Bear To The Bone (Bear Claw Security 1) (13 page)

Carrie struggled in his arms, bothered more by his stench than any real threat. “So all you need is money?”

“We can’t give it to him, Carrie,” Willow said. “It’ll just teach him to come back.”

He tossed Carrie aside angrily and walked toward Willow, who rolled her sleeves up, ready to punch him. Carrie brushed off her elbow with an angry breath and pushed to her feet to stop him before he reached Willow. She wrapped her arms around his surprisingly thin waist and jerked him back. He fell back with her and to the side, and when they hit the ground, he snarled and got on top of her.

He pinned her hands as she kicked and fought, and Willow ran over with the broom to hit him over the head.

“Damnation!” he yelled, trying to restrain Carrie as Willow wailed on him. “I just need my money.”

The next moment, a loud roar sounded, drawing all their attention to the forest at the end of the clearing.

Where a large—no, gigantic—brown bear was barreling toward them at top speed, his paws seeming to fly over the grass.

Carrie let out a shriek, and even in his drunken stupor, Tom reacted quickly, jumping off of her and stumbling as he tried to back up from the bear, as if afraid to turn his back to it.

What on earth were they seeing? She struggled up to a sitting position, still out of breath from fighting Tom. She looked at Willow and saw her folding one arm over her waist as she watched the bear rampaging toward them.

“Well, now you’ve done it,” she said wearily. “You better run.”

Carrie screwed up her face in confusion. Willow almost seemed like she knew what was going on. But hell if Carrie did.

She winced as the bear came near, but it didn’t even look at her. It was wholly focused on Tom Withers, who was running at an impressive speed toward the fence at the end of Willow’s land. The bear was so big compared to even normal bears. But it was freakishly huge compared to Tom.

Tom might be a loser drunk, but he was still the twins’ parent, and they might need him if he could ever clean up his act.

She ran for them, ignoring Willow’s request for her to wait.

“Stop!” she said as the bear caught Tom by the pant leg and jerked him off his feet like a rag doll.

As Tom lay beneath him, stunned, the bear reared back on his feet, towering up, and let out a fierce roar.

But for some reason, it didn’t scare Carrie away. She put herself between Tom and the bear, much like she’d done when she’d protected Willow. She put up both hands and was shocked when the bear snorted and gave her an angry look but sat back on its haunches, staring at her.

It backed up a few feet and paced, staring angrily past her at Tom, who it clearly wanted to decimate.

A thought occurred to her, and she stared at the bear, familiarity washing through her. No, it couldn’t be the same one. He’d been tiny.

But there was something safe about him. Just like there had been with that cub.

She looked up, squinting at his eyes. It was hard to see in the dark. They seemed dark blue, but could they just be black and reflecting the moonlight?

What color were bear eyes normally?

She looked over at Willow.

Behind her, she heard Tom make an ungrateful grunt. “Witches. Even have bears under your spell.”

Carrie let out a spiteful laugh. “Guess you better not come back, then, unless you’re looking to be a bear’s dinner.”

Tom scowled. “Anyone can scare a bear by waving its hands I hear.” He folded his arms and made himself stand, pressing back against the fence. “You aren’t so big.”

“No,” she said. “This bear is definitely under our control.”

The bear was staring at her, and she could almost swear he was playing along.

Tom put up his hands and yelled as he lunged at the bear, but instead of stepping back, the bear let out a huge roar that blew Tom’s hair back and made him let out a girlish scream.

He fell back, rolled right over the fence, let out another scream, and took off running.

Carrie laughed as Willow caught up to her and the bear and looked between them.

“Wait, so you know?” Willow’s eyes, looking more shocked than Carrie had ever seen, darted between the bear, who was backing up now, and Carrie, who was standing, surprisingly calm for how fast her heart was beating.

“Uh, yeah,” Carrie said. She walked carefully toward the bear. The longer she saw him, the more she knew he was the one in the forest. Even though she knew bears were killers, that humans shouldn’t approach them, she knew there was something different here. An utter peace with him that shouldn’t have been possible if he could hurt her.

There was something special about this bear.

