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

  She hesitated. “I--I’ve lived in a lot of places. I like traveling. See the world and all that.” He didn’t smell a lie, but not the full truth, either. “What about you, Otso?”

  Interesting how she skimmed over her life, quickly passing the ball to him. “Me? I’m just a boring mate on a ship.” He wanted answers, one inconspicuous question this time. “So, are you into illegal drugs or maybe push them?”

  A sliver of meat popped from Leah’s mouth. Her hand slapped over her lips. “Excuse me? What the hell kind of question is that?”

  Hannes wiped a hand over his face. This wasn’t going as he wished.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are you a junkie?” She jumped up and pointed to the door. “Take your crack ass out of--”

  “Hold on, hold on.” The quickness getting to his feet made her step back with a hint of fear in her eyes. Good. She needed to remember her place. “I’m not an addict or making insinuations.” He cupped her shoulders, looking into her eyes. She met his gaze, her frown lines relaxing. His desire to pull her close almost overwhelmed him. Why did he stop himself? It’s what he wanted.

  That’s not all he wanted. He scanned her body as she stood defiant. Paska, she was perfect. Full figured, smooth skin, a woman he could hold onto and feel against his hard body. He guided her back to her spot while he tried to come up with a cover story. “I’m just trying to figure out something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Mainly why Ojo wants you so badly.”

  “Ojo? Eye in Spanish? Who is called eye?”

  He looked at her carefully. Could she not know what she’s involved in? She smelled innocent. “Ojo Azul, Roclas, is the reason Diego wants you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Ah, Roclas. Diego must be who shot Ivan, then.”

  The boy stabbed the sausage link on her plate. “Are you gonna eat that?”

  She slapped his arm. “Ivan, what are you—that’s mine.”

  “Well, you’re talking, not eating.”

  “That’s because I’m being nice, like you want.”

  “I never said be nice when there’s food on the table.” She huffed and let him take the meat. Hannes couldn’t help but laugh. They fought like siblings.

  She glowered at him. “You never answered my initial question. Why are we held here like prisoners?”

  This woman would drive him to drink. He ran fingers through his hair—a habit he did when nervous or stressed. He snapped his hand to his pocket; he wasn’t nervous around her. Thing was he didn’t have an answer to her question. “Since you like to ‘travel’ so much, how do you make a living?”

  Her fists popped to her hips. “Look, buddy, nothing about the boy or me would be interesting to you.”

  “I would disagree.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I’d love to know why you’re hiding from the world’s most powerful drug lord who has killed men for looking at him wrong.”

  EIGHT

  In the musty storage room in the bowels of a cargo ship, Ivan gasped and leaned away from Leah. Her eyes darted between the kid and Hannes. How did this man know she was running from a bounty hunter? Play it cool, continue like he said nothing.

  “I earn money doing contract work with a company who makes computer games. I used BLK.com for testing, and later, others tapped into it, and it grew to become the ‘best place online for cheats.’”

  She remembered her laptop left in her pack on the dock. Hopefully the roll down the hill outside the train station crushed it beyond repair. If someone were able to get around its security, she’d be in deep caca.

  “That did not answer my question, Princess.”

  Leah hopped to her feet. “My life is none of your damn business, and don’t call me princess.”

  Hannes smirked. “Actually, it is.”

  “What does that mean? How?” She stepped away from him.

  “The man chasing you, Diego, used to work with me.”

  Leah backed to the wall and steadied her eyes on Otso. He was a bounty hunter, too? His questions made sense now.

  Ivan jumped to his feet. “No way! You’re really being chased by bounty hunters?” He stepped on his untied shoestring and fell against the wall. Pushing off, he said, “Did you jump bail? Steal a car? Or rob somebody. Or--”

  “Ivan, enough already.” She stood in the shadows, not making eye contact. “I’m not proud of it. When you’re angry and lonely, you do stupid things.” God, how she wanted everything in her life to go away. No more running, no more hiding, no more looking over her shoulder. But it was her penance until the day she’d meet the drug lord once again. “It’s none of your business.”

