Bear No Defeat (7 page)

Unless all of that was bullshit and Jax and his bear had recognized Alice as their mate right away and the rest of it was just wasting time. Jax scrunched his nose at the thought, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stalked the long rows of shelves of some convenience store in Gallant Falls, a reasonably large town about an hour and a half drive from Shifter Grove.

It was a treacherous trip because the roads were sometimes fairly non-existent during the winter season, but over the last few days, Jax had felt more and more that Alice needed a small breather. While the possibility that she needed a break from
him
had come up, he had quickly discarded the option and settled for some ambiguous “It all must be too much for her” variety of excuses. Maybe a day away would do her good, give her a moment to clear her head.

Except, of course, that it seemed to have actually made things worse.

Jax didn’t like that. He
loathed
it, in fact. He could practically smell her discomfort, the subtleties in her scent tipping him off that she was upset. Whenever he asked about what was bothering her though, she’d simply laugh it off, tell him it was nothing, and that he had to be imagining it.

But her phone hadn’t stopped ringing and buzzing and every time she looked at a text, he could see her pretty face twisting in anguish. A few times, he’d seen her toss worried glances at him, her gorgeous blue eyes filled with guilt, but before he could ask her anything, she’d have her nose in the phone again and would practically run away from him. It was odd. And disconcerting. And getting on his nerves, to be completely truthful.

“Alice,” he called, watching her disappear into the produce section.

He sighed under his breath, trudging after her. How damn difficult did it have to be to capture the heart and mind of the perfect woman, huh? Not that he was complaining—being around her was joy enough, but Jax had been very happy in the bubble that Shifter Grove created for them and being out of it only made him itch to get back to it.

There were only a few days until the big game and the town was slowly filling up with fans. Even Shifter Grove’s usual strict rules about fan participation and the screaming lack of housing didn’t hold anyone back. Some of the local councilmembers had started setting up an area for RVs and people coming in tents—in tents! In the middle of winter!—and it was filling up fast.

It meant that Jax had been moving around less and less, preferring to spend every moment at home when he wasn’t at practice, which meant time spent with Alice. He’d found himself quickly falling in love with her wit and her charm, while the sarcastic sense of humor rubbed him just right as well. On top of that, she was smoking hot. All cards were coming up favorable for Jax, and in his head he’d already begun planning a bigger,
real
wedding that would take place sometime after their small private ceremony to be held after the game.

“Alice, come on, wait up!” he called again, catching her before she could skitter off once more.

His arm went protectively and maybe somewhat possessively around her waist, cuddling her to him as they walked side by side. He was carrying the basket of produce and he raised it so she could drop a carton of milk and some cereal into it, but one look at the cereal told him she wasn’t really present right now. She’d picked up some sort of raisin mix thing and he knew she hated raisins.

The things I find out about her… and yet she won’t tell me what’s wrong now!

“Come on, honey, tell me what’s wrong,” he urged, squeezing her side.

“Nothing,” she said with a sigh, pushing the phone into her back pocket.

Jax wasn’t convinced.

“You’ve been acting odd since we got here. Is there something the matter? We can go home, you know,” he said, worry bubbling in the pit of his stomach as they walked through the meat section.

For once, his bear was completely unfazed by the prime cuts of meat around him, all of his attention focused on his mate. He smiled slightly when he realized he’d thought of her as such. Jax wasn’t sure whether his father would be overjoyed or enraged by the fact that his plan had worked out better than expected, though he would hope it was the former.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve just been reading e-mails and texts and catching up. Real world, you know?” she asked, managing a shadow of a smile, but Jax didn’t quite buy it yet.

“The
real
world? Fuck that. Only thing you need to worry your head about is Idaho. As soon as the game’s over and we can do our dastardly deed, I’ll help you take care of everything, all right? Why don’t you shut off that phone and we can go grab some ice cream or something? What do you say?”

Jax gave Alice his best puppy dog look and he grinned when she cracked a smile, one that looked a bit more genuine, though still frazzled. She seemed to consider his offer for a moment and when her arm looped around his waist, her thumb hooking on his belt and slinging there lazily, he smiled with relief.

That’s more like it.

“Okay. I’ll turn it off. If the real world’s been waiting for this long, it can wait a bit longer, right?” she asked, fishing the phone out again.

“Exactly,” he confirmed.

She was already pushing down on the power button when the damn thing rung and he groaned softly. Alice flashed him an apologetic look, showing him the Caller ID. It was her dad. Regretfully, Jax released Alice from his grasp and she disappeared down some long aisle of feminine products that Jax was not ready to brave yet.

“Dad? Hey! Is everything all right?” she asked before her words became too distant for Jax to hear.

With a sigh, he pulled out his own phone. There were dozens of e-mails from his agent and his PR rep, but he ignored all of those easily enough. The only one that caught his attention was one from his father, marked urgent.

Guess we got out of Shifter Grove to talk to our overseers,
Jax thought glumly, reading over the few curt words, telling him to call the Darmuth residence as soon as he could.

One of Jax’s favorite things about his new understated lifestyle in Shifter Grove was the fact that he could be “off the grid” as much as he now was. Before, in Chicago, he had constantly been hooked up to his phone and the thought of letting e-mails accumulate or missing calls would have sent him into a worrying tizzy. In Shifter Grove, he couldn’t care less. It wasn’t like the place ever had any reception anyway.

“Dad? You told me to call,” Jax said evenly as he came to a stop in front of the fish section, considering whether he had the mental tenacity to take on cooking salmon that evening.

