Chapter Eighteen

Jo smiled dutifully as the client’s manager—a kind youngish man—spoke on and on about how wonderful a painter the potential client was.

She nodded her umpteenth agreement, glancing inconspicuously at the clock that hung on the meeting room’s wall. Nearly an hour since the meeting began, and they hadn’t even gotten to negotiations. “Yes, yes,” she murmured when the manager dared to take a breath. “I agree wholeheartedly with your praise. Your painter showcases amazing talent that we could not be more honored to display at Liberty Art.” The man nodded emphatically, diving back into his spiel that she was sure he probably practiced over and over in the shower that morning. As he prattled on about various artworks that had won various award, Jo’s mind began to wander.

She wondered about how Nick was doing, if he was missing her the way she missed him. Had he already moved on? Would he be angry when she stopped by unannounced to say hello? Would he still admit to falling for her? Could she admit her truths to him? Should she?

Tom was another issue entirely. He’d wanted her far away from Nick. Now that she’d seen them turn into bears, she supposed she could understand why. She counted his overprotectiveness of his brother as a small blessing. Fixing her car faster than expected had given her the time she needed to be by herself and clear her head, working through the shock and incredulity so she could decide what she really wanted.

What she really wanted was to go back and see Nick.

The man’s voice raised a decibel, desperation growing in his tone as he continued to talk. It interrupted Jo’s train of thought, dragging her reluctantly back to the conversation.

She bit back her frustration at still being there, interrupting the manager mid commendation. “Excuse me,” she said politely. “My apologies, but I must press you for a decision. I’m on something of a tight schedule today.”

The manager sighed. “I must be honest with you, I was hoping you would push harder for the job.”

“Listen,” Jo replied, sitting forward and folding her hands in her lap. “Liberty Art is an excellent gallery. Artists have gotten their start and gone on to do great things in the art scene with our help. But you already know that. What’s the point in trying to sell ourselves when you’ve already paid?”

He pressed his lips together. “You do have a point,” he mumbled, not meeting her gaze.

“We want your client’s work, as you well know. I’m sure it would be great exposure for him, but at the same time, we can’t sit around chipping away the hours of our day waiting until a decision falls into our laps.” She sat back, eyeing the manager confidently. “After all, we are a business at the end of the day. I’m sure you understand.”

The man seemed to steel his resolve, nodding as he stood to his feet. He held his hand out. “Thank you for being so frank with me. I’ll send the contract over to Liberty Art this afternoon.”

Jo grinned widely, standing as well before accepting his firm handshake. “You’re most certainly welcome. I look forward to seeing his work in our gallery.” She watched him go, a sense of satisfaction in her chest. She may have quit with her best interests at heart, but she’d no doubt miss this part most of all—closing on a deal. There was nothing better than that moment when everybody came to an agreement. She nodded, taking a slow deep breath as she settled her thoughts. This part of her life was over now. It was nice to end the chapter on a high note.

Grinning to herself, Jo flipped open her laptop and emailed Brian, giving him the rundown of the meeting and letting him know that he should expect to get the client’s details sometime today. Lastly, she attached the short and clean resignation letter to the bottom of the email before sending it off. Closing the laptop carefully, she sat back in her chair and looked around. Everything was exactly as it had been a minute ago, but it felt completely different.

She was free.

***

The day’s drive back to Rawlins dragged on painfully slow. When she finally stumbled out of her car to run into the shop office, it was daybreak of the following day.

“Nick?” she called, pushing open the door. “Nick?”

“Jo?” Tom launched from the back room into the office, his eyes wide with shock. “You came back?”

Jo nodded, happily. “Yeah, I finished early with my business in San Francisco and thought I’d stop by to apologize.” She looked around eagerly. “Did he step out for food or someth—”

“He’s not here,” Tom growled. Jo began to notice little stress lines on his face that likely meant he hadn’t been sleeping “He’s gone.”

“Gone?” Jo repeated, the sight of him visibly bristling making her take a step backward “I… I’m sorry, Tom. I know you’re trying to keep me out of Nick’s life, and I’m sure you think you’re intentions are good, but I need to speak to him for just a moment and I’ll be on my way.”

