Chapter Twenty
Hailey woke at dawn, smiling at nothing in particular. Every limb felt loose and satisfied, like she’d squeezed a week of yoga into the previous day — and night.
She grinned. She was in Maui, so loose and satisfied was fitting, and the bear of a man slumbering beside her provided all the warmth and protection she could ask for.
They were spooned closely, her back to Tim’s chest, and all she could see were his thick arms curled around her. For a long, quiet minute, she took in that view, replaying everything that had happened the previous night. Her cheeks heated, and she planted a tiny thank-you kiss on his arm.
Slowly, she slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Tim. God knew the poor man needed his sleep. He’d been up at some point in the night, but she’d fallen right back to sleep. Now it was the other way around, and she couldn’t lie still for another minute, not with so many thoughts bouncing around her head.
Standing quietly, she padded to the door. She needed some fresh air to clear her head and figure out what to say to Tim when he woke. If he didn’t want another day of her, she’d catch the first plane out of Maui and never bother him again. But if he said yes…
Her chest swelled with hope she barely dared entertain.
She took a deep breath, trying to organize her mind. First, she’d take a little walk. Then, she’d return and wait until Tim woke. The second he did, she’d brew him a fresh cup of coffee. And once he was really awake…
What then?
She forced herself not to think of the outcome, only how to best express what she felt.
I love you, Tim. It’s crazy, but I love you. And I’d really like to give us the chance to…
She paused. Would that scare him off? Maybe she should be a little more subtle.
Hey, Tim. Last night was great, and so were the past days—
She frowned, because having to face her mother, Jonathan, and a terrifying werewolf had been hell. Only the moments with Tim were good.
The more time I spend with you, the more I think we might have something special. Do you feel that too?
She pushed the front door open but stopped there and looked back. A ray of pink light stretched across the cabin floor, illuminating tiny particles in the air and making the cabinets glow. Beyond the point reached by the dawn light, Tim slept, looking more peaceful than ever.
Hailey nearly sighed, looking around. Maybe her stay on Maui didn’t have to be temporary. Maybe she didn’t have to pretend about having a quiet life with a good man.
She stepped outside, closing the door behind her. And, wow — the entire plantation glowed, taking on the colors of dawn. The dark green of the abandoned coffee grove had a golden tint, and the long, grassy slope that led to the ocean was a warm, yellowish-orange. Birds sang, and the quiet rush of surf carried from far below.
The beach was as good a place as any to start her walk, so she set off, breathing deeply. The air was as clean and fresh as the color of the sky — nothing like LA, which only got her thinking more. The long, low structure behind Tim’s house appeared to be an abandoned coffee drying shed. That would be a fun project — getting a couple of acres of coffee up and thriving again. She could harvest her own beans… Make Tim the best coffee ever… Watch him breathe in the aroma…
She walked on, following a gurgling stream. Dreaming was one thing. Figuring out what to say to Tim was another, and steeling herself for rejection yet another. It was one of those days that could change her life, and she knew it, because it could end in several different ways.
Well, whatever happened, she’d never forget her time on Maui, that was for sure.
The slope folded more sharply as she approached the beach, creating a crease where the stream flowed faster. Something moved on the patch of sand ahead, and she stopped, watching.
Hi, Dell, she nearly called when she saw who it was. But he was doing yoga, and it felt wrong to disturb his peace. She nearly turned away to continue her walk, but he was just easing into a one-armed handstand, forming a diamond with his legs. It was amazing, that combination of sheer strength and delicate balance. He didn’t wobble the slightest bit, and she tried to figure out how he did it. Why he did it, because Dell seemed more the type for a rough round of football than an introspective morning of yoga. Was there some trauma in his past he was trying to shake?
He eased out of the pose, going to two hands and then a plank. Resting on his knees, he tossed his shirt aside and went into a downward dog move that made Hailey think about finding her own quiet spot to do a little yoga, too. He held the pose for a long time, making her think cat more than dog for some reason. And finally—
Hailey frowned. The stretch went too far, as if he’d thrown out his back. But Dell kept right on pushing with his arms while his knees bent backward in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. His fingers clawed the ground the way a cat might knead a blanket, and his shoulder blades stood out on his back.
Something was wrong. Something had to be wrong, because human bodies didn’t bend like that. Was he having a seizure?
Hailey ran two steps forward then froze.
Hair broke out all over Dell’s back in the reverse of what she’d witnessed Lamar do that awful evening on the beach. The blond scruff on Dell’s chin extended all over his neck. His backbone stuck out, and every joint twisted the wrong way.
She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Dell the human was gone, and a lion stood in his place. An honest-to-God, full-grown lion with a long, tufted tail and a thick mane. The beast clawed the ground, digging deep furrows in the sand, then gave itself a mighty shake.
