Nanny to the Bear (Burning Falls Shifters Book 4)

by Cynthia Wilde

  The woman responded with an icy tone. “We did what we could. My people were not expecting it to go down the way it did. Perhaps if we’d had more information…”

  Mr. Briggs waved his hands. “What’s done is done. I can assume you’ll be more prepared this time.”

  “Of course. We have multiple teams coordinating. And likewise, I can assume we’ll be getting the other half after we find them?”

  “You have my word on it.” They shook hands once more and Mr. Briggs turned back to the path and disappeared into the trees.

  Once he was gone, the younger one tore open the envelope and pulled out a huge stack of cash. She flipped through the bills with a wide smile. The woman interrupted her happiness with a sharp command. “Don’t fall in love just yet. Let’s get the tent set up here. We still have a lot to do before dark.”

  Austin retreated as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. Once he had gotten far enough away, he bolted through the forest until he arrived at one of their caches, the lock boxes where the shifters kept changes of clothes and emergency supplies.

  Tearing out of his bear, he shifted back into his human form. He felt shaky still after the transformation, but he knew the elderberry supplements they kept in the lock box would take the edge off. He tapped in the code to unlock the metal compartment wedged between the branches of the pine tree. However, when the lid popped open, he found the box completely empty. No supplements. No first aid kit. No change of clothes.

  He had to figure out a way to get back to his house. He felt too weak to shift back, and even if he could, a full grown bear could not waltz through town without consequence. “This could be a problem,” he muttered as he turned towards the town trying to figure out his next move.

  Chapter Ten

  When Janet and the children arrived home, she discovered a series of messages on her phone. One of them was from Austin leaving a rather cryptic message about meeting him at the police station, and to bring his wallet. She felt unsure what it could possibly be about. The other message was from Alex saying to call her as soon as possible. She has a message from Austin.

  “Hi, sorry,” Alex said when Janet dialed her number. “I wanted to get with you before you picked up Austin at the station.”

  “Picked him up? What’s going on? Why is he there?”

  “He… um…” Alex burst into laughter which cut off her ability to speak momentarily. “He’s been arrested.”

  “What!” Janet turned her gaze to the children who were thankfully paying no attention to her. They had both wandered to the kitchen, Bonnie pulling a box of crackers and cheese from the pantry.

  “Yeah, he wanted you to drop the kids off at my place before you headed there. He’d like to keep all this on the down low from his kiddos.”

  “I suppose so. Okay, we’ll be right over, I suppose. Can you tell me what happened?”

  Alex’s voice collapsed into another fit of uncontrolled laughter. “I can’t,” she breathed. “He’ll have to tell you. I can’t even say it…”

  Janet hung up the phone, feeling more puzzled than ever. Whatever it was, it could not be too serious as it put Alex in stitches like that. The kids were excited to go and visit Alex. Even though her son, Gabe was a little bit older than Bonnie, he had a cool video game system which never ceased to amaze them.

  The police station was nothing more than a series of offices with a holding cell at the far end of the building. She did not see Austin right away, and she still remained wildly unsure as to what was going on. Alex had been no help at all as she devolved into giggles when Janet probed for more information. The officer checked her in, gesturing for her to walk through the large metal detector after placing her purse onto the search table.

  When she approached the window, a surly woman greeted her. “Who are you here for?” she asked without much humor.

  “Austin Bradford,” Janet replied.

  The woman smirked. “Oh, you mean the naked guy?”

  “Naked guy?” Janet replied with some surprise.

  “Hm,” the woman said looking her over. “Five hundred bond and he can go.”

  “Oh, yes. Of course.” Janet fumbled through Austin’s wallet. Alex had instructed her she would need cash, and to use his card at the ATM before arriving there. Janet counted out the bills to the woman at the window and was then instructed to wait in the waiting room. When Austin finally appeared a few minutes later, she did all she could to keep a straight face.

  He stepped from the hallway escorted by the officer from the desk. He wore ill-fitting, pink hospital scrubs covered over with tiny blue cupcakes. On his face he wore a scowl.

  “Thank god you’re here,” he said when he saw Janet. “This has been--” He gestured his hands vaguely around the room.

  “It appears that you have had a bit of a day,” Janet said.

  “You could say that. Let’s get out of here. I’m desperate for a change of clothes.”

  Once they were both in the privacy of the car headed away from the police station, Janet could not contain her curiosity any longer. “So why did the lady at the bond window refer to you as ‘the naked guy’?”

  “That, yeah well. I got caught in the woods without anything to wear.”

  “You shifted?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve always wondered how you all handle that? I mean, you must go through a lot of clothes.”

  “Sort of. It’s different for everyone, but for the most part, we don’t burst out of the seams like you would see on television.”

  “Can you tell me about it? I’ve always wondered what it feels like to go through something like that.”

  “The first time it happened it hurt like hell. None of us were expecting it. They say sometimes traumatic experience can bring it on, awakening the inner animal or something like that. For all of us it happened at the same time. Afghanistan.”

