“Honey, what’s wrong?” Harrison fought the urge to grab her. He wanted to feel her body plastered against his again.
Our mate. Want our mate.
Even his bear agreed, but something was not right. He glanced at his brother.
“You can talk to us, baby. Tell us what’s upsetting you and we will work it out.”
Courtney shook her head. “There’s nothing to work out.”
Todd frowned. “Something is wrong. We won’t hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Then what’s wrong, honey?” Harrison felt helpless.
Courtney swallowed. “I know you are bears.”
Both men raised their eyebrows at her confession. Scott had already told them about Jared, but they knew there was more to it than he had told them.
“How do you know? Did someone tell you?” asked Todd. “Did Scott tell you?”
“Scott just confirmed what I already knew.” Her voice was shaky. She was not sure if it was fear or desire, or some weird combination of both. “I just know. When I meet people, I just know if they are different or not. I can’t tell one kind of shifter from another, but I know they are shifters. Hagen was the same way.”
A cold streak of jealousy ripped through Todd. “Hagen?” Todd could not stop the harshness in his voice. He knew his jealousy was unreasonable, but the thought of her caring for another male while she was trying to push him and Harrison away, did not sit well with him and his bear.
Courtney stared at him, debating if she should answer him. His tone scared her, but it also made her angry. How dare he question the people in her life.
“Courtney?”
She noticed Todd said her name instead of baby. Her cheeks heated. “For your information, Hagen was my brother. He and Scott were in the same unit.”
Todd felt her anger rippling through the small apartment. He and his bear liked the fact she stood up to him.
“Was he killed overseas?” Harrison saw the glint of pain in her eyes, and its sour tinge filled the air.
Mate is sad. Don’t want her sad.
I know, I don’t want her sad either, but we have to find out what is going on, he told his bear.
Want mate happy. Happy mate give us cubs.
Harrison tried not to roll his eyes. Ever since his cousins started finding their mates and having cubs, that was all his bear whined about.
Make mate happy.
I’m trying, but I have to figure out what’s going on. There has to be a reason she is trying to push us away.
“Hagen wasn’t killed overseas.” Courtney’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her chin trembled. “He was killed in a car wreck six months ago, and I’m responsible for his death.” Todd stepped toward her, but Courtney shook her head and stepped back, putting more distance between them. “If you stay, I’ll be responsible for your deaths too. That’s why you have to leave and never come back.”
Harrison did not give her a chance to protest. He swept her into his arms and crushed her tight against his chest. “I don’t believe you’re responsible for his death any more than I believed the lies you told us earlier. You are our mate. It is our duty and pleasure to love and protect you because you are a special treasure.”
Sobs racked Courtney’s body. “If you try to protect me, you will die too.”
“That’s what happened, isn’t it. Hagen died trying to protect you.” Harrison kissed the top of her head.
“It’s my fault. I’m the reason he’s dead.” Her words were barely a whisper.
Todd put his hand on her shoulder. “You are not responsible for your brother’s death.”
Courtney lifted her head. “But if he hadn’t tried to protect me, he would be alive. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Harrison leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was hard and demanding, but Courtney responded and kissed him back with the same intensity.
“We have an idea of what is stalking you. We will protect you, even if it’s from yourself.” Todd took her out of Harrison’s arms and kissed her too. By the end of his kiss, Courtney could not think of anything but her desire…her need for the two men fate had chosen as her mates. “No more blaming yourself. You are as much a victim as your brother.”
Todd’s cell phone rang. He released her, pulled it out of its case, and frowned. “Sheriff Anderson.” He walked a few feet away. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He ended the call and put the cell phone back into the leather case on his belt. “I have to go take care of a problem.” He glanced at Harrison, who nodded.
“Be careful.” The words were out of Courtney’s mouth before she could stop herself.
Todd grinned. He quickly covered the distance between them, and pulled Courtney back into his arms. Todd caressed her cheek. He leaned down, capturing her lips with his.
The kiss was strong but gentle. Courtney leaned into it, wanting more. Another pair of hands caressed the small of her back. Warm lips teased and caressed the side of her neck. Her senses were on overload.
Todd broke the kiss. He looked into Courtney’s face. There was no doubt in his mind. She was his mate. He and his bear were in full agreement, and he knew Harrison felt the same way.
“We will pick you up at seven this evening.” Harrison turned her to face him and gently kissed her.
Courtney started to protest, but Harrison put his fingers to her lips. “No protests. Jeans and sweater will be fine.”
Todd caressed her cheek. “Don’t even think of not being here. Now that we’ve found you, you won’t be able to hide from us, and we will love and protect you.”
“Make sure you lock the door behind us.” Harrison stroked her cheek one more time.
Courtney stared at the front door for several minutes before she was able to move. She touched her swollen lips. One gorgeous hunk was enough to make her soak her panties, but two were deadly. She wanted them. They were hers. But how was she going to protect them?
Chapter 5
Courtney put another tray of cookies into the cooling rack. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just three o’clock. She sighed. Only thirty minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it.