“Jasper! About time. I needed a word with you, yes. I wanted to tell you that you need to be careful of the Wilcox girl.”

Jax paused, visibly stunned. He frowned, taking the phone from his ear to make sure he was indeed talking to the right person. Namely the guy who pushed both him and “that Wilcox girl” into the whole mess.

“You’re picking an odd time to have cold feet, Dad,” Jax said with a forced chuckle. “The prenups have been signed and we’ll tie the knot in a couple of days. What are you talking about? Why should I worry about Alice?”

“It has come to my attention that her father has some rather… distasteful ‘friends.’ I am still having it investigated, but I think there might be cause to worry. She might not be entirely sincere.”

“I don’t appreciate the insinuation,” Jax said, straightening up and feeling his chin square.

He wasn’t kidding. It wasn’t simply that he didn’t like hearing anyone say anything negative about
his
woman, but that his father would go so far as to claim that she was up to no good in some way? Disgusting.

But she has been looking really guilty today,
a treacherous voice in him said.

“It is my job to protect this family and to protect you, Jasper,”
Jordan Darmuth said, his voice growing tense.
“No reason to get short with me. I will let you know what we find. I am simply urging caution. Her father might not be the kindly but troubled soul we thought him to be. Indeed, there might be something quite sinister going on.”

At this, Jax couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Right, the drunk gambler accountant was harboring some grand scheme against the Darmuths that could possibly peak with Alice being betrothed to the estranged son and marrying into the wealth. That sounded exactly like something that could be cooked up between betting on horses and drowning in a whiskey bottle.

“Sure, Dad. I’ll be careful,” Jax said with a flustered sigh, receiving a curt goodbye from Jordan and then a quick and decisive click as the call was dropped.

“Careful about what?” a frail voice asked behind him, making him react immediately.

He turned and pulled Alice close, laying a kiss on the top of her head as soon as he had her against him.

“Nothing. My father’s just being paranoid that one of the Carnivores would try to icepick me in the face or something equally as insane before the game.”

“Aw. We won’t let that happen. Give me the phone next time, I’ll set him straight,” Alice said with a smile, sounding quite a bit more at ease now.

Jax met her grin, breathing easier. It was good seeing her feeling better and he promised himself he would not spend too much time pondering over his father’s warning. What good could it do to worry about things that were not backed by proof, right?

His bear knew she was his and he knew too. As far as Jax was concerned, that was all the proof he needed that Alice wouldn’t do anything to hurt him or his family. How could she?

She was his mate, after all.

CHAPTER NINE

Jax

Her father’s words still rung in Alice’s ears like a bad song stuck on loop. She couldn’t shake them, and it was driving her absolutely crazy even two days later.

She’d been perfectly happy in her little joyous bubble, stuck in a wintery wonderland with Jax Darmuth. At times, it had seemed like she’d even managed to fool herself into thinking that the odd phone call from the wannabe mobster Joe hadn’t even happened, that it had all been some awkward dream that she would do well to forget. But her father’s phone call while they’d been in Gallant Falls had sealed everything.

“Do as they say, Alice. It might be my only chance. These guys won’t hesitate to dump me in a river if we don’t get them the money.”

Alice wanted to scream, and even Jax’s warm, nurturing embrace when she lay in his arms at night didn’t seem to make that go away. She was terrified. Not only for her father but the choice she would have to make.

There was no doubt in her mind that if she asked Jax for the money—the ludicrous amount of six hundred thousand dollars—he’d give it to her. Not that it wasn’t a big deal for him—Alice had become increasingly aware that he wasn’t some trust-fund baby like she’d thought him to be originally—but because if she explained the situation to him, he’d understand and want to help. That was the worst part. He’d do it out of the kindness of his heart and perhaps his affection for her, but she could never be sure if it would be the last time she’d have to ask.

There was no telling if these guys would be happy with the amount they received or if they’d simply ask for more and more, considering them “interest” or “late fees” or whatever. For all Alice knew, they’d be harassed by these people for the rest of their lives.

Alice couldn’t let that happen. It was her family’s mess and while she’d fooled herself into thinking that maybe Jax and she could become a family as well—and yes, it sounded a bit insane after being together for a week, and even then it was more like being forced together—she would have to take care of this on her own.

I need to leave. If I don’t and Joe shows up with his goons, there’s no knowing what’ll happen,
Alice thought.

It was early in the morning and the sun was only beginning to crack through the clouds hanging over the horizon. She was nestled safely against Jax’s warm, broad body like she had been every night since they’d given up the pretense of distance after the first time they had sex. First of many,
many
times. Her body purred at the thought and she found herself scurrying closer to him instead of away, one leg thrown over his thigh and her arm draped around his chest while her hand traced the skin over his ribs and side.

She looked up at him, his blissful, sleeping face betraying only calm and serenity. None of the ferocious, fearsome fighter could be seen during their somber moments together, but as soon as he was let loose on the ice, he became a warrior. A fighter. It was a chilling transformation, but one Alice loved watching.

He’d shown her his shift a few days ago as well, right after getting back from Gallant Falls, and when she’d seen the polar bear, everything made sense. The light and the dark, the calm and the storm of his personality. He really was two men in one body, or perhaps it was more correct to say one bear and one man in one body.

Despite her morose thoughts, she smiled, giving him a peck on the chest as softly as she could before starting to disentangle herself from him. Maybe if she got out early enough, he wouldn’t wake up? Maybe she could just sneak out, disappear, and win herself some time to figure out how to deal with Joe.