Bears in Flight: Book Four - Supernatural Bounty Hunters Romance Novellas (15 page)

“He just turned up? Just like that?”

Brick nodded in disgust. “After six years, out of the blue...”

Maya clucked her tongue loudly and sat up. “Morons, it wasn’t out of the blue. He knew who we were the whole time. He’s just been waiting for the opportune moment to toy with us.”

Logan rubbed his forehead. “What the hell does he want you to do for him? Has this got something to do with the armed robbery?”

The she-bear clapped her hands together sarcastically. “Way to go, Sherlock. Yeah, that was part of it. All we had to do was steal four pieces of some kind of jewelry, and we were free. But bonehead here,” she nodded at Brick, “fucked up when he fucking well sneezed at that fucking jewelry shop! We already got three of the pieces; we just need the fourth.”

Logan considered that. “And the fourth was at the jewelry shop?”

Maya gave him a look of disbelief. “Yes, why the hell else were we trying to rob the place? The fancy-ass owners sent it there to be cleaned; it was in the safe. But without the manager, we couldn’t get into the safe, so we had to pretend we were just robbing the store. Merrick gave us some charm to knock out the security cameras, but we got caught anyway…”

Her eyes slid back over to Brick, who gave her a sheepish look.

“We were kind of worried Merrick would have us killed in jail, which is why I got you to bail me out, and Brick got his cousin or something to get him out. We can’t afford to go to jail right now; we have to finish what we started, steal whatever the heck it is, give it to Merrick and we’re free.”

“Just like that?” asked Logan dubiously.

“He said he’d forget about what happened six years ago.”

Her voice sounded confident enough, but Logan could detect the panic in her eyes. She was good at hiding a lot of things, but Merrick clearly had her spooked about something.

Logan’s bear rumbled uncertainly. “And if you don’t do this, he’ll kill you?”

She licked her lips.
A tell if ever he saw one
. “Yes.”

He pulled out his phone.

“What are you doing?” she screeched.

“I’m calling the cops; you’re holding something back.”

“You don’t understand…” she babbled as real tears started welling in her eyes.

Logan hardened his heart and buoyed by his bear; he started dialing.

“He kidnapped our son and will kill him if we don’t do it!” blurted Brick in anguish.

“Your son?” Logan muttered incredulously. “The two of you have a son?!”

“Brick, you idiot!” she spat.

The large bear jutted his chin. “Why can’t he know? Or were you hoping to dump me and our son and ride off into the sunset with him?” Brick curled hip lip in Logan’s direction. “Because, by the sound of it, he doesn’t want you anymore, he wants a divorce.”

Maya glared at him but didn’t say anything. Logan did a mental eye-roll while his beast impatiently stomped around. If he had to guess, he’d say that Maya was holding off on making a commitment to Brick with the excuse that she was still married to him. It was the kind of thing she’d do; he just wasn’t interested in her shallow drama at that moment. There was a kid to think about…

“How old?” asked Logan quietly.

“He’s not yours if that’s what you’re thinking!” bellowed Brick as his face turned puce.

“He’s 3-years-old,” replied Maya, purposefully ignoring Brick. “Merrick took him from his room while he was sleeping. His, umm, his name is Brock.” She looked at the wall to hide her expression, but she couldn’t hide the choking emotion in her voice. She shrugged and let out a forced laugh. “Stupid name really, but we like it.”

Logan started pacing the room. He was in a quandary, and the bear was no damn help, for once the beast wasn’t trying to push him to do anything.
He was as confused as the man!
He wanted Maya out of his life but could he really dump her off at the cops with a wave and a hearty ‘good luck with your son’? He sensed they were telling the truth; could he really just abandon a child to the likes of a Merrick?

No, he couldn’t.

The right thing to do would be to help. It pissed him off no end, but he knew he had to help. Besides, with his parentage, Logan figured the kid needed all the help he could get.

Fuck it.

“If I help you do this, when we get your son, you have to go straight to the cops after.”

A flicker of hope danced over Maya’s face. “You’ll actually help us?”

Logan rubbed the back of his head.
God he was a sucker and a fool
. “Yeah, I’ll help you.” His bear growled in support.

He didn’t know whether this made him a good guy or a complete dope, but all he knew was that the sooner they did this, the sooner the kid was safe and the sooner he could begin his life with Mia.

Chapter Sixteen

Wednesday

Mia stared at the painting. It was hardly riveting, but she wasn’t really looking at it anyway. She was too busy trying to ignore the indignant chitters of her outraged rabbit.

Her beast didn’t understand
why oh why
Mia was out at an art gallery trying to enjoy herself while her mate was doing god knows what at that moment.

She knew Logan wasn’t exactly having a ball, but staying at home mooning over the situation wasn’t helping. If anything, that would only serve to make her worry about Logan’s ex-wife. He was adamant there was nothing between them anymore, but he had loved her enough to marry her once, what if he rediscovered a few of those feelings?

Mia wasn’t exactly having the time of her life either, and this was a welcome distraction from spy cameras and shattered mirrors.

She knit her brows together as the
trés chic
couple in front of her waxed lyrical at how magnificently the artist had captured the agony of death.

