Chapter 3 – BODHI
BODHI
My skin feels too tight after weeks spent in fur.
It’s been too long since I’ve worn this form, and every nerve-ending protests the scrape of denim, the weight of boots on feet that want to be paws, the dull flatness of human senses after tasting the wind.
My bear paces restlessly, and I clamp my hands at my sides, fighting the urge to scratch.
Still pissed off about being back on two feet, I frown when I hear my name.
“Bodhi?” someone scoffs. “No. No way. He can’t be our best option.” A pause. “I know he’s physically capable, but is he mentally stable enough?”
I freeze outside the front door of Chase Walker’s fancy new security firm headquarters, my sensitive ears catching every word through the open window that’s halfway down the solid red brick wall.
Beau dragged me here from my rustic mountain refuge with barely an explanation, just the promise that it was “important enough to put pants on.”
Now, I’m questioning the accuracy of that statement. Right now, it’s hard to imagine anything important enough to deal with people again. Especially if they don’t even want me here.
All I want is to shift back into my animal form and charge into the trees.
But that’s not going to make things any better. And it’s definitely not going to convince my nosy family that I’d be fine if they’d just leave me alone.
I need to prove it to them, which is exactly why I’m here.
Sucking in one last breath of fresh air, I roll my shoulders back and crack my neck, trying to feel comfortable in my skin before I go inside. When I’ve decided I’m good now, I rest my hand on the doorknob, flex my fingers, and freeze as my bear rears up at the idea of trapping ourselves indoors.
Maybe I’m not quite as good as I thought. Even though I’d never admit it, my brother might be right. I’ve been spending too much time as my bear, and it’s given him too much control.
With a low rumble of discontent, I push through the heavy doors, lumbering awkwardly on two legs instead of four. I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflective glass as I pass and grimace.
If Beau thought I looked homeless the last time I shifted back, he ain’t seen nothing yet. Dark hair past my shoulders that’s gone from slightly wild to completely untamed, borrowed clothes that hang wrong on my broad frame.
Running a hand over my long, unkempt beard, I comfort myself with the knowledge that at least I don’t smell. Daily baths in the river keep my hygiene standards passable, even if my grooming has gone to hell.
Natalie is leaning over the high desk, pointing to something in front of the new employee who’s manning the desk when she senses me approaching.
She presses a button to open the doors, which slide back with a whoosh as she stares at me, her eyebrows reaching for her hairline, and shakes her head slowly in disbelief.
“Jesus, Bodhi.” She takes me in from head to toe, and for once, my sister is stuck for words.
“Good to see you too,” I mumble, the words feeling odd as they roll around my mouth, rough and unpracticed.
The young man sitting behind the counter peers up at me, swallowing hard as he struggles not to react. When Natalie stands toe to toe with me and tugs on the end of my tangled mop of hair, his eyes widen to the size of saucers.
“Nat, get back,” he hisses, looking around frantically for someone else to help. He stands, slowly coming around the desk, but he doesn’t look confident in his decision as he realises just how much taller than him I am.
“I know you’re not a fan of barbers, but have you heard of scissors?”
To give him credit, he’s worried about my sister, who appears to be provoking some wild mountain man who’s wandered out of the bushes, but he’s going to need to toughen up if he wants to keep his job here.
“Where’s Chase? He wanted to see me, apparently.”
The newbie at her side visibly relaxes when he hears I was officially invited to the private compound that’s set deep in the mountains.
“Waiting for you,” Natalie says, just as my stomach rumbles loudly, and I press a hand over it. “Find me after. I’ll show you where the kitchen is.”
I turn away and follow Chase’s scent toward the thick double doors to the left. “Or you could just bring me something,” I call over my shoulder, smiling to myself when I hear Natalie’s loud laugh as she buzzes me through.
“Not a chance.”
The scent of chargrilled beef assaults me the moment I step into the open-plan office.
My head snaps toward it before I can stop myself, an ashen-faced tech operative, frozen mid-bite, eyes wide, already sliding the burger across her desk like an offering.
She slumps down behind her computer, headphones on and staring at me, terrified, as if I might lunge across her desk.
I force a stiff nod and keep walking. She doesn’t look reassured, but she breathes again, which is something.
Tripp’s voice reaches me as I approach, his weak human senses not detecting my presence yet.
