“Can we focus here, please? I’m a newspaper reporter. I am not a hired killer.”
Bridgit nodded slowly, not fully convinced. “So you’re a millionaire now. Cool! Can I borrow some money?”
“Sadly, I don’t have much left.” Tonya shook her head, with an expression of mock sorrow.
“You spent a million bucks?” Bridgit’s eyes widened in mingled shock and admiration. “That fast? And I thought my shopping sprees were legendary.”
Tonya’s look of mock sorrow was replaced by a triumphant grin. “I’m replacing what your stepmonster took back from your trust fund, and using it to help fund the animal shelter.”
It took a few seconds for that to sink in. The shelter. It would get built after all. Bridgit had just about given up hope. She’d thought about selling her entire wardrobe, and it still wouldn’t have been nearly enough. And all her jewelry had been left to her by her grandmother, so her parents wouldn’t let her sell it. She’d been sure that the shelter was doomed.
But Tonya meant it. She was going to give up all her new riches for the shelter.
“Oh my God.” Bridgit’s eyes flooded with tears. She dropped her noodle bowl and hugged Tonya, then stepped back. “Really? But…no. This could be your chance at independence. You would never have to worry about money again.”
Tonya shook her head. “The thing is, I didn’t earn the money. It was blood money. I don’t feel like I can spend money that should never have been mine, but I do feel like I can convert what was meant for evil into a good cause. Stop crying! You’ll make me cry, and then my mascara will run! And I haven’t even gotten to the exciting part!”
“What’s that?” Bridgit wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Something more exciting than an assassin, a million dollars and the animal shelter getting built?”
“I’m moving in with Heath.” She pointed at the taxi cab, and Bridgit looked again and saw that the big bear was in the back seat, waiting for Tonya.
“But the last bit of that million – I’m going to give you for rent. Shut up,” she said before Bridgit could argue. “You let me live here in Gothic Gardens rent-free for a year. You also let me drive that car for free. I’m giving you a year’s worth of rent and a year’s worth of car payments. Now you can move out, get a job, drive a cruddy car, and your parents can’t do a damn thing to control you anymore.”
“You’re leaving?” Bridgit wiped away more tears and sniffled. She was happy for Tonya – she knew Tonya had been crazy about the bear. She was just going to miss her.
“Oh, I’ll come around to your apartment all the time, believe me. Me and Heath will help you find a place and move you in. Oh wait, you don’t have furniture. We’ll come up with something. You’re also going to be my bridesmaid. Well, Heath says we’re Fated Mates, so I’m pretty sure he’ll propose.” She yelled down to Heath, who was watching them through the rolled-down rear window, “Are you going to propose?”
“It’s a surprise!” he yelled back. “So, no! Do not expect a proposal!”
“Yep.” Bridgit nodded. “I see a wedding ring in your near future. So wait, are you leaving right now? You just got here! Come in and let me make you some Ramen noodles! I’ve gotten really good at it. It involves the combination of a microwave, water and pre-packed food stuff.”
“I have to swing by Le Magnifique to run an errand. I’ll be back later so we can drink and catch up.”
And she turned and dashed down to the taxi, leaving Bridgit near speechless with astonishment and contemplating how much her life had just changed in the last minute.
As the taxi pulled away, Bridgit noticed that it was just Tonya and Heath in the back seat. The Beast wasn’t with them. That was good, because he was a certified pig and she absolutely couldn’t stand him. A great deal of her time these days was spent thinking about how much she couldn’t stand him. So it was good that he hadn’t come by.
“Really, really good,” she said out loud to no one.
* * *
Diana was sitting in her office at the back of the building, going through paperwork. When Tonya walked in, she looked up and smiled.
“Tonya! I heard about your trip! How was it?”
“Oh, I couldn’t answer that question in one sentence.” Tonya shook her head. “I’m here to ask you for a favor. Heath’s waiting for me outside, so I’ve only got a minute.”
“Well, shoot. Anything for you. Jacque tells me that you’ve written some lovely articles about this place.” Diana pushed back her chair and stood up.
“We’re going to need copies of all the security tapes from the night of the auction, and a list of everybody who was there. Not just guests, but caterers, bartenders, artists, the auctioneer – everyone. I can’t explain why, but it’s important.”
“Well…sure. I mean, we have all the copies already pulled, because of the art heist. Come with me.” Diana led her down the hall, towards the storage room. And to think, she’d been tackled by Heath in this very room, a little over a week ago.
Odd place to keep the security tapes, though, Tonya thought.
When Diana shut the storage room door behind her, she turned away for a minute and fumbled with her purse.
Then she turned back, holding a revolver, and pointed it at Tonya’s head.
Tonya could scent the silver on the bullets. One shot would be deadly.
