Let Us Prey: BBW Military Paranormal Romance (Wild Operatives, #2)

by Vivienne Savage

  “So you stole a TV to sell for money to buy food?”

  My cheeks flared with heat. “It only made things worse for us and was a dumb thing to do. I can’t take it back and undo it, but I’ll always regret the way he looked at me when we had to go to court. I shamed him and myself trying to take the easy way out.”

  Ian and I talked a while longer while I reviewed the rest of the papers. At the conclusion of our meeting, he wished me a good evening and made his way outside onto the pebbled road. He was gone and out of sight a few minutes later, leaving me to marvel over my change in luck.

  I finally had the chance I needed to earn Sophia back. My prayers had been answered.

  Chapter Three

  ~Leigh~

  My change in luck was too good to be true, leading me to believe I’d make the two-mile walk to Mrs. MacArthur’s house to meet an old lady who loathed me on sight. I was wrong. She drew me into a motherly embrace and kissed my cheek before inviting me inside.

  Two hours later, I finished cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. I reached all the nooks and crannies Ian neglected whenever he visited to help. Afterward, I tried to move on to the master bedroom of the small six room ranch style home, but Mrs. MacArthur dragged me into the living room and made me sit with her.

  We watched soap operas until noon then I made her lunch, which she insisted on sharing.

  “Sweetheart, if you’re going to make lunch for me, you have to make something for yourself. It’s just not right to watch someone else eat.”

  “Mrs. MacArthur, I don’t think your grandson wants me eating your food while I’m here.”

  “Baby, my grandson didn’t hire you to be my maid. He wants you to give me company, and I say I don’t like to eat alone.”

  I made another sandwich for myself and took out fish to thaw for dinner. By the time Ian arrived from a day of work in Houston, doing whatever it was rich and sexy guys like him did, I’d whipped together a delicious meal for the three of us to enjoy.

  After we ate, I scrubbed the dishes and cleaned my mess. I kissed Mrs. MacArthur, who firmly insisted on me calling her Betty, on the cheek and hugged her tight.

  “Will I see you at the same time tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  I left her house with a big smile on my face and a feeling of self-worth I never knew was possible. Before my feet touched the sidewalk, the door opened again to frame Ian’s tall body.

  “If you wait just a sec, I can give you a ride home, Leigh.”

  His black Escalade chirped when he released the door locks by remote. A second later, the lights flashed and the engine powered on with a roar. I stared at him.

  “Mr. Mac— Ian, you don’t have to drive me home. I like the walk.”

  “I’d like to talk to you,” he countered.

  I was positive he intended to fire me for some unknown transgression. My mind jumped to every worst possible conclusion until he stepped from his grandmother’s house precisely a minute later and flashed me a great big grin.

  It wasn’t fair for one man to be so damned good looking. Ian’s high cheekbones made him resemble his late grandfather the most. There were old black and white photos of our town founder in the house. He was a handsome Native American man with flowing black hair past his shoulders and equally pale eyes. It must have been a family trait.

  “So, tell me how you like it.” Ian fastened his seatbelt and waited for me to do the same. I clicked in quickly.

  “Betty and I had an awesome time. I think she sees better than she lets you believe though. You wouldn’t believe how she moves around the kitchen.”

  “Nah, she’s just good at fooling you. You’ll catch on,” he assured me.

  Tucked into his car, I was keenly aware of everything about him. His cologne was subtle, a scent I associated with cool wind snaking between sweet autumn trees. Resisting the temptation to lean over and breathe him in became an exercise in willpower.

  “You said you wanted to talk,” I prompted.

  “When’s your next appearance in court?”

  “I’m supposed to report having a job by next week, then we reconvene next month. The judge only gave me so much time to prove I can make a stable environment for Sophia.” I nervously bit my lower lip and stole another glance at my new boss. “I guess I have the job part done.”

  “Then I’d better give you an advance on your paycheck so you can get a head start on providing the stable environment part.”

  “An advance?”

  He pulled out his wallet and a giant roll of cash bigger than anything I ever saw outside of a bank. I stared at him in amazement as he handed over ten crisp hundred dollar bills.

