Page 21 of Bear Facts

“Wouldn’t know. I don’t have a smart phone.” Now he was telling half-truths. Shifters weren’t supposed to own state-of-the-art technology, but they had enough human friends who supplied them with all kinds of tech-y stuff.

“I always have contingency plans,” Freya said. “So, you can let me off wherever I decide is a good place.”

Her voice shook a little, betraying her uncertainty. Shane had the feeling she was realizing that contacting Althea maybe hadn’t been the best move in whatever direction her life was going.

“If you say so,” Shane said.

“I do appreciate what you’ve done.” Freya’s voice softened. “The shower and clothes, I mean. Not the bursting into my appointment and fouling it up.”

“I had a bad feeling about them, and you did too.” Shane saw by her flush that she agreed. “Besides, who would want to work with a Feline shit like Ewan? He would probably try to mate-claim you, just to prove he could.”

Freya’s flush grew deeper. Yeah, she’d figured that as well.

Shane steered onto the dirt road that descended toward the main one, and they jolted along in silence for a while.

Why she bothered lying about why she was meeting Althea, Shane didn’t know. He’d have to?—

His thoughts broke off as a flash of black SUV filled up Shane’s rearview mirror.

“Fuck.”

The SUV’s front seat held Althea’s guards. Another SUV was pulling to a halt on the paved road in front of Shane’s pickup. Freya gasped, her foot coming off the seat and her eyes widening.

Shane didn’t slow. “Hold on to something, sweetheart.”

Freya whipped her head around to stare at him. Her eyes grew even rounder, then she grabbed the dashboard and held on tight.

Shane slammed the gas pedal to the floor and careened his truck toward the SUV waiting just ahead.

Chapter Seven

Freya let out a yelp as Shane accelerated straight toward the SUV. Did he mean to ram it? The SUV was twice the size of Shane’s pickup, and while this vehicle felt sturdy, she didn’t think it could survive the collision.

She braced for the impact and felt her wolf start to take over—it had better survival instincts.

At the last minute, the SUV at the intersection furiously reversed, tires sliding on snowy asphalt. Shane brushed by its front end with an inch to spare and raced along the descending mountain road. The SUV started after them, a second one pulling in behind it, and then a third.

Shane took the hairpin curves of the road with amazing deftness. Freya hung on, closing her eyes anytime they slid too near an edge before Shane pulled the truck around the next corner.

The SUVs followed without trouble. Freya expected the lead driver to cut in front of Shane or run them off the road, but he never did. Cars were climbing up the other lane, more skiers heading for the lodges, and snowbanks made the road still narrower. The driver risked a head-on collision if he pulled out, and prudently did not. Althea and her men were chasing them safely.

“Why didn’t you run?” Shane kept his eyes on the road, hands turning the wheel with precision.

“I didn’t want Althea’s guards to shoot me.” Freya braced herself as the pickup went swiftly around a 180 bend. “I planned to walk away slowly, remember?”

“No, I mean when I put you down by the truck just now. You could have turned wolf and sprinted off.”

Freya wasn’t sure why herself. “Would you have come after me?”

“Probably.”

Shane spoke affably, no threat in his voice. Stating a fact.

Freya squeezed her eyes shut as they slid on a patch of ice. Shane competently straightened the wheel as though it was no big deal.

“Maybe I wanted a ride into town?” she ventured.

“Or you were having second thoughts about what you were doing.”

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