Page 4 of Sweeter Than Honey
Whipping out her phone, she opened the notes app and started writing ideas down. Upgrade security system. Call bodyguard company.
Call bodyguard company? Did such a thing even exist? She groaned and leaned her head back against the headrest. “Now you’re just making stuff up, Neal.”
She knew one thing for certain, she wasn’t going to let any bastard shifter lay a hand on her or her unborn baby. Images of snowy mountains popped into her head. Her parents had taken her to Sprague Lake near Estes Park many times when she was young. Winter and summer breaks had been spent exploring the mountains and lounging on the lake shore. Her chest squeezed with a hit of nostalgia. Those had been the good days. The ones she clung to when the loneliness of adulthood got to be too much. Her parents had been gone several years now, leaving her without any family.
She’d been running full speed ahead ever since, rarely taking a break in her drive to grow her business. She’d achieved a lot in that time. Celebrities wore her designs; fashion magazines featured her work, and she had a year-long waiting list from clients requesting custom pieces.
There was no choice but to slow down a little bit now. She was going to be a mom. Tiny sparks lit over her forearms. This baby certainly hadn’t been planned, but it meant that she was going to have someone. She wasn’t going to be alone anymore. How strange and wonderful that would be. Cara ran a hand over her belly. Maybe she should keep her reservation in Estes Park. If nothing else, Sandy’s warnings had reminded Cara of the special place and how long it had been since she’d been there.
A thought hit her. Estes Park had its own shifter packs. Did the screwed-up laws count for them, too? There were shifters everywhere. If what Sandy said was true, she’d be in trouble no matter where she went.
What the hell was she going to do?
She jumped at a sudden tap on the hood of her car. Her eyes tracked out the windshield, spying three sets of legs beside her Jeep, then hips, middles… massive arms crossed over chests and frowns on ominous faces.
“We need to talk, Ms. Neal. Get out of the car.”
She jammed the door lock over and over… click, click, click, and turned the key. The engine roared to life.
“Ms. Neal.”
Her heart sank as she eyed the men.
Cara stepped on the break and the gas simultaneously, revving the engine in warning.
The three of them stepped closer, unintimidated by the fact she was in an SUV, and they were still in their human forms. The middle one growled. "There's no reason to be aggressive. We just want to talk."
Talk her ass. She didn't want to run them over, but she would if they forced her hand. The tallest man flicked his fingers like a monster in a movie, snapping out claws where his fingernails had been. Her scalp tingled as hair began to sprout on his bare forearms, the skin moving like there was something beneath it. She’d never seen a shifter change from human to bear. Her gut lurched as his skin rippled. Gak. Tensing, she willed herself not to throw up.
The trio advanced, running at her with their claws out. Letting out a scream, she gripped the wheel and slammed on the gas. The car shot forward and plowed into something hard enough to jolt the car. A huge body cracked and flew over the hood, pieces of her headlight flying around him. A scream burst from her throat, the sound of claws digging into the rear of the vehicle was like a metallic scream as she fled.
She’d hit one of them. Jesus!
Her heart thundered in her ears as she looked in her rearview mirror. The one she’d hit pulled himself to his feet, the other limping his way to join his friends. She swore she could feel their gazes burning into her until she rounded the corner and blazed onto the main road. Adrenaline rushing, pulse racing, she blew through a stop sign and took the corner too fast. Her purse tumbled from the passenger seat onto the floor. She thrust her arm across the seat before the Jimmy Choos could follow suit.
They hadn’t been ruined with any shifter eyeballs and if she ever made it home, they were going back in the box and never coming out again.
Chapter Three
Itwasathirteen-hourdrive to Estes Park. She’d only been on the road for half an hour, and she already had to pee. The adrenaline rush was beginning to fade, allowing an acute awareness of her overly full bladder to set in.
The fading sun cast purple-gray shadows in the atmosphere. She’d planned to drive through the night to avoid traffic. Maybe stop and get a cheap hotel room if she got too tired. That was before when the trip was a vacation and not a literal escape. Did she dare even stop to use a restroom somewhere? What if those assholes were following her?
Thunk. Smash.
The memory of the shifter’s huge body rolling over her hood played in an unwelcome loop in her brain. The sickening feeling of making contact. The nauseating sound of metal meeting solid flesh and bone. The crunch.
They were going to want revenge, weren’t they? She white-knuckled the steering wheel. She should call someone, let them know what was happening. But… who? She had Olive and her team. She had a few business associates. But no family. She’d been too busy creating a thriving business to make close friends. There was no one to call. She hadn’t left any space in her life for there to be.
Crap.
Cara squirmed in the seat, her bladder threatening to make things very uncomfortable if she didn’t do something soon. She took the next off ramp just as the last of the light faded from the sky. Driving in the dark probably wasn’t the best idea anymore. Glancing in the rearview mirror for the thousandth time since she’d left the bar, she tried to tell if anyone was following her. But she didn’t have mad skills when it came to detecting and diverting thugs, so she couldn’t be sure.
The Jeep sputtered as she slowed down for the stop at the end of the ramp. Frowning, she checked the console. No warning lights appeared, but she was low on fuel. Stopping was inevitable now. Spying a truck stop ahead, she pushed the gas to speed up and merge into traffic. The jeep lurched, sputtered again, and made a loudwhirrrrrrbefore catching up to her pressure on the gas pedal.
“What the hell?”
This couldn’t be happening. Getting stranded was the worst thing that could happen right now. The car sailed smoothly to the gas station, thankfully. She slipped on her heels and filled up while continuously looking over her shoulder. The sensation of someone watching her hung over her, making her neck tingle and her senses go haywire. After paying at the pump and putting the nozzle back, she hurried into her car and locked the doors, much to the dismay of her bladder.
