Free BEARedtoYouBBWShifterEroticRomanceARe by Tawny Taylor Page A

didn’t know how to use a gun and violence wasn’t her thing. She tended to run away from bullies rather than confront them. In this case, she figured running away was probably the best choice.
    But run to where? They were literally in the middle of nowhere. There were no flights, thanks to the stupid air traffic controller’s strike. She doubted there were any buses or trains that would get them far enough away to be safe. While she supposed Tarik could take to hiding out in some remote cabin, but sooner or later they would have to leave. And being a fugitive, what kind of life would that be? How would he earn money?
    Tarik needed a job, a place to live…a life.
    Oy, she’d barely been able to provide that for herself!
    “You look worried,” his voice cut into her thoughts.
    She’d been so consumed by her deliberating she hadn’t realized she’d been lying there staring at an awake man. How long had his eyes been open? “There’s plenty to worry about, don’t you think?”
    “Not for you. I won’t let you worry about anything. You’re here on vacation. You can go home whenever you like. I’ll take care of everything.”
    “Nothing to worry about? Now, that’s funny.” The last time a guy had said those words to her, she’d ended up having to pay a mechanic to put a new engine in her car. Her ex-boyfriend Jack had failed to put a belt on properly and her rods--or whatever those vital engine parts were called--ended up getting ruined.
    “What’re your plans?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t want you getting involved.”
    “Too late there, buster.” She regretted those words the second they’d passed through her lips. Tarik looked like he’d killed a kitten or something. “Sorry,” she said, reaching for him. “Sometimes I’m so flippant. I get sarcastic when I’m stressed out. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
    He stood and, opening a nearby armoire, pulled out a pair of pants. He held them up to his waist, obviously to check the fit. “What’re you apologizing for?” He sat on the couch and shoved one foot into a pant leg then did the same with the other. “You’re right. You are involved. And it’s my fault. Which is why I’m handling this whole thing. I won’t see you get sucked in any deeper.” He yanked up his pants and fastened the fly.
    Men had such fragile egos. Why was it necessary for them to take on the world by themselves?
    She swallowed a sigh. “As much as I trust you could do this without my help, I still can’t see turning my back and skipping off into the Alaskan sunset. I don’t see you being the kind of guy to go all Rambo and charge into Omega with guns blazing.”
    “Frankly, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”
    “Liar.”
    “Cool. My buddy left his cell phone and a laptop. These could come in handy.” He pocketed the phone he’d found on top of the armoire, set the laptop on the table then sat next to her. His arms were crossed over his chest, a pose she found especially appealing because it made his biceps look huge. “I suppose you have a better plan?”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Though I haven’t nailed down the finer details yet.”
    “Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
    “Okay. It’s really quite simple.” She hesitated but he encouraged her to go on with a nod. “We run.”
    He stared at her for a minute but didn’t speak. She had to give it to him, he didn’t bust into raucous laughter. Nor did he flatly refuse to consider her suggestion. In fact, he seemed to be waiting for her to tell him more about The Brilliant Plan.
    Too bad there wasn’t much more to tell.
    “Like I said,” she continued, figuring she’d be forced to talk her way through the problem. “I haven’t settled all the details yet. But I’m thinking it makes more sense to just get away from all this instead of attacking a bunch of people with who knows what kind of weapons and power behind them.”
    He seemed to consider what she said