  Ivan crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Spill, or I tell everyone who you are.”

  She rubbed her forehead. Good God. No one onboard gave a damn about her past or who she was. Leah looked at the boy and sighed. “In college, we worked on growing the web and moving data between servers. Somewhere along the way, I happened to wiped out Roclas’s credit cards, banking info, national ID records, and his legit company’s registration with the city and country.”

  The sound of his name ignited her hate and strength. Leah snapped her head up to face the two males. “He got what he deserved. He took away the most important thing in my life. So, I returned the favor.”

  With a raised brow, Otso said, “Nice story, Princess.” He paced; she wasn’t telling him everything. He smelled nervousness. “The bounty on your pretty little head is close to unheard of. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “There’s more.” Leah slid down the wall to sit with knees bent. “I also put him on every ‘no-flight’ list, terrorist watch list, and travel advisory I could get to electronically.” She wasn’t about to mention the specific deed that got the bounty on her head.

  Deep laughter filled the room. Anger and shame filled her. “What’s so damn funny?”

  Otso could barely talk between breathing and laughing. “That’s enough. I believe you. I know who you are now.”

  “What?” Her heart pushed into her throat. “How…who…”

  “A long time ago, Roclas couldn’t travel publicly because he had problems with his passport and ID.” He pointed to her. “That was you!” His hand slapped his knee. “Paska, no wonder he wants you. That’s hilarious.”

  Leah clenched her jaw and crossed her arms. “Funny for you, jerk off.”

  Ivan returned to his place by the food tray, quiet and frightened. Otso noticed. “What’s wrong, kid?”

  “Mr. Atilla--”

  Leah snorted. “Ivan, it’s O-tila not Atilla--the Hun in Star Wars.” Damn, that was funny. She’d have to remember that name.

  “Close enough. Octos, is--”

  Her eyes rolled. “Otso, Ivan. Ot-so.”

  “Okay!” The boy crossed his arms and glowered at her. “Bear King,” he paused to see if she was going to correct him again. She lifted her hands and leaned away, so he continued, “Is somebody going to hurt us?”

  The man’s eyes softened. He opened his mouth then closed it. “No one will hurt you as long as I’m in charge.” He put on a genuine smile and ruffled the boy’s hair.

  Even though irked, Leah noted how cute Otso could be--little dimple in his cheek, strong jaw line, wavy hair down to his collar, and just enough scruff to make him look sexy. She bonked the side of her head with her hand. What was she thinking? This man was giving her to the killer in her nightmares.

  Otso frowned at Ivan’s short sleeve. “What’s on your arm?”

  Ivan brightened. “Do you like it? It says I’m cool.” He lifted the material. Leah rolled her eyes, waiting for a “high-five” of hands and macho man talk about a ritual of passage or some crap.

  Otila’s face darkened and anger filled his shadowed eyes. His hand darted out and snatched the kid’s arm. “Understand this, boy. Ink under a man’s skin means nothing. Nothing! Do you understand?”

  Ivan’s wide eyes locked onto Otso’s heated expression. Upon seeing the boy’s
fear, he softened. “Judge a man by his actions, not his looks.” He released the kid’s arm, leaving behind a white handprint. Otso rubbed the back of his knuckles, then pushed his hands into jacket pockets.

  What was that about? Leah had never seen such emotion come and go so quickly.

  Otso’s watch beeped. He angled for the door. “I should go. The commander will send someone to get you.”

  “Wait.” Leah’s pulse raced with fear. “Who is this commander? What does he want?”

  “Well,” Otso grinned, “I hear he’s a--what’s the word-- badass.” He turned contemplative for a second. “I suggest you stay away from him and his men. They can be a rough group.”

  “Rough?” Leah leaned to her side and grabbed the handcuffs Ivan picked earlier. “Some bastard monster cuffed me to the pipe, then he—” She tossed the metal hoops at him.

  “He what?” Otso caught the incoming missile.