“What are you doing?” Her voice went high and squeaky.
“In just a minute, I’m going to enter your mind and make you take this gun, go outside and kill Heath, and then you’ll go kill your friend Bridgit, and then, if you escape, you’re going to Italy and you will kill Antonia. And if you don’t, I’ll find someone else to do it for me.” Diana’s eyes were glowing dark with rage.
“Of course. You’re the Chameleon.” Tonya’s voice shook. “You bumped into me on purpose and made me spill the glass and cut my hand. You picked me because you thought Reshef would like me.”
“Aren’t you the genius?” Diana sneered. “But not that smart. You took your necklace off.” Tonya’s hand went to her neck. “You thought that because you were off the ship, the threat was gone? That was your last mistake.”
“How did you even get hired here?” Tonya shook her head in confusion. “And why?”
“Fake references, moron. And I needed to be close to the location where the cruise ship departs, and to decide who I was going to use to carry out my assignment.”
“But…why are you even telling me all this?” Tonya protested, taking a step back. “Why stay here? Why make me kill my friends?” Her voice rose to a high squeak.
“Because you ruined everything for me. I have never failed an assignment before. And you exposed my secret. I’m going to take over your mind again, and send you out to destroy everything and everyone you’ve loved. But first I wanted to see the dumb look on your face when I told you that.”
Tonya shot her a puzzled look. “But…aren’t you forgetting something really important?”
“I am the Chameleon. I forget nothing!” Diana, or whoever she really was, announced haughtily. “And now – say goodbye to your life, Tonya.” The Chameleon made a gesture with her hand, then impatiently repeated the gesture. Then she looked shocked. “You’re not wearing the necklace. How are you blocking me?”
Tonya didn’t answer. Instead, she crossed the room faster than the Chameleon could blink, dodging behind a shelf full of crates. Bullets pinged off the crate next to her, and she scrambled behind another crate. At the same time, the doors burst open and Heath and the rest of the Shifters, Inc. crew rushed in.
“Silver bullets!” Tonya screamed. “She has silver!” If that silver hit Heath…she couldn’t stand to think about it.
Several shots cracked out, and she heard Diana shriek with pain and then fall to the floor with a thud.
“Tonya!” Heath yelled.
“I’m fine, I’m here. Is it safe?” she called back, and then he appeared, running towards her.
“Si
lver freaking bullets! I never should have agreed to let you do this!” he growled, grabbing her in a big bear hug.
“It was the only way to flush her out,” Tonya said, hugging him back. “I’m fine. I move fast for a big girl.”
They strolled back out, hand in hand, to see Diana lying on the floor, bleeding from the arm and leg, as the Beast handcuffed her, none too gently. One of the other shifters was tucking a gun back into his holster.
Tonya walked over to Diana and stared down at her. “What you forgot is that you permanently imprinted me with your speed and fighting skills,” Tonya said coolly. “And we already had the security video, and it showed you bumping into me on purpose on the night of the auction, so we knew it was you.”
“How did you resist me? How?” Diana howled at her. “Nobody can resist me!”
Tonya yanked up the hem of her pants, revealing a magic charm on her ankle.
“I had Antonia make me a dozen of these. I’m wearing them all over,” she said.
“I will kill you! I will kill all of you!” Diana was spitting with rage. Even wounded, she lashed out at the shifters with her feet, and one of them barely dodged the stiletto that suddenly protruded from her shoe. That was silver-coated too.
The shifters had to pin her thrashing legs down to get her shoes off, and they bound her ankles for good measure so she couldn’t kick them. She threw her head from side to side, trying to bite them, as they carried her out of the room.
“Thank God. I can’t wait until the spell is removed from me.” Tonya shuddered. She wanted Diana permanently blocked from her mind.
Diana would be executed by order of the Council of Magic in the near future, Tonya knew; using magic to cause harm to others was a death penalty offence.
Then she thought of how quickly she’d moved across the room, and broke out in a grin. “Hey, I’m ninja-fast now! I could work for Shifters, Inc.!”
“No!” Heath barked immediately.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous, and I love you.”
Tonya’s grin got even wider. “Can you say that one more time? I never get tired of hearing it.”
“I love you. I love you. Hey, want to hear it echo? I LOVE YOU! Fated Mates are real, you are my Fated Mate, and I love you!” Heath yelled happily, and it echoed off the walls. Several of the other shifters snickered quietly, but Heath didn’t seem to care.
Tonya happily sank into his arms and breathed in his scent.
“By the way, if you do happen to propose to me, I just want you to know one thing. One deal breaker. One thing we will not do,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“We are never, ever, ever, going on a honeymoon cruise.”
THE END
Shifters, Inc. The Bear Who Loved Me (A BBW paranormal romance) Page 11
