Curves for Her Bears (BBW Shifter Erotic Romance) (7 page)

However, she liked the feeling of exercise, of stretching her muscles as they walked. Talk was rather stilted, no one knowing what to say. They were each caught up in their own worries about what would happen when she made the phone call.

Then Cyrus broke the silence. “I think it would be best for you to call the police if you have no luck with that number.”

They all stopped, standing in a little circle, looking at Cyrus. Out of all of them, she was surprised he had suggested it.

“I don’t know. I mean how can they help if I don’t remember who I am.”

“You might have been reported missing. They might already be looking for you.”

“And what about the tracks, the man chasing me?”

“You would be safe with the police.”

“I don’t know.” Although she knew he was right, but she really did not want to leave. The closer they got the slower she walked, not because she was tired but because she wanted to prolong the time she had with them as long as possible. “Let’s just see what happens.”

They turned back in the direction of the store and walked on. The morning sun did nothing to warm the air, it was cold and Cyrus kept lifting his head and smelling the air. He looked worried.

“What's wrong Cyrus?” she asked.

“I can smell snow on the air. It might be hard to get back home. If needs be we will have to carry you.” He looked at her wistfully, she could tell he was thinking she would not really be returning with them.

“How much further?” she asked, looking at the sky, but seeing no sign of the snow he predicted. It was cold and clear, no clouds in sight.

“Another mile or so. We have to drop down steeply up here. It takes us to a trail that follows along the side of the road.”

The trail did follow the road, winding down lower and lower until at last in the distance she could smell wood smoke and knew they were drawing close. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward towards her fate. One way or another she would probably not have to worry about the hike back up to the house.

Her mind began to play games with her, telling her the two men did not care about her. They had had their fun and now they were happy to hand her over to someone else, be it the police or her family. They had used her.

“Here we are,” said Aiden.

Sure enough, they rounded a bend and there was a store. Cars were parked outside; they looked so strange in this world of bears she had grown accustomed to. She had got used to the basic lifestyle the bears lived so quickly. Now she was about to be thrust back into a world she could remember little about.

They crossed the road; it was not well used, at least not at this time of year. Perhaps the summer and warm weather brought tourists out this way. The winter weather made the road too treacherous; Aiden had saved Maggie from falling on her bottom when they crossed the slippery road. Driving would be hazardous.

The phone was inside; Maggie went in first, smiling at the woman behind the counter who looked up at them enquiringly. The two men followed, their bulky bodies filling the shop, the smile the shop assistant fixed on her lips at the sight of them was altogether different.

Maggie felt more than a pang of jealousy. She watched Aiden and Cyrus carefully, waiting to see their reaction, still worried they would move on once they had got rid of her. They either completely ignored, or were impervious to the flirting look. Her body relaxed a little. She had over reacted, they did have feelings for her, in fact, their full attention now turned to her, and the piece of paper she held in her hand.

“Here goes,” she said.

Opening her wallet, she took out a coin and pushed it into the slot. Carefully dialling the number, she held her breath while the ring tone sounded in her ear. It rang and rang, and then a voice answered. It was an answer machine. She hung up. Her face pale.

“What is it? Who answered?” Aiden asked concerned.

“No one. It was a machine. What should I do? Leave a message or not?”

They stood looking at each other again. Then Cyrus answered. “Yes. Leave a message. Say you'll ring back tomorrow at eleven. We'll walk back and try again.”

“Shall I say my name, or see if they recognise my voice?”

“Say it’s Maggie, leave it at that.”

“OK.” She took another coin and dialled. “Hi. This is Maggie. I will try to ring back tomorrow at eleven. Goodbye.”

She hung up, dropping the receiver as though it were going to bite her. The thought of having to wait until tomorrow to find out if the woman on the machine knew her was not a happy one. It might turn out to be completely useless anyway; after all, she did not recognise the voice. Deep down she had hoped the sound of a familiar voice might have jogged her memory, ending this confusion.

