Page 20 of A Merry Misfit Christmas

That bear of a man is handy to have around. I almost giggle at the double meaning.

Wow, a bear shifter. Kodiak isn’t human.

The thoughts bounce around in my head as I sit up, blinking the sleep from my eyes. Last night almost feels like a dream but I can hear Kodiak in the kitchen and his deep timbre reminds me that all of it is real. He’s speaking to someone I don’t recognize, and I wonder if it’s one of his shifter friends in his motorcycle club. Well, I won’t find out if I don’t go in there and see.

Standing up, I stretch, working out the kinks that sleeping on a pallet, no matter how comfortable, have given me. I miss my bed so much right now it’s not funny! I know I’m a hot mess, so I scurry into the bathroom to freshen up and take care of business as well. Once I’m satisfied that I don’t look like something the cat dragged in, I head into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I say, moving closer to Kodiak.

He leans down and kisses me on my temple, before pulling me into his side. “This is Sly, one of my club brothers. He’s our IT guru and the one I gave Jeremy’s information to last night. He brought over a few of his techie toys to check out the house. We have to figure out how Jeremy found you, Callie, especially since you virtually recreated yourself.”

“Hi, Sly, thanks for doing this,” I tell the tall, muscular man. I briefly wonder what kind of shifter he is, then figure that it might be rude of me to ask, so I keep quiet.

“Not a problem, Callie. Your ex and some of his buddiesarein town, but we’ll get them sorted out. Unfortunately, the house is now compromised and you’re not safe staying here,” Sly replies.

“It’s my home,” I murmur, crushed that once again, Jeremy is trying to destroy me.

“We understand that, but for whatever reason, this prick is gunning for you, babe, and I can’t have that,” Kodiak says, growling a little bit. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I’d grin because his bear is showing.

“Where will I go? I have the Christmas party with Mercy Falls Refuge for the kids, Kodiak! I can’t… no, Iwon’tallow Jeremy to take from kids who often have less than nothing as it is! If I have to go somewhere else, it needs to be close enough so I can still help Cheryl,” I state.

Kodiak and Sly have a non-verbal conversation while I stand there, tapping my toes. Since they continue long after I think they should be done, I ask, “Did you find anything else out about Jeremy? When I met him and while we dated, he was a headhunter for a local corporation. But he was involved in some sketchy shit, including the drug deal I overheard, so maybe he’s decided crime pays better, who knows? What I still don’t understand is how he found me and why I’m even on his radar!”

Kodiak frowns and his grip tightens. He doesn’t say anything, but I can tell he doesn’t like being in the dark about Jeremy or his intentions. That makes two of us.

“I’ll be checking the house in a few minutes for bugs or trackers,” Sly replies. “As far as what he’s involved in now, he’s always been a member of the Lower East Primates. They’re a gang who have moved up the food chain thanks to several of the members like Jeremy who are in the corporate setting. Jeremy and two others work for pharmaceutical companies. They’ve been repurposing the legitimate samples the company produces into street drugs. Unfortunately, their cooker isn’t that good and there have been a shit ton of overdoses. As far as why he is after you, I have no clue, Callie.”

“It’s because you got away, Sweetheart,” Kodiak says. “Pricks like him don’t like to lose.”

Maybe he’s right. Or am I just a loose end?

“He tried to kill me,” I remind Kodiak. “So, that doesn’t make sense to me at all.”

“Maybe it was meant to be a warning? He likely didn’t think you’d run, Callie,” Sly adds. “Let me check out the house before you pack stuff up. Kodiak, call Spike and let him know you’ll be bringing her to the clubhouse. Between all of us, we’ll keep her safe, so she doesn’t miss out on what she’s got planned.”

Kodiak nods and pulls out his phone just as Sly grabs a small stick. He touches something on the side, and I see a red light glowing from the end, almost like one of those laser pointer things that cats go crazy over. The power’s still out but with it being daylight, I open up the blinds and curtains so that we can all see.

“Callie, I just made you a hot cocoa,” Kodiak says as he walks toward me, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Once Sly’s done, we’ll get you packed up and over to the clubhouse, okay?”

I nod, taking the mug from him and inhaling the chocolatey goodness. “Mmm, this tastes so good,” I reply after taking a sip. “I may keep you around just for this alone,” I tease.

The heated look he gives me has other parts of me warming up and I realize that, despite us only knowing each other for such a brief time, he’s my one. Of course, he says I’m his fated mate, so it’s probably a good thing that I’m enamored of him as well. The only good thing about the awful relationship with Jeremy is that I know what I want now and Kodiak ticks off all those boxes. He’s the holiday wish I never thought to ask for.

“Callie!” Sly calls out. “Can you come here, please?”

I rush over to where he’s standing to see the stick is now flashing green as it’s pointed to my…purse? My favorite, festive, gorgeous holiday handbag. What in the world?

“Sly? Why is that stick that’s pointed at my Christmas purse glowing green?” I ask.

“Because it has a tracker in it,” he replies. “May I?” he questions, pointing to my bag. “I need to figure out where it is so I can disable it since I presume you still want to use this.”

“I do,” I say, “it’s the one I use every Christmas.”

“Is this one of the things you brought with you?” Kodiak questions.

I stop and think about when I left. It was close to the holidays, and I always use this purse since it brings me a lot of joy, even though I usually spend them alone. “Yeah, I didn’t take time to change purses when I finally left, just brought this with me, then swapped once I made it to Yukon Bluff.”

“Here’s the tracker,” Sly says, pointing to the sparkly gem that opens and closes the purse. “You must’ve activated it when you swapped your purse this year.”

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