Mia cut her eyes to John who smirked and she tried not to laugh. When the pretentious couple moved on, they stepped forward, and she took a closer look at the piece.

“I don’t know about you,” whispered John in a conspiratorial voice, “but all I see are five red circles.”

Mia grinned. Thank god John didn’t share the conceit of the recently departed couple. “Really? The agony of death isn’t trying to slap you in the face?”

He smiled wryly. “No, but maybe someone should slap the artist – the amount he’s asking for that is unbelievable.”

“Hmmm, I think we’ve entered the world of fashionable art, it’s fashionable to own one of these pieces, it’s just not very healthy for your bank balance.”

John looked at her in concern. “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

Her rabbit perked up at the thought, but Mia soon shot her down. “No, I’m enjoying myself, I like a lot of stuff here, and it’s a welcome distraction.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Problem?”

She hesitated; she didn’t really know John that well and didn’t want to lumber him with her problems. Instead, she gave him a half-truth. “My apartment was broken into; someone appears to be kind of stalking me.”

Mia shrugged and tried to laugh it off.

John immediately looked concerned, and his eyes darted around the room. He was looking for stalkers everywhere, much like she had been doing.

His eyes narrowed and he took hold of her elbow in a firm but gentle grip. “Now that you mention it, that guy over there,” John surreptitiously nodded in the direction of a tall, blonde, and extremely uncomfortable looking young man, “has been watching you for a while now.”

Mia looked and then giggled. “Oh, he is stalking me, but only because he’s trying to catch the original stalker.”

John frowned at her.

“That’s my brother, Richard. The brother you didn’t meet when you came over for dinner. He works nights at the Den’s nightclub.”

John chuckled in relief. “Ah, I see.”

“I have a permanent bodyguard at the moment.”

“What does your boyfriend think about this?” he asked abruptly.

Mia smiled at just the thought of her beefy mate. “He’s worried about me, but he also has a lot on his plate right now.”

“Hmmm.” A fraction of irritation marred his handsome features, but it was quickly smothered.

Her rabbit didn’t like that one bit
. She started to wag her finger at him but then immediately stopped. She had a fleeting feeling that she was starting to turn into her father. “Don’t hmmm, he does, and he knows I’m safe with my brothers following me around.”

“He doesn’t mind us being friends?”

She blushed prettily. “I’m pretty sure he does, but he’s trying to be grown up about it.”

“I’m pleased,” he said placidly. “What does he do?”

“He’s a bounty hunter.”

“Really?” he asked as amusement danced over his lips.

“Yeah, he’s a bear shifting bounty hunter,” Mia told him, proudly.

“And you’re happy with him?” He watched her closely and Mia felt a sliver of concern over that.

“Well, yeah, I mean, we have our moments, but I’d say we were happy.” Her rabbit yipped in agreement.

He looked at her for a few beats, and Mia was assailed by a strange sense of…
familiarity
, which was odd, they barely knew each other. True, they got on well, but still.

John, perhaps sensing her discomfort, broke the gaze. He shuffled a little closer. “Come on,” he murmured as he nodded at the snobby couple, “let’s follow them and see what else they have to say on all the other masterpieces here.”

Mia giggled. “Ooh, I can’t wait to see what they have to say about the collage of forks in the corner.”

“Probably a grim expression of what happens when your dishwasher breaks.”

Mia looped an arm through his and allowed herself to be led away, her momentary worry completely forgotten.

*

“So what exactly are we stealing?”

Maya passed Logan a photo.

“It’s some kind of old stone that’s been made into a bracelet – that’s the photo Merrick gave us.”

“Well, he’s nothing if not thorough,” muttered Logan as he studied it. “I’m not much on jewelry, but that thing is ugly.”

“It’s worth a lot of money.”

“Merrick already has money.”

Maya shrugged and took a noisy swig of her coffee.

“Why exactly does Merrick want this?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” she replied dismissively.

Logan let out a long breath. “So who does have it?”

Maya pointed to an older hawk shifter having lunch at a terraced café with a young blonde woman. The two bears were parked in a rental car down the street.

“This guy, gave it to wife number six.” Maya was referring to the blonde, young enough to be the hawk’s granddaughter.

“Yeesh.”

She snorted. “Tell me about it. Each wife keeps getting younger and more plastic than the last. She’s okay, I guess, if you like that sort of thing.”

His bear growled lustily as a brief flash of Mia’s face from the other night passed before him. In particular her expression when she had come undone in his arms. Her deep, dark eyes, the pinkness of her cheeks and her pouty, pink mouth were the epitome of beauty for him.

“I don’t,” he said firmly.

He had visited his mate the previous evening, and in the interest of their newfound honesty, he disclosed everything about Maya. Mia wasn’t exactly enamored with him spending time with his wife or him helping to steal anything, but her enormous heart melted for the child. She had wanted to call the cops, but she concurred that she didn’t want anything to happen to Maya’s son.

