Jason - Silverback Redemption Read online

  Jason nodded his thanks as he turned around and ran for the entrance to the stairs. Pushing the door open, he took the stairs two at a time. Luckily the top floor was only three flights up. Unluckily, this meant he didn’t have much time to beat the elevator.

  With his hand outstretched, he pushed the door open and stepped out onto the third floor. Just in time to see the back of his mate as she walked along the corridor. Was he ever going to get to see her perfect face?

  Do something, his bear said helplessly as they reached their room and she inserted the key into the lock.

  Do what? Jason rushed forward, thinking on his feet. He had this.

  “Hi there.” He put a smile on his face as he approached his mate, hoping he wasn’t sweating profusely. Not from the run up the stairs, those he’d taken in stride. But his nerves, they had gotten the better of him.

  His mate stiffened and pushed the boy behind her as she swung around to face him. She was willing to defend her son with her life if she had to. This woman might not be a shifter, but she was fierce. The flash of her eyes and the tension in her arms as she raised them in defense surprised him. She certainly was ready to fight. Too ready.

  They are in trouble, his bear confirmed.

  “Can I help you?” His mate looked him up and down with open suspicion.

  “Yes.” Jason nodded. “I own The Happy Bear Club. It’s on the outside of town.” He pointed in the vague direction of the club.

  “And?”

  “And… And we’re running a competition.” He smiled like an idiot as he assembled his plan on the fly. “And you two are the lucky winners.”

  “Of a competition we never entered?” Her suspicion increased.

  “You did enter it. Kind of. By checking into the hotel. We are doing a promotion and the winner gets free dinner at The Happy Bear Club.” He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a card. “See.”

  She took the card and examined it. “There’s no mention of the competition.”

  “I know.” He gave a goofy grin. “I left the promotional stuff back at the club.”

  “And there are no promotional posters down in the lobby. Or anywhere.” She held the card between her finger and thumb, unconvinced of his story.

  “There was. But we took it all down because we already had a winner.” His bear rolled his eyes as he listened to Jason waffle on. “The person before you booked your stay at the hotel was the winner.” He nodded, in full swing now. “Unfortunately, they canceled.” He held out his hand to her. “Which means you won instead…as the next guest to book a room.”

  “The receptionist never said anything about this when we checked in.” Her eyes slid sideways to the locked door of their room.

  “Miscommunication.”

  Let’s hope this isn’t a miscommunication, his bear said.

  “We could go back down to the lobby now and you can confirm the details.” Jason took a risk. He’d have to make sure Isla knew the story and would play along.

  Of course, she’ll play along, his bear told him.

  “It’s okay.” His mate turned her attention back to the hotel room door. “We’re ordering pizza tonight.”

  “Mom.” His mate’s son placed his hand on her shoulder. “We could go. It’d be good to meet people. We might find someone who has knowledge of the area.”

  “I have knowledge of the area.” Jason stuck his hand up like a kid in school. “Whatever you need to know, I can help.”

  His mate shot her son a warning look. Which the young man promptly ignored as he thrust his hand forward. “I’m Lorcan and this is my overprotective mom, Shannon. We’d love to accept our prize of a free dinner.”

  “Lorcan.” Shannon sent her son another warning look.

  “Good. Great.” Jason shifted his weight from foot to foot, surprised that his plan had worked. “Around seven?”

  “Six thirty.” Shannon nodded and turned away from him. After quickly opening the door of the hotel room, she stepped inside, dragging Lorcan behind her.

  “See you then.” Lorcan raised a hand before the door slammed shut.

  We did it. Jason stood rooted to the spot.

  I can’t believe that worked, his bear said in amazement.

  “Why did you say we’d go?” Shannon’s voice carried through the door. Jason took one step backward, not wanting to eavesdrop.

  “Because we need to eat, and we also need information.” Lorcan sounded older than his teenage years. “If we’re going to find the treasure, we might need help.”