  “What about the taxes?” I asked lamely. Math wasn’t my preferred subject of study in school, but I was positive 40 hours at 15 dollars wouldn’t add up to a grand.

  Ian chuckled. “Well, we’ll just pretend between you and me that I paid you in exact change. Don’t count on it next time though. I’ll pay by check and you can open a bank account to cash it.”

  “Okay,” I agreed while focusing on my lap. It was a better alternative to staring at my boss and melting over the way his grin crinkled his pale eyes at the corners. Or how he had just the perfect amount of scruff on his tanned face.

  “I have big expectations out of you, Leigh. I trust you won’t relapse, but if you ever need to talk, I want you to call me, all right?” He passed me a business card with a U.S. Air Force eagle emblem above a blue banner announcing him as a veteran.

  Colonel Ian MacArthur, Retired

  MacArthur Security, Co.

  (936) 555-5555

  “There’s my cell phone number. You’re welcome to contact me at any time and any hour. I’ll always answer if I can.”

  “Why are you being so good to me?”

  Ian pulled out from the drive without answering right away. The houses passed by outside and the sky dimmed.

  “My ancestors believed in strengthening the community and the people who lived in it. I look at you and I see a woman striving to make positive changes in her life. That’s something I respect, Leigh.”

  The differences between the north and south sides of Quickdraw were vast; our main toad bisected the town into two distinct areas. Betty MacArthur lived on the south side and only a brisk walk from the town police department, which shared a building with the fire department and city hall. On my side, there weren’t as many pretty gardens and the homes were smaller.

  “Do you want a ride in the morning?” The streetlamp outside my house flickered as he pulled up. Further down the road, a group of teens collected near another street corner with their hands in their pockets. They watched us like hawks.

  “No, I like the walk. Really,” I assured him. “It wakes me up and helps get me going.”

  “All right. It’ll make me feel better if you wait for me in the evening though. The news is probably spreading through town right this moment, but there was a shooting only a couple blocks over sometime last night. Heard about it on my way out to work this morning.”

  “A shooting in my neighborhood?” The chilling news didn’t surprise me.

  “Yep. Looked like a drug deal gone bad or something. No one died, but the cops took both of them into custody.”

  “Thanks, Ian. Anyway, Betty is amazing, and I’m glad you trust me with her care. I loved hearing her stories.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow on my way in from work. Take care.” He paused, the moment stretching for eternity between us. “I’m proud of you, Leigh. You’re doing great.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered. “Bye, Ian.” Stunned, I stepped from the car and barely shut the door with shaky fingers. Proud of me? He barely knew me.

  He lingered until I was safely inside and the door was shut. After locking up, I ran my fingers over the green bills in my hand and wept myself to exhaustion. My life was finally turning around, and I had my own personal guardian angel to thank for it.

  ~Ian~
<
br />   Leigh haunted my memories long after I returned home, a persistent force invading my thoughts until I stripped out of my clothes and walked onto the rear patio. I hit the pause button on the security camera first — I didn’t need a digital record of what I planned to do.

  I let the eagle overtake me, inflicting a sharp crack of pain to both of my arms, snapping my bones and reshaping me into a compact, feathered body. Whenever I left the ground behind and took to the air, the world around me gained a new level of clarity.

  Flying past Russ and Dani’s house gave me a glimpse of her with their new horse, Daisy. Russ was building a barn while his girlfriend of two years hosed the mare down after a ride. I envied him when we realized Dani was his fated mate, their binding obscured by the lingering traces of his grief for the one he’d already lost.

  Dani peered up and shielded her eyes against the setting sun. She waved to me and I called back to her in return. I left them behind and soared toward the town.

  Quickdraw wasn’t the same place of my childhood. Sickness had infested its soul. The wind carried me over to the south side where Gram lived. I wish she’d stay with me, but she wanted to have neighbors in walking distance. She wanted to see children playing ball in their yards and walking dogs down the street.

