by E A Price
“Sorry, just thinking. I was miles away,” he muttered.
He turned away and did a drool check, walking over to the window on the pretense of checking out what was going on out there. Nothing worse than a drooling bear. Speaking of grips, he needed to get a hold of himself, preferably in a shower where he could grip himself to his heart's content because his attraction to Sky was starting to become painful. Hammer nails in wood painful.
Actually… he spotted a red SUV that he swore was parked at the same shopping mall they went to earlier to grab Sky’s new locks. He used to go to a little hardware store over on Raven Avenue. But since an incident with a nail gun and superglue, he was banned. He now had to do all his shopping at The Happy Mega Deal Tool Outlet – crappy products served by pimply-faced teenagers without a smile.
But that red SUV… Zane squinted, and his bear’s hackles went up. He didn’t catch the license plate earlier – he spotted the vehicle when they were walking back to his car, and the SUV was beating a hasty retreat. But both had a dent on the passenger door, with the same black scrapes. Clearly, the driver had a little altercation with another black vehicle.
Perhaps they were following Sky. They had to be his bear insisted. He felt anger at them – how dare they? There was elation that he may have already nearly caught whoever was after her. Then there was disappointment that he may have already nearly caught whoever was after her. He’d kind of envisioned at least a week of playing her bodyguard. But no – that was dumb. If the guy was out there spying on Sky, he had to stop them. His anger came first – always. Which was something he was trying to change, but for now he would just run with it.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Zane nodded at her to come over to the window. He held her back from it, slipping an arm around her waist, making sure she didn’t get too close. Well, they could have a sniper rifle! Just because he took a moment to enjoy how perfect her slender frame fit against his bulky body was neither here nor there.
He cocked his head at the window. “Recognize that red SUV?”
She pressed further against him, peering through the glass. The bear purred like a kitten. Now who’s the pussy?
“Uh-uh. They’re in a visitor parking space – maybe they’re just visiting someone else who lives here.”
“I saw the SUV at the mall.”
Her eyes widened a fraction, and he could have sworn they turned violet for just a second. Interesting.
“You mean while we were at the mall?” She shook her head. “Yes, of course, that’s what you mean. So you think they may be following us?”
“Following you,” he said gruffly. No one in their right mind would want to stalk him. Well, okay, no one in their right mind stalks anyone. Then his bear snorted laughter at him – most of his job involved stalking people to catch them doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
Sky chewed on her lip and lowered her lashes until her eyes nearly closed. Her body pressed against his as she burrowed into him.
“Maybe it’s a coincidence.”
Zane grunted. “I’m going to find out.”
*
The otter shifter yelped, and his sandwich went flying as Zane yanked him out of the car. Luckily the driver side window was open, or unluckily amended his bear. Maybe getting pulled trough a sheet of glass would teach the young man a lesson. Like, stay away from our horse shifter!
On regaining a little composure, the otter started swearing. “What the f….”
The F sound lasted a while and then fluttered away like a whisper. By now, the otter realized who was clutching him – a six-foot-ten bear shifter with black eyes and a face that would give hardened robbers nightmares.
“What’s happening?”
Zane rolled his eyes as Sky’s voice floated towards him. “I told you to stay inside.”
“Sky, help!” squeaked the otter shifter, his eyes darting between Zane and Sky.
“Oh, Danny! Zane, that’s Danny!”
“Danny?” repeated Zane through clenched teeth. He had the otter, and he had a lot of rage – he was reluctant to let either go.
His bear’s opinion was that they’d caught someone, and anyone would do. But Sky’s hand on his arm and a pleading look on her face made him rethink that.
“It’s Danny; he’s dating Emily - my neighbor from upstairs.”
Zane heaved a few breaths before dropping the trembling Danny. The otter slithered to the ground on jelly legs.
“Danny!” wailed a high-pitched voice that Zane guessed belonged to the eponymous Emily.
