The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (23 page)

FORTY-SIX

The door to the garage closed, leaving the house deathly silent. Leah looked around. This was the first time in weeks she’d been by herself. Honestly, she didn’t like being alone anymore.

She really missed Ivan. Even though he was goofy, he always made her laugh and never feel lonely. She would’ve been proud to have someone like him for a brother…or son.

Hopefully he was home by now and keeping his mouth shut. If Lt. Korhonen ever found him…a sickening chill soured her stomach.

Noise, need some noise. How about some TV? She slid off the barstool and carried her bowl into the master suite.

She climbed onto the bed and wiggled around to find a comfortable position. Looking to the side, she didn’t see the remote control. She looked under the pillow, under the sheet, on the side tables, between the mattress and headboard. Nothing. Crap.

She set her bowl of oatmeal on the duvet cover, then slipped off the bed, careful not to spill any. She looked around the TV, bathroom, sauna, and behind the gold mirror leaning against the wall. Where the hell--

The dogs started barking. One of the guys must have forgotten something. Good, she’d ask Hannes what he did with the damn remote. She walked up the hall and through the dining room then stopped before reaching the kitchen.

No light shined in the mudroom, but she knew the dark figure coming through the door wasn’t Hannes or Winston. 

“Well, it’s our little angel from the sea.” Lt. Korhonen strolled into the kitchen. Mouth gaping, Leah stared at Lt. K standing in the doorway. Her stomach flipped, lungs refusing to take in air. Terror crushed logical thought that surfaced.

He stepped farther inside. “Somehow, I thought you might be here since he wasn’t at his villa. It’s so unlike Otso to not share the spoils. But who can blame him? I wouldn’t share you either.” An evil sneer disfigured his face further.

Loud and clear in her head, she heard her father’s voice: Run, Leah. Hide! But her body didn’t flinch. He advanced. Instinctual fear forced Leah to move, think. “Hannes is in the other room. I-I’ll get him for you.” She turned and ran. In three strides, K grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her to him. Pain spread like lightning over her skull.

He held her face to his. “Nice try, but I know he’s not here. I’ve made sure his meeting will last a long time. And Win usually goes to market every third day. Not good to be so predictable. It’s nice to see the puppies again. I’m surprised he brought them from home.”

Her body shook, but she stood strong. “What do you want, piss ant?”

Lt. K’s eyes lit up, and his repulsive yellow teeth showed through his smile. “Well, you’ve grown some balls. Otso’s been fucking you good every night, hmm.” He licked his lips.

Leah turned her head in disgust. He yanked her around and punched her face. She collapsed to the floor. He reached down and lifted her by her hair. “I like my women to respect and appreciate me. I don’t see any respect in your eyes.”

“You’ll never see appreciation either, bastard.” Leah kicked his shin.

Not even flinching, he jerked her body to his side and slung her toward the eighteen-place dining table. She rolled over the top and off the far edge, taking two chairs down with her. She pushed up, only to be tugged backward. After hauling her to the aisle, he threw her against the wall. Prepared, she bounced off, only hitting a knee.

K grabbed the back of her blue turtleneck and slammed her into the arched casing between the dining and living rooms. Her forehead smacked against the wood. Blood ran into her eyes, smearing her vision.

He lugged her into the living room and dropped her on the floor. “You want to know why I’m here?” Standing next to a Ming vase, he slapped it off a shelf. Shattered pieces skidded across the room. “I’ve come to get what you took from me.” His boot smashed into Leah’s ribs. She curled into a ball on the floor, protecting her aching body.

With his boot, he lifted her chin. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

Leah turned her head, avoiding his foot to her face. Instead, her stitched shoulder took the kick. With a silent whimper, she dragged herself away from the monster standing over her. She wanted to run, to hide, to let her mind escape reality and pretend everything was all right.

Lt. K strolled around the formal living room, studying the antiques. “You ruined my plans. Lost me money. You and the boy.”

Leah rested her head against the end table holding the beer stein trophy. After carefully placing a picture to the side, he continued. “That painting will bring in a decent penny on the black market. And with what you stole from Roclas, he’ll gladly up the ransom amount to finally have you after all these years.” K picked up Leah, like a child, and squeezed her against his chest. “We’re going to have so much fun together.”

His words energized Leah’s battered spirit. She narrowed her eyes as she stared into his. “Never.” She raised her foot and slammed her heel onto the toe of his boot. K bellowed and loosened his vise hold enough for Leah to deliver a crushing knee to his groin. He doubled over, but snagged Leah’s sweater. His nostrils flared as he wrapped his hand around her throat.

