by Lisa Daniels
Other problems existed, though. Yes, being with Emma felt awesome. Standing up for her against that vile family of hers had been a pleasure.
Uncle Gilnes still stood in the way of potential happiness. The threat of his assassins lurked in the shadows. They put extra lines on Jackie’s face, produced more gray hairs on his mother and father’s heads.
“You need to do something against that asshole,” Yara growled, sitting in her usual unladylike way, face like thunder. They spoke on the terrace, hopefully far away from parent ears. “He won’t stop. That attack isn’t going to be the last. His threat to you—clearly he expects you to bow to his demands, since his brother won’t stand up to him...” Arthur picked up the slight against their father, knowing it to be true. His father didn’t want to be involved with maiming his own brother. Too many memories.
“Yeah, but he won’t stop if I give him a piece of land, will he? He’s done it before. He got some land. Two years later, he ended up doing his little games again.”
Yara nodded fiercely at Arthur’s statement. “He’ll just keep doing this. One factory isn’t enough. Two isn’t. He won’t stop until he owns everything.”
Arthur began to pace up and down the room, agitated. “I don’t understand what makes him like this. I really don’t. He used to be kind, once.”
“I don’t think that’s what you should be questioning,” Yara said, her voice flinty. “He’s changed. There’s nothing you can do about that. So what will you do about him now?”
The pacing stopped. Once again, Arthur thought he sensed the bear spirit, lingering nearby. Energizing him with otherworldly electricity. Let his uncle build a factory. Years later, maybe even just mere months later, he’d have to deal with the same issue, the threat and fear of assassins sent their way. Refuse the demands, live with fear anyway. Attempt to kill him. Didn’t make Arthur any better than him, but it was sorely tempting. Or…
“I should duel him,” Arthur whispered. “Ask him on his honor if he will settle this once and for all in an Honor Duel.”
Brief silence. “You know he probably wants that?”
“Probably.”
“And he’ll probably just set up one of his strapping bastard sons?”
“Probably.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Yara sighed. “It’s the best plan so far. Otherwise we just sit around complaining all the time and not doing anything about it.”
“I don’t want anyone to be threatened by him again,” Arthur said, gritting his teeth. “I don’t want him...”
“To hurt Emma?”
She’d said it for him. They’d had so little time together. He wanted more. He didn’t want her to be scared away or killed, or to end up going back to that slimy family of hers…
“Well, better tell our father what I’m planning to do.”
“Good luck,” Yara murmured, as he began to head outside, where his father was helping to do up a new fence around their property.
*****
Gilnes’s voice came sneering out of the home phone. “You? Challenge me? I remember when you were a whelp, boy. Don’t be foolish, now.”
“Honor Duel.” Arthur’s voice became infused with steel. “Or I’ll start resorting to the same tactics as you. We both know you don’t plan to stop. In fact, we both know you want this as well. What better way to eliminate the childless son, after all? And you’d hardly be accused of unfairness, then. You’d have killed me in honor.”
There was a long pause on his uncle’s end, along with some rapid, almost excited breathing. Yes. His uncle most certainly did want this. “Where do we meet?”
“The tennis grounds. Our family will be there to watch.”
Another pause. “You really are serious. How can I refuse such an offer?”
“This evening.” Maybe that’d give him less time to prepare a champion.
“Oh, come, now. Champions must do their preparations. Three days. In the evening, around seven, on Thursday.”
“Fine,” Arthur spat, and slammed the phone down before he needed to listen to any more of his uncle’s words. His heart hammered at an ungainly pace, and his skull pounded with the beginnings of a headache.
He’d done it. He turned away from facing the wall to see his father and sister gazing at him anxiously and told them the arranged date. Three days until a possible death.
“We need to start training you,” his father said. “I have a similar style to him, I’ll spar with you.”
“We don’t know if he’ll even allow his own life risked,” Yara pointed out. “He might have some people he’s been training specifically for this moment.”
Their father grunted in reply. “No sense worrying about that. We have to aim for what we can control.”
