Bear Shifters: Hunt Collection #2 (7 page)

CHAPTER 12

Justin’s heart dropped when he saw Elle sitting there in their usual booth at Sofia’s. They had been here together so many times, but he had never been so tempted to walk away and leave her sitting there all alone. Unfortunately, she spotted him and waved as if nothing had changed. He joined her, giving her a reluctant kiss on the cheek and faking a smile. “How are you, babe?” The pet name tasted sour on his tongue.

“I’m just fine. Look what I bought today.” She held out her hand to show him a ring with a vintage setting and a huge sapphire. Justin tried not to visibly balk. He was sure it had cost a couple thousand dollars, and even surer that she had used his credit card to buy it. Honestly, at this point, he was just glad it wasn’t on her left hand like an engagement ring. He wouldn’t have put it past her.

“It’s beautiful,” Justin said, taking her hand in his to get a closer look, even though he couldn’t have cared less.

“I figured I deserved it after the ordeal you’ve put me through over the past few days, especially after you stood me up this afternoon for lunch.”

Justin defended himself instinctively. “I didn’t stand you up. I didn’t know you were coming.”

She stared him down, her mood shifting instantly. “We’ve always had a standing lunch date on Tuesdays. You told me nothing had to change. You already went back on your word.”

Justin could hear her mentally revisiting the idea of blackmailing him, so he backpedaled quickly. “I just meant that I lost track of what day it was. I would never intentionally miss our Tuesday lunch date.”

Elle eyed him distrustfully, but then their server arrived to drop of some bread and take their orders. When he left, she switched tactics. “You should have seen Kimber’s face when I showed up at the office today. It was as red as a tomato. She looked completely ridiculous. I knew she didn’t like me, but this was extreme, even for her.”

“Well, she knew we were reconsidering our relationship. When I came in on Monday, I must have looked miserable because she wouldn’t leave me alone until I told her what was going on. She was probably just surprised to see you.”

“Surprised? More like infuriated. That poor, pathetic girl. You must know how lovesick she is. She’s delusional, thinking she could ever be good enough for someone like you.”

Justin’s nostrils flared as he breathed deeply, focusing on the bread he was buttering, trying to control his temper. At this moment, he felt some serious remorse for ever letting Elle make fun of Kimber. She was cruel, and she was wrong. He ached to stand up for Kimber, or better yet, stand up, leave, and go find Kimber. But he knew Elle would do everything in her power to destroy him if she found out what was really going on between him and his assistant. Instead, although it was heart wrenching, he agreed. “Yeah, it’s pretty sad.”

The server brought their drinks, and Elle took a sip as he walked away, characteristically neglecting to thank him. “By the way, you never told me what you thought of the party. Not that you were actually there for very long,” she said, taking a stab at him wherever she could.

“You did a fantastic job putting it all together. I was having a great time until that business call took me away.”

“Then why did you tear it all apart and scare everyone half to death?”

Justin froze, like a deer in headlights. He had hoped she wouldn’t put that together, but he had to admit it would have been pretty obvious once she found out he was a shapeshifter. “I was frustrated by the business call. Our client was wanting to add more features to the program that they wanted by the end of the next business day.” He lowered his voice as he said, “I shifted to help cope with the stress.”

“Don’t you have any self-control when you … you know … change? Because that sounds terrifying, Justin.”

He was cornered. He wasn’t willing to divulge any information about his mind-reading, especially because he didn’t want to tell Elle about how he’d found out that nobody actually liked him. His social connections were part of his appeal, and he was afraid that she might be less inclined to continue dating him if she thought they were in jeopardy. Yet he couldn’t think of any other reason why he would have crashed the party. His mind fought for an explanation, even venturing into hers to see if he could find an excuse that she would find acceptable.

“All out of lies?” Elle asked.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not sure I want to date a guy who can do what you do, especially if you can’t even control yourself in that form.”

“But I can. I’ve never done anything that I hadn’t consciously chosen to do.”

“So you wanted to ruin the party I threw for you? I’m not sure that’s any better.”

The server appeared again, interrupting the argument as he placed their plates of food in front of them. Neither of them even bothered to pick up their utensils.

“It had nothing to do with you, Elle. I was frustrated and angry and I wanted everyone off my property. I admit, it was an overdramatic way to handle it, and I’m sorry that I hurt you. That was never my intention.”

Elle was quiet, deciding if the apology was enough. Feeling that she needed more to convince her to back down, he added, “Let me make it up to you. What if we go to Maui this weekend? Would that help you feel better?”

“Maybe,” she pouted.

