His to Bear [Bear Essentials] (The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection) Read online

  "Dad said he'd meet us downstairs when it's time to leave."

  "Uncle Allan is going with us?"

  "Of course he is." Ford's eyes rolled. "You don't think he'd make you go through this alone, do you?"

  George smiled as something warmed inside of him. That was the reason he wanted to do something special for Uncle Allan and Aunt Helen. They were always there for him but expected nothing in return.

  George saw Leon standing near the front window talking on his cell phone as he passed through the living room. From the things he was saying, he seemed to be checking in with someone. George suspected it was his boss. That would make sense.

  He walked to his bedroom to get his shoes, wallet, and jacket. He was pretty sure he'd need all three today. He wished he could have a stiff drink right about now, as well, but he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. He needed a clear head for today, a very clear head.

  Once George had everything, he started out of the bedroom only to be brought up short by Leon, who stood in the doorway. George swallowed tightly as he backed up a step.

  "Is everything okay?" he asked.

  "I was just about to ask you that," Leon replied. "You seem agitated. Are you worried about today?"

  "Yeah, a bit." George wasn't about to tell Leon the real reason he was upset.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  There were a hundred different answers to that question, but only one George could give. "No, I'm good."

  Leon eyed him intently for a moment before nodding. "If there is, you'll let me know?"

  Not in a million fucking years.

  George smiled. "Sure."

  "I guess we should get this show on the road then and get you your money."

  George drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, the money."

  Because, apparently, that was what was important.

  Chapter Nine

  George wasn't telling Leon everything, and they both knew. Leon couldn't help but wonder if some of it had to do with this morning and what had happened between them. George had seemed a little squirrelly from the get-go, but this was something else.

  He was avoiding eye contact, and that was driving Leon crazy. He didn't want to talk to the top of George's head or the side of his face. He wanted to talk directly to George. Of course, he'd like an actual conversation, but George had pretty much slipped down to one-syllable answers.

  Leon didn't know a lot about mating a shifter, and he only believed about half of what he'd heard over the years. That left him questioning what had occurred between him and George this morning.

  The sex had been phenomenal. Leon wasn't a slut, but he wasn't a virgin either. He'd had his share of relationships and one-night stands. He'd never had sex like he'd had with George. No man had ever made him ache just by walking across the room.

  That was one thing Leon didn't understand. He'd seen better looking men before, sexier men. Men who made a normal gay man weep. He'd never met anyone who affected him as much as George did. Everything about the man called to him.

  Leon did not understand that, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. Trying to figure it out simply made him more confused than he already was. He had a hundred questions, but now was neither the time nor did he believe George would be very forthcoming with the answers. The simple fact was, George was cutting him out, tuning him out, and downright ignoring him.

  That might be pissing him off more than anything. He hated being ignored. He especially hated being ignored by someone he'd been intimate with.

  Leon glanced at the GPS on the center console. They had another couple of blocks to go before they reached the bank so George could grab the winning ticket. He looked up to the rearview mirror to the two men sitting in the backseat.

  "Mr. Carver, was your lawyer able to get the papers George needs to stay anonymous?"

  Allan Carver nodded. "While George has to actually be there to sign the papers, the news release will have the money going to a trust we set up for him."

  "You know that won't last, right?" Leon had no doubt this topic of conversation had been brought up numerous times. "Eventually, someone will find out who George is."

  Allan nodded. "We just want to give George the time he needs to figure out what he's going to do."

  Made sense. George had a lot he needed to do before the world discovered who the big lottery winner was.

  When they reached the bank, Leon parked directly in front. He turned off the engine then turned in his seat to face Allan and Ford. "Why don't you stay here? We'll go inside and get his ticket. If you see anything suspicious, call me."

  After giving Allan his cell phone number, Leon fit his Bluetooth to his ear, grabbed his cell phone, then climbed out of the car. George and Ford were waiting for him on the sidewalk when he walked around the car.

  George looked as nervous as hell. He was licking his lips, his shoulders were slumped forward, and if his head dipped any lower, his chin would be on his chest.

  "Hey, George." Leon reached over and grabbed George's hand. "It's going to be okay. We're just going to go into the bank and get the ticket. It's as easy as that."

  "I just feel like something is going to go wrong."

  "Okay, what's making you feel that way?"

  George shook his head as he raised his head. "I don't know."

  "How about this." Leon nodded toward the front doors of the bank building. "We take this one thing at a time. Right now, we're simply going to walk into that bank, then we'll decide what to do next. Okay?"

  "Okay."

  Leon smiled. "Good man." He glanced at Ford. "You can stay in the car if you want."

  "I can't actually," Ford replied. "It takes both of us to get into the safety deposit box."

  Leon's eyebrows raised. "You put Ford's name on it?"

  "We figured if it took two of us to get into the box, it would lessen the chance of others getting to it."

  "Huh. That was actually a pretty smart move."

  He kept a tight hold of George's hand as they walked into the bank. If the man squeezed his hand a little too tightly, Leon ignored it.

