Page 1 of Cuddles for the Bear
Chapter One
Adapted from the epilogue of Sweet Things For A Crocodile
Devon didn’t bother turning on his lights, even though his second bedroom, which he’d turned into an office, was dark. Only the glow of his computer screen provided any glare and that was what Devon was focused on.
Sitting down, he checked his email, making sure a bid he’d made on a popular auction site was still winning. He didn’t want to be proven a liar to his good friends. But as soon as he was done, Devon clicked another link, scrolling down a blue screen filled with white text. Messages he’d shared with someone with the handle “BlueKnight64.” He smiled when he saw there was a new message, although his eyes darkened as he read it.
Is it true you’re an assassin? Can you kill him for me?
“Well, shit,” Devon cursed softly. Clearly things were worse for his online friend than he thought. He scrolled back through the hundreds of messages the two had shared, seeing them in a new light.
This could get me into so much trouble,he thought as his fingers rested on his keyboard and he started to type a reply.
Are you in a safe place? Are you safe right now?
BlueKnight64 was still online, and Devon worried that his friend might have been waiting for his reply while he’d been enjoying barbecue with his friends. He rubbed his fist against the center of his chest. That feeling made him uncomfortable.
Finally the three little wavy dots indicated someone was typing a response.
He’s gone out for a few hours. I’m not sure when he’ll be back… Bear… I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.
You need to get out of there. Have you got anywhere close by you can go? Can a friend help you until I can get there?
As soon as he hit send, Devon scrolled back up through the messages. He was looking for any hint, any suggestion at all about where BlueKnight64 lived.
They’d been chatting online for months. Devon had originally seen a post written by BlueKnight64 asking for help with a geometry problem. Assuming the person was a student, Devon had answered.
Storm’s description of him as a professor was partially accurate. There had been a time when Devon had taught classes – many, many moons ago. BlueKnight64 had come back to him with another question, this time through a private message board, and their chats progressed to the point where they were in contact almost every day.
Devon believed he’d found a friend, even though he realized as he scrolled the chats, he knew barely anything about the person on the other side of the chat at all.
There were talks about books, and at one point, a rather heated discussion on which episode of Star Trek was the most plausible – a conversation that had spanned over two weeks.
Devon lingered on the day he’d admitted what he did for a living. He remembered being tired and stressed after spending three days chasing a rogue wolf shifter. The guy hadn’t gone down easily – wolf shifters never did – and by the time Devon had got back to the Alley, he had to shift to heal his own wounds. All he wanted to do was bury himself in his massive bed and not come out for a week.
But habit had him checking his messages first. BlueKnight64 had left a dozen messages for him over the three days – each one expressing more and more concern. The person was clearlyworried he’d said or done something wrong, and Devon could almost feel his rising upset through the screen.
Devon had apologized immediately. It was the first time anyone, outside of his colleagues, who had given a damn about where he was. It was in that frame of mind, when he said he’d been on a work trip - and naturally BlueKnight64 had asked him what he did - Devon was too tired to lie. He typedI’m an assassin, but I only kill bad guys.BlueKnight64 typed backcool,and that was that.
He was taking forever to reply to Devon’s questions now. Devon watched the dots, resisting the urge to shake his computer screen. He had no idea if BlueKnight64 was someone who tapped with one finger on each hand or typed using all his fingers like Devon did.
He’s locked me in. There’s no way out. He gets really cross if I’m not here when he gets home. My friends… I don’t have any friends anymore because he doesn’t like them. He said they filled my head with ideas, but I never knew what those ideas were. He’s never going to let me go. He claims I’m his possession and keeps yelling mine at me every time I suggest going out somewhere. I don’t understand why. I mean, I do, but
“But what?” Devon thumped his desk. “I don’t even know where you are.” He watched the screen, hoping against hope that the three dots would start dancing again, but they were still. Less than a minute later, the blue dot indicating BlueKnight64 was online went gray.
“Fuck it!” Devon jumped out of his chair, his fists clenched as he paced from one side of the room to the other, glancing at the screen every two seconds.
Perhaps his internet connection isn’t very strong… Perhaps even now, he’s frantically trying to reconnect again.
Five minutes later Devon realized his friend wasn’t coming back online.What the hell am I going to do now?
What to do? What to do?Glancing at the screen one more time, Devon wandered into his kitchen, reaching into his refrigerator for a can of beer. His cynical side made itself known as he dropped down into the chair he had by his kitchen table.
The guy could just be yanking my chain. I don’t even know who he is. For all I know, this is someone leading me into a long-form scam. He might not even be a real person.
That was the problem with online anonymity. Devon already knew BlueKnight64’s profile by heart. His location had always been listed as “Wherever I lay my hat,” which Devon thought was cute. His date of birth showed he was an adult. In fact, Devon had enjoyed a few drinks sitting in front of his computer on BlueKnight64’s twenty-fifth birthday the month before.That sure felt real to me.
Devon’s profile details were all manufactured as well. That was just part of an assassin’s life, with the added bonus that he was a shifter. The only people who knew that his name was Devon and that he lived at Assassin’s Alley were the other assassins who lived there, too. BlueKnight64 called him “Bear” because Devon’s username was “BearClaw79” – he had a fondness for baked goods, so it fit.
