The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Read online

  “What happened?” The boy sat back, scratching his knee sticking out of the rip in his black jeans.

  “Patience. Keep watching.” Leah’s eyes flashed to the station’s clock. Nine minutes until the train arrived.

  The dark screen faded up, revealing the sand pit completely filled with boulders.

  The boy punched his arm into the air, shouting, “Woo-hoo! That was awesome.” A few people glanced at them. Leah tilted down her head, letting her hat hide her face. The boy’s mother repositioned herself next to her son.

  “Did you find a friend, Vonny?”

  Leah fumbled over the plastic seat’s arm getting back to her spot.

  “Mom, she knew how to get past Sour Luck’s Hell.”

  Mom’s brows perked up. “What?”

  Leah cut in. “He means Sarlacc’s Hole.”

  The mom leaned closer to the screen. Leah was well trained on parental concerns. Most of her designs were not rated M for Mature. “It’s not random violence, I assure you…unless you get too close and the tendrils wrap your body, squeeze out your guts, and beat the corpse against--” The mother’s placid face darkened. Leah closed her mouth and swiveled to face the room.

  After a moment of silence, the boy bent over the metal arm of his seat. “How did you know that? Not even the cheat sites have it listed yet.”

  She leaned toward him. “Ever hear of BLK.com?”

  “Best game cheat site on the web. How do you know about it?”

  “I’m BLK.” Leah put her finger against her lips. “Don’t tell anyone.”

  The kid turned to the other side. “She’s famous, Mom. I know a famous person.” His childlike exuberance made Leah laugh from deep inside—something she hadn’t done in a long time. He lifted his backpack and rummaged inside a pocket. Leah stared at the clock over the ticket booth. Five minutes. Over the intercom came the announcement for all those going to Cincinnati to prepare for boarding.

  A man with dark hair and long, bushy moustache stepped through the main entrance and surveyed the area. Leah tensed. His eyes locked onto hers.

  A crowd of people heading for the loading platform broke the visual connection. She grabbed her pack and rounded the end of the row.

  “Hey, wait!” The boy jumped out of his seat, holding a pen and the CD case to the Star Wars game. “Back in a sec, Mom.”

  Leah glanced over her shoulder. The man had reached the throng of bodies flowing against him. He darted side to side with little success.

  The boy ran up to her. “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “I have to leave.” She tugged on her cap.

  He stumbled behind. “The train is the other way.”

  “I’m not taking the train.” She pushed on a silver bar and leaned against a heavy metal door. A cold breeze smacked against their faces.

  “Why not?”

  “I changed my mind. Go back to your mom.”

  He followed her into the parking lot. “But I don’t know your name.”

  “You don’t need my name. Go back inside.” She steered away from the brightly lit parking lot.

  “But I want your autograph.”

  Leah stopped. No one had ever asked for her autograph. He held out a pen. “Would you sign my game booklet?”

  She shook her head. “Sorry, kid. Can’t right now.” Hastening her step, she peeked at the door they exited.

  “It’ll just take a second. Please.”

  She sighed and spun around. “If I do, will you go back inside?”

  With a toothy smile from one multi-pierced ear to the other, he thrust the square packet in front of her. “Never bother you again. I swear.”

  She snatched the pen and started to scribble. Squeals echoed around the corner of the building. A car accelerated toward them. Leah dropped the pen and booklet and grabbed the boy’s arm. “Run!” She jerked him forward before he comprehended her words. They ran toward the parked vehicles. The car shifted into a higher gear. “Faster!”

  Leah guided the boy over concrete wheel bumpers, hoping to slow down the car. Sparks exploded as fast moving metal scraped over the low-lying obstacles.

  Reaching a cluster of cars, they scrunched down and passed between rows. The bounty hunter’s vehicle circled, never far away. Trapped. As long as the man stayed in the car, Leah was certain he wouldn’t shoot. His right hand that held the dart gun had to be broken and the other needed to stay on the steering wheel.

  In between heaves, the boy asked, “What’s going on? Who’s chasing us?”

