Bear Naked Truth (Southern Shifters Book 7) (8 page)

"Sure. How could I not? Hannah is adorable."

Calder smiled, pleased with her response. He then leaned forward and took her mouth in a startlingly intimate kiss. She felt the power of his feelings vibrate to her core and then outward. Much more of this and she'd melt at his feet begging him not leave her.

When he broke the kiss, a whimper escaped her.

"I know. I don't want to go either. I'd much rather be in that bed with you making you scream my name again." He licked her lower lip. "But if Bhric needs to see me it's got to be important."

"Should I be worried? Will your council not accept my claims?"

His thumb stroked her cheek. "I wish I could tell you for sure what they'll do. But they can be real jack asses sometimes. They definitely can't see the forest for the trees. Fortunately, we've got Bhric and probably Kane on our side. They're both getting tired of the Blackwood pack stirring up trouble."

"If you say so." It didn't really matter if she left.

He gave her another tight hug before letting her go. "Hang tight, babe. I got this."

She followed him out the front door and watched him climb on his bike. The sinking pit in her stomach grew worse with every step. The idea this would be the last time she saw him made her stomach heave.

Hold it together for a few more minutes.

Calder waved and headed down the drive and she watched until he was long gone. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before Niki walked up and stood next to her.

"Don't do it," she said.

She didn't turn and look. It was too hard to take her eyes off the road Calder had driven away on. "Do what?"

"Run."

Jessa jerked her head towards the other woman. "What?" She was so shocked Niki had pegged her so fast she didn't know what else to say.

"You're planning to run. I can tell."

She shook her head and turned away from the knowing eyes of the other woman. "That's crazy."

"A little. Take it from someone who knows. Running will only delay the inevitable and you might regret losing that time with him."

Jessa barely understood her close friendship with Calder, so grasping that her and Niki would have anything else in common was too much.

"How do you know? Don’t you have the perfect life? You've got a mate who worships you and a precious little one. My life isn't like that."

Niki snorted. "Oh, hon, you have no idea. My life wasn't like this either. Trust me you do not have the loner market cornered. Try being a loner and a contract killer. No one wants to be friends with that."

Taken aback by this woman's honesty she couldn't stop her curiosity. "How did you overcome it?"

She laughed, a gentle rumble that made her sleeping baby smile. "Well, I guess fate had a lot to do with it if you believe in that kind of thing. When I needed him most he appeared. But it scared me so I ran. Dean eventually found out where I was with a little help from his big bro and then he came after me refusing to take no for an answer. As for her..." She stroked her daughter's back and whispered at her ear. "Like I said. Some things are taken care of by fate and she came right when I needed her most, same as her father."

"It's not going to work out like that for me. I can't have babies. That's why I left the Blackwood pack. I was supposed to help them have a child and instead I found out that's not possible."

"Anything is possible," Niki insisted.

She shook her head. "No, it's not like that. The doctor who was treating me over there, Simon, he said I'm unable to carry a child."

Niki's body locked up and her eyes narrowed. "You saw Simon? Is he okay? Did you tell this to Bhric? What about Calder? Shit. This is the kind of thing they have to know right now before they face the council."

"Bhric knows. I had to tell him to stay here. But I signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Blackwoods and wasn't supposed to tell anyone. I was trying to tell Calder today, but we ran out of time."

Niki whistled long and low. "You sure know how to do complicated."

"Now do you see why I am thinking what I'm thinking? I'm not blind, I saw Calder with Hannah. He needs a mate who can give him that. No way can he settle for anything less. I won't allow it."

Again, Niki laughed. "You sure you know shifters? We're a bunch of possessive bastards. Once we decide something is ours we never let it go. Don't think for a second running is going to change anything. Calder and his bear have claimed you. That shit is done, babe. If you run now, he won't be far behind and then he'll be one pissed off bear. I don't know about you, but the idea of Calder really and truly out of his mind pissed scares the crap out of me."

Jessa started to argue and Niki held up her hand.

"Save it for Calder when he catches up to you. You're going to need it."

