The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (7 page)

TEN

Hannes stared out the ship’s library window at the blackness slowly melting into pink and blue. This room filled with books and movies had surprised him when he came upon it on his way to the fitness room. Vessel cruises were actually quite nice. But he’d be glad when the sun and moon once again correlated with his body clock. Eating lunch when the sun came up and breakfast at midnight didn’t help his sour mood.

The door behind him opened and closed. His lieutenant was the last team member to arrive.

The commander stood at the front of the room with his men’s undivided attention. “Thank you for your search efforts.” He paced toward the door. “You’ve been briefed with everything I know about the woman and boy, which isn’t a lot. We could’ve had more if Diego were here to tell us.”

He shot an angry glance toward Korhonen. “Neither guest is a threat.” He stopped directly in front of his second-in-command. “Lieutenant, when you took the woman to the holding room, did you notice if she was frightened or do anything to frighten her more?”

“Sir, I noticed nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing, sir.”

Hannes nodded and casually stepped to the side. A strange thing with his second, sometimes he couldn’t scent the man’s lies or emotions. It’s as if at certain times, he became a machine, no feelings, no thoughts. Just a body. Right now, the soldier was barely human. 

He ran a finger along a shelf of books, keeping his face turned away. “I have spoken to the captain. Very few of the deckhands speak English, and they will stay away from her for fear of Ojo Azul. It’s a good idea for you to do the same.”

Uneasiness settled in Hannes’ stomach, but not about the woman escaping. They were in the middle of the ocean, and he could find them if he followed their scents. He was more afraid of one of the crewmembers coming across them and doing something stupid.

“We’ll resume the search after we eat. Axel, since the sun is up, make sure to check the top deck.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Lieutenant Korhonen, station a man around the comm room and kitchen.”

“Yes, sir.”

From his backpack on a faux leather recliner, he pulled out a folded packet. “Now, to tactics.” The commander laid a map on a table for one of Spain’s largest seaports, Algeciras. His men gathered around the table as he marked the route each would take after docking to ensure a clean wrap for the mission.

Standing across the table from Hannes, Korhonen shook his head. “Why can’t we just dock in Barcelona? It’s a lot closer to base.”

Hannes stopped talking and coolly looked at him. “That’s exactly why we’re not going there.”

“No one is on to us. There’s no good reason we can’t dock in Barcelona.”

“Have you forgotten Barcelona has five cruise ship terminals, transferring well over two million people each year? That poses a high risk factor for identification and tracking.”

“But--”

“Who is the commander here?” Hannes turned away from K.

K crossed his arms in front of his chest, not replying.

“I will ask one more time, Korhonen. Who is the commander here?”

“Sir, you are, sir!”

“Who makes the tactical decisions?”

“Sir, you do, sir!” The veins in Korhonen’s neck bulged. His fists clenched, knuckles glowing white.

“Whose authority do you never question?”

“The commander’s, sir!”

“And who is the commander, Korhonen?”

“You are, sir!”

Hannes picked up the marker. “Dismissed.”

A nervous mumble circled the team. Hannes had never tossed one of his men from a tactical meeting, but he wasn’t in a tolerant mood.

Korhonen remained in place. The machine had returned. Hannes turned to him, studied his blank eyes, then pulled the handcuffs from his jacket pocket and tossed them across the table where they slid to a stop in front of Korhonen. “I said you’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”

Korhonen about-faced and stormed out the room, slamming the half wood, half glass door hard enough to rattle the pane.

Hannes frowned.
Paska
. The men looked uncomfortable and worried. Never before had he felt a need to explain his decisions. He ran fingers through his hair. Maybe he was getting too old for this, too soft.

“You all understand the importance of following orders without question. I would not give you an order I didn’t think was the best at the time of action. In hostile territory, it is my responsibility to keep you men alive. If I have a plan, and you stop to question me, we could all very easily die in a committee. Do you understand what I am saying?”

His team spoke as one. “Sir, yes, sir!”

Exhaustion set into his bones. He laid the marker down. “All right, men. We’ll resume later. Dismissed.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” They filed out the room, re-tracing Korhonen’s blazed trail. When the last man closed the door, Hannes let out a deep sigh.

