Bear's Gold (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) (12 page)

Seeing him moving toward her, anger
evident in the piercing stare he gave her, made her take a slight step back. He
had never been violent toward her in the past, but she wasn’t so sure at the
moment. If it would have been colder, it was possible she would have seen steam
coming from his head.

“Don’t run away from me.”

Planting her feet firmly on the
ground, she stared him down. “What are you doing here, Fred?”

“You know how much time and effort
it took me to find you? I had to walk two miles into this damn rinky-dink town
to get in, because of some damn cinderblocks.”

“Can’t you get the message? It is
over between us.”

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her to
the side away from all the people starting to gather from tents and around the
fairgrounds.

She stepped away with him, but
wasted little time in yanking her arm out of his grasp. “Don’t manhandle me.”

“Look, Riley, this silliness has
gone far enough. Your supervisor told me you quit your job.”

“You had no business going to my
job.” She spoke through gritted teeth; furious that Fred would show up at her
job browbeating people to find out where she was.

“I wouldn’t have to do it if you
just would have stayed put…better yet, answer your damn phone when I call.” He
ran his hand over his head. His blond hair was all over his head, appearing as
if he’d dragged his fingers through it one too many times. He looked ragged in
the wrinkled clothes he wore, as well as the dark circles under his unhealthy
pale complexion.

“I didn’t want to talk to you. It
was over…we were over.” She slashed her hand through the air between them. “How
did you find me?” Various ideas raced through her mind.

“Your cell phone.”

“It doesn’t work.” She folded her
arms over her chest.

“The locator does,” he declared.

“Locat…” her words drifted away.
Shit
.
She had totally forgotten they were on a family cell plan. She’d been so intent
on not answering his phone calls, she forgot some time back she had added him
to her service. Not to mention she’d been carrying the damn thing around in her
pocket like it was the Holy Grail since she arrived. “You put a locator on me?
When?”

He shrugged. “You were asleep one
night so I went into your phone and turned it on. I have to protect my asset.”

“I’m
not
your
damn
asset.”She wanted to kick him or punch him she was so pissed. The bastard had
violated her finances and her privacy. “You are a bastard, Fred. A real
bastard. I wish I’d never met you.”

“We were good together, Ri—”

Seeing him reach out to her, she
raised her hands and stepped back. “Maybe in the beginning but not for a
long
time. Ask my bank account that.”

She just needed to get away from
him. She turned but found her arm caught again. Shifting she faced Fred again
about to give him a piece of her mind when a shadow fell over them.

In an instant, Fred’s hold slackened
as he found himself grabbed by the throat.

Chapter
Eight

“Don’t fuckin’ touch her,” Theo
growled, holding Fred tight with their faces less than two inches apart.

“Who, ah…who...what the…”Fred’s blue
eyes stretched wide as he babbled and stared at the massive male who made him
look like a ragdoll.

Riley would have laughed at the view
if the situation wasn’t so serious. She’d never seen Theo angry before this
moment and he looked like he could easily snap Fred’s body in half. Fred was an
asshole, but she didn’t want to see him dead. “Theo, he’s not worth it. Just
let him go.”

“You heard her. You heard her,” Fred
croaked as his hands grappled Theo’s thick wrist, attempting to loosen himself.
“I’ll stay away from her…just let me go.”

All was silent as Theo held Fred a
moment longer before releasing him. Fred crumbled to the ground, coughing and
choking in air as he rubbed his throat. “What are you, some kind of steroid
addict?”

“Just go away, Fred. Please.” Riley
sighed.

“You’re not welcome in Den County.
Get the hell out,” Theo told him.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll go.” Fred
scrambled to his feet. “You can have Riley’s ass. I just want my stuff.”

“You’re a liar. I don’t have
anything of yours, Fred.” Riley stared at her ex trying to determine what angle
he was playing.

“Do you have something that belongs
to this asshole?” Theo gazed down at her.

“No. It has been over for a long
time. I only took the things that were mine when I left. Hell, I left him all
the furniture that I paid for.”

Fred took a step toward him, but
then he heard the deep rumble come from Theo’s chest and stepped back.
Swallowing, Fred said, “I need that sculpture.”

Confused, she tilted her head and
assessed him. Fred wasn’t the type of guy to collect artwork. All the paintings
and decorations in their place she had bought and left with him. “What
sculpture?”

“That ugly animal with all the paint
splatters.”

Ugly animal? How did I ever date
such an idiot?
She
shook her head. Her class had seen the small wooden coin with a bear face
carved, and thought she collected bears or liked them. Because the kids didn’t
know the story surrounding it, only that it was a gift from her childhood. “First
of all it is a bear and not ugly. The paint is not splatters, my class painted
if for me—eleven three year olds.”

“Whatever. It’s not like it is worth
anything.” He shoved his fist deep into his pants pockets.

“To me it is. I’m not giving it to
you.” Finished discussing the matter, Riley turned to leave as she tossed over
her shoulder, “Go home.”

“Riley! Look…look…” Fred hustled
around so that he was once again in front of her.

She noticed that the crowd around
her was getting really thick. She was sure that every person in town was
standing somewhere around her and Fred making a wide circle. She hated to be
the center of attention, especially in a situation like this, these people
didn’t know her. Her mind ran with various possible thoughts the crowd could
have about what they were seeing. None of the thoughts she concocted did she
like.

“Go away, Fred.”

“Just let me see the damn thing. For
one moment.” His gaze shifted around as if at any moment he was expecting
someone to jump out of the crowd on him and pull him away.

