Miss Matched: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Raging Falls Book 2)

by Milly Taiden

  “Hold on.” Greg pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He placed the call on speaker and set it in the middle of the table. “Hey, it’s Greg. I’m here with the girl’s mate. She isn’t answering her phone, and he is worried. You got eyes?”

  Bastien growled at Greg’s words and reached to grab the smaller man by his shirt front.

  “Hold on, big guy. I promise we mean her no harm.”

  The voice on the phone broke the tense silence that had fallen over the table. “She isn’t answering because she is sitting in a restaurant with her friend and they are having a drink. Music is loud. No one has approached them or seemed too interested in either of them. I will say something happened at work though. As I walked by I heard Ms. Toblan’s friend … I believe her name is Toni, didn’t catch a last name… say something about a drink being the perfect thing after that asshole. Both women look unharmed and fine, just pissed off.”

  “Thanks. Let me know if anything changes.” Greg smiled at Bastien as he hung up the phone. “Like you were told, we don’t appreciate anyone claiming to do anything under our name. We are watching your mate and if anyone approaches or tries anything we will stop them. We have a few questions of our own to ask and it’s in our best interest to get them before the FBI or cops do.”

  Bastien thought about what Greg was telling them. He just wasn’t sure if he should trust them completely yet or not. He got they would stop another attempt because it was their reputation on the line, but it still seemed a bit farfetched.

  Greg sighed. “Trust me, we aren’t doing this for you or for her. It’s a side benefit that it helps you. Our only goal is to protect our name and reputation. There is one thing the higher ups don’t like and that’s anyone taking credit for our deeds or for using our name for theirs. It’s a messed up system, but I swear on Maggie’s life I am telling you the truth.”

  “So we just wait for you guys to catch somebody in the act and in the meantime you have me sitting here twiddling my thumbs? No offense but that is total bullshit. I came here for answers, not to sit on my ass all damn day.” Bastien was getting tired of this shit. The food at the diner might be amazing, but it would have been better if Carly had been here. Being with her made everything better.

  “Not at all, like I said. My employer was tracking some information down and then he will be here. In the meantime since we all seemed to have finished our delicious lunch, let’s have some pie and we can shoot the shit until he arrives. I promise it shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  Bastien glanced at his watch. It was already getting later and later. If things kept up at this rate he wouldn’t be able to pick Carly up from work. That was not going to happen. If push came to shove he could send Garrett to pick her up, luckily he still had a few hours before it came to that.

  “Will you tell us what type of information you are waiting on? If you have someone trailing my mate, then I have to wonder where you got this so called info you are checking on.”

  Greg smiled at Bastien’s question. “Being an upstanding citizen, I would imagine you wouldn’t. Let me explain. We have a network of informants on the streets. Not street people per se. They are in the glass office buildings, in the mountains you live in and the houses with their spouses and kids.

  “We have things they need or want, and in exchange they keep their eyes and ears open for us. You name the place we have someone giving us information from there.”

  Greg looked between the two men to make sure they were following before continuing on. “Like in this case. We spread the word that we are looking for someone who is attempting to kidnap your girl. We want any info on why and who they are. People report back to us. Depending on the value of their intel, we decide how much they get rewarded.”

  Bastien nodded absently as he thought about what Greg had just said. It made sense in a way. An army of people listening can find out a lot more than a few people asking questions. It’s a shame they didn’t use their powers for good. “So…” he was interrupted by the waitress taking their orders for dessert and had to wait before he could continue.

  “You were going to say?” Greg prompted.

  Bastien nodded and took a breath, waiting was the hardest part. “What questions are you asking? How do you know what to ask? And how long does it usually take to get answers?”

  “The questions always depend on what we want to know. In this case, we spread the word that someone who isn’t affiliated with us is using our name. We want to know who this person is. Next, we said to keep an ear out for anyone talking about failed kidnapping attempts on a woman.” Greg raised his hand to forestall Garrett’s question.

  “To answer your unspoken question, Garrett, you would be surprised at how stupid people are. Yes, they do talk openly about shit like that. Word spreads fast among their kind. We use it to our advantage. Your last question is much harder to answer I am afraid. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes weeks. We aren’t expecting that in this case.”

  The waitress returned and set three plates of pie down in front of the men. “You guys been sitting here for hours. My shift is done in fifteen minutes. You gonna want anything else or can I cash you out?”

  Greg smiled up at her, “Cash us out, if we want something else we can wait for the next waitress on duty if we are still here.”

  She grunted and walked away without another word. Bastien glanced at his watch again. Three p.m. They had been sitting here with Greg since just before noon and still had learned next to nothing.

  Greg’s phone ringing startled Bastien out of his thoughts. He leaned forward in anticipation. Hope making his body tense.

  “Yeah… Uh huh…. And they are okay? Uh huh…Did you catch him? Okay, keep my informed.” Greg hung up and looked between the two men. “Sorry about that. There was an attempt on your mate and her friend. They got away without a problem. Unfortunately some bystanders interfered which helped the girls get away, but our attempted kidnapper also escaped. We have a basic description now though. We will find him.”

