by Sammie Joyce
I shot her a sidelong look, hoping to warm her a bit, but Addisyn didn’t smile.
“Maybe some parents don’t deserve being looked after,” she muttered. I knew it was time to change the subject. Odessa Clark was off the table now. Moving on…
“I hope you like movies,” I said brightly. “The new DeNiro movie is playing at Banquet’s.”
Addisyn blinked.
“Banquet’s?” she repeated slowly. “The outdoor theater in Lebanon?”
I nodded, suddenly tense that I’d picked the wrong place. To my relief, a big smile overtook her face and she laughed.
“I haven’t been there in years,” she murmured. “I didn’t even think it was still open. Wow, I remember skipping class and going there with my boyfriend in senior year.”
She paused, blushing slightly like she was worried she’d said too much, but I didn’t mind. I knew she’d had an entire life before me. All that mattered now was the life she was going to have with me.
Did I really just think that? Am I drunk or something?
I tossed the thoughts aside and fixated on her beautiful face, my hands curled around the steering wheel.
“It’s still open in October?” Addisyn asked dubiously.
“Right up until Thanksgiving,” I assured her, pulling away from the curb now that I knew she was on board for the small journey.
“Wow. That’s good to know.”
Through my peripheral vision, I could see her watching me.
Look at the two of us, scoping each other out. I wonder what she’s thinking right now.
I knew all I wanted to do was kiss her but I managed to resist the overwhelming urge and focus on the drive toward Lebanon. It was just under an hour away but the show didn’t start until 8:30 and I had wanted the drive for us to chat.
We were silent for a couple more minutes before Addisyn spoke again.
“Sorry I snapped at you about Odessa.”
I didn’t comment on the fact that she referred to her mother by her given name.
“You didn’t snap,” I replied magnanimously.
“I did but it wasn’t your fault. She… she causes me a lot of stress.”
I grimaced.
“That’s what family is for,” I reassured her. “Pushing our buttons.”
She cast me a long, pensive look.
“Are you close with your family?”
That was a loaded question.
“I am,” I sighed, settling on the easiest answer. “That doesn’t mean it’s always a walk in the summer rain.”
Addisyn was silent, turning to stare out the window for a long moment.
“She’s been on drugs my entire life,” she muttered. “I’ve been taking care of her since before I could walk.”
I felt a shudder of anger course through me but I steeled myself from speaking.
“That can’t have been a happy childhood.”
Addisyn turned back to grin at me mirthlessly.
“The childhood is done now. It’s the adulthood I’m worried about.”
She paused.
“My best friend thinks I do it to myself,” she continued. “That I should send her packing, but she’s still my mom…”
She stopped speaking abruptly, her eyes wide and horrified.
“Jesus. I’m so sorry. I have no idea why I’m unloading all this on you right now!”
I gave her a warm smile.
“I can be a really good listener,” I replied, shrugging.
“You are,” she agreed slowly. “But we don’t even know each other. You don’t need to know all my neuroses on the first date, do you?”
She was joking but I wasn’t when I said, “I want to know everything about you, Addisyn.”
Even in the darkness of the car, I saw her cheeks tinge pink with embarrassment.
“Well, then, it’s only fair that I know about you too,” she rushed on, trying to fill the pregnant silence.
“I’m an open book,” I lied. “Ask me anything.”
“What happened with you and the man at the Late-Mart?”
“Who, Vijay?” I joked. Addisyn groaned.
“I thought you were an open book,” she muttered.
“I am, I am,” I said quickly, not wanting to lose the moment of closeness between us. I paused, trying to think of the best way to explain what she’d seen.
“Elia, the man you saw me with, has a shady history in Eugene. He’s been asked not to show his face in these parts several times and yet…”
“Shady how?”
“He likes to take things that aren’t his. I had good reason to suspect that he was about to rob Vijay’s store.”
“Oh…” I caught her wide-eyed look. Then her eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”
“He… he knows some people that I know,” I answered vaguely, unsure of how else to respond. I didn’t want to lie to her but I knew I couldn’t exactly come right out and tell her.
“You know a lot of criminals?” she asked bluntly. This time my smile was huge and genuine.
“I am a lawyer,” I replied loftily. She squeaked.
“Really?”
“Yes, ma’am. I have a law firm in Eugene. Mostly corporate law but I don’t need to tell you where the real criminals are, do I?”
“I work in finance,” she snickered. “You really don’t need to tell me.”
It was my turn to be surprised and I eyed her appreciatively. There was nothing vapid about Addisyn Clark, nothing that would send me running for the hills. I had never been so grateful. I knew I was smitten with her already. Wherever this woman had come from, whatever her human connection, I wanted her.
And I knew she wanted me too.
* * *
We steered away from serious conversations for the rest of the drive, our discussions growing lighter and more playful as we neared the theater. By the time we got to Banquet’s, Addisyn was all smiles, linking her arm through mine as we made our way to the sitting area after I purchased the tickets.
Banquet’s was flanked on three sides by forest, a huge screen covering half the flora horizon. No matter where one sat, the picture was clear and the sound pristine.