Four hours to go until her date with Todd and Harrison. How did she end up agreeing to go on a date? Courtney touched her lips. Yeah, she remembered how she ended up in this situation. The twins’ kisses where lethal. Courtney shook her head. “What was I thinking?”
“I don’t know. What were you thinking?”
Courtney whirled around. “You scared the daylights out of me. How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long.” Joy pushed off the wall she was leaning against. “But long enough. What’s wrong?”
Courtney grabbed a couple more trays off a shelf and lined both with parchment paper. “I have a date tonight. I’m just having some serious second thoughts about it.”
“Going out would be a good thing. You need to have some fun. Why are you having doubts?” Joy picked up one of the cookie dough balls Courtney had made earlier and popped it into her mouth.
“Don’t blame me if that raw dough makes you sick.” Courtney shook her finger at Joy.
Joy laughed and grabbed another one. “These are good. You have a real talent.”
Courtney smiled. “Thanks. But it’s still not my fault if that raw dough makes you sick.”
“So back to your date. Who are you going out with and why are you having second doubts?” Joy crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.
“It’s not really that important.” Courtney shrugged her shoulders. “I was just talking to myself.”
“If you’re having second thoughts, then it has to be because of who asked you out.” Joy grinned. “Are you afraid a couple of guys we both know will be upset?”
Courtney shook her head. “No, that’s not the problem.”
“Is it where he’s taking you? I once had a guy ask me out, and I thought we were going to dinner and a movie, bu
t he decided to go back to his place and watch the football game with his buddies while I took care of his kids.” Joy reached for another cookie dough ball.
“Leave those alone. You’ve had two too many.” Courtney slapped Joy’s hand.
“Hey, quit being so mean to me. I’m your boss, remember.” Joy cradled her hand as if it really hurt.
“And you’re going to be sick at your stomach if you keep eating the cookie dough. You should give me a raise for saving you from a trip to the emergency room.”
“I was checking the quality of your baking. That’s part of my job description, because I am the boss.”
“Then get some cookies off the cooling rack, but stay out of the dough.” Courtney laughed as she pointed to the cooling rack filled with trays of cookies.
Joy snagged a couple of cookies off the rack, and bit into one. “These are better than the cookie dough. I was right. You are a good baker.”
“Thank you.” Courtney picked up several more of the dough balls and arranged them on the parchment paper lined trays. “What did you do about the guy who took you on the date just so you could watch his kids?”
Joy grinned. A wicked gleam appeared in her eyes. “I called his ex-wife.”
“You didn’t!”
“Yeah, I did. It turned out she wasn’t exactly his ex-wife.”
“What?” Courtney’s jaw dropped.
“They were only separated and it was his weekend with the kids.”
“The guy really had some nerve.”
Joy grinned. “She divorced him and got full custody of the kids.”
“What about child support?”
“She doesn’t need it. One of her lawyer’s partners happened to be her mate. Last I heard, he adopted her kids, and she’s expecting their first child, or I should say kitten.”
Courtney’s eyebrows shot up. “Kitten?”
“Her husband is a cougar shifter.”
“So it actually turned out good for her and the children?”
“Yeah, it did. Just not so good for me.” Joy sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “It was just another dating disaster in a long line of dating disasters. But enough about me. Are you worried the date will be a disaster?”
“No, that’s the least of my worries.”
Joy frowned. “Who are you going out with?”
Courtney refused to look at Joy.
“It’s not Scott, is it?”
Courtney shook her head.
“Then who is it?”
Courtney felt her cheeks warm. “Todd and Harrison.”
Joy stared at Courtney. “They may be my cousins, but they were knuckle heads today. You’re not holding that against them, are you?”
Courtney shook her head. “Men are jerks sometimes, and fighting like that was stupid, but no, I’m not holding it against them.”
“I’m just glad it was in here and not in the middle of the diner.” Joy rolled her eyes. “Not that I wanted them fighting in here either.”
“Will the display case be fixed by Saturday?”
“Abby is sending a crew over tonight to replace the glass and do the final touch-ups.”
Courtney nodded.
“So why are you having second thoughts about dating Todd and Harrison? Is it because you’re seeing both guys?”
“Some people are going to have issues with the three of us being together. It doesn’t bother me.” Courtney blew several strands of hair out of her face. “They are my mates. Honestly, I get that and accept it.”
Joy watched Courtney put the cookie dough balls onto the parchment paper lined trays. “Scott said you knew about shifters. Is it a problem having two bear shifters as your mates?”
Courtney heard the frosty tone in Joy’s voice. She looked at the woman. “I don’t have a problem being mated to bear shifters. Honestly, I wouldn’t have a problem being mated to any shifter.”
Joy shifted her position and put down the uneaten cookie she was still holding. “I sense a but.”
“I don’t want them to get hurt because of me.” Courtney drew in a ragged breath.
“How would they get hurt?”
“Scott told you about the Jared?” Courtney nervously bit her bottom lip.
Joy nodded. “He mentioned him…something about him following you.”
