Chandler: Bishop’s Snowy Leap – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance (Bishop's Snowy Leap Book 2) Read online

  “Good for you.”

  Raven walked to her mother just as one of the bailiffs walked to stand by her. He was holding a small device pointed at her mother, and she smiled at her. This was going to be ugly, Raven knew it.

  “What is it you think you want me to do for you? I want you to think very hard on it, and realize that I’m going to tell you no.” Merriam told her to keep her voice down. “I will not. You only lower yours when you think it suits whatever it is you’re doing. Otherwise, you shout to the world what you’re talking about. What is it?”

  “I was told that you are pressing charges against me for trying to take that bastard child from you. Raven, she cannot be an Addington. Don’t you get that? She’s nothing. Not to me. She shouldn’t be to you either. Get rid of all that nasty weight.” Raven started to walk away. “Wait. I want you to have your father stop this divorce. How can I hope to become the next president of the club if I have a divorce hanging over my head? You tell him that I’m going to teach him a lesson if he doesn’t take care of this right now. I’m an Addington, for Christ’s sake, and we do not divorce.”

  “Apparently, having several dozen abortions is all right, though.” Mother looked around and told her to keep her voice down again. No one needed to know that in here. “Ah, but they do know that. Everyone does. It’s been in the newspaper, and I want you to know that I helped you out with that.”

  “It’s about time that you did something by me. I’ve never done a thing to you that you didn’t deserve. When are you going to get away from that man you supposedly married?” Raven said that they were still married and were going to have a child. “No. No, you can’t do this to me. I demand that you abort it right now.”

  “Here? In this courtroom, right here on the floor? Why Mother, what would people say if I just popped out my child right here?” Mother called her all kinds of names then. Some of them Raven was sure that she was making up. When she called her a slut for what seemed like the millionth time since she’d found out she was having Molly, Raven had enough. “Watch your mouth, Mother. You want something from me, while I want nothing more to do with you.”

  “You have never been a good child to me, Raven. Never. Not since you were old enough to use that smart mouth of yours.” Raven thanked her. “That is not something you should be proud of, Raven. I swear to you, you are the cruelest and most rotten person there is. I am still your mother, damn it. You contact your father, and you tell him that I want out of here. I do not belong here, and I will not tolerate him leaving me here as if I mean nothing to him and the name Addington.”

  “You don’t, as a matter of fact. Besides, I don’t know what has you so hyped up about getting home. The house has been sold. Daddy is living with my husband, daughter, and I while he thinks about what he wants to do from now on. One of my wonderful brothers-in-law is going to move in after everything in the place that you breathed on is stripped out. That’s everything in the event you didn’t know.” Mother stood up and slammed her chained hands against the table. “What? Are you upset about something?”

  “You tell him I will not allow that. I am going to live there even if I have to kill a lot of people to make it happen. You tell your father that it will be entirely his fault because he drove me to it.” Raven reminded her mother that she was being recorded. She turned to look at the recorder before continuing. “Roger Addington, you will be at that house when I get out of here, or so help me, I will destroy you, both physically and financially, before your next heartbeat.”

  “Oh, before I forget to tell you. While we’re on the subject of Dad, he’s made it so that you’re not an Addington. He’s stripped you of that name because you were never the name that you changed it from when you married him. Also, and this is really funny to me—you signed a prenup. You’re getting nothing. Not one red cent from Daddy, his estate, or me. Ever.”

  This time Raven did walk away from her. Mother was still screaming at her to get back to where she was. Raven, ignoring all the insults and nasty things she was being called, barely made it to the bathroom before she threw up. While she knew that it was never going to get better between them, she could be happy that her mother was going to be far away when this was finished. She wanted her not only in prison but in one that was far, far away from her. While in prison, she’d not be able to make calls every day. Mother would be unable to have people message Raven through the courts. It would be better for all of them when she was gone. Prison might even make her a better person. Raven wondered why she’d even bothered to come here today.

  Hello, my darling. I can feel you’re stressed out again. Should I come there as my cat and rescue you? Sawyer had a way about him that made her feel better with just a simple sentence. I take it that nothing is going as planned at the courthouse today.

  Nothing. Worse than that, Mother is holding up the proceedings so that she can yell at me about the divorce and how I’ve ruined the good name of Addington. I shouldn’t have come here. You were right. Sawyer said that he wasn’t so sure that he had been. What do you mean? You think I should have come here and been treated this way? Wow, that’s harsh.

  No, I didn’t mean that. I meant that—well, you have to admit, you were feeling a little doubtful about your mother and whether what she’d been doing was enough to warrant her being in prison. Did this help? She said that it had solidified it very well that she needed to be put away. That’s as good as any reason to be there, to figure this out on your own. You might have believed me a little that this was going to happen when we spoke about it. But you got to know first-hand that she’s a fucking bitch who isn’t going to change. Did you tell her about the house?

  I did. I’m so glad that Gunner is buying it from Dad. To be honest with you, every time I think about him living in that huge house, all I can think about is he’ll be sleeping out on the back lawn in a sleeping bag rather than buying himself some nice furniture for it. Sawyer told her that Gunner was actually working with the people in the house. Well, that’s good, I guess. How is he handling being around people?

