Bears in Flight: Book Four - Supernatural Bounty Hunters Romance Novellas (6 page)

Six years ago

Logan paced the room as his bear snarled at him. He was holed up in a crummy motel waiting for Maya.
Where the fuck was she?

He raked his hands through his hair. Why? Why the hell had he ever listened to Maya about this? They should have run when they had the chance.

Brick growled at him and told him to calm the fuck down.

Logan bared his teeth at the other male, and Brick did the same. For a moment, he thought they were going to come to blows. All the pent up rage of jealousy was about to explode, and they were about to beat the hell out of one another. But, instead, Brick huffed and went back to flicking through the TV channels.

Logan stared at the other bear shifter with loathing. If it hadn’t been for him, Logan and Maya could have been halfway across the country by now and safe.

His bear remained quiet, making Logan uneasy. Even his bear knew that wasn’t true. Logan wanted to blame Brick for everything, but he knew it wasn’t his fault. Brick would have done anything for Maya. He was besotted with her and pissed that Maya had chosen to marry Logan over him.

Truthfully, the whole mess was all down to Maya, and it didn’t sit well with him at all. They had been together for, what he thought were, three glorious years. But now, he was assailed by uncertainty about his mate.

She had done some crazy things, and led him down some bad roads, but this was too much.
Was there any coming back from this?

His bear growled at him again but not in anger. It was a soft, whining growl. He was worried about Maya, but he was actually more worried for himself. He knew he had a dark part of his soul, but he had always hoped that the right person would bring him into the light.
The right woman…

He’d always thought that was Maya. She found him when he was at his lowest ebb, and she took him in hand and taught him how to channel his anger. She gave him a reason to live, and for that he was forever grateful and virtually worshipped her.

Before, he’d never been able to see past whatever crazy scheme Maya came up with. He could never see beyond being with her. But now, he was thinking about the future.
He wanted more
. He wanted a mate to love and be loved by. Hell, who knows, maybe he’d even have kids one day. Was that really something he could have with Maya?

He wasn’t sure.

The only thing he was sure about was the fact that he wanted no part of what Maya was doing.

Lord, how the hell could she have been so fucking stupid?

In a snit, he threw a chair across the room. Brick gave him a look of scorn before he resumed watching the TV, and the guy next door banged on the wall.

Maya got greedy. Not happy with fleecing the usual suspects, she had thrown caution to the wind and had gone after a big fish. No, not a fish. A whale.
A white fucking whale called Merrick
.

She hadn’t bothered to mention who their target was when she roped in Brick and himself. No, she had kept that as a nice, little surprise.

The two males were just willing idiots prepared to do anything for the wily she-bear.
Now they were screwed.

Maya had gone for a long con. She had heard about Merrick’s collection of rare, and possibly illegally obtained, antiquities and decided she wanted some of them. So, slowly, she had set about proving that his security was lacking and that he needed to upgrade to a new company. She had already ingratiated herself into his company at his club. Few men would say no to the company of a six-foot she-bear who looked like a cross between an Amazon and a supermodel. She had casually mentioned that she owned a security company. She had the fake company set up and everything – she went all in for this. Then, after numerous breakins at his businesses and home, Merrick had called her about upping his security.
Easy peasy
.

Until… Merrick made it very clear that he wanted to test her security team and have them guard one of his shipments. They went along with it and planned on taking the shipment to Merrick to prove that they were reliable.
So that they could rob him later
. Everything was fine until, due to an unforeseen squirrel running across the road and a subsequent road accident, it became clear what the actual shipment was. Maya had assumed they were potions or ingredients for spells – given that Merrick was a practicing warlock.
But, sadly, no
. Illegally obtained contraband would have been a joy in comparison.

Nope, the truck was transporting people. Not just any people. They were young, female shifters who had been taken from their home countries and were going to be sold off to the highest bidders. Apparently there were numerous men who would pay for the privilege of owning a rare shifter.

Logan was almost physically sick when he found out. The girls were so young, so wide-eyed and innocent. He dreaded to think what Merrick’s buyers had planned for them. The smallest, a salamander shifter, couldn’t have been more than 15-years-old.

Of course, he and Maya had fought about what to do. She hadn’t said it, but part of her wanted to take them to Merrick as planned. Logan knew it; he could see it in her eyes. But there was no way in hell he was going to let her do that.

Instead, she had changed tactics. She decided to blackmail Merrick over the girls. The Council of Supernaturals, to put it mildly, would go ballistic at the warlock for trafficking underage shifters. Maya was sure that Merrick would pay any amount to keep that information quiet.