Hailey inched back, barely breathing.
Oh God. Dell was a shifter. A lion shifter that looked about to set off on a hunt. And since Maui wasn’t exactly teeming with gazelles…
Hailey turned and ran, hoping he wouldn’t hear her over the sound of the sea. The wind was at her back, which meant the beast couldn’t catch her scent — hopefully. She sprinted for her life, straight for Tim’s house, already planning to fling open the door and scream for help.
It wasn’t possible. Not another shifter. Not here, where Tim said she’d be safe.
A myna bird — black with a yellow mask around the eyes — pecked at a dip in the ground beside the water pump by Tim’s house. The bird fluttered away, and Hailey screeched to a stop, staring at the spot, wondering why that seemed important.
Then it hit her. That wasn’t a dip in the ground. It was an animal track — one of several left in the soft earth around the pump. Big tracks — bigger than her foot — showing a triangular pad and five round toes.
Bear tracks.
Her knees shook. Lions and bears? She wanted to scream to alert Tim, but if she did, the beasts would hear and—
All the blood drained out of her face as it hit her. Tim had stepped out at some point in the wee hours of the night, and she’d been so sleepy, she’d barely registered it at the time. But now…
Be right back, he’d whispered, kissing her on the shoulder. Just going to check on things.
She stared at the tracks and then at the house.
Wolves. Lions. Bears…
A strangled cry escaped her throat.
Shifters.
Not all shifters are bad, Tim had once said. But it’s very hush-hush, and we have to keep it that way.
Her knees shook, and she felt faint. Hush-hush enough for him not to tell her?
She whirled, looking from one part of the property to another, picturing Tim’s friends. Connor, Jenna, and Chase. Cynthia and little Joey. Could it really be?
But they’d shown her every kindness. Had all that been some kind of ruse?
There are good shifters who wouldn’t hurt anyone, Tim had said.
But, God. How could she be sure?
Still shaking, she tiptoed away from the house. She’d just spent the night in a bear shifter’s arms?
Her skin crawled at the thought of those arms turning into bear legs and caging her in. Of his beautiful smile cracking into a grimace that showed off horrifyingly big teeth.
She broke into a run, heading toward the barn. The keys to Tim’s pickup hung from a nail, and she grabbed for them, then abruptly stopped.
The flower. The pure white plumeria he’d given to her was right where she’d left it. She stared, clutching the keys hard enough for them to cut into her palm. What the hell was she doing?
Running, her mind screamed. Getting away.
But running away didn’t go with Tim. Her body shook, rejecting the idea.
On the other hand…lions. Bears. Wolves. Her rattled mind had no idea what to make of it all. So she slipped into the driver’s seat, appalled at herself. How could she steal Tim’s car? But then again, how could she possibly stay?
When she turned the key, the engine sputtered to life, and she drove off quickly — too quickly — kicking up gravel as she went. Then she roared onto the main road and raced off, watching the rearview mirror as much as the road.
Okay, so…a plan. She desperately needed a plan. Which had to be heading to the airport and flying the hell away. There was no alternative. She could leave the keys in the car. Once she was safely on her way, she would find a way to get a message to Tim so he could retrieve the vehicle.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel harder. Could she really do that to him?
Then her jaw grew tight with resolve. How could he not have told her about himself? He’d seen Lamar shift, and yet he hadn’t told her about himself. That made him a liar, right?
She forced her mind back to forming a plan. If there weren’t a flight, she would go to the adjacent heliport, book a ride to Oahu, and take it from there. But, Jesus. Where could she go? It was bad enough to have Jonathan and the likes of Lamar tracking her down. What if Tim came after her, too?
Don’t be ridiculous, a little voice insisted, speaking from her heart. Tim would never hurt you.
That’s what she thought, but he’d lied to her all along. What other lies was he capable of?
She drove, clutching the wheel so hard, her knuckles hurt. Too shocked to cry, too frightened to do anything but stomp on the gas pedal.
“Damn it.” She thumped the empty spot on her chest. Her great-grandmother’s pearl. She couldn’t leave Maui without it.
She stretched across the car, fiddling in the glove compartment for a map. Then she gave up on that and worked from memory. The house at Pu’u Pu’eo wasn’t much farther than the airport, right? And traffic was light this early…
She leaned forward, egging the pickup on like an aging steed. Every few seconds, she’d peek back then jerk her eyes forward again. It took all her resolve not to exit for the airport instead of driving on the familiar road along Maui’s North Shore. Long lines of surf pounded the cliffs, an echo of the emotions roiling around her mind. Twenty minutes later, she swerved onto the turnoff for the well-hidden property and revved up the rocky road. Then she ran up to the house at Pu’u Pu’eo—
She pulled up short, staring at the peaceful scene.
