“Yeah, he gave the okay,” Kat lied. She never lied, but this whole situation was seconds away from spiraling out of her control. She had to do something. “Come back, just for a few more days. Get the prototype working with the test subject, get your nice paycheck, and you’ll be on your way. See? You don’t even start your new job for two weeks! I won’t take no for an answer, Simon. We got into this mess together, and I’m not letting you off the hook that easy. Meet in the lab tonight at 8.”
With that, she hung up the phone, not even waiting for an answer. She hadn’t wanted to bully him, but she couldn’t risk him not coming. And Kat knew that there was no way that Simon would ignore her, now. She’d given him an order, and he would obey it, even if he didn’t work for her or Cartwright any longer. It was just the way he was.
*
It had taken some prodding, but Kat had convinced her brother to hop in the car with her, drive to Animus, and wait while she talked to Simon. After a lengthy discussion with Simon, broken up only by Kat having to tell Toby twice not to touch things, they left and headed towards the community center.
Simon had been reluctant at first, but after some prodding, he’d been easy to sway. After all, who didn’t want to see three years’ worth of work through? She’d given him the information of the Army Ranger, prepared him, and sent him on his way.
Now, it was in her hands to convince Briggs Dawson to agree to help her.
“So what’s he like?” Kat asked as they drove.
“Kat. I’ve told you five hundred thousand times already, I don’t know!”
“You’ve met him!”
“I met him for five minutes!”
“Toby, you were with him for nearly four hours. Tell me about him again.”
Kat listened intently as Toby sighed and began telling her everything she had heard five hundred thousand times already, hoping Toby would give her some new information about him. But as usual, Toby didn’t.
Kat was more than a little bit nervous. She wasn’t afraid of meeting Briggs Dawson because he was a man, though that certainly didn’t help. She was afraid that no matter what she did, she would be off putting and ruin any chances she had with making the Aegis prototype a success. Everything rested on her making a good first impression and convincing Briggs that he needed her help, and she needed his.
With the time frame she had to work with, there was no other choice. It was either Briggs Dawson, ex-Marine, ex-football star, or bust. She didn’t know what she would do if he refused. Kat slowly shook her head and steeled herself. He wouldn’t refuse. He couldn’t. She wouldn’t fail, because she couldn’t.
They pulled up in front of Golden Valley Community Center. It was nearing 9:30. Beside her, Toby yawned. Kat turned off the vehicle, her eyes scanning the front of the building, looking for Briggs Dawson. Toby muttered under his breath about freezing to death, but that was all he said.
They sat in silence for nearly ten minutes, and then Toby leaned across the car, pointing. “There he is.”
Kat followed his finger and saw Briggs Dawson, his massive body, materializing out of the darkness. He was dressed exactly the same as the night before, but Kat hardly noticed. She was staring at him. He was exactly what she was looking for.
*
Briggs stood outside of the Golden Valley Community Center. He was cold, but not as cold as the others walking around him – most filed into the building immediately. Instead of going straight in, he waited, letting the icy air wash over him. He breathed deep, his intense senses taking in everything: the stink of the city, the fear and uncertainty of those around him, the faintest trace of snow forming in the clouds above, the scent of a woman who was fascinated with him.
He looked around, his golden eyes flashing in the darkness. He looked down the sidewalk to his left, a few people moving past him inside without even a second glance at him. To his right, the sidewalk was deserted. In the road, a car sat silently.
He saw her.
The first thing he noticed about her was her intense feelings towards him. He couldn’t understand why she would be so interested in him, of all people. Even in the darkness, Briggs could tell she was attractive. Her eyes were bright in the darkness, and her face and her were perfectly done up. He could tell she was a woman who cared about her outward appearances.
What could she want with him? There was no denying it: she was looking right at him; he could smell it on her. It wasn’t desire, not exactly, but something else that he couldn’t pinpoint. But why him? He looked down at himself: tattered clothes that hadn’t been washed for days, his unkempt appearance, and his missing arm. He squeezed his hand and could almost feel his other squeezing along with it, even though he knew that was impossible.
The door to the car opened and the woman stepped out. Behind her, the passenger door opened, and Briggs saw Toby getting out of the car. Briggs had completely ignored the other scent in the car, too enamored with this woman. He chided himself, growling internally. Letting your guard down, in his life, was an easy way to get killed.
But who would miss him?