“I’m glad,” Willow said with a sigh. “I was wondering how Cage was going to tell you.” Willow gave her a mournful look, ignoring the way the bear had suddenly turned to her in alarm, shaking its head. “It’s not easy to tell your lover you can turn into a bear.”

Carrie felt her stomach drop into her toes, all the blood trying to leave her face as quickly as possible. She glared at the bear. At his eyes.

Remembered that she’d met Cage just days after meeting the cub caught in the trap.

Holy shit.

That stuff only happened in movies or books. It wasn’t possible.

“You didn’t…” Willow trailed off, going white, and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh shit.”

Carrie was too shocked to even register her shock that Willow had just cursed. “No, I didn’t,” she said faintly. She’d known Cage had secrets, but not… She hadn’t… What the fuck?

She sank to the ground. “It isn’t possible.”

The bear took a step back and then another.

“Now just wait there, you damn bear,” Willow said, shaking a finger at him.

But the next second, the bear bolted, running as fast as it could back to the woods. Leaving as soon as it had gotten there. Saving her and then answering none of her questions.

If that bear were Cage, it made a hell of a lot of sense.

She looked up at Willow, feeling utterly lost. “I think I need some more info.”

Willow crouched and then sat next to her with a sigh. She put her hands over her face, dragging them down like she could wipe away what she’d just done, and then sighed once more. “I’d say I’ve gone and ruined things, but if you didn’t know, you might as well know now.” She steeled herself. “Some of us can turn into bears.”

Carrie blinked. “
You’re
one of them.” She stared at the woman she’d known for so many years. “How did I not know?”

“Why do you think?” Willow said. “What do you think people would do if they knew? We have shifter authorities that ‘take care’ of people who find out. The only ones allowed to know are shifter mates.”

“Mates?” she asked faintly, feeling like someone had just told her aliens were real.
Wait, mate, like in marrying a bear?
She was kind to animals and felt a connection with that bear, but… what on earth was going on?

“Cage is one of us,” she said. “And I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure you’re his mate. It’s why he keeps coming back. Why he can’t let you go.”

“So because I rescued him from a bear trap when he was little, I have to marry him?” She blinked. Wait, so this whole time he’d known and she hadn’t? She felt like an idiot. A fool.

“Don’t go thinking that,” Willow said. “It’s not like that. Most likely, if that’s how you met him, then it’s just the first time he realized.” Willow frowned. “Wait, what were you doing messing with bear traps?”

Carrie shrugged. “I found a little cub in the woods. I’d seen you do it before.”

“That was incredibly dangerous, girl,” Willow said, shaking her head.

“I know,” Carrie said. “I didn’t have a choice. But he never scared me.”

“So that’s why you were acting unafraid of him tonight,” Willow murmured. “Damn. That’s why I misunderstood. I assumed any human would turn themselves into a piddling mess in front of a bear if they didn’t know about shifters.”

“I probably would have if it were any other bear. That one makes me feel peaceful. I don’t know why.” She grinned ruefully, but her heart hurt. “Well, now I do.”

“Don’t be hard on the boy. He can’t tell you until he mates you. And I’m sure he has his reasons for waiting.”

“He’s an Ace,” she spat bitterly. “For now, he knows I won’t mate him.”

Instead of Willow looking angry at the news, she simply frowned and looked at the forest. “I think the two of you need to have a talk.”

Carrie bit her lip. “I don’t want to.”

“Girl, that man has just been exposed in the deepest way. He’s going to need to know you don’t hate him.”

“But I kind of do,” Carrie said, folding her arms. “He’s been lying to me all this time. When was he going to tell me? Oh my gosh, he can turn into a
bear
. I thought it was rough that he was an Ace, but…” She blinked. “What should I do?”

“Do you love him?” Willow asked.

“Of course,” Carrie said without hesitating.

“Then what does it matter if he has claws and fur? Just go get him. That man has saved your life more times than you can count, so cut him a break.”

Carrie laughed at Willow’s tough love. Her heart still pounded uncontrollably as she thought about going to confront Cage. But she knew she had to if she wanted to find out if they could ever work.