  Before Greg had finished Bastien was climbing from the booth with Garrett quickly following. “Greg, thank you for lunch and the pie. I have to go check on my mate and her friend. I’ll be in touch,” Bastien said as he quickly shook the other man’s hand and left the diner.

  “Call her, make sure they are okay,” Garrett said as he followed Bastien back to his truck.

  Bastien nodded and pulled his phone and dialed. Two rings, then three, four and voicemail picked up. “Carly, call me. I need to know you are okay.”

  “Fuck, she isn’t answering,” Bastien growled as he climbed behind the wheel and slammed his door.

  “Toni called me the other night, but I didn’t save her number. Do you have it?” Bastien asked Garrett as he peeled out of the diner parking lot and raced to his mate.

  “No, she wouldn’t give it to me. That is going to change after this.” Garrett growled.

  “Do me a favor, call Luna. See if she can get ahold of Toni. They worked together with Kira on the wedding. She should have her number.”

  “Okay, I will see if she can meet us at Carly’s place as well. That way she can take me back up the mountain and you don’t have to leave your mate’s side.”

  Bastien nodded his thanks. “Damn women, I told her to stay put unless I was with her, does she listen, of course not. She is going to be the death of me,” Bastien mumbled under his breath as he raced down the crowded streets as fast as traffic would allow him.

  “She may be the death of you, but you wouldn’t trade a minute of being with your mate,” Garrett said softly, his voice full of longing and sadness.

  “That, my brother, is the truth.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  Carly knew Bastien was going to be upset she had gone to lunch with Toni outside the building, but she needed to get away. The whole office had heard her argument with Ralph and the things he had said. Her face flushed remembering some of his comments. She really could kill him for embarrassing her at wor
k like that.

  Toni’s suggestion of a drink was all she could focus on. She needed a few minutes with her friend without anyone around who might judge her. It had been a fantastic lunch with a drink or two thrown in to loosen her anger. Two hours later and they were finally ready to go back to the office and finish up the day. Mentally fortified for anything her co-workers would or could say.

  In deference to Bastien, they hadn’t gone far from the office and only had a few blocks to walk, and with the streets being crowded at that time of day, the girls hadn’t been worried.

  “Carly, there is guy walking up on the right ahead. He keeps turning and looking at us. He is giving me the creeps,” Toni whispered to Carly as she locked arms with her.

  “Let’s slow down so he gets farther away from us. I’ve never seen him before, but he doesn’t look threatening.” Carly hoped at least, she was just trying to keep her confidence up. Truth was, she was getting a creepy vibe from him as well.

  Toni squeezed her arm and pulled Carly closer. “Safety in numbers, right,” she said with a wink.

  Carly laughed. “And this is one of the reasons I know we are going to be best friends. I am so glad you came here to help Kira.”

  “We are kind of like three peas in a pod, aren’t we.” The rest of what Toni was going to say was cut short when someone from behind grabbed the two girls and tried to pull them into an alley they were passing. They both let out a scream of panic, calling for help.

  Two burly arms wrapped around each of them trying to separate them from each other, but they weren’t unlatching their arms. A simple action among friends might be the only thing keeping them safe.

  “Hey, let go of them.” Two men in business suits came rushing over to help the girls. The attackers cursed and turned and ran.

  “Are you ladies okay? Should I call an ambulance?” The man in the dark blue suit asked as he helped Carly and Toni move to a bench to sit.

  “No, we are okay. Thank you for coming to help,” Carly whispered, anger shaking her to the depths of her bones.

  “Did they get away?” Toni asked with a worried frown.

  The man in the black suit squatted in front of them, “Yes, I’m sorry they did. Do either of you need any medical attention?”

  Both women shook their heads. “Please don’t call the police. I have a contact I will call now at the FBI. They have been looking into things for me.” Carly started patting her pockets looking for her phone. “My phone is gone,” she exclaimed worriedly. Her first thoughts were of Bastien. He was going to freak out if he couldn’t reach her.

  “Crap, I forgot mine at my desk in all the excitement earlier,” Toni said in frustration.

  The men in suits looked at each other confused with the whole situation. “Gentleman, thank you for coming to our aide. It’s nice to know people will help out in times of need like that. We are okay.” Carly smiled up at them and stood.

  “Ma’am, no offense, but what type of guys are you used to that don’t come to the aide?” The two women laughed.

  “The wrong type of obviously,” Toni replied cheekily.

  “Can I ask where you two ladies are heading? I would feel better if I knew you got there safely or at least somewhere safe. We don’t know those two guys won’t be back,” Black suit man asked. “Your attackers wore clothing covering their body, and had masks on. We have no idea what they looked like, they could be waiting somewhere else for you.”

  “We are heading back to work; it’s two blocks down from here,” Toni replied uneasily as she glanced around as if she were expecting them to jump out of the doorways and grab them again.

  “Then it’s decided. We will walk you to your office and then be on our way. Call it our good deed of the day,” Dark blue suit announced with a bow and a wink.

  They slowly headed back to the office with their rescuers on either side of them. “This is our stop,” Toni said as she extended her hand to say thank you. “I can’t say thank you enough for what you did back there. You both are my heroes.”