This had been coming for some time. He folded the diagram into a small rectangle. Korhonen had been a good soldier and trusted friend for many years. He didn’t want to lose him, but the subtle insubordinations, independent decision-making, and now lying, disrupted the chain of command. And he noticed Korhonen’s bloody, scratched knuckles--not for the first time.

He worried about Korhonen’s mental stability. Odd that he acted out in front of the men. In the past, he was able to keep everything low key. What was causing him to lose control now? He wanted to review Korhonen’s background investigation file but, unfortunately, that file sat locked away at his villa in Spain. Years had passed since he last reviewed the information. He thought back to the events that brought a young Korhonen to his attention.

During his last year of high school, Korhonen murdered his father after years of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. After the story of the father’s heinous crimes leaked out, the public became outraged when Korhonen received the maximum sentence for saving his family.

A considerable amount of media coverage and public opposition convinced officials to offer an unprecedented arrangement. Korhonen had the option to join the military for ten years of service in recompense. This appeased the public’s sense of justice.                            

According to psychoanalysis, Korhonen’s mind connected his lifetime of pain and suffering with his sister and mother. He took beatings for them, worked long hours in the lumberyards for them, and was punished because of them. Women meant pain. The only way to stop pain was to kill it at the source--take physical control, beat and crush it into the ground.              

The apple never falls far from the tree.

A few miscellaneous comments were included, but they weren’t important. Since the ship confined everyone to tight quarters, he’d be patient. No need to further stress or embarrass Korhonen in front of the men. Perhaps he would work out his problems before the situation became dangerous.

If Korhonen must leave, Hannes wanted it on good terms; he had enough enemies to fight already. The best response was to let this ride, for now. When they reached home, he’d sit down with Korhonen and talk things over.

The sun cast a rectangular patch of light onto the table. His brain grew weary of logistics. Notions of his lady guest crept inside his head. A thought struck him. For understandable reasons, Korhonen didn’t take well to women. One drunken night, he confessed that he blamed his mother for his life in hell. If he ever saw her again, he would tear her to pieces.

Fortunately, she died not long after Korhonen enlisted in the military. Did his deep-seated hatred for her extend to all women? Was Leah’s continual presence--a forbidden temptation within Korhonen’s reach--why he was losing grip?

He headed topside for fresh air and a place to relax. Just the thought of her quickened his pulse and riled his inner beast. She was over-confident and too sassy for her own good. She would learn her place, but where did he want her? He grinned. Lying beneath him would be a good start. His animal agreed; there was a first time for everything.

He leaned against the vessel’s outer railing. The cold breeze coming off the water cleansed his mind of physical desires and negativity. He ran his fingers through his hair. When the ship returned home, he’d visit a friend with benefits for a few days. His surfacing physical requirements had to be from neglect on his part. Only one woman ever set his mind and body on fire, and she had been dead for three years.

His bear told him he was wrong, but he didn’t care. His heart was off the market, forever. Even if someone like Leah came into his life. He’d made it this long without her. He could continue. His beast said keep dreaming.

What was he going to do with the woman and child? Both had seen enough of his face to identify him if given a photo. He could hand her over to Roclas to get the whole story. The inner beast would fight him if he tried that. His nails turned to claws as if to prove a point of who was really in charge.

A muffled twerp chimed from his pocket. He read the text and hurried along the catwalk from the stern to the bow.

Axel, Korhonen, and a crewmember stood behind a stack of crates. Axel stiffened upon seeing Hannes. “Sir, I found used sheets and a tarp. This deckhand said they always fold this and lay the rope on top of it.” He pointed to the unruly coil on the other side of the boxes.

Hannes never thought the two would hide topside. And that’s why she did. “Very good. Begin the search where you left off earlier and work your way down. They have to be somewhere.”

“Yes, sir.” When Axel left, the deckhand followed, leaving the commander and his second alone. The back of Korhonen’s right hand had stopped bleeding, but scratches were open to the air.

“Lieutenant, go to the medical facility and bandage your hand. I don’t want a flesh-eating bacteria consuming you.”

“Yes, sir.” Korhonen disappeared around the boxed row. He showed no signs of dissention. Hannes kneeled, picked up a sheet and bunched it into a wad covering his nose and breathed in deeply. A peaceful warmth flowed through him.