It hurt that she’d had to find out this way. The first of his secrets and he hadn’t even told her himself.

But he had come charging out in bear form to protect her from Tom. He’d always been protecting her.

If she were really honest, him being with the Aces was probably to protect her, too. Even though her pride ached from being tricked, she knew what she had to do.

She had to go find the man, or bear, that was hiding from her in the woods. She had to settle this once and for all.

“
C
age
?” Carrie called, lifting a low-hanging branch in front of her. She scanned the dark forest and then took out her phone and turned on the flashlight function so she could search more thoroughly.

She heard a low growl and the rustle of leaves and the sound of something large moving away from her.

“Cage, wait!” she called. “You promised you wouldn’t run again. Not this time. I shouldn’t have heard that from Willow. We both agree on that. But if we don’t talk now, when will we?”

She took another step forward into the dark. The forest was creepy around her, shadowed and slightly moving as leaves rustled in the wind and pine trees stirred around her, releasing their scent into the cool night air.

“Nothing about us has ever been normal. Why would this be? I just need you to tell me everything and let me decide if I can accept you. Please. Don’t run.”

She silently begged him not to go. Then she heard more rustling and a huff of breath.

“I’m here,” he said in a low, flat voice. “Don’t come any closer. We can talk like this.”

She sat on a log and looked at the lit phone in her hand. “I’d rather see you.”

“Not right now,” he said. “Unless you want to shine your light around here to help me find my clothes,” he muttered. “I’m naked.”

She grinned. “What?”

“I had to take my clothes off to shift. I didn’t want to walk back to the compound naked.”

“What were you doing out here anyway?” she asked, shining the light in his direction without looking. Not that she minded seeing Cage naked, but she got the feeling he was vulnerable right now in more ways than one and was trying to give him space.

Her head was still buzzing.

“Watching out for you, of course,” he said. “You thought I wouldn’t?”

She shrugged and let out a little sigh. “I guess not. I don’t know what to expect anymore.” She bit her lip. “You’re the bear I rescued. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Seriously?” he asked, walking into the light, dressed in a flannel shirt with a leather jacket over the top and dark jeans underneath. His feet were bare, and he noticed her looking at them. “I’ll find the boots later.” He sat next to her on the log, a foot or two over so they weren’t touching.

“You aren’t mad at me, are you?” she asked. “It isn’t my fault Willow outed you.”

“No, I’m only mad at myself,” Cage said. “For not finding the right time to say something.” He cocked his head to look at her, and his wild black hair fell over one eye. He was so tall and intimidating there in the dark, and his handsome face was illuminated and shadowy in the small amount of light from her phone. “You don’t hate me, do you?”

She clasped her hands together, intertwining her fingers, feeling the blood pumping in her hands. “I don’t know. I’m still figuring that out. I don’t like being lied to.”

He nodded. “I was that bear, and I wanted you from the moment I met you. My kind, we sometimes know instantly.”

She just looked at him, waiting for more explanation.

“But I have more to tell you, Carrie. Before you decide if you really want to accept me.”

“Like what?” she asked, freezing in place at the idea there could be more. “Wait, is it about the Aces?”

He nodded.

“You aren’t really one of them, are you?” she asked, finally seeing that with complete clarity.

He shook his head.

She let out a choked sound. “Then who
are
you?” she asked. “Do I even know you at all?”

“I think so,” he said, moving closer and taking her hand.

She was still too stunned to move out of his reach. And besides, she liked the feel of him, even as everything was so uncomfortable and new.

Could you know nothing about someone yet still know them?

Carrie wasn’t sure.

She still felt love welling in her when she looked at Cage. Still saw echoes of the boy she knew, the guy she’d been in love with, and the man that love had grown with in the past few days, as they got to know each other.

As she’d been thinking they got to know each other. Now she knew that wasn’t the truth.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

His face was stoic, set. “I was hired.”

Hurt sliced through her. Had he not even come here for her at all? She’d known it was too good to be true. Cage coming back after all these years, just for her. “Hired for what?”

“To get rid of the Aces,” he said flatly.