H
ours
later and Jessa was good and ready to give up. She'd been trying to get out of the house unseen since Niki stopped talking and failed every time.

Because that infuriating women saw and heard all! There was no escaping her.

She had her keys in her pocket, along with her cell phone and the small reserve of emergency cash she still had. She was even prepared to leave everything else behind if it meant she could get far away before Calder returned.

"How many times are we going to do this before you give up?" Niki asked.

She shrugged. "Until you let me go?"

"Not happening. I am not going to be the one who tells Calder I lost you on my watch. Not only will he be pissed, but he'll know I didn't try hard enough."

Jessa rolled her eyes. "I swear shifters have egos the size of Texas. Get over yourselves already."

Niki chuckled and handed Hannah to Jessa. "Here make yourself useful. Then maybe I'll explain my confidence. Although you aren't totally wrong about the egos. I think it's hard coded in our DNA."

She wanted to say no and go lock herself in her bedroom until Niki went away. The woman both infuriated her and baffled her at the moment. But Hannah held her arms out as if reaching for her with an irresistible smile on her chubby face.

Jessa had no defense for the adorable child. "You are so mean," she hissed over Hannah's head.

"That's what everyone says. So I'm used to it." She headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "You mind if I whip up something to eat. I'm starved."

"Knock yourself out," she said as she proceeded to settle Hannah on her lap so they could play a game of assisted patty cake.

"You need to talk to Calder before you go running off," Niki said from the inside of Jessa's refrigerator.

"You sound like a broken record." She cooed at Hannah. "Your mamma is a broken record." The baby laughed at her. "See! Even Hannah agrees."

"At least I'm not acting out a cliché." She lifted her head and looked over the door. "Just talk to him. After that if you still want to leave I'll help you get away."

"Why? I thought you were worried how Calder would react?"

"Calder is a sweet, loyal stubborn bear. But he's also possessive as hell and hiding a definite anger issue. He's not going to let go easy, but he deserves to hear the problem from you. And he deserves to tell you whether that problem means squat to him."

"Family means everything to all shifters. Even I know that. I don't need him 'trying' to cast that aside because he's convinced I'm his mate. He needs a clean break, and if he gets mad at me it might be for the best."

Niki walked into the living room area carrying a plate of ham sandwiches cut up into little squares. The neat precision of the sandwiches lined up perfectly on the plate did not escape Jessa. Obviously she was dealing with a woman with an affinity for the smallest of details with maybe a touch of OCD on top.

Great. That meant every avenue of escape had already been considered and blocked.

"Who are you?" she asked Niki.

"What do you mean?"

Jessa pointed at the plate. "Sandwiches made with military precision. You've thought of every scenario in which I might bolt and blocked it. Hell, I bet if I go in my room you've already removed my gun from the safe and hidden the bullets."

To prove her point she ran into the room with baby Hannah on her hip and squatted down to look under the bed. Sure enough, her safe was open wide, the gun was nowhere to be seen and not a single bullet had been left behind.

"It's not safe to have guns around shifters. That's how people get killed. And if you're not properly trained you are a danger to yourself."

Jessa stood and glared at Niki. "I know how to use my own gun and it was locked in a fingerprint safe with only my prints in the computer so there was supposed to be no chance of anyone else getting a hold of it."

Niki took a bite of her sandwich. "Uh huh. That's what humans always say. With proper training and security guns are safe blah blah blah."

Jessa's head was about to explode in frustration. She didn't come to Deals Gap to be a prisoner. She stomped over to the other woman and handed her the baby.

"I don't know what your deal is, but I refuse to be some sort of hostage. I'm done and I'm leaving."

Forget sneaking. She'd march out the front door and leave this place no matter who watched.

"Did you know I was genetically bred to kill people?"

That stopped Jessa cold as a chill swept over her. She swung back and faced the other woman. "Is that some sort of threat?"

"Not at all. It was a confession."

She scrunched up her face. Now Niki made no sense. "What do you mean?"

"I was conceived and born in a lab. Before I could walk or talk I was being trained to hunt and kill. By the time I was a teenager my services were being hired out to the highest bidder."

