Beck (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey Book 4) by Becca Fanning Page A
Authors: Becca Fanning
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caught it fast. Did you see it on the news or something?”
“No, actually. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. But first, can I ask, how did the fire start?”
“Arson. Someone came in the night, poured gas around it according to the fire chief, and set it on fire.”
“Did anyone see who did it?”
He shook his head. “We were all inside asleep.”
“But then someone saw the flames and came running out?”
“Eventually. But it was too late.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “So, then, at what point did you turn into bears and chase after the arsonist?”
She’d been watching his face carefully. She wanted to catch any little response he made when she said it. But he just raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“I saw. Last night. I saw you change into a bear.”
He looked at her like she was the bizarre one. “Kora, are you okay?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Look. I realize it’s probably part of your shifter duty to keep it a secret and all, but acting like I’m the crazy one won’t work. I know what I saw.”
“And what did you see?” He crossed his arms and widened his feet in a set stance.
“I saw a woman set fire to the building. Then I saw all five of you and your friends run after her. Then, I saw all six of you turn into bears and run off into the woods.”
“And how in the world did you supposedly see all this?”
“There’s no supposedly.” Her tone grew a little sharp. She hadn’t expected him to readily admit it or to be happy that she knew, but this was getting ridiculous. “I was here. You had said something about having a secret and it made me curious. I told you, my boss thinks there’s illegal activity happening here. Moonshine specifically. I thought maybe that was your secret and I came to break in and find out the truth.”
He shook his head and set his jaw. “You were trespassing on my property and now you’re going to come here and make wild accusations?”
She took out her phone. She tapped the screen to go to the video. “Before I show you this, know that I have made multiple copies and backups.”
His eyes narrowed into a glare.
She turned the phone so they could both see, and hit play. When the video ended, she looked at him and waited. His expression was unreadable. Something of shock and panic, she thought.
“Well,” he finally said, softly, as he dropped his arms and hung his head. “Okay. So you know the truth. I can’t deny that. And you’re right. We do need to keep it a secret. Not just for our sake, but also for the sake of others. The world would go crazy if they knew shifters were real. We’d all be hunted, they’d do genetic testing, they’d try to recreate it, they’d try to make new shifters. It would be a disaster. It would destroy life as we know it. I don’t know what you intend to do with that video, but please. Don’t show anyone. Please delete all the copies and don’t tell our secret.”
She looked at him for a moment, considering. “You lied to me.”
“I know, but I had to. You want to know the truth? We do make moonshine, okay? We pay taxes, but maybe not all of them. We pay enough to avoid suspicion, though. We pay our employees, and everything on the honey side is totally legal. Moonshine isn’t illegal. It’s the taxes that get you.”
“Yeah, I know how it works. And now you expect me to take some little moonshine story when I could have the story of the century? You know this would win me the Pulitzer Prize, right? You know I would be totally famous forever? Go down in history.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you would. All I can do is ask you to please not do that. Not for me. If it were just me, I’d take the consequences of my actions and deal with it. But my friends were just trying to catch who did this. They don’t deserve to have their lives torn apart. Or any of the other shifters out there. There’s lots of us, you know.”
“There are?”
“There
“No, actually. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. But first, can I ask, how did the fire start?”
“Arson. Someone came in the night, poured gas around it according to the fire chief, and set it on fire.”
“Did anyone see who did it?”
He shook his head. “We were all inside asleep.”
“But then someone saw the flames and came running out?”
“Eventually. But it was too late.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “So, then, at what point did you turn into bears and chase after the arsonist?”
She’d been watching his face carefully. She wanted to catch any little response he made when she said it. But he just raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“I saw. Last night. I saw you change into a bear.”
He looked at her like she was the bizarre one. “Kora, are you okay?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Look. I realize it’s probably part of your shifter duty to keep it a secret and all, but acting like I’m the crazy one won’t work. I know what I saw.”
“And what did you see?” He crossed his arms and widened his feet in a set stance.
“I saw a woman set fire to the building. Then I saw all five of you and your friends run after her. Then, I saw all six of you turn into bears and run off into the woods.”
“And how in the world did you supposedly see all this?”
“There’s no supposedly.” Her tone grew a little sharp. She hadn’t expected him to readily admit it or to be happy that she knew, but this was getting ridiculous. “I was here. You had said something about having a secret and it made me curious. I told you, my boss thinks there’s illegal activity happening here. Moonshine specifically. I thought maybe that was your secret and I came to break in and find out the truth.”
He shook his head and set his jaw. “You were trespassing on my property and now you’re going to come here and make wild accusations?”
She took out her phone. She tapped the screen to go to the video. “Before I show you this, know that I have made multiple copies and backups.”
His eyes narrowed into a glare.
She turned the phone so they could both see, and hit play. When the video ended, she looked at him and waited. His expression was unreadable. Something of shock and panic, she thought.
“Well,” he finally said, softly, as he dropped his arms and hung his head. “Okay. So you know the truth. I can’t deny that. And you’re right. We do need to keep it a secret. Not just for our sake, but also for the sake of others. The world would go crazy if they knew shifters were real. We’d all be hunted, they’d do genetic testing, they’d try to recreate it, they’d try to make new shifters. It would be a disaster. It would destroy life as we know it. I don’t know what you intend to do with that video, but please. Don’t show anyone. Please delete all the copies and don’t tell our secret.”
She looked at him for a moment, considering. “You lied to me.”
“I know, but I had to. You want to know the truth? We do make moonshine, okay? We pay taxes, but maybe not all of them. We pay enough to avoid suspicion, though. We pay our employees, and everything on the honey side is totally legal. Moonshine isn’t illegal. It’s the taxes that get you.”
“Yeah, I know how it works. And now you expect me to take some little moonshine story when I could have the story of the century? You know this would win me the Pulitzer Prize, right? You know I would be totally famous forever? Go down in history.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you would. All I can do is ask you to please not do that. Not for me. If it were just me, I’d take the consequences of my actions and deal with it. But my friends were just trying to catch who did this. They don’t deserve to have their lives torn apart. Or any of the other shifters out there. There’s lots of us, you know.”
“There are?”
“There
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