Page 8 of Bear Boss's Mate
She’d had enough of asshole men and their treatment of her. “If you aren’t going to do anything, I quit.” She cleared out her desk and went home.
The shock and trauma of what had happened stayed with her for weeks. She didn’t leave the apartment and was scared to go anywhere for a time. Mick’s harassment started right away, and he phoned and texted her consistently.
Thankfully, she’d had enough money saved to support herself for several months. But it only took her a month before she got the job at Bear Bones Construction.
From the moment she left her old job, she refused to take Mick’s calls or respond to him. This led him to insist something was wrong withherin his voicemails. Marcy knew she had done nothing to warrant his abuse, verbal or otherwise.
They’d never had a romantic relationship, despite his objections. She was baffled by his delusional state of mind and was scared to death of him. Just the sound of his voice sickened her.
She had anxiety unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life. Mick had the nerve to blast her for quitting her job. He didn’t like not knowing what she was doing every moment of every day. Then he began leaving threatening voicemails. Telling her he had better not see her dating anyone else.
Even a call to the police did nothing to help her situation. However, she did take their advice and get a new phone number. But the damage was already done.
Mick’s behavior toward her ruined any chance for her to be happy. It also cemented her belief that she should never date someone from work. She knew it wasn’t wise to trust a man just because he was nice to her.
She didn’t thinkallmen were jerks. But she also hadn’t met one that proved to her he was worth her time.
Despite Mick’s taunts and threats, there was no way she’d let him force her out of town or out of her new job. She liked Pleasantville and the new opportunity she’d been given at Bear Bones Construction.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pushed the horrible memories of the last six weeks away and sipped her glass of wine. With her new job, she now had a reason to leave her apartment five days a week, and that was a win.
If only Mick would leave her alone.
She wondered what her tormentor might do if, or when she ever started dating again.
She prayed Mick would give up harassing her long before that happened.
CHAPTER FOUR
AUSTIN SAT AT HIS DESK, looking over paperwork when there was a knock at the door.
Bern peered in seconds later. “Hi. Do you have a sec?”
Austin nodded, motioning for him to come in. Bern entered and took a seat in one of the black leather armchairs in front of Austin’s desk. His face was somber.
“What’s up?” asked Austin, furrowing his brow.
Bern’s lips were pressed into a frown. “I just met up with Jake Braeden.”
“How is he?” asked Austin.
Jake was a Pleasantville police officer and also a shifter. The three men had been friends all their lives.
“He’s doing well, but he wanted to give us a heads up about some attacks on women here in town.”
Austin sat forward. “Do they know who’s behind them?”
“Witnesses say it’s a group of shifter haters. Human men. Women who are dating shifters are being targeted.”
Austin shook his head, pursing his lips. “Not good news. What are the police doing about it? Are there any suspects?”
Bern shrugged. He put one ankle over his opposite knee as he spoke. “They have a few suspects. The problem is that they don’tknow if it’s an organized gang or just a couple of disgruntled boyfriends that have gotten together. There have been at least four attacks over the last few weeks.”
Austin’s brows moved up and down. Pleasantville was a town of over seven thousand people, with a considerable shifter population.
It was the last place Austin would have expected hate crimes against shifters. In the past, there had been issues with rogue werewolves or cougars. This was something new, and it was cause for concern.
Bern ran a hand through his hair and continued. “The news is being kept low-key, for now. The shifter community is being told because we need to get a handle on this as soon as possible. There is concern that women could end up dead, not just attacked.”