He hoped that someday he would understand the creature inside him. Many thoughts had been relayed to him that he didn’t know how to interpret. He remembered on the docks, when he had her pinned to the light pole, the word mate rolled from his mouth. What did that mean? The new set of instincts remained a mystery, still, after five years.

Thinking about the torture and pain he was forced to endure instantly brought his beast forward. Fur pushed through his pores, malleable bones sent him to all fours. The need to protect and kill roared within his mind. He would get his revenge. He was so close. All those involved would face their ultimate judgment when he sent them to hell. Only then would he find rest.

Hannes pulled it all in then stood, put his hands in his pockets and turned his back to the chilled wind. Hopefully she would remain hidden, or at least out of Korhonen’s reach and his own scent range for the duration. A shiver ran down his spine.
Paska
, it was cold. All that fur under his skin, yet in human form he was subject to the weather. He needed his coat still in the medical facility. If he’d thought about it earlier, he would’ve had Korhonen bring it up.

ELEVEN

Leah’s head was ready to split. It hurt to breathe, to think. Fortunately, the only light in the room seeped around the mostly closed restroom door.

Ivan had pushed two crates against the main door to keep it from popping open if someone accidentally hit it. He sat beside her quietly until she heard his stomach rumble. “I’m hungry.”

Why didn’t it occur to her before that by escaping they had cut off their food source? But hunger was better than being within reach of the psychotic people onboard. Except for Otso. Just thinking about him made her feel lighthearted—a feeling she rarely knew. He was cute, and filled out his pants in the right places. A tingle ran through her, exploding in her head.

She ground her teeth together. Medicine. She wanted strong painkillers and didn’t care about the side effects. Two years ago, after downing her first dose, two capsules instead of one, she woke up a day later in a strange place with unfamiliar people. She remembered nothing of the previous day. 

“Ivan, move the crates.” Slowly, she made her way to stand.

“Why?”

“I’m going to the medical room to find something that will rip off my head.”

He jumped to his feet and held her arm. “No, you can’t. What if they see you?”

“The room is three doors away. What’s the probability of ‘them’ being there the same time as me? Zilch. Let go of my arm…please.”

Ivan hesitated.

“I’ll be gone two minutes.”

The boy schlepped to the boxes and scooted them far enough to open the door. “Hurry up. Bring food if you find any.”

Leah peeked both directions along the hall, then quickly walked toward the door with the red cross. Once inside, she pilfered the counter top and every drawer. Opening an upper cabinet, she saw small packets on the top-most shelf that could be samples or travel size something. At this point, she didn’t care what it was; if it killed her, she wouldn’t have a migraine anymore.

With dark spots in her vision, she hoisted herself onto the counter and swung her legs up and to the side, accidentally kicking a tray with gauze pads, cotton balls, and a scalpel to the floor. The crash thundered in the room and scattered items across the tile. In a panic, she grabbed a handful of packets from the cabinet and slid off the counter.

When reaching for the doorknob, the door swung open, almost hitting her. Korhonen stared at her with surprise on his face that quickly morphed into a sneer with an off-kilter glint in his eye.

Leah stuffed the pills in her front pocket and lunged behind a bed. Korhonen strolled into the room and shut the door. “Nice seeing you again, angel. I’ve been worried and can’t stop thinking about you.” He sauntered toward the table beds.

Leah stepped back, hitting the other empty table and rolling it to the wall. With a flip of his arm, the front bed crashed into portable readout machines next to the cabinets. She saw Otso’s coat slide off the equipment to the floor.

Innate survival instincts took control, tensing Leah’s muscles for flight. But fight was quickly becoming her only choice. “Leave me alone. What do you want?”

His next step would bring him close enough… She kept her eyes on his and with a smooth upward swing, her foot made contact with Korhonen’s groin. He bent, but not as much as she hoped. She sprang to the side, bypassing the monster in her path.

After one step, an intense pain shot across her skull and her weight shifted backward. With a handful of Leah’s hair, Korhonen flung her into the cabinets. Flight kicked in, moving her faster than she could have under her own conscious power.

Before she turned the knob, her forehead smashed against the wood. Stars filled her vision and her knees gave. The monster dragged her farther into the room then threw her against the metal table. She tumbled to the floor amidst the tray items she knocked off the counter earlier. Her hands groped for any type of weapon.

