Page 18 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

The phone rang.

I picked up the receiver while still trying to figure out where my math had gone wrong. “Hello?”

“Hello,” said a woman’s voice. “Is this Tony Fitzpatrick?”

“This is his son Reese.” The utilities were all accounted for. Had I added in the electric bill twice?

“Is your father available?”

I shifted my weight in the chair. “He’s passed away.”

My response was met by a few seconds of silence on the other end before the caller said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” I set down my pencil and focused on the caller.

“This is Olive Fry from Superior Savings and Loan. Could you please tell me whom I should talk to about the Evergreen Resort and Retreat Center?”

“That would be me,” I said. “Is there something wrong?”

“The loan payment is sixty days past due.”

“What loan?” I pushed my chair back and dug around in the cardboard box I’d set on the floor. I hadn’t seen any loan statements.

“I spoke to your father about it not long ago. The payments were coming automatically out of a bank account that he later closed. He said he was setting up new online payments, but we still haven’t received anything.”

“Can you email me a copy of the latest bill?” I glanced up at the window just as Angel led one of the newer horses out of the barn. Sarah was in the saddle.

“Of course,” the woman said. “But I’d like to get a new account and routing number from you now. We can set up the payment over the phone.”

Movement outside the window caught my attention. The horse was fidgeting, backing up quickly and stomping its foot.

Sarah clung to the saddle horn with both hands.

The mountain lion inside my skin crouched low, tracking both Sarah and the horse’s movements.

“Sir?”

“What? Oh. Let me just…” I found the company checkbook and read off the numbers.

I’d just finished when I heard the first scream.

I jumped up, knocking my knee against the open desk drawer. I grunted and turned toward the window.

The horse had reared, its front legs circling in the air. Angel was reaching up for the halter, but even as tall as he was, he wasn’t tall enough to reach.

Sarah clung to the horse’s mane halfway up its neck, but gravity was taking over and the next second she was falling backward, wheeling her arms.

“Oh, Jesus,” I murmured.

She landed on the driveway with my siblings rushing in around her. I couldn’t see if she’d landed on her head or on her ass.

“I have to go,” I said to the loan officer. “If there’s anything more you need, please call back this afternoon.”

I hung up and raced outside. “What happened?”

Toby was already helping Sarah to her feet while Angel quickly unsaddled the horse.

“I don’t know,” Toby said. He took the saddle pad from Angel and turned it over. “Fuck. There’s a burr in the blanket.”

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