Betting on Bear (Charmed in Vegas Book 6) Read online

  Hardiman’s hand let go of her arm, only to slide over her upper back and rest at the nape of her neck. “Do you see him?”

  Sneezy. She’d nearly forgotten they were there to find Sneezy. She craned her neck. “Is he over in that far corner?”

  Hardiman stepped even closer to her as he looked in the direction she’d indicated. “That might be him. Let’s go see.”

  They walked around the edge of the circular dance, almost brushing against the spectators when they got to a spot where the dancers’ circle bulged. Finally, they reached the far corner and found Sneezy engaged in a wild, spinning waltz that went nowhere while he eagerly gripped a plastic woman with no clothes on. Literally. Naya didn’t know where he’d gotten hold of a mannequin, but he had.

  Naya pulled the remembrance potion out of her pocket, suddenly wishing she’d thought to bring enough for all of the dancers. Hadn’t anyone missed them?

  Naya carefully opened the vial and stepped closer to Sneezy, then poured it over his head. He abruptly stopped dancing, shaking his head and sputtering. Hardiman caught the mannequin as Sneezy dropped her, and lowered it to the ground.

  “What the hell?” Sneezy said.

  “You remember me?” Naya said.

  Sneezy’s eyes slowly focused on her. “Yeah. That bitch cop.”

  Hardiman’s fist swung toward Sneezy’s face. Naya caught it just before it connected. “We don’t want any police brutality charges.”

  Hardiman growled. “No one calls Naya a bitch.”

  Naya slowly lowered Hardiman’s fist to his side. “Why not? When I’m on the job, I want guys like him to think I’m a bitch. It proves they think I’m a badass.”

  Hardiman grabbed Sneezy’s arm and pulled it behind his back, sliding a cuff around his wrist. “They can think you’re badass. But if they call you anything but ‘ma’am’ in front of me, they’ll pay.” He grabbed Sneezy’s other wrist and twisted it behind him. “Got it?”

  “Yeah, yeah!” Sneezy said. “For the love of God, my arms aren’t made of silly putty.”

  Naya stepped back, watching Hardiman wrestle with Sneezy. Her job was done. Hardiman had Sneezy, which was the whole point of the frantic last twenty-four hours.

  And that meant Hardiman would want to talk. Her heart clenched. She didn’t think she could handle hearing what he had to say.

  At the same time, she wondered if she was selling herself short. She hadn’t had the best childhood. She’d known from an early age that she’d been an unwanted mistake. At least they’d waited until she was a teenager to let her know that if they’d realized she was a half-breed, they would have aborted her.

  With baggage like that, was it any wonder she doubted that any man could love her? Then again, why would any man want a woman with baggage like that?

  She needed to think. And in the meantime, she needed to get as far from Hardiman as she could.

  Hardiman hauled Sneezy to his feet and pushed him toward the front of the club. “Guess we’re going to have to face the music,” he said as he passed her.

  “What’s that?” She fell into step beside him, looking for a way to slip away.

  “A joke. A bad one.”

  “Ha ha.” She could just leave. Even if Hardiman saw her go, he couldn’t follow. Not while he had Sneezy. But somehow, she wanted to slip away rather than stalking off. She followed him out the door.

  Shorty and One-Eye waited by Hardiman’s car. Big grins split their faces when they saw Sneezy.

  Chapter 9

  Naya put her hand on her gun and stepped in front of Sneezy. She wasn’t surprised when she heard Hardiman growl. She was putting herself in danger again, wasn’t she?

  “What do you want?” she said to the two goons.

  They stepped toward her. “You know what we want. Give us Sneezy and we’ll go quietly.”

  Sneezy screamed. “No! They’ll kill me. You can’t let them have me!”

  “Shut up,” Hardiman said.

  “If Sneezy has stolen something from you, go down to the police station and make a report,” Naya said.