  Treasure. Jason took another step backward. So that’s what they’re doing in the mountains. Looking for treasure.

  And there is only one kind of treasure you find in the mountains around Bear Creek, his bear answered.

  Dragon treasure. Jason turned around and walked away. This wasn’t how he expected his first meeting with his mate to go. Not at all.

  Shannon’s and Lorcan’s actions in the mountains were suspicious, and the snippet of overheard conversation amplified his suspicions. But dragon treasure?

  What did they know about dragon treasure? And how did they expect to find it?

  Jason inhaled deeply as he passed the elevator doors, heading toward the stairs. Suddenly, the smell he hadn’t been able to identify earlier was instantly recognizable.

  Lorcan, his mate’s son, was a dragon shifter.

  Jason stopped walking and inhaled again. Was he sure?

  If so, who was hunting them? And what danger did that bring to the dragons already residing in Bear Creek and the town itself?

  Chapter Four – Shannon

  “I don’t know why I agreed to this.” Shannon drove into the parking lot of The Happy Bear Club. She’d been half-expecting it to be a hoax, a made-up name for a club that didn’t exist. However, as she switched off the ignition and ducked her head to look out of the windshield, she had to admit she was wrong. The Happy Bear Club was real and kind of intrigued her.

  If she were honest, the guy at the hotel had intrigued her, too. Although, she still didn’t quite believe his story about the competition.

  “Because we won.” Lorcan turned to face her. “What’s wrong? The story checked out with the receptionist.”

  “Yeah.” Shannon was certain Isla had been primed to tell the same story Jason had told them about the competition. Perhaps it was because Shannon had learned to be overcautious, but something was off about the whole situation.

  “So what’s the problem?” Lorcan asked as he opened the car door and climbed out.

  “The problem is we’re supposed to be keeping a low profile.” Shannon looked at the club as she shut the car door. “I’m not even sure I should be taking you in there.”

  “Why? We’re only going to eat, it’s not as if they are going to let me drink alcohol.” Lorcan had a habit of sounding older than his thirteen years.

  “Okay, we go in and eat, then we leave.” Shannon looked around the parking lot. “It’s a lot busier than I expected for such an out-of-the-way bar.”

  “At least if it’s busy nothing bad can happen.” Lorcan had a point. If they’d arrived and there had only been a couple of cars in the parking lot, Shannon would have gotten them straight out of there. She’d probably have fled town, too. But with this many eyes and ears, there was no way they could get ambushed by hunters without people seeing.

  Unless they were all in on it.

  Paranoia was a trait she was learning to live with.

  “Let’s go inside.” Shannon hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and took one last look around before they walked side by side toward the door.

  “Relax, be friendly and let’s see if we can talk to some locals about the mountain and the landslides. That guy, Jason, he said he knew the mountains well.” Lorcan held the door open for her and she slipped inside. “We should get him talking and see what he knows.”

  “You know you sound like the parent here?” Shannon asked her son. As he’d grown older, and the onset of p
uberty had reared its head, Lorcan had begun to change in many ways. Not just physically, but in his attitude and his manners. Her son was not a typical teenager.

  How could he be?

  “I have a responsibility,” Lorcan answered solemnly.

  “Well, maybe you should let me shoulder that a little more.” Shannon arched her eyebrow at her son as she stepped inside the bar. The hairs along the back of her neck stood on end as the people inside all stopped talking and turned to look at Shannon and Lorcan.

  “Awkward,” Lorcan whispered quietly as Shannon searched for the man, Jason, who they’d met at the hotel. If this was some kind of prank, she was going to track him down and tear his skin from his flesh one small strip at a time.

  “Hi, Shannon, Lorcan.” Jason stumbled out from behind the bar, an uncomfortable smile on his face as he glared at the other people in the bar and hissed, “Stop staring.”

  Lorcan chuckled as everyone turned away but remained silent. “I like this place.”