  Carly seconded her words and the gentleman smiled and turned to leave.

  Dark blue suit stopped and nudged his friend before turning back to Toni. “Would you care to have dinner with me sometime?”

  “I don’t even know your name?” Toni blushed and peeked at Carly from the corner of her eye.

  “If I tell you, will that increase my chances of you saying yes?”

  The two women laughed. “How about I give you my number and we can discuss dinner.” Toni recited her number to him, “My name is Toni, and yours?”

  “Johnathan or you can call me your knight in shining armor, if you prefer.” He winked and then turned and left the two women alone.

  “I have to admit this has been the oddest day I have had in a while,” Carly said as she entered their office building.

  Toni smiled and followed her in to their quiet office.

  “Are you okay?” Carly asked Toni as they sat at her desk. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I am getting used to these attempts, but this was your first. How are you holding up?”

  Toni laughed at Carly’s words. “How sad is it that you are getting used to them. I am okay, really. Happy to kick that guy in the balls for even thinking to put his hands on us.”

  The ring of a cell phone startled them out of their thoughts. “Hold on, that’s my cell.” Toni picked it up and glanced at Carly. “It’s Luna.”

  “Hey, Luna, how are you?” Toni looked at Carly with shock and then started chuckling. “Smart men, yes we are okay. We are back at the office.” Toni winked at Carly. “Great we will see you at Carly’s house in a few.”

  “What was that all about?” Carly asked, the curiosity was driving her crazy.

  “Well, it would seem your mate couldn’t reach you after he heard about the foiled attempt. Garrett doesn’t have my number and apparently he told Luna we would be having words over that. Anyway they are on their way here and we are to stay put until then.”

  Carly frowned. “How did they hear about it and why are you and Luna coming to my house?”

  “Garrett doesn’t have a ride back to the mountain so she’s coming down to pick him up. She wants to see for herself you are okay, as well, so your place made sense. As to my being there, well that is because Garrett refuses to ride in the truck with the two of you. He told Luna it would be awkward. Luna suggested I give him a ride to your house.” Toni smiled in delight. “It would seem you are having a house party tonight.”

  Carly rolled her eyes and looked at the time. “It’s four-thirty. Let’s get the hell out of here. I need this day to be over.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  “I second that wholeheartedly, besides they should be here any minute and we don’t want to keep the not so patient shifters waiting now do we.” Toni smirked with an evil glint in her eyes. “Maybe, I want to keep him waiting, but not your mate.”

  The women separated and closed down their computers and gathered their things. They had to wait a few minutes to catch the elevator, it seemed the whole office decided to leave a few minutes early on this hellish Monday.

  When they reached the front doors of their office building, they were stuck behind a group of women oohing and ahhing over something they couldn’t see.

  “What is going on?” Carly asked aggravated over another inconvenience.

  One of the ladies standing in front of them turned with a blush and a spark of lust deep in her eyes. “Did you see him? Three woman have made passes already and he shut them all down. He is gorgeous and I can promise he will be in my dreams tonight.”

  Toni growled. She knew exactly who they were talking about. “The guys are out there, we need to go.”

  She grabbed Carly’s hand and pushed their way through the gawking women.

  They were barley outside the doors when two strong arms wrapped around each of them squeezing.

  “Sweetheart, I am going to have to put a tracker on you,” he whispered by her ear and t
hen kissed her. Bastien leaned away and took in all of Carly’s body. There were no injuries so she wasn’t sure what he was looking at but after a moment he sighed and pulled her into his arms again. “I’m going to drive myself crazy trying to figure out if you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. Some guys came to our rescue. Don’t worry.” Carly turned to see where Toni was only to be shocked.

  “I said let go of me,” Toni growled as she swatted at Garrett as he tried to check her for injuries as well.

  “Woman, I am just trying to make sure you weren’t hurt, stop hitting me. Okay, I let go. You can stop now. See what I get for being worried about your stubborn ass,” Garrett grumbled as he stepped back and smiled sheepishly at Carly.

  “You okay? You gave the big guy quite a scare there.”

  “I’m fine. I really didn’t mean to do that. It was a bad day. Ralph made a scene here and I just needed to get away.” Carly started to explain but when she glanced at Bastien’s face and saw the anger building she trailed off. “Can we go home, now?”

  Bastien grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him to the truck. Carly glanced over her shoulder to see Toni and Garrett arguing heatedly still. Finally she sighed and handed over her keys.

  They climbed in the truck and Bastien pulled out. The silence was deafening to her ears.

  “Don’t tell me you’re angry.” She grinned at the stubborn set of his jaw. “I’m okay. I know I promised to stay inside, but I had to get away.” For a moment she debated saying anything about Ralph but knew it would be wrong to hide it from Bastien.

  It caught her off guard how much it bothered her to repeat his words. The nasty things he said to her in front of everyone she worked with brought a lump to her throat and made eyes water.

  “He’s dead. You are fucking perfect in every way.” He glanced at her from the driver’s seat and met her gaze. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently. You are my goddess, every delectable curvy inch of you. I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”