  The two men took another step toward her and she pulled her weapon out of its holster. Did they think they could intimidate her? Or get close enough that they could overpower her and Hardiman and get Sneezy? Either way, they had another think coming.

  “Step back,” she said. “No need for this to get ugly.”

  They stayed where they were. “We just want Sneezy. That’s all we want.”

  “You can’t have him,” Hardiman said. “Now get out of the way.”

  The back door to the black town car sitting behind Hardiman’s car opened and a tall, stylishly dressed woman with large sunglasses emerged. Her dark hair was done up in a chignon and she wore a dark maroon dress suit. She approached them, waving Shorty and One-Eye back.

  This had to Madame Renaud. Naya’s hand tightened on her gun.

  “My men have explained the situation to you, yes?” she said. “There is no reason for guns. Sneezy will tell us where he put my trinket and we will leave.” She speared Sneezy with her gaze.

  “I don’t have it!” he yelled, right by Naya’s ear.

  Naya put her hand over her ear. If that man wasn’t spitting at her, he was bursting her eardrums. She’d be so happy to get him off her hands.

  Madame Renaud moved closer. “Sneezy. We both know you took it. Tell me where it is, and I will leave you alone.”

  Naya shifted to stand between Renaud and Sneezy, only to realize Hardiman had already done the same.

  “We’re going to the station.” Naya waved for Hardiman to take Sneezy to the car.

  They hadn’t gotten more than two steps before Shorty and One-Eye blocked them.

  Naya raised her gun but didn’t yet take aim. “Get out of the way.”

  Renaud again waved her men back. “Sneezy, don’t put the officers in this position. Tell me where you put it and you can go to prison safe and secure.”

  That was rich. She didn’t quite come out and say that she’d send someone to shank Sneezy while he was in the pen, but her meaning had been clear.

  “You won’t kill me?” Sneezy blurted.

  “Shut up,” Hardiman said.

  Naya agreed. If Sneezy was ready to talk, he should talk to the cops, not to Renaud.

  “Of course I won’t kill you,” Renaud said smoothly. “Just tell me where it is.”

  Sneezy took a deep, heaving breath. “It’s in the wheel well of my car. The car’s in Dusty Valley, parked in front of my apartment.” He rattled off the address.

  Shit.

  Hardiman moved, pushing Sneezy toward the car, and a split second later, Naya moved with him. But instead of blocking them, Shorty and One-Eye moved out of their way. They’d gotten what they wanted. As Renaud got into her car, she smirked at Sneezy.

  “She won’t kill me, right?” Sneezy said as Hardiman put him in the back seat.

  “What did you take from her?” Naya said.

  “It was nothing. It was just a stone.”

  “A stone?” she said. “Like, a diamond?”

  “No, nothing like that. A magical healing stone.” He paused, turning slightly pink. “It’s supposed to heal your allergies.”

  All that for a stupid magic stone? “What’s Renaud want with it?”

  “She’s got—you know—allergies. Supposed to break out in hives at even the sight of a blade of grass. But I’ve got my sneezing. And the damned thing works. I haven’t sneezed once in the last two days.”

  Sweet Poseidon, they’d been chased all over Vegas by thugs because of a stupid allergy rock.

  Hardiman pulled open the passenger side door for her, and she remembered—after they dropped off Sneezy, Hardiman would want to talk.

  She had an idea. “We’ve still got our medallions. I need to turn them back in.” She held out her hand.

  He yanked the medallion over his head and handed it to her. “Good idea. We’ll be waiting.”

  Not if she had any
thing to say about it. She didn’t answer him, just nodded and turned to head for the door of the club. At the last minute, she glanced back to see Hardiman watching her. She stumbled but kept on going.

  This is what she needed to do. This is what they needed to do. This whole thing had been a colossal mess from the beginning. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she couldn’t think with him around. So she’d do what she always did, and run.

  Fifteen minutes later, she got out of a taxi and headed into her hotel. It seemed so long since that morning when Hardiman had woken her up. Already, she felt the gnawing ache of guilt for having left him at the club, but she knew she couldn’t have faced him. She still couldn’t face him.