The two came up to him. Briggs found himself drawn to the woman, but he spared a few seconds to look at Toby. He looked completely different than from the night before: new clothes, a nice haircut, and he’d even shaved. If Briggs couldn’t smell him and know that this was Toby, he wasn’t sure if he would believe it.
And now that he was paying attention to both the woman and Toby, he could tell something else: they were related. He took a deep breath. Siblings, probably twins. He almost laughed at that.
He didn’t know Toby well. Hell, he didn’t know him at all. They’d sat together for nearly four hours and made small talk during the breaks, but that didn’t mean they were friends. A man like him didn’t have friends. Not anymore.
But he could tell that it would be impossible to find two people that were more different. Toby’s sister was smart, career driven, and probably a bit of a neat freak. You didn’t have to be a Shifter to know that much. Toby, on the other hand, was her opposite, and probably her bane. He was a drug addict, disorderly, disorganized, his life in shambles.
“Hey, Briggs,” Toby said by way of greeting. He held out his left hand. Gone was the awkwardness from the night before. Briggs shook it. “This is my sister, Kat.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, her breath frosting in the air. She held out her left hand awkwardly and Briggs took it. The warmth of her hand was exhilarating.
“Pleasure,” he said, though in truth, he felt awkward. This woman was nothing like him, yet he felt pulled towards her. Now that she was close, he saw she was more than attractive: she was downright beautiful.
“She’s got a thing for guys that are missing limbs,” Toby said, heading inside with an exaggerated shiver. “Her ex was missing his leg.”
“Toby!” Kat said, her face turning bright red. Briggs caught the scent of her embarrassment, as if he needed that to know.
“You have a thing for guys that are amputees, huh?” Briggs asked. If possible, Kat grew even redder. “It’s not that!” Kat said, visibly embarrassed. “I work for… I meet a lot of guys, who…”
Briggs could tell she was floundering for the words, unsure of what to say or how to say it. He didn’t mind, most people he met seemed to dance around the issue of his missing arm.
“You meet a lot of guys? Are you some kind of woman who chases amputees? Is that your thing?” he asked, half in jest, though he’d met some people like that before. They didn’t care about him, they only cared about his injury. Those were the kind of people he tried to avoid.
“No! Don’t listen to Toby!” Kat exclaimed. “I work with amputees, in a way. At my job. It’s not like that at all! Let me explain.”
“Well, why don’t you explain it to me, inside?” Briggs asked, holding the door open for Kat. She smiled at him, her cheeks still burning crimson. Briggs had to admit that he was growing more and more intrigued by Kat every second he was around her.
*
The door closed behind Kat and Briggs quietly. She was engulfed in warmth, thankful to be out of the cold. She noticed Briggs was only wearing a thin jacket and didn’t seem to mind the cold. She wished she was able to ignore it like he was.
In the light, she got a better look at him. He was just as large as she had imagined. Outside, his golden eyes had glowed bright, but inside, she only felt herself drawn to them. He was attractive, insanely handsome, even with the tired look in his face. And of course, his missing arm added just that much more to his mystique. She would never admit it to anyone, and she would hardly admit it to herself, but she was attracted to him more because of that.
She felt shame, though. She knew there was more to him than just his missing arm. She was sure he was a great man, or had been at one time, but she had come here with one purpose in mind: get him to agree to test the Aegis.
Now, though, she wasn’t so sure. It had seemed so easy, back in the lab, explaining everything to Cartwright. She never would have imagined she would be drawn to this man as much as she already was. It was odd, but she couldn’t help it.
“So, what’s the deal?” Briggs asked, pulling her out of her trance. His voice was rough and like music to her ears. She felt herself blushing again, making a fool out of herself. She was usually calm and collected. Now, she was a blubbering idiot.
“I’m an engineer at Animus Engineering. Have you ever heard of it?”
Briggs shook his head. “Can’t say that I have.”
“Well, we focus on making prostheses for amputees. Have you ever used one?”
The laugh that exploded from Briggs was short and bitter. “Afraid not. Well, not successfully, anyway.” Kat saw the look of pain cross his face, but it was gone immediately. If Kat hadn’t been paying close attention, she would have missed it. She didn’t even think that Briggs had even realized he’d let that much slip.
“I’m going to cut straight to the chase, Mr. Dawson. I saw you last night and Toby explained what had happened to you. You’re a perfect candidate for what I’m looking for.”
Briggs looked uncomfortable. “I think you’ve got the wrong person, Kat. Find someone who needs it. I’m fine. There are better people out there who are more deserving than me.”