Some couples had opted for picnic blankets, sprawling out under the stars to snuggle. I had brought two chairs and a bottle of pinot, hoping once more that I had guessed right about her preferences.
“Oh, I love white. Red gives me migraines,” Addisyn said happily as I opened the bottle before the previews began. The moon was full this night but there was a slight haze around it as clouds tried to interrupt its beauty, but it didn’t steal anything away from the magic of the night for me. With Addisyn there, it could have been snowing, raining, and a tornado and I probably wouldn’t have noticed. I was just too transfixed on her to pay anything else any mind.
I handed her a wine glass and she settled into one of the comfy camping chairs I’d spent a small fortune on earlier that day. Battery-charged, they had built-in seat warmers but I was feeling plenty warm without them.
A voice boomed out over the loudspeaker, indicating the start of the show.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the show is starting. Please respect your fellow moviegoers by keeping the noise to a minimum and put your cell phones to silent. Thank you and enjoy the show.”
We turned our heads expectantly toward the screen and instantly, it came alive with an action preview. I felt something brush against my hand and when I looked down, I realized it was Addisyn’s fingers. She cast me a long look and I grinned at her, raising my glass.
“Cheers,” I whispered.
“Cheers,” she countered and tapped her glass to mine. We sipped and settled back, her fingers still grazing mine from where our arms dangled along the side of the chairs.
Slowly, I reached out to fully take her hand, my eyes pretending to focus on the movie. I suddenly felt like a kid on a first date, doing the fake yawn move.
She really does make me feel nervous, I realized, shaking my head at the irony of
it. Me, a wolf who could murder with the gnash of his teeth, was nervous by a stunningly beautiful woman.
Addisyn’s hands closed around mine and our fingers laced. My shoulders sagged and I permitted myself to feel relaxed for the first time in days. I was right where I wanted to be, where I’d wanted to be for days. One way or another, I was going to need to find a way to make it work with Addisyn.
Never mind that now. Just enjoy tonight.
A scream shattered the tranquility I’d only barely felt and instinctively, I was on my feet, my head whipping around in alarm.
“OH MY GOD!” a man howled and then there was chaos.
“What’s happening?” Addisyn cried, her eyes wide and confused. I had no answer but I pulled her back behind me as the moviegoers began to swarm past us.
“RUN!”
“NOOOOO!”
Then I heard it, the sound that turned my blood to ice water. The growl was unmistakable. I raised my head back and stared forward where my gaze rested on an elephantine black bear, slashing mercilessly at two limp bodies. His fur was stained in blood, the splatter covering the brown of his snout. He let out another roar and turned to reach for another body, his teeth sinking into the unsuspecting skin of a young man.
“STOP!” I screamed, running forward, but before I could shift, Addisyn’s voice froze me in my spot.
“INIGO, NO!”
I whipped my head around, realizing what I’d almost done, right there in front of everyone. My instincts had kicked in, my need to protect Addisyn and the others intrinsic. But of course I couldn’t shift, even if it meant saving the others. Addisyn’s face was opaque with fear and I knew I had to get her out of there before the bear did any more damage.
Before Cronin killed another human.
9
Addisyn
I’d lived in Eugene my entire life, not including my time at college, which had been in Seattle. But never had I ever seen a bear run through a crowd of people and attack. From what I knew about bears, they kept to themselves unless provoked. The wildlife in that area should have been well accustomed to the theater. It had been there for over thirty years and there had never been an incident that I’d ever heard of.
The animals are hungry. Their habitats are being destroyed, I thought, trying to make sense of what had happened. Even with all that in mind, I couldn’t shake the idea that this bear had not come from the woods out of necessity. It had seemed furious, vengeful.
Okay, maybe I was in shock even as I screamed at Inigo, who seemed to be running toward the danger as everyone else fled the scene. I barely remember being scooped into his strong arms and raced toward the parking lot where he’d parked his Jeep. The cars were packed in, horns honking wildly as the moviegoers tried to escape the incensed creature who Inigo seemed to be watching in the rear view mirror.
“Go!” I whimpered, seeing an opening for us to escape, but he didn’t move, his gaze still fixed on the glass. “Inigo, move!”
He heard me that time and stepped on the gas, finally managing to get us out of the parking lot, but not without a final look over his shoulder.
“We need to call 9-1-1,” I mumbled. “Someone needs to send an ambulance… and the SPCA… oh God, can they take down a bear?”
Inigo turned his head to look at me for a long moment, his face almost blank.
“The SPCA,” he mumbled. “Oh gods…”
“He must have been rabid… or someone threatened his babies…” I was rambling now but I couldn’t stop.
“Bears almost never get rabies,” Inigo intoned, his eyes glued to the windshield. I had no idea how he could see in the pitch blackness beyond, his headlights not on.
“Your headlights,” I muttered, finding a modicum of sanity.
“What?”
“Your headlights aren’t on. How can you see?”
He didn’t respond but he turned on the lights.
“Inigo…?”