  I wanted Leigh’s baby to become the great-grandchild Gram deserved. As my flight path brought me toward the north side, I scanned the ground below me and took in the sight. Wealth and comfort bled away to barren, sandy yards and unpaved streets. Circling around gave me the chance to scout the area near Leigh’s home and descend to a light post at the street corner.

  Criminal activity bustled at her neighbor’s home. A car pulled up and stalled in front of it, waiting until a little boy ran down with a baggie of weed. The kid, no more than seven or eight, took the money back up to his father.

  A scrawny, malnourished dog trotted down the road with swinging teats close to dragging the dusty road. Leigh’s door opened to frame her in shorts and an oversized tee. She held a small bowl in her hand piled with rice. When she approached the road, the dog paused and met her halfway. The animal snapped up the offering.

  “I wish I had more for you,” she said.

  “Hey, Leigh! Why do you bother feedin’ that ugly thing? Why don’t you let me shoot it and put it out of its misery?” one of the men called from her neighbor’s porch.

  Leigh shook her head. “Actually, I’m thinking of keeping her. She comes this way every couple of days, and I don’t think anyone owns her.”

  “Bitch, you don’t even got a job. How you gonna take care of a dog?”

  “I do now,” she called back. She ran her fingers over the dog’s floppy ears and straightened from her crouch. Her eyes raised to me then became large as saucers. “Holy shit, it’s a bald eagle!”

  “I’ll be damned. It is,” one of the neighbors said.

  I came down closer to her and glided to the low chain-link fence around her house. Leigh gasped and didn’t move while I preened my flight feathers. A handful of yards distanced us, but my eagle craved contact. I wanted to feel her fingers over my wings and to touch my beak against her soft cheek.

  “I wish I had a camera... it’s beautiful,” Leigh murmured.

  “Better get your mutt inside before the bird takes a bite out of it,” one of the guys called.

  “Eagles don’t eat dogs,” Leigh argued.

  “Bet if the fucker was a rat dog, it would’ve taken off with it by now.” The guys howled with laughter while Leigh backed away with the canine.

  The reservation in her eyes told me she didn’t want to go inside. She wanted to watch me as much as I wanted to watch her.

  “I’m telling you. There ain’t no reason a big bird like that’s sitting around except to find its next meal, Leigh.”

  Gray eyes watched me the entire time she led the hungry dog up her porch steps. After the mongrel was safely indoors, Leigh returned with a disposable camera.

  “I can’t believe he’s still here. Two shots left...”

  The neighbors moved on to another conversation. A woman brought them fresh beer and another drug-seeking customer arrived. Leigh glanced at them with morose eyes and sighed.

  Desperate to take her sadness away, I glided to the dusty walking stone in front of her porch. She shrieked and stumbled back against the door, banging her hip in the process.

  “Leigh, you okay?” the concerned neighbor woman called.

  “Shit. I thought the thing was attacking her,” one of the guys commented.

  “Maybe I should shoot it,” one of the guys threatened.

  “No!” Leigh screamed at them. “It’s not doing anything.”

  A couple men chuckled. “You ain’t no Disney princess, lil mama. Let us chase it off before it hurts you.”

  “Fuck you,” she seethed at him, revealing a stubborn streak. The young woman approached despite their warnings. With my beak closed and tilted down, I watched her hesitate until I closed the gap and touched my feathered head against her bare knee.

  “Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” she whispered under her breath.

  “Maybe it’s sick,” one of them speculated. When I didn’t fly into a vicious rage or attack, they lost interest in watching. Our moment became truly ours, and then her fingers were against the nape of my feathered neck.

  “You’re so big,” she breathed out loud. My mind traveled to other places, wondering if she’d say the same thing in bed once I was above her and our naked limbs were twined. The dangerous line of thought tempted my beast, so I pulled away before I lost all control. Leigh startled back as I snapped out my wings. A powerful flap lifted me into the air, where I circled twice before riding an air current away from her home.

  My survey of north Quickdraw yielded similar results of criminal behavior and sketchy individuals. Why weren’t the police doing anything?

  I returned to my house before absolute darkness fell and showered once I was inside. The memory of her touch didn’t fade.

