Ready to Bear (7 page)

“Thanks.”

He gave her a short nod and was gone. Thea took a deep breath and found that she could still smell him. It was like a calming salve on her soul. She stripped off her clothes and dropped them into the trashcan. She was tempted to burn them in the fireplace in the living room, but she thought that would give the men who had attacked her too much credit. Thea wasn’t going to buckle or break. It would take more than that to get to her.

With that thought firmly wedged in her mind, she turned on the water in the shower and climbed inside. She forced the thoughts of the two men from the alley away from her and focused instead on the surprise gift that life and fate had bestowed on her. Billy Miller was someone that she hadn’t been looking for, but she had to admit that she was more than intrigued.

The warm water sluiced away the dirt and anxiety of the earlier encounter. Thea reviewed what little she did know about Billy. He seemed to shun the spotlight even as his alpha claimed it. He had to be in his early thirties. The Greyelf Grizzly Clan wasn’t his original clan. He had been with two others before that if she remembered his background correctly.

A grizzly bear. Kyle also was a grizzly, although he had renounced all shackles of a clan affiliation long ago. Thea hadn’t stopped to think too much about her clanless brother and his friends. It made her wonder if there were any other reasons that Billy was in Copper City, and if perhaps her brother had a right to be suspicious.

When Billy mentioned earlier that both he and Lukas had left messages for Eric, Thea knew that they had gotten caught in the Thea blockade. That was what Eric called it, anyway. She was exceedingly effective at catching and deterring any outside attempt to reach Eric unless Eric wanted to be reached. She had heard Billy’s voice before, on his multiple voicemails to Eric that had gotten shorter and more curt as time had gone on. It had barely even registered to her. Eric hadn’t wanted a meeting, so she blew Billy off.

She felt bad about that now, especially hearing the reason that he wanted the meeting to begin with. She wondered about this man that he was tracking, and if he was going to try to cause trouble for Eric. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it was unlikely it would be the last. With his position and his money, Eric was a target for many.

Thea also knew that Billy wasn’t the first member of law enforcement in his family. The media had made a big deal out of the fact that his father and grandfather were both police officers as well, with over half a century of experience between them. She also thought there was an uncle or two who were in the FBI or CIA. Billy had law enforcement in his blood. That made his reaction to how her attackers were being dealt with all the more strange.

As Thea dried off, she knew that she hadn’t thought in great detail about what it would be like to date a shifter. Even though she lived in a family of shifters and was affiliated with one of the more famous ones, she still didn’t identify with that as part of who she was. It was something that had crossed her mind more often now that Alex might be one too. She had no idea how to guide him through what she had heard was a rather rough transition. She thought the whole puberty thing had been bad enough.

As she made her way into her room, she considered her meager clothing options that she could wear now that she was all cleaned up. She wanted to wear something more flattering than sweats and a t-shirt. She argued with herself for a few minutes when she realized that it was stupid. There wasn’t anything that could go on between her and the sheriff anyway. Like Eric, he probably preferred the women he got involved with to be shifters too.

She pulled her hair up into a tight knot on the top of her head. Throwing on her favorite rock band t-shirt and a pair of leggings, she prepared herself to face Billy again.

Billy left Thea with more than a few mixed emotions. He kept reminding himself that not only was Thea related to Eric Carmichael, but she was also human and in a league far beyond his. He came from a middle-class working background. He couldn’t afford the kinds of luxuries that Thea was used to, even if she’d consider going out on a date with him.

That was a huge rub, but he knew that it was for the best, no matter what his bear was trying to tell him. Billy found Alex in the living room playing a game on his Xbox.

“Clean everything up in the kitchen?” Billy asked. “Your sister should be out in a bit. She’s taking a shower.”

“Whatever,” Alex said. “Yeah, I put my shit in the sink.”

Billy realized with a wry smile that Alex was trying to test the limits of their newfound relationship.

“Does your sister approve of that kind of language?” Billy asked.

“She’s not my mom,” Alex said with a frown. He hadn’t looked away from the TV screen. “She might think she is sometimes, but she’s not. While Mom and Dad are away, she and Eric have equal say in what I can do.”

They had reached the core of the issue. Alex was sore because Thea had taken him away from the shifter fight. Billy understood her reasoning, but he also understood Alex’s curiosity.

“Why do you want to see the fights?” Billy decided to let the language issue go. He had been saying a lot worse and then some to the adults in his life when he was Alex’s age. It was a time in his life that Billy wished he could wipe away altogether. He didn’t want to see other young shifters make the same mistakes. It was the reason he volunteered at the high school and mentored several of the younger shifters in the clan.

“Because they’re cool,” Alex said. He punched at the buttons of the control more fiercely. He was playing a combat game. “Eric said that people from all over the country come to see them because the fighters they book are so good. The shifters who fight make a ton of money too. It’s cool.”

