Page 33 of Ours

Sandy opened and walked through her front door. She paused because the house was way too quiet. She looked around and gasped before backing up as she looked down at the blood. She knew the sight of blood on the floor thanks to her brothers and their football matches.

She pulled her phone out and dialed triple 0. “Hello, what department do you want?”

“The police. There is a lot of blood in my house. I just walked in.” Sandy stood at her lounge room entrance and bit her tongue to stop her scream. Jake lay in a pool of his own blood. She rushed to him to see two bullet holes in his chest. She hiccupped, trying to hold her sobs in.

Sandy checked his pulse and let out a breath as she felt one. She picked the phone back up and whispered, scared now that someone might still be in the house, “My boyfriend is Officer Jake Bear and he’s been shot.” Sandy repeated her address and the woman told her stay where she was and on the line.

A loud smash startled her and she heard several shots. “Oh God, shooting.”

A growl was cut off somewhere farther in the house. She had to check on Zack. Slowly, she walked into her family room and found Zack in his bear form. His fur was matted with blood, and a pool of the sticky stuff surrounded his right shoulder. A gun lay on the floor next to him and bullet holes were everywhere. She gritted her teeth. How dare this person wreck her house and hurt her men?

Sandy searched her house and found the dickhead lighting her house on fire. Her temper was beyond control now. Not caring about any noise she made, she yanked the lamp out of the wall and grabbed the vase that sat beside it.

She rushed the dickhead. He turned and lunged for her with death in his eyes. Sandy smashed the lamp over his head, watching as it broke and shards fell around him. Then she smashed the glass vase over his head and grabbed the largest shard to defend herself.

“Bloody asshole. You come into my house and try to kill my men. Not on my watch, buddy.”

The guy looked dazedly up at her as she kicked him again. “I have no idea why men always misjudge me. I may be little, but I’m lethal. Ask my brothers. They are firefighters, you fuckwit, and they live next door. They’ll have this fire out within minutes. I know my brother is home tonight, so I don’t expect too much damage. He should have this out soon. But you…”

He made a grab for her, but Sandy sliced at his wrist and stepped out of the way. “You idiot. You will not survive tonight. You have terrorized my family and put my baby at risk, so you will die.” Sandy knew she sounded insane. Maybe she’d finally cracked.

“I have to say, you’re the dumbest criminal I’ve ever heard of. Why the hell did you think you could kill me or my men? I was brought up in a three-male household, no mother, and to top that off, I have been fucking cursed again with two boyfriends. Mates. Whatever. I need some females big time, but no, I’m surround by men. You just fucked up my night. I had one of the best girls’ nights I’ve had in a while.”

He growled and lunged at her again. She slashed the insides of his thighs and anything she could reach. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back before dragging him to her front door, ranting the whole time.

“I find it odd with all the testosterone around me I’m the one saving their asses. I tell you, the baby better bloody be a girl.” Sandy looked down at the man who was bleeding everywhere. She groaned. “Stop bleeding. You’re ruining my floors.”

The guy gurgled, and she let him go. “Now I’m going to open this door, and if I find that you’ve moved, I will cut your family jewels.” He moaned, and she opened the door to see her father walking toward her. He rushed to her, and she saw her brothers fighting the blaze at the side of her house.

“Hey, Dad. I dragged the man who did this to the door, and I think it’s the shifter killer Jake’s been looking for. He promised not to move. He’s just at the door. I might have almost killed him, but he did try to kill my men and he put my baby in harm’s way.”

Her father’s eyes widened, and he walked to the door to make sure the man hadn’t moved.

Her dad grunted and hugged her tighter. “Oh, baby girl, he was an idiot for messing with you.”

She snuggled against her dad. “That’s what I told him. How long until the blaze is under control? Zack and Jake are in pretty bad shape too.”

Her dad looked around and muttered, “I’m always right. The house was a good buy near the hydrant. It should be out soon.” Sandy could hear sirens getting closer.

The adrenaline started to leave her, and she leaned on her dad. “Oh, that’s so good because I think I’ve finally gone insane.” Black filled her vision as her father’s arms tightened around her, and she let herself go.

****

Sandy awoke to the sound of beeping and yelling in the distance. She cracked an eye open to dimmed lights and a white ceiling and walls. Opening her other eye, she took a better look around. She was in a hospital bed. A drip was in her arm, and she had clips on her other hand monitoring her heart rate.

The room was empty. She wondered where Jake and Zack were, and if they weren’t here, where were her father and brothers? She searched for the Call button, pressed it, and waited. Seconds later a tall, pretty blonde walked in. As the door opened, the yelling got louder.

“You have quite the family, Mrs. Bear.”

Sandy sputtered. “I beg your pardon. Did you just call me Mrs. Bear?”

The nurse nodded. “Is that not your last name? The woman who came to check on you first told me you were married to her son.”

“And you believed her.”

“Should we not have? It was Adelea Bear. She is on the committee at the hospital. I think she has a wing named after her.”

“You let her in here?”

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