“Then I’ll help,” Annalise murmured from behind him.
“Me, too,” Kaylee said.
Jenny nodded and squeezed his arm. “Me, too.”
“Yep,” Greyson said.
Jaxon threw up two fingers. “Same. That’s what crews do. We’ve got your back, man, always. We’ve got your mate’s back, too.” Jaxon winked. “Even if she’s boring and annoying.”
Eden laughed thickly.
“Why not?” Anson said. “War with the lions, ’cause you know that shit ain’t over, and now stirring a war with the falcons. Yep, I’m up for bad decisions. I’ll help.”
Ben was the last to speak. He looked exhausted and let off a long sigh. “All I wanted was to have a few bachelor panthers out in the woods, make moonshine, maybe get a beer together every once in a while. And what did y’all do?” He shook his head huffed out a soft breath. “You went and made us into a family.” His mouth twitched into a slight smile. “At least life with you idiots is never dull. I’ll help protect your mate, Barret, because I’ve seen good changes in you since she came into your life. In such a short time, she got you to open up and own the shit that happened. She’ll save me from ever having to put you down. I know she will. You gotta War Bird fighting for you now. Eden?”
“Yes?” she asked softly, intertwining her fingers with Barret’s and holding his hands so tightly. Hope pooled in her pretty eyes. God, he loved her.
Ben sighed and shook his head at Barret, but he was still wearing that tiny smile. He blinked slowly and gripped Eden’s shoulder, locked his gaze on hers. “Welcome to the Red Havoc Crew.”
Chapter Twelve
Eden watched the Tahoe with the rental plates pull away. Jathan Barns, Jaxon’s identical twin, glanced up at her one last time in the rearview mirror. His eyes were dark and somber, as though he knew what a long shot this was.
From the passenger’s seat beside Jathan, Lynn never looked back. She’d refused to say goodbye to Eden or any of the crew. She was angry, but she was still here, and that was more important to Eden.
She stood in the middle of the dirt road, in the shadow of Lynn’s tree house, watching her friend disappear and hoping Creed, alpha of the Gray Backs, could save her.
“She’s angry,” Barret said, slipping his arms around her from behind.
“Angry with me.”
There was a smile in his voice when he said, “Anger’s good. Anger fuels a fight, and I haven’t seen any fight in Lynn in a long time. You did good buying her time. Anyone else would’ve quit, but you don’t quit on people. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
With a smile, she turned in his arms and looked up at him. The saturated midday sunlight was so bright she had to squint, and for a moment it looked like Barret wore a halo. She laughed. Her man wasn’t a halo type of man. He said “fuck” too much.
With a happy sigh, she asked, “Wanna know something I love about you?”
“Barf!” Anson said from above where the crew was cleaning out Lynn’s tree house. “Gross, yak, stop. We can all hear you being disgusting.”
“It’s not disgusting, it’s romantic,” Kaylee said primly from where she was sweeping leaves off the decking above.
Eden laughed and slipped her arms over Barret’s shoulders. “I love that you let your walls down last week. And I love that you’ve let me in so much since then.”
“You feel safe.”
She couldn’t help her beaming smile. “We’re a safe place for each other.”
Her Bad Cat glanced at the sky and back to her. He did that a lot now, and she didn’t know if it would ever really go away—that feeling he could lose her like he’d lost Marney and his crew. But she did know one thing…
She was going to stay steady for him, always, so he could have a fighting chance at staying happy. Because his happiness fueled hers. She’d never smiled so much over the course of her entire life as she had in this past week. Funny mate, caring mate, complicated mate, protective mate. There were a hundred layers to Barret, and she loved every one. The more of his soul he exposed through those cracking walls, the deeper she bonded to him.
“You know when I gave you that rock and said it was a reminder that you could be good?”
His lips curved up into a sexy, crooked smile. “Yeah.”
“I chose you then. Falcons give each other presents. I didn’t tell you when I gave it to you, but I hoped you would keep it so I could pretend you were mine.”
Barret leaned down and sipped her lips. When he eased away and she opened her eyes, he had the stone she’d given him on his palm. “I pretend, too,” he murmured low. “I pretend this is your heart, and you gave it to me for safekeeping. Lynn said Brody took her heart and squeezed it and that love is poison. That’s not us, Eden. I’ll protect your heart always. I’ll never lose it.” He shoved the stone deep into his pocket again and then fingered her carved feather necklace that hung from her neck and rested just between her breasts. “When I gave you this, I chose you, too. I just didn’t know how to tell you that without you running away.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised. “I’ve had more happiness here, with you, with Red Havoc…” She shrugged and looked around. “I’ve found more happiness in these mountains than I’ve known my whole life. You make this place so special.”
“No,” he whispered, dragging his fingertip lightly down her cheek. “You’re the special one. You feel like you’re putting my insides back together.”
“I’m like soul glue,” she teased with a laugh.
“Sexy soul glue. We’re gonna do bad things in Lynn’s tree house.”
“Uuuh, that ain’t Lynn’s tree house,” Jaxon said in an odd tone from where he stood by the railing at the bottom of the stairs.
Barret turned to him with a deep frown. “What do you mean?”
“Has anyone ever noticed this carving in the railing?”
“Yeah,” Barret muttered. “1010 and a B.”
Jaxon smiled at Eden, and then it hit her. “Beaston built this?” she asked, her voice pitched high.
“Beaston?” Barret asked, his eyebrows lowered in confusion. “The man who pulled me from the cave? The seer in the Gray Backs?”
Eden nodded in shock. “He must’ve known Red Havoc would settle here and built this tree house as a sanctuary.” She approached the railing and, sure enough, Jax was right. The carving was clear as day. She’d passed it fifty times and never noticed it. Wow. The tree house was old. How long ago had Beaston traveled here and built this, knowing this crew would need it someday? Perhaps knowing Lynn would need it.