  “Someone who wants to be rich.” Leah moved them to another row.

  “We have to call the police.”

  She pivoted into his face. “No. Never the police.”

  “Why not?” He drew down his brows.

  “Because you can’t trust them. They promise to protect you, then abandon you as soon as the spotlight goes away.”

  They scampered closer to the chain link fence surrounding the lot. On the other side, a shallow slope extended the grass line, then dove into darkness. Farther out, tops of several warehouse buildings on the ship channel docks reflected sparse light--the perfect place to hide. Problem was the fence stood thirty feet away. Could she run the distance and climb over before the man saw her?

  She pulled the boy next to her. “It was nice to meet you, but this is where we split.”

  The boy’s face fell ashen. “You can’t leave me here.”

  Leah rubbed her hands on her face. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. The guy wants me and will hurt anyone with me. If I’m not with you, you’re safe. Understand?”

  Head tilted down, he nodded. “Where are you going?”

  “Over the fence. After that, it’s where my feet take me. Go inside when the car leaves.” She started to stand, but he pulled on her coat sleeve.

  “Wait. I don’t know your name.” He looked at her with big, sad eyes.

  She sighed. “Leah Tomson.” The car passed. “But don’t tell anyone you met me. It could get you in trouble with the government.” A smile cracked her lips. “And for the record, I feel old at thirty-one, but I can still kick Sarlacc butt any day.” Leah ruffled his hair then hurried away.

  Her jump launched her mid-way up the chain link fence. She climbed high enough to swing a leg over the top. This was easier than she thought. Throwing her other leg up, her body jerked to a stop. What the hell? She leaned her hips back, but her coat refused to stretch any farther. Tires screeched.

  Leah pulled on the material. Something had snagged. She yanked the zipper, lost her balance, and fell forward. Her foot slammed into a linked gap, stopping her plunge. The car sped down the row directly in front of her. She grabbed the links and hoisted herself back to the top. The coat remained lodged on a spur. Looking up, Leah saw the silhouette of the man driving as he passed under a light. He was going to ram her.

  Biting the end of her coat sleeve, she tried to pull out her arm. The backpack blocked her elbow. The car bore down. She thrashed her shoulders, hoping to sling off the pack. Her foot slipped out of its hold.

  From the shadows, the boy dashed toward her. Leah’s heart skipped. “No! Go back!” Leah watched in horror as the boy ran, the car at his back gaining ground. “Go back!”

  The boy burst forward. The car cleared the parked autos. Her eyes darted between the boy and the speeding vehicle. The kid would be crushed if he tried to save her.

  THREE

  The train station parking lot, though packed with cars, was deserted except for the bounty hunter speeding a car only feet behind an innocent kid wanting an autograph. The boy would die in front of her. Her fault. God please, not another child. A desperate scream choked in her throat.

  The man jerked the car into a sideways skid. His left arm extended out of the window, gun pointing at the boy’s back. On one foot, the kid lifted off the asphalt, sinking a red sneaker with untied shoestrings into a diamond shaped hole.

  Sparks from bullets meeting fence jabbed at her face. The young, lithe bo
dy launched into the air over Leah. He grabbed her backpack, ripping her coat and her from the fence. They bounced on withered grass and tumbled down the slope into the darkness.

  Lying on her back in a shallow ditch, Leah stared at the half moon. Was she shot? Her hands whipped to her chest and stomach. Nothing in particular hurt more than anything else. The boy! She struggled to sit up. Upon hearing tinkling sounds from her backpack, she cringed. The current laptop she built for her “work” cost a fortune. But it was only money. A life, on the other hand…

  “Kid! Hey, where are you?” The darkness was almost complete except for the faint celestial light. “Kid!” A moan sighed behind her and she crawled toward the sound.

  “You can stop calling me kid. I have a name, you know.”

  Relief flooded her. She glanced up the hill. Only the top of the fence showed over the slope’s hump. They were safe, for now. Movement ahead caught her eye. From the hushed air, a squeal rang in her ears. Leah scurried forward.

  “What’s wrong? Are you shot? Is your leg broken?” The scratch of metal scraping metal sent chills down her back.