Resigned to waiting they moved away from the phone. At least this way she had more time with her men, more time in their bed.

Maggie looked around the store, seeing what they had for sale. There was a bit of everything, including underwear, which she desperately needed.

Grabbing a basket, she stood and counted her money before walking around and buying the essentials she could afford. Glancing up at the shop assistant, she saw her watching again with some interest. Maggie wondered if she thought they were shoplifters or something. They made an odd little group, one woman with two attentative men.

At last she had gathered what she most needed, and went to pay. She looked at her credit cards, and wished she could remember the pin number because then she could have bought some chocolate too. Oh well, it would have to wait, being clean and fresh for her men was more important.

“Hi, there,” the shop assistant said, looking closely at Maggie.

“Hello. These please; I think I have enough cash.”

“Let’s see.” She began to total everything up. “Is everything alright with you?”

Maggie became more aware of the woman now, and saw her cast a glance at Aiden and Cyrus. “Yes. Everything is fine. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she answered a little nervously. “It’s a bit odd for folks to walk in. And I haven't seen you about this way before.”

“We came to use the phone.”

“I see.”

She was taking a long time going through the basket. Maggie wondered if she was trying to pass some time, she doubted there were too many customers coming this way today, and even less who would stand around and talk if there was bad weather on the way.

Cyrus began to shift around impatiently, and Aiden walked to the door to wait. At last, the shop assistant had bagged her purchases up and was giving Maggie her change. Out of the corner of her eye Maggie saw a car pull up outside, and a man wearing a suit get out. He did not bother to put a coat on despite the cold, and ran straight into the shop. Aiden moved out of the way for him.

“Maggie!”

Maggie turned around at the sound of her name.

“I knew it,” said the shop assistant.

“Knew what?” asked Maggie, confused.

“That you were the woman this guy has been looking for.”

Maggie turned back to the man in the suit. “Do I know you?”

“Yes. Oh yes, Maggie.” He moved forward and grasped hold of her, pulling her into his arms. Maggie froze, but she knew that both Aiden and Cyrus had moved in to defend her.

Maggie tried to push him away, saying, “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are.”

The man in the suit frowned, and looked genuinely upset. “What's happened to you Maggie? He turned his glare firmly on Aiden and Cyrus. “What have these two done to you?”

Instantly defensive, Maggie said, “Nothing. They found me in the woods.”

“Then why didn’t they call the police. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Who exactly are you?”

“Maggie, please. Don’t play games, I know you’re upset with me, but this is taking it too far.”

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t remember anything.”

“Oh my god. And you didn’t think to take her to the hospital?” He was almost shouting now, looking at Aiden and Cyrus as if they were the scum of the earth.

The shop assistant stood watching the drama unfold, probably the most entertainment she'd had for weeks.

“Come on, Maggie. Let’s get you out of here.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began to pull her towards the door.

At last, Aiden moved. “Wait! How do we know you’re telling the truth?”

“What? Ask Yvonne here, I've been looking for Maggie since she ran off.”

“He has. Been up and down looking for her all day today, and yesterday.”

“That still doesn’t mean you don’t mean her harm. Why did she run off from you?”

“We had a lover's tiff, that's all.”

Cyrus visibly baulked at the term lover. Maggie could see his temper rising and knew she had to defuse the situation. Trouble is she did not know how.

“Look, I’m going to have to call the police if you don’t back off. However, if you leave now we’ll leave it at that. We won’t press charges.”

“Press charges,” Maggie repeated.

“Yes, honey. Kidnap, holding you against your will.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“I’m sure that's what they've convinced you, but come on. Who wouldn’t take a woman with amnesia to hospital?”

Bears, that's who. All at once, Maggie saw how this would turn out if she were not careful. It would be easier to simply walk away now and leave them to live in peace. So she let him pull her out of the shop, her two men followed.

