Free Bear Meets Bride (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance) by Sasha Winter Page B

after that, though they say they found me outside.”
    “Thank god you got out,” Tom said, looking to calm her from becoming too upset. In his experience, it was not unusual for a patient with concussion to forget crucial memories; all that mattered was that her survival instincts had been strong enough to get her out of there, even though the head injury meant she could not remember doing so.
    “I’ll need to see your place, but I’ll make sure there’s a guard here for you before I go—so you can sleep sound.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Anyway, before I go…you said you saw him. I know you’ve got a concussion, but can you remember any details about him that you can tell me?”
    She nodded. “I think I could identify him if I saw him again. He was tall, big as well, but with fair blond hair…unusually fair. That’s how you can find him.”
    A description at last. It was a real step forward, though Tom wished it hadn’t taken an attack on a friend to get them that far. There would be a way to catch him now for sure—but how long would it take, and how many more bodies?
    Why the killer had decided to go out of his way to attack Nana would need some attention, however. The emergence of a motive other than the joy of killing was alarming, especially when the intended victim was a valuable player in running the services that would catch him.
    Maybe this fair-haired killer was a vindictive racist and was suddenly deciding to kill anyone he didn’t like (though racism would be strange in a shifter)—or, just maybe, there was some kind of sick strategy at work and a battle of wits was underway.
    Tom had never experienced crimes turning into some kind of sick game before, and he didn’t like the idea of being a player in bringing such an amusement to a satisfying conclusion.
    Not one bit.

 
     
    9
     
    Though having spent most of the last two days dreaming about when they would next be together, Erin’s joy at seeing Tom enter the bakery as closing time was approaching had to be tempered with an appreciation that he looked like a man in turmoil. If her new boyfriend’s typical behavior was inclined towards stress and busy-ness, then his appearing red-faced and with bloodshot eyes would’ve been normal, but he was the laid-back and coolheaded type, so seeing him looking as if he was resisting tearing the door off its hinges on the way in was a real shock.
    “ Tom ! My God, what’s wrong?” she asked, rounding the counter and running across to embrace him.
    “Erin!” he said before embracing her like a child that had found its favorite cuddly toy after fearing it had been forever lost.
    “You okay?”
    “Day from hell!” he confessed, rubbing his eyes as if trying to wake up from a nightmare.
    “Was it the highway smash-up?” she asked. “I thought no one was badly hurt.”
    “That’s the least of our problems,” he told her, gladly accepting a chair she had kindly pulled up for him. “You know Nana Morgan?”
    “Yes, she was in here yesterday buying coffee and muffins.”
    “She was attacked last night by the serial killer. She’s alive, but still…”
    Erin’s hand flew to her mouth. “Really?”
    “In her own home and everything. We’ve been trying all day to figure out why she was targeted.”
    “Is she going to be okay?”
    “Yeah, she’s under guard in the hospital. Concussed, but she’ll be out in a few days.”
    “You look exhausted.”
    “The whole place is on alert. We’ve been trying to figure out where he’s going to strike next. The experts think he’s sick and the attacks are escalating so much that no one’s safe.”
    “I’ve never known anything like this around here,” Erin replied.
    “Erin, what are you thinking?” Tom asked, suddenly looking around him and observing that the last two customers of the day were in the process of driving away. “You can’t be hanging around late at night locking this place up anymore. I know there’s the main road there, but that