Justin could feel that she was just trying to milk the situation for all it was worth, but he was willing to play along. “We’ll charter a private yacht and everything.” If he hadn’t figured out how to get rid of Elle by the weekend, it was going to be pure torture.

“I guess it’s worth a shot,” Elle shrugged. She acted so nonchalant about it, and looking into her mind, Justin could see that this wasn’t that big a deal to her. He couldn’t help imagining Kimber’s reaction if he had offered to take her to Maui, spur of the moment like this. She would be thrilled, not only about the trip, but also to spend time alone with him. In fact, as soon as he neutralized the threat Elle represented, he would hop on a plane with Kimber and spend a whole week in Hawaii.

The two of them finally picked up their forks and began to eat in strained silence. After a few minutes, Elle laughed out of nowhere. “What’s so funny?” Justin wondered.

“See that girl over there? In the purple dress? It’s the same dress Kimber was wearing at your party. She must have gotten it at, like, Macy’s or something.”

“Not everyone can afford custom-made dresses, Elle,” Justin said. Had she always been this mean? Had she always felt the need to pick on Kimber like this? It had never bothered him them as much as it did now.

“It’s not just that. That girl looks okay, but Kimber doesn’t exactly have the body for a dress like that. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn’t doing her any favors.”

Justin was sick and tired of her superiority complex, and he refused to be party to it any longer, especially if it meant criticizing someone he cared so much about. He couldn’t let this go any further. If Elle decided to take him down, so be it.

“Is this really necessary? Does this make you feel better about yourself? Who cares what Kimber decides to wear? Who cares how she looks in it? She, and every other girl for that matter, should be able to wear whatever she chooses without people like you making her feel inferior for the shape of her body.”

Anger was brewing beneath the surface as Elle said, “Is that right?”

“Yeah! I can’t do this anymore, Elle! You are conceited and condescending and just mean. I don’t understand how you can put up with yourself. I don’t understand how
I
put up with you for so long. This is it, Elle, no matter the consequences. We. Are. Done.”

For several moments, the former couple just stared at each other, their food forgotten. “You can’t dump me,” Elle eventually growled.

“Actually, yes, I can. I just did.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You really don’t want to do that,” she threatened.

“I really do.” Justin leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Oh, nothing. As long as you agree to my terms. If not, I’ll make sure the whole world finds out what you are.”

Justin rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

“I think about ten million dollars ought to do it.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Do you have any idea what kind of difference someone could make in the world with ten million dollars?”

Elle laughed. “And when have you ever given a dime to make a difference in the world? You’re just as selfish as I am. You think you’re better than me. You think you want to change, but it won’t last. Selfishness is innate in people like us.”

“You don’t have to do this, Elle. I swear you’ll regret it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t touch me. You can either give me the money, or everyone can find out what kind of monster you really are. I’m sure Kimber will be especially thrilled to know you’ve been lying to her.”

“Kimber? What does she have to do with anything?”

“You really are a good liar! If I hadn’t seen the way you interact with her every single day, I might have actually believed that you don’t care about her.”

“Can’t you just leave her out of this? She’s a good person. This is about you and me,” Justin argued.

“That’s true. But if I really want to hurt you, I have to go through her. Isn’t that right?”

By this point, Justin was fuming, and it was a struggle to stay in his human form. His bear wanted to tear her to shreds, just like he had done to the party last night. He wouldn’t have minded transforming and scaring her a little, but he couldn’t do that in public. Besides, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his animal instincts when he was this angry, and he didn’t want to have her blood on his hands.

Aside from physical violence, Justin didn’t see any way out of Elle’s blackmail, especially without putting Kimber at risk. He didn’t have to feel her raging emotions to know how vindictive Elle could be. She wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Kimber, just to get to him. With a sigh, Justin gave in, saying, “Fine. You’ll have your money by tomorrow evening.” He knew it wasn’t a long-term solution. There was no way to make sure she completely deleted the video when it could be saved to her computer or even uploaded to a secure online storage service. Still, he hadn’t given up hope yet. He had just less than 24 hours to outsmart Elle.

CHAPTER 13

When Kimber had ended her call with Justin about an hour earlier, there was a huge smile plastered across her face. She went back into the restaurant, walking over to the bar where she had left Vivienne when she stepped outside to take the call. It was clear that she had been unsuccessful in trying to subdue her grin when Viv observed, “Someone looks happy. What did he have to say?”

“He just told me what he found out at the lab. And he said he has to work tonight, but he wants to spend some time together tomorrow night.”

“Kimber, this is your fairy tale. You’ve wanted this for, like, ten years or something.”