  “I see.” Janet took the cue not to press for details. She understood most soldiers did not enjoy speaking of those days.

  “Every pack is different of course,” he continued. “When it comes to clothes, but we keep lock boxes in the forest. By practicing the Kon-Mar, we’ve all pretty much gotten to the point we can shift on command. It gets easier the more you do it. There’s certain breathing techniques and stuff like that.”

  “So you’ve learned how to control it?” Janet asked.

  “In a way, yes. So once we got stuck in the woods once or twice, Chase had the idea to place some lock boxes here and there. Not enough to mess up the forest, but enough that we can find supplies if we need to. We keep necessary items, change of clothes, bottled water, that sort of thing.”

  “That’s smart.”

  “But someone or something has gotten into ours. I checked at least five of them. They’re all empty.”

  “Who would do that?”

  “Yes. I need to get to Chase right away.” Austin’s expression echoed the seriousness of his words, but Janet could not contain herself. She burst into laughter, doing her best to keep her eyes on the road.

  He stared at her from the passenger seat. “I’m glad you find this so amusing.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said dabbing at her eye with her fingertips. “You just look so funny!”

  He held his somber expression for a few more seconds, before he finally gave in and cracked a small smile. “This was all they had that fit me. Apparently, they don’t get a lot of naked people at the Burning Falls PD.”

  “I would imagine not.”

  “I’ll take you back to the house so you can change before we grab the kids.”

  “Yes, that would be good.”

  “Although, pink is really your color,” Janet said with a playful grin. “You should wear it more often.”

  His only reply was an exaggerated scowl.

  * * * *

  After Austin changed, he headed over to Chase’s apartment where Logan was staying while in Burning Falls. Janet headed to Alex t
o check on the kids. As she headed out of the driveway, he paused for a moment watching her go. He could not help but marvel at her ease of being around shifters. Most humans gave him a bit of a dissonant vibe most of the time. But for whatever reason, being around her felt like the most natural thing in the world.

  “The lock box was empty?” Chase said after Austin explained the situation.

  “Yes,” Austin replied. “I checked all the ones in the immediate area. All empty.”

  Logan sat on the couch across from Austin. “How often do you restock the supplies?” he asked.

  “Every time someone is on patrol,” Chase replied, “the next morning it’s part of the assignment to double check the lock boxes. This is more than that. These have been cleared out. I mean, every once in a while we’ll be low on supplements, or we’ll need to get some socks in there or something like that. I’ve never once seen them wiped out like this.”

  “Who do you think is behind this?” Logan asked.

  “Unfortunately, I think I know,” Austin replied. “While I was up there, I happened to see some things. I don’t quite understand all of it. Bear brain doesn’t always translate nuance when I shift back sometimes.”

  “What did you see?” Logan asked.

  “This had to be way up the mountainside, past anywhere that campers or tourists would usually travel. There was a woman I’d never seen before, and that girl. You remember, Chase? The one who did the documentary…”

  “Haley Blair?” Chase said. “What was she doing there?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s obvious these two are working together. They were in the process of setting up camp up near the berry fields. The strange thing is, I think I know who hired them. Mr. Briggs showed up.”

  “Mr. Briggs!” Chase exclaimed. “What’s he got to do with any of this?”

  “Who’s Mr. Briggs?” Logan asked glancing from Austin to Chase.

  “The owner of Briggs’ Grocery,” Chase answered. “He’s one of those people who knows everyone and everyone knows him.”

  “Unfortunately, I think he knows more than he lets on. He mentioned Afghanistan.”

  “Afghanistan?” Chase leaned back, raking his fingers through his hair. “How big is this thing?”

  “It’s pretty big,” Logan said. “This is what we’ve been suspecting for a while now. We know there’s been someone looking for something for quite a while. We’re only just beginning to understand the details of it all, but we think there is some kind of resistance or underground shifter group amassing numbers. We do have an extensive investigation, but information has been hard to come by.”

  “But Afghanistan?” Chase said. “We didn’t even know we were shifters then. How could anyone else?”

  Logan took a deep breath. “The agency has a theory about Burning Falls being an energy vortex going back to ancient times. It is believed that this area is like a magnet to shifter kind. What that means is, whoever these people are knew that shifters would come from this specific area. We believe there may have been an intelligence leak around the formation of your unit. It’s not typical for people from the same town to end up in the same unit. Someone very high up had to have pulled a whole lot of strings to put the five of you in the same unit.”

  “Wait,” Austin interjected. “You mean it was a set up?”

  Chase’s jaw twitched, his eyebrows knit together. “What about Shaia? Was she part of this?”

  Austin remembered the woman from their days in Afghanistan. Shaia had been an instrumental leader in the resistance against the ISIS occupation within their village and remained instrumental in helping their unit with information. Austin believed Chase had fallen in love with her, though he always maintained it was nothing more than a relationship of convenience. When ISIS finally made their move, she was one of the first to die.

  Logan shook his head. “Shaia was… an unfortunate casualty. But we have reason to believe the bombing was intended to take out your unit.”