Korhonen reached down, wrapped his hand around her throat, lifted, and pinned her body to the wall with his. His other hand brushed along her hair. He smiled, yellowed teeth peeking under his stretched lip. “Did I ever tell you that you look so much like my mother when she was young and pretty?”

His fingertips trailed down her cheek. “Pretty hair, soft skin…” The hand continued past her collar bone and cupped her breast. “So pretty.” He snorted. “Before she became a fucking whore.” Anger tinged his eyes. “Every day I worked the mill, I had to listen to other men tell me how well she ‘cleaned.’ How her mouth was tighter than her pussy.” His hand squeezed her throat tighter.

Behind her back, Leah maneuvered the scalpel she grabbed when on the floor. Her fingers barely had the strength to wrap the shaft. She had one shot at this. If she screwed up, she wouldn’t have to worry about getting off the ship.

From a burst of adrenaline, her arm snapped upward, sinking the blade into the monster’s arm holding her throat, and jerked the shaft toward her.

He scrambled backward and roared. The knife was plucked out of his arm like a tiny rose thorn and thrown into the corner. From the center of the small room, he glared at her. Pure hatred.

Movement at the other side of the space caught her attention. Otso stood in the open doorway, stone faced. He surveyed the room. Besides the out of place beds and gauze on the floor, the room didn’t resemble the attack she suffered. Korhonen stood a safe distance from her, in the middle of the room.

Upon Otso’s approach, Korhonen straightened, hand covering the puncture wound. Leah was dumbfounded by Otso’s powerful demeanor over the beast. Maybe the deckhand could protect her, like he said.

“Korhonen.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I see you’ve found the woman. I will take it from here so you can bandage your hand.” With a raised brow, he looked at Korhonen’s hand wrapped around his bicep.

“Thank you, sir.”

Hannes grabbed Leah’s arm, then his coat, and directed her out of the room. Shock numbed her brain. She barely remembered where she was and her feet dragged. As they marched down the hall, the strong man beside her slid his arm around her shoulders, supporting more than her weight. Her entire body was aware of his closeness. His heat soaked into her sleeve. She imagined him--physically powerful, brave, and handsome--as the perfect hero in all her romance novels.

The bear king was big, strong, and damn sexy. She tried not to admit it, but it was true. And now that she’d been through an ordeal with the devil he called Korhonen, she could easily visualize Hannes as her knight in shining armor.

If this were a historical pirate romance, he’d take her to his cabin and proceed to kiss her. She’d argue with him so she wouldn’t look easy, but at the end of the day she’d give in to his soft caress. Ah, yeah. He’d ravish her pirate style.

The idea took root in her mind. The bear king pirate. He’d be good at that role. She could actually feel his hands gliding up her arms, taking her by the waist and pressing her against the bed, sinking his body onto her. The heat in her core rose with each thought. He had gorgeous lips, too. His eyes captivated her every time he glanced at her. She swore she saw a wild side deep in them. And as bad as it sounded, she wanted to get closer to it. To see him lose that control and maybe even lose her own control with him.

Hannes took a deep breath and his step faltered a bit. His hand squeezed her shoulder. He glanced at her and a glimmer around his irises startled her. What the hell was that? She felt a wall raise around him, a tenseness in his body, and his lips pressed into a line.

What would it be like for him to kiss her? To have him slide his hands up and down her body, maybe teasing her flesh and making her moan. Then her brain decided she wanted to fantasize about him shirtless.

That only turned her skin scorching hot. Her girl parts squirmed. She hadn’t had sex in too long and now visualizing him doing things to her had her hormones in a rage. Great. Just fucking great.   

Then she saw the storage room door with the lever hanging. Leah quickened her step. If she could keep Hannes away from the storage room, Ivan would still have a chance to stay hidden.

Her eyes remained straight ahead as they passed. Otso didn’t look at the unlocked door. Hope jumped in her heart. The boy was safe. Her sacrifice to occupy the bounty hunters by any means necessary was worth his life. For the first time in a while, she felt good about herself and doing the right thing. Pride swelled in her—

“Hey! Where you guys going? Wait for me.” Footsteps slapped on the plate decking behind her. Leah looked for the closest wall she could bang her head against, again and again.