  The kid howled. “My foot!”

  Reaching the boy, she snapped up his arm and slid her hand from his wrist to shoulder. “What hurts?” She grabbed his other arm.

  “Just my ankle.”

  After finding the knee-hole in the jeans, she squeezed along his left tibia until her hands hit a hard, cold obstruction. She felt a rounded piece of thick metal with two wide bars dissecting it. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “What is it?”

  Leah grabbed the object’s edge and hefted it up. Light shined on a rusty broken water drain cover with the boy’s untied sneaker, black sock, and ankle poking between the two bars.

  “Ow! Put it down. It hurts.”

  Leah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The boy leaned forward. “Get it off.” He pushed with his hands. The rusted cover slid, taking flesh with it. “Ow! Stop! Don’t touch it!”

  She sat back on her heels and rubbed her hands over her face. Why her? Why now? How could someone possibly get their foot stuck in a slotted drain hole cover? The gods must hate her.

  The boy hopped up, raised his weighted foot and dragged it forward. He sucked air through clenched teeth, but didn’t complain. They climbed from the ditch and peered through a second chain link fence surrounding the shipyard. She wondered if it was safe to climb over. The man wasn’t standing at the top of the slope, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. Maybe he was already driving toward the docks. That thought got her in gear.

  “Okay, up and over, kid.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  “You want to climb the hill and see if the guy’s waiting for us?”

  Over his shoulder, he scanned the slope top, then sighed. “No.” He lifted his uninjured foot and planted it between metal links. Leah lifted the iron ring with attached leg as the boy pulled his weight up the fence.

  “Swing your leg back then over the top. Ready?” Leah reared back and swung his foot up the fence’s side. The metal ring rolled over the top and dropped like a boulder off a cliff. Dragged by the load, the boy’s body shifted to the other side of the fence. He let out a yelp as his secured foot shot out of its hole and over the top steel pipe. Leah covered her gaping mouth with her cold hands. She didn’t anticipate him not being able to control the weight.

  Dangling on the other side, he stared eye to eye with Leah. “Great idea, lady.”

  Leah shrugged and hoisted her body up, careful not to snag her torn coat again. They dropped to the ground. The boy winced and she slapped him on the back. “Good job.”

  He stepped then dragged his heavy leg forward. Another step and dragged his leg forward. All he needed was a hunched back and she could call him Quasimodo.

  From the hilltop parking lot, a car door slammed and tires squealed. Leah grabbed the boy’s hand and hurried him toward the long stretch of warehouses. The chase was on.

  Leah rounded the corner onto the main loading area where the smell of salt and heavy diesel made her want to gag. Hundreds of stacked container boxes covered the port, creating a maze of hiding places. At the other end, a forklift carrying two wood crates zipped out of the warehouse. Several men on the far ship’s bow heaved and spooled thick ropes.

  Find a place to hide. Skimming along the warehouse shadows, she turned every knob and pulled every bar. Locked down tight. The only place left was among the containers on the dock. Leah led the kid into the high-rise maze. She looked back at him, studied his sagging face. “So, kid, I heard your mom call you Vonny. Is that a nickname?”

  Dragging behind, he perked up. “For Ivan.”

  “Like John Elton’s song,” she burst out the only words of the song she knew. “He shall be Leeevon.”

  “There’s no L. Who’s Elton John?”

  That shut her up quickly. Damn, she must be getting old. She hurried around the end of a container stack closer to the populated cargo ship, yet still in shadow. Maybe the presence of the workers will keep the bounty hunter from searching the area. She could hope, at least.

  In the middle of the row, wooden crates were pushed against the metal containers. Light from an overhead tower lit the aisle’s far end. “Sit for a second.” Leah patted the crate then slipped off her backpack.

  As he plopped onto the box, she grabbed the grate and set it and the sneaker on the crate lid. Looking at the ankle, she groaned. No amount of pulling would free the swollen foot. Dammit. What was she supposed to do? She sat and dropped her head into her hands. It was wrong to leave him here alone, but if she stayed, he could be killed. Her fault.