  I didn’t say he was there when they were. He comes in after they’re gone, and I guess one of them leaves him a list of stuff that he can do. Gunner told me that he’s enjoying getting his hands dirty in a way that doesn’t involve blood. Freaked me out a little when he said that. Raven laughed and got up from the floor to clean herself up. There was another reason that I contacted you. How would you like to meet myself and Molly for dinner? I’ll bring your grandma too. We could try out that restaurant that you were reading about, and then get Holly a car. She’s been bugging me to do that for her.

  She said that she loves bugging you, so don’t think this will be the end of her bothering you about things. She loves you. Sawyer told her that he loved her as well. I’m going to go back to the hotel and take a short nap. Molly is at the packhouse, learning how to use the magic that she got from you. I still can’t believe that she has so much from a few drops of your blood.

  I’m just glad that it’s not much more than she has now. Being able to search out things that she wants and to bring them to her is nothing that I know how to do. I think she’s a little upset that she can’t shift. She was, Raven told him. Okay—date or not?

  Yes. I’ll take a nap at the hotel that I’m in, and you guys can meet me there. I do understand that they had to move the trial to a different place, but Columbus isn’t that far away, do you think? He told her how it had a lot more people to choose from for jurors than their town. I suppose. Okay, I’m better now. I’ll go there and see you guys later. I can’t wait for this to be done. Is Daddy all right?

  He is. I think that he’s having a good time with my dad. They’re working on the rose garden. Dad and he are learning how to drive the tractor and use the attachments. I guess Roger wants to put in a little garden someplace on the land that we have. I told him that would be fine by me. Mom is going to help him with it. She asked him about t
he peas. Yes, the ground is plowed up, and the rows are set up and ready. Mom is so excited about having peas that she can’t hardly stand it. Seems like a great deal of work for so little return, but then Mom will make it work to where she’ll have bushels of them if I don’t miss my bet.

  They were still laughing when she exited the bathroom. There were police all around this floor she was on. When one of them spotted her, Raven was escorted to the limo that was out front for her, and he made sure that she was in the hotel before he left. Whatever happened, because Sawyer said he’d not called anyone to escort her, Raven was glad they were taking care of her. Raven had a feeling that it had to do with her mother.

  Exhaustion rolled over her in waves as soon as she got off the elevator on her floor. Even before she was able to get the covers pulled back on the bed, she was falling into it and closing her eyes. The baby and the stress were making it difficult for her to function. Raven decided that for her own peace of mind and health, she wasn’t going back to the courthouse.

  Chapter 2

  Chandler wanted to meet the woman named Sasha. However, he wanted to do it on his own terms. He wasn’t opposed to giving her a ride when she needed one. What he didn’t like was that he felt like he was being set up by his own mother.

  Did she really think that he was the best one for the job when his dad and Roger were using the fun equipment? He wanted to play in the dirt too. Chandler wanted to be a veterinarian in the worse sort of way, but there was nothing better, he thought than putting something in the ground and watching it mature and bear fruit. In this case, roses, but it was something that he loved doing too.

  Knocking on the door, he was surprised to hear something like a squeak on the other side. Leaning into the door, laying his ear right against it, he tried the handle to the door and found it locked. That was when he heard someone calling for help.

  Taking a couple of steps back from the door, he slammed his foot into the middle of the door, using a bit of his cat so he’d not hurt so badly afterward, and knocked the door in. The room looked as if it had been ransacked, but he was more concerned with the voices he heard in the next room.

  Going into what turned out to be the bedroom, he found a man standing over a woman. He had a wooden bat in his hands, something that Chandler noticed was covered in blood. As the man started screaming at the woman on the bed to tell him—nothing else, but to tell him something—Chandler put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. He really had thought about just grabbing the bat but was afraid that he could have had a gun or a knife to finish the job he seemed intent on doing. Whistling, Chandler thought, would make him turn toward him, so he’d get to check him out and then kill him.

  The man did turn, but then he disappeared. The bat dropped to the floor as if the man, who he knew had been holding it, hadn’t been able to disappear with it. Chandler’s first thought was vampire. But then why not take the bat? That was when he remembered the woman.

  “Miss, are you all right?” She moaned, and Chandler was careful when he rolled her to her back so that he could see her. “You’re pretty beat to shit, ma’am. I’m sorry, but I think you might need some stitches. Did you piss off a vampire?”

  “No. A dead man.” Since he didn’t know her or understand what she was talking about, he told her that he was going to the bathroom to get her a wet cloth. “There’s a big first aid kit under the sink. Could you bring that to me?”

  Opening up the cabinet, he pulled out the biggest first aid kit he’d ever seen. Taking it back to the bedroom, Chandler saw that she was sitting up, but she didn’t look any better to him. Since he’d gotten the washcloth too, he began wiping at her face.

  “What the hell are you doing? That hurts.” He told her that he was sorry. “Holy fucking shit. What did you do to the door? Did you use a battering ram or something?”

  “No. My foot. You’re very snarky, aren’t you? I came in here to save you.” She looked around her bedroom and then at him. “Okay, I arrived much too late to actually save you, but he did leave when I got here.”