“I’m beginning to think things happen at certain times for certain reasons,” she said to Barret, slipping her hand into his.
“Me, too. Like when you came into my auto shop that first night, and then you came in my auto shop that first night.” His smile turned devilish, and she laughed.
“No, I mean, the timing of Lynn calling me here, meeting you, claiming marks, working through the hard stuff, and going to war together and building our bond. And this tree house, built by a man who has touched both of our lives at different times. I found Red Havoc because everything fell into place just right. I found a crew where I’m not lonely because I met you.” She swallowed hard. “I found a chosen family because of you. Thanks for letting me in.”
Barret cupped the back of her head and pulled her forward until his lips pressed against her forehead. “Thanks for asking to come in. Thanks for not running when you saw my shadows. And also thanks for giving me blow jobs and helping me with moonshine deliveries.”
She laughed and shoved his arm. “Why can’t you just be serious and let us have a romantic moment?”
“Because they’re gross,” Anson called, staring down at them over the railing above. “I keep saying that, but no one listens.”
“Fuck you, man,” Barret said. “You and Kaylee suck face all the time, and we all have to watch it and hear it, and that’s gross.”
??
?Who bought Lynn seven boxes of frozen burritos?” Annalise asked, her legs dangling from where she sat on the ledge of the deck above. She was holding one of the burritos in question in her hand.
“Me!” Barret said. “Don’t judge me, She-Devil. I love burritos, so why don’t you bite me?”
“I bite you like every day.” Annalise gave him a beaming, unapologetic smile. “You’re all gristle. It’s why I spit you back out.” She took a bite of the burrito and arched her eyebrows at him like she’d won.
“I hate all of you,” Barret muttered. “Except Eden. She’s cool.”
Eden snorted and wrapped her arms around his taut waist. “You like me.”
“No,” he said, turning toward her and hooking a finger under her chin so she had to look up at him. “I L-O-V-E you.”
Eden smiled so big her face hurt. That’s how she thought of their story, too. Barret had reached the E, just like she had.
He kissed her once more, then swatted her ass and jogged up the first couple of stairs. On the third, he paused and turned to her. “You gonna stay with me?”
There was a bigger question in that than just her following him up into the tree house. With a sappy grin, she said, “Always.”
His answering smile nearly stole her breath away. “Good.” And then he turned and made his way up the stairs toward his crew. No…their crew. She was a part of this crazy C-Team of misfit shifters now, too.
What a dangerous, chaotic life she’d found, but what a beautiful one it was, too.
She climbed the stairs to join her mate and her people, and when she reached the deck, Barret was waiting for her with his arm outstretched so she could fit right against his ribs, that sly smile on his face that she loved so much. Jaxon and Anson were arguing. Ben looked annoyed. Greyson was quiet. Jenny, Annalise, and Kaylee were giggling, and below, the cubs were playing tag on the forest floor. Above, the sky was stormy, but peaceful, and the clouds were Barret’s old favorite color, gray. It was as if Marney was smiling down on them.
Eden didn’t know what the future held for them, but in this moment, everything was perfect.
She wasn’t the lonely bird anymore. She wasn’t boring or on the outside.
Now she was Eden—War Bird, proud mate of the Bad Cat, fixer of the broken ones, and loyal member of the Red Havoc Crew.
Now…she was happy.
Up Next in this Series
Red Havoc Guardian (Red Havoc Panthers, Book 4)
Coming May 2017
New Release Newsletter Sign-Up
For new releases, exclusive sneak peeks, and giveaways, sign up for T. S. Joyce’s Bear Shifter Romance Newsletter HERE.
Want More of these Characters?
The Red Havoc Crew makes its first appearance in Harper’s Mountains
Bloodrunner Dragon (Book 1)
Bloodrunner Bear (Book 2)
Air Ryder (Book 3)
Novak Raven (Book 4)
Blackwing Dragon (Book 5)
The Red Havoc Panthers can be read as a standalone series, but is also mentioned in Kane’s Mountains.
Entire trilogy now available.
Blackwing Defender (Book 1)
Blackwing Wolf (Book 2)
Blackwing Beast (Book 3)
More Series by T. S. Joyce
Bears Fur Hire
Husband Fur Hire (Book 1)
Bear Fur Hire (Book 2)
Mate Fur Hire (Book 3)
Wolf Fur Hire (Book 4)
Dawson Fur Hire (Book 5)
Chance Fur Hire (Book 6)
Saw Bears
Lumberjack Werebear (Book 1)
Woodcutter Werebear (Book 2)
Timberman Werebear (Book 3)
Sawman Werebear (Book 4)
Axman Werebear (Book 5)
Woodsman Werebear (Book 6)
Lumberman Werebear (Book 7)
Fire Bears
Bear My Soul (Book 1)
Bear the Burn (Book 2)
Bear the Heat (Book 3)
Gray Back Bears
Gray Back Bad Bear (Book 1)
Gray Back Alpha Bear (Book 2)
Gray Back Ghost Bear (Book 3)
Gray Back Broken Bear (Book 4)
Lowlander Silverback (Book 5)
Last Immortal Dragon (Book 6)
Boarlander Bears
Boarlander Boss Bear (Book 1)
Boarlander Bash Bear (Book 2)
Boarlander Silverback (Book 3)
Boarlander Beast Boar (Book 4)
Boarlander Cursed Bear (Book 5)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
For More Books from this Author
Visit www.tsjoyce.com for a full reading list.
About the Author
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. She lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.
T. S. Joyce, Red Havoc Bad Cat
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