Suddenly, my own shock was wearing off and my concern for him was becoming stronger.
“Hm?”
“Are you okay?” I murmured. He gave me a quick look and then a grimace that I thought was supposed to be a reassuring smile.
“I’m better now that I got you out of there.”
I shuddered and closed my eyes, my head falling back against the leather of the headrest. But as I did, all I could see was the bear’s claws slashing viciously, his restless growl permeating my skull. I opened my eyes again.
“Why don’t you pull over for a few minutes and catch your breath?” I suggested softly. “We’re long gone now.”
I reached out to squeeze his leg and he shook his head.
“No,” he sighed. “I just want to get you home safe.”
The words sent a chill through me. I didn’t want to go home and deal with Odessa, not yet. She would know something was up if I came back that quickly and I was sure I couldn’t spend half a second talking to her.
“No!” I said before I even realized I’d spoken. He gave me a confused look.
“No what?”
“No… I-I can’t go home right now, Inigo. Uh…” I paused, my mind racing furiously. It was clear that Inigo needed to collect his thoughts and I certainly wasn’t in the mood to pick up this date in any public forum.
“Why don’t you drop me off at my office?” I said. He eyed me dubiously.
“You’re going to work?”
“I–there’s a sofa in my office. I can crash at the…” I trailed off, realizing I couldn’t do that. I knew how to leave the bank after hours but I’d never tried getting back in. Now that I thought about it, it was probably impossible for security reasons.
Van. I’ll crash at Van’s house.
It wasn’t the best solution either because Van would have more questions than my mother but it was still better than dealing with Odessa.
“Or you can come home with me,” Inigo said, bringing me out of my head and into the car. I blinked, the offer making me feel calm suddenly.
“I live alone,” he went on. “You won’t have to talk to anyone and I have a spare bedroom… and more wine. I think we’re both going to need it.”
I bit on my lower lip.
“A-are you sure?” I asked quietly. “You don’t mind?”
Inigo laughed.
“No, I don’t mind,” he replied. “In fact, I think I could really use the company tonight.”
The only company I wanted that night was his.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Inigo chuckled. “The house is a mess.”
* * *
Contrary to what he had said, his house wasn’t a mess. It was a post-modern chic, almost sterile-looking and in desperate need of a woman’s touch, but it wasn’t dirty in the least.
“Let me get you a gallon of wine,” he suggested when we entered the condo. He nodded toward the sunken living room. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“I-I’ll just need to let Odessa know not to expect me tonight,” I said, trying to word it as innocuously as possible.
“You do whatever you need to do,” Inigo agreed, not commenting on my word choices. With a sigh, I picked up the phone and dialed the house’s landline.
“How’s the date, baby?” Odessa asked.
“It’s good, Mom, fine,” I managed to say. “How is everything there?”
“Oh… uh, everything’s good, baby. Real good.”
There was something I didn’t like about her tone but given the state of mind I was in, I decided not to push it.
“Look, Mom… I don’t think I’ll be home tonight.”
I inhaled, waiting for the histrionics to start, but to my utter disbelief, Odessa began to laugh.
“That’s my girl!” she cooed. “Good for you, honey! But you could have brought him here.”
My cheeks flushed crimson.
“I’ll check in on you in the morning but I’ll be home before noon.”
“You take your time, sweetie. Actu
ally, tell him to take his time. Nothing worse than a—”
“Okay, Mom. Have a good night and make sure you eat something.”
I disconnected the call before Odessa could speak again and Inigo entered as if he’d been waiting for me to finish the call before coming in. He handed me a glass of white, filled almost to the brim.
“There’s a lot more where that came from,” he said and I half smiled.
“Shouldn’t we be calling the police or something?” I asked, my mind wandering back to the victims of the attack.
“I’m sure the Banquet employees were on the phone the second they saw it happening.”
I wished I had his calm, stoic exterior. I felt like I was going to freak out any second.
As if he were reading my mind, he ambled toward me, setting his own glass down on a coaster before taking a seat at my side. His hands automatically reached for my shoulders where he began a slow, deep massage. I moaned lightly, savoring the feel of his fingers on my tense muscles.
“You have a lot of knots,” he mused. “You should probably go for massages more frequently.”
The feel of his hands on my neck was doing more than just undoing the tension in my muscles—it was creating a whole new strain in other parts of my body. Subtly, I let myself fall back against him, the memory of my dream fresh in my mind. I could clearly see myself grinding against him, feeling the lines of his body against mine.
Except this was no dream. Those lines were very real and getting realer by the second. I could feel the heat of his breath against my ear and I knew he’d moved in.
The combination of stress and desire began to override any of my doubts or common sense. Slowly, I turned my head to meet his vivid eyes evenly, our mouths inches apart. He didn’t look surprised by my emboldened action, almost as if he’d been expecting it.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he told me, as if I’d needed an introduction to the very thing I’d been literally dreaming about. The worry that had been etched in his face all the way home seemed to have lifted now that he was leaning into me, his soft lips brushing tentatively against mine, like he thought I might pull away.
