Page 18 of Taming Her Bears

Natalia was waiting for us on the main deck. “Well?” she asked, tapping her foot.

Josh stormed into the locker room and returned a few seconds later, carrying a M4 Carbine. “Can you shoot one of these?”

She nodded. “I can.”

He shoved it at her. “Take it.”

I whistled when she walked away. “She beat us.”

He was watching her butt swaying back and forth as she moved down the hall. “She’s a mama bear. Did you see the bright spot?”

“On her stomach? How could you miss it?”

“What do you say?”

“She’s a mama bear.”

Natalia

It was insane. I had always criticized my friends for having lineups, but this wasn’t even a line. I loved these four men with every inch of my heart and couldn’t really put one above the other. I think that was the way they wanted it, equally, which endeared me more deeply, but son-of-a-bitch, they kept their passions at high volume. Even during sex, they activated the nuclear settings until I exploded into surreal realms of insatiable desires and pleasures. And now, what was this? Every time we argued, they were going to turn into bears? You know, I must have been a little insane to accept this situation. There was Pete, a perfectly normal human male with a good career ahead of him, and some obvious puppy-dog beams of adoration, but no pizzazz. No high-voltage chemistry readings.

They let me have a gun. Damn, they don’t give these things out to state troopers, but I didn’t bother to tell them. I’ve handled plenty of rifles, pistols and revolvers. I could handle this, too. I suited up, feeling confident.

The landing party consisted only of four bears, two human enlisted personnel and me. They probably wouldn’t have sent any humans in if I hadn’t come along, but for anyone watching, it would look strange to see a single state trooper stalking the woods with a carbine, with no other company than some ambling wildlife.

The lodge was a seaman’s dream come true. It was set up on a grassy knoll with a backdrop of forested hills and a deep rolling lawn splashing down the side of a slope, reaching a discreet, sandy beach. The lodge spread out with giant windows facing the sea and a tower perched over one corner.

A huge satellite dish was mounted to the top of the building. There was a boat pier, but no boat in sight. There was also a hangar for a plane, but the plane itself was resting on its skis, tied to the pier. I looked inside the cockpit. The toggle appeared to have been tampered with. It was loose, and there were scratches around the starter. Someone must have tried to start the plane without a key and didn’t know about the safety switch. Cessna’s can be tough that way.

I felt the hairs at the back of my neck prickle and I held my weapon higher, my eyes trying vainly to stretch outwards. That tower was a perfect observational point. If somebody was there, they must have seen us by now. But the landing was eerily quiet.

I advanced forward, the two enlisted men one step ahead of me. The bears had circled around to the back of the house. If there was someone inside, trouble should start any minute. All was quiet. I took another step, my heart hammering wildly. A whistle high above startled me and I looked up. Darkhorse was sitting in the open tower window, waving. “All’s clear.”

I let out my breath and looked down at my hands, which were visibly shaking. I didn’t know if it was from relief or fear. I didn’t want to make an emotional outburst, but when I saw my four lovers come out the door in their human form, I felt tears in my eyes and ran into their arms. “Is this befitting state trooper behavior?” asked Josh, feigning surprise.

“Oh, yes.” I wiped at my cheeks.

“Well, Trooper. We still have one more job. We’ve got to check the hangar.”

There was a sound of dread in his words that caused little alarm bells to go off in my head. “What do you think might be in the hangar?”

From the way he guided me, with Darkhorse taking my free arm, and the others flanking me on both sides, I knew the answer. “There weren’t any bodies in the house,” Josh said tightly. “Zilch. Nada. But there was blood. And somebody, a lot of people, had been living there until a few days ago. All the beds are unmade, trash baskets are full. There’s still fresh food in the refrigerator. The house is trashed—dirty dishes, clothes and towels on the bathroom floor, cigarette butts and beer cans strewn everywhere. We’ll call in a forensics team, but we still have to look in the hangar.”

“They didn’t worry about leaving evidence behind,” I remarked.

“Because they plan to be in international waters,” said Josh positively.

Before we reached the hangar doors, Lee broke away and turned his head. “I smell death.”

If possible, Roy turned paler than usual. “I smell it, too.”

Josh halted and looked at me sternly. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

I nodded. “All right,” he sighed. “Lead the way, Commander.”

Darkhorse opened the hangar doors. The stench rolled out, nauseating me. I gagged, water streaming from my eyes. I gagged again as I walked, blinking, into the shadowy building. Stretched out in a row on the floor were four dead men in their pajamas or underwear, their bodies arranged neat and straight, their heads turned in the same direction. Each of them had his throat slashed.

“They were murdered in their sleep,” said Darkhorse bitterly. They had been murdered, drained of their blood, dragged out to the hangar, and uniformly arranged that way.

---