The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 178: Chapter 178

“I believe so, yes,” Pierce said, trying to recall.
“Motherfucker,” Leo growled. “Marion Bixby is a known alias for Tom Perry. That Lion is a disgrace. His rap sheet is a mile long petty theft, burglary, forgery, fraud. What does he have to do with this?”
“Marion Bixby is Toni’s boss,” Adrianna added.
“He’s the bastard who brought the humans to Pride lands to have Toni arrested,” Pierce growled.
“I thought Maggie was her boss,” Leo returned, talking over Adrianna.
“No, she got promoted, remember?” Adrianna told Leo.
Her golden eyes were so similar to her sister’s it hurt Pierce to look at her.
Fuck. Toni. Toni. Where are you?
Pierce’s Tiger was roaring inside him. He tried to locate any hint of a matebond, but it was too faint without them performing the whole ritual of biting and marking each other. He could have screamed his frustration, but who would that help?
This was not a time to be selfish. Toni needed him. He turned to look at Adrianna, who was shaking his arm. Her eyes were wide open, and it looked like she was on the verge of putting two and two together.
“What is it Ade?” Pierce asked.
“Leo, you said Perry. Tom Perry, right?” Adrianna asked, licking her lips nervously.
“Yeah, I did, why?” the big Lion asked, walking over to the two of them.
“Ade? Do you know something?” Pierce asked, taking her by the shoulders.
“There was a managerial overhaul when Ms. Pierce became CEO. All new people, some department changes. If Bixby’s name really is Perry, then this is starting to make sense,” Adrianna muttered.
“Here, let me pull up the file I have on him and his known associates,” Leo grunted. The Lion pulled a Toughbook out of his briefcase.
“This is Pride, not police issued. I’ve got records of all known supernatural offenders and anyone they work with. This database is still in its early stages, but supernatural agencies are starting to share information, and with the help of Graves Enterprises and Draco Fortis software developments, we are on the cusp of cooperation the likes of which the supernatural world has never seen,” Leo explained and started pulling up files.
“That’s very interesting,” Adrianna said, eyes wide.
“Found him! Seems he works scams with a relative, a nephew,” Leo growled when he found Bixby’s file. Pierce leaned over the guy’s shoulder, speed reading the page.
“Shit. That’s what I thought,” Adrianna whispered, and her face fell.
“Motherfucker. His nephew’s name is Stefan?” Pierce asked, his beast clawing the shit out of him.
“Yep, all those crimes I mentioned before, but it seems he recently moved up to embezzlement and corporate espionage. This fucker is a real piece of work. Yeah, Stefan Perry is his nephew, and one of his known associates. The guy has his own rap sheet, including assault and battery on a few exes. Why?”
“I’m going to hunt that motherfucker if he touches one hair on her head,” Pierce snarled, fighting to control his Tiger.
“What the hell is going on?” Leo asked.
“Stefan Perry is Toni’s ex-boyfriend. They dated about a year ago, but he’s been harassing her nonstop. He is a real piece of shit,” Adrianna supplied.
“What the fuck? This guy was still bothering Toni?”
“Yeah, I haven’t even told her about the deliveries of dead roses, rotten meat, torn up pictures of her,” Adrianna murmured.
“Ade, why would you hide that?” Annabeth asked, rubbing her protruding belly with tears swimming in her eyes.
“Easy, baby,” Hank said to her and held his mate while she cried.
“Because she was finally going out again. And she agreed to talk to Uncle Uzzi. Look, I am sorry, I didn’t know he would do this. I just, you guys, you didn’t see how hard it was on her being with that guy. He took the light right out of her eyes, and I couldn’t let him get his hooks in her again,” Adrianna stated, shoulders shaking as she sobbed.
“Okay, I just texted some buddies, they are searching for Stefan now. So let me run through this,” Leo said. “First, Toni gets promoted to a new department and is given a huge opportunity. Second, there is some discrepancy over the job she did, and she gets suspended by her boss, Marion Bixby, aka Tom Perry. Third, she gets arrested.”
“Yeah, but this whole thing where he accused her of being negligent with the ad campaign is bullshit. Toni would never do a shoddy job,” Ariella chirped in.
“I don’t doubt that,” Leo said. “But we are missing something.”
“Let’s find that fucker, force him to shift, and wax all the fur from his stupid body,” Ariella, one of the pregnant Golden girls, growled angrily.
“Good idea, Ari, but one minute, okay? Lemme get this straight.” Sheila, Leo’s mate, began pacing as she spoke.
“That pussy Stefan tried to bully our girl into mating him, playing on her insecurities, being a dick, and when she said no, he waited to exact his revenge by having his uncle make her look incompetent at best and criminal at worst?”
“No,” Pierce said, joining the discussion. “He is taking his revenge by kidnapping her and forcing her to take his bite. We know he is abusive. We know he has beaten women, one who later died of her wounds. Those women were human. Toni is different. She is a challenge. She is a Shifter like him, so she can take more. He wants to hurt her,” growled Pierce.
“Not if we hurt him first,” Adrianna snarled.
Pierce looked at her and nodded. He was totally on board with that. All he knew was he needed to find his mate. Now.
“Brother, anything you need, we are here for you,” Hunter told him.