  Leon scanned the interior of the bank for any signs of trouble. When he didn't see any, he tugged on George's hand and led him to the teller counter. Leon smiled at the woman sitting there. "Hi, we're here to access a safety deposit box."

  The woman smiled back. "I'll need to see some form of identification and your safety deposit number."

  George pulled out his wallet then handed over his state ID card. "Box 305."

  Ford did the same.

  The smile began to slide off the woman's face as she stared down at the two IDs.

  A foreboding chill ran down Leon's spine. "Is there a problem?"

  "Uh, excuse me for one moment."

  Leon lifted an eyebrow when the woman jumped up and hurried across the floor to a glass door on the far side of the room. She glanced back at them as she knocked then opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Leon could see her talking to the man in a suit sitting behind the desk and gesturing back to him and George.

  When the woman handed the IDs over and the man glanced toward them, that foreboding chill grew colder. It took all of Leon's self-control to stay standing where he was as he watched the guy pick up the phone and call someone.

  "Something happened, didn't it?" George asked.

  "It's looking that way."

  "I knew this was too good to be true."

  Leon glanced at George. "Hey, don't give up on me now. Just because something happened doesn't mean it's over."

  Leon noticed the security guards stepping out of the elevator just about the same time the man behind the desk walked out of his office and headed directly toward them. The man in the suit headed for Leon and George, the guards following behind him.

  "I'm Mr. Branson, the bank manager," the man said once he reached them. "Mr. Carver, do you have another form of ID you can show me?"

  George dug out his wallet and handed over another piece
of ID.

  "What seems to be the problem here?" Leon asked.

  "There seems to be a small mix-up concerning Mr. Carver's…uh…identity."

  Leon pointed to the two IDs the man was holding. "Well, you can see he is who he says he is."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "If you would just come to my office, Mr. Carver, I'm sure we can get this all sorted out."

  "Wait," George said. "I want to know what's going on first."

  "Um, well…"

  Leon's narrowed his eyes. "I think you need to call the police."

  The bank manager paled. "Oh, I don't know if that's really necessary. I'm sure we can—"

  Leon pulled out his cell phone. "Oh, it's necessary, and if you don't call them, I will."

  George grabbed his arm. "Leon—"

  "George, call your uncle in here and have him call your lawyer."

  The bank manager paled even more. "Sir, please, this isn't necessary. If you would simply come to my office…"

  "You still haven't told us what the problem is," Leon reminded the guy.

  "Oh, yes, um, well, see a gentleman came into the bank and presented us with a death certificate for Mr. Carver and a power-of-attorney granting him access to all Mr. Carver's accounts."

  "What?" George whispered. It was almost a cry. "When?"

  "This morning."

  "Did you grant him access?" Leon asked through clenched teeth.

  When the bank manager winced, Leon knew he had.

  "Did you grant him access to our safety deposit box?" George asked.

  "No, sir," the man said quickly. "It requires both your signature and that of Mr. Ford Carver to access the safety deposit box."

  "But he got everything in George's accounts?" Ford asked.

  "Well, yes, but—"

  "And that's why you need to call the cops," Leon said. He was close to snarling. "As you can plainly see, George Carver is alive and well. So, what happened here is a clear case of theft."

  "I want the contents of my safety deposit box right now," George said.

  Leon didn't blame him a bit.

  "Yes, of course." Mr. Branson hurried behind the counter and grabbed a card. He wrote something down on it then slid the card across the counter to George. "If you and Mr. Carver would sign this."

  George signed the card then stepped out of the way so Ford could sign it. The bank manager took it back, glanced at it then another card, then smiled. "Please come this way."

  Leon so totally wanted to roll his eyes. The bank manager was acting as if this was just any other day. He wasn't paying any attention to the fact that someone had walked into the bank he managed and walked out with George's money.

  "You're going to need another bank account," Leon told George as they followed the bank manager into the safety deposit vault.

  "And another bank," George replied. "I don't trust this one anymore."

  "How much money did you lose?"

  "Actually, not that much. I only had about two hundred dollars in there."

  It seemed odd to Leon that someone would clear out George's bank account for only two hundred dollars on the morning he was going to become a billionaire. "Mr. Branson?"

  The man glanced back at him. "Yes?"

  "This person that came in this morning, did they close out George's bank account?"

  "I was instructed that Mr. Carver had one more check that would be deposited in the next few days. At that time, we were to close out Mr. Carver's bank account and transfer the money to another account."

  Well, wasn't that convenient?

  "Do you have video surveillance inside the bank?" The police were going to need it to prosecute whoever had done this.

  The bank manager's head snapped back before he lifted his nose into the air. The man was clearly insulted. Well, too damn bad. "Of course."

  "I'm sure the police will want to see that video." Leon certainly did. He wanted to be able to put a face to whoever was trying to make George's life hell, and then he was going to show them what hell really looked like.