  “That makes one of us.” Shannon sighed and forced a smile onto her face. “Hello.”

  “Hi, I wasn’t sure if you would make it.” Jason grinned like an idiot as he approached them. This guy was much too smiley. Not in a natural good-humored way, but in a deer caught in the headlights kind of a way. There was something off about him. There was something off about this whole setup.

  If she had any sense, she’d grab Lorcan by the hand and drag him out the door right this second. Instead, she found her hand encased in Jason’s and a wonderfully warm, floaty sensation filled her body. Great, had he drugged her? Was there some chemical residue on his palm that had entered her bloodstream, making her feel woozy?

  “Who can resist a free meal?” Lorcan’s intrigued expression as he studied Jason stirred Shannon’s curiosity. Did he know something about Jason? Something his sixth sense had told him that she could just not see?

  “I’ll show you to your table.” Jason held onto Shannon’s hand for a couple of seconds longer before he reluctantly let her go. “This way.”

  “Thanks.” Shannon noted the flush of color across his cheeks at the same instant she realized most people in the bar had resumed their staring at the newcomers. This was one weird bar. As she caught Lorcan’s eye, he grinned at her before he turned and followed Jason. Great, her son was embracing the weirdness. Perhaps it was contagious.

  Shannon wiped the palm of her hand on her thigh as her skin prickled and tingled where they’d touched. Not just her skin, her body tingled, and a shiver of excitement threaded down her spine. This was ridiculous, she felt like a teenager with a hot crush, not the mother of a teenager. A teenager who was in danger.

  She needed to pull herself together and focus. As they walked, the people in the bar all turned their heads to watch. Some of them even leaned in and whispered to each other, which was met with a stern look from Jason.

  The whole thing seemed like a setup. Her heart skipped a beat. What if it was a setup? Not a hunter’s ambush, but a reality TV sketch where they were the unwitting stars. She did not need that kind of publicity.

  Oh, no! What if the whole thing, from the dragon “hunter” on her doorstep, to them winning a competition they had never entered, was a hidden camera joke?

  No, no. That couldn’t be right. This went back further than the dragon hunter on their doorstep, this went back to before Lorcan was even born. Still, an uneasy feeling she could not shake filled her, warning her they should leave.

  Reaching out, she made a grab for Lorcan’s arm, trying to get his attention and get them both out of there before things went crazy. Or at least crazier than they were already.

  “Here, I thought you might like a table out of the way. A quiet corner where you can have some privacy.” Jason showed them to a little alcove where they were shielded from the other people in the bar. It all meant that if anything did happen, there would be no witnesses.

  “We could sit by the bar,” Shannon insisted, but Lorcan had already taken a seat and was accepting a menu from Jason.

  “Sit down, Mom. It’s nice here. Look, there’s even a candle on the table.” Her son pointed to the center of the table.

  “None of the other tables have candles.” Shannon shot a furtive glance around the room.

  “None of the other diners are winners.” Jason either lied smoothly or was telling the truth. Shannon couldn’t decide which as he pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down at the table.

  “Thank you.” It was a small gesture but one that affected her. Despite everything, when she was close to Jason, it was as if they had a connection. One Shannon could not explain, as if she had her own kind of sixth sense.

  Her face flushed red and tears pricked her eyes as the aloneness of the last couple of weeks hit her. Lorcan might be by her side, but he was her child, whom she had sworn to protect. What she really needed was a friend. A person she could trust. If only Jason was that person.

  “Menu.” Jason handed her a menu and she kept her eyes averted as she took it from him.

  “Thanks.” She stared hard at the handwritten words on a thick piece of paper with the name of the bar emblazoned across the top.

  “I’ll get you some drinks while you decide.” Jason backed away.

  “I’ll have a soda, please,” Lorcan said.

