Page 123 of The Thief

Calvin shuddered. “I may be cold, but I’m not dumb enough to waste freezer space on bad meat.” He gestured to Mercy. “How much does she remember when she turns?”

“She’s out.”

“Good. Take her home and play house.” Striding toward the storage room, he said, “Let’s keep this between us. I know you two are knocking boots now, but you’ll be doing her a favor by not telling her what went down.”

Bear agreed. The less Mercy knew, the better. If the law ever found out, they couldn’t hold her accountable if she didn’t know about it. Self-defense was one thing. Disposing of remains was another. But given the circumstances, it was in her best interest. The authorities would want to know what provoked the attack, and if they found out about Mercy’s criminal past, it could lead to serious consequences.

“Take her home before she shifts back,” Calvin said as he pulled a giant roll of plastic out of the storage room. “And wash her paws real good so she doesn’t track blood in your car. I’ll take care of the scooter.” He dropped the roll beside him. “Does this moron have a car?”

“Black Rolls-Royce. Out front.”

Calvin hitched up his pajamas. “Fuck. I’ll need to call someone.”

Bear clapped a hand on Calvin’s shoulder. “What do I owe you?”

“A favor. That’s my favorite currency.”

“You got it.”

Calvin furrowed his eyebrows while staring at Bear’s head. “Did you have that earlier?”

“What?”

He pointed. “The silver streak in your hair.”

Bear reached up to touch his head but winced from the nasty burn on his arm. The brief contact he’d had with Argento’s energy ball must have silvered part of his hair.

“How do I explain this?” Bear asked. “Even in death, he’s dragging us down.”

“This guy was a royal prick from what I knew of him.” Calvin stared at him for a beat before patting his shoulder. “Maybe you’re just getting old. All that stress today in the kitchen finally caught up with you. It happens. I once knew a guy whose beard turned grey overnight.” He gave Bear a look of solidarity. “That’s a story I’d love to tell to your Packmaster. Bring him in this week, and we’ll have a chat. Take off your shirt—it’s covered in evidence.”

Bear marched into the hallway and gathered up Mercy’s clothes. Then he led her wolf to the bathroom to clean her up and thought he’d never get all the blood out. After stuffing the dirty rags into the trash, he wiped down the floor. Leaving her in there, he took the trash to the kitchen. Calvin had already moved the body, but Bear was going to have to slip out of bed extra early in the morning to clean this mess before Mercy arrived at work. In fact, he might ask Calvin to give her the day off.

When he returned to the bathroom, he checked her over once more to make sure she didn’t have any overlooked injuries. Mercy suddenly morphed to human form.

Still kneeling, Bear looked up at his soon-to-be mate, who was more radiant with each passing day.

With trembling hands, she observed her surroundings. “What happened? Where is he?”

Bear stood and wrapped her in his protective embrace. “Honey, he’s gone now. That’s all you need to know.”

Chapter 23

A week had passed since the grand opening of the kitchen. Bear and I kept busy on the property and at work, but our late-night snuggles were the absolute best. He had taken me out one early evening for a surprise picnic. We enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal, discussed our future and thoughts about children, watched the sun go down, and then made love beneath the stars on a patchwork quilt.

My admiration for Bear grew day by day as I learned more about his beautiful heart and bravery. He told me all about his past jobs, and it gave me chills to think how close he’d come to death a few times while protecting another. For the first time, I genuinely understood what I’d been missing my whole life—what it felt like to have someone love me without any strings attached.

“Be careful!” I backed away from the front door while Tak, Lakota, and Bear carried in the first brown leather sofa. That monster must have weighed a ton by the beads of sweat rolling down the men’s faces.

Hope stood before the fireplace, directing traffic. “Here. Set the end by the painter’s tape I put on the floor.”

Tak set down his end.

“No, a little farther,” she instructed them.

Lakota shook his hair back. “Someone take that tape away from my sister.”

As soon as they set the sofa down, Montana, Krys, Virgil, and Salem came through the door with the matching sofa.

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