Page 22 of Alpha's Second Chance

An hour after we’d found out Bull had escaped from jail, I dropped an empty duffle bag on the table in front of Eve.

She stood at the kitchen counter, making lemon chicken, continuing her quest to eat all the meat I had in the cabin. I wasn’t sure how she was hungry. I had no appetite.

“I called Fort Carson Military Base,” I told her. “I updated them on our situation. We can stay there, and we’ll have some real backup. It’s three hours away by car.”

“Wait. Slow down.” She laid the spatula she was holding on the bar. “I thought your team was our back up.”

“They are. And they’re the best trained soldiers you’ll find. But there are six of them, and we’re in the mountains, without any heavy equipment.” I wasn’t going to keep sitting here in the middle of the mountains, doing nothing, leaving Eve as a target.

“Equipment?” She frowned at me. “Like a tank? A missle? What exactly do we need?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. Most criminals are somewhat predictable. In some ways, Bull has been. But the fact that no one knew he was a shifter worries me.” From my go bag, I pulled out a stack of cash and counted it. “I don’t want to be caught off guard again.”

She turned away from me to wash her hands at the sink. “You’re doing a great job,” she said.

I stared at her shapely backside as she stood at the sink. I was struck by the emotion that pooled in my stomach. It sat heavy like a rock.

Not only was she my mate, I knew I was in love with her.

I could admit it now. It wasn’t the leftover feeling I’d had as a young man. It was a new love, based on the time we’d spent together. I loved her wit, her resilience and her willingness to stand up to me and anyone else in the world… I also was insanely attracted to her and never stopped wanting her with me, naked and willing.

But she didn’t feel the same way.

Convince her, my bear said. If only it were that simple.

“I’m not going to be lax about this. Not with your life.”

She dried her hands and put the chicken into a baking pan. “I know you won’t. And I appreciate that.” She put one hand on her hip as she studied me, a gesture I usually loved. I didn’t love it when we were discussing how much danger she was in.

“Now tell me what would happen if we went to Fort Carson?” she asked, going back to the food as she opened the oven and slid the pan inside.

“The pros are that I could work that, to an extent, doing paperwork or deskwork. No one’s going to let me take the lead investigating Bull now -- I’m too close to it. But I could do some research on other cases. If your boss approved, you could work from there as well. Even if Bull could trace us there, he can’t get inside the base.”

“Cons?” she asked.

I knew she’d approach this just like any other problem. She’d want facts, she’d want to analyze. Talking with Eve was a far cry from my usual interactions with non-military. Usually if I talked to a civilian, he or she just freaked out, ran around screeching and didn’t think beyond his or her own panic. Not Eve. She kept a cool head at all times. “He could already have a man inside. A shifter. Someone loyal to him.”

She walked over to me and slid one arm around my waist. “How long would we stay?”

I needed her closer. I pulled her in, wrapping her in a tight hug. “Until Bull is recaptured.”

She didn’t push back, but sank into my embrace. “Well as we’ve seen, he won’t necessarily stay that way,” she said.

The fragrant smell of the chicken dish filled the kitchen. “We need to handle this the shifter way. He needs to be eliminated,” I said.

She nodded. “I agree,” she said against my chest.

“I’m surprised,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because usually government lawyers are not in favor of execution.”

She tipped her head back to meet my eyes. I was relieved to see her eyes were back to their usual bright gleam.

“I guess I’m more bear than I realized,” she said.

My bear glowed with contentment at her statement, not caring about the context. Was it a mistake for me to hope we could have a future together? “You’d have made a good soldier.”

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