Briar on Bruins' Peak (Bruins' Peak Bears Book 7)

by Erin D. Andrews

  The night went on, and soon, clothing was pared down to basics for sleeping. Teeth were brushed and special blankets and toys were collected to keep any night terrors at bay while the little ones slept. Katy and Mary went to bed first as they were the youngest. The older boys were allowed to read a bit longer in the corner. Dahlia pulled her guests to the side for a moment.

  “The only bed I have available is the one Marcus used,” she explained. “I would take it myself, but well, I hope you’ll understand.”

  They nodded. They would take the empty bed. She handed them some sheets and pillows and then excused herself, not quite ready to watch two strangers take her son’s place in his empty bed.

  Grey was pulled away to read to the boys, and Harper focused on making the bed. She was ready to gripe a bit about Grey not helping her, but she found the ritual of preparing a space for sleep rather soothing. She ran her hand on top of the first sheet, taking out the wrinkles and folds, then shook the pillows down into their covers and arranged them at the head of the mattress. She floated the last sheet on top and breathed in its clean, cottony scent. Her own sheets were getting old; she would have to ask the fabric workers for some new ones soon.

  She lay down on her perfectly made space by herself and stared up at the bottom of another child’s bunk, taking in the craftsmanship and details of the wood. This one was made of salvaged pieces, likely from a boat or large table. Carved into it in small letters were the words, “I’m here.” She was sure Marcus had left them there for someone to see. Someone he wanted to remember him long after he’d grown up and gone away to invent and explore.

  “Hey,” Grey whispered, crawling into bed next to her. The bunk was much smaller than they were used to, so they spooned together to save space. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck, a gesture that sent sparks all the way down her spine.

  “Hey yourself.” In a low whisper, she added, “We’re guests here. We have to behave ourselves.”

  “You mean, you have to behave yourself.” They giggled together, and Harper closed her eyes as she settled her head down onto the pillow. A sigh escaped her, and she rubbed her bare feet together, welcoming sleep.

  “Do you really think we can do this?” Grey whispered.

  “We don’t have much of a choice,” she answered in her half-conscious state. “We have to do something. The man is dangerous.”

  “He’s also family.”

  Her eyes snapped open. “I know who he is. I’m trying not to think about it.”

  Grey didn’t answer, just kissed her shoulders and then her neck again by way of apology. She wasn’t truly angry with him, she just wished he didn’t feel the need to bring her bubbling thoughts to the surface like that. He was so good at finding exactly what she was afraid of and then pulling it out into the open.

  She settled back into her original, relaxed state and reminded herself that this exact quality was what made Grey such a wonderful partner. He always sought out the truth. He didn’t even let fears hide from him.

  Her eyelids grew heavy and closed over her pupils. In the back of her mind, she could hear a voice she didn’t recognize calling to her.

  As Harper slid down deeper into sleep, the voice got louder, but all she could hear were snippets of what it wanted to say. Something about fathers, someone new, a plan, and a danger. She tried to answer, but in her dream, she had no ability to speak. She saw herself tied to a tree and unable to free herself. Her arms struggled against the ropes just as her voice fought to find some kind of hold on her vocal chords. Nothing. So, she listened.

  Harper… his face.... Not who you think… danger… power… caution. You must…

  She woke with a gasp to the sight of a softly lit room. The sun was rising, but it was too early to get up. No reason to get the little ones up any sooner than normal.

  The pregnant half-shifter looked back up at the words carved into the wood above her. “I’m here,” they reminded her. She shivered a little, no longer certain if that phrase had been carved by a boy still living or a ghost doing its best to keep her focused.

  Chapter 11

  Two Missions

  As the sun rose, Dahlia’s family and their guests came back to life, jumping out of beds, folding up blankets and sheets, and running around to get breakfast ready and clothing on and messy hair combed. The family sat down to a quick breakfast and the couple joined them. Dahlia made Harper a special tea, “To keep the nausea down,” she assured her. Harper raised her cup in thanks and then sipped it slowly. The pungent, herbal concoction made the acid in her stomach take a break.