  Chase stood up, pacing around the apartment. “Are you saying it wasn’t ISIS at all? Shaia died because of some ancient shifter grudge? We didn’t even know. How could they know, when we didn’t know?”

  Logan watched Chase carefully. Austin remained quiet, absorbing the information. He knew Chase had found his perfect mate in Cindy, but he also understood his frustration. True love not withstanding, he had cared about Shaia. Her death had hit him hard all those years ago.

  “Tell me, Chase,” Logan continued. “How has Cindy been since that incident last fall? Is she doing okay?”

  Chase calmed a little. “For the most part. She’s been practicing elements of the Kon-Mar which has helped her mentally at least.”

  “Has anything like that happened again?”

  “No, but she hasn’t tried to either.”

  Austin leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and crossing his fingers. “What aren’t you telling us, Logan?”

  “I can’t say just yet. We’re still gathering intelligence. I can promise you that I will keep you in the loop as much as I am able. That’s all I can tell you for now.”

  Austin and Chase exchanged a glance between them. They both trusted Logan, but more out of a sense of obligation. He was still an outsider to the town and did not know the ins and outs of Burning Falls. Every small town had its own unique flow of energy. They had to give Logan the time and space to learn it.

  “Right,” Chase said clasping his hands together. “So I guess one of us should head to the store to pick up supplies for the lock boxes. Austin, do you want to head to Eloise’s to see if she can hold us over on supplements?”

  “Yeah, I’ll do that.” Austin stood up. He wanted to speak with her anyway.

  “I’m going to head around the edge of town,” Logan said. “I’m going to stay out of view, but I’d like to get a read on these people camped out up the mountain.”

  “Be careful out there,” Chase said. “This appears to be bigger than all of us.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The kids had a great time at Alex’s place. They passed the time playing video games with Gabe and Amelia, racing each other to the finish line on the brightly lit television. When it was time to go, Janet wrangled Bonnie and Dillon into the car, thanking Alex for her help.

  “Anytime,” she replied. “You know, if you ever need a day off or a date night, just give me a call. I’m happy to watch them now and then.”

  “Date night?” Janet replied. “When would I ever have time for that?”

  “Just… You never know,” Alex smirked.

  “Okay, well. Thanks again. See you later.” Bonnie and Dillon had already piled into the back seat. She started the car and headed back to their place.

  “So what do you guys want for dinner?” she asked peeking at them through the rear view mirror.

  “Burgers!” Bonnie chirped.

  “What about you, Dillon?” Janet said. “Do we want to fire up the grill? Sounds good to me.”

  “Sure,” Dillon replied. He kept his gaze out the window with a distant expression on his face. He had the same expression as Austin did when he didn’t want to talk about something.

  They arrived back at the house after stopping off at the grocery store to pick up the makings for burgers. Mr. Briggs himself, bagged their groceries and carried them out to the car.

  “Y’all have fun now,” he said as he gave them a cheerful wave as the car pulled away. Janet had always liked Mr. Briggs, such a friendly and personable man. Once home, she began to prepare dinner, opting to cook the burgers on the stove rather than wrestling the grill. The clouds appeared to be building up in the sky despite the clear forecast. Bonnie headed outside to play in the back yard. Dillon followed, but he stayed curled up on one of the patio chairs. He watched his sister, still with a surly, distant face. She checked to make sure she could leave the stove for a moment, and stepped outside taking a seat next to him.

  “How you doing, kiddo?” she asked.

  He glanc
e towards her, and she saw in that moment just how much he resembled his mother. He shrugged, turning his attention back to Bonnie, skipping in circles at the far end of the yard.

  Janet tried again. “Did something happen at Gabe’s house that upset you?”

  “No,” he muttered.

  “Okay. Is it okay if I sit here with you? We don’t have to talk.”

  “Sure.” They sat there for several seconds. Janet watching Dillon, and Dillon watching Bonnie. It did not take long before Dillon spoke again. “Dad hates me.”

  Janet folded her hands on the table. “Why do you think that?”

  “He hates me because I look like Mom. I’m the reason she left.”

  “Oh, Dillon. I am sure that’s not true.” She leaned forward, wanting to reach out to him but holding back. She also did not want to spook him.

  “No. It’s true. I don’t remember her. That’s how young I was when she left. Dad never talks about her. I’d like to know about her, but I don’t want to ask him. It makes him mad.”

  “Does it?”

  “Yeah. He stops talking and goes to his office. He hasn’t done that since you’ve come though.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I think I’d like to go play now.”

  “Yes, of course. Go play,” Janet said with a smile.

  He stood up to go, but turned at the last second. “One more thing. I know you’re not our mother, but I’m really glad you came to take care of us.”

  “Me too,” she replied. He trotted off towards his sister and they both fell into the natural rhythm of the imaginary game.

  Austin did not return until late into the evening. She had already put Bonnie and Dillon to bed hours before, and she had put away everything from dinner. She glanced up when he entered the living room.

  “Hi there,” he said with a slight grin. “Sorry I’m back so late. Lots of boring shifter business.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” she replied. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”