Zane took a step back, and Sky placed a hand on his chest as a pleasantly plump young woman rounded on him, putting herself between him and Danny.
“What the hell is going on?”
Sky patted his chest before he could say anything, which was probably a good thing because nothing nice was coming out of his mouth.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I’m having a bit of trouble at the moment – I’m being… well, I’m being stalked and when we saw this vehicle out here…”
Emily harrumphed and kneeled down next to Danny, settling his head on her prodigious chest. He didn’t seem quite so put out anymore.
“Danny is borrowing his brother’s SUV while his car is in the shop. Perhaps you should have asked first!” she scolded. Zane later found out that Emily was a schoolteacher, and wasn’t so surprised that her hectoring tone brought back many a bad memory of Sunday school with his Aunt Myrtle and her yardstick. His knuckles were red until he was fifteen.
“He was at the mall earlier!” accused Zane, trying to shake the feeling of being an errant five-year-old. He was a grown man damnit! “And why was he skulking in his car?”
Emily pursed her lips, not immediately having a satisfactory answer to either of those things and being annoyed that she didn’t. She dislodged Danny’s head from her bosom and trained her displeased gaze on him.
“You told me you were visiting your mother this morning, and why were you dawdling out here? Why didn’t you come inside to visit me?”
Danny hesitated for a moment; his eyes flicking to Sky, and for a second Zane really did think he could be her stalker. But the soppy expression on his face when he looked at the fearsome Emily dispelled that worry immediately.
“I did visit my mother,” he said tentatively. “I had to get something from her, but then I had to go to the mall to get it resized. I was sitting out here trying to work up the nerve but, ah, I guess now is as good a time as any.” He rolled to his knees, still a little unsteady since Zane laid his hands on him. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and flipped it open. “Emily, will you…”
“Yes!” she squealed and pounced on him. He flattened under her with a happy oof and she lavished kisses over his face. “This is the happiest moment of my life! It’s almost perfect.” She stopped to shoot a glare at Zane.
“Congratulations,” murmured Sky, moving forward to help them to their feet.
Zane – trying to keep the peace – picked up Danny’s fallen sandwich, dusted it off and handed it back to him.
“No hard feelings, huh?”
Emily glared at him, but Danny quickly took the sandwich and actually said thank you. The young woman harrumphed and marched her fiancé away. His bear grumbled about bossy women, but Zane tensed, worrying about Sky’s reaction to his overreaction.
He needn’t have.
Sky just tinkled with laughter. “At least they’ll have a funny story to tell their grandkids.”
Zane let out a breath and chuckled too. “Yeah, I actually did them a favor.”
She tapped his arm playfully, and he beamed at her, his body tensing for a completely different reason as her eyes shone with happiness. Her face was so perfectly symmetrical it was startling, and those pink lips… gah. Drool, again.
He cleared his throat as he realized he was staring. “You know I should probably check your workplace for bugs too.”
Sky nodded as they walked back to her apartment. �
�Good idea. If it is Erik, then he could easily bug that place. Although I hate to think of him being in my home, maybe going through my underwear drawer.”
Zane almost offered to check it out to make sure her panties were safe, but he caught himself.
“You don’t seem convinced it is either Ethel or Edith.”
She didn’t bother to correct him about the names this time. “I’m not. Bugging my apartment, hiring a van to watch me, it all seems like a lot of effort for them. And they don’t strike me as guys who are willing to make much effort. Oh sure, Erik would climb onto a roof to watch topless sunbathers, and Ethan would fake going into work just to avoid lunch with my parents, but there are limits. They do things for themselves, and I don’t see what they’re getting out of following me.”
Zane narrowed his eyes. “Can you think of another reason someone might be following you?”
“I’m not sure,” she said slowly, but she couldn’t entirely meet his eyes. To avoid the silence, she quickly added, “But, isn’t it best to eliminate the most obvious suspects first?”
He nodded. Yes, she was right. More than likely it was someone she knew. Someone who didn’t understand the danger they were in yet.