Even though Theo had threatened him
not to touch her, Fred’s full agitation and the worry lines etched into his
face told her there was something more. She recalled other times Fred had
looked like this when he lost big at the poker table or some other gambling
venture.

“Why do you need to see it? Why the
interest? You said yourself it is not worth anything.” Like all her jewelry,
he’d taken and pawned. Stuff he bought her in the beginning of the relationship
and things he had not. “Tell me what is going on?”

Licking his lips, he then cleared
his throat and glanced over his shoulder again. With a cautious step toward
her, he lowered his voice. “I owe some people a lot of money—”

“Nothing new about that. I’ve told
you to stop gambling and get help.”

“I don’t have time for a lecture,
Riley. I was trying to get out, okay. I moved some funds and things. It was
going to be a payoff for them and a big win for us—”

Theo growled.

“Me,” Fred quickly rephrased.

Slowly she shook her head from left
to right as she stared at the shell of a man before her. She remembered when
she first met him, all blond charm and good looks, a 300-watt smile, and laid
back. Now she could not stomach the sight of how much he had changed.

“So, I take it these funds have to
do with your job. Stupid move.” She knew that meant he was in deep. He worked
for corporations, handling and advising them on investments, stocks and a slew
of other financial matters. “Still not connecting your story to a pre-school
gift.”

“I put the numbers and codes for
those accounts inside of it,” he ground out. “If I don’t get them back…in a few
days…” His face darkened with fear.

She tried to figure out how he’d
done it. Not to mention why he’d used something of hers. “I don’t understand.”

“Those cheap things are hollow
inside. I just drilled a whole in the bottom. Look, I just needed the stuff to
be safe. I knew we were on the outs. You kept threatening to leave. I’m not
dumb, I saw the signs. If you left and someone came looking for it, those codes
would be safe with you.” He shrugged. “I just never expected you to leave the
state.”

“You are unbelievable.”

“Maybe, but if this thing pays off,
I’ll be set for life.” His eyes were bright with a gambler's hopeful glow.

“In jail or dead most likely.”

“Just let me see it…please.”

Sighing, she realized allowing Fred
to retrieve the paper was the only way to get this man out of her life for
good. Glancing over at Theo who still stood close to her, like a guard, an
impressive man compared to her ex.

“Is Jack around?”

Theo’s gaze caressed her face. He
didn’t speak for a moment as if he wanted to assure himself she was okay. She
appreciated the way he stood by her, protecting, even though she didn’t fear
Fred physically.

“I saw his wife earlier, she said he
was back from picking up parts and in his shop.”

Guilt weighed heavily on Riley. Her
appearance in this town had interrupted Theo and his boys' life, caused a
commotion at the festival, thanks to Fred, and kept one of the town members
from enjoying the seasonal event. The sooner she left Den County, the better
off everyone would be.

“Okay, I’ll go over with Fred—”

“Not by yourself.” Theo declared. Turning,
he called to his parents who stood at a distance with his boys. “I’ll be back.”

Riley had met his parents before the
kickball game. They had been in the stands cheering with many others. Riley
hoped she’d given them a better impression of her earlier and this situation
wouldn’t taint their view of her.
Why does it matter?
 

She didn’t know why it mattered so
much to her. In a few days she would be gone. But it did. She liked these
people in this small county; they had welcomed her and been nice.

The three of them left the fair
grounds and moved along main street. Fred kept up insistent chatter about
benign things; people he worked with, local news and a new coffee shop that had
opened.

Uncaring, she tuned out the man to
her right and focused on the silent strength of the man to her left. Theo, like
her, remained silent, however, she could not help but compare him to the other
man and find Fred lacking.

Theo was not only taller, bigger, in
a mountain meets molehill sort of way. But, he had a better character. He was a
dedicated father, the people in town spoke highly of him, and he took care of
his responsibilities. Unlike Fred who never wanted kids, could care less about
his fellow man and took from those things and people he was responsible for.
How
was I so blind?

But, she’d been caught up in the
excitement that always seemed to surround Fred and his friends; pulled away
from what she really wanted. A job she loved and someone who loved her, for
her. Someone that would make her put down roots and stop wandering.

She knew that was never the guy to
her right and the one to her left didn’t belong to her, no matter how her body
yearned for him. Or how at home he made her feel.

It was a bit of a hike to the shop,
but she was glad Theo didn’t suggest taking the truck. She needed the brisk
pace to burn off some of her angst, at Fred and the whole situation.

Jack Ruxpin moved out from under the
hood when he spotted them coming up the drive to his shop.

“Hey, Theo, Riley…” He looked to Fred,
another town stranger, and gave a curt nod. “What brings you round? Now that I
got the parts, I’m making progress, but I still need a little more time.”

Theo shook Jack’s hand and patted
him on the back. “Riley needs to get something from her car. For her…
friend
.”

“Sure, sure. Everything’s still
where you left it.” Jack winked at her.

Giving the older man a smile, she
said, “I appreciate all you’re doing for me, Jack. I owe you—”

He waved his grease rag as if
brushing away her words. “Think nothing of it. I’d much rather be tinkering
inside someone’s engine than dunkin’ my head in a barrel of apples.”

Riley didn’t believe that was true;
this festival meant something to the people in this town, but she appreciated
him trying to make her feel better. “Thanks anyway.”

Moving to the vehicle, she could
feel Fred’s anxious body beside her as she stood by the car trying to recall if
she’d packed it into the trunk or backseat.

“What happened to your car?” Fred nudged
her front fender that was lying beside the car instead of attached to it.