  “You have everything you need?” Dahlia inquired as she watched Harper pack up her stuff.

  “I think so – snacks, water, a change of clothes.”

  Dahlia stood to pick something up off of the counter. “Here. Take this. It got me through four pregnancies.”

  “More tea?”

  “No,” she said. “It’s an herbal medicine that will keep your head clear while you’re with the Alliance. Pregnant ladies get fuzzy sometimes, especially when their middles get as big as yours.” She put a finger on Harper’s expanding stomach and raised her eyebrows. “It’s coming soon, you know.”

  “I know.” She accepted the bag of herbs and tucked them into a little side pocket. “How can I ever repay you for everything you’ve done?”

  “You’re bringing my son’s killer to justice,” Dahlia countered. “I can’t think of anything more to ask for. Well, maybe you could babysit sometime.”

  “You got it,” Harper laughed. The two women threw their arms around one another in a big hug and swayed back and forth in their shared embrace. Harper let her go and turned to find Grey.

  “Ready?” he asked as he walked up.

  “All set.” Her lover pulled her in for a big hug and kissed the top of her head.

  “Be back here in two days or we move ahead with the plan without you, okay?”

  “I’ll be here.” They released each other and stared at one another’s faces. Grey’s was a little less goofy, more mature. She didn’t know it, but Harper’s was glowing with pregnancy and a sense of purpose. She looked less like a pretty girl and more like a mature, beautiful woman. They kissed and the kids all cried out at the sight of something so gross and terrible.

  “Ew!”

  “Stop it! That’s gross!”

  “Their lips are touching!”

  They laughed and hugged one more time, then Harper stepped back. “Okay. Get a team together. We’ll be right behind you.”

  Grey gave her a little salute. “You got it, boss.”

  “Oh, boss. I like that.” She waved a final goodbye to everyone and stepped out to begin the walk to the hangar.

  She really should have sent word ahead, but she didn’t have a good way to send a message. Besides, the hangar was close enough that by the time a messenger arrived, she would be right behind it, defeating the purpose. Still, she felt another surprise visit might send the wrong message.

  As she walked, she got the impression she was being watched. Harper stopped and looked around, but all she saw were the usual humans and shifters going about their day. She shrugged, continuing down the path.

  Soon, she reached the edge of the forest and could see the clear, flat plain in front of her. Again, she felt a pair of eyes on her but still couldn’t make out who it might be. She looked around and called out a greeting, but there was no response.

  “If you’re following me, you may as well show yourself,” she demanded. Her voice echoed into the empty expanse, and she hesitated. Was she being tricked? There was no one she could see in any direction beyond the people who should have been there. She was close to the cloth workers’ stash where they liked to sit and gossip and wait for anyone to come by who might need a new piece of clothing or curtain. One of the women poked her head out and looked around to see what all the yelling was about, but lost interest when she failed to see anything of interest.

  Convinced, Harper went on,
crossing the field and doing her best to ignore the feeling in her gut that told her she needed to beware. Must be that pregnancy brain problem Dahlia was talking about, she said to herself, and picked up the pace.

  The walk to the hangar took about an hour for anyone else, but for a pregnant Harper, it took about two. She had to stop to drink water, pee, and have a snack more than once. It was maddening how bossy her body had gotten; she couldn’t even wait to relieve herself without feeling like a woman on the verge of wetting herself. Every demand had to be met immediately, no hesitation.

  During a squat in the grass, she saw a flash of something. Harper’s entire body froze. Someone was following her, she was sure. After a long wait, she didn’t see any other movement, but now she knew that feeling in her gut had been a warning, not a misunderstanding. She collected herself, arranged her clothes, and stood with an odd pressure on her shoulders. It was almost as if strong, wise hands were holding her in place.

  The hangar was in her sight. She could make a run for it. She wasn’t fast, but she could still move. Her eyes looked all around for another glimpse of her pursuer, but saw nothing. Her shoulders turned to the hangar, her breath shot down into her abdomen, and her feet dug into the earth beneath her. After quickly counting to three, she commanded herself to run.

