“You will.” He cracked a smile. “You won’t regret it.”
Relief flooded him as he waited for his mate to come back downstairs. He would show her his bear and then explain exactly how he knew she was his mate. The ring would stay on her finger for the rest of their lives.
All they had to do then was wait for the results of the DNA tests his lawyer had asked from Harmen then clear Marl’s name. It all seemed so simple.
Until Kate came back downstairs and said, “I’ve changed my mind. I can’t come with you.”
“What do you mean?” Travis asked.
“I’ve changed my mind.” She glanced toward the door. “You should leave.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Something happened. What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I just thought it over and decided it was a mistake to lead you on. You need to focus on Izzy, and I need to figure out how to help Marl.” The tension in her body told him she was lying.
“Kate. Talk to me.” He stepped closer and reached for her.
She put up her hands and shook her head. “Travis, please. This is the best decision. For both of us.”
“I don’t believe that.” He stood his ground. There was no way he was leaving now. No way in hell.
“Here.” She slipped the ring off her finger and held it out to him. “Take it and go.” Her voice caught in her throat and she sobbed as she grabbed his hand and forced him to take the ring.
“No. Whatever is wrong, let me help you fix it.” And he was in no doubt something was very wrong.
“I can’t.” She took in a long shuddering breath. “I have to do this alone.”
“Do what alone?” Travis asked gently.
“Travis, I don’t want you caught up in anything. You are so close to adopting Izzy.” She took a step toward the door, but he was faster and placed himself between her and the front door.
The weight of the engagement ring was heavy in his hand as he said, “I’m not letting you go.”
“Excuse me?” Kate put her hands on her hips, her expression mutinous. “Who are you to stop me?”
“I should have said I’m not letting you go alone.” He tilted his head sideways. “Whatever’s going on, I’ll be there at your side.”
“You can’t.” She placed her hand on her purse. “I have to go alone.”
“This is about Marl.” He sighed. “Someone gave you a tip-off.”
Her surprise showed briefly on her face before she shook her head. “That’s not it.”
“You’re a terrible liar.” He nodded toward the door. “If you go alone, I’ll follow you.”
“And I’ll lose you in the city traffic,” she countered.
“What if I told you I had a sixth sense that can locate you over a huge distance.” The distance wasn’t huge, but it was a couple of miles or more, plenty for city driving.
“That’s bullshit.” But she didn’t sound sure.
“Tell me what happened. Then, you go, and I’ll follow. No one will know I’m behind you.” He studied her expression, his mind racing as he conjured up the plethora of dangerous scenarios Kate could be walking into. “If you have to meet someone, I’ll sneak up. I’ll have your back.”
“What if they see you?” She shook her head. “It’s too risky.”
“Risky is you going alone.” He needed to apply the right kind of pressure. “Marl would never forgive himself if anything happened to you because of him. And I’ll never forgive myself if you get hurt when I could have been there with you.”
“That’s not fair,” she retorted.
“Life is not fair. Which is why you learn not to play by the rules.” He took a step toward the front door. “I’m ready to leave now.”
“You did say you were stubborn.” Her firm resolve melted away and she sobbed and closed the space between them. “I’m scared. I don’t know if this is a setup. The message just said they could tell me where Axel is.”
“It’s good to be scared.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Travis wanted to tell her not to go. That they should just go upstairs and lose themselves in each other’s arms and forget about the text. But that wasn’t an option. If Kate failed to get her brother released from prison, she would live her whole life asking, if only. “Scared gives you an edge.”
Then we have the sharpest edge because I’m scared that something will happen to Kate, his bear admitted.
Me, too. Travis tilted Kate’s chin up and looked into her eyes. He could see the fear, it crackled and sparked, but there was something else there. Hope. Lowering his head, he kissed her lips, tasting her for the first time. She was sweeter than any honey his bear had ever tasted, and a fire ignited inside of him that was difficult to control.
The urge to gather her up in his arms and make love to her was almost too much. As their kiss deepened and their tongues entwined, Travis fought the primal urge raging inside him. But he couldn’t let it win. Not just yet.
She sighed and pressed closer to him, holding onto him as if she were scared to let go. But even if she did let go, he would be there for her. Always.
“We should go.” He lifted his head, breaking their kiss.
Kate nodded, her lips red and her cheeks flushed. “We should.” She pulled away from him and straightened her clothes. “Thank you.” Her eyes locked with his.
“For the kiss?” he asked lightly.
“Yes.” She stepped forward and her lips brushed his. “For the kiss.”
“Because it was one hell of a kiss.” He grinned as he followed her to the door.
“You think so?” She raised a questioning eyebrow as she pulled the door open and stepped outside.
“I know so.” He took a chance. “And so do you.”
She turned to face him. “Maybe I do.”
Triumph washed over him. He’d done it. He’d broken through her defenses.
As he walked to his car, the ring in his pocket didn’t seem quite so heavy. Soon it would be on Kate’s finger for real. And she’d never take it off again.
