The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Page 14

  “Dad’s bullet didn’t kill the bastard. Instead, the brown eye’s bone socket tore away. The flap hung to the side of his face like on a hinge and he pushed it back into place. The brown eye dangled--” Her hand slapped over her mouth. He felt an involuntary dry-heave wrack through her.

  A revelation hit him. He pushed her shoulders back. “You’re the reason for his eye patch.”

  “If I had my way, he’d have two. The prick.”

  Everything clicked into place for him. “Leah, you don’t have to continue. I understand.”

  “No, let me finish.” She pulled away from him and slid her feet to the floor. “When I looked at him, our family picture that Mom was so proud of hung on the wall behind his head.” She wrapped her arms around herself and paced the table’s length.

  “That photo is all I have left of them. I’ve carried it in my coat pocket for years as proof to myself that my family was real, not something I dreamed up.” She shifted her gaze to the ceiling. “I don’t remember much more. Just pieces here and there. A chalk outline of Dad’s body on the hallway floor, flashing lights in the yard and the unlocked kitchen door.

  “My aunt and uncle took me to their house. Then I got on an airplane to an orphanage in California, and never saw or heard from anyone in my family again.” Leah sniffled.

  Sudden anger flared in her eyes. “Why did I live? WHY?” She choked on words. “I spent so many holidays alone, no birthday parties or girls sleeping over. For years, I watched with hatred as other kids left the orphanage with happy adoptive families. And because of him, I never would. I don’t know the official words, but I was marked ‘unadoptable due to violence potential’ or some shit.”

  She chewed her lower lip and leaned against the wall. “I’m so tired of waking with a tear-soaked pillow.” Leah slid down the wall and squatted into a ball, arms around legs. “I don’t want to run anymore. All I want is a safe place to sleep and for the never-ending pain inside me to go away.”

  He understood. He knew what she needed to hear--the same words he prayed for every day, even though he didn’t deserve them. He knelt beside her. “Leah, you’re not to blame. Let it go.”

  Her voice was barely a whisper. “Since I was a child, hate and revenge have burned inside me, fueling my drive to kill the man who ripped away my family. And it was my fault. I left the door unlocked. How can I not be blamed?”

  Anger swelled inside his chest. One man destroyed her life, her soul. Hannes wanted to wrap her up, hide her from the world that had caused her so much anguish. As natural as breathing, he snuggled around her balled frame. “Don’t be afraid. Forgiveness comes with forgiving.”

  Leah broke from his hold and stood. “That’s what my father said, and I’ll tell you the same thing. I will never forgive that bastard.”

  After rising, Hannes turned her shoulders to him. “Until you do, you’ll never be truly free.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to be free.” Her eyes burned into his.

  He looked at her face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The skin was milky; he wanted to touch her, skim his fingers over her.

  She stared at him, teary eyes warm and candid. He wondered how her kiss tasted, how her tongue felt brushing his. A need to protect her overwhelmed him. Protect her? The only other woman he tried to keep from harm ripped open his heart when she died. Let him bleed to death. His steel exterior tore away. Anger quickly built. These eyes were Leah’s, not Catalina’s.

  He pushed away from her and turned toward the end of the counter, clenched hands shaking. Remorse and pain whirled in his chest. He beat his fist into his other hand. Damn this woman! She was not going to affect him. He would not let her. He didn’t give a shit what the beast inside him wanted. He, the man, was in control.

  His face remained placid--he tried to make his emotions the same. He dropped his look toward the floor. “Return to your cabin. I don’t want you walking around alone.”

  He darted from the room and the memories.

  Leah remained in the galley, trying to piece together the last ten minutes. She’d gone from happy, to sad, to angry, to…peace. Talking to Hannes helped; he really listened, unlike others who never had time, even when paid. It was like he pulled out the pain with her every word. The anger and hate no longer bored into her chest. His voice eased and lulled her into believing she could be redeemed.

  She headed for the galley door, mind whirling with questions: Who was this man who knew exactly what she needed? How could a man who killed for a living understand so much about pain and death?