What his father said was true. No point in them worrying about things outside their power to change. So many shitty things existed in the world.
And only a few of them at any time were within the realm of possibility to affect.
Like Emma. She was in his influence right now. Coming to town, meeting him, going fishing with him, only to have that horrible, insidious attack against them when it should have been a peaceful family weekend. Rage throbbed through Arthur’s bones. How dare his uncle do that? How dare he attack, when he could just put more effort into negotiation? It wasn’t like Arthur cared that much about the family business, or the pressure to have a child. Arthur couldn’t help but think if his uncle just wanted to sit at the table and discuss their differences more keenly, everything might have been resolved a long time ago.
Instead of this mess they had now. It would also be clear that if Gilnes suspected Arthur’s involvement with Emma, it made her a target. She’d advance from being caught in the crossfire to being a deliberate victim. It’d be wrong for him to stand aside. Wrong for him to keep avoiding responsibility. He let out a sigh.
“You might want to bring that Emma into the household,” his father added then. “She’ll be a prime target to manipulate, in case Gilnes gets any odd ideas. You do like her, right?”
“I...” Like? Want? Love? “You’re right. Let’s get her in.” And he’d be able to peel her away from her family, in case they were still sniffing around, looking for other ways to bully her back home.
“Nice way to avoid the emotion part, brother,” Yara said with a scoff. “I’ll come with you, if you’d like. Never know if the uncle’s plotting anything now.”
The mention of that made Arthur begin to sweat. He imagined Emma, sitting in her little thatched house, oblivious to the trouble that awaited. Maybe reading a book or something, while the shadow of his uncle’s bear seeped into the room, and he edged closer to kill her.
“Let’s go. Right now.”
Chapter Nine – Emma
Emma grinned like an idiot. She couldn’t get the image of Arthur out of her head, nor did she plan to. Every now and then she caught herself in a lusty sigh, and realized she might just be lovesick. Being cared for and respected like that, along with the security felt in Arthur’s presence—how did she ever think Marcus offered that? He offered lies and viper smiles. He beat her down and praised her for kneeling. When he had sex, it was all about him finishing, and never about her enjoyment.
She stared out of her bedroom window, the dreamy smile now fading, the fluttering, happy sensations shrinking into a whisper. Her family were still in town, most likely. They wouldn’t take kindly to the rejection, and probably convinced themselves that if they got Emma alone, without some overbearing new boyfriend, she’d be an easy mark. After all, the only friends she’d made were all associated with the Valor bear clan. She needed more than just a sister and a brother tag team, and an overly obsessive grandmother. There was a hotel near the bus-stop that led out of town. If they stayed anywhere, that would be the place. If they asked enough questions, they’d eventually know where she had chosen to live.
I need to move, she thought with a sinking feeling. Maybe not out of this town, but somewhere where they
can’t use the locals to track me. But then, how much extra time would be added onto her journey for work? Prospects for other jobs didn’t look so hot. Didn’t get many job opportunities in rural areas like this, so far from anything significant.
A woman stepped out of the house next door to Emma, and she focused on her with interest. Long, black hair. Loose, baggy clothes, which looked unfashionable and unkempt. The type bear shifters liked if they planned to shift. Lamarya.
The woman strode effortlessly to Emma’s house and knocked on the door.
Withdrawing into the bedroom, Emma’s heart began to pick up the pace. Why on earth would that woman be knocking? They’d never exchanged a word. Had she seen Emma with Arthur? Was she in league with that uncle of Arthur’s? Emma’s mind whirled with insane thoughts as she desperately processed the situation and attempted to come up with a choice about it.
Shit. This place is really doing a number on me. No reason to assume that anyone who knocked on her door happened to be after her. Emma didn’t want to live her life being constantly suspicious and looking over her shoulder. She’d just creak the door open and cautiously say hi. Or maybe she should phone Arthur.
He was probably busy, Emma reasoned with herself, before brushing her hair back and venturing to the front door. It’d been only a couple of days since Emma had been with Arthur. She likely didn’t smell of him anymore.
