Chapter Eighteen
Andre smiled happily as Mary's hand slipped into his as they waited for Zoe.
They had been nervous that Paul Locke might find out where Mary went. So the two of them took his truck and headed north, finding a little campground well off the main road to spend their nights hidden from the world while they waited for Zoe to arrange things for their escape from the United States. They slept every night in the back of the truck under the sky. Andre had missed the stars while he was in that cramped motel room.
"She'll really be able to get us to the UK?" Mary asked, leaning into his side. "Even though I don't have a passport? I don't even know if I have a birth certificate."
Andre nodded and pressed his lips to her glossy black hair. "She assured me that she's done this hundreds of times for Bears. Just because you're a Wolf doesn't make the process any different."
Mary smiled up at him. He held her even tighter, afraid that if he let go he might wake up and find it was all a dream. There was a pang in his stomach at the thought of never being able to visit Isadore and Eve's graves again. He would miss them forever. His love for Mary did not make the missing or his love for them go away. But she filled the hole in his heart, giving him a hope for the future he never dreamed of having again.
"Eleven thirty," Mary muttered, looking at the sun. "That's about right, isn't it?"
Andre glanced at his watch. "Close."
Mary slid a hand up the side of his face and grasped his earlobe between her thumb and forefinger. She rubbed gently, standing on her tiptoes. "She is supposed to get here at noon, right? That gives us half an hour…"
But even as Andre bent to acquiesce, the soft purr of a vehicle interrupted them. Both glanced at the narrow road that twisted between the pine and spruce trees up the side of the mountain. Moments later, Zoe appeared in a sleek two-door Chevrolet. She pulled to a stop and got out, eyeing Mary with obvious interest. Andre glanced at Mary, whose jaw dropped at the sight of the other Bear.
"You didn't tell me she was gorgeous," Mary murmured to him. "She looks like Aphrodite! Are all Bears insanely beautiful?"
Andre chuckled. "I suppose that depends on how one defines beauty."
Mary shot him an annoyed look, but by that time Zoe had joined them and Mary fell silent.
"So this is your Wolf then?" Zoe cocked her head as she studied Mary. "I expected her to be… I don't know."
Mary's face flushed red. She glared at Zoe, as did Andre. He didn't need this other Bear making Mary feel insignificant or whatever else Zoe was trying to do. The other Bear seemed oblivious to both of the dark looks she was getting, however, and continued to openly appraise the Wolf's appearance.
"I've met other Wolves," she said after a moment. "But they were all short, scrawny things that looked like they hadn't eaten a meal in weeks. I suppose I wasn't expecting a Wolf that looked so healthy."
Mary continued to glare. Andre frowned but decided to take Zoe's words at face value. They didn't really have time to debate such things right now, anyway. He cleared his throat, bringing the other Bear's attention back to him.
"Do you have our papers?"
"I have the information that will get you to the next stop." Zoe glanced again at Mary. "It seems like your family has gained quite a reputation among Bears. You'll understand that we don't want to take any risks by trusting you too quickly."
"Reputation?" Mary's brow furrowed. "What sort of reputation?"
"That's not important," Andre said quickly. What else had the Locke family done? He hadn't even heard of them before Paul Locke murdered Isadore and Eve. But they must have done even more than that if Zoe knew their name. His blood ran cold. How many others had Paul Locke killed?
"But—"
"I'll tell you later, Mary." Andre squeezed her hand and addressed Zoe again. "The important thing right now is that we get as far away from them as possible."
Zoe nodded. "The papers are on the passenger seat."
She pointed at her car. Andre stared at her and she stared back. He frowned.
"Why didn't you just bring them with you?"
Zoe shrugged. "I want to talk with Mary myself for a moment."
Andre's frown deepened. He opened his mouth to protest, but Mary put a hand on his shoulder. She smiled encouragingly at him and nodded, indicating that she was okay. He pressed his lips together and reluctantly left the two women to talk. The car was parked just far enough to be out of casual earshot. What did Zoe want to talk to her about?
***
Mary had to admit she felt quite intimidated by this she-Bear who was so beautiful. Worse, the way she looked at Andre was the same way that her three-year-old brothers had looked at cookies. Like she wanted to devour him from head to toe. It occurred to her that she had been out of Andre's life for two months. From his own admittance, he tried to forget about her, to put a safe distance between the two of them.
He also told her that he met Zoe in a strip club.
"So—" Zoe started.
"Did anything happen between the two of you?" Mary surprised herself by asking. Also, to her surprise, she sounded more curious than anything else. "Sexually, I mean."
"Would you be jealous if something had?"
Mary tilted her head, brows furrowing. "I don't know. I would, probably, be at least a little jealous. It's hard to say until you actually know about that sort of thing, isn't it? I've never been in a position where I can be jealous of another woman when it comes to a man."
Zoe laughed, shaking her head incredulously. "Are you for real, or is that some sort of Wolf polygamy thing?"
"We're not polygamous," Mary replied sharply. Her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "Wolves mate for life. That means there is only one woman for a man and one man for a woman. Having multiple lovers is unnatural and… strange."
"What if it's a soulmate threesome? And what about if a man's soulmate is another man? You guys don't seem like you'd be very open to that."
Mary flushed. Such things were never talked of in her community. She looked at the ground and cleared her throat. "You didn't answer my question. And I suppose… well, if he was feeling anything like I was feeling without him, no. I wouldn't blame him for seeking out any sort of comfort he could get."
Zoe raised a brow. "No. Nothing happened between us. But that is not why I wanted to talk to you. My contacts are very cautious about trusting a Locke. Werewolves, in general, don't have the best of reputations and your family has one even worse than most. But my question is, would it be possible for you, sometime in the future, to facilitate negotiations between your community and the larger Shifter communities of the world? We are coming to a time where we need to work together."
"You want to work with my family?" Mary bit her lip. "I'm not sure that would be possible. My father always taught my brothers and sisters and me that Bears are heartless killers. It will take far more than me to get them to see the truth."
"I see. Are you saying that there is no hope for it then?"
"I don't know. My brother, Peter, he will be able to do more than I could. He's the one who helped me get back to Andre. I think he understands."
Zoe looked disappointed, but she nodded. "We'll start with—"
The rest of her words were swallowed up by the crack of a gunshot.
Mary heard a sharp whistling and then a thump. As she turned, she was aware of something wet and warm on her face. Zoe's eyes were wide. She crumpled slowly, as though sinking in water, knees buckling beneath her. She fell back against the truck and a streak of red ran down the red door. A small hole, perfectly round, burrowed in her forehead. A trickle of blood ran from it.
The Bear was on the ground before Mary realized she was dead. A scream choked in her throat and it was only the sound of Andre's roar that broke her gaze away. Her eyes went to his instantly, and then followed his gaze to a figure standing on a small swell right in the trees.
Her heart stopped. Her father held a gun in his hands. Dimly, Mary saw it wasn't one of the family hunting rifles.
It was pointed right at Andre.