“Cool and violent are two very different things,” Billy said slowly. He sat down on the couch next to Alex. He let the pause between them go on for a few minutes. “Why do you think those men agree to be in those fights?”

“Make some quick cash. Kick the shit out of somebody for fun. I don’t know,” Alex grumbled. “Eric said that I could stay for the first fight even though it was a school night. Thea never lets me do or see anything that has to do with shifters.”

That gave Billy pause, and he wondered if Thea had something against shifters. He corrected himself. If she hadn’t before, she probably definitely did now after what happened that night.

“When you’re a shifter, it can sometimes be difficult to keep a handle on your animal self,” Billy said.

“Yeah, Eric has already told me that,” Alex said. “But that’s why you get lots of training after your first phase. So you can control it.”

“The animal self is different just like everyone’s individual personality is different,” Billy said, trying to find the right words to explain himself. He decided to try a different approach. “There are bad people in the world.”

“Like the guys who attacked Thea,” Alex said. His game had finished, but he hadn’t started a new one yet. He wasn’t looking at Billy, but Billy sensed that he was listening intently now.

“Like the guys who attacked Thea. They were shifters too. So you find bad apples in shifter communities just like there are in the human community. Except when it comes to shifter fights, guys like that get to let the beasts inside of them free and go for blood. They enjoy it. So the fights give guys like that a perfectly legitimate excuse to be as bad as they want, plus they get some fringe benefits. Money. Maybe even a little bit of fame.”

“That’s messed up,” Alex said. “I get doing it for money. But I can’t believe that anyone enjoys it like that.”

“Yeah, those are the guys who would fight even if they didn’t get paid,” Billy said. “I’ve known a lot of them in my time.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Of course, there are other men who get into the ring because they have a much sadder story. Those men are looking to get away from the pain and trauma from something in their past. I knew a man like that too,” Billy said, hesitating because he didn’t want to say too much and give something away.

“So there are a lot of reasons that men fight,” Alex said thoughtfully.

“Yes, but most of them are not honest or valid reasons to put yourself into that kind of situation,” Billy said. “It’s dangerous to allow your animal to potentially take complete control. That’s when you become dangerous to the people around you.” Billy knew that better than anyone. He pushed those thoughts away. He was letting things that he had buried in the past come to the surface because he saw so much of himself in Alex’s earnest face.

“What are you two doing out here?” Thea moved into the room. Billy hadn’t even heard her coming. Maybe she had a little bit of panther in her, after all.

“Alex was just showing me his game,” Billy said. Alex looked grateful that he didn’t mention the real topic of their discussion. “But, I think it’s about time for you to hit the hay.” He pointed at his watch.

“Sure,” Alex said. He turned off his game and got up. Billy was surprised when he saw the kid plant a kiss on Thea’s cheek when he passed by her. Billy thought Thea was equally surprised, judging by the expression on her face.

She touched her cheek as she walked further into the room. With her hair pulled up on top of her head and her casual attire, Billy thought she could have easily passed for being fifteen herself. “What’s gotten into him?” she wondered out loud.

“I think what happened tonight was a wake-up call for both of your brothers,” Billy said. He wanted to kick himself for bringing up the attack as he watched her face fall. He patted the seat next to him on the couch. “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wasn’t going to say anything else about that.”

Thea sat down on the couch and pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s okay. I can’t expect that everyone is going to treat me like I’m made out of glass. It happened. It’s over. It could have been a whole lot worse than it was. I need to move on.”

“That’s a brave thing for you to say,” Billy said.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been taking care of myself for most of my life, so I couldn’t get too wrapped up in any of the bad stuff.” She must have caught Billy’s incredulous stare. “I haven’t lived in luxury my entire life, you know. My mother married Robert when I was ten, and she was already pregnant with Alex. Before that, every dime she had went into clothes, hair, jewelry, and all of the trappings, perfecting the image of the perfect socialite. There was enough left over for Ramen noodles most nights for dinner for me. She went off to her events, and I stayed home locked in a small one-bedroom apartment in the less than savory end of town.”

“I didn’t realize,” Billy said.

“She was determined to climb the social ladder, and she did a fine job.” Thea chuckled, but there wasn’t any humor in it.

“What about your dad?” Billy usually didn’t like to pry into a woman’s personal life having just met her, but Thea had opened the door by talking about her family.

“I have no idea who he is,” she said with a slight grimace. “My mother doesn’t talk about him.”

“I’m sorry,” Billy said. “I was close to my dad when I was young. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like growing up without him.”

“Robert wasn’t a bad substitute,” Thea said. “Although he had his hands full with Eric.”

“He’s ten years older than you?”

“Yes,” Thea said. “Eric met Kyle and Tony in prep school. But you probably already knew that.”

She expected him to have come prepared, and she wasn’t wrong. Billy had spent time doing his homework on the three men. “Well, it’s pretty common knowledge,” he said. He stood up. “Do you mind if I have a drink?”