  Leah shrank against the wall and wrapped her arms around her bent legs. “Nothing. Never mind.”

  He remained quiet for a moment, staring at the restraints. Her fear was thick in his throat. “I’ll bring food later.” He locked the door behind him. She laid her head on her knees.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Concern painted Ivan’s voice.

  “I was thinking how much of a…bully that bald headed guy was.”

  “I hate bullies.” He scrunched his face and in a “Dirty Harry” voice said, “You have to approach them like you’re a badass.”

  “Ivan!” She couldn’t believe that scheme came from his innocent brain.

  “What? That’s what my mom says. You have to be just as tough, or they’ll beat you up and take your lunch money. That sucks.”

  A motherly anger flipped her stomach. She would’ve taken out every one of those punks if she were there. “Older boys stole your money?”

  He punched his fist into the air. “Yeah, but they stopped picking on me after I tripped and accidentally punched the biggest guy in the nose.”

  She glanced at his still untied shoes. “I believe that.”

  “After the teachers dug me out of the trash dumpster, bullies never bothered me again.” He jabbed with his other fist. “I showed them!”

  She ran her palms over her face, partly to hide her smile, but worry ate at her. She’d keep Ivan safe no matter what she had to do. It would not be her fault a child dies…again.

  They needed to escape this steel vault. Her eyes scanned the room contents, and she grinned. “Ivan, tie your shoestrings. We’re getting out of here.”

  NINE

  The external lever keeping the small room a prison scraped across the door, sending a deep shiver through her tensed muscles. Ivan sprang to his feet and raced for the dark washroom. Lying on the hard floor, she looked at the boy and gave him a nod. He returned a toothy smile with lots of nodding and hair flopping and a big thumbs up. Leah rolled her eyes and lay back. If they made it out of here alive, it would be a miracle.

  The man who brought food with Otso earlier peeked around the door. She sighed with relief. Monster guy wasn’t the one taking them. The visitor came into the room and looked down on her. “Vamos.”

  Leah eyed his lanky build and raised her hand toward him. Be nice. “Would you help me up, please?” The second she was on her feet, she drove a shoulder into the man’s stomach, stealing his breath and slamming him against the wall. As he slid to the floor, the second person in the hall rushed in.

  From the restroom, Ivan lunged forward with a shoddy wooden crate held to his chest. Leah turned in time to watch the boy trip over his feet and go airborne. A bone crunching collision carried the two out of sight.

  Leah hurried into the hallway and stared at the unconscious pair. She grabbed the stranger under the arms and dragged him into the room then locked the door behind her. At her feet, Ivan moaned and rubbed his chest. “What happened? Did I get him?”

  She smirked. “And yourself, too. Now, get up. We’ve got to find a hiding place.” She pulled Ivan to his feet then stared down the aisle. She whipped around. Was one way better than the other? Damn. Just run.

  With no path to safety, they ran blind. Med bay door with the red cross--shouldn’t hide in there—too obvious. Down a set of stairs and along another aisle. After passing the same door twice, Leah stopped. Both panting for air, she pulled her mind from panic’s grip. She was responsible for the young life beside her, not just herself anymore. She couldn’t simply run and hope for the best any longer. She needed a plan.

  Ivan opened a wooden door and stepped inside a large laundry facility. “Wow, let’s hide in here.”

  Leah guffawed. “This will be the second place they’ll look.” Then an idea struck her. She grabbed a short stack of folded sheets on a table and told Ivan to do the same. In the hallway, she looked for stairs.

  Behind, Ivan followed. “Where are we going and why the sheets?”

  “Hush. We’re going where they’d least likely search for a while.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “Topside.”

  After finding a door that opened onto the upper deck, Leah led the way through shadows to the ship’s bow. With all the containers stacked so highly, no one would be able to see them from the bridge at night.

  The wind was noisy and cold. Ivan helped her drag rope off a tarp and haul the dark green covering behind several crates. They spread a long mound of sheets on the metal flooring and threw the tarp over it. Leah fiddled with the heavy drape until it looked haphazardly thrown onto ground.