  Tucking strands of hair behind her ear, Leah saw movement from the corner of her eye. She sprang to her feet, spread her arms wide, hiding the boy behind her. A man strode toward them. His face remained covered in darkness as his elongated shadow slid closer.

  Her heart pounded. “Do whatever you want with me, but don’t hurt the boy. He’s not part of this.”

  The figure advanced, saying nothing. Her knees weakened. The bastard would kill the kid; she knew how these scum buckets worked. Rhythmic steps echoed off the containers. She winced, waiting for the hot burning sting in her stomach and the blast in her ears. In a way, it would bring relief after so many years. Only silence.

  What was he waiting for? Leah shielded her eyes from the glaring light directly behind the man, but he remained a silhouette. When he reached a few feet from her, she saw his fair-complexion, and no moustache. Sandy blond hair stuck out under the black knit material pulled low over his forehead. Though his face was shadowed, she saw the smirk.

  “I can do anything I want with you? Now that is an offer I cannot refuse.” His accented voice flowed with a graceful sophistication, belying his roughneck appearance. She could listen to his melodious tone all night, except he just pissed her off.

  “Back off, jerk.” She shoved him away.

  He feigned surprise. “You’re the one who came on to me.”

  Leah turned her hot face away from the light. “I thought you were someone else.” The man looked at the iron weight on the boy’s foot and erupted into laughter. Swinging her fist, she hit the man’s upper arm. Pain shot up her knuckles. “It’s not funny. He’s hurting.”

  Still snickering, the man grabbed the grate, dragging Ivan from the crate. Ivan shot off the box and hopped forward on one foot. Leah wrapped her arms around the boy’s narrow waist and lugged him along with the man’s shadow.

  “What are you doing? Let go.” He gave no response as he headed toward the light. “Blondie, I said let go.”

  He rounded the corner and dropped the iron on top of another wooden crate. “If I’m going to help the kid, I need to see what I’m doing.”

  Plunking the rest of Ivan’s body on the crate, she stepped away. What an ass. She’d never met anyone so rude. She’d love to kick his butt into the water. She inadvertently glanced at his ass. Wow. She had to tamp down the urge to slap his r
ounded butt. She smacked cold hands over her burning cheeks. Good God, what was she thinking? Not again! She really needed to get some toys and stop staring at random men’s backsides.

  “Tell me, who are you hiding from?”

  Ivan gasped. “There’s this guy with a--”

  Leah slid behind the boy and snapped her hand over his mouth. “Who says we’re hiding? Maybe we’re taking a stroll along the water.”

  The man spat out a laugh.

  Dammit. Did she really say something that stupid? Blondie had a deep rumbling laugh that made her girl bits suddenly light up as if waking from a coma.

  “A stroll this late at night, at an industrial seaport, with a twenty-pound weight on your boyfriend’s foot.”

  Angry with herself, she balled her hands and turned her back to them. She bit her tongue and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. Under control, she faced him. “Can you help him or not?”

  He looked at the boy. “How did you get your foot through this in the first place?” The kid’s eyes darted to Leah. She gave a tiny shake of her head. The man raised a brow and pivoted toward her. He eyed them both. “There’re tools on the ship to cut the metal. His ankle can be iced in the med bay onboard.”

  Leah’s eyes popped wide. “On the cargo ship being loaded? Are you crazy? We’re not getting on any ship, Blondie.” Did he really think she would fall for that? There probably wasn’t a Band-Aid onboard a ship with all men, much less a medical facility.

  Shaking his head, the man twisted back to the boy. “If this isn’t removed soon, your foot will fall off from lack of blood.”

  Ivan gasped.

  Leah rolled her eyes. “Your foot won’t fall off.” She paced behind the stranger. This couldn’t be happening. After years of running, she was discovered by a hunter, then strapped with an injured child becoming her responsibility. Crap. “Can we get that thing off any other way?”

  “His ankle is swollen. We won’t be pulling it off.”

  Leah slammed her fists onto her hips. “No shit. Tell me something I don’t know.”