Chapter Fourteen – Kate
Travis was following behind her. She glanced in her rearview mirror but couldn’t see him. Reminding herself that he’d said he could sense her wherever she was, she kept her focus on the road and trusted he would be there when she needed him.
If she needed him. There was a chance the text she’d received was legitimate and someone really was going to help her.
It all seemed too simple. Too convenient.
That after all of this time someone was actually going to help her clear Marl’s name.
Taking the exit off the highway, she followed a country road that threaded through green fields where cattle grazed. Another left turn took her down a narrow tree-lined road. There were no houses here, nowhere for her to run for help if this went wrong.
Kate glanced nervously in the mirror once more. He wasn’t there.
He will be, she assured herself. If I need him, he’ll be there.
She didn’t know how his sixth sense worked but ever since she’d met Travis, she thought there was something different about him, an intensity she’d seen once before. It was the same intense way that Jon looked at Melinda.
Her heart skipped and she slammed her foot on the brake as a man stepped out in front of her. The car came to a controlled stop, her head jerking forward before slamming back into the headrest.
“What the hell!” The guy looked panicked as he held up his hands to her. Undoing her seatbelt, she yanked on the door handle and got out of the car, her heart racing but not as fast as her mind. “What are you doing?”
He ran toward her. He was young, no more than eighteen or nineteen. “Kate?”
She nodded, her eyes scanning the trees surrounding them, but she couldn’t penetrate the dense undergrowth. “Did you text me?”
He nodded. “I heard what happened to Marl. I’m sorry.”
“If you are here to sympathize with me then you’ve wasted both of our tim
e.” Her jaw tensed. Had she walked into a trap? She looked around again, this time searching for Travis. He said he’d be here, he said he’d have her back.
“No, no.” The young man walked forward, his feet moving quickly across the ground as he looked from side to side. “Marl helped me. A few months back he helped me through a rough time. He found me a place to live and got me a job.”
Kate put her hand to her mouth and stifled a sob. “Marl’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve to be in prison.”
The young man nodded; his hands clasped together as he picked his already too short nails. “That’s why I wanted to see you. To tell you…” He jerked his head up, his eyes fixed on something in the trees that Kate couldn’t see.
“What’s wrong?” She followed his gaze but there was nothing there, only trees.
“He’s here.”
“Who is here?” Kate still couldn’t see anything. That didn’t stop the hairs on the back of her head from standing on end.
“I’m sorry.” The guy certainly looked sorry as he stepped away from Kate.
“I don’t care about sorry.” She looked around furtively. “Tell me what you know. Please.”
“He’ll hear.” The desperate plea in his voice didn’t stop Kate from reaching out and grabbing hold of the young man’s arm.
“Then whisper,” she ground out.
“He’ll still hear.” The guy yanked his arm down hard and he slipped from her fingers.
“Please. Tell me where Axel is.” She ran after him, but a snarl halted her in her tracks, and she turned around slowly, knowing there was a wild animal close behind her. “A tiger.” She shook her head, trying to clear it. Was she hallucinating? There were no tigers around here. If one had escaped from the zoo, it would have been on the news.
“I’m sorry.” The young man turned and ran, melting into the surrounding trees as the tiger stalked toward her.
“Great.” She stepped backward and the tiger mirrored her movements. If she could get back to her car, she could get in and lock the doors. But the tiger seemed to read her mind and stepped sideways, putting himself between Kate and her car.
With a snarl, he turned his head and snapped the air. However, he never took his eyes off Kate.
Carefully, she reached in her purse for her phone. She needed to warn Travis to keep away. There was no way they could take down a tiger even if they fought side by side.
Tapping the screen, she pulled up his number and hit dial. The tiger made his move as she put the phone to her ear. Turning, she ran, hoping to buy herself enough time to at least warn Travis off. As she sprinted down the road all she heard was the dial tone and the thundering of her heart as it pumped blood around her body.
“Answer,” she gasped, not risking a look over her shoulder as she veered off the road and ducked under the trees. If she could find a tree to climb, maybe she could fend it off long enough to call the police.
A roar filled the air as she reached for a branch and hauled herself up into the arms of a maple tree. She’d watched wildlife shows before, but she had never heard a tiger roar like that before. As she hooked her leg over the branch of the tree and pulled herself off the ground, she caught frantic movement out of the corner of her eye.
“What the hell!” The tiger was in a fight to the death with a bear. A bear!
Kate closed her eyes for a moment. Was this a dream? More like a nightmare. She would not escape two carnivorous predators.
Travis’s phone kept ringing and a sudden dread enveloped her. What if one of these creatures had already attacked him? She covered her mouth and stifled a sob as the bear swiped at the tiger, his massive paw sending the feline crashing to the ground.
Kate took her chance and climbed higher, putting as much distance between her and the predators. Perhaps they would feast on their fallen foe and not care about the woman in the tree above their head.