  Nearly frozen, Leah and Ivan crawled under, careful not to mess up the camouflage. In complete darkness and quieter surroundings, they shivered. Minutes passed before their breaths and body heat dispelled the chill.

  Ivan wiggled, shifting the tarp. Leah’s hand snapped out and pulled the covering back over the sheets. “Ivan, you can’t move that much. The sheets will show.”

  “Sorry,” he huffed. “Metal doesn’t make a good bed, you know.”

  Culpability settled on her. She had totally screwed up this kid’s life in a matter of hours. Par for the course for her. At least she’d been able to keep him from freaking out.

  Ivan cleared his throat, and a fake, low timbre voice came through the dark. “Ya know, I’m very mature for my age. My mom said so.”

  Leah’s brow rose. She didn’t like the sound of this.

  “I’ve been around the track a few times, ya know. I-In fact, several times.”

  “You mean, been around the bases?” An image of his group of “friends” popped into her head. Anyone needing to pick handcuffs and have mandatory tattoos couldn’t be in good company. No telling what boys that age talked about, but she was sure of one topic: sex. “Ivan, think of me as your mother.”

  “Ewww.” He scooted away. “How did you--”

  “Do you even know what sex is?”

  “Yes, I know what it is.”

  “Let me rephrase. Do you understand making love is between two people who deeply care for and are devoted to one another? Going around having random sex will not only get you in trouble, but gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and who knows what else.”

  Ivan remained unnaturally quiet, then suddenly rolled over and put his back to her. “Forget it. I’m going to sleep.”

  Her hand snaked toward the tarp’s edge and lifted the material enough to breathe fresh, salty air. Love and devotion only existed in romance novels where every man was Mr. Perfect: handsome, strong, and respected. He’d be kind and forgiving, stand up for righteousness, and protect the innocent no matter the consequence--like her dad did.

  Mr. Perfect would always do the brave and honorable thing. And make love to her like no other man could. Why did the damn image of Hannes come to mind at the thought of making love? She doubted the bear king saw her as anything more than a nuisance he needed to take care of.

  Leah shook her head to clear the daydream. Fantasizing about fictional love did little good; it only made the loneliness harder to take. S
he needed to refocus. All she had to do was keep her and the boy hidden until she could get to the captain. Surely he wouldn’t be a bounty hunter on their side, would he?

  Leah jerked awake, not remembering when she fell asleep. Pain stabbed her head with every heartbeat. Her migraine pills were in her backpack two-thousand miles away.

  The wind whistled through the spaces between the crates she and Ivan hid behind. How long had she been out? She had planned to stay topside only a few hours to give the search crews time to scour the first decks and head to lower sections.

  A voice floated on the wind and Leah froze. It must’ve woken her. Whoever was on the other side of the crates didn’t sound happy. Leah inched up the canvas to peek an eye under. The view was the bottom of a crate at her nose. If she were to scoot down about a foot, she’d be able to see through a gap between the boxes.

  Ivan’s breaths came slow and steady. Hopefully, he wouldn’t wake until she needed him to. Slowly, Leah wormed her body along the sheets. When reaching the spot where light shined through a slat, she once again dared a peep.

  On the edge of her sightline, the bald monster who pressed her against the wall stood in the shadows. Looked like he had a phone. A broken voice floated on the wind.

  “The schedule is perfect…make sure to…Otso…” He stepped from his hiding place and slid against the crates blocking the wind next to her and the boy. “There’s an American woman and boy on the ship. Do whatever with the boy, but the woman is mine. An extra fifty thousand to the man who brings her to me alive.”

  A shiver took her attention from the open slot between two crates. Who was he talking to? The woman had to be her. That man was psycho and about twice her size, easily able to hurt her or the boy.

  The light between the crates flashed from a passing shadow. The man was on the move toward the rail. Leah peeked from under the tarp. The monster stumbled over the rope she and Ivan moved to free the tarp. She didn’t think to put it back where it was. A new level of paralyzing fear gripped her. If this man found them…