*
“I have a call for you,” trilled Juliet’s young and negligibly efficient assistant. “Some guy called Christmas Walk or something like that. I don’t know; I’ll put him through.”
The vampire rolled her eyes. She’d left strict instructions that she was not to be disturbed, but yeah, sure, put anyone and their grandmother through by all means! How could it be so hard to find a decent assistant? This was the third in six months. The girl’s telephone skills were atrocious, and Juliet wasn’t even going to think about how many files she accidentally deleted last week while flirting with the water cooler guy.
Juliet was half tempted to steal Gerry’s assistant – Norma. The woman was terrifying, earning the nickname ‘door bitch’. Just the type of woman Juliet needed. Sigh.
She picked up the phone and tried not to growl as she realized who Christmas Walk was – Christian Hawk. Really should have put that one together.
“Juliet,” he purred.
“Christian.”
“I was wondering if you’d care to join me for dinner tomorrow night?”
Juliet opened her mouth to decline; she was quite content that they had spent more than enough time together at the fundraiser when he tried to grope her all night. Sadly, he cut her off.
“I had a meeting with some council members earlier, and I was discussing my contribution to the SEA widows and orphans fund. Perhaps we could discuss that at dinner, among other things.”
She allowed one of her fangs to pierce her tongue to stop her irritated response. Casually mentioning the Council of Supernaturals – her bosses - and the fund was surely a heavily veiled threat. Would he refuse them more donations if she said no? Yes, he probably would.
“That sounds lovely.”
“I will pick you up at nine.”
He hung up before she could reply. The receiver creaked under the pressure from her hand. It had been a long time since a male tried to take control of her. Dick. If he thought she was going to roll over for him, he was sorely mistaken.
Chapter Twelve
“Guys, this is Zane, he’ll be joining us today.”
The huge bear shifter gave everyone a chilly smile - that noticeably heated up for her. Sky blushed instinctively and pretended to busy herself arranging her mat. Why she was embarrassed she couldn’t say – they’d certainly not done anything for her to be embarrassed about. Sigh.
Zane seemed to be appointing himself as her personal protector. Not something she had any complaints about. No, she and her unicorn were very happy bunnies – figuratively speaking.
He decided it would be a good idea for him to come to work with her - to check for bugs, to check out Erik. She hadn’t expected him actually to join her yoga classes. But then she hadn’t expected him to spend the night sleeping in his car, watching her building all night. He said he was going home to sleep, yet when she woke that morning, she noticed his car still parked outside. It was… nice. A good feeling knowing he was watching over her.
Sure, she’d rebelled against her overprotective parents when she was younger – sneaking out at every turn. She chafed against their need to watch over her every second of the day. But With Zane, it wasn’t the same. Not even close. She welcomed the thought of the bear being near. So did her unicorn - which was even stranger. The beast was usually shy around any males Sky took an interest in. The fight they had about shifting and showing Ethan her animal form was lengthy and annoying. Perhaps one she wished the unicorn had now won.
Even stranger, Zane didn’t seem to want anything in return. She could scent his desire for her, and he’d been nothing but respectful. So unlike the men she’d dated. It was so refreshing, so… It was starting to wear a little. Okay, so they’d only known each other a day, but would it kill him to flirt a little? Or did he really think of her as just a job? Ugh – depressing.
Even more depressing was just how many women in her class were checking him out. Yep, allowing him to wear shorts and a tight t-shirt was clearly a mistake. The females were not discreet in their lusty looks. Especially Shira. Her unicorn stomped the ground. Yep, she’d forgotten the man-eating tigress would be here. And she didn’t mean man-eating in the old fashioned sense.
Sky came disturbingly close to letting out a whinny before she centered herself. Calm. Easy. Relaxed. There was nothing to be upset about. Zane was there to protect her, and she would give her class a damn good workout so none of them – Shira – would have time to do anything dangerous like hit on him or slip him their phone numbers. Because even a peace-loving unicorn shifter only had so much tolerance.