  “He caught me off guard, that— Did you say that you saw him? I mean, you said that he disappeared, so I’m assuming that you saw him.” Chandler told her that he’d seen a man standing over her with a wooden bat. Then he pointed to the one on the floor. “He disappeared. You saw him. That’s not right.”

  “Okay. Did he hit you pretty hard on the head?” She glared, and Chandler found himself wanting to burst out laughing. However, he had a feeling that she’d not find him all that funny right now. “Was it a vampire that hurt you? I mean, I know a couple of them. It could be that they might know who he was. I can—”

  “He was dead.” Chandler nodded. “Look, buster. I see the fucking dead. They’ve given me this fucking promotion, and now I not only see them, but they can touch me too. With ball bats. You sitting here humoring me is not helping me one bit. Why did you see him? For that matter, who the fuck are you?”

  “Chandler Bishop. My mom sent me here so that I could take you to our home. I guess you’re having dinner with us or something. But first I need to take you to the—” A woman entered the room, and Chandler asked her if she’d help him. “Miss Sasha is hurt, and I need to get her to the emergency room. Perhaps you know the guy that was here hurting her.”

  “You see her?” Chandler was getting a little frustrated by being asked if he saw all these people coming in and out of her room. “And damn it, your first name starts with a C. Are you him? The one that is going to come after me? I’ll tell you right now, I’m not going to go easy. Where is the baby? Have you hurt her yet?”

  “Hold on. Just hold on a minute. What baby? Pip? She’s fine. Better than when I found her. Was that the man—? No, it couldn’t have been, or you would have said so. Why ask me if I was the man if you thought it was the other guy? You’re very confusing.” She growled at him. “Lady, you have no idea how sexy that sounds to me. So, how about I get you patched up enough to go and see to your cuts, then we head to my parents’ home? My brother Quincey will be there too, so he can make sure that you’re doing all right.”

  Sasha didn’t speak to him for the rest of the time he was there. She did let him help her get her shoes on, as well as help her into his car. Since it wasn’t that far from where he was taking her to be looked at, he reached out to Sawyer and let him know what was going on at the house Sasha had been living in.

  Is she hurt badly, you think? He told him that he didn’t think so and that she kept telling him about dead people and wondering why he could see them. Do you?

  No. I saw what I think was a vampire because he disappeared not long after I got there. And a woman. I don’t remember catching her name. But Sasha seemed blown away—or more pissed, I’m not sure yet—that I could see both of them. Why the hell is that a big deal if I see anyone or not? I mean, Christ, it was like she has a one track mind. I think she got her head hit pretty hard.

  Chandler, she sees ghosts. And talks to them. If she’s asking you about why you can see them too, she’s being serious. Chandler was glad that he’d stopped the car in the parking space, or he didn’t want to think what might well have happened. You keep me informed about her ER visit, and I’ll see what I can figure out at her place. If it was a ghost, we can only assume that she’s helped someone, and that was what got him dead. It could be Bradley Riddle. The man killed his wife by drowning. He was killed today when the police tried to take him in for questioning. You might want to mention that to her, that Riddle is dead.

  I will. She mentioned that my name started with a C. What does that mean? He said that he didn’t know. I have a lot of unanswered questions here, along with a woman that can see ghosts.

  You might want to figure that out too, why you can see ghosts. Might be something there too. Sawyer asked if she was his mate.

  Mate? You bring that up now? Damn it, Sawyer. Just because you’re happily married with a kid
on the way, doesn’t mean that the entire world needs to follow suit. I don’t even have a place to live except with our parents. Why the fuck would a mate come along now?

  Sawyer was still laughing when he closed the connection. He was a fucking moron, that was what he was. When they took Sasha back to one of the rooms, he sat down in the waiting room to wait. Less than a minute later, he was brought to her, as she had asked for him. Chandler was just glad to have someplace to sit while he cleared up some things in his head. But the woman had more questions for him. Chandler had some of his own.

  “I was told that I wasn’t all that nice to you.” He didn’t agree or disagree with her. “Well, I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot of extra stress added to my plate today, and it’s making me short with people. You’re the second person to have called me snarky in the last few days. The other person was your brother. Him, I like.”

  “I do too. He’s calm and level headed. Unlike some people, I know.” She growled, and he growled right back at her. “Look. I was to bring you home for dinner. I heard you crying out, and I went into your home, intending to help you. The man that was standing over you with a bat disappeared, and yes, I saw him. The woman—I didn’t catch her name. I saw her too.” Hailey appeared in the room and smiled at them both.

  “Her name is Hailey Riddle.” Chandler told her about the man named Riddle and asked her if he could be the same family. “He’s her husband. The man who killed her. If he’s dead too, that explains why, if it was him, he was there to beat me to shit. Hailey, did you tell him who I was?”

  “No. I only said that I was glad that he’d gotten his just rewards. I didn’t say a word about you.” Chandler looked at the woman, and she smiled at him again. “I think he should see the real me, don’t you? I don’t know that it would make him any more believing, but it might be a step in the right direction.”