  “I’ll have a soda, too. Thanks.” Shannon still didn’t look at Jason, instead she stared at the words on the menu until they no longer made sense.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a glass of wine?” Jason had retreated to the edge of the alcove, but he seemed reluctant to leave them alone.

  “No, thanks. I’m driving.” She also wanted to keep her mind clear so that she wasn’t taken by surprise with events. Despite Jason’s attentive behavior, there was something odd about him. Just as there was something odd about The Happy Bear Club.

  “You could have one glass,” Lorcan prompted.

  “No, I can’t.” She smiled politely and raised her eyes to Jason’s, holding his gaze until he broke away from her scrutiny and left her alone with her son.

  “What’s wrong?” Lorcan asked quietly.

  “Nothing.” Shannon didn’t look at her son. Now who was the liar?

  “He likes you.” Lorcan’s blunt statement made her gasp.

  “He does not.” More lies. No, she wasn’t lying, Jason didn’t like her. How could he when she’d been rude and abrasive toward him when he was all polite and attentive?

  “He does.” Lorcan stared at her in that way he had that made her believe he could look right into her soul.

  “Probably because there’s a catch to this competition and he expects us to pay for the food.” It was a lame way to cover up her embarrassment at Lorcan’s suggestion.

  “You’re blushing.” Lorcan stared at her with open curiosity. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush.”

  “What do you want to order?” Shannon wished their sodas would arrive so she could place the cool glass against her flaming hot cheeks.

  “You’re changing the subject.” Lorcan wasn’t letting this go.

  “I am. Because we are not here to discuss whether the bar owner has feelings for me. We’re here to eat.” Shannon turned her attention back to her menu as if to prove her point.

  “You like him, too.” Lorcan stared at her with surprise. Perhaps because Shannon had steered away from men for his entire life. Lorcan thought it was because his father had shredded her heart into tiny pieces. He couldn’t be more wrong.

  “He’s a good-looking guy and I’m not a nun.” Her mouth was a thin taut line as she realized her attention had slipped and she was once more staring after Jason.

  “Why not be friendly?” Lorcan asked. “He might be able to help us.”

  “Just because I find him attractive doesn’t mean I trust him.” She sighed as she set her menu down on the table, her appetite gone. “Lorcan, we need to be so very careful.”

  “We’ve been careful. We’ve tried doing this our
selves. We need to admit we need help.” He stared at her, his eyes boring into her as they both translated his words.

  “You mean I need to admit we need help.” Placing the palm of her hand over the menu, she focused on the texture of the paper, even though her skin still tingled from Jason’s touch.

  “It’s the one thing you’re not good at.” Lorcan gave her a lopsided smile. “But you are the one who always tells me that if you need help you should ask.”

  “Lor, there is so much at stake here…” She looked up as Jason approached with two sodas. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Are you ready to order?” Jason asked as he placed the drinks down on the coasters emblazoned with The Happy Bear Club. It sure was a strange name for a bar.

  Her heart skipped as a thought hit her. Bear Creek, happy bears. She shook her head as the color drained from her face.

  “Okay, I’ll give you a few more minutes.” Jason looked at Shannon with concern before he left the alcove.

  “Mom, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Lorcan’s concern was evident in his voice and he reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “What if…” She closed her eyes, the thought too preposterous. Had they really ended up in a bar filled with bear shifters? Shannon glanced sideways at the other diners, but they gave her no clue, no hair sprouted from the back of their hands as they ate their meal.

  “What if what? Tell me what’s wrong.” Lorcan’s demanding tone drew more attention. “Sorry.”

  “Let’s just enjoy our meal.” Shannon opened the menu once more as she composed her features. “I’m going to order the garlic chicken. What about you?”

  “Steak. With French fries. And maybe a side of French fries.” Lorcan put the menu down and glanced up with a sheepish expression on his face. “Do you think Jason will object to me ordering two steaks?”

  “To go with your two French fries?”

  Lorcan grinned. “I didn’t think you’d notice,”