Leah clawed and scratched at the fingers choking her. Held at arm’s length, kicking or biting was useless. Stars flashed in her receding vision, legs weakened. Lt. K regained his stance, pushing her against the sofa’s side table as he closed in. His pungent breath warmed her ear. “I’m sure Roclas won’t mind if you’re given to him in rough shape. As long as you’re breathing.”

Like when K attacked her on the ship, Leah felt her consciousness pull away from her body. He would succeed this time—unless she fought back. When K leaned against her, the frothy top of the beer stein jabbed into her.

Reaching back, her hand enfolded the metal statue. She whipped her arm around and smashed the marble bottom against her attacker’s head. Air rushed into her chest, sending a jolt of pain down her side. She stumbled sideways and fell. Her sweaty hand wiped at blood in her eyes, smearing her vision. Lt. K rose to his knees, his back to her.

Leah watched the beast teeter, hoping it would crash to the ground and not move. Get up! Do something or die violently in less than thirty seconds.

With strength from pure adrenaline, she scrambled to her feet and wobbled to the stairs. Every inch of her body throbbed with pain. It hurt to think. There was no place to run, nowhere to hide. Where was Hannes? Why did he leave her?

A roar from behind stole her breath. “I will rip you apart and bathe in your blood.”             

Turning, a demon from the pit of Hell leaned against the wall. Lt. K’s orbital ridge was crushed in, swallowing his eyeball and cheek. Images of Roclas’s dangling eye in her nightmares overlaid the monster in front of her. She screamed, survival instincts taking charge. Run, it said. She turned to the front doors.

With each step, raw shockwaves rolled through her bones. Every breath pierced her lungs. She needed to keep it together a little longer. She opened the front door and tottered onto the covered porch. The cold air stung her throat and nose. Keep moving!

Halfway to the trees, Pentago and Sir Lixalot dashed around the corner of the house in a dead run for her. The front door opened, and Lt. K staggered out. He toppled off the porch and into the snow.

She turned and dredged along the flattened snow path. The dogs trotted alongside, occasionally glancing back at the loud and thrashing action getting closer. In the snow, large footprints pointed toward the house. Large enough to belong to a monster. The boat shack came into view. Happy tears sprang to her eyes. She was almost there. The boat was the only way off the island.

FORTY-SEVEN

Everything hurt on her body. How did she get into this situation? Ow, it hurt to think. She needed to focus on getting to the boat at the bottom of the path. If she had a sled, she’d be there in seconds. But that wasn’t the case.

Stepping onto the trail, her leg bent and folded under, sending her face-first into a tree. Agonizing ripples of pain paralyzed her. A deep, guttural scream broke free from her throat. The protective dogs whined and paced.

Keep moving! She couldn’t stop, no matter how it hurt. The consequences would be worse. She shoved back from the tree. Whimpering, the dogs circled her. Facing uphill, Pentago stopped in her path and growled. She grabbed a branch to keep from tripping over him. Pushing away, a spear of fire cut into her right cheek and flashed up into her head and down through her neck. Her vision blurred. Leah melted to the ground.

“That will teach you, bitch.” K stepped back from her partially buried form.

The dogs licked Leah, eager for affection and a scratch behind the ears. They sniffed and nuzzled her hand. Lt. K smacked them away. “Get outta here! You’re lucky I didn’t kill you when you were born.”

He grasped the back of Leah’s blue turtleneck and pulled her up to face him. She spat blood and saliva into his face. He laughed. A little at first, then a full back-bending bellow. Leah wanted to kick and punch him, but her abused body tuned out her brain.

K scooped her into his arms, placing one hand between her shoulder blades and the other behind her knees. His powerful arms folded her legs to her chest, then launched her into the trees like a basketball to the hoop.

The dogs chased as if she were a stick to fetch. Leah stretched out midflight, landing feet first, but twisted and tumbled several yards down slope before crashing into a small snowdrift against a tree. Whining, the dogs circled the tree.

K stepped off the path. Both dogs padded toward him, teeth bared and growling. He looked down on them. “You boys aren’t going to stop me.” He brazenly stepped forward. They crouched into an offensive stance. He ignored the threat.

Taking cues from each other, the dogs attacked. Pentago leaped at K, knocking him to the ground. In trained precision, Lixalot dove for the man’s throat, but K wedged his arm under his chin. Lixalot tore into the flesh. K punched the dog in the nose. Lixalot yelped and scampered back.

Pentago clamped down on K’s thigh. He exploded into shrieks. He tried to shake the dog off with little success. Lixalot bared his teeth and growled, slowly approaching. K slapped at the dog on his leg. Pentago let loose.

Leah crawled through the snow, headed up the other side of the hill overlooking the massive lake. With K blocking the way to the boathouse, she had no alternative. Maybe she could circle around to the house and hide before he caught up.