More knocks. Emma reached the door and unlocked it with her keychain jangling and gave a tentative smile. “Hello?” she said, waiting to hear Lamarya’s response. What a pretty woman she was, with those coal-dark eyes, that smooth, unwrinkled skin.
“Hey.” Even her voice was rich and throaty, the kind Emma only wished she possessed. “I doubt you know me, but I’m to give you a heads-up. You see...” Lamarya made no move to push past Emma, but a menacing aura seemed to overtake her body, “I’ve been told that if I kidnap and ransom you to the Valor family, I’ll gain a great profit out of it.” She held up her phone, as if indicating the person she’d just been in contact with. Emma’s heart leaped to her throat. She wanted to slam the door in Lamarya’s face, but dimly registered that if Lamarya wanted to capture her, she could have done it the moment the door was open.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Simple,” Lamarya said. “As much as I dislike Valors, I’m not a total bitch. We Maguires have honor, and this is not honor. But I do recommend you seek out Arthur’s protection. You won’t be safe here.”
Emma blinked, still staring at Lamarya’s stony face. “I saw you throw Arthur’s stuff out of the window, and he says you took his car.”
Lamarya’s lips twisted, as if recalling an unpleasant memory. “An act. You could say someone put me up to sleeping with Arthur and passing on his state of mind to them. That same someone suggested that if I was to bump him off, there would be a handsome reward for it. I played the part of a psycho girlfriend to have a legitimate reason for us to break up, since I wanted no part in that. He does have a nice car, though.” She cast her eyes towards Arthur’s former car. “Figured I might as well get something, since I wasn’t going to kill him.”
Lamarya’s confession sounded so weird, so insane, that Emma actually found herself believing it. Even if it meant deconstructing everything Arthur had said about her. “So, what, you were a psycho out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Something like that.” Lamarya didn’t appear too bothered by Emma’s words. “Oh. I’ve seen those people around. Family?” She pointed at three people now stalking rapidly towards Emma, who was outside her house completely.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Emma groaned. “Yes, they’re family. I’m trying to avoid them.”
“Get in the car,” Lamarya offered, seeing Emma’s face drop. “I’ll take you to Arthur’s. You’ve not got anything important in the house?”
“No.” Emma had her passport and wallet on her. The clothes, though… “Nothing important.”
“Come, then.” Lamarya closed the door behind Emma, and her car lights flashed. “Unless you want to stay around for the showdown?”
Going with Lamarya had to be crazy. Emma simply couldn’t trust her. But at the same time… “Sure. Fuck it. Just don’t kill me, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” Lamarya said dryly. “Though, honestly, I look forward to Arthur thinking that I might.”
Emma slid into the passenger seat, her stomach doing crazy flips, as she convinced herself that she was stupid for doing this, that there was no way it wouldn’t come back to bite her in the ass.
“Hey! Hey!” Marcus screamed, as the engine started. “Don’t you fucking run away again! You’ve got a lot to explain to us! Stop!”
“Seems like a nice guy,” Lamarya remarked as the vehicle coughed and headed off, leaving her family behind.
Trying to block Marcus from her mind, since that familiar unease had crept down Emma’s spine, she said, “I really don’t get you, Lamarya. Or the whole Valor and Maguire thing.”
“Clan history,” Lamarya said. “Their uncle Gilnes is a greedy, land-grabbing bastard, and he’s been trying to bribe people left, right and center. Us Maguires are simply not interested in seeing the reservation destroyed. But it is a good idea to seem like I could be an ally to him. Better to relay to my family what he’s planning.” She gave a wide, evil grin. “Arthur’s challenging him to an Honor Duel now. He told me about it. That means he’s got three days to figure out how to get an advantage.”
“Huh.” Emma twisted in her seat to examine Lamarya more thoroughly, and took in her strong, citrus scent. “What in blazes is an Honor Duel?”
“A bear shifter thing. Nice way to end disputes without too much drama. Even if an Honor Duel does end in a death.”
