Her angel's attitude changed, and she didn’t understand why. She gestured for him to get in her car and he did, but now he sat in the passenger’s seat in stony silence. She started to ask what was wrong, but the glare he sent her way changed her mind. She had no idea why he was so mad. She was taking his advice and leaving the scene of a crime he committed. It wasn’t like her. She had always followed the rules and breaking them was tough.
She pulled out of the parking garage, carefully avoiding Campbell’s body, and shuddered. She never imagined being a part of a crime. But if it weren’t for the man sitting next to her, she wouldn’t be breathing. Deep inside, she knew he had saved her life, and now it was her turn to save him because he was going to need it. He killed a man with his bare hands. No one was going to believe it was an accident. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if it was. He hadn’t said it was. He just told her he had to protect her.
She drove out into the night. Luckily it was getting late and the sun was down. She had some time before she had to call it in, and she needed a drink, or three. But first she needed to find out what the hell she did to piss him off. He had been so sweet, calling her his mate, and now he wouldn’t even look at her.
She stopped at a red light and put her hand on his bicep. He tensed and his muscle flexed beneath her fingertips.
“Why are you mad?”
And why the hell wasn’t she yelling at him for being an asshole? Instead she was calm and actually felt like she should be apologizing for something. She didn’t understand why she felt so attached to him, why she cared so much about what he thought of her, and why she was not being her normal bitchy self when a man pissed her off.
At first he didn’t respond. But then he sighed. “You said you may have something to fit me. I’m a large man, and I don’t feel comfortable with you handing me clothes from the men in your life. My bear doesn’t like hearing about it either. We are protective and apparently pretty damn possessive.”
Lana laughed and squeezed his arm. “The clothes are my brothers’ and they are all bigger than me. It runs in the family. I figured one of them left some stuff around throughout the years.”
Suddenly, his eyes brightened and he stopped moping. “Oh, brothers we can handle.” Then he shook his head with a blush. “Sorry, for being an ass. I guess I’m not used to this, and I really don’t know how I would normally act. My bear is acting like I’m an idiot. I feel lost.”
“I get that, but please try not to make assumptions about me. We both have pasts; you just can’t remember yours right now.”
“Fair enough.”
A horn honked behind them, so she turned her attention back to driving. Speeding down the highway, Lana decided she was going to her retreat rather than her home because honestly, she was scared. She didn’t want to go to prison, and she certainly didn’t want him to go.
He was quiet again, but this time he looked deep in thought. She wondered what his life was like, and found herself growing more attached to the giant man. He was really sensitive for such a big guy. And apparently any talk of past lovers was out of the question. She smiled, feeling for the first time like she might have found someone who cherished her, and only her. It would be a nice change.
***
Lana pulled into the driveway of her family’s cabin. It was secluded and safe. She loved being in the woods, and she thought her guest might appreciate it as well. His eyes said it all, and he looked like he was going home.
“What’s this place?”
“It’s my family’s cabin. We used to come here all the time as kids, and now we come here as adults when we need to get away. No one should be here now, though. ”
“It’s a beautiful home.”
“Thank you. Now let’s get inside, and you can get cleaned up after I call my mom.”
“Sounds good to me.”
She got out of her car and stretched. This was her second home, and the longer she was a lawyer, the more often she came here to hide out. They went inside and he sat on the couch.
“So what do I call you, then, if you don’t know who you are?”
“You can call me whatever you want, I guess,” he shrugged. “A name is just a name, after all.”
“Fair enough,” she said, pulling out her phone. She dialed home and waited. As soon as her mother said ‘hello’ she got straight to the point.
“Mom, I need your help.” She proceeded to tell her mother what happened. She pulled the phone away when her mother’s voice rose too high. Her bear’s eyes widened when he heard her mother.
“I know, mother. It’s not like I asked for this.” She nodded as if her mother could see her. “Okay, so I’ll wait for you to come to me.”
Her mother yelled a little more but agreed.
“Okay, mom, see you soon. Yeah, I love you too.” She closed her phone and sighed. Her head hurt and all she wanted to do was forget this horrible day happened.
“She sounds nice,” Conner said.
“She’s great, but she is a tad overwhelming. Just a warning for you, she’s going to want to know how and why this happened…”
He shrugged again. “Sure I’ll tell her, as long as she doesn’t announce it to the world. She deserves to know since you’re my mate. Makes us family—”He stopped, and his eyes widened.
“Family, there are a lot of them.” He smiled. “I’m not alone, although all I could see were a large group of bears roaming together. Not real hopeful, I suppose.”
“Any memory is helpful right?”
“That’s what the doctors say. It sucks not actually knowing who I am. I know I was hurt badly enough to go to the hospital, plus they told me I should have died. Only I didn’t. They think it’s a miracle, but I know different. Being what I am makes me heal differently, faster, and better.”
“It’s a miracle, regardless of what you are,” Lana said, and heat rose to her cheeks. What was it about this man that made her feel so—young and desperate? “Oh and my mom said to wait it out. She’s going to pull some strings and deal with it. Then she’ll come here.”
“Pull some strings?”
“Yeah my mother is Elisabeth Walker.”
He looked confused. “And?”
Lana smiled. She couldn’t believe it, but he had no idea who her mother was, which meant he didn’t know about her family connections or her wealth. “She’s a pretty huge name in the city.”
“Oh, well, you shouldn’t be associated with me, then.”
“Too late, you’ve got blood on and in my car, and Campbell attacked me. There’s no way out of this. We can claim self-defense. And since you’re much bigger than him, that should account for how you managed to do that amount of damage. Besides, he stabbed you first. It’s tricky, but my mom is going to figure it out. She said it might take a few days…”
She gulped when his eyes clouded with lust and his smile went from adorable to downright sexy.