Page 11 of Bear In A Bookstore
His eyes locked on hers and her face flushed. Neither of them looked away. She had pale freckles across her nose and deep brown eyes.
“Hey, that’s her! That’s definitely her.”
Desi turned toward the voice to find two young men looking their way. One was holding a well-used hardcover book with a leather backpack slung over one shoulder. His counterpart had a large video camera perched on his shoulder.
Kora did a double take as the man with the camera angled the lens directly on her face. She shifted her weight on the seat. Her expression completely changed when she realized she was trapped between the wall and the cameraman. Desi smelled her anxiety and fear.
The man with the book beamed as if he had just won a prize. “I knew I’d catch up with you sooner or later.”
Chapter Four
Therewasnowayout.
Kora’s heart thrummed in panic mode. Trapped. Cornered. A camera in her face.
Stay calm. Stay calm.
Pure adrenaline crawled into her brain and screamed at her to run.Thrusting a hand at the camera, she shook her head, drumming up words but they stuck in her dry mouth.
Desi burst to his feet, rattling the table as he knocked into it and stood to full height. A low growl rumbled from his throat as he advanced on the cameraman and firmly pushed him to the side. She couldn’t see his face, but his shoulders were straight, his back rigid as if he’d gone into instant fight mode. The cameraman swallowed hard, his face going pure white as he took a quick step back, stumbling and nearly falling.
Desi maneuvered himself between her and the remaining man, completely blocking her view with his impressive backside.
“You came in a little strong there, boys, don’t you think?”
He addressed the men with an even, protective tone. A slight rumble accented the words, giving them a dangerous edge.
Kora’s body lit with awareness of Desi’s alpha attitude, and she immediately relaxed by a fraction, as if a primal part of her brain knew he would protect her. Ashamed of her reaction, she focused on her breathing and drummed up the mantra that sometimes helped her stay calm.
Calm mind. Calm soul.
The words were mostly a joke. They rarely helped, but she clung to the hope that one day, they would.
“Sorry. Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude. We’re just, uh, were in town for the Famous Race and we wanted to ask her a question.”
The Famous Race? Curious, and feeling better with Desi by her side, she scooted down the booth and tapped Desi on the hip. Glancing down at her, he crossed his arms and moved over so she could see the men.
“Are you talking about the low budget MyTube channel that people can’t seem to get enough of?”
She was guilty of wasting too much time on the internet channel too. The hosts persuaded contestants to participate in challenges around the world—on their own dime—to be the first to complete a list of insane tasks for nothing more in return than short-lived internet fame and an ugly wall plaque the hosts painted themselves. How the channel had become so popular with over three million rabid fans was a mystery.
“That’s right. The challenge is to pick one of two locations from this book.” He held up the copy of Dirty Riches: Unclaimed Buried Treasure in America. “The book lists clues that lead you to treasure spots, but you have to be smart enough to unravel them. An online group started working on the clues for Estes Park and it kind of blew up, sadly, because most people came here to search.”
“There’s treasure in Estes Park?” Desi sounded skeptical, and like he might laugh in their faces.
“Fourteenth century Spanish gold. The Fool’s Chest? You’ve never heard of it?”
The man with the camera tapped his friend. “Come on, Angelo, don’t give too much away.”
Desi glanced back at Kora and gave her an unimpressed eye roll. She almost chuckled. Relaxing now, she cleared her throat and took a breath. Unlike the waitress, who probably had seen Kora on television, these men weren’t trying to dig into her past.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Angelo opened the book to reveal heavily crinkled pages. “You own the old brothel, right? I tried to catch you yesterday after hours, but I didn’t want to approach you in the dark while you were getting in your car, and you know, freak you out.”
She grinned humorlessly. “Trapping me inside a booth with a camera in my face was such a better choice.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, the brothel is on the map. It’s listed as one of the spots in Estes Park where the—” his voice dropped low and whispery. After looking around, he leaned in, “where the Fool’s Chest could be buried.”