She tried to stand, but her head spun when she became vertical. Crap. This was so not good. What were the chances Hannes was coming back in the next few minutes? Zilch, since K setup this whole charade. She was meant to die out here. Just like her dream last night said.
Time to die
.

Stumbling up the incline, she heard a whining engine out on the water coming closer. Could it be Hannes? He was so close. She looked over her shoulder to see Lt. Korhonen shuffling through the trees toward her. The rise of the hill slowed his progress as it did hers. Her brain forced her body to keep moving.

Most of the pain was numbed by the freezing temperature, but her arms and legs were stiff, not wanting to bend to give her mobility. She just needed to hang on until Hannes got to her. Her fingers unable to grip the ground, Leah slid down a few feet, jamming her socked feet against a clump of grass sticking above the white powder.

The engine noise died as she reached the top of the hill. She could see the house. Safety was a straight shot through the clearing of trees leading to the front yard and door. She saw the snow angel she made recently. So close.

One of the dogs ran from the boat dock path toward the driveway, barking and jumping through the snow. A familiar car stopped and Hannes sprang out. Leah tried to call out, but her vocal chords didn’t work. Shit. Could vocal chords freeze? What about the inside of lungs?

“Leah!” She looked up to see Hannes and the dogs in a run toward her. Relief trickled through her until her leg jerked back. Lt. K wrapped his hand around her ankle and pulled her to him. He fisted her sweater and lifted her body into his grasp. She could do nothing to resist.

Hannes slowed as he neared Lt. K. “Stay back. I’ll kill her.” Her captor dragged her to the side. Her breath caught as she looked over the cliff they stood on, thirty feet above the water. Her reoccurring dream about dying under water played crystal clear in her head. Was this it?

Hannes watched as his second-in-command dragged Leah closer to the edge of the cliff. Panic tore at him, but he had to play it cool, non-caring. “Lieutenant, what’s this about? Why do you want her?”

The monster holding her laughed. “I want her because you want her.” K’s words struck him hard. Did he want her in his life? His beast snorted in his head. Don’t be an idiot.

“Of course I want her. Ojo Azul’s got a fortune on her head.” The scent of sadness, hurt, and hopelessness surrounded him. From Leah. His heart squeezed. Those words were not true, but he couldn’t tell her that now. He’d reassure her after he got her back into his arms. The image of Catalina tickled his periphery. He shoved it away.

“Don’t play with me, fucker. I’ve seen how you look at her. The same way you looked at your last bitch.” Leah’s body stiffened in her captor’s hold.

Lt. K laughed. “What, angel? You didn’t know about his previous whore? She was a beauty. I got myself a piece of her pussy before she died, again and again.” K’s eyes shifted to him, waiting for his reaction. He smelled the lie on the wind. But it still enraged him, let the dead rest.

“Korhonen, if you want the bounty that much, then take her and get out of here. I’m on holiday.” He turned to walk back to the house. God, he hoped this ploy worked.

“Don’t you dismiss me like that!”

That’s what he needed to hear. He turned. “So that’s it. This is all about power. Who has control over the life of another? That’s what you want, isn’t it, Korhonen? You want to be a god.” Lt. K’s face flushed red. He stepped closer to the edge.

“Go fuck yourself, Otso. You’re weak. Letting the enemy live. Only taking jobs that help your pathetic humanitarian mission. Give me a fucking break. You make me sick. After I destroy you, I will become the biggest supplier of black market treasures.”

Destroy me? Now his earlier lie about Catalina made sense. And his reason for wanting Leah. Anything good in his life, Lt. Korhonen wanted to terminate.

An eerie smile graced his second-in-command’s face. “Show her.”

What was he talking about? Show her what?

K’s hand wrapped around Leah’s throat. “I said show her, bear.”

His insides froze. He understood what the man wanted: for Leah to see the beast within so she would run in fear of him. He’d never have a chance with her.

Leah’s hands snapped up to the fingers around her throat, her facing turning red. She scratched at K’s knuckles.

“I’ve seen you partially transform when you didn’t think anyone was watching. Your arms white, tipped in claws. Come on now, play along or I will throw her body to the fish.” Korhonen stepped to the side, pushing Leah’s feet to the edge.

“Fine. I’ll show her. Let her breathe!”

K laughed, not releasing his grip. “Better hurry up, freak. She’s turning blue.”

Fury ripped through his veins like molten aggression. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill right now. He let the change he’d been fighting for five years take him. Feeling like a participant in a body, he watched K’s maniacal laugh and the horror on Leah’s face.

Her expression didn’t last long. Her eyes rolled back while her cheeks turned purple. The bastard was going to kill her anyway. His second had lost his mind at witnessing the impossible. Hannes’ polar bear roared and charged. K gripped her neck with both hands, ready to crush her windpipe.

A shot rang out and both Leah and Lt. K disappeared over the edge.