“It’s ok. I saw how it looked. You couldn’t have known. I tried to explain to Derek’s family, but they wouldn’t hear me out any more than you did. I’ve been trying to tell you this since then. I had to make sure you knew I was not a murderer.”
I couldn’t help myself. I threw my arms around him and pulled him close. My lips instantly found his. He kissed me back hard. Oh, it was so perfect to have his warm embrace again.
I could not hold back the tears of joy. I had tried to deny it and avoid even thinking about it but I was so hurt by this. I didn’t even realize how in love with Tony I was until I thought he was a monster and that the man I had fallen in love with was a total lie.
Ten minutes later we were upstairs. Devon was asleep. I paid his babysitter Julia, and the second she left Tony and I were in the bedroom.
I didn't even want to take time with foreplay. I could not hold back my aggression. Much to Tony's pleasant surprise I basically attacked him with a fiery passion. I ripped his clothes off as fast as I could and as he tried to playfully resist I tapped into the bear strength and pinned his hands down with one hand.
An instant later he was deep inside of me. I loved being on top. I had so much control, so much freedom, the pleasure was intense, and I loved to see the pleasure in Tony’s eyes as I rode him to completion.
It was probably the quickest, dirtiest, and most animalistic sex I’d ever had. But I figured we had plenty of time to take things slow.
“Oh, My God!”
Tony’s voice from beside me jarred me awake. I could hear a mix of terror, confusion, and total disbelief as he sputtered those words.
I jerked up out of bed throwing off the cover of a deep sleep that I was really into to see what was going on. The bright sunshine bursting through the windows was blinding and I asked myself for the millionth time why I did not replace those curtains with darker ones.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Tony was looking at his phone. I glanced down and saw his Facebook page pulled up to a Facebook Live feed.
"If you are just joining us Beth White is being sought after in connection with that brutal murder at the Mountainside Ski Lodge in Mountainside, West Virginia. Earlier this week the body of twenty-one-year-old Theresa Woods was found viciously mauled to death in the woods near the resort. Authorities initially ruled it an animal attack, but after a thorough investigation found traces of human DNA and other physical evidence that suggested otherwise. The DNA results came back to identify Beth Marie White as the main suspect in connection with this vicious crime."
“I don’t believe it,” I said.
“I don’t either. How could she do this?”
“I have to talk to Derek,” I said.
A half hour later I was sitting with Derek at his apartment. I was surprised he even decided to speak with me.
“Why did she do this? I just don’t understand,” I said.
“Because of Tony. She called me when she was on the run from the cops this morning. She told me that she loved me and that she was sorry if she ever did anything to hurt me or the family. She wanted me to tell mom, dad, and Keith that. I asked her why. She said she did it because she somehow found out about you and Tony. She thought that if she could make you think he was a killer then you would dump him. If she couldn’t have him then she wasn’t going to let you have him either. I can’t believe it. She has lost her mind completely. She needs help.”
“Well, do you have any idea where she is? If you know, Derek you have to contact the cops.” I said.
“No. She wouldn’t tell me. I think she is going to do something crazy. I think she might kill herself.”
“What? She wouldn’t. No matter how bad things seem—“
“You don’t know her like I do. She has lost her mind completely. I think she is going to get some silver bullets and do herself in. it’s the only way. I’m not sure where she is or where she is going. I just don’t know.”
Derek was really getting emotional now. I knew that he loved his sister, even though they were not close at all. I could tell that he still cared for her and would never be the same if something happened to her.
I just hoped the police found her in time.
“How’s he holding up?” Tony asked when I arrived at the park about two blocks away from Derek’s. Tony was sitting on the bench watching Devon who was in his stroller. I asked him to wait there with Devon because I did not think Derek could handle that Tony and I were together right now.
“He will be ok,” I said.
“It will take time. All things do, but they always work out eventually,” Tony said.
I smiled as he stood up and began pushing Devon’s stroller. As we walked together I looked down at my child.
I’ve never seen a happier smile on his face.
Chapter Eleven
When I opened the door to my apartment I knew something was wrong. The entire place was completely dark; there were no lights turned on anywhere despite the fact that it was after six at night
I had just gotten home from a long meeting with the Dean to discuss how the semester was going to shape up, if I had a syllabus in place I was putting together yet, how the course had previously been set up, my office hours, my class schedule, and the publication requirements that I would be expected to complete each year.
As a law professor, I would be expected to publish essays and legal papers periodically as a requirement of the job. I was not sure what the hell I was supposed to write about, but I supposed I was going to have to go into research mode at some point and make it happen.
Despite the fact that a meeting I expected to last two hours, ended up lasting four because I had to meet with the Dean of the department and the Dean of the university, I was in a surprisingly good mood. In just three weeks I would start my first semester as a teacher.
I had to admit it was going to be weird sitting on the other side of the classroom for once, but in a sense, it was no different than teaching the jury what they were looking for, what the evidence really meant, and how they should think about things to reach their final conclusion in court.
