Big Bear Papa: BBW Werebear Surprise Baby Romance (Sweetwater Father Bears)

by Anya Nowlan

  When he finally looked up, she carried on with her story, voice shaking a little.

  “Samantha Rowland was murdered the night we met. Before she was killed, she ran into me in the street and handed me Ava, begging me to keep her daughter safe. She was panicky, hysterical. She only told me to keep Ava safe before running off.”

  Carlie paused for a moment, the images of Samantha’s face twisted in anguish replaying in her mind.

  “I went after her, only to find her dead in an alley.”

  “The police think you kidnapped Ava,” Devlin said, placing the phone on the table and interlocking his fingers, his brows furrowed now. “Why did you run?”

  “Because the man that was here tonight was also at the crime scene... His name is Silas and he’s the lead detective on the case. He saw me with Ava and the look he had in his eyes…”

  Carlie swallowed drily, shaking her head. It sounded insane when she said it out loud – that she ran because the man looked at her wrong. But she knew what she felt when it happened and no one could tell her that she’d made the wrong decision. In her heart, she knew that running had been the only way to go.

  “I knew he had something to do with it. The body hadn’t even been identified, yet he started coming towards me, like he wanted to take Ava.”

  And now he’s here.

  Devlin nodded slowly. Carlie felt like her heart was up in her throat, beating so hard it just might choke her.

  “The news stories say Samantha was practically torn to pieces… A lion shifter could definitely do that,” Devlin remarked, rubbing his jaw.

  Carlie perked up in her seat, her mind going a mile a minute.

  “So you believe me?”

  The slight smile that crossed over Devlin’s features was the sweetest thing she’d seen in a long time.

  “Of course I believe you. Why would Detective Silas break in here in the middle of the night if there wasn’t something shady going on? He obviously wants to handle this himself, quietly, or we’d have a bunch of cops breaking down the door right now, dragging you in for questioning and me for aiding and abetting.”

  Sagging in relief, Carlie buried her face in her hands. Everything Devlin was saying made sense, she had just been too scared of messing up everything between them to even consider logic.

  It’s like I’m trying to make this as hard as possible on myself! she thought with frustration.

  Running her hands through her hair, she looked back up at him.

  “I wanted to tell you everything, but I was too afraid. The cops in St. Louis already have me pegged as a criminal, and I couldn’t take the chance you wouldn’t believe me.”

  In a way, Silas showing up had helped her prove her innocence, if only to Devlin. Now she just had the rest of the country to worry about. What if they wouldn’t believe her, though? What if they’d take Ava?

  She knew it sounded insane, but though Carlie was well aware she was not the girl’s mother, she certainly felt like it. She felt responsible for the baby girl, and the possibility of losing her was just unthinkable.

  “I get it. You were thinking about Ava,” he said, reaching across the table and holding out his big palm to her.

  Putting her shaking hand in his, Carlie even managed a smile. She was still in a hell of a mess, but at least now she had an ally. Devlin finally knowing the truth was a weight off her chest, even as the thought of Silas, lurking somewhere out there, nagged at her brain.

  The moment they shared seemed to go on forever, and then end far too abruptly. Carlie would have been perfectly happy simply getting lost in Devlin’s eyes for a while longer, instead of having to face the real world.

  “Now, we need to figure this out. Why would Silas kill that woman and come after Ava, what’s the connection?” Devlin asked, squeezing her fingers.

  Carlie worried her lower lip, shaking her head slightly.

  “I’ve been looking around online, trying to find out more about Samantha. I haven’t found anything useful, but I didn’t get to checking if there’s anything about Detective Silas out there before you got home.”

  “Well, now you don’t have to hide things anymore. We can figure this out together.”

  “Okay,” Carlie nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

  Devlin was being so calm and cool about everything, yet she couldn’t help but get emotional. Even though she was more than happy that Devlin was being so understanding, she also felt bad for dragging him into this.

  She already cared for him, maybe even too much, and Silas was a police officer and a shifter. This time, Devlin had caught the crooked cop off guard, but next time, he might not be so lucky. It wasn’t fair to be dragging him into her mess.

  “Oh no, don’t even think about it,” Devlin warned, wagging a finger at her.

  “Think about what?” Carlie asked.

  “I can see those gears turning and the way you’re looking at me. You’re not going to get rid of me. The time for running is over. We are going to face that scumbag together. Now let’s get to it.”

  Carlie’s mouth fell open at his words. Devlin chuckled at that, obviously amused by the incredulous look on her face.

  Damn. Maybe he can read minds.

  “Alright,” she said, picking up her phone. “We can start with looking up Detective Silas, see if anything jumps out or if he’s been accused of anything. Like taking bribes. Maybe he’s being paid off by someone.”

  “Hiring a cop for murder? Kind of perfect when you think about it,” Devlin shrugged, scooting his chair closer to hers.

  They both got out their phones and went to work. Even though what they were doing was nerve-wracking and serious, Carlie couldn’t help but feel a little giddy, conspiring together with Devlin. It felt like a load had been lifted off her shoulders, now that she was no longer alone in all of this.