By talking it through with Mia, he was reassured that he was making the right decision by helping. He promised to keep in contact as much as possible, in case he couldn’t come by the house. He knew he wouldn’t be able to see her as much as he wanted for a few days at least, and he already ached for her.
Damnit, he was aching for her a minute after he left her house
. His freaking bear was no help either. When the beast wasn't crabby, he was roaring his murderous opposition to the man’s decisions. Logan could barely even stand to put up a fight. He was in agreement; he wanted nothing more than to be folded around his mate right at that very moment. He wanted to be with her every moment of every day anyway, but the whole potential stalker business was frustrating the hell out of him. He’d love nothing more than to wrap his hands around the throat of the fucker who dared to upset his rabbit.

He didn’t realize he was growling until Maya told him to pipe the hell down.

“Why don’t you wanna marry Brick?” Logan asked unexpectedly, trying to distract himself.

“Who says I don’t?” she snapped.

Logan harrumphed.

“It’s not important,” she muttered.

His lips twitched. “The guy would belly crawl over hot coals, broken glass, rusty nails – you name it, he’d do anything for you.”

Maya licked her lips and gave him a sidelong glance. “I would have said the same thing about you once.”

His bear grunted in embarrassment. “I came to my senses.”

“Mmmm hmmm, I take it you want to marry your girlfriend?”

His animal stilled, wary of where she was going with this. “She’s more than that; she’s my mate, my true mate.”

She surprised him by saying, “I’m happy for you.”

Logan stared at her incredulously. “Really?”

“Of course, I don’t begrudge you happiness. I just hope you make her a better husband than you did me.” She sniffed.

He felt a burst of rage at her verbal slap in the face. “Hey, I was a damn good husband to you!”
Not that it really mattered…

Maya snapped her teeth together. “For a while you were, while you were still in that numb phase where you did anything I said. But, after a while, I started to realize you didn’t have a submissive bone in your body.”

“I’m deeply sorry,” he scoffed sarcastically.

“I guess we’re both better off.”

“Even if it means you have to marry Brick?”

Maya glared defiantly. “I don’t have to do anything… I might choose to, though, so that legally Brock is sound.”

Logan saw emotion flash over her face before she shook it away and refocused on their quarry. “Hey, take a look.”

“What’s happening?”

“He’s just polishing his trophy at the moment,” she sneered.

Sure enough, the old hawk shifter was none-too-subtly caressing his trophy wife’s breasts. His touch didn’t appear to be either welcome or soothing if her facial tics were anything to go by.

Maya leaned forward in her seat and narrowed her eyes. “If you look closely enough, you can see the bracelet on her right arm.”

Logan followed suit. “Yeah, just as I suspected, it’s hideous. Merrick must have a secret stash of hideous jewelry he likes to drool over. Or maybe he just likes to punish his girlfriends by making them wear it.”

No, if and when he bought Mia jewelry…
whoa, whoa, whoa!
Six months together and he hadn’t bought his mate any token of affection? Something needed to be done about that. If his animal’s howls were anything to go by, he was being very negligent in that department.

“Who cares what it looks like or what he’s going to do with it? The point is, she has it, and we need it.”

Logan fidgeted uncomfortably. The situation just didn’t sit right with him. “Why doesn’t Merrick just offer to buy it? From the look on her face, she hates the thing anyway.”

Sure enough, the trophy wife kept jangling her wrist and fiddling with the obviously heavy bracelet.

Maya grunted impatiently at his constant questions. “For the last time, who cares? The point is, he wants it, so we’re going to get it for him.”

“Do you really believe he’ll let you have Brock back, and he’ll just leave you alone after this?”

She bit her lip. “I have to.” Her eyes moistened. “He’s okay, you know. Merrick lets me speak to him every night. He misses us and cries on the phone, but he’s being well looked after, I can tell.”

Logan huffed; he didn’t want to dwell too much on that subject, it would only upset Maya. “Do you have pictures of the other things he wanted?”

“Sure, in the back.” She flicked her head in the direction of the rear seat.

He pulled them out and started looking at them. If he was looking for an easy answer to his curiosity, he was sorely disappointed. All four items looked like big, gaudy pieces of jewelry.

“So how exactly are we going to extract the bracelet from the trophy?”

Maya swirled her coffee, pondering their plan of attack. “I don’t know,” she admitted sadly, “the old hawk has a terrific security system, and you see those four goons hanging around? They’re his personal security team. Two go with him, and two go with the trophy.”

They looked like particularly unfriendly versions of Herman Munster.

“So what? We sit here and wait for inspiration to strike?” His bear fidgeted uncomfortably; he wanted the situation taken care of and soon.

“Something like that,” she murmured.

His cell phone rang; he was both relived and agitated at the familiar Elmer Fudd ringtone. She could just as easily be phoning to tell him she was breaking up with him as she could be to tell him she loved him. After the last week, he wouldn’t blame her for believing he wasn’t worth the effort. Against Maya’s furious waving of her arms, Logan got out the car and answered.

“Hey ba… hey sweetheart.” After hearing how often her father called her ‘baby girl,’ Logan was seriously reconsidering his pet name for her.
He certainly didn’t want his mate drawing too many comparisons between the two men.

He could almost hear her frown. “Everything okay?”

His beast sighed; he was better for hearing her voice. “Sure, well, all things considered. I miss you.”