*
Zane limped slightly as he made his way through the gym. His laughing bear was no damned comfort. Wasn’t yoga supposed to be all about breathing and slow moving and shit like that? He felt like his limbs had been stretched on a rack and then covered in fire ants just to make sure that he was definitely in pain. Joining the advanced class was maybe a little presumptuous. But as he recalled, his bear – the traitor – had sniffed and declared that yoga was a workout for pussies, and anyone could do it. Fucking bear.
Although, he couldn’t deny that seeing Sky flex her supple body into poses he hadn’t thought possible was pretty damn incredible. Certainly worth the pain he was in. She was so… bendy. He was almost freaking drooling the whole time. Yoga with a near-constant hard-on? Torture.
He’d also found five more bugs in the gym, one in all the various studios Sky used for her classes. Sky was checking out the locker room. He’d tried to go in, but the look on the jujitsu instructor’s face made it very clear that was a bad – nay, suicidal – idea.
Zane growled as he found the vending machine – it was filled with health shakes. What a fucking waste of a good vending machine! He was about to go loco on the unfortunate vending machine when he stopped and patted the machine. “Not your fault, buddy. Maybe in your next life, you’ll get candy.”
His bear grouched, but Zane was proud of his restraint. He was cranky from spending the night in his car – he had to do it to make sure Sky was safe. Going home was not an option. Horny from watching Sky stretch herself into a few impossibly bendy positions. Pissed that Erik and Ethan’s background checks didn’t bring up anything unusual. Was it too much to ask that the cops could want them for bank robbery or something? Nope, clean as a whistle. But Zane was okay. He would be okay. Even better if he hadn’t just spotted Erik talking to a couple of 'roid ragers who looked a lot like him.
The three males were slicked up with baby oil and squeezed into some cringe-worthy shorts. Jeez, they looked like strippers. Prissy posers groused his beast.
Zane allowed a moment more to enjoy his contempt and then started walking away in the other direction. Temptation and all that. His knuckles were kind of itching from not planting thems
elves in anyone’s face in at least a week. He’d talk to Erik later, on his own.
Course, his resolved faltered when he heard the name Sky rolling out of the elk shifter’s mouth.
The bear stilled, every muscle tensing as he heard Erik boasting about just what he was going to do to her. It involved his poor excuse for a dick and Sky’s mouth.
Zane’s vision blurred as a red haze fell before his eyes. He cracked his knuckles and allowed his beast a little bit more control.
Second thought, maybe it was time to talk now.
*
Booker growled. “All the fucking bugs are down?”
Jones nodded. “Someone must have found them.”
“For fucks…” He pounded a massive fist against the wall.
The unicorn shifter wasn’t making this as easy as he thought it would be. And now she seemed to have a fucking bear shifter hanging around her. Possibly a new boyfriend and maybe he’d found the bugs. Great, now she’d be on her guard.
Damnit, the day of the auction was creeping closer.
In spite of his earlier objections, he considered just taking her and torturing her into shifting. If she really weren't a unicorn and just some useless horse shifter, he’d dispose of her. Not something he considered lightly. It wouldn’t be easy to grab her with the bear around. The guy spent all night outside her apartment. The last thing he wanted was a witness – another person to kill.
His gorilla huffed. Fuck her.
“Call and get the plane ready,” he ordered Jones. “We’re going to New York. Tell Vargas to put the damn doctor down and meet us at the airstrip.”
He was going after the gigantopithecus shifter. Giant apes weren’t exactly cute, but King Kong was always a popular movie. Course this one was female, so it would be Queen Kong, but no matter. Most of their buyers were male, so females tended to sell better anyway.
He’d leave a guy on Sky. Jones probably – he was a wolf shifter with a lot of patience. He would hang around just in case she did do something interesting, but she wasn’t worth much more at that moment.
