The Purrfect Predicament (Australian Shifters) (12 page)

River paced for a moment before asking, "What happens if she testifies, he goes away for life, right?"

"It's not just dear old Dad, I have to contend with Mr. Black. The Rosso family are…persistent in getting what they want. Me, dead, and anyone who stands in their way, even if my, uh, if Bill is put away for life. They will send someone else after me. I've managed to stay alive by hiding everything about myself. I've got no doubts they've got someone inside the police department feeding them information. If it's true what you say about the red flags. That information will be given to Bloody Bill."

"We won't jump to any conclusions just yet; right now we need to hear your side of the story. Anything and everything you tell us will help us deal with this possible threat, so the more details the better," River stated firmly, but she could see the sympathy in his steady blue gaze.

She swallowed and nodded. "Where should I begin?"

"From the start, baby girl, how you first came to be mixed up in this."

Pain swamped her as she thought back over the last few days of her mother's life. "I was fourteen when my mom died of breast cancer. We lived in Adelaide, South Australia. Having no other family, I was sent to live with my dad in Melbourne. I had no idea what he really was. He told me he was a handyman and did different jobs to help with the running of the Rosso family business scattered across Melbourne. So he was out a lot. I went to high school in the area and after I graduated high school, the Rosso's hired me to waitress in their Lygon Street restaurant. I went to college to learn office management. So between work and school I rarely saw my dad."

She drew in a breath. "Neil was nice, handsome, and I was nothing but an overweight nerd." She startled at Andy's low growl.

"Sweetheart, that's not what we see," Hamish said with a touch of a growl.

"Knock it off you two, let her finish the story. You can deal with her self-esteem issues later." River folded his arms, glancing between Andy and Hamish.

Juniper blinked, her brow scrunched in a frown, staring at River.
Self-esteem issues
?

"Thanks River." Sarcasm dripped from Andy's tone.

"Oh, c'mon, I've had to deal with this with Storm, and Hawk with Tinder. Face it; women can't see their own worth. Constantly measuring themselves against other women and how they think they should look. Even when we tell them how Goddess damn sexy they are, and how much they turn us on. Thankfully Storm came to her senses months ago."

Something clicked within Juniper's mind. She realized River was right, her sense of self-worth was based on how she compared herself to skinnier, prettier women. Not once did she stop to think how men like Andy and Hamish saw her. Over and over they kept telling and showing her how sexy and desirable she was to them. How much they wanted her. Her own mental blocks had held her back from believing what they saw as truth.

It didn't matter what the rest of the world said, only the ones who truly cared about you, and you them, only their opinion mattered.

The revelation felt…enlightening, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She drew in a deep breath, knowing her story had to be told.

"I met Neil in a book store; I'd noticed he'd been kind of following me around. I ducked around the shelves and confronted him. He blushed and said he was trying to gain the courage to ask me out."

"Isn't that cute, just like a fucking romance movie." Andy sneered, the jealousy dripping from his tone startled Juniper.

"Shut it." Hamish reached around, slapping Andy up the back of the head.

She shook her head but continued. "At first I thought he was crazy, but he was so sweet and persistent. I gave in and we went for coffee. The thought of anyone liking me, especially someone as handsome as Neil…"

"We seemed to share similar interests, reading and art. We were both kind of shy geeks. We went out on dates, shared stories and kissed. But that's as far as it ever went. He told me he wanted to meet my family before we progressed further in our relationship. So I took him to The Rosso family restaurant to meet Dad at the time I knew he would be there."

"I remember it was Friday night, the place was busy, but the Rosso family had their own section, and the family never paid for anything. Danny Rosso, is head of the family. He was there that night too and Neil met both him and Dad. The three of them got on really well. Dad seemed happy I'd finally got a boyfriend, and I was more than keen to deepen our relationship. The guys just kept talking until it grew late, and I wanted to go home. But no one seemed to want to leave, so I left them to it and went home alone."

"The next day Neil picked a fight with me, over something stupid. I can't even remember what it was. But we broke up. I don't know what happened after that, but not long after, he started working for Danny Rosso. Within a few months, he was managing one of Rosso's stores, not far from the Rosso restaurant where I was still working part time."

"Asshole." She heard Hamish hiss under his breath and hid her smile.

"Well as it turned out, Neil was actually an undercover cop, trying to dig up dirt on Rosso and my dad's illegal activities. Neil pretended to be my boyfriend, using me to get his evidence. Of course it took a few months before Rosso and Dad found out."

"No wonder the cops are out for blood," Forrester said, "Bloody Bill is a cop killer."

Juniper nodded. "My dad thought I was in on it. He'd called me up one evening, on my night off, asking me to come pick him up from one of the Rosso warehouses, as his car had died. Like a dutiful daughter, I went out to get him. I'd parked around the front and walked around the back to meet my dad, then spotted Neil. Still heartbroken over our break up, I ducked behind a dumpster, not wanting to have to confront him. I thought I'd just wait until he left. I could hear them arguing. Neil starts begging, which I thought was strange. I peered around the dumpster and saw the flash of the knife before Dad plunged it straight into Neil's stomach. He did it again and again. Neil crumpled to the floor in a bloody heap. My dad had a smile on his face, like he was enjoying slicing Neil up. I must have made a sound because my dad looked up straight at me.

" 'You're late Juni,' he said and bent down to wipe the blood off the knife, using a clean part of Neil's jacket before he stood straight and advanced on me. I realized that was why he'd called me to come pick him up. I could tell by his face he was going to kill me too."

"Shit." Hamish pulled her into his lap cradling her like a baby; her whole body trembled in his arms.

