Bear My Soul (Fire Bears Book 1) Read Free Page A

that?”
    “Bulldog One to Alpha Six, do you copy?” A soft voice sounded through the noise.
    “Oh!” Leona exclaimed, toting Aaron inside. “That’s Doris. She’s been tracking…” She looked down at Aaron, then shot Rory a look and mouthed Cody .
    Just his name crashed another wave of dread through her. Aunt Leona picked up a walkie-talkie from the entryway table and pushed the button on the side. “Alpha Six, this is Bulldog One. I have Puma and Baby Cat with me. What’s your status?”
    “Burly Mancandy is on the move,” came the whispered answer.
    Burly Mancandy? Rory mouthed through a grin.
    She imagined Doris sitting in her old Buick, the one she’d driven years ago, hunched down in the front seat spying on Cody. She had to stop herself from laughing out loud at her imaginings.
    Aunt Leona looked terribly serious as she asked, “Where are they going now?”
    “It looks like the whole group is going to eat at the pizzeria.”
    “Oh, fancy,” Aunt Leona said.
    “Send Puma on down here. I can’t tell if they’re getting food to go or not, and I think Burly Mancandy is catching onto me.”
    “Okay, she’s on her way.” Aunt Leona tapped the antenna of the radio on her chin and narrowed her eyes at Rory as Doris said, “Copy that. Alpha Six signing off.”
    Rory pursed her lips so she wouldn’t giggle. “Why don’t you just use your cell phones? I hope you didn’t buy those radios just for this…mission.”
    “Stop it with your logic, or you’ll suck the fun out of this,” Aunt Leona said, leading her into the small bedroom she used to stay in when she visited. She was still carrying Aaron, but settled him on his feet when she reached the door. With a flourish of her hand, she flipped on the light switch and exposed Aaron’s dream room. A refurbished bunk bed covered most of the back wall, and by the window was a giant teddy bear chair and shelf of books. Second hand racing cars, all scratched and rusted and perfect for her rambunctious boy, were lined up by the bed, and a painting of a monster truck hung over the dresser.
    “Cars!” he yelled, then scrambled toward the toys. Aaron hesitated in front of the trucks, and ran back to Aunt Leona to hug her knees, then handed her one of his two paperclips. “I’ve been saving this for hours. I have one, too. Now we can match.” He showed her the one that still remained pressed against his palm. With a shy smile, he scurried off to play.
    Aunt Leona clutched the little treasure to her chest and looked like she was going to melt into a puddle right then and there. Rory laughed and gave her a side hug, resting her cheek on her shoulder. “I should’ve brought him to you sooner. I just didn’t know how to deal with all the extra stuff here.”
    “Oh, Rory, don’t you worry about that. I knew you’d come back sooner or later. I just had to be patient. I do hope you’ll stay for a while, though.”
    “I’ve got enough saved up that I can visit for a week. Then we need to get back so I can find work.”
    “A week,” Aunt Leona said with a nod of her head. “We’ll make every moment count. Now hurry scurry before Burly Mancandy takes his pizza pie and disappears into the mountains again. We’ve been tracking his movements all day.”
    Rory shook her head and huffed a laugh. She shouldn’t be surprised that they’d been stalking Cody. Her aunt and friends were as man-crazy as they came.
    After freshening up, she slipped into a shirt. One that was not covered in the orange chip dust from the snack she’d snarfed down on their way through Denver. Rory checked on Aaron one more time, then hurried out the door before Aaron realized she was gone. Likely, with the way he and Aunt Leona were carrying on with the toy cars, she’d be back before he even noticed her absence.
    The pizzeria was right off Main Street and within walking distance. She tightened the lace of her tennis shoe and jogged down the sloping sidewalk toward the main drag