“Wait, what? Death?” Emma’s jaw dropped open. “Hold on. This is like pit fighting or something?”
“I guess,” Lamarya agreed easily, giving a casual smile. “Two bears duking it out, only one can win. It’s been, what, twenty-five years since we last had an Honor Duel? Funnily enough, that was between Gilnes and Ramsen Valor. He’s the third brother. Or, well, was. The uncle that Arthur doesn’t remember.”
The information swamped Emma, and she struggled to surface, to process it all at once. “Yeah,” Lamarya said. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But I figure if you’re going to be joining the big old bear family, gotta get you up to speed. Ah, that reminds me.” She crawled to a stop at a junction, plugged her phone into the car, and went to speed dial.
Brother appeared on the calling screen, and Emma thought that these bear families had an awful lot of relatives. “Hey. Lammie, you’ve finished the call with him?”
“Yeah,” Lamarya said to the gruff voice echoing out of her phone. “He wanted me to kidnap Arthur’s new human lover. I’m delivering her to Arthur’s family now, since she’ll be a liability.”
“Good work. Hopefully this will teach those upstart Valors not to keep sneering at us.”
“Oh, I doubt that. You know how it is. Always have to feel superior,” Lamarya said with a smirk. “But these are our lands as much as theirs.”
“I found another one of his bastards, as well,” the brother informed. “We’re trying to figure out how radicalized he is. I’ll get back to you on this.”
“Great! Well, if I don’t call back in an hour, assume something’s happened to me.”
“Okay. Be safe, Lammie.”
Lamarya jabbed the End Call button, before easing past the junction. No cars had piled up behind them. The town might as well have been a ghost town.
The call set Emma more at ease. Of course, it might just all be an elaborate trick to relax her, or it might have been deliberate since Lamarya—Lammie—probably noticed her discomfiture.
Either way, she did feel a little safer, tucked in Arthur’s car, next to his ex.
*****
Stumbling out of the car, Emma noticed Arthur’s horrified face and had to suppress a laugh. Lamarya had been right about wanting to see
the reaction—it was picture worthy.
“What the fuck?” Arthur screeched, unable to comprehend the fact that his ex was in the Valor driveway, and Emma had come out of the car without a scratch. “What is this?”
“Consider it a gift from the Maguires,” Lamarya said. She winked at Emma. “Brilliant, isn’t it? Anyway, I better go. Stay safe.” She was already tapping on her phone again, before pulling out of the way of Yara’s four-wheel drive and zooming off to the other side of the lake, where the Maguire household lay.
“I don’t...” Arthur blinked, at a total loss for words.
“Long story,” Emma said, though she still struggled to process it herself. “But apparently, I’m supposed to be moving in with you now. Something about an uncle and an Honor Duel?”
“What...” Arthur said weakly. His sister had her fingers over her mouth, and wore a look of puzzlement. She examined the direction where Lamarya had vanished to.
“I don’t think I will ever get that woman,” Yara said finally. “But if Emma’s here… that’s time saved for us.”
Since Arthur still acted comatose, Yara took over the job of hustling Emma into the house and introducing her to her new quarters, before hastily explaining the same thing Lamarya had mentioned about the Honor Duel.
“Hopefully it’ll put an end to the drama, but we’re thinking he’s going to select a champion, so he won’t need to risk his life.” Yara showed Emma some of the clothes in the wardrobe, a mix of men’s and women’s. “But we think the only way you’ll be safe is if you’re not in Valor Lake, or you’re with us. And since the bear spirit specifically visited the two of you when you were in the grotto… we’d like you to stay.”
“Um,” was all Emma managed to say. It came out as a squeak.
“She really didn’t hurt you? Try to throw out any of your possessions or anything?” Yara held up a blue shirt next to Emma’s chest and nodded in satisfaction.
“No. She… wanted to help. Something about pretending to be friendly with your uncle to find out about his plans? She said the Maguires wanted nothing to do with the destruction of their reservation.”