“He’s been living in the forest for months, Chase. The last two jobs were fine because he was just the muscle. Stand there, look intimidating, and don’t talk to anyone. They were perfect for him. But this is completely different.”
Chase says nothing, knowing full well I’m listening to every word that’s being said. A wolf shifter, and a royal one at that, his nose has already told him I’m in the building, and his enhanced hearing picked up my footsteps and breathing long before his human co-founders will catch on.
“Someone’s life depends on him keeping it together,” Van adds. “We can’t afford anyone messing this up.”
There’s a quiet creak as someone swivels in their chair, and then two thuds as they rest their feet on the desk.
Chase sighs, sounding more exhausted than I’ve heard him before. “You’re right. But he’s still our best shot at getting someone on the inside.”
Not exactly a resounding vote of confidence, but I appreciate the gesture. He’s mated to Natalie, so he has to be nice to me no matter how much of a fuck-up I am, even if she isn’t.
“I don’t know, Chase. If he slips up, and Kozlov finds out we sent him…” Van is worried, the sensible one, the thinker of the trio. And I don’t blame him. The last few months have been… rocky.
“Or if they find out what he is…” Tripp trails off.
The human world can’t find out about shifters. If I lose my shit out on a mission, a giant man who can turn into a grizzly bear the size of a minivan, then the cat will be out of the bag.
“Hopefully, it will be in and out,” Chase says, but there’s a hint of doubt in his voice. He’s not convinced it will be that simple. And as I contemplate the idea of being stuck in human form for potentially weeks on end, my skin itches with the urge to shift and run.
“If he can do it…” A new voice cuts in, one I don’t recognise, rough with emotion.
I pause, subtly sniffing the air. Human. Male. Wearing the same clothes for a couple of days by the smell of him.
“Please try. Whatever it takes to get her out of there.”
His voice cracks at the end, and there’s a loud thud as soft flesh bangs down hard on the table.
Chase’s tone is grave. “We’re looking at all the options, Jake, I promise.”
A chair slides back along the tight office carpeting with a hiss as boots hit the ground.
“I’ll work for you forever, no pay, cleaning toilets or anything. I sold my medals…” Something lands on Chase’s desk, and he sighs. “I don’t care what happens to me once you get her out of there.”
“Listen to me.” Chase’s voice is gentler than I’ve heard it before with a client.
This isn’t a random stranger who’s come here looking to hire private security or help with a missing person.
This is someone he knows. This is personal.
“We’ve been through this. None of this is about money.
I’d give you the eighty grand right now if I thought he’d actually hand her over. ”
He lets out an anguished groan before he drops into the chair again. “She’s all I’ve got left.” Jake’s voice cracks. “Our parents are gone. It’s just us. If something happens to her because of me...”
He doesn’t finish. He doesn’t have to.
“Of course we’re going to help. But before we go too far down one road, we need to know whether we can do this safely or not,” Tripp adds softly, compassion in his tone. “We only get one shot.”
This isn’t another tedious protection detail where I scare people with my size. This one matters.
And maybe even makes up for what I did, even if it’s just a little bit.
“That’s why we need Bodhi,” Chase reiterates. “He can get inside, find out where she is, and break her out. If we attempt a smash and grab, they might get spooked and call this whole thing off. Get rid of the evidence, including her.”
My interest is piqued at that. Call what off?
“The Lennox name still carries weight in those circles.” Chase continues carefully, knowing I’ll be arriving at his door any second. “Kozlov will want the cache of having a Lennox on his payroll, especially after he takes one look at Bodhi. It’s our best way in.”
My father was no stranger to organised crime. If this woman was taken by professionals, there’s a good chance they know Leon Lennox. Before his recent forced retirement, his crew was known to be loyal and dangerous, which is a prize combination in their world.
“What do you think, Jake?”
Chase makes it sound so simple, but whoever has her isn’t going to hand over that information to just anyone. It could take a long time for me to gain his trust. Time this woman might not have.
“If Kozlov hurts her…” The desperate voice cuts off abruptly. I feel his pain deep in my chest, and I know I have to help him. “This guy, is he that bad?”
Palm flat on the door, I push through without knocking before they can discuss my mental state further.
The conversation stops abruptly as I enter.