I was excited and nervous all at the same time. It felt very much like there was some crazy tug of war happening inside of my body right then. But I was optimistic, for the first time in a while, optimistic about the future.
I had called Julia and let her know I was going to be late and she said that was fine. She had sat with baby Devon for a long time and there was not a person on the earth I trusted him more than her.
I imagined that he had taken a nap and she had too. The past few weeks had been brutal on her studying nonstop for exams. Soon I was going to be the mean professor who made lives miserable for so many young students. It was going to be great.
I sat my purse down on the chair and went to the fridge to grab a soda. I was dying of thirst, and even though I had been slacking on my water intake, sometimes a girl was just in the mood for sugar. This was one of those times.
I sat my coat down on the kitchen chair and quietly walked into the living room and turned on the lamp. I figured that Julia had fallen asleep on the couch (it wouldn’t have been the first time). But she was not there.
That was odd. The apartment wasn't that big. I hadn't begun receiving any of my checks from teaching yet and even though Tony had offered to let me and Devon move into his place, I was content to make it on my own two feet. As great as things were and the fact that I was falling more and more madly in love with him every single day, living together was a big step. Not just for me, but for Devon. I don't think a bachelor has any idea what he is getting himself in for when he signs up to live with a one-year-old.
As I walked through the apartment with no sign of Julia and no sounds coming from Devon’s room, I started to get scared. There was an eerie feeling that came over me right then. I don’t know how I knew, but I did. There was something horribly wrong.
I found myself jogging those last few feet to Devon’s bedroom door.
I flung the door open and flipped on the light. Devon’s crib was empty. He was not there.
Julia. She was lying on the floor, face down, a bit of blood trickling out from her head.
I couldn’t breathe. Every mother’s worse nightmare, the one that every single mother on the planet pictures happening at least once a day to her kids, the thing that wakes you up screaming in the middle of the night more often than you would ever admit to anybody- was happening to me right now.
My baby was gone.
“Devon!” I screamed.
I clutched the sides of my head as I made my way to his crib. Out of some last minute desperate strand of hope, I thought he might be there, hiding under the blanket somehow.
A groan came from the floor. Julia!
I knelt down beside Julia and helped her turn over. She was conscious but obviously very dazed.
“Julia! Where is Devon! What happened? Are you ok?”
I knew that she could not focus on hardly anything right then but I could not stop myself from asking her every single question in the world right away.
“A lady…” she moaned. Her eyes closed as she tried to doze off again. I knew she at least had a concussion. There was a huge gash on her forehead.
I lightly smacked her face to keep her with me.
“Julia, you have to think. What happened?”
“A lady hit me… she came out of nowhere… I heard her taking him.”
Julia began to doze off again.
I reached for my phone and dialed 911.
I received an answer on the second ring. “Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?” The voice was calm, almost serene. Very eerie.
"My baby has been kidnapped! Please come quick! Oh, my God! Please! My babysitter has been attacked! Someone took my baby! We need an ambulance to 175 Mercer Lane. Apart 5 B. Please come quickly!"
I was speaking so fast I had no idea if the operator could hear me or not. I was losing it. I had to regain my composure. Freaking out was not going to help anything. I took several deep breaths as the operator repeated the information back to me.
“Ok, ma’am an ambulance and police officer are on their way.”
“Ok,” I said hanging up.
I didn’t know what to do. I needed to find Devon. Who would have taken my son?
I stopped suddenly. My mind was racing a mile a minute. I had to get myself under control or I would never find him. A cop was on the way, but they were too slow. Even if they got here they would probably give me some stupid story about how they would let me know if they found out any information, meanwhile, I would do nothing but wait. I couldn't let that happen. If Devon was found, it was going to be up to me. I would tear the city apart—
Beth.
The word popped into my brain. I had no idea why at first, but as I dwelled on it I became aware of a scent. Devon’s room did not smell normal. It did not smell just like him, or like Julia, or even like me. It was different. There was a difference to it.
It was Beth. I had been around her enough to know her sent. In my heightened bear state, I knew that she had been here. My senses were on full alert with the adrenaline coursing through my body and I was surprised that I was not shifting right then.
It had been three days since Beth went on the run from the cops. There had been rumors and reports of sightings, but no one had heard from her and no one had a clue what she was doing or when she was going to be found. It had to be difficult to catch a bear shifter who didn’t want to be found.
Unless you were also a bear shifter.
The ambulance arrived and took Julia to the hospital. Shortly thereafter I was met by a police officer who came to take my statement. I told him everything I could remember and of course, he told me that they would let me know as soon as they found something. I knew that to mean that this case was unlikely to be solved. There was a reason why this city had such a high missing child problem.
The second the cop left I ran out the door and got in my car. I was going to track Beth down and get my son back.
But I was not going to do it alone.
Chapter Twelve
“I know where she is going,” Derek said.
“How?” I asked excitedly.
