Page 9 of Coveted By The Bear (When Worlds Collide #1)

T he hours ticked by slowly after I finished fixing Miles’ bike. I was so excited to show him, I even took the liberty to detail it.

My reasoning was fairly simple.

I’d never been on a Harley, and I planned on begging a ride on the back of that powerful machine.

Besides, I was pretty sure my tenant was getting around to asking me out on a date if that kiss we shared earlier meant anything.

I really hoped it did. I mean, it had me daydreaming all night about the two of us, and silly or not, I was wildly attracted to the man.

Oh, I knew better, I supposed. But what could I say? I was a hopeless romantic.

Biting my lip, I went back to work. I changed the oil on two cars that had been left overnight and dropped the keys in the little lock boxes next to each spot where I parked them once I was finished.

I emailed the lock codes to the customer, and they could pick them up at their earliest convenience. That’s all that was on my list, so I was pretty much free, unless someone came in with an emergency.

I hated being idle though, so I grabbed a tablet and started taking inventory. Lance’s Auto did a bang up job of using domestic parts for the services they provided, and I admired their dedication.

“Hello?” I answered my cell, frowning when I saw I’d missed a call.

“Hey, how you doing, Pretty Girl?”

Miles.

“Good! I got a surprise for you,” I said, beaming like a moron for a man I hardly knew.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” he asked, his voice was so deep and gravelly I had to fan myself.

“Bike’s all done. Got her engine purring like a kitten,” I told him.

“Oh yeah? I think I need to see this for myself.”

Is he flirting with me?

The possibility made me vibrate with need. Admittedly, my flirting game was like rock bottom, but this man sure made me want to give it my all, anyway.

My pulse picked up, and I had to clear my throat, afraid it might crack if I tried to speak just yet.

This man is dangerous. He could hurt me.

I had to remember that if I was going to engage in this, whatever this was.

A flirtation?

A fling.

Whatever.

Keep it light, Hope.

An idea popped into my head, and I bit my lip, trying to find the courage to just ask him.

“You do? Well, technically I have a break coming up in a little while if you wanted to do a video call?—”

Before I could embarrass myself, a loud noise, like something breaking, came from the other side of the garage.

Dammit.

I really hoped there weren’t any kids playing pranks. It was too early for Mischief Night, for Pete’s sake.

“Hope? What is that?” Miles asked, and the flirting man of before was gone, replaced by concern.

I didn’t know which turned me on more. That he’d called to check on me or that he sounded worried about me. It’d been a really long time since anyone cared like that.

The butterflies inside my stomach took flight, and it felt like a tornado filling me.

“Um, I don’t know. Sorry, Miles, I have to check what that sound is. I’m just gonna put the phone down. I’ll be right back,” I told him before placing my cell phone face up on the steel worktable.

I was not a fan of horror movies, but I did watch them. In hindsight, I should have been aware of how dumb it was for me to go off on my own to check where a strange noise was coming from.

I shivered, even though it wasn’t cold inside the garage. Frowning, I wondered where that sudden draft was coming from.

I drew near Bay 6, looking down at the shelf I’d just restocked with brake pads. The whole thing was on its side and boxes were sprawled all across the floor.

But before I could even think to fix it, I noticed something else. The back door was wide open.

“Hello? Who’s there?” I asked. The sound of something moving had me inching forward. Then I saw it.

“Oh my God!” I screamed, horror freezing me in place.

People didn’t typically think of wildlife when they thought of New Jersey, but Barvale literally meant bear-town. I supposed the founding fathers enjoyed the wildlife around these parts as much as the locals still did.

But I never heard of a bear opening a door and knocking down a shelf of brake pads.

“Oh shit. Okay, um, I’m not going to turn and run. I am just going to back away,” I murmured more for myself than for the enormous brown bear.

The animal seemed to understand, and it almost looked like he was laughing at me.

“What the?” I muttered, then I saw another behind him.

Only this one was convulsing or something.

Did brown bears hunt in packs or pairs or something?

I had no idea. But something weird was going on.

“What the hell is going on right now? Aghhhh!” I screamed.

My eyes were wide, and I backed up so far, I hit the wall behind me. I dropped to the floor and crawled away, ducking behind a rolling tool chest.

I peeked around and saw the first animal stand on his hind legs. The bear roared so loudly he almost shattered my eardrums.

My breath was coming in pants, and I knew this wasn’t a safe place to hide.

I continued to crawl, just making it to the office, when I heard a nasty clicking and crunching sound behind me. I glanced behind me as I closed the door. Not really believing I was safe yet. But there was a phone inside and I could call the police or something.

The sound of nails on a chalkboard made me scream again, and I sobbed as I grabbed the phone wire and yanked it off the desk.

Shit.

I forgot there was a huge window looking out into the garage from this office. I don’t know how the bear knew what to do, but the animal sliced the window in two, using six inch long black claws to cut it in half. Then he roared again, and the thing shattered.

I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die.

Stop it. I’m not gonna die!

More cracking sounded, and I picked up the receiver and tried to dial. But there was nothing.

No ring tone. No sound at all.

“You won’t be making any calls with that,” someone said, and I shivered.

“Hello? Don’t come in here! Run! There are two huge bears,” I called out a warning.

But wicked laughter echoed in the space and a stranger appeared at the broken window. He was big and mean-looking. His eyes glowed gold, and he was, well, he was naked and snarling at me.

“‘ Run. There are two huge bears.’ You hear this, Rick? The little human thinks the bears will get us,” the man said, and his laughter was even worse now.

He started cackling, and saying things, terrible things about what he was going to do to me.

“Hurry up and change, man. Tiegs said we could do whatever we want to her,” the man said, and I could see it.

There was something not right here. The second bear walked closer to him. Both of them were standing in front of the shattered window, and I bit back my frightened tears.

Fur receded and a huge, menacing man stood where the second bear had been only a moment ago.

“You can’t hide from us. We’re gonna take our vengeance out on you. You fucking worthless human,” he sneered.

The excitement in his eyes at the prospect of doing me harm. I felt sick to my stomach, but I didn’t take all those self-defense classes in the city for nothing.

I looked around, saw a long, flathead screwdriver beneath the desk to my left and I grabbed it.

It wasn’t much. But it was something.

“Come on, Tommy Boy. Time for some fun,” the second man, or bear, or bear-man, Rick, snarled.

I stood up, holding the screwdriver in front of me like a sword, and I tried not to whimper as the men ripped the office door right off its hinges.

“Aren’t you going to cry, human?”

“Fuck you!” I said, anger and fear making me tremble like a leaf.

The sound of something crashing through the garage doors echoed loudly, and the two attackers turned and crouched as an enormous creature, bigger than theirs charged inside.

The beast swatted at the men with enormous claws, and they went flying. Tools, metal, sheetrock, and glass scattered everywhere, and I ducked and closed my eyes to protect them.

My heart hammered inside my chest, and my flight or fight instinct was screaming at me to move my legs. But the only way out was through them. And I wasn’t suicidal.

The now familiar sound of popping reached my ears, and I watched as the third bear changed from animal to man. But this man I recognized and all my fight left me as I sank to my knees and dropped the screwdriver.

“Miles?” I whispered.

“Get the fuck away from her!” he roared with inhuman fury.

My two attackers turned on him, and I watched in abject horror as they viciously beat and tore at each other with half-animal claws. Miles was still human, but his hands and his jaws were shifted into something else.

Bear.