Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Beck

Fifteen minutes later, I returned with a case of beer and tucked it into the fridge after pulling one out to replace Misty’s. I grabbed mine off the counter and pulled up a chair next to her. I swapped her empty for the new bottle and sat. Her eyes had glanced over her shoulder just long enough to ensure it was just me before returning to what she was doing. When I was a kid the internet wasn’t even a thing. In high school, having a computer at home was a rarity, now we all walk around with little computers in our pockets that had also replaced landline phones. Days of navigating from the backseat for my parents on summer vacation came to mind. Kids nowadays have no idea what they are missing. We had to learn to pay attention or get lost; now they just pulled up Google Maps and searched the route out of whatever wrong turn they had found themselves in. This younger generation went outside less, rarely minded their elders, and had no idea what real work was. Well, not all of them. Some parents, regardless of the changing times, still instilled values and the art of slowing down, work ethic, and being courteous to others. Misty seemed to be one of those parents raised by one of those parents. I admired that. She seemed to have found a way to use this world full of tech for the better, while still keeping her wits about her.

“Whats the plan?” I asked her.

“Get in and sit and wait for the opportunity to slowly make this man lose his everloving mind, then once I can write myself into the system, we start digging and exposing anything we can. We make him a PR nightmare, make things messy for him until he slips up. Keep tabs on his security detail and his tech boys so we know when he pings Ads. This wolf bitch boy is going down.” she said, and I chuckled to myself, I believed her and her fire was rejuvenating.

An hour later I caught Misty nodding off as she hit the keys. “Thats enough, killer, I think it’s time to head off to bed,” I told her.

She mumbled something in Spanish that I could only imagine was her cursing Creedon’s day of birth. I sighed and stood scooping her up in my arms. Her half closed eyes looked up at me.

“He’s Chihuahua food, I hope he dies a slow and painful death,” she murmured before her eyes fluttered shut.

“I’m sure his days are numbered,” I told her. Something niggled in the back of my mind as I moved down the hall. Maybe it wasn’t our job to completely end him. Maybe exposing him was our battle. I thought about Adelaide, and something told me she’d keep fighting, if so, maybe she would decide his fate herself. If she was a wolf as I expected, she was going home to her people, maybe her animal would rise and she’d be stronger than any of us could guess. It was a nice thought, you could never really tell, my bear rumbled in my head. He believed in her, so I would too.

I pulled back the rumpled quilt and laid Misty down before pulling the covers back up and over her.

“Don’t worry, we will get him, one way or another, and I promise I’ll be there every step of the way.” She murmured something incoherent under her breath, in reply.

I didn’t catch myself in time, my hand gently pushing the soft tangled waves of short hair out of her face. I’d known this woman barely twenty-four hours, but I found I admired her already. I toyed with the ends of her hair. A five-foot-four blonde devastated by the unimaginable had brought me out of my depressive stupor, reminded me why I kept going, only to bring me to this barely five foot whirlwind of a woman. The universe had ways of reminding me I wasn’t done. I watched her relax into sleep. I closed my eyes savoring the image, and I realized I would protect her, not as I had the others, but as if she were mine to protect. They were mine, the cub had put an entirely new spin on things for sure, but this human, she needed me. I refused to fail her. I claimed her in that way, she never had to know how deeply my protection ran. How invested I had already become in her safety.

I slipped out of the apartment and wandered upstairs. I could tell by the faint Mexican music coming from the apartment above, that Valentina was still up. I knocked on the door and she answered it wearing an apron covered in corn flour. She eyed me up and down before she sniffed.

“Come in, Señor Oso,” she said, stepping back and offering me to enter the apartment. It was much larger than Misty’s, her home expanded the entirety of this floor. As I stepped inside I noted the array of colors the lived-in space held. Vibrant blankets were tossed across every seating space in the living area.

“Sit,” she ordered, pointing to the dining table. I obliged her and she brought me back a steaming cup of tea as she sat across from me with one of her own.

“No bullshit, bear, what are you doing here?”

“Ensuring they are protected,” I told her simply.

“Let’s say I want to believe that, make me,” she said casually as she narrowed her eyes at me.

I supposed I had better start from the beginning.

“Adeliade, I ran into her when she escaped what I believe was her mate trying to force her to  reverse her rejection,”

“Mcfuster?”

“That one, I got her out of town but I can’t let him live after what he did to her. She as far as I can tell doesn't know she’s a shifter,” I explained.

“So you are taking justice into your own hands, bear?”

“I always have.”

“Why? she pressed.

“I failed someone before, I’m not letting it happen again,” I insisted.

“So is it revenge you seek? Because that alone isn’t going to save them from the bears,” she pointed out.

“That’s why I’m still here and not keeping my distance,” I pointed out.

“Not good enough,” she challenged.

“Look I’m invested, that little girl needs guidance, and her mother—she can’t fend them off on her own. Once it’s all over, I have the means to get them out of here but right now, I need to get this man off the face of the earth. You don’t know what he did to her, it's not just the human who is bad but the wolf as well,” I explained. “He can’t live, I was watching them as a favor not asked of me. Adelaide didn’t want them involved. But I don’t have another option, they are involved or I feel their friend will die,” I explained.

“That’s not an option,” the old woman agreed. “However, I need to know your intentions. When Misty came to me for the apartment I only agreed because I realized what Cricket was, what that could mean for them.”

“You are invested in their safety. Well, so am I. I have the means to get them out, if it comes to that,” I promised again.

“You had better, because I can’t,” the wolverine admitted she was out of her league. “But, I’ll throw you out at the first sign you may do wrong by them.” she promised. “As much as I want to keep them here, we both know what their fate is if they stay. It's not just Mcfuster we are dealing with, eventually they will bring the sleuth."

“That’s not happening,” I promised. “As long as I am here they won’t make a move, once this is over, I’ll take over the rest,” I insisted. How I would convince the steadfast Misty to leave I wasn’t sure yet, only time would tell, but I needed Valentina on my side, we needed to be allies not enemies.

I set my empty cup down and she and I stared at each other before she nodded. I just stood and walked out without another word. She knew the stakes, she just had to trust me to handle it. One thing didn’t sit right though, Valentina wasn’t surprised about Adelaide being a shifter, had she detected something I had missed? Or was she just good at hiding her surprise? Maybe it was just that it was of no consequence in the current situation. Adelaide wasn’t here, she could change nothing about Misty’s situation. Alternately by staying here and doing this we gave her the best chance. It would have to do. I went back to Misty’s apartment, listened in on their even breathing and glanced up at the code running across the screen. I had put my faith in Misty, something told me I was right in doing so. I kicked out of my boots and grabbed the quilt off the back of the couch, I folded up my jacket to use as a pillow and let sleep find me.