“By who?” she asked. “And why would they hire you?”

“That’s my job,” he said. “I run a private security company. Me and some other guys from the army.”

She felt like her heart was breaking. Had she just been a part of his cover? A part of getting back in with the Aces? He’d been at the bar and seen they wanted to win her over and take her bar, and he just wanted to win her over for that?

Was everything—fighting for her, rescuing her from Harvey, making her wear his
jacket
—all just part of his
scheme
? His
job
?

When they’d made love, she’d felt closer to him than anyone in the world. But now she felt lost.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” she asked.

He looked honestly angry with himself. “I couldn’t. It would have jeopardized everything I came here for. I wanted you to be safe.”

“But you came because you were hired,” she said flatly, scooting back a little from him and taking her hand away.

“Yes. Wait, no,” he said in frustration, his voice taking on a low growl that was probably characteristic of the bear inside him. “I came back because I wanted to see you. I wanted to protect you. The job just gave me the excuse to do it.”

She pressed her lips into a firm line, glad he probably couldn’t see how angry, how hurt, she was in the dark. “It was convenient. Kill two birds with one stone. No wonder you didn’t come back for so long. No wonder you didn’t care if you came back as an Ace and broke my heart.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her still. His serious eyes bored into hers. “I didn’t want to break your heart. I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted to finish this job and take you back to New York with me. I needed the job as an excuse because you’re too damn good for me, Carrie. How was I ever supposed to be brave enough to come back?”

“I was writing you. Of course I wanted you,” she said.

“I can’t for sure give you children,” he blurted out. “That’s probably the other thing you need to know. I know how much you’ve always wanted them.”

She blinked at that, momentarily stunned. She thought about it for a moment, because she didn’t want to speak too hastily. She wanted to be sincere. “I can always adopt or foster like Willow… Why can’t you have children, though?”

He shrugged. “It’s just rare for bear shifters. It’s hard to procreate, just like it’s tough for bears in the wild. I’m not saying it can’t happen. After all, my mom had me. But I’m just saying you’d have better chances with a human man.”

“I don’t want my chances with a human man, Cage. I’m twenty-eight and single by choice. You’re all I’ve thought about. Honestly, the fact that you lied to me bothers me more than anything else. I need time to think about this.”

He nodded, his large shoulders slumping. Then he raised up and looked at her. “I have things to deal with anyway. I’m about to wrap things up with the Aces. I was planning to tell you soon. Tomorrow even. But then this happened.” He gave her a sincere look. “I really do want you, Carrie. It’s been hard to stay undercover and not let you in on it. I can explain everything better later, when you’re less hurt.”

“Or you can explain now,” she said. “Because right now, it looks like you came back because it was a job and just tried to win me over because it was convenient for your cover.”

“Convenient?” he asked. “To fight the Aces continually over claiming you? To always be on your side without blowing my cover?” He let out a bitter laugh. “No, you’ve got it all wrong. This job was to get rid of the Aces, for you. The one who hired me was Willow.”

Dammit.
So Willow had known all along what Cage was, because they’d kept writing. But she hadn’t told Carrie. That was why Willow hadn’t looked angry when Carrie mentioned Cage being an Ace. Only confused.

“Dammit, if Willow knew, then why couldn’t I?”

“Because Willow isn’t around the Aces. Because if they got any idea you didn’t look at me as an Ace, you could have blown my cover. And because they threatened you if there was anything not above board about me. That’s why it’s important that from here on out, you stay safe. Shit is going to blow up tomorrow. I need to know you’ll stay here with Willow. Keep the kids inside. Keep the doors locked.”

She nodded. “What’s going on, though?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I may need to go to your bar. Apparently, my mother left something there with the old owner, the one who owned it before the guy you bought it from, when she was running away.”

“Fine,” she said. “I guess you could probably break in without me anyway. Private security, what is that anyway?”

“Anything from bodyguards to private investigation. We all have different skills. Anyone can hire us to protect them.”

“Makes sense,” she said in a deadened tone. “You always were good at protecting people. So that’s what you’ve been doing the past few years while you weren’t writing?”