"Why are you telling me this? Is this some sort of scare tactic?"

"No, Jessa. I told you it's a confession. But I can't tell you how much blood I have on my hands because I can't remember how many people I killed. It sickens me now to remember. For so many years I lived with blinders on, making sure I didn't look too close at my assignments. Until one day I did and it scared the hell out of me. That was the day I met Dean and the day I got pregnant with her."

Jessa watched Niki place a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek, marveling at the unconditional love pouring out of a woman talking about killing people.

"Part of my genetics was supposed to be the inability to get pregnant. I guess that kind of thing puts a damper on your created killing machine if she starts having to take time off to be a mother. But I guess when you put too many cooks in the kitchen, things get competitive and they start to fuck with the recipe."

"That's awful."

Niki nodded. "Tell me about it. Now imagine having to confess that to the man you fell in love with after one night AND tell him you're pregnant with his baby at the same time. I ran because of who I was and I tried to stay away because of the baby. I didn't believe I deserved a man like Dean and I had no clue what to do with a baby. I had no skills of any kind and that included how to love someone."

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I'm telling you all this for two reasons. One. Every one deserves a chance at love. Everyone, Jessa. It took me a long time to really embrace that concept so I don't expect you to just believe me, but I hope you'll at least think about it. And two, I think Calder comes from somewhere dark too. He's never done or said anything to confirm that. It's just something I know in my gut. He was my first real friend though so I don't care about his past. Not matter what it is, I'd never judge him. When I showed up at Dark Moon pregnant and needing somewhere to hide, he took my back without a word. I don't know why, but we've been close ever since. Now it's his turn. He deserves a chance."

Jessa cringed. Shot taken and well aimed at that. What the hell was she supposed to do with all of that information? She didn't know much about Calder's past. When she'd asked about his family he'd revealed very little and changed the subject. At the time she didn't want to push. There had to be something there that made him uncomfortable.

Plus, Niki was beginning to scare her.

"Fine. You win. I'll wait and talk to him. Are you happy now?" Jessa strode back into the room and plopped down on the couch. Her stomach growled so she grabbed one of the sandwiches and shoved it her mouth.

Niki grinned down at her. "I am. I was getting damn tired of outmaneuvering you and I sure as hell didn't feel like running after you. This motherhood thing has a way of wearing you out. I can't believe I'm being defeated by a ba—." She stopped mid sentence and hung her head. "Shit. I'm sorry that's pretty rude for me to complain to you. I'm not kidding when I tell you I lack in good people skills."

"You're fine. If we're being honest, I wasn't exactly heart broken when I first found out I couldn't get pregnant. Other than the money I was missing out on, I wasn't sure I was cut out for motherhood either. But it seems meeting someone like Calder and watching him love on Hannah woke something up in me I didn't know I had."

"What made you come here? If the Blackwoods made you sign some sort of contract, they must have planned for the possibility a child wouldn't be conceived."

"They did. It was pretty well spelled out in the contract. Apparently I was naïve. Simon warned me that I knew too much. Said there was no way in hell the Blackwoods would let me just walk away. I came here because he sent me here."

Niki's eyes widened and she paced across the room saying nothing. This continued for several minutes of her going back and forth until Jessa couldn't take it anymore.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's not right. Simon should have sent you to Rafe, his alpha." Niki pulled out her cell phone and pushed a few buttons before holding it up to her ear.

Unease crept up Jessa's spine. If Niki was this worried it had to be something bad She seemed fearless.

"Fuck. No one is answering." She looked down at Hannah. "Please don't let that be your first word, baby girl, okay?"

"What's wrong? Who did you try to call?"

"Dean. He's with Bhric and Calder was on his way to meet them."

"Wouldn't they let you know if something happened?" She didn't like the way this conversation was headed.

"Maybe. Depends on who is hiding what."

"So what do we do? Is there someone else we can call?"

Niki shook her head. "Nope. First you need to tell me more about Simon. Anything and everything you can remember. I don't care how trivial it is. Every detail."