“You officially off the clock now?” Thea said. “Feel free to help yourself. According to Robert, the bourbon’s a very nice vintage.”

“I don’t like drinking when I’m in the middle of doing business,” Billy said. He went over to the sideboard and found ice in the cooler in the cabinet below. He poured bourbon into the glass. He stared at it for a moment as it swirled around in the glass. He felt slightly off his game, and he didn’t like that. Not one bit.

“So my brother and his partners are business for you, huh?”

“It would be easier for everyone involved if they’d at least appear open to the idea of collaboration,” Billy said. “They’ve gotten under Lukas’s skin, and after the way it went down tonight, I can see why.”

“They’re hard and shrewd, but they are the smartest men I’ve ever met, and that includes Robert,” Thea said.

Billy wondered suddenly if there was more to the story between Thea and either one of Eric’s partners. His bear came roaring to the surface so quickly that he choked on his sip of bourbon. He coughed as the liquid felt like fire going down his throat.

Thea sat up in alarm. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, I got distracted there for a minute,” Billy said. He looked down at his hand and saw that it was shaking. He put the glass down and tightened his fist.

“Your eyes changed color,” Thea said quietly. “Were you going to shift?”

“I control when and how I phase,” Billy said firmly. He felt his grip steady. Then he took the glass again and made his way back to the couch. He felt an edge of alarm as he sat down in a chair opposite the couch. With the bear riled up, it was better if he kept his distance from Thea. He saw her frown when she realized that he wasn’t going to return to his original position. He wondered if there was anything about him that had intrigued her as much as she intrigued him.

“Where were you?” Billy asked, taking a slow sip from his glass. “Today, you were at the airport because you were obviously coming home from somewhere.”

“Oh,” Thea said. She frowned. “I was visiting my parents. They are currently staying at a resort outside of San Francisco. Eric forced me to take a few days off, and my mother has been on my butt because I haven’t visited her since I graduated. We did a tour of Napa Valley.”

“Where did you go to school?” Billy asked.

“Cornell,” Thea said. “You’re full of questions.”

“Part of the job,” Billy said with a shrug. “If I’m going to be hanging around for a bit, we might as well get to know each other better.”

“I don’t usually invite men I’ve just met up to my apartment,” Thea said. Billy wondered why she felt the need to explain herself to him, but he didn’t mind. The question had crossed his mind. Thea didn’t seem like the type of girl to do that often, but it was nice to hear her say it out loud.

“I understand wanting a little company until you feel settled,” Billy said.

“Do you often save women who ask you to stay over at their house?”

Billy realized then that Thea was equally curious about him. “Yes,” he said. He saw her raised eyebrow. “And usually I’m given a whole apple pie and pancakes for breakfast. I’m quite popular with the geriatric crowd in Greyelf.”

Thea laughed, and Billy thought how pretty the sound was. It calmed the bear down which allowed him to relax. Thea grabbed a small remote off the coffee table in front of her and turned it toward the fireplace on the far wall. A few seconds later, a fire burst into being.

Billy shifted in his seat. Suddenly the whole scene had a much different feel to it.

“You don’t mind, do you? I’m a little chilly,” Thea said.

“Not at all,” Billy gulped a larger sip from his glass. He was trying not to look at the gentle swell of Thea’s t-shirt as it crossed her chest, or the graceful curve of her thighs. He averted his eyes. If he didn’t control himself, how could he expect to control his bear?

“I’ve heard it gets cold in Greyelf,” Thea said. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them in closer to her chest.

“You get used to it,” Billy said. He stood up and pulled a blanket he noticed off the top of the couch. Then he unfurled it and gently set it around Thea’s shoulders. The way she looked up at him made him want to bend down and taste her lips, but he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t going to take advantage of her fragile state. “If you’re human, you just don’t spend a lot of time outside.”

“Right,” Thea said.

Billy found that he didn’t want to go back to the chair. He positioned himself on the couch again. Thea hesitated for a moment, and then she moved closer to him. She turned so that her head rested on his shoulder.

“I’m so tired,” she said.

Billy wasn’t sure what to do, but he put his arm up, and then Thea tucked herself up underneath it. He felt the softness of her body as it pressed up against him, and it nearly made him jump out of his skin.

“You smell nice. I noticed it earlier,” she said. Her voice sounded drowsy.

“Thanks,” he said. He let his hand drift down so that it rested on the hollow of her waist just above her hip. She snuggled closer to him.

“Thanks for staying, Billy. I hope it’s not a bother,” she said.

“It’s okay. I’m happy to do it,” he said. “Why don’t you get some shut eye?”

She mumbled something intelligible, and then incredibly he heard the sound of her breath turn to that of one who slept. This beautiful woman had fallen asleep in his arms. The even crazier part of the whole thing was that Billy didn’t mind a bit. It made him feel strong, and as if he had protected the thing most precious to him.