“Listen, I’ll come back when this all straightened out,” she said to them.

“Come on, honey. Once you get your memory back you'll see it all differently.”

She looked at the man who was supposed to be her boyfriend, and could not work out what she found attractive in him.

She went to Aiden and Cyrus and stretched her arms out to hold them both briefly. “I’ll come back, I promise.”

“Don’t go with him,” Cyrus said.

“I have to. To keep you safe.” She pulled away before she lost the will to.

The guy had her car door open, waiting for her to get in. Standing in front of him, she looked at his face, trying her hardest to remember one simple detail about him that would convince her this was the right thing to do. She could not, everything about him seemed wrong; in reality, he made her skin crawl.

“I think I’ve changed my mind,” she said quietly.

He leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t get in this car I will make sure they lock your two freaky friends up and throw away the key.” Her body stiffened, then she felt sick as he kissed her on the cheek and said so Aiden and Cyrus could hear, “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll soon have you back where you belong.”

In a state of shock and confusion she got in the car, he shut the door and sauntered around to the other side to get in the drivers seat. He did not rush, he had no need to, after all, she would go along with whatever he wanted to keep her bears safe. The question was how much did this guy now about the “freaks”?

As he started the engine, she looked up at Aiden and Cyrus. Aiden had his hand on Cyrus’s arm, trying to restrain him. All she wanted to do was get out of the car and go to them, but she could not risk their lives for hers. Somehow, she would get herself away from this man, but first she needed to know exactly what, and who, she was dealing with.

Her captor reversed back onto the road, turning the car to head downhill. She sat numbly watching the trees go by before she found her voice.

“Who are you, and what do you want?”

He laughed. “You really don’t remember do you? I can’t believe my luck. Those two hill billies finding you and then bringing you right back to me. I tipped that shop girl a nice chunk of change to let me know if you came by.”

“How did she know I was the one you were looking for?”

“I showed her a photo of you, told her you were the love of my life but we'd had a big argument and you had run off. When you walked in she recognised you, and called. I was up the top of the road, trying to figure out if you were dead by now.” He turned to her and smiled. “Now that would have messed up my plans.”

“Which are?”

“Sell you back to your family.”

“What! You've kidnapped me?”

“Well I had. But technically you now left with me voluntarily; the shop girl will back me up on that one.”

Maggie slumped back in her seat, too shocked to comprehend what he said. Something in the trees caught her eye, brown fur moving fast through the woods. A bear!

They were only travelling slowly because of the icy road, but when the bear ran in front of them the guys reaction was still enough to send them sliding across the road and off the edge. They hit a tree with a sickening thud, and even with her seat belt on she hit her head.

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the fierce mouth of a bear, closing in on the man next to her.

“Cyrus,” she muttered. “Please, don’t kill him.”

Bright lights confused her. There were many voices, all strange, around her. Her head pounded, this was becoming much too familiar.

Familiar, yes, things were coming back to her; she could remember things from before. Meeting Aiden and Cyrus was no longer the only thing she could recall. She remembered the guy in the car. Ted. He had latched onto her at a club, and then taken her away in his car. It was all a bit foggy, but she remembered it. He bought her a drink; it must have been spiked because that is when it all got a bit fuzzy.

“Maggie. Maggie can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can.”

It was not Aiden or Cyrus talking to her, and she tried to decide if she could she trust who ever this was. Or was it Ted's accomplice?

“Maggie. Please.” This voice she recognised, Aiden was with her.

She squeezed the hand that held hers, and then fought to open her eyes.

“She’s coming round.”

“Maggie. Thank goodness.”

“What happened?” she managed to whisper.

“There was a car accident. Don’t try to talk yet.” He sounded worried.

Then she recalled exactly what had happened. Cyrus. Had he killed Ted? Was that the warning Aiden was trying to give her? Yes, he was right, keep your mouth shut until you talk to Aiden privately. Find out what the story was.