“In part,” he said. “But I told you already. I thought it was fine because I was building a life for us. I wanted a comfortable life for you. A house. The works. I told myself that made it okay that I was waiting. I’m sorry I didn’t realize the silence was hurting you.”

“Such a man,” she said with a sigh. “Of course it hurt me. Those letters were all I had of you. If you were really thinking of me, I thought you’d send them.”

“But you still thought of me, right?” he asked. “Even when I wasn’t writing?”

She had, from fantasies to wondering what he was doing to imagining what would happen if he ever came back. The reality of it was nothing like she’d ever pictured.

Her heart ached, but it was good to have the truth, or most of it, out in the open.

“I did think of you,” she said. “But it wasn’t the same.”

“I thought of you,” he said. “I just kept thinking of how good it could be. Then when I’d make concrete plans, the reality of it would hit. What would you do when you found out I was a bear? What would you do when you heard about my job? Would it be good enough? Would it be everything you expected when you sent me out into the world to better myself?”

“I didn’t expect anything,” she said.

“Except you did,” he said. “You expected me not to be part of the Aces. You made me want more.” He reached over without looking at her and put his hand over hers. She didn’t move out from underneath him. She could sense he needed her. “Without you, none of it means anything.”

She was quiet. Even now, when he said something sweet like that, her heart pounded from the rightness of it.

But it also pounded with an ache from everything she’d found out. How much he’d been hiding while he’d been
inside
her. While she’d held nothing back.

“It’s a lot to take in,” she said. “I just need some time.”

He removed his hand and sighed, and she looked over to see him nodding in the dark. “I understand. It’s probably best while this Aces thing blows over anyway.”

“So you’ll be going back to the compound tonight?” she asked. “Is that going to be safe?”

He shrugged. “As safe as possible.” He cracked his knuckles. “I have a lot of skills I haven’t had to use yet.”

“I bet,” she said, letting a slight grin grace her lips. “As an ex-Special Forces dude.”

“Yup,” he said, sounding more confident again. Or maybe he was just soldiering up. Maybe that was that steely resolve she’d been seeing in him since he’d been back.

“So I stay here until when?”

“Until I call you and Willow and tell you it’s safe. Don’t answer the door for anyone.”

“When are you confronting them?”

“When I get back to the compound, I’ll call Bronson and Limes. My buddies. If they have something, which they should, I’ll confront the Aces in the morning. Tell them to get out of town before much bigger trouble can find them.”

She didn’t know what that meant, and she didn’t really want to know. “And if they don’t?”

“Then I’ll have to head over to the bar and find it myself,” he said.

She reached into her pocket and pulled her keys out. She slipped her bar key off the ring and handed it over. “Not that you need this, but just in case.”

He grinned wryly. “I never want to break into anything of yours, Carrie. I want you always to let me in freely.”

“Then just give me a little time to adjust,” she said. “Because right now, I honestly feel a little violated. I knew so little about you, and you were inside me.”

His brows dropped at that, as if he hadn’t thought of it that way, and he let out a heavy breath. “I’m so, so sorry, Carrie. I’ve been thinking so much about protecting you lately that I forgot to protect your heart. But I promise. Let me get through this and no more lies. No more secrets. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

She nodded. “No more secrets. No more lies.”

He stood. “I’ll walk you back. Most of the way.”

They used her phone to find his boots and then walked back into the clearing. When they were halfway across the meadow, where it would obviously be safe for her to go back the rest of the way on her own, she turned to look at him.

“Thanks for saving me from Tom.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking embarrassed. “No problem. I couldn’t help it.” The corner of his mouth quirked upward. “As crazy as I am about you, my bear is
insane
.”

Her eyes twinkled, and for a moment she forgot her hurt. “He does seem like a very nice bear.”

“To you, maybe. To everyone else, he’ll be a monster.” He pulled her close. “You needing space, does that mean I can’t kiss you good night?”

“I don’t know,” she said, folding her arms. She looked slowly up into his eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body around her. What she saw in his sincere blue gaze was the same as she’d always seen there. Love. Appreciation. Good humor with a steely resolve behind it. He was still the man she knew.