Having the support of his Neta and his Pride, the Lions too, made all the difference. Pierce nodded, and they got to work. Tracking that soon-to-be-dead asshole was not easy, but Pierce had every confidence they would be successful.
There was literally no other option. Everyone there was either on the phone or on their laptop, emailing and calling contacts across the Garden State.
“What does he want? Revenge? Money? That POS! He better not hurt one hair on my sugar cub!” Patricia wailed.
“How the hell did Marion Bixby get a job at EWLP? Dad?” Leo turned to his father.
The two Lion males shook their heads, each on the phone with assistants and special ops people. Pierce felt fucking powerless, and he hated it. Standing at the corner of the Pride House, Pierce crossed his arms and looked into the woods. That was odd. He thought he saw something peering at him through the leaves.
“Yes? Ah ha! Good,” Uncle Uzzi walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. “Yes. Where is he? Great. We will see you in a few minutes,” the man said.
“Uncle Uzzi, what is it? Did something happen?” Pierce asked, his attention on the older male.
“Contacts in Barvale have discovered our Mr. Bixby and are now detaining him,” he said, mouth turned down in a moue of distaste. “They are bringing in someone to interview him.”
“Interview him?” Adrianna asked.
“It is better you do not know,” Uncle Uzzi replied gently, though his face was hard as stone.
The minutes ticked by slowly, and Pierce felt as though he was losing his mind. He walked to the end of the property, hands on top of his head, hissing a slow breath. There it was again. The sound of something just beyond the stand of trees that signaled the start of the forest. That land stretched for a few miles, leading up to the base of Mount Maverick.
It was wild, thick, beautiful land, owned by the Pride for over a century now. As Neta, Hunter was the caretaker of that sacred place, and his Tigers, like Pierce, took it upon them to keep it safe and protected. It added insult to injury that Toni was taken from him on their lands. Pierce’s head was flooded with emotions.
Anger, fear, and blind fury the strongest among them. He needed her back.
“Yogi?” Pierce whispered, shocked at the giant black bear who lumbered slowly towards him.
The animal grunted and growled, head low as he pressed it into Pierce’s side. Silly beast was probably looking for Toni. Had he walked this far just to find the Shifter he was smitten with? Pierce closed his eyes and reached out, petting the animal.
“I want her, too, buddy. Wait. What the?”
Pierce’s eyes flashed as he took his hand away from the bear’s matted fur. It was sticky and warm, wet with something. He sniffed. Shit. Blood. The big animal collapsed, moaning softly, his breathing labored, and Pierce yelled for help.
“Fuck. Oh fuck, Come on Yogi,” he growled.
“What is it?”
“Get Mikey! The bear’s been mauled. Fuck, shit, no Yogi, hold on,” he cried out.
Leo, Uncle Uzzi, and the rest of them joined him, racing to where Pierce was leaning over the bear. He ripped off his shirt and pressed it against one of the animal’s wounds.
“What bear?” Hunter asked, running to see the problem.
“This bear. He’s been attacked, mauled. We need to help him!”
“I’ve called Mikey,” Elissa said, jogging next to them. “But Pierce, what does this have to do⁠—”
“This bear is in love with Toni. First time I saw her she was wrestling the thing for a bag of cookies,” he said, a ghost of a grin on his face.
“Yep, that sounds like Toni,” Adrianna sniffed, ripping the bottom of her shirt, and holding it on another of the bear’s injuries.
“Gods, he’s been ripped up,” Ariella murmured.
“He’s a brave old guy, aren’t you, Yogi?” Pierce said.
He leaned down, sniffing the bear’s fur. It wasn’t just the bear’s blood he scented. There was Lion blood mixed in and beyond that, the smell of peaches and honey.
Toni.
Pierce knew beyond a doubt the bear had found Toni, and he’d tried to protect her. Uncle Uzzi’s phone rang, and while the man took it, Pierce made up his mind. All in, he was all in when it came to Toni.
“You are a courageous, bold, total badass, woman,” Pierce grunted and kissed the moaning animal’s head.
“Pierce?” Hunter asked as Mikey came running with supplies.
“What’s happened?” the Pride healer asked.
“Smell that?” Pierce asked Hunter, his gaze flicking to Leo’s.
“That’s Lion blood,” the detective growled.
“Yep. Male Lion. This bear is a hero. He’s been brawling with the motherfucker who stole Toni. Now, I’m gonna follow his trail back to her,” Pierce told them.
“Bixby just confessed to the Barvale Clan Enforcer. He and his nephew set Toni up for a fall. He was supposed to take her from her house, but she wasn’t there, so he hired two human mercenaries to act as officers and arrest her. Their job was to bring her to Stefan, but Bixby doesn’t know where they were meeting.”
“It would have to be close,” Leo said, nodding at the bear.
“Pierce?” Adrianna called. “Where are you going?”
“I’m gonna go hunt down that sonofabitch and I’m gonna bring my mate home,” he growled, tearing off his clothes as he headed to the tree line.
“Not alone, you’re not,” she muttered as Pierce’s Tiger ripped out of him.
The sounds of the others shifting reached his ears, but he was already on the move. The bear’s scent was fresh in the air, all he had to do was follow the trail.
Hold on, pretty girl. I’m coming for you.