  Her heavy frame went sped across the ground, anxious for cover. She saw the guards and called out to them. “Help! Being followed! Let me in!”

  The guards that day were two different young men than she had met before, but she could see one of them consulting with someone on the inside of the structure. She felt the presence of an animal close to her but didn’t turn around to see what it was. She just ran faster.

  “Help! Help!” She pumped her arms and legs so hard they felt as if they might catch on fire. Blades of grass and tiny rocks flew out from underneath her feet in all directions, a couple of them catching her on the side of her head.

  “Ow!”

  Her foot had kicked whatever was following her. She knew that voice. She tried to turn as her feet continued running, but her legs got tangled up and sent her sprawling backward onto the ground. “Uff!”

  For a moment, everything was grass and dirt, then as Harper turned, she saw the sky and the two guards above her.

  “Hey! You all right? Did you hit your head?”

  “Take it easy. Let’s get you inside.”

  She let them help her sit up, and she looked around again. “What did I kick?”

  They glanced around and one of them pointed behind her. “That little jaguar there. She was probably just trying to give you a scare. Do you know her?”

  She turned and saw a young, gleaming wildcat sitting in the grass. It was breathing heavily after its run and watching her with two big, shining eyes. The cat tilted her head in a familiar way, and Harper realized she knew exactly who it was.

  “Katy?”

  At the sound of her name, Katy shifted back to a human form and walked up to the group with big, apologetic eyes. She stopped a few steps away, not quite sure if she was welcome. “Hi.”

  “Honey,” Harper breathed, relieved to see that her spy was a sweet little girl and not a coldblooded murderer, “what are you doing? You should be with your mom.”

  “But Ma told me to follow you,” she said, looking at the grass at her feet.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Please can I stay?” Katy asked, reaching for her hand. Harper looked at her little spy, trying to decipher why her mother had sent her on this odd task. Did Dahlia think that Harper was up to something, or did she just want to give her a little help?

  “It’s okay with the Alliance,” the guards offered. “Kids are always welcome here. She can go and play in the classroom.”

  Harper put her hands on Katy’s arms. “Katy, why did your mom want you to follow me?”

  The little girl shrugged and then consulted the men. “Where’s the classroom?”

  One of them picked her up and led the way while the other attended to Harper. “You’re Alex’s friend, right? The president was your dad?”

  “Yeah,” she said, still watching Katy, “that’s me.”

  “Wow. Nice to meet you finally. I’m Yusef. I’m not normally on security, so I guess it was just my good luck that you came by today. Alex will be thrilled. He told me all about the kidnapping plan…”

  Yusef went on for a while, but Harper was done listening. The door to the hangar opened, and Katy shot her a little smile as her guard dipped under it and brought her inside. He set her down, and she promptly ran upstairs to join the class of little ones already playing in the learning room. Yusef was asking her something, and she found herself nodding, though she had no idea what it was he could be asking.

  “Really?” the young man confirmed. “You really think you might live here one day soon?”

  “I don’t know,” Harper corrected herself. “I thought I preferred the forest, but now I’m starting to see the secrets it’s hiding. So,” she turned to Yusef, “I guess I can’t really say where home is. At least, not right now.”

  The guy smiled at her and offered her a seat at the communal table. “What brings you here today?”

  Before she answered, she glanced around. “Hey, where’s Alex today? I really should say hello to him.”

  “Oh, he’s out. Scavenging trip. We need some new parts for the garage. We’re building a plane,” Yusef explained. “Was there something you needed?”

  “Actually,” she said, putting her palms on the table, “I need the help of your organization. I’m in a bind, and I don’t have the know-how to get myself out of it. I’m hoping – since you’re a group of problem-solvers – maybe I can tap into your collective genius.”

  “What sort of a bind?”