“You might be right,” Kat agreed. There was no use deceiving this man. “But I’m on a tight deadline to find a suitable candidate, and you’re the only one I have. I need you. It’ll help me out more than you know.”
A man came into the hallway. “Hey, Briggs. We’re starting now, you coming in?”
“Be right in, Sam,” he said, looking at the man. He looked back at Kat. “I appreciate it, but even if I wanted to, I can’t afford anything like that. To be honest, I’m not ensured.”
“That’s not a problem. Money is no issue,” Kat said, trying to push him into accepting. “Let me help you.”
That was exactly the wrong thing to say. The second it left her mouth, she knew it. His handsome face grew cloudy and his expression hardened. “Thanks, Kat. But I’m good. Find someone else.”
With that, he walked into the meeting room, the door closing shut behind him. Kat didn’t know what to do. She’d dropped the ball, and the time was running out. She sat down on a chair against the wall, waiting until there was a break. She wouldn’t give up.
*
Briggs sat down next to Toby but didn’t say a word to him. Sam was starting to talk, though the words meant nothing to Briggs. His mind kept going back to Kat.
Now, he knew exactly why she had been so interested in him. It wasn’t for him, not exactly. It was for his arm. Or rather, lack of an arm. She wanted to use him like a guinea pig. That was something he wasn’t okay with.
It hurt. He’d been used before, and he wasn’t ready to be used again.
“Don’t let her scare you off,” Toby whispered.
“What?” Briggs shot back.
“She’s intense,” Toby whispered, sparing a glance to make sure that Sam hadn’t overheard. “She’s devoted to her job.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” Briggs muttered. “She wants to use me like some kind of guinea pig.”
“Well, duh,” Toby said. He cut off as Sam turned around the circle. When he kept talking and looked the other direction, Toby continued, “But she means well. She’s not trying to use you, exactly. She wants to help you. And by doing her job – that’s the only way she knows how.”
“I don’t need help.”
“You might not think you do. Look, Briggs. I’ve been to enough of these meetings to know who needs help, who doesn’t, and who can’t be helped. You need it. Even if you won’t admit it.”
“Think again, buddy,” Briggs growled. Sam turned towards him and Briggs smiled at him.
“You doing okay, Briggs?”
“Fine, Sam, thanks for asking.”
Then Briggs was leaning his head low, narrowing his golden eyes at Toby. “I don’t need any damn help. I can handle things by myself.”
“Suit yourself,” Toby said. There were a few moments of silence between them, broken only by Sam’s incessant speaking. “If it makes any difference, she’s into you.”
If possible, Briggs narrowed his eyes even more. He didn’t say anything. Toby just smiled.
*
After what seemed like hours, Sam finally called a quick break. Throughout the whole meeting, Briggs had been thinking of Kat and what Toby had said. Did he need help? Could Kat help him? Why would she even want to? He didn’t have much going for him anymore. Wouldn’t the prosthesis be a waste on someone like him? All of these questions and more ran through his head a thousand times, and he never came up with a good answer.
“She’s still here,” Toby offered, grabbing a donut as they stood around the refreshment table. Briggs glanced at the clock. They had been sitting in the room for just over an hour and a half.
“Didn’t have anything better to do than wait here for you?”
Toby laughed. “She’s still here, waiting for you.”
“How do you know?”
“I know my sister. You’d better get out and finish talking to her.”
Briggs found himself rolling his shoulders uncomfortably. He wanted to talk to her, but what would he say?
“Fine,” he rumbled, moving towards the door to the hallway. He opened it, still unsure of what he was going to say to her. He wouldn’t be used, no matter what. But he could help her, right? He couldn’t care less about being helped. He didn’t need it. He didn’t need a fake arm. He wasn’t broken, and he didn’t need to be fixed. But… if it helped her, he might be able to do it.
When he entered the hallway, Kat got up immediately. She strode over to him, determination on her face. When they reached each other, she spread her feet and set her stance. She crossed her arms over her chest. Briggs opened his mouth to talk to her, to agree to helping her, but only because he wanted to help, not because he needed it.
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen close, Mr. Dawson,” she said, before he could even utter a syllable. He closed his mouth. When he did, she nodded. “Yes, like Toby undoubtedly said in there, I am attracted to you. I can’t help it. I’m drawn to people like you –”
“Because of –”
“Not because you’re missing an arm. Because of your tenacity. What you’ve been through, and survived. You didn’t let this stop you. So I have a proposition for you.”
MARS (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 1) Page 23