Tom shook his head. “No, Jo. I mean he’s gone. He left and I have no idea where he is,” Tom finished, eyes slightly panicked.

Jo’s heart began to hammer in her chest. “What do you mean? What happened?”

Tom shrugged roughly, running a hand through his hair. “He’d gone to the cabin to fix it up some. That was the last time I saw him.” He began to pace, his hands gripping one another tightly. “Sometime later, he called while I was away from my phone. His message…” He looked up at Jo with and intense gaze, “he said was going after them. The entire enemy clan. By himself.

“I dropped everything and ran to the cabin as soon as I’d heard the message, but it was too late.” He inwardly cursed himself, his body nearly vibrating with anger. “The cabin’s in a shambles. Windows are boarded, the porch is torn up. A bunch of stuff. I’m not really sure what happened, but Nick had been there first… and now he’s gone.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “I smelled some of the enemy bears as well, but their scents were much weaker, so I know they weren’t there at the same time he was.”

“Can you not like… track him or something?” Jo asked, blindly searching for solutions despite not knowing anything about shifters.

Tom managed a fleeting smile. “You don’t think I’ve tried? His scent was too old; it fell off before I was even a mile from the cabin. It’s a bust”

“Old?” How long has he been gone?” Jo asked, her blood running cold.

Tom eyed her solemn as he answered. “Almost twenty-four hours now.”

***

“Do you think he’d have his phone?” Jo asked, desperately.

Tom shook his head. “I found his clothes not too far into the forest. His phone was in the pocket.

“How about a note?”

“Anything worth telling is in the voice message he sent me,” Tom retorted.

“Well you have to give me something here, Tom!” Jo cried, throwing her hands up in defeat. “You’ve known him your whole life. We just need something small. The faintest trail of breadcrumbs.” She clasped her hands together, silently pleading him to put in the effort.

Tom stared off into space for a few beats of silence before his eyes lit up in an epiphany. “Maybe,” he muttered quietly. “That might work.”

“What might work?” Jo asked, impatient.

“I think I have a plan,” he replied, nodding once, as he grew more confident. He promptly headed for the door. “Just stay here where it’s safe. If all goes well, we’ll be back soon.”

“Like hell I’m staying here alone,” Jo rebutted, following closely behind him. “If Nick’s in trouble, I want to help.”

“Don’t you get it?” Tom exclaimed, rounding on her. “This isn’t a silly little human problem. These are flesh-hungry bear shifters who won’t hesitate to tear your pretty little human throat out! I won’t allow it.”

Jo set her jaw, glaring right into his furious eyes. “That’s not your decision to make, Tom.”

A growled bubbled up Tom’s throat, low and dangerous.

Jo waved it away. “This old trick again? Trust me, it was scarier the first time,” she dismissed, unimpressed. “Got anything else in your top hat of magic tricks?”

He growled louder, lips peeling back to bare his teeth at her. It was surprisingly underwhelming, and with an annoyed scoff, Jo slid past him to head to her car. “I’ll just follow you, okay?”

Tom looked like he was warring with himself to say or do something, before finally throwing up his hands in defeat. “Suit yourself, but don’t you dare step out of that car.” He spat, his body tensing as the change took over his body.

He undressed as quickly as possible, dipping behind some shadowed foliage just in time to maintain some form of censorship between himself and Jo. She heard bones snap and muscles convulse. Tom’s cries were low and painful as they floated to her ears from where he had changed. Soon after, a mighty brown bear emerged from the tree line, poking his head out to let Jo know he was finished. Knowing it was coming this time, she could properly appreciate just how amazing and awe-inspiring his bear form looked. It made her hopeful for her reunion with Nick.

She nodded. “And I’m not making any promises,” she said, finally answering his request. She smiled at the noises that trickled from his lips, more of a chagrined groan than a growl. Without another word, Tom tore off into the trees, making Jo scramble into her car and peel off into the tree line before she lost his large frame in the shadows of the forest.