  She spelled it out for him; a criminal had been identified and deemed dangerous, but there seemed to be no means of punishing or confining him. She couldn’t let him go free, either. He had already killed a young boy.

  He nodded and sat with her. “Well, that sounds like a problem for the meeting tonight. Can you stay?”

  “Oh, sure. I’m in no rush.”

  “Great. Let me put up an announcement that we have an extra person here. All our crews need to know so you’re accounted for.”

  He stepped away, and she took in the hangar again. She noticed that some windows had been replaced with a lovely blue glass that glowed in the sunlight. The shafts of deeply colored light gave a watery effect to parts of the giant structure and made it look strange and ethereal. The sound of a loud laugh turned her attention to the learning space above her, and she saw Katy playing with a couple of girls her age. They had a group of teddy bears between them and Katy was making hers talk.

  “You can’t take this from me! I’m the big, mean man. I say what you do.”

  The girls laughed at her funny voice but Harper found herself chilled by the tone in Katy’s voice. The girl noticed her looking and quickly turned away so that Harper could no longer see the game. Harper’s gut spoke up again; something was wrong – very wrong. She just prayed the Alliance would keep her safe, even if the threat was a tiny, adorable girl.

  Back at Dahlia’s, Grey was canvassing his part of the forest for help. Soon, he had a team consisting of Emily the boar, Larissa the fossa, several fliers he only knew casually, and Dahlia herself. “I’m not sitting this one out,” she told him, much to his amusement.

  “Far be it from me to deny a lady the battlefield,” he said with a little bow, eyebrows waggling in his sarcastic manner.

  She gave him a little smack on the shoulder. “Shut your mouth.”

  They all gathered in Dahlia’s living room to make a plan of attack. Grey caught them all up on the story – the booze, the money, the still hiding at the back of the swamp. Everyone listened attentively to the whole thing.

  “Wait,” Emily interrupted, “what’s wrong with people getting drunk? It’s their business.”

  “You don’t understand,” Larissa cut in. �
�It’s not innocent partying. It’s part of a bigger plan to turn some of the population into addicts. Once the money’s gone and they can’t get their booze anymore–”

  “They’ll lose it,” Emily finished, her face pale with the thought. “Oh, God. I’ve met addicts before. They’re unpredictable, violent, they lie about everything, and they’ll steal from anyone. That’s what these guys want?”

  “Yes,” Grey assured her. “If they have a troupe of addicts on their hands with no cash, they’ll be ripe for manipulation. I don’t know what the end goal of all of this is, but I know it isn’t good. One boy has already lost his life.”

  Everyone turned to Dahlia who gave a somber nod. “My little Marcus was unlucky enough to figure out the formula. Somehow, they caught him and did away with my little man.” She paused as a tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t want to know what these maniacs might do next.”

  The group focused on their approach. Grey would go first and then come back to Larissa with everyone’s position, information on weaponry, etcetera. “After that,” he continued, “we can let her lead us into their headquarters. Remember, we’re there to trap these guys, not kill them. Emily, I’m counting on you to help me with that part.”

  She sat up and smiled a little. “You got it.”

  He smiled back and felt a leap of joy in his chest. Emily hadn’t looked this excited about anything in a long time.

  “All right. Everyone get some sleep. We’ll meet back here at dawn.”

  The group dispersed, but Emily hung around. After the others had wandered away, she bumped her shoulder into Grey’s side and motioned for him to follow her outside.

  Together, they stepped outside and watched the people below them walk along the forest floor, laugh together, and barter for different things they needed. Emily seemed to be waiting for something. After a moment, she spoke without looking at Grey.

  “Something isn’t right,” she said, keeping her voice low. “There’s one detail about all of this that’s bothering me.”

  Grey took a cue from his friend and spoke in a soft voice as well. “What is it?”

  Emily scratched her head and tipped her chin to her chest. She was hiding her face. “How did anyone know what Marcus was up to? I mean, he’s just a kid playing the forest. What, did these guys go around interviewing everyone they met, asking if by chance they had a formula for moonshine? I mean, what tipped them off?”