“I’d like everyone here so I only have to say this once,” Teddy said.
“Ass-sniffer? Stop curlin’ your fake eyelashes and get the fuck in here!” Nina crowed toward the kitchen area.
Marty flew around the corner, her boots skidding to a halt when she slammed into Nina and almost dropped Lenny. “What’s wrong?”
“Please sit, Marty,” Teddy requested, keeping her eyes averted from Cormac’s stony gaze.
As they all took their places on the couch—well, except for Cormac, who defiantly stood in the doorway—Teddy fought to keep tears from falling from her eyes.
She didn’t even know these people, and now she was going to tell them something that would make them hate her guts.
Way to make friends, Teddy Bear.
“You’re a fucking bounty hunter?” Nina asked, and if Teddy was correct, there was a hint of admiration in her tone. Which was better than her scorn. Nina’s scorn hurt, and she didn’t have a reason why, but it stung like a thousand bees.
However, she didn’t want praise. She wanted them to give her the kind of hell she deserved for keeping this from them, and then she wanted forgiveness.
From a group of people she hardly knew. Why?
When she finally answered, her voice sounded small to her ears. “Not in the conventional sense, I guess. But that’s mostly what we do. We’re usually hired privately, and we always tell our clients they have to agree to meet with law enforcement if the bounty’s caught. There are no exceptions, and we make them sign a contract to that effect. Then we hunt the bounty down and bring them in. We’re really good trackers because we’re bears. It gives us an advantage. Also, I know the forest like my own backyard. So when we have a bounty in Colorado, I almost always take it. Oh, and…on a final note, my last name isn’t Jackson, it’s Gribanov.”
“So the dart gun story was a lie?” Marty inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.
She looked directly into Marty’s eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry. I do use it for my work with the animals at Sanctuary, that’s my day job, but as described by Arty McDaniels, we knew Cormac would be too big to contain without some help.”
Nina beamed from her place on the couch and slapped her thigh. “Hah! You’re a salty bitch, kiddo. I don’t see what the fucking problem is. She did her job. Now she’s telling us about it. What’s the big shit in that?”
“Well, you wouldn’t, ex-bloodsucker, because you’re dead and cold inside. Your heart is black and shriveled,” Marty reminded. “She told Cormac he was her life mate, Nina. You know how serious that is in our circles.”
“Okay, let’s be fair to Cormac. I did lie to him. He has a right to be angry,” Teddy defended, and hoped she didn’t sound like she was sucking up. “But I wasn’t lying about his role in my life. It caught me off guard, too, but Cormac is my life mate.”
She just had to wait until he knew it, too. Would he know? Ever? Her mother hadn’t ever told her much about how her father had felt during their courtship. Had he known her mother was the woman for him?
When Cormac finally spoke, it was to condemn her. “Nah. I don’t believe that. I’m just your cash cow.”
Clenching her teeth, Teddy repeated, “I told you, I called the bounty off last night when I realized something wasn’t right. I can’t prove that to you, but it’s the truth. I can prove the return of the money, if you’re interested. I can show you my account at my bank.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Look, you should be angry with me. That’s only fair. But as angry as you are, we have a bigger problem. We have targets on our heads right now, Cormac. We don’t have time to argue with each other about what a liar I am.”
“But here’s a question for you, life mate. Why should I believe this isn’t some huge ruse? How do I know that ‘attempt’ on your life wasn’t just some show you were putting on?”
Teddy glared at him hard, ignoring his dark beauty, ignoring his anger. “Because you woke up this morning. If I was a part of this, don’t you suppose I would have just killed you in the forest? Or even if I didn’t get a chance to do it then, why wouldn’t I have whacked you in your sleep? You’re not a stupid man, Cormac, but that was a stupid theory.”
He glared back at her, but he kept his gorgeous mouth shut.
“So what you’re telling us is the gentleman who hired you is the man who tried to kill you last night? You’re sure?” Wanda asked, the wheels in her head clearly turning.
Teddy nodded. “I’m as sure as the nose on my face.”