  There wasn’t really much on Silas, just the occasional article where he gave a statement about one case or another. But there was something that caught Carlie’s eye.

  A picture popped up from an event geared towards gaining additional funding for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

  And who would be front and center, smiling at the camera in his fancy suit, but Easton Rowland himself.

  Well, whaddya know.

  “That’s Samantha’s husband, right there,” she said pointing at the small screen excitedly. “I looked him up before, and he did seem fishy, but this could really connect him to Silas. From what I gathered, he’s controlling when it comes to women and there were rumors that Samantha was cheating on him.”

  Devlin perked up noticeably at that.

  “If the rumors were true, he could have hired Silas to take her out.”

  “He can afford to buy off just about anyone, that’s for sure.”

  Resting her head on her hand, Carlie ran through everything she knew so far while looking at the picture intently. Something wasn’t adding up.

  “Come on, share. What’s going on in that pretty little head?”

  Carlie roused from her musings, blinking the haze away as she looked at Devlin. Even at a time like this, he looked entirely too scrumptious to be true.

  How’d I stumble into him? I thought my luck was crap, but he’s living proof that this is not true…

  “It’s just that when I saw Samantha, she looked like she had been chased out of the house. She didn’t have a jacket on or anything, because her priority had probably been to grab Ava. And the way she begged me to take Ava, I figured the little one was in danger, too. Would Easton really put his own daughter’s life in jeopardy?”

  “You did say there were cheating rumors,” Devlin commented, letting the meaning of that sentence float in the air.

  “What are you saying? That Ava might not be Easton’s daughter? But she’s still an innocent baby… You really think anyone could be that cold?”

  “He hired a shifter to kill his wife. I’m not really sure what the man is capable of. At this point, we can’t r
ule anything out,” Devlin said grimly.

  Carlie could feel her blood run cold. Things were looking pretty ugly, and all she could think about was keeping Ava safe.

  It was going to be a tough task, now that Silas knew exactly where to find her.

  Twelve

  Devlin

  “What do we do now? We can’t stay here, not when Silas knows where we are,” Carlie said, pacing around the small kitchen.

  Devlin’s eyes followed her, momentarily getting distracted by the sway of her wide, luscious hips. He had to drag himself back into the moment almost forcefully.

  She’s right. My first priority is to get her and Ava somewhere Silas wouldn’t know to look and where there would be someone to look after them…

  The solution presented itself to him quick enough. It seemed like since he’d gotten out of Miami, all his reflexes and mental faculties were working twice as well. Or maybe it was just the fact that he finally had the right woman by his side that was making him so sharp and on point…

  “I have an idea. I ran into the Alpha while I was in town. He’s probably looked me up by now and found out my father was part of the Grimpaw clan. That kind of makes us brothers.”

  Carlie spun around, a spark of hope in her eyes.

  “You think he’d help us?”

  “If he believes our story.”

  He didn’t doubt it for a second, but he wasn’t exactly unbiased. Reading Carlie came easily to him, and then there was the connection they shared. It was clear to him now – she was definitely his mate.

  It probably wouldn’t take much for any other shifter to see it, too, which could work in their favor if people trusted his judgment. He couldn’t hide how smitten he was, or the way he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Carlie and he didn’t want to.

  But, at the same time that meant him believing her didn’t carry that much weight, if people didn’t trust his judgment. And why would they? He was a stranger to them.

  Of course he would take his mate’s side, every shifter would, no matter how dire the actual problem was.

  The Grimpaws could easily go to the cops after he told them what was going on, and Silas might not be the only one Easton had bought off. Who knew how many others were involved?

  Devlin didn’t have anyone else to turn to in this town. If Silas came for him with backup, and he didn’t have the Grimpaws on his side, it would be game over.

  Yet, it was the only plan that had a shot of working. He would have to lay it all out to Ethan, bear to bear, and hope it was enough to get the man on his side.

  “It’s the only option we have, isn’t it?” Carlie asked softly, stopping her pacing to walk to his side and wrap his arms around his waist.

  “Short of running. But with your face out there, plastered on every screen, and the fact he already found you once… That’s what happened in the gas station, didn’t it? That’s why you hugged me, because you were on the news.”

  She looked sheepish for a moment, making Devlin chuckle and shake his head. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tighter.

  “At least you think on your feet well.”

  Carlie sighed and Devlin stood up, with Carlie resting her head on his chest.

  Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she started to sag against him, her eyelids heavy. It was still the middle of the night, and they hadn’t done much sleeping, anyway. He could function fine with only a couple of hours, but she needed to get some rest if they were going to face this thing head on.

  “Go back to bed,” he murmured, stroking her back. “I’ll stay up and keep watch. Nothing is getting through that door, believe me.”

  Not alive, at least.

  The sun had already been up for a couple of hours when Carlie emerged from the bedroom. Devlin was still sitting in one of the armchairs, facing the front door. He had heard nothing unusual for the rest of the night. Even Ava hadn’t fussed once.

