sections, until they came to a parking lot.
“Is that the SUV we stole the other night?” she asked as he walked her up to a vehicle.
“It is,” he confirmed. “We’ll use it to get most of the way to our destination, then travel the rest on foot.”
His nerves were at an all-time high as he guided them through the city, but for once, everything went smoothly. They weren’t stopped, and there were no close calls. Everything just seemed to work out in their favor.
“This was too easy,” Nadia said several hours later as he gestured her into an apartment building, entering a code that unlocked the front door.
“I know,” he said, glancing behind them just in case life had decided to throw them a curveball.
But there was nothing, no people or anything to cause suspicion.
“It means we’re going to pay for it later,” she joked.
He didn’t respond, though his thoughts were mirroring hers. Things should not have gone that smoothly.
They reached the fourth floor, going right out of the elevator and to one of the doors down the hallway. He stopped and made sure he had the knock code correct. He knocked four times, paused, and then rapped on it twice more. Then three times.
“Password?” came the muffled reply through the door.
“There is no password,” Jared said.
The person on the other side made a buzzer-like noise. “Incorrect. Password is, ‘Connor is the greatest.’”
Jared looked ready to kick the door down, but it opened before he could. He gestured for Nadia to follow and they moved inside.
“How do you let him get away with that?” he asked Madison, ignoring the other bear shifter at the door for the moment.
She shrugged. “I let him win that little battle, and I get anything else I want.”
“That is not true!” Connor protested.