Logan wanted to go to the cops, but, in his stupidity, he had gone along with Maya. She had been too scared to go to the cops in case they got arrested. She seemed to think it was less dangerous to actually just deal with Merrick.
Ha!

So now she was out there doing god only knows what, and he was stuck in a crappy, cheap motel room staring at Brick’s ugly mug. Stay here and sit tight, she’d said. He was a fucking moron for listening to her.

His bear perked up when Maya slipped into the room. Brick leaped to attention.

Her cheeks were pink, and a nervous smile flitted over her luscious mouth. Logan inwardly groaned; she was excited!
She was actually enjoying herself!

“We’re all set,” she whispered breathlessly. “I told him ten million dollars!”

Brick whooped and then scooped Maya into his arms twirling her round. “Fuck, darling! We’re gonna be rich!”

“And the girls?” growled Logan watching them with narrowed eyes.

Maya pouted and slapped at Brick to let her down. He did with a sullen grunt.

She shook out her curls and giggled before sauntering over to him. “Baby, I told you I’d take care of them and I did.”

Maya smoothed her hands up his torso and smirked as she felt him tremble under her touch.
No, he wouldn’t succumb to her sultry distraction techniques
. He would stay strong.

Carefully he took her wrists and pushed her away from him. “Where are they?”

A flash of anger swept over her face, but she quickly smothered it. She waved her hand dismissively. “On a farm upstate.”

Logan snorted. “They’re young girls, not the family dog no one wants anymore.”

She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look of exasperation. “Look, all you need to know is that they’re safe. Would I lie to you?”

His lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything, so she carried on. “All you need to know is that we’re about to become millionaires and all these tiny, little worries will soon flutter away.”

Maya squealed as Brick grabbed her again, and the two of them roared in happiness.

Logan watched them as unease blossomed inside him. No, this was wrong.
This was all so wrong…

*

Present day

“Logan,” purred Maya.

He shook his head and stared at the she-bear stood before him. She looked exactly the same as the day they had parted. Or rather, the day she had left him.

“Maya,” he said gruffly.

“It’s so good to see you; I’ve missed you.”

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down for a kiss. He stiffened in her arms as his bear snarled.

She stepped back and gave him a half-quizzical and half-disappointed look. “You’re mad at me.”

Logan quirked an eyebrow at her. “I wasn’t thrilled that you called me in the middle of the night, but I can get over a little sleep deprivation.”

She shook her head; her long chestnut curls bounced. “No, I mean you’re mad at me for leaving you.”

He blinked at her in surprise. “No, I’m not,” he answered truthfully.

It had been a shock when she called him out of the blue, and he wasn’t exactly jumping around for joy at how much he’d paid out for her bail, but he wasn’t mad at what happened six years ago.

She frowned at him. “How can you not be? I treated you so badly.”

Maya fluttered her eyelashes ever so slightly. If he didn’t know Maya so well he would have missed it, but he knew all her tricks.

When she left with Brick, after their unholy bust-up, he’d felt numb. For so long he’d had Maya to help him, and center his anger, and without her it had been jarring, but he’d managed. He’d learned to survive on his own; he’d managed to calm himself and take control of his bear. And then he’d met Mia, and he and his bear had been as one ever since.

She ran a hand over his bicep, and he gently removed it, ignoring the growls of his beast. “I’m fine, Maya.”

She nodded shortly, and her face clouded over. “Thank you for bailing me out; I can pay you back most of the money.”

“Sure.” The money didn’t mean that much to him. He figured he owed Maya for pulling him through a dark time in his life.

He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “So, armed robbery, huh?”

Maya snorted at his deadpan face. “They have no evidence that I was there; it’s all circumstantial. It’ll never stick.”

“But, they have evidence that Brick was, right?”

She shrugged. “With a good enough lawyer, who knows what will happen? They can’t prove he didn’t sneeze in that shop some other time.”

His bear harrumphed. “Ummm hmmm. You are going to court, right? You wouldn’t leave me hanging like that?”

A smile ghosted over her lips. “Of course.”

“What about Brick?”

She scowled. “He can sort out his own bail.”

Logan rolled his eyes. He had not doubt that both Maya and Brick were the ones that robbed jewelry store. It wasn’t Maya’s usual style, but she was more than capable of doing it. But, no one got hurt, and they were on trial for the robbery, so he wasn’t going to push it. His bear felt edgy around her; he didn’t want to upset her. If he did piss her off, there was no telling what she might do. Skipping her court date was one thing, but he certainly didn’t want her poking around his life out of spite. Who was to say what she might say to Mia?

He took a deep breath. “Look, Maya, it’s a lot of money, but you helped me out when I needed it, and I owe you. But, this is a one-time thing, okay? I have a life now; I have a girlfriend, and I don’t want her to know about anything that happened before I met her. So, I’ve done this for you and then, after whatever happens – happens, we part ways and never see each other again, okay? Debt repaid.”