  It was time to face herself, though. She wasn’t afraid of Hardiman rejecting her. She was afraid of what would happen if he really did want her. She’d never had a steady relationship in her life. When it came to romance, she was the queen of screw-ups. How could she expect to do any better with him?

  In the back of her mind, a little voice said that she’d never know if she didn’t try.

  What if Hardiman were the love of her life and she rejected him because she was afraid? Wouldn’t that be the most tragic thing of all?

  Her stomach flipped over at the thought of opening herself up enough to try having a relationship with him, but the thought of walking away was even harder. She needed to give him a chance, even if her heart ended up broken in pieces. It would be better than never trying at all.

  ***

  Even though Naya had said she’d meet him out front, Hardiman had known something was off. So when he waited outside for five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes and Naya didn’t show, he wasn’t surprised. But he was frustrated. Disappointed. And kind of angry.

  Couldn’t she at least give him a chance? Damned stubborn woman. Now he was going to have to track her down. He’d drop Sneezy at the police station then go straight to Naya’s hotel room. No doubt she was there packing, planning to flee the city. He’d follow her all the way to Dusty Valley if he had to, but he’d rather catch her while she was still in Vegas.

  Hardiman drove Sneezy to the station. If he drove a little too fast or took the curves at an angle, he figured no one could fault him. He tried to tell himself everything would work out in the end, but the hard ball of fear in his stomach said differently. Naya had made up her mind that they shouldn’t be together. If he couldn’t find a way to convince her, he might as well write off the rest of his life. A bear without his mate was nothing more than a shell.

  When he got to the station, the officers wanted him to give his statement about what had happened with Bruce May. He couldn’t get out of it but filled out the paperwork as quickly as he could. Because of that, it took nearly half an hour more than it should have to drop Sneezy off. By the time Hardiman left, he felt nearly panicked. She’d had plenty of time to check out of her hotel. She could be halfway home by now.

  Well, not halfway. And they’d left her hotel room a total mess after ransacking it for clues. If he were a very, very lucky bear, he might still be able to catch her.

  Hardiman was tempted to put on his flashing lights but opted for speeding instead. As he drove past the chapel and magic shop, he suddenly got an idea. He slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the curb. Then he jumped out and ran for the shop.

  If she didn’t believe him, he’d make her believe him. They had to have some sort of truth magic—a potion, a spell. He didn’t care what, as long as it would prove to her that he was telling the truth.

  He bought a spell kit and raced back to his car. Still, when he pulled up at her hotel, he figured she had to be gone by now. When it came to Naya, he just didn’t have good luck.

  He double-parked in front of the lobby door and ran inside. He was heading for the elevators when he spotted her at the checkout counter.

  The breath caught in his chest. He’d made it.

  He approached her quietly, letting her finish checking out while his heart rate sped up. What was he going to say to her? What could he say to her?

  She turned around and froze, her eyes meeting his.

  “We need to talk,” he said. Worst thing to say. “I mean, please—let me explain. Just give me a chance.”

  She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling, then slowly nodded. “Where?”

  He led her over to the small cluster of chairs by the window. Then he pulled the spell kit out of his pocket. “I want you to use this on me. That way you’ll know what I tell you is the truth.”

  “No—”

  “Yes. Naya, please. You have to believe me. And if it takes magic to get you to believe me, I’m willing to do that.” He took her hand and placed the spell kit in it. “Go ahead.”

  “We don’t need this. Let’s just talk.”

  He hesitated for a split second. That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. But hell, he had the kit. Might as well use it. “Do the spell. Then I’ll explain everything.”

  She put her purse on the ground at her feet so she could use both her hands to tear the plastic kit open. She didn’t speak, but he could see her nervousness in the way she ripped the bag apart and the way her hands shook as she pulled the contents out of it and placed each one on the small coffee table—an incense holder, a small baggie of loose incense, and a blue votive candle with runes carved into its side, smelling strongly of olive oil.

