Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1) by Clara Moore

Isadora stuck close to each other. Isadora missed Doran, thinking and talking of him often. Fiona tried to convince her that he wasn’t a great man, and she shouldn’t miss him, but Isadora couldn’t stop. “I’ve been looking into the Roselli incident,” Fiona said. They were finishing up the long morning sickness filled week. “I’m wondering if Doran had anything to do with it after all.”
    “Remember he had that blood stain on his shirt?” Isadora said. “He must’ve been involved.”
    “That might have really just been sauce. Some people I interviewed said they liked to do that. And you said there were two guys there with you, right?”
    “They were at the bar.”
    She showed her a picture of the two middle-aged men who’d been at the restaurant that day. “Is this them?”
    “Yeah, that’s them. Why?”
    “They’re hitmen. They get orders straight from Sicily.”
    “Who told you that?”
    “I can’t reveal my sources,” said Fiona, tucking the photo away.
    Isadora’s phone started ringing in her pocket. It startled them both, but they played it off. She pulled it out, expecting Georgia, but a different name blazed across the screen. “Oh no.”
    “What? Is it Georgia?”
    “No. It’s Doran.”
    Fiona swatted the phone to the ground. “Don’t answer it!”
    They just stood there, staring at the phone as it rang on the floor.“I’ll call him later,” Isadora said.
    “You’re going to have to tell him sometime,” Fiona pointed out.
    Isadora gave her a look that could only be interpreted as NO I DON’T.
    “Are you going to call him back?” Fiona asked, as the left the building later that day..
    “To be honest, I can’t even imagine talking to Doran right now,” Isadora answered stepping outside..
    “I’m glad you talk about me when I’m not around,” Doran’s voice startled them both. They looked up to see him leaning against the building.
    “Doran! You’re back!” Isadora threw up her arms in an awkward wave of celebration. “It’s... uh… nice to… see you.”
    “Your excitement is infectious,” he said dully. “I called you, but you didn’t answer, so I decided to just come by.”
    “I was pretty busy today.”
    “I can smell your trash can from over here. What is in there?” He leaned in to get a better view. “Is that vomit? Did your janitor quit or something? ”?”
    She looked down. “Oh yeah, I was going to throw it in the dumpster. I wasn’t feeling well.”
    “Well, I’m going to get going,” Fiona said. “I’ll see you Monday Izzy.”
    Doran raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Isadora just frowned.Before she could stop him, Doran took the trash can and walked toward the dumpster next to the building. Isador felt like her feet were rooted to the sidewalk.
    “That’s pretty gross,” he said returning. “Did you get food poisoning or something?”
    “Not exactly,” she said, turning to walk down the block. “We need to talk.”
    “Look, I know you want to act like nothing happened,” he said, grabbing her arm to stop her. “I thought I couldn’t do that, and I freaked out a little bit, but I’m okay now. If you want to pretend we never slept together, I’m fine with that.”
    “Oh.” She searched his eyes, seeing a sparkle of sadness and regret in them. “How was your dad?”
    “Usual.”
    “Your mom said he’s a businessman?” Isadora said, turning again to walk down the block. Doran fell in step with her.
    “Not exactly. He’s more like a common thug.”
    Her blood froze. “Doran, are you involved with the maf…”
    Before she could continue, a noise like the backfiring of a car exploded at them. BANG, BANG. Doran pounced on her, pushing her to the ground and covering her with his body. Pieces of brick from the building’s facade rained down as someone screamed.
    “What was…” she started.
    “Shh. At my mark, run for the alley at the side of the building. Understand?”
    Isadora nodded her agreement, locking eyes