The tiger sprang to his feet and shook his head before crouching low, ready to spring forward and strike. The bear snarled and lifted his head to roar in defiance as the tiger leaped forward like a coiled spring let loose. With a surprisingly agile jump to the right, the bear sidestepped the attack and hit the tiger with his paw once more. Only this time harder and a sickening crunch filled the quiet of the trees. The tiger went down and didn’t get back up.
She held her breath, hoping the bear wouldn’t notice her. After all, she’d climbed into the tree before the bear arrived.
No such luck. The large creature took three quick strides forward and tilted his head up to look directly at her.
Kate’s shoulders slumped forward as she gazed into the eyes of the bear. Yet as she looked at him and he looked at her, her fear subsided. There was something about him. Something familiar.
However, that gave her no warning as to what would happen next.
The air around the bear shimmered and he faded away as if the breeze had swept him out of existence atom by atom.
Kate was left alone with the unconscious tiger. A sense of loss tore at her heart, as if she’d lost something precious.
“Travis.” She put her phone to her ear and pressed dial once more.
It was ringing. She could hear it through her phone but when she moved the earpiece away from her, she could actually hear the phone itself ringing.
Confused, she stared at the space where the bear had stood. There was something there, a shadow that grew larger, and then its features appeared. “Travis.”
Shock filled her and her grasp on the branch above her head weakened, sending her hurtling toward the ground below. Travis, now fully formed, dashed forward, his arms outstretched as he caught her and held her close against his chest.
“In the flesh.” He smiled down at her as if the whole situation were perfectly normal.
“What the hell!” She scrambled to escape his arms and he let her go. “What was that?”
“That was me shifting.” He held out his arms. “That was what I wanted to show you.”
“You can change from a man to a bear?” She didn’t buy it. “Is this some kind of a trick? Are you shooting a video for your latest song or something?” He’d used her!
“No.” He shook his head. “This is real.” He looked over his shoulder at the tiger lying prone on the ground. “He is real.”
Turning away from her, he ran toward the tiger and checked his vital signs. Which was crazy since the thing could wake up at any time and bury his teeth or claws in Travis’s flesh.
“He’s one, too?” She pointed a trembling hand toward the tiger.
“He is.” Travis beckoned to her. “Come on, let’s get him in the trunk of your car.”
“You want to put a tiger in the trunk of my car?” she asked in disbelief.
“Do you have a better idea?” Travis asked. “I don’t want him on the loose. Do you?”
“No, but what are we going to do with him?” Who did you call about a tiger trying to kill you?
“I’ll call Jon. He’ll know what to do.” Travis grabbed hold of the tiger’s legs and began dragging him through the undergrowth.
“Know what to do?” Kate ran to catch up and then helped drag the large creature through the undergrowth. Although, compared to Travis’s strength, she was pretty much useless, but she needed to be doing something. “We’re not planning on…” She looked down at the tiger. He was dangerous for sure, but he didn’t deserve to die.
Travis shook his head. “He’ll be handed to the authorities. We just need to make sure it’s the right authorities.”
“You mean people who know about shifters?” she asked.
“Yes.” They reached the edge of the road. “Drive your car closer and we’ll haul him in the trunk. Then I’ll call Jon.”
Kate nodded and fumbled for her car keys as she ran toward her vehicle. Was this really happening? It was hard to believe there were people in the world who could shift from human to animal and back again.
Yet deep down she knew Travis wasn’t lying to her.
He was telling her the truth.
“Is Jon a shifter, too?” she asked as she parked the car next to the road and popped the trunk.
“Yes.” He nodded. “Did you suspect at all?”
“No. Not until now. But it makes sense. Melinda told me she and Jon married in a whirlwind romance that many people thought would end in a quickie divorce. She told me they are like chalk and cheese. Yet they made it work. They make it work every day. They were meant to be together.”
“They were.” He studied her face. “Just as we’re meant to be together. They’re mates.”
“And you think we are mates?” She took hold of the tiger’s legs and they wrestled him into the trunk.
“I don’t think it. I know it.” He slammed the trunk shut and pulled out his phone. “That’s why I wanted to show you so that you would let me help you with Marl. You are my family, Kate, and that makes him my family, too.”
She patted the top of the trunk. “Well, maybe I might not need your money. I think this guy might be Axel.”
Travis’s eyes widened. “The guy you are looking for? The guy who set up Marl?”
“Yeah.” She looked into the distance. “And maybe if he’s in custody, the kid who was here might come forward.”
“You don’t think he was part of the setup?” Travis asked.
“No. He was scared when the tiger showed up. I think he came here because he wanted to help Marl, but this guy followed him.” She turned around and sat on the trunk. “Make the call. I’m just going to add my weight to the trunk, so he doesn’t burst out.”
“If he does, I’ll take him down again. And again. I’d do whatever it took to keep you safe.” His eyes darkened and excitement threaded through her veins.
“Because I’m your mate.” She swallowed down her desire for Travis. This was not the time.
“Because you are my mate.” He watched her as he tapped his phone screen. Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach and flared out across her skin. It all made sense now.
And it all felt right. Their relationship was no longer fake. It was very much real.
Fake Fiancee Mate - Single Shift Page 9