  Leon followed George and Ford to the metal table sitting in the middle of the room. The bank manager pulled a metal box out of the wall then walked over and set it on the table. When he just stood there, Leon cleared his throat.

  "We're going to need a moment."

  "Of course," Mr. Branson said. "I'll…uh…I'll just go call the authorities."

  "You do that." Leon waited until the man left the room before nodding to George. "Go ahead."

  George popped the lid on the safety deposit box then drew in a heavy breath as he stared down at the single piece of paper inside.

  "George?"

  "Yeah?" The man continued to stare down at the ticket.

  "Pick it up and put it in your wallet."

  George jerked as if electrocuted. "Right." He pulled his wallet out then picked up the lottery ticket and slid it inside one of the pockets. He put his wallet back in his pants then closed the lid on the box before looking at Leon.

  "Can we go now?"

  Leon chuckled. "We probably need to stick around until the police get here so they can take out statements, but then we can go."

  "We're supposed to be at lottery headquarters at ten," Ford reminded them. "I think we're going to be late."

  Oh, they were going to be late all right. Law enforcement was nothing if not slow.

  Leon glanced toward the still open door of the vault. The cold chill was back. "Don't say anything about what we were getting out of the box for right now. If someone asks, tell them it was just some personal papers or something."

  George frowned. "Why not?"

  "Because I'm not sure who all is in on this, and until I am, I don't know who we can trust." Leon hated the way the corners of George's mouth turned down. He reached over and gave George's arm a gentle pat. "Remember, one thing at a time."

  "I need a drink," George whispered.

  The sadness in George's voice tore at Leon's soul. That sound should never come out of the pretty man's mouth. "And you can have one, once this is all over. You just need to get through the next few hours."

  "Yeah, okay."

  Leon smiled at the man until George smiled back. It wasn't a big smile or even a bright smile, but it was there, and that was something. That smile, no matter how small it was, warmed something deep inside of Leon that hadn't been touched in longer than he could remember. He wanted to keep that smile on George's face and maybe see one that came from happiness, not resignation.

  "Come on." Leon grabbed George's arm and started steering him toward the door. "Let's get this over with so we can go have that drink."

  Chapter Ten

  George wasn't sure his life could get any more complicated. He'd won over a billion dollars, but everyone seemed determined to keep him from collecting his winnings. He'd met his mate, except his mate didn't want him. And worst of all, he was pretty sure his parents were fucking with him, which meant they were back.

  He really wanted that drink. Maybe a whole lot of drinks. How drunk could a man get on one point six billion dollars? Assuming he ever saw the money. At this point, he was starting to doubt it would ever happen.

  The activity around him was insane. The bank hadn't been shut down, but close enough. There was a police officer manning the door, making sure everyone who came inside had a legitimate reason for being there.

  Leon was in the bank manager's office with another officer and a man in a wrinkled blue suit. George was pretty sure the guy was a detective. He wasn't sure what they were discussing, but, with the way Leon's was gesturing, it wasn't good.

  When Leon opened the door and gestured to him, George quickly got up and hurried across the floor. "What's going on?"

  "I need you to come look at the bank's security surveillance and see if you recognize the man in the video."

  "Yeah, okay." George didn't think some stranger off the street would walk in and try to steal his life. It wasn't as if
this was an identity theft thing. Someone had targeted him specifically.

  He already suspected who it was.

  When they reached the bank manager's desk, Leon led him around to a laptop. He reached down and tapped a button then pointed. "Tell me if you recognize anyone on the video."

  George narrowed his eyes as he peered down at the screen. At first, he didn't really see anyone who stood out to him. People were coming and going from the building, some walking up to talk to people at the desks lining one side of the main room, others going up to the tellers.

  He sucked in a breath when he spotted a man who shouldn't be there. Well, maybe he should. Who knew where the guy banked. But George didn't think so. That was too much of a coincidence for his liking.

  "George?" Leon asked. "Do you recognize someone?"

  George pointed to the screen. "That man there, the one in the suit with the two big guys following him. That's Henry Barker's son."

  He was a little shocked. He had been positive this was the work of his parents. He had no idea why Raymond Barker would be involved in stealing his money.

  Leon frowned. "That's what I thought, too, but I wanted you to look at the video before I said anything."

  "Do you think he's the one who took my money?"

  Leon nodded. "The bank manager and the teller both identified him as the man who came in with the death certificate and power-of-attorney."

  "But that doesn't make sense," George insisted. "How would he even know about—" George gasped as he remembered. "He was in the room."

  Leon's frown deepened. "Yeah, but the question is, was he doing this on his own or was he working for his father?"

  George wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that question, but it did help him answer another one. "Guess I won't be staying in this area."

  He might not belong to Henry Barker's clan, but he still lived in the man's territory. If he couldn't trust the man, he didn't want to be around him. He certainly didn't want to stay in his territory.

  He was funny like that.

  When the guy in the wrinkled suit walked over, Leon pointed to the screen. "George identified this man as Raymond Barker. We both met him yesterday when we had a meeting with his father."