  Energy drained from her as she closed the door. A footstep fell behind her. Feeling pressure around her throat, Leah sucked in a short breath before her body slammed against the wall. Her head bounced off the metal sheeting. Pain cascaded through her skull. She opened her eyes to a blurry, spinning image of Korhonen.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Leah’s body stiffened as Korhonen’s mangled visage washed terror through her. A twisted smile spread across his face while he held her to the wall by her throat. “Well, my pretty angel. We have to stop meeting like this.”

  Leah squirmed and scratched at his hand around her throat. His alcohol-intense breath sickened her. He brushed his fingers along her wet cheek. “What is this? Was that freak bastard mean to you? Have you seen what he hides? Abomination should be killed.” His face flushed. “I’ll teach him to stay away from what belongs to me.”

  His hand slid along her jaw line then continued down her neck. Leah clawed at his wrist. He squeezed her neck tighter. “Don’t move or I’ll crush your throat and throw your body overboard.” His cruel smile widened. “After I finish with it, that is.”

  She released his hand. It persisted in a path pushing down her turtleneck. Her head throbbed and body screamed, but she kept her mind in control. She kicked at his shins, but her legs, as well as the rest of her, were immobile.

  A small amount of air seeped through her throat. “What do you want?”

  Korhonen leaned back. His thumb grated over her breast. Cringing, a shudder spread through her body.

  “From what I’ve heard, Roclas will gladly pay thirty million for your sweet ass.” He grabbed at his crotch and looked into her watery eyes.

  “Hannes will never let you.”

  Radiant heat spilled onto Leah from Korhonen’s blood-filled face. His eyes narrowed. “Hannes cannot control me. I do what I want. And soon I will have more power than the short-sighted beast ever dreamed of.” A growing hardness pressed against her abdomen. Revulsion threatened to bring up the recent snack.

  His eyes drilled into hers. “I’ve been watching you, waiting for this moment. I see what you’re doing. You women are all the same. Just like my mother, whores like you beg for this.” He cupped his hand around her breast. His chuckle sent fear screaming through her. This monster was more than sick.

  His pinpoint pupils dilated and he smiled. “But don’t worry, angel. I forgive your sins.” He lowered his head to her exposed neck. Roughly, he kissed her throat below his embedded thumb. His tongue slid down the smooth skin, leaving a stream of dripping saliva. Leah squeezed her eyes shut; a small whimper of disgust escaped.

  When he reached the soft curve of her uninjured shoulder, his low rumble shot fear straight into her heart. Crushing her breast, he implanted his teeth into her neck muscle above the collarbone. Spasms ripped through her shoulder, down to her hand.

  Leah beat his head with her fist and elbow. Shockwaves of pain seared her stitched shoulder with every hit. He released his bite. His fevered eyes looked at her. He smirked and crushed her throat into the wall. Her blood-covered fingernails jabbed at his eyes and scratched skin from his cheeks.

  He leaned against her, touching his nose to hers. “Isn’t this fun? Let me show you how much I loved the woman you remind me of. Let’s step into the galley for a while.” His other hand slid between her legs. “Hmm, so hot already.”

  As the oxygen in her brain ran out, so did her strength. Dots of
light flashed in her tunneling vision. Pain in her shoulder melted away. Fight, don’t run. She was not going to die at the hands of this bastard! Her arms dropped to her sides; her struggling body no longer obeyed her dying brain. Her eyes closed.

  Voices whispered in her head. From Heaven or Hell?

  In serene obscurity, a peacefulness Leah never experienced settled over her: no pain, no heartache, no fear. Bliss made her smile, even though she knew a physical body no longer trapped her. She was truly free.

  She looked around for a light. Didn’t near death stories have a light leading to Heaven? Her astral body jerked. If there was no light, did that mean-- A warm feeling wrapped her, taking away the fright and anxiety. A sense of loss, of something unfinished, filled her. What--

  A painful jolt knocked Leah back into full consciousness. She lay on the floor, gasping and coughing. Thirty feet to her left, the chef and one of the housekeeping ladies stared back at her. Lt. Korhonen remained silent.