  “You’re still awake,” she commented, covering her yawn.

  She looked as cute as a button, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her hair a wild mess around her head. He liked being the first thing she saw in the morning. With any luck, it would become an everyday thing.

  Now I’m getting ahead of myself.

  Carlie shuffled over and he patted his thighs before stretching out his arms.

  “I told you I’d keep watch,” he smiled, as she curled up in his lap.

  He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her against him, laying kisses on her bare skin where he could. They stayed like that for a while, stuck to each other, until Ava’s cries signaled the little one was awake and ready for breakfast.

  “I’ll handle it. Then we can get on with our plan,” Devlin said, allowing Carlie to slowly disentangle herself from him.

  He hated letting her go, but Ava’s cries were as powerful as his desire to keep contact going with Carlie. In a way, they’d already become a part of him that he couldn’t dream of ignoring or living without. It was uncanny and entirely surprising to the young bear.

  Carlie looked worried as she went to get dressed and ready. They had run through their course of action before Carlie went back to bed, and he could tell she was still a little hesitant about it all. So was he, to be honest, but they had both agreed it was their best bet.

  After getting breakfast over with, they packed a small bag filled with Ava’s stuff and got in the car, heading towards town. A quick search on Ethan Grimpaw revealed he ran a construction company in town, which was where they were headed.

  Carlie kept her head down low as they drove towards Ethan’s office, hidden behind a pair of his sunglasses and wearing a baseball cap for good measure. Silas already knew she was in town, but they didn’t need anyone contacting the local law enforcement. That would only complicate an already messy situation, even if the local sheriff was supposedly a good man.

  “Here we go,” he muttered as he climbed out of the vehicle and opened the door to the back seat.

  Devlin grabbed Ava’s car seat as Carlie scrambled out. He wrapped an arm around Carlie’s waist and rushed the three of them inside, briskly passing any curious workers on his way to Ethan. Fortunately, his office wasn’t that hard to find.

  The name next to the door was a big help.

  He had to still his curiosity and keep from looking around too much. The smell of wood getting worked on and the sounds of construction were music to his ears. If the situation was different, he might have been at Ethan’s door with an entirely different request, one that was far easier to deliver. This was exactly the kind of place he’d love to work at – tight-knit and well-run.

  But there were more important matters to deal with at the moment than his future employment.

  He could hear Carlie hold her breath next to him as he knocked on the door, hoping Ethan wasn’t out on a call or taking a sick day – though that almost never happened with werebears. Seconds ticked by before the door finally swung open, revealing a surprised-looking Ethan staring back at them.

  “Hey. Sorry to barge in, but we need to talk,” Devlin said, already pushing past the man and dragging Carlie with him.

  The less they were in public the better. A man as big as he, along with a Latina as hot as Carlie and a baby in a car seat was really hard to not notice, after all.

  Closing the door after them, Ethan crossed his arms, looking from him to Carlie to the baby.

  “Okay, what’s going on here?” he asked, focusing on Devlin.

  “We need your help,” Devlin answered stiffly, but the man’s attention was already on Carlie.

  She had taken off her sunglasses and was shaking her hair loose from under the cap, and recognition flashed across Ethan’s eyes.

  “You’re the girl from the news,” he said flatly.

  “It’s not what you think,” Devlin rushed to explain. “Can you hear us out?”

  Ethan was more than a little skeptical as he sized them up, who knows what was going through his head. In the end, it was
probably their kinship that stopped him from picking up the phone and calling the cops right there and then.

  “Fine. You better start talking.”

  Ethan crossed over to his desk and fell into the leather chair behind it, motioning for Carlie and Devlin to take a seat as well. Giving Carlie’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze, Devlin sunk into the offered chair, adrenaline pounding through his veins. Carlie was holding Ava in her arms, rocking her back and forth slowly, her face nearly ashen.

  Taking turns, Devlin and Carlie laid out the whole story, from beginning to end, from Samantha’s murder to Silas’ late night visit, with Devlin tossing the badge on the table after they were done. Having asked a couple of questions along the road, Ethan now grew silent, mulling it all over as he sat at his desk, a scowl etched on his face.

  “One of my brothers did tell me he smelled a lion around town,” he finally said, tapping a finger on his chin. “Alright, say I believe you. What do you want from me?”

  “We need to finish this with Silas, but we need Ava out of harm’s way. She needs to be with someone who will protect her even if Silas somehow catches on to our plan and sniffs her out,” Devlin explained, reaching over the divide between the seats to take Carlie’s hand in his.

  “I see. And that someone is me?”

  “That’s what we were hoping.”

  Turning his attention to Ava, Ethan stared at the baby for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. He didn’t look particularly convinced, but he hadn’t kicked them out yet. That had to be a good sign, right?

  “I’ll keep her safe. Whether you’re being on the level with me or not, little Ava doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of this. And my mate will love having a baby in the house again,” he finished with a grin. “But I’m warning you. If this story isn’t as you’ve told it, I will not be able or willing to protect anyone but that little girl. Understood?”