  The index card-sized instructions came out of the bag last. She scanned them. “We need matches. Do you have matches?”

  “I’ll get some.” He jumped up and went to sweet talk the desk clerk into handing over a lighter. By the time he returned, Naya had put some of the incense into the holder and was ready for him.

  “You sure this is going to work?” she said. “Seems too easy.”

  “I got it at the same magic shop where you got your potions. They worked just fine.”

  She nodded. “All right. Sit.” Once he’d taken a seat on the chair beside her, she said, “I’m going to light the incense, say a few words, then light the candle. You need to wave the incense smoke across the flame and into your face three times, each time saying, ‘My words will be true.’ Got it?”

  “Got it.” His heart beat a little faster. This was it. If this didn’t work, he was out of options.

  She lit the incense. “Words of truth fill the air, Words of falsehood must despair.” She lit the candle.

  Hardiman leaned forward and put his hands behind the smoke, his palms facing toward him, then swept his hands toward his body, pushing the smoke over the candle and into his face. “My words will be true.” He repeated the motion and words two more times then felt the geas of the spell settle on him. “It’s working,” he said to Naya. “Can you feel it?”

  “Yes.”

  He took a deep breath and began. “I love you. I’ve loved you since I met you.” His stomach felt like it was shaking, he was so nervous. “You’re my fated mate. I recognized you the first time I saw you. And yes, we were under a spell in the Den of Cupid, but all it did was lower my inhibitions so I could finally say and do the things I’d been wanting to say and do for a long time. So please, stay with me. Be my mate forever.”

  Her lips parted but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked at him, her gaze so heavy he could feel it on his skin.

  Chapter 10

  Was this real? Naya’s heart beat hard. Fear and excitement mixed inside her. “You really mean it?”

  He leaned forward, motioning toward the incense and the flickering candle. “I can’t lie. I mean every word.”

  She slid her hand over her middle. Did she have the guts to give him a chance? Up in the room, she’d thought she did, but now she wasn’t so sure. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? You always seemed so hostile.”

  “I’m a surly bear. I don’t know how to whisper sweet nothings. I’d see you putting yourself in danger and it made me scared for you and I’d growl at you. Or you’d do something risky, something I cou
ld have helped you with, except you left me out of it. I just want to be with you, to protect you and love you.” He put his hand on her thigh. “Please, Naya. Be mine.”

  Her hand shook as she put it over his. She’d wondered what it would feel like to be Hardiman’s mate. She couldn’t imagine anything more amazing than what he’d just done and said. At the same time, she felt terrified. “I’ve got a lot of baggage. You should know that.”

  “That’s fine. So long as you let me help you carry it.” He squeezed her leg. “Give us a chance, Naya.”

  She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. If she didn’t do this, she’d regret it the rest of her life. “Yes. I’ll give us a chance.”

  She’d never before seen a grin as big as the one that spread across Hardiman’s face. His hand squeezed her leg. “Say it again. You mean it, right? Say it one more time.”

  “I’m terrified.”

  He cupped her cheek. “You don’t have any need to be afraid of me. I’ll never hurt you.” He kissed her lightly. “You’ll be mine?”

  Her stomach jumped. “I’ll be yours.”

  He kissed her again. She realized she was smiling just as big as he was.

  He stood, pulling her up with him. “Let’s go to my place.”

  She didn’t want to wait that long. She stepped into him, raising her face to his. He met her halfway, holding her tight as he kissed her even more passionately than he had that afternoon. When they pulled apart, she said, “I love you, too.”

  He smiled some more.

  “This afternoon—it was like that for me, too. I mean, the spell lowered my inhibitions but it didn’t make me do or say anything that I didn’t mean.” The spell had made it possible for her to say things she’d never imagined saying.

  He brushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve been a complete fool. I should have said something sooner. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”