Caught Bear Handed SIGNED Paperback

Kayla

“That’s a wrap on Kayla!” the director announced. She smiled
at me warmly as the sound guy approached to unclip my mic. “Great work. See you
tomorrow, bright and early.”

I groaned playfully, but the truth was, I was thankful for
my seven seasons on The Wolf’s Moon. Like hashtag blessed to be an
actress with such a rare, steady gig. The cast and crew had become my family,
but it didn’t mean I wasn’t excited about an early escape. Just because I’d
only had one scene scheduled on the call sheet didn’t guarantee a short day.
Shooting schedules changed constantly, and sometimes the simplest scenes took
forever to film. But this one had been quick, and I was free.

As I headed to the hair and makeup trailer, I made a
reservation for hot yoga. I grabbed a warm towel to clean my face while my
stylist took my extensions out. Once I was out of my costume and back in comfy
clothes, I headed out to the van waiting for me outside my trailer.

“Hey, Jimmy. Boy, am I glad to see you,” I called out as I
arranged my bags in the backseat and buckled my seatbelt. “These short days
always make me feel like I’m getting away with something.”

Jimmy simply grunted and didn’t wait for me to settle before
he drove off.

Odd.

He was usually a chatterbox. We’d spent a lot of time
together over the years as he drove me to and from set, and I loved listening
to his stories about his recently retired wife, his son who was training to
earn a spot on a Continental Football Association team, and his granddaughter
who’d recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I’d only seen pictures of
her on his phone, but he’d told me enough about her that I felt like her
honorary auntie.

“Is everything okay?” My heartbeat sped up as I worried
something had happened to that sweet little girl. I lifted my sunglasses and
took a good look at the driver. “I’m sorry, you’re not Jimmy.”

First rule of set: Make friends with all the teamsters. Some
of the drivers were a little rough and tumble, but they could also be the
world’s biggest teddy bears. If they liked you, they had your back through
thick and thin.

I’d never seen this guy before.

 “Jimmy had something
he had to take care of,” he muttered.

That didn’t sound good. “Not Ella, I hope.”

“Who’s Ella?”

Okay, something was wrong. Anyone driving Jimmy’s van would
know the name of his granddaughter. He had a picture of her taped to the
dashboard. Her little smiling face was still there. This was definitely his
van.

“Who are you?” It came out more hostile than I’d intended,
but my hackles were standing on end. My wolf’s intuition was never wrong. Right
now, she was telling me to hold off on my apology and get ready to fight, a
sentiment that sent a shiver down my spine.

“I’m Mike,” he said.

I gave him a moment to elaborate, but he seemed to think
that was enough information to share.

“How long have you worked on The Wolf’s Moon?” Even
though something felt off, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. We were a
family on this show. Which meant we welcomed all kinds of personalities.

Something’s not right about this guy, my wolf
cautioned. His energy is weird.

“Just started.” Those words were a little more eloquent.

He must have come highly recommended to already be trusted
driving the cast to and from their homes. Not that I thought of myself as a big
deal, but we had some huge names on this show—Logan Mathis and Amelia Barrett
regularly drew fans from all over the country, hoping to catch a glimpse of
them in action.

The GPS urged Mike to get on the freeway.

“I hate to tell you how to do your job, but this isn’t the
way to my house.” I chuckled nervously.

“It’s a shortcut,” he retorted.

“We’re headed north, but I live south of town.” Maybe he got
the addresses mixed up. Some of the cast lived up here. He probably confused me
with someone else.

I wanted to make this make sense.

His only response was to press down on the accelerator.

I told myself it was because he’d merged…oh what the hell
was I doing? My wolf was practically screaming at me. Something was wrong, and
I was worried about hurting the new guy’s feelings as he got into the fast lane
and sped past the first exit.

“Where are we going?” I asked. My voice was firm.

“You ask a lot of questions.” He picked up his phone. “Yeah.
I’ve got her.”

My heart slammed against my ribcage, and my temperature
spiked.

A few more grunts and he hung up.

