The truck bumped down the dirt road until they came to the highway. Lucy watched Caleb pull the truck onto the road headed south. She’d told them the name of the trail she’d started at, and they’d assured her it wasn’t very far from their property.

As they drove down the highway, she watched her cell phone for a signal. Slowly, bars appeared on her phone. At least they hadn’t been lying about that. When her phone finally had a connection, it began to beep with text messages and emails. She flicked the screen to open her email account and found several messages from Mr. Bars demanding she meet him back at the office for a special assignment that weekend.

Her skin pricked with anxiety as disgust sank in her stomach. She still didn’t know what to do about work. There was no way she would allow Mr. Bars to harass her any more. After the last few days, she realized that she’d been too passive in her life until that point. She’d let people take advantage of her. Anger at the twins still filled her heart. Their lies had been unacceptable and unforgivable.

Even though they’d given her the best orgasms of her life and made her feel things she didn’t even know were possible, they had still lied. They’d taken advantage of her vulnerable position and had used it against her, just like Mr. Bars.

The truck pulled up the gravel park road and into the parking lot of the trailhead. Her car sat where she’d left it. Caleb parked, and they all climbed out. Lucy pulled her keys from her backpack and put them in the door lock.

As she sat in the driver’s seat, she slid the key into the ignition and heard her engine chug. What the hell? She looked at the gas tank and found it empty. It had been half full when she’d parked two days ago. Annoyed as hell, she got out of the car and went to check her gas tank on the other side of the car.

She found Caleb and Elijah looking at the open gas door. She narrowed her eyes at them. “Did you do this?” she barked. Caleb sniffed the air, and Elijah gave her a pleading look.

“Coyotes,” said Caleb. “Damn thieves siphoned your gas.”

Lucy kicked the gravel underfoot and growled, her anger heating to a boiling point. She went around the car and pulled the key from the ignition and slammed the door before pressing the lock button on her key ring.

Caleb lifted a gas can from the back of the truck and shook it. “Empty,” he said, frowning. She didn’t believe a word they said. They were still tricking her. “We’ll take you in to Mystic Harbor and get some gas.”

“Fine,” she shouted, storming back to the truck. Lucy had never been so angry before in her life. She couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone was taking advantage of her at every second.

The brothers climbed into the truck after her, and Caleb started the engine. A few moments later, they were back on the highway again, headed south to Mystic Harbor.

Lucy had never actually been to the coastal tourist town before, but as soon as she saw Main Street she was mystified. It seemed straight out of a storybook or a movie about a sweet small town. Little shops lined the street that headed to the harbor, and quaint houses clung to the hillsides overlooking the sea.

“It’s so cute here,” she said as they stopped at the gas station at the edge of town.

“Want to look around? I hear Vivian McNealy’s apothecary shop is nice. It has all kinds of sweet-smelling soaps and lotions you might like,” offered Elijah.

Lucy bit her lip. Her anger seemed to melt away at the sight of the cute little town and the power of the bay and sea beyond. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look around for a little while.”

Caleb turned the car around after they’d filled their gas can and headed back into town. He parked in front of the quaintest shop Lucy had ever seen. It almost made her eyes water from its cuteness. They got out and opened the front door of the apothecary’s. The scent of flowers and oils filled Lucy’s lungs and made her instantly feel a hundred times more at ease than she had before.

A pretty, curvy woman with red hair came from the back room. She gave Lucy a big smile, making her freckled cheeks glow pink. “Can I help you?” she asked, looking from the brothers to Lucy.

“I’m just looking around. I’ve never been to Mystic Harbor before.”

“New here?” the woman asked, her bright eyes looking the brothers up and down. “Do you plan to stay?”

“No. I’m going back to Portland,” she said definitively.

“Oh. What a shame. Let me know if I can help you with anything,” the woman chirped as she went back behind the counter to adjust a small distillery.

Lucy walked up and down the rows of perfumes and lotions, potions and oils, until she found a lavender-and-lemon goat’s milk soap that tickled her fancy. She took it to the counter and paid. The brothers followed her back outside onto the curb, and she looked around. The smell of fried fish filled the air, and her mouth watered.

“How about some lunch?” Elijah asked. “You didn’t eat breakfast.”

“That does smell good,” she said. “But after lunch, I have to go. Seriously. I’ve already missed a day of work at this point.”

They walked over to the seafood restaurant and went inside the little building. It was decorated with nets and wooden boat wheels over wood paneling. They sat and ordered three servings of fish and chips. After the waitress brought their food, Lucy covered her fish with vinegar and her fries with ketchup. She took a bite of her battered salmon and almost fainted from the yumminess.

“God, this is so good.”

“Best in the state,” Caleb said, pointing to a framed award on the far wall.

“I believe it.”

They finished their lunch and sauntered out into the bright afternoon sunlight shining down on Main Street. Lucy and Elijah crossed the street to the truck, but Caleb stayed back.

“Damn,” he growled loudly. Lucy flung her head around to see Caleb staring down a group of scraggly-looking young people, laughing and hooting as they walked down the street. One of them had a bloody bandage on his neck and held a lit cigarette in his hand.

“What is it?” Lucy asked Elijah under her breath.

“The people who stole your gas.”

“Go,” Caleb bellowed as he pointed to Elijah but looked straight at the group of kids. The kids just laughed at him. Caleb growled, his sharp teeth becoming visible even in the middle of town.

“Get in the truck, Lucy,” Elijah said, opening the door for her. She climbed inside and waited for Elijah to go around to the driver’s side. He opened the door and slid in before turning the key in the ignition. The truck’s motor rumbled to life.

“Who are those people?” she asked, worried. She wasn’t sure whether she was more worried for herself or for Caleb as the group approached him. The one with the bloody bandage pushed his finger into Caleb’s chest. Elijah shook his head as he pulled out of the parking place along the curb.

“Those,” he said, pulling up to the intersection and stopping at a red light, “are coyote shifters. Nothing but a pack of trouble in human skin. They’d lie, cheat, and steal from their mothers.”

“What is Caleb going to do?”

Elijah drove as soon as the light turned green. Lucy could see the kids converge on Caleb. Fear gripped her senses. Would he be all right? Those kids looked tough.

“Probably kick some coyote ass.”