They spent the better part of the morning on the lake, Malcolm rowing while she sat back and enjoyed the sunshine on her face. Under different circumstances, she couldn’t think of a better way to spend a morning, but the anxiety of what tomorrow might bring kept creeping into her thoughts. The fear of the unknown was almost too much to take.CHAPTER ELEVENMalcolm-4
Malcolm kept his thoughts to himself as they rowed about the lake, but he could see hers written all over her face. She was frightened and soon to be alone with her fears. His thoughts drifted back to last night, the way she smelled, tasted...the way her warm, wet folds wrapped around him, drew him into their previously unexplored walls.
Why had she given him her virginity, and why had he let her? He didn’t have the full answers to that, other than perhaps she had needed the intimacy, even for just a little while, and he had wanted to give that to her. There was something about her that he couldn’t put his finger on. Perhaps it was her vulnerability, or maybe the taboo of mating with another shifter species, but he had felt something with her that he’d never experienced before.
They finished up their tour of the relatively small lake area and turned in their canoe before heading up to the shop to see what was happening with her bike. He had hoped to find it patched up and waiting, but instead, it seemed to be in several pieces off to the side.
“What can I do you for?” one of the mechanics asked, stepping away from another bike and wiping his hands on an old grease cloth.
“We came for her,” Malcolm said, nodding toward the broken bike.
“Oh, yeah. Hold on.”
He disappeared into an office at the back of the shop and came out with a small guy reminiscent of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. The mechanic headed back to his work as Shaggy came toward them with his hand extended, a smile on his face.
“Hey there. You must be Malcolm. Jay Putman here. We spoke on the phone,” he said, glancing toward Autumn as he spoke. His nose curled just slightly as he picked up her scent, but he said nothing.
“What’s the story on this bike, Jay?” Malcolm asked.
“I think she’s a goner, man. We’ve pulled her apart and sourced what parts we could on the cheap, but it turns out she does have a bit of a cracked frame. I tried to weld it for you, get it going at least for a while, but it’s a lost cause. Even if it holds up, it’s not going to get you very far before it falls apart.”
“How far?” Autumn interjected.
“Hard to say. Smooth roads, maybe a couple hundred miles, but hit any rough asphalt or a pothole and you are up shit creek. It’s gonna be a rough ride even on clean road. I mean, it’s up to you if you want me to put her back together, but it’s not exactly safe, and I’m guessing you’re not a seasoned rider that knows how to work around the hiccups.”
Autumn looked down at her feet, saying nothing. Malcolm could almost see the pain on her face, despite her having hidden it.
“You got anything else around here for sale at a reasonable price?” Malcolm asked.
“Nah. We just work ‘em.”
“Nothing at the MC?”
“Not that I know of, man,” Jay replied, glancing at Autumn and then back at him.
“Is it because of the way she smells?” Malcolm asked bluntly.
“Nah, man. I don’t care about that, but some do. We seriously don’t have any bikes right now, though. We had to move our MC a few weeks back and we lightened the load as much as possible, ran a bunch of them through the local auction.”
“Alright, then. What do we owe you for the work you’ve done to this thing?”
“Fifty for my mechanic who pulled it apart will do just fine. What do you want us to do with her?”
“I’ll give you two hundred to make her disappear. I mean, really disappear, and if anyone comes around looking for the bike or the girl, no one knows anything. Deal?”
“You want me to lie to another wolf MC, brother?” he asked, now shaking his head.
“Nah. There won’t be any wolves looking for either of us. You’ll smell the ones who come looking for her before they even ask.”
“Bears then.”
“Yep.”
“Know when I should expect them?”
“No idea if they will find their way here, but dump that thing in a hurry.”
“It’ll be gone within the hour.”
“Good man,” Malcolm said, pulling out his wallet and handing him a handful of twenties. “Thanks for trying to do what you could.”
“No problem.”
Malcolm and Autumn left the shop and headed on into town, stopping by an all-you-can-eat American buffet. It was a good place to load up on food and it was scarcely populated, so they could talk without being heard or bothered too much with waiters.