  Leigh. She was mine, and soon, I’d be hers too.

  Chapter Four

  One Month Later

  ~Leigh~

  Betty and I passed out candy alone for Halloween until Ian arrived in a Captain America costume. Petunia lay on the porch beside us, large and near the end of her pregnancy. We’d have puppies soon.

  I eyeballed Ian from top to bottom as he kissed his grandmother’s cheek. The fitted costume suited his physique, sexy as all get out and too authentic to be cheap.

  “I think I’ll be going inside now,” Betty said. “This cold is too much for my arthritis, you know.”

  “It’s barely a breeze,” I protested.

  She ignored me and continued inside. “I’ll see you Tuesday, Leigh. Good luck. Goodnight, Ian.”

  Without thinking anything else of it, I turned back to Ian. His costume deserved my attention. “I wish I knew you were going to dress up. I would have done the same,” I teased, nudging his ribs with my elbow. “Why are you dressed up?”

  “I visit Texas Children’s Hospital each year on Halloween,” he explained. “It’s sort of a tradition between me and some of the other guys in my squad. We go on down to Houston and tell stories to the kids.”

  “How long have you been doing this sort of thing?”

  “This is the fourth year for me,” he admitted. Petunia lumbered over and set her face on his knee until he scratched behind her ears. My dog loved him.

  “Isn’t Cap another branch and rank?” I asked innocently. I unwrapped a Hershey’s kiss and held it in my mouth until it melted.

  “Well, yeah, technically...”

  Ian had a fresh shave for his Halloween role, and if he wore his hair long, he would have been a dead ringer for his grandfather. My gentle ribbing brought out a blush, its warm hue complementary to the exotic complexion he’d inherited from his grandmother and grandfather. I had discovered Betty was biracial, too; the daughter of a white man and black woman, but so fair-skinned it wasn’t easily apparent
. I eagerly listened to her stories of love existing during a time when society was against them.

  “The part in the movie was definitely miscast,” I said. After unwrapping a second chocolate and offering it to him from my fingers, I held my breath when he took it without hesitation, his lips closing around my fingertips. Ian and I had a kind of easygoing flirtation between us.

  “You think so, huh?”

  “I know so.”

  We hung out together for an hour longer as roving bands of children came for treats. My biggest regret was that I couldn’t take Sophia to the yearly Trick or Treat social at the church in an adorable costume.

  Ian jingled the keys to his SUV. “Guess you’re off the clock now officially. Thanks for hanging around past your usual hours.”

  “Are you kidding? We had a blast. I love decorating for the holidays. Any holiday, really.” We piled into the car and buckled our seatbelts. When we reached my neighborhood, we passed the usual gang of teenagers standing beneath a dimmed street lamp. We both knew what they were doing, but the local police didn’t care about the small fry dealers.

  “How do you feel about Monday?” Ian asked to break the silence.

  “I always have trouble sleeping the night before a visit with her. Every other weekend isn’t enough. I want to see her every day and let her know I haven’t forgotten her and haven’t abandoned her.”

  “It’s because you love her, Leigh.”

  “Sometimes I worry I need her more than she needs me.” Until her big gray eyes gazed up at me with something resembling recognition during my last visit. “I miss her so bad, Ian. I just wish they’d let me bring her home for a few hours. Even a night. Why do they think I’d go through all of these hoops just to hurt her? I mean, on Monday the judge is just going to review my case and see I fulfilled all his requirements, right?”

  “It takes time to regain trust, sweetheart. But you’re doing the right thing now playing it by their rules. Look at how far it’s gotten you.” He parked in front of my house.

  I nodded, feeling foolish for the tears stinging my eyes. Only a few more days, and my nightmare would be over. Sniffling, I wiped my face with the back of my hand, then was taken by surprise when Ian pulled me into his arms. I became hyperaware of too many things at once: the earthy, familiar scent of juniper and woodsy pine I associated with him, his strength, how perfect we fit together when I set my cheek against his shoulder, and how much I wished he saw me as more than a charity case to save.