"I ran, and went straight to the police." Juniper swallowed down the lump in her throat, grateful for the warm comfort of Hamish's body. "They put me into protective custody; took me to a house in Melbourne to wait until they put together the trial. They assigned two officers to protect me. They were nice. But it wasn't enough. I don't know how, but Dad found us anyway. Late one night, he'd broken in. There was a scuffle. Officer Wurst yanked me out of bed and told me to run. But it was too late; Dad shot him as he shoved me towards the door. The second bullet hit me, and I blacked out. When I woke up in the hospital, the cops said the bullet had narrowly missed my heart, but had gone clean through."

"That's where the police files end," Forrester stated. "How did you escape the hospital?"

She sighed. "I knew Dad wouldn't stop until I was really dead. The first officers couldn't protect me, and I didn't want anyone else to get hurt. The officer on duty was asleep when I snuck past him. I found the doctors' changing room. Someone was having a shower. So I changed into the man's clothes I'd found and took all the cash from his wallet. It was enough to get me to Sydney. I changed everything about myself; hair, gender. I gathered my father and the cops would be looking for a girl, not a boy. I found jobs that paid cash, living under the radar of, well, everyone."

"You've been barely surviving for all this time." Forrester tapped his files, his face shadowed in a frown. "I'm so sorry, Juniper."

"You've been living like this for three fucking years!" Andy started.

"Not any more. No more running, we'll protect you now. Understood," Hamish finished.

She glanced between the twins. "I want this to be over, no more hiding. But I also don't want anyone else murdered because of me."

"Like I said before," River added. "We're shifters, not human and you're a mate. We can and will protect you. You can count on the whole town being here to make sure you are protected. But we also need to resolve this once and for all." All eyes turned towards Forrester.

"I say we work with the Federal Police, protect her till it goes to court and have Rosso and Bill locked up once and for all."

Hope swirled through Juniper, freedom from fear. She raised her chin meeting River's gaze. "I'll testify."

"Good, then leave the rest up to us." River nodded at Forrester, who was gathering her files. The Alpha smiled. "Welcome to Black Town and welcome to the family, Juniper. We'll see you later."

"Bye." Forrester grinned and followed behind River. "I'd tell you two to behave, but there's no point." He chuckled as the two men left the room. Once again, she was alone with her men. Juniper sighed and pulled from Hamish's arms. "Do you to mind if I have a bath?"

Andy grinned, lust gleaming in his eyes. "Sure sweetheart that sounds—"

"Alone, Andy." She folded her arms, meeting them both head on. "I'm sorry but I just need some time to myself. It's not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me, even if it was underhanded and sneaky. But I need some time to process all this."

"You won't try to run away will you?" Hamish rose from the sofa.

She shook her head. "No, I believe you when you say you can protect me. It's a lot for a girl to take in. Normal, human relationships usually have two people, not three, they also don't have to contend with the fact that their, uh, boyfriends can turn into Panthers."

"Point taken." Hamish moved in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "This is your home as much as it is ours now. Take all the time you need, we'll be here."

"I was kind of hoping to get to see you all soapy and nekked." He waggled his eyebrows playfully, making Juniper grin. "But I'm sure I'll get a chance later."

"Thank you, Andy." She went onto tiptoes and kissed his cheek, before leaving them both and heading back up stairs. She had a lot to go over, a lot to think about.

Chapter Ten

Juniper moaned in utter pleasure, sinking down into the hot bubbly water, soothing past aches from her work and the nice kind of soreness, keeping the memory of Andy's and Hamish's touch at the forefront of her mind. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to indulge in such luxury. Once again, her life—unexpectedly had taken a sharp turn.

Surely normal women didn't find themselves in bed with two insanely handsome men, who could turn into Panthers, and promise their eternal devotion, within a day.

Her head still spun with meeting more shifting men also promising protection. It felt so surreal, a fanciful dream, in which she would soon wake up and find herself still hiding in her rundown place, struggling daily just to survive.

Hell, being honest with herself, she didn't want to wake up. She wanted more than anything for the nightmare to be over and have safety, security and freedom from fear. There was an added bonus of having two handsome men, doting on her, proving their words by their actions and the desire burning in their eyes.

They claimed she was their mate. Seeing and believing in shape shifting men was one thing but eternal devotion was another. Could they really be hers for the rest of her life?

Her sigh echoed in the spacious white bathroom. When it all boiled down to the quick, what choice did she have but to trust them? Other than run again. No, she didn't want to run, she had nowhere to go. Here she could be safe, have a home and protection, good food in her belly and hopefully a new relationship, which would grow beyond a physical attraction. She snorted at the silly thoughts in her head. Already she was in deep, feeling more for the Brown brothers than she should.

~ * ~

With his sensitive shifter hearing, Andy heard the water running in the bath. They'd retreated to the kitchen to talk. Anger still simmered in his gut. Seeing the tightly clenched jaw of his bother, he knew they were both on the same page.

Hamish pulled items out of the fridge. He handed a bag of potatoes to Andy, while Hamish handled the steaks. Andy plopped them on the counter and grabbed a knife. His grip tightened on the shiny handle as he remembered Juniper's story. He glanced at his brother.

"You don't think she'll try to sneak out do you?"

Hamish set the steaks on the bench top next to the grill plate.

"I think after everything we've put her through in the past twenty four hours, a little trust on our side will go a long way."

Andy grunted, tossing one spud down onto the oven tray before picking up another. "I still want to hunt down that fucker of a dad and gut him."

Listening to Juniper tell her story had been a lesson in self-control. But her comfort and care was more important than any revenge they wanted to extract.

"Trust me; I want to hold the fucker down
while
you gut him. We need to let the human law handle this. As it's a big case and we can't risk any other human police poking their nose around if we do off the fucker."