Maya stared at him as some indecipherable emotion flickered over her face. He felt the strained tension begin to rise, only for it to be undercut by the twangs of Elmer Fudd singing ‘run rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run…’

Logan felt his face color a little, but his bear virtually rolled over in excitement. Mia was calling him.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and gazed at the phone screen thoughtfully. Her sweet smiling face gazed back at him. He’d taken the photo on their first night together. Her cheeks were still flushed from their lovemaking, and her hair was wild and messy. She’d begged him not to take her photo, but when he had, she hadn’t been able to hide her happiness. It had been one of the best nights of his life. And given how many nights he had spent with her, there was a lot of competition.

Maya placed a hand on his arm, and he stilled. His bear snarled, but Logan refrained from reacting. He glanced between his phone and Maya’s needy expression. Against his bear’s whimpers, he rejected the call and slipped it back in his pocket. He cringed at the flash of triumph that covered Maya’s face.

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured. “Have you missed me?”

Carefully, he disengaged his arm. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” he muttered. No way was he getting drawn into answering her question.

She sighed. “I guess… I don’t know where I’m going to stay though.”

“Where were you staying before?”

“We were renting an apartment. But that toad of a landlord made it quite clear when we got arrested that we weren’t welcome back. And what with my bail and everything, I don’t think I can afford a hotel…”

Her eyes glittered hopefully, and his bear let out a warning roar.
No, danger, bad idea!

“Maya, I don’t think that’s…”

She sniffled theatrically. “I understand; in spite of how I treated you, you’ve already done so much for me. I guess it’s gotta hurt you just to be around me. You can just drop me at the women’s shelter.”

His beast grumbled. It wasn’t like that. He wasn’t trying to keep her at arms length because he had feelings for her. He needed to set her straight on that. She didn’t have any claim on him, not anymore.

“You can stay with me,” he rumbled.

Crap!
He hadn’t meant to say that, but when she looked at him with pity, he needed her to know that it wasn’t because of any love her harbored for her, and the offer had just slipped out…

Her face lit up, and tears shined in her eyes. She was always was good at crying on cue, he thought sourly.

“Thank you, baby,” she cooed.

“Logan!” he snapped a little more harshly than he intended. “You need to call me Logan, not baby.”

“Of course, bab… Logan.”

Maya gave him a sweet but calculated smile.

“And this is just temporary until the trial is over, okay? After that, we go our separate ways. You’re welcome to eat and drink whatever you want in my apartment, but when you go out, don’t tell my neighbors who you are. In fact, don’t even speak to them at all. If they say hello, ignore them.”

She furrowed her brow. “That seems a little severe.”

“Nope, for the last four years my neighbors and I have built up a relationship of complete indifference and I don’t want to do anything to change that.” Or risk anyone potentially blabbing something to Mia in the future. “And don’t answer my phone; I don’t want to have to explain why a strange woman is answering my phone.”

Maya cocked her head on one side. “Strange?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I could just tell them the truth - that I’m your wife…”

“No!” he snarled furiously as his bear tried to push forward.

A couple of passing patrol officers eyed him curiously, and he forced himself to relax.

“It’s true, you know,” she muttered quietly, feigning hurt at his outburst. “I am still your wife.”

His chest tightened. He was well aware of that fact. It was one of the many things that he was terrified of Mia ever discovering.
What she didn’t know and all that…

“Yeah, maybe it’s time we did something about that,” he muttered.

He shifted from foot to foot awkwardly.

“Yeah, maybe,” she said unenthusiastically.

Crap, he felt a twinge of guilt now. Why the hell was he feeling guilty? She was the one who left him! He had no reason to feel bad. There was no way they would ever resume their relationship, so why wouldn’t they get a divorce?

His bear huffed, but Logan couldn’t help himself. He patted her shoulder clumsily. “We don’t have to talk about that right now, let’s just get you home… or to my place… not home… exactly.”

“Thank you,” she mewled prettily.

Crap, crap, crap.

He inclined his head, and they started walking to his truck.

“So, do you have a spare room?”

Logan shook his head. “No, you can have my room.”

Her eyes flickered in surprise. “Always the gentleman,” she murmured.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be sleeping elsewhere,” he clarified.

Maya arched an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”

He didn’t answer but closed his eyes as the all-too familiar strains of Elmer Fudd floated out of his pocket. He grabbed his phone and turned it off, ignoring the smirk on Maya’s face.

“Let’s just go,” he ground out.

He’d make it up to his mate and his irate bear later.