“I know,” Kimber said, beaming radiantly. “I can’t believe it’s actually happening. I’m trying not to get my hopes too high, though. Who knows what will happen over the next few days?”

“Oh, come on. You’re the most optimistic person I know. This is just the catalyst that puts all your wedding plans into action. I know you’ve planned it all out.”

“I have not!”

“You’ve never considered it?”

“Well, I am a typical girl, and I’d be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind. But right now, I’m just enjoying it all.”

“As you should! So, I feel like I need to live vicariously through you. Tell me how it all happened.”

“Well, we got into the elevator after work, and that’s when the power –”

“Wait,” Vivienne interrupted. “That’s not him, is it?” Kimber turned to see where Vivienne was pointing, at a man who had just walked in and was now being shown to his table.

“No. It can’t be,” Kimber said, even though it was undeniably Justin. She knew this restaurant was a favorite of his, but he was supposed to be at home, working. He had lied to her.

“What is he doing here?” Vivienne wondered. The sisters watched him the whole way to his table, where Elle was sitting.

Vivienne had a few choice names to call him, but Kimber just sat there staring, her eyes brimming with tears as she watched him kiss Elle on the cheek. “I can’t watch this,” she said, her voice cracking. She got up, pulling her wallet out and leaving cash on the counter to pay for her unfinished drink.

“Wait, let’s go confront him. He needs to know that he can’t get away with stuff like this.”

“I can’t, Viv. I just can’t.”

“I’ll go yell at him for you then.”

“No. I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Right now I just want to go home.”

“Are you sure? I’m pretty good at yelling at people.” Kimber nodded, unable to crack a smile at all. “Okay. Let’s get you out of here.”

As they walked out together, Vivienne’s comforting arm around Kimber’s shoulders, Kimber refrained from looking back. She couldn’t stand the sight of him, tonight, or ever again. She would go to work tomorrow, but it would be her last day as Justin’s assistant and friend.

Justin felt Kimber’s heartache before he even saw her face. When he got off the elevator, she was facing the other direction, and it looked like she was packing things into boxes. His excitement to see her instantly turned to concern, and he approached her slowly, trying to get a read on her thoughts before saying anything.

I knew it was too good to be true. I should never have taken this job. It would have been better if we had gone our separate ways.

“Kimber?” Justin said gently.

She sniffled, wiping at her eyes before she turned around. “Yes, sir?”

Sir
. No three-letter-word had ever hurt him more. “What’s going on?”

Kimber wasn’t one to play games. “I was at the bar at Sofia’s last night with Vivienne. I saw you. With Elle.” It took everything in her to be strong rather than dissolving into racking sobs.

Justin suggested that they move to his office for more privacy, and as soon as he closed the door, he said, “Kimber, I can explain –”

“Then why didn’t you?” she interrupted. “You should have explained last night instead of lying to me about where you were going and who you would be with.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“How am I supposed to trust you? I’ve heard you lie so many times. I thought that maybe it was different with me, because we were friends. That was definitely not the case, was it? How many times have you lied to me, Justin?”

“More than I’d like to admit,” Justin said sheepishly. “But ask me how many times I’ve lied to you since Monday.” She refused, folding her arms instead and looking at him pointedly. “It was just the one time. I’m trying to change, Kimber.”

“Just one time? You realize that is one time over the course of one day. That is daily. And you’re telling me that’s better than it’s been during all these years we’ve been friends? I can’t live with that. I can’t work for you anymore. You need to find another assistant who doesn’t mind being lied to.”

She tried to walk out, but Justin moved in front of the door. “Please, Kimber. I just need one more chance. I’ll tell you everything.”

“I don’t want to hear everything. I just want you to let me go so I can finally get over you like I should have done years ago.”

“I can’t let you walk out of my life. You mean too much to me.”

“I don’t believe you. Please, let me out. I’m not afraid to scream.”

Looking into her mind, Justin could tell that she was very serious. He knew that he would only make it worse if he continued to push. Thinking fast, he asked, “Could you do me one last favor? As my assistant?”

“I really don’t think –”

“I just wondered if you would stop by the lab for me. I have too much to do here, but I need an update, and I thought you might be intrigued to see what they’re doing. You won’t even have to call me. You can email me the update. I’ll make sure you get severance pay if you do it.”

Kimber hesitated, but Justin knew she was going to agree. She was too interested in the research she had convinced him to fund. “Fine,” she said. “But I don’t want you to pull strings to get me severance pay. I don’t want special treatment.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. Now may I please go?”

In silence, Justin moved out of her way, ignoring the way his arms yearned to reach out and stop her.