The second I left my house I called Tony and Derek both and told them everything I knew. Within twenty minutes we were piled inside of Tony’s Cadillac Escalade driving out of the city towards a small town called Middlefield, which was about two hours’ drive from there.
“Trust me. When we were kids we used to visit my grandparents who lived there and we’d stay there with them for like two weeks in the summer time. They had a huge farm with a big pond, horses, and chickens. It was great. That house has been in my family for six generations. It is a single-story ranch house located completely isolated. It’s at the end of a long driveway, completely hidden from view. Beth always loved it there. She would have lived there if it wasn’t for work and the fact that she has always wanted to be a city girl.”
“Why would she go there?” Tony asked.
"Because that has always been her favorite place. She ran away there a few times when she was in high school after my grandparents passed away."
“Were they both shifters?” I asked. “How did they die?”
“They were not shifters. They were on my dad’s side and it skipped my dad’s father. But my grandma knew about the curse and she didn’t care.”
“I will get us there as fast as possible,” Tony said. “I just hope she doesn’t hurt the baby.”
“I don’t think she wants to hurt the baby; I think she wants to hurt you both.”
“What are you talking about? Why?” Tony asked.
“Like she said when she spoke on the phone. She is deeply in love with you, Tony. She feels that you just didn’t take her seriously and that you are like all the other guys she has known who have just cast her aside.”
“But she agreed we should date other people. She didn’t even seem that upset.”
“Well, that’s Beth for you. She likes to keep things bottled up inside until she explodes. She hardly ever shows anyone her real feelings.” Derek said.
I tried to tune out the conversation. The more they talked about how unstable Beth was the more nervous I became. I just wanted to find my baby safe and sound, to hold him in my arms again. As I thought about it tears rolled down my face. I had never been that scared in my entire life.
Please be ok, baby. Please be ok.
We arrived at the farm about an hour and twenty minutes later, thanks to Tony's crazy driving skills. He must have driven almost one hundred miles an hour the whole time, using his bear senses to feel out if there were cops nearby.
“Ok, what is the plan?” Derek asked.
“You’re right,” Tony said. “We can’t just go in there. We have to catch her off guard, but make sure she is away from the baby or find a way to separate her from him.”
“How many entrances are there to this house?” I asked.
“Three. The front door, the back door, and the basement. It opens up into an old root cellar that has an outside entrance.”
“Ok, I’ll take the cellar. Tony, you take the back door. And Derek you take the front door. She will be less surprised and less alarmed when she sees that it’s you. You will have to talk to her to get her to lower her guard. Then Tony and I will pounce on her.”
“Ok, that is a plan. But we aren’t going to kill her, right? We need to make sure she goes to prison. She can get psychiatric help there,” Derek said.
I swallowed hard. I knew he was right and I didn’t think I could ever kill anyone unless it was in self-defense and I had absolutely no other way out. But she took my child. She took my child and I wanted so badly to rip her lungs out with my bare hands, but I knew that I couldn’t do it.
“Ok,” I said. “We won’t hurt her unless we have to. But I’m getting my baby back one way or another.”
Derek’s eyes met mine. He could see I was serious and I could tell
that he totally agreed with me. He loved his sister, but I knew that he would do what was necessary and what was right in the heat of the moment.
Tony leaned over and kissed me just then, his hand brushing my cheek.
“Good luck,” he smiled. “We will get him back.”
In my heart, I knew he was right.
Ten minutes later I was sitting in my place behind the door that rose up from the root cellar. I tiptoed around to the back of the house, quietly opened up the heavy cellar doors and lowered them slow enough that not even the tiniest creak of a hinge was heard.
Once inside it took me just a second for my eyes to adjust to the dark and when they did I could see everything clearly as if it was all being lit up by some faint neon light that cast everything in some crazy, green glow.
I quietly walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door. I could now hear voices.
It was Derek and Beth. They were talking. And Devon was ok. I could hear his heart beating, and his slight whimpers. He was not crying and he was not hurt; I could tell this just from inhaling his scent and listening to the nature of his cries.
“You have to turn yourself in,” Derek was saying. “There is no other way. I found you here; the cops will too.”
“Did you already call them? The cops? That would be the only way they would ever find me here,” Beth said.
“No, I didn’t call the cops. You are my sister. I wanted to speak to you first,” Derek said.
“Oh, that is sweet. You’ve never wanted to talk to me before. Why start now? Because I killed some nobody?”
“How can you talk like that? That nobody had a name. She had a family. She had a life and you took it. Why? Because you were pissed that your boyfriend dumped you? That is insane.”
“I am not insane!” Beth yelled.
She was getting irate now. What the hell was Derek doing? He was supposed to keep her calm.
“Why did you take the baby? Why? What the hell were you thinking?” Derek asked.
Beth was getting thrown off balance by the change in direction in the conversation. Maybe that was Derek’s plan.
The Bear Shifter's Baby Page 27
