“Why would I know?”
“You seem to spend the most time with her.”
“She won’t leave me alone. It’s not like I invite her anywhere.”
“Well, if you had to guess.”
“She doesn’t want you to walk over to the SUV.”
“Why?”
“This would be much simpler if she would just shift to human.”
“Except there’d be a sixteen-year-old naked girl biting at my jeans. I’m almost positive that would only go badly for me.”
“That’s a valid point.”
Ric lifted his nose, sniffed the air. “Bears.”
“That’s probably me.”
He turned his head, took another sniff from her neck. “No. Not you.”
“All I have to say is . . . that was kind of weird.”
“You’ll get used to it.” He sniffed the air again. “Polar bears.” And fear. He smelled Stein’s fear, and his rage. Yet something didn’t seem right to Ric. Why were the bears lingering around? Did they want Ric to pay since they couldn’t get their money from Stein? Maybe, but still . . .
“Go back to the market, Hannah. Take Abby with you.”
“Why?”
Ric added the bags he held to the bunch Hannah had. “Don’t question. Just do.”
Hannah nodded and returned to the market, Abby following behind her, but stopping every few feet to look back at Ric.
“It’s all right, Abby. Go.”
Once she and Hannah were gone, Ric crouched down and pulled the gun he kept holstered on his ankle. He stuck it into the back of his jeans and covered it with his T-shirt. Taking a breath, he headed back to the SUV, easing around the front of the vehicle. But he stopped short when he found nothing. No bears. No Stein.
Ric casted for the scent again, locked on, and followed. He tracked them to a row of stores closed due to the holiday and around to the back. There were two of them battering Stein around. The poor kid hit the ground, blood pouring from gashes on his face and neck. When he saw Ric, he shook his head. “Go, Ric. Go. It’s not me they—”
A tugboat of a foot slammed into Stein’s gut, cutting off the rest of his words.
“That won’t be necessary,” Ric explained, knowing that unlike some other species, bears could be quite rational when one didn’t startle them into unnecessary violence. “I can get you your money if you’d only allow me to—” Ric abruptly spun, catching the hand holding the gun that was about to be placed against the back of his head and slamming his foot into the weak spot on the third bear’s kneecap, fracturing it.
“I’ve spent months,” Ric explained over the screaming of the bear at his feet, “learning to sense the presence of the most lethal She-wolf in the world. So your tiptoeing sounds more like an elephant stomping through dry brush to me.”
He pressed the bear’s gun to the back of its owner’s head. The safety was already off and Ric had the feeling that his death was their intent, not merely getting money from Stein.
“Why are you here?” he asked. The bears stared at each other, the other two still holding on tight to Ric’s cousin.
When no one answered, Ric pointed the gun at the taller bear across from him and pulled the trigger. Another kneecap damaged, the bear went down screaming.
“I’ll ask again because I really have to get back and make breakfast for my guests. Why are you here?”
“Why do you think?” the one he held replied, his voice thick with pain while he lay on his side.
“The kid’s debt was bought,” the uninjured one volunteered. “But we were offered an extra fifty grand on top of that.”
“As payment for killing me?”
“Ain’t killin’ nobody for fifty K, but we’ll mess you up good. Good enough that you won’t be gettin’ up again for a while.”
Ric knew he should feel pain. Acute, ripping pain deep into his soul at such a betrayal—but he felt nothing. Not pain or surprise—not even fear.
“Thank you for the information, gentlemen. I’ll assume I won’t be hearing from you again.”
“You’re not really worth the trouble—and we’ve already gotten the money for what he owed us.”
“Let’s go, Stein.”
Stein picked himself up off the ground and limped his way over to Ric’s side, following as Ric headed back onto the deserted street. All the activity was on the other side of the small town where they’d had a parade and set up a carnival with rides for the locals and tourists.
“Who was he talking about?” Stein asked him. “Who bought the debt? Who would do this to you?”
Ric stopped and faced his cousin. “Who do you think?” He shrugged a little. “My father.”
CHAPTER 26
Dee walked into the kitchen from the back door. She had sand between her toes and in her bathing suit and she couldn’t wait to rinse it all off. But she immediately stopped and watched the wild dog females and Blayne busy cleaning up a battered Stein.
“What happened?” she asked, wondering if Ric had met up with those hyenas again. Hannah had gone with him and was now quietly making dough—why is she making dough?—in a small corner in the kitchen while the rest of the females fawned over Stein.
“Nothing,” Stein lied. “Everything is cool.”
“Where’s Ric?”
“Went upstairs to get more bandages.” He glanced around at the other females. “I should go to the bathroom. Ric will have a fit if I get blood on his kitchen floor.”
Dee-Ann headed out into the hall and to the stairs. Ric was coming down with a first aid kit and they met at the last step.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” He kissed her cheek and she smelled gun powder on him. “But glad I’m home.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. Just Stein’s past catching up to him. Don’t worry.” He smiled and she didn’t believe it for a second. “I handled it and his debt’s taken care of. They won’t be bothering him anymore.” He headed toward his kitchen. “Let me get the kid out of my kitchen and patched up and I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Sounds good.”
Dee went upstairs to the bedroom she shared with Ric and tracked down the gun he’d used. It was a tacky, gold-plated one that Van Holtz would never buy on his own. She returned the weapon to its hiding place and took a quick shower to get all that sand off. Slipping on the bikini she’d told Ric about and a pair of cutoff shorts as well, she headed back downstairs. Stopping briefly to gape at a first-floor bathroom filled with females—now including her cousins and Ronnie Lee—and one young Van Holtz, all trying to wipe up a little blood and put ice on a few bruises, Dee returned to the kitchen. Ric was busy at the sink with his back turned to Dee, so Dee paused briefly and gazed at Hannah until the sub-adult female looked up from what she was doing. Once Dee had her attention, she left the kitchen, went out the back, and over to the far side of the house out of Ric’s line of vision from the kitchen windows.
She found a bench to sit on and waited—she was very good at waiting—until Hannah found her and sat down beside her.
“Well?”
Hannah’s flour-covered hands twisted in her lap, flecks of biscuit dough still clinging to the tips of her fingers. She also wore one of Ric’s bandanas wrapped around her dark brown hair with the black tips.
“We got back to the SUV after shopping and Stein was gone. Ric sent me and Abby back to the farmer’s market.” Abby appeared in front of them, sitting back on her haunches and patiently watching them. “I remembered what you said about not helping and he’d been pleasant enough to me without all that pressure to be happy I get from Blayne.” She took a breath. “So Abby and I followed from the roofs. And we saw that Stein had been grabbed by some bears. Polars, I think.” She shrugged. “I’m still learning all the breeds and everything. The people who raised me before I was snatched are full-human.” She rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. “Ric handled himself really well. Really put a hurt on those guys. Shot one in the kneecaps when he wouldn’t talk. I didn’t think he would. He was so polite the whole time.”