  After a few breaths, she summoned strength she thought she didn’t have and dashed for the stairs. Climbing as fast as she could, she expected a hand around her throat any second. She staggered down the hall to her room, leaned on the door handle and fell into the cabin. After pushing the door closed, she thrust the desk chair under the knob.

  She crawled into bed, buried her head in the pillow, and released screaming cries.

  After two hours in a shocked state of quasi-dream/reality, she untwisted the covers around her. She heaved her legs over the bed’s side, rested her elbows on her knees and let her head fall into her hands. Time to be rational. Get control.

  In the bathroom, she pulled down the material covering her neck and looked in the mirror. A red band circled her throat like a choker necklace. Toward the back, where his fingertips dug in, skin was hewn with green-ish blue circles. She didn’t see any teeth indentations. He would have bitten through the muscle if she hadn’t fought him. Bastard.

  In the main room, wrapped in a blanket, Leah sat in the upholstered chair next to the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Surrendering to the secure feeling around her, she sighed deeply. Let it go. Let it flow away.

  Even though her body clock now correlated with the sun and moon, sleep wasn’t an option. A creak outside the door sent her into a shivering ball under the cover.

  Someone banged on Hannes cabin door hard enough to shake the hallway wall. Voices filtered through to her room. Leah put her ear to the party wall. A quiet, but fierce, argument raged. Leah didn’t need to see who was talking or understand the language to know Hannes and Korhonen battled words.

  Korhonen’s voice sent a shudder down her body, making her nauseous. At the same time, Hannes’ smooth sound comforted her. Something was coming to a head between the two. She feared she or Ivan would end up as part of the fallout.

  All sound in the next room stopped, followed by a slamming door, and the hanging picture in her cabin fell to the floor. She retrieved the artwork and hung it on the nail barely breaking the surface.

  Her door rattled with solid knocks, sending the picture plunging. “Princess, come out.” Hannes’ voice made it clear he wasn’t in the mood to argue over her pet name. She opened the door to a stone-faced commander. He pounded on Ivan’s door then walked toward his cabin. “Both of you, to my room, now.” His marching stopped. “Please.” He disappeared into the stateroom.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Inside his cabin, Hannes paced. He kept his worries locked down tightly. No need for the woman and boy who sat on the sofa to stress about something he would handle. Plus, having her where he could see and touch her made his animal quite happy.

  He read fear in the boy’s eyes, but pushed it from his mind. Bears had no mercy. He laid his laptop on the desk, reached below and dragged out his green backpack. He unzipped a side pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. He pushed a few buttons and paced.

  After six rings, he slid the phone into his front khaki pocket and faced the two visitors in his room. He looked at them as they returned his stare. “This simple journey has turned into a logistical pain in the arse, as Win would say.”

  They sat quietly. He ran fingers through his hair, brushing wisps loose. To his touch, the lines on his forehead felt deeper, making the vertical scar over his left eye tingle.

  Leah asked, “Why are we here?”

  “Both of you are to stay within my sight until we dock.”

  “Where are we supposed to sleep? On the floor?”

  “Be my guest.” He waved her off.

  She grimaced but kept her mouth shut. After an hour of silence, the woman slept with the boy’s head against her shoulder. Hannes turned the desk so he could work on his laptop and watch the two for suspicious activity.

  The boy seemed good-natured and humble, nothing like himself at that age. Growing up, he was spoiled, angry and rebelled against the world. A punk kid thinking he needed no one. He was so naïve and stupid.

  If he could start his life over, he’d do so many things differently--especially with his parents and sibling. But it was too late and too long ago. A familiar ache inched into his heart. He slid out of the desk chair, opened a cabinet and pulled out a half-empty bottle of vodka. After a few shots, the pain subsided. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a quiet sigh.

  Leah’s sleeping form drew his gaze. A woman full of contradictions. From here, she seemed so innocent and delicate. He sensed a deep sadness in her. Yet, the fire in her eyes and the heat of her touch exuded not just a desire to live, but a longing to feel alive. However, he knew the consequences of playing with fire. He wouldn’t let that happen again.