Oh shit. I willed my wolf to stay inside me for a few more
moments. Our surroundings were a blur as we sped past them. My wolf was eager
to fight, but if she caused a crash, they’d be scraping her off the side of the
highway.

I was not in the mood to get maimed or killed because of
this asshole.

The windows fogged around me, and my skin stretched.

No. Focus.

With shaking hands, I pulled my phone out of my purse. Who
should I contact—production? The police?

A message from Vera, one of the show’s producers, lit up my
screen. Have you left yet?

I closed my eyes for an indulgently long blink as a wave of
relief washed over me. But then my eyes snapped open as my wolf reminded me I
was in fucking danger.

I have.

Okay, that’s a problem, she wrote. Are you okay?
We found Jimmy unconscious behind the trailers.

It took everything I had not to growl. That explains
things. I’m with some weird guy named Mike and he’s shady AF. We’re on the
freeway headed north. Wrong direction.

We’ve called the police. Can you get any more info about
him?

I couldn’t see much more than the back of his head. He wore
the unofficial driver’s uniform of a hat, sunglasses, and a hoodie.

He’s Caucasian and has a dark, scruffy beard. Maybe
around forty. Looks like a crew guy.

Great. Keep talking to me. We’re tracking your location.

It should’ve comforted me, but it sent a chill down my
spine.

No, this jackass didn’t get to intimidate me. I threw my
shoulders back and stared into the rearview mirror until he shifted his head,
acknowledging my gaze.

“Who are you working for?”

“The show,” he said, like that explained anything.

“I’d love to believe you, but ‘I’ve got her’ isn’t normal
crew communication. Not to mention, we’re going the wrong way.”

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The way his
knuckles whitened made me think he might have been a shifter too.

“What are you?” Maybe that would be a better question. “And
who are you bringing me to?”

“Shut up.”

“Absolutely not,” I growled. “If you’d talked to Jimmy
before you stole his van, you’d know I like to chat on the way home. But you
probably didn’t say anything to him before you knocked him out.”

“I said shut up!” The last two words were more of a roar,
but he didn’t strike me as a cat shifter.

“The police are coming,” I said as calmly as I could manage.
“So you might as well tell me everything.”

He took in a deep breath as he changed lanes, slowing down
the van, slightly. Didn’t feel like he was giving in. More like putting plan B
into action.

“If you tell me, maybe I can help you,” I offered, even
though each word tasted disgusting as I said them.

“Mark Peters,” he finally said. “That’s the name I was
given. Don’t know anything else. Unlike you, I know better than to ask too many
questions.”

With those two words, he told me everything I needed to
know. I’d met Mark on an online dating site. He’d totally catfished me and
looked nothing like his picture. To be fair, it might have been him, about
twenty years before our first date. I’d been ready to storm out of the
restaurant, but somehow he convinced me to stay for a drink. I made sure it was
a mocktail and didn’t let it out of my sight. Mark was a big fan of the show
and seemed to have a hard time understanding that I wasn’t actually Regina, my
character.

I’d met many superfans before, but this was beyond. Mark thought
Regina owed him something. Like my first born.

With a quick enactment of the Friend Emergency Bailout Text
system, I’d excused myself and had gotten the fuck out of there. Deleted my
dating profile on the ride home.

Didn’t stop him from texting me. Not that I’d ever given him
my phone number. He also sent gifts to set. A few days later, he showed up at
the pool of my apartment complex. Needless to say, I don’t live there anymore.

Mike slowed the van as we approached the offramp.

We’re getting off the freeway at exit 98, I texted
Vera. And I’m gonna shift.

I barely had a chance to drop the phone before my skin
split, and fur blossomed in its wake. Forget about getting out of these sweats.
I’d forever be pissed because this set was so cute.

“What the fuck?” Mike swerved as my fully formed wolf leapt
over the backseat.

He narrowly missed the cars stopped at the red light as the
van veered into a ditch, rocked back and forth, and threatened to roll over.

Mike came at me, still in his human form, not even waiting
for the van to come to a full stop. He was determined to deliver the goods,
dead or alive.

Like. Fucking. Hell. I would let that happen.

I smashed through the passenger’s side window and made a run
for it.