“I never went out with Jared or had anything to do with him. One day he just appeared and started following me everywhere. He turned up at my work. He would be at the grocery store. Then he started showing up at my apartment complex. At night, he stood in the parking lot, staring at my apartment. He never got close. It was really weird.”
“He stalked you. What did the police say?”
“Because he hadn’t done anything to me, and he hadn’t attempted to contact me, they said their hands were tied. They also told me I could take out a restraining order, but those things are just a piece of paper and I didn’t think it make any difference.”
‘That’s so ridiculous! You have to be killed before the police will do anything. Why are they like that?” She folded her arms across her abdomen and slowly shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t understand the system either. I’ve never felt so helpless.” Courtney’s voice became toneless and lower in volume.
“You know Todd and Harrison will protect you, but you have to talk to them. Tell them what’s going on.”
“I know I should tell them, but it’s complicated.”
Joy put her hands on her hips and looked at Courtney. “It’s only complicated because you’re making it that way.”
Courtney looked at Joy for a few seconds before her shoulders slumped and she looked down at the counter. “I don’t have physical proof, but I know Jared killed Hagen, my brother.”
Joy covered her mouth with her hands. She blinked several times. “Why do you think he did it? How did he do it?”
Courtney took a deep breath and let it out. “Somehow he made Hagen’s car wreck look like an accident. The police said Hagen just drove straight into the tree. They called it an accident instead of suicide because a couple of the officers working the case didn’t want to tarnish Hagen’s service records with a suicide. They were ex-marines.” Courtney looked at Joy. “I know Hagen. He would not have committed suicide. I know Jared had something to do with it, and it’s because of me.”
“Why is the guy even stalking you?”
“I honestly don’t know why he is stalking me.” Courtney took another deep breath. Her hands trembled. “But from the first time I saw him, I knew he was evil.”
“Are you okay?”
Courtney glanced at Joy. She saw concern etched on her face. Courtney nodded. “One day, I stopped by the bookstore that was at the end of the block from the bakery I worked at in Amarillo. There was nothing out of the ordinary about me stopping at the bookstore. I usually stopped there once or twice a week after work.”
“You like to read?”
“Yeah.” Courtney gave her a quick smile. “Anyway, I was looking at books on one of the aisles toward the back of the store, when he walked up. I felt someone staring at me just before this oily blackness swept around me. It was like a cold blanket of anger and hate. I’ve never felt anything like it before.” Courtney put the last of the cookie dough balls on the second tray. She picked up one of the large trays and started to pick up the second one.
“Let me grab that one.” Joy grabbed the second tray and followed Courtney. They put the trays of cookie dough into the oven. As soon as she closed the oven door, Courtney set the timer. She stepped over to the sink and washed her hands.
“What do you mean by an oily blackness?” asked Joy.
“You can smell emotions, right?” asked Courtney as she dried her hands.
“Scent is a big thing with shifters. Every person has his or her own unique scent. Each of us is attracted to the unique scent of the one who is our destined mate, or mates in some cases. And you’re right about emotions. They all have unique scents t
oo.”
“Since I’m not a shifter, I can’t smell the different scents like you can, but people have auroras around them which I can see. Sometimes an aurora is so strong, I can actually feel it.”
“Interesting.” Joy picked up the empty cookie dough bowl and dropped it into the sink. “Do you know where this ability comes from?”
“I have no clue, but it really puts a damper on dating though.” Courtney wrinkled her nose.
“I know what you mean.” Joy laughed. “Some of the scents guys give off when they get you alone are unreal. They think they are going to get lucky no matter what. It’s kind of sad knowing what they are thinking before they actually say it.”
Courtney washed the bowl and the other dishes. “Jared has this oil blackness surrounding him. It wraps around you like a blanket, but it’s like it is trying to devour you, and it leaves a slick oily feeling on your skin.” She looked at Joy. “Jared is a kind of evil I have never met before. He terrifies me in a way that no one else ever has.”
Joy stared at Courtney. Several emotions flickered across her face. “He wants you for some reason.”
Courtney but the last dish into the drying rack. She turned to face Joy. “He does, and I think he killed Hagen because Hagen stood between him and me.” Sorrow and pain filled her face.
“You have to tell Todd and Harrison.”
Courtney heard the concern in Joy’s voice. She felt horrible. Tears filled her eyes. “They are my mates. I accept that fact, but I have to protect them. I don’t want anything to happen to them or Scott.”
“Scott’s protecting you. Let them protect you too.”
“I think Hagen knew more about what we are dealing with than he told me. He called Scott.” Courtney glanced at the oven timer.
“You have to tell Todd and Harrison.”
Courtney wiped away a couple tears that rolled down her cheeks. “The best way for me to protect them is for me to stay away from them. It’s safer that way.”
Joy raised an eyebrow. “Like they are going to stay away from you.”
“I’ll have to convince them.”
“It won’t work.”
“I don’t have any other choice. I won’t let them get hurt. I couldn’t protect Hagen, but I will protect them.”
Saving Courtney (Bryant Station Curves Book 4) Page 5