“Are we going to eat now?” Ivan tripped his way to her side. Her captor stopped and turned her. He stared at the open storage door, the boy, and then her disgusted looking face. Laughter rolled from him.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Leah grabbed the boy’s lanky arm and stomped toward the room. He pulled against her. “Why are we going back here?”

With clenched teeth, she said, “Where else are they going to keep us?” How could she have seen Otso as Mr. Perfect when he’s a damn bounty hunter? The only reason he saved her was so he could collect the full $10 million. “Do you think our abductor, standing right there, is just going to let us run? At least you’re safe in the room.” Another child would not die because of her.

“But Bear King’s taking us to eat.”

Leah stopped with her hand on the door. “Why did you call him Bear King?”

The boy huffed and dropped his hand against his thighs. “That’s the only name I can remember.”

She’d referred to him as Bear King in her own mind because he reminded her of a majestic polar bear—strong, sleek, and god forbid, sexy. Another bout of male laughing erupted directly behind them. Leah jumped from the sudden sound. How did he get so close without her hearing him?

“Good God.” She pushed on the door and yanked the kid inside with her. Then a new thought registered. “Speaking of names, Otila,” she turned toward the door, finding him leaning against the frame. Damn he was cute with a scruffy face and sparkling dark eyes. “You called that brute
Lieutenant
Korhonen and he called you commander. Who the hell are you? You aren’t a boat hand, are you?”

Otso ran fingers through his hair then slipped his hands into his pockets. He stared at the ceiling then met her eyes. “I am the commander of a small Finnish group of ex-Special Forces operatives working for direct hire.”

Leah and Ivan stared at him; she didn’t know what to think. “Mercenaries?”

He scowled. “Not real—”

“Mercenaries kill for a living. Anything to get money.”

Otso remained quiet. Leah took that to mean she was correct. “And with me, you have $10 million in your pocket.”

Ivan crossed his arms over his chest. “Does this mean we’re not going to eat now?”

Flabbergasted and pissed off, Leah stomped toward the deceitful man. “Get out.” Not to her surprise, he laughed, remaining against the doorframe. Leah hooked the door with her hand, “I said, get the fu-,” she glanced at Ivan, “get the hell out!” and slammed the steel panel shut, not caring if he was in the way.

Ivan scoffed, “That was rude.”

“Screw being nice.” Her clomping paces echoed off the walls. Embarrassed heat rose to her face. Thank God she never said anything about how good looking he was. How could she be so stupid? And to think she allowed herself to like him…that would be the last time she’d let her guard down.

The commander pushed the door open. “Princess, I’m not going to hurt either of you.”

“Kill me, of course not—you won’t get the money. But you’ll give me to a person who’s wanted me dead since I was eleven years old. And stop calling me princess.” She kicked the door, hurting her big toe. “You’re are such a bastard. Lying to us.”

“I never said one untruthful thing to you.”

“Are you crazy? You said you were a deckhand--”

“Those words never came from my mouth. I simply didn’t correct your misconception.”

Leah’s hands balled into fists. He happily made a complete fool out of her. She smirked at a memory. “Ahh, I understand now how much of a ‘bad ass’ and how ‘tough’ the commander is.” Her eyes rolled. “You make me want to vomit.”

Otso belted out a guffaw. Such a conceited jerk. A beeping sound entered the room. He looked at his watch. “I hate to ruin our fun, but it’ll be time to eat in thirty minutes. Both of you will join us--”

“I’m not going.” Leah cocked her head, arms crossed.

A flash of anger came and went in his shadowed eyes so quickly, Leah wasn’t sure if it was the lighting contorting his image. “A word of advice, Princess. It’s a very long voyage and I suggest you carefully think through your actions before doing anything else foolish. I am not a bounty hunter nor do I want the money.”

Not a bounty hunter—a fist around her heart released. 

“As long as you follow my orders, you have nothing to fear from me or my men.”

Leah’s eyes popped wide then narrowed. No one told her what to do. “A word of advice for you, ass,” she glanced at the boy, “Ivan, close your ears.” Her anger fueled her confidence. “Follow your orders? You forget, Commander, I am not one of your men bowing at your feet. Until you came along, I was doing fine on my own and have been since I was sixteen.”