Alpha's Rescue (Shifter Ops 5)

The whole world slows to a stop. Ten million is enough to tempt an assassin. For that amount, Bentley could hire the best of the best. A whole team of assassins.

“Tell me the job’s still open,” I say.

“I wish I could. It looks like someone took it. You need to get Lana to a safe place, stat.”

I hang up and turn to Hutch. His face is white.

“Did you hear that?”

He nods.

“Someone’s trying to kill Lana. We need to find her. Now.”

Lana

I hear the creek before I see it. It’s up ahead, glinting through the creosote, but there’s no sign of anyone waiting for me. Not a burly mountain man or a respectable looking doctor or an identical triplet. What will Everest look like?

A giant shadow moves between the trees, and I whirl, hugging my bag to my chest. “Everest?”

A long furry head with a black snout emerges from between two aspen trees. I freeze, face to face with the biggest bear I’ve ever seen. It looks familiar. Slowly, it moves into a patch of sunlight, and its white fur shows up clearly.

Oh my God. It’s the same bear that was at the beehives. I couldn’t see its fur then, but I can now. It’s a yellowy white, head to toe. A polar bear. Not a pizzly bear.

It rises to hind legs, and I gape up at it. It beckons with a paw.

Is this for real?

I look around but there’s no sign of Hutch’s brother, Everest. Instead, there’s a huge polar bear snuffing impatiently and jerking his head as if indicating to me to follow it. It drops to all fours and trots down the trail, then moves like it’s beckoning me with that big paw again.

Alrighty then. I nod and follow the polar bear’s lumbering form through a pine grove.

It takes a while for me to hike down, but the bear is patient. Every so often, it stops and lifts a paw to encourage me forward. I get the feeling that if it knew me better, it would offer me a ride on its back.

I cannot believe this mountain. Who is training all these amazing bears? Maybe it’s this mysterious brother, Everest. When I get back to Teddy, I’m going to grill him until he tells me.

I have no idea where Teddy’s cabin is in relation to the original trail to the summit. But eventually the bear stops and snuffs at me, moving it’s head from me to somewhere in front of it. I tiptoe past it and look down the hill through the pines. Below me is the parking lot with the black SUV rental car waiting for me.

“OMG,” I squeal and turn to the polar bear. “Thank you.” Teddy talked to the bear in his kitchen, so it feels natural to address this bear.

The bear bows its great, shaggy head. It raises a paw, and I wave back and watch as it lurches back into the forest, leaving not a leaf unturned in its wake.

Other than a fine layer of pollen coating the windshield, the SUV looks just as Bentley and I left it. I scramble down the hill towards it, pulling out my key fob from my bag. I still can’t get over my amazing hike with an ursine tour guide. But the sooner I get my errands done, the sooner I can get back to Teddy.

I hit the unlock button, and the SUV chirps at me. There’s my charger, in the front seat. Perfect. I can get my phone going and make some calls, then find my way into town for a change of underwear and directions back to Teddy’s cabin.

I’m two feet away from the SUV’s front door when someone bursts from the treeline above me, shouting.

“Lana!” It’s Teddy. Startled, I watch with my mouth agape as he races down the hill and rushes up to me, moving faster than should be possible. At the last second, he bends forward and tackles me like a linebacker, hitching me onto his shoulder. My bag goes flying.

“Teddy, what the heck?” I’m ass up, face down, hanging over his shoulder, my braids raining down on his tight jean-clad butt. “I wasn’t leaving for good. I just wanted to charge my phone!” I grab onto Teddy’s t-shirt to steady myself as he whirls and heads away from the rental car. “Will you put me down?”

No answer. This is one determined mountain man.

“At least let me lock the door.” I grunt and fight to raise my head to make sure the lights flash when I lock the door. We’re a few yards away from the SUV. I lift the key fob and start mashing buttons, trying to relock the SUV. My finger slips and the horn blares. It’d be easier to do this if I was upright and not being carried by a crazy Viking. I try again and hit another button, the circular one that starts the car engine.