  Leah woke with pain shooting up the right side of her shoulder. She groaned and rubbed her neck.

  “Good morning, Princess.”

  That wasn’t the first thing she wanted to hear. Dramatically sighing and rolling her eyes, she turned her head toward the voice. Hannes sat at the desk with his laptop open and a chrome container sitting next to it. He probably stayed awake all night. She leaned forward to bend her stiff back and woke Ivan. He sat up and yawned.

  “Either of you care for coffee?” Hannes flipped over two upside down white coffee cups sitting on small matching saucers.

  Leah stretched her arms over her head. “Thank you, but we don’t drink coffee. May I take a shower and brush my teeth now?”

  “You can brush your teeth, but the shower can wait. It’s almost breakfast time.” Pushing the empty coffee cups to the side, Hannes asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

  “It’s fine.” Leah rose from the sofa. “Thank you for asking.” She took a couple of steps toward the door.

  Hannes jumped from his chair. “Stop. The boy can get your toiletries.”

  “Are you serious?” Leah hiked her fists onto her hips.

  Hannes snapped his fingers at Ivan. “Hurry up. Bring your stuff, too.”

  Ivan sprang off the sofa and scuttled out the room. Leah fell into the upholstered-chair facing away from Hannes. Sounding as disgruntled as she could, she asked, “Is the entire time going to be like this?”

  “Like what, Princess?” He sounded amused.

  Through clenched teeth, she said, “Stop calling me princess.”

  “Whatever you like, Your Highness.”

  Her fingers dug into the armrests as she held back a scream. She would not give him the satisfaction of getting to her.

  “And yes, it will be like this until…” Hannes paused.

  “Until what?”

  “Until I say so.”

  Leah scooted down in the chair and crossed her arms. He could do or say anything he wanted. Only one thing mattered. “Are you letting Ivan go?” No answer. Leah hopped up from the chair. “Look, Hannes, he’s no danger to--”

  “Calm down.” His emerald eyes sparkled with a look she’d seen before, and didn’t like then, either. “My plans are made. You both are remaining alive, for now.” Seriousness cloaked his intentions. She should’ve never told him how she read people and the
ir actions.

  “Now, if I let the boy go for you, what would you give me in return, besides party tricks?”

  She threw her arms in the air. For once in her life, she had the opportunity to do something good--save a life, maybe make up for her part in her little sister’s death--but she could do nothing.

  No. That wasn’t true. She had one thing to offer.

  “I will give you ten million dollars for our freedom.” Leah held his eyes to let him know she wasn’t joking. Hannes remained quiet. Damn, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. He could hold the boy for ransom—exactly why she never said anything before.

  A grin broke across his face. “Well, Princess. You never cease to intrigue me. You live on the streets. Everything you own is in a backpack on a dock in Cleveland. Yet you offer money to save your life.”

  Leah panicked over the thought of losing Ivan to the same reason she lost her family. Money would not be her undoing. “Fifteen million to release the boy and bring me Roclas’ head. Half now and half after he’s dead.”

  Hannes’ smile faded and he looked away. “All right, Princess.” He typed on the laptop in front of him and the black screensaver popped to his desktop. “I’d like to see this. Transfer in the first half and we’ll talk.” He rose from the chair and offered her the seat. She swallowed and slid behind the computer. Her laptop had the special software needed to remain undetected while slipping through walls and weak security. She’d have to remember how to do it all manually.

  A memory came to her of a long time ago when her father first taught her how to use the big clunky “tower” and huge monitor on his desk at home. He showed her how the police department could send a message to someone in a different room within seconds. Dad said computers were the future, and whoever controlled them would have great power. It was important for the good guys to always be ahead of the bad ones.

  The pain always attached to her past thoughts wasn’t there. No migraine to shut down her conscience. Her dad’s image at the cottage in her dream warmed instead of hurt. Is this what he meant by letting it flow?