An owl hooted. The wind whispered through the trees. Somewhere in the distance, the crash of a waterfall could be heard.
She bit her lip. The six days she’d spent there with Tim had been the calmest and most peaceful of her life. How could it end like this?
It doesn’t have to end like this, a little voice said.
Slowly, she ascended the stairs and pushed open the unlocked door. Then she walked through the empty house, touching the walls. Sniffing. Wondering whether the faint hint of coffee and flowers was really there or just in her mind.
All that was good, the little voice said. Like Tim. Honest. Trustworthy.
She stopped in the doorway to the room Tim had used, recalling how he’d rubbed his shoulder against the frame.
He protected you when you had nowhere to go.
A lump big enough to choke her formed in her throat, and no amount of gulping forced it down.
She moved to the bedroom in the back and reached under the mattress. The pearl immediately warmed her hand, and she found herself sinking down to sit on the mattress.
Please help me, she wanted to beg the pearl. Please tell me what to do.
A silent minute passed, and she snorted. What was a pearl going to say or do? She had to stop waiting for help and find the power within herself to decide her own fate.
The house was painfully quiet, but her memories were so vivid, it was almost surreal. Hailey rocked on the mattress, looking up at the hook where she’d always left her pink Aloha cap at night. The cap Tim had bought for her. Somehow, leaving that behind hurt as much as the thought of leaving her pearl. But the cap was back at Tim’s house…
A stab of pain went through her. Was she really ready to leave Tim?
She slipped her necklace on, paced back through the house, and stood in the middle of the yard, listening as an owl hooted sadly from the trees.
Hoo. Hoo.
She looked up. The bird might as well have called, Why? Why was she running from Tim, who’d never done anything but protect her?
The hallway was unpainted. The gazebo just an image in her mind. The kitchen devoid of laughter and warmth. There was so much they hadn’t gotten around to doing. So much she hadn’t said.
She looked around, then swallowed hard. Her grandfather had always told her to listen to her heart, but damn. Did that apply when bears were involved?
She chewed that one over as she drove back down the road, much more slowly than the rush in which she’d arrived.
Let’s say someone you know was a shifter, and you didn’t even know it, Tim had once said. A person you trusted. Worked with. Laughed with. Shared meals with. Everything.
Her heart wept. Had he been trying to tell her?
Someone who was always there and you never thought twice about. Let’s say you suddenly found out they were—
“A werebear,” she whispered. Tim had been trying to explain. It was she who hadn’t been listening.
It wouldn’t matter, because you know who they really are and what they’re like. That they’re good inside.
A single tear trailed down her cheek. Tim wasn’t good inside. He was golden. But she…
She looked in the mirror, finding too much that resembled her mother. The curve of her eyebrows. The suspicion coded into her pursed lips. The greedy, I want more sheen of her eyes.
Hailey blinked a few times. Was that really her?
She was about to pull over and think — really think — when a car passed her on the left, coming much too close. More than close, in fact. With an ear-splitting thump, the cars collided, side to side.
“Watch it!” she yelped, fighting the car back under control.
Instead of racing ahead or pulling over, the SUV remained in the oncoming lane. It jerked over again, smashing Tim’s pickup a second time.
Hailey yelped, battling the wheel with stiff, outstretched arms. Was that driver crazy? The right tires of Tim’s pickup rattled along the narrow shoulder, kicking up gravel.
“Stop!” she screamed, glancing left.
But the SUV didn’t stop. It kept up the pressure until she had no choice but to swerve down a gravel road with a Do Not Enter sign. Bad choice, because the minute she flew out of sight of the main road, another SUV cut in beside her. One panicked glance showed Hailey the face at the driver’s wheel — a face straight from her nightmares.
Lamar.
“No—”
Her scream turned into a gasp when the first vehicle banged Tim’s pickup from behind, forcing her onward. The dirt road was barely meant for one vehicle, let alone three, and she wrenched the wheel from side to side, avoiding boulders and trees.
“Oh God…”
Straight ahead, the forest thickened, and there was no way through. She hit the brakes, jumped out of the car, and ran. Behind her, brakes squealed, doors slammed, and footsteps pounded. She raced through the trees and scrambled over a dune. Then she shot out onto an open beach pounded by surf so wild, there was no way to wade in and swim away. She whirled around just as a group of men crested the dune above her.
“Now what, sweetheart?” Lamar sneered. “Out of places to run?”
Hailey took two steps to the right, but another man appeared and cut her off.
“Miss me, honey?” he said with a self-satisfied grin.
She blanched. “Jonathan.”