Baby Protector Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 4)

by Raines,Harmony

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Foreword

  Chapter One – Joel

  Chapter Two – Chrissie

  Chapter Three – Joel

  Chapter Four – Chrissie

  Chapter Five – Joel

  Chapter Six – Chrissie

  Chapter Seven – Joel

  Chapter Eight – Chrissie

  Chapter Nine – Joel

  Chapter Ten – Chrissie

  Chapter Eleven – Joel

  Chapter Twelve – Chrissie

  Chapter Thirteen – Joel

  Chapter Fourteen – Chrissie

  Chapter Fifteen – Joel

  Chapter Sixteen – Chrissie

  Chapter Seventeen – Joel

  Chapter Eighteen – Chrissie

  Chapter Nineteen – Joel

  Get In Touch

  Also By Harmony Raines

  Baby

  Protector Bear

  ***

  All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  © 2016 Harmony Raines

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  Baby Protector Bear

  Joel has been a protector of people his whole life. Now the stakes have been raised. When his mate offers to protect baby Sam, he has no choice but to volunteer to stand by her side. One look at her luscious curvy body tells him he’d like to lie in her bed too.

  But this is serious, this is life or death. Yet being around her makes his bear a little unpredictable, and he knows he would rip the head off any man who even thinks about hurting her. Can he control himself, and claim his mate?

  Chrissie has witnessed, first hand, how a family can be torn apart when bad things happen. It’s a guilt that has followed her around since she was six years old. It’s molded her life, made her the woman she is today—who is not the woman her mother would like her to be.

  Born into a wealthy family, she should be a society wife, like her sister, instead she works for social services, helping wherever she can. Only this time, she isn’t just changing someone else’s life, she is risking her own.

  When faced with a choice of who is going to help protect baby Sam, she picks Joel, big and tough, the kind of man you’d want by your side in a fight. The only problem is, the way he looks at her, she’s sure he’s thinking he’d like to be next to her in her bed too.

  Not happening. No way. Never. Relationships and marriage are her sister’s thing.

  So why does he make her heart skip, and other parts of her body want to melt right into him?

  Common sense tells her to choose someone else. But Joel makes it clear he is doing the choosing. And he doesn’t plan on ever letting her go.

  Chapter One – Joel

  “There’s a rumor going around that one of us will have to babysit that poor kid from the Krieg case,” Johnson said, walking into the office and sitting down at his desk.

  “The Krieg case?” Joel asked. He had been working at bringing down drug dealers for last few years, with some stints undercover. His recent move to Homicide meant he wasn’t up to speed with all of the recent cases.

  “Angela Manilla. Got her throat slit last week. Double tragedy: her mom walked in while the perp was still on the scene, raised the alarm, and delayed him long enough for us to get there. Unfortunately, the mother went into shock and had a heart attack. She’s now in the hospital, not expected to make it. Angela’s baby was the target.”

  “How do you know the perp meant to take him, and not just kill him?” Joel asked.

  “Because he was known to us. Hired hand for Krieg.” Johnson looked across to Joel. “Meanest son-of-a-bitch that ever got put on this planet. I’d say born on this planet, but the guy was spawned by the devil, if you ask me.”

  “Johnson’s biased. Got stung by Krieg when he was a rookie,” his partner, Landy, said, shaking his head.

  “And I have been meaning to bring that guy down ever since. Doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as normal people,” Johnson looked as if he’d like to spit, but saved it. Instead he settled for scowling. “One day I’m going to get him.”

  “Krieg made Johnson puke on his first day. Cut a woman up real bad, didn’t he?” Landy asked, although he must have heard the same story a thousand times. These two had been partners for five years. Five years was a long time to get to know someone.

  Joel thought of his own partner, Liam, the reason he had transferred to Homicide. They had worked together for nearly seven years, and knew each other inside and out. He hid his smile, knowing it wasn’t appropriate, considering the topic of conversation, but Liam was off on his honeymoon with his new mate, Carla, and Joel couldn’t be happier for him.

  Of course, Joel’s shifter side was a complete secret; the only person who knew was his old boss—and someone well up the food chain, but Joel didn’t have his name, just his number. With strict instructions it was for emergencies only.

  “So why did Krieg want the baby?” Joel asked, picking up the conversation.

  “Kid’s his. Angela was trying to get away from him, wanted to raise the kid to be good. Not some punk who cuts up women. She was staying with the baby and her mom in a safe-house, social services were helping her, that’s where the leak came from, if you ask me. Terrible. She should have been safe, but instead, got her throat cut.” Johnson looked pale. Reliving old crimes did that to a person. Didn’t matter how much distance you put between you and the crime, how many years went by, they could still hit you square in the gut and make you want to puke all over again.

  “I’ll get you some coffee.” Joel stood up, not wanting to hear about women with their throats cut. There were enough of those kinds of victims in his own head without having to carry the burden of someone else’s.

  Taking his time, he sauntered over to the coffee machine and punched in Johnson’s usual. One thing he had learned when he was a rookie, was make sure you knew how your close colleagues liked their coffee. It got your foot in the door, your face remembered, and one day might well save your ass.

  You wanted these guys on your side. He sighed. Those were more the rules for the undercover drug squad than Homicide. Here he was supposed to use his brain to find the perpetrator, not his nose. Yep, as a bear, he had actually been called on, on more than one occasion, to use his heightened sense of smell to uncover the goods. Here it would be different: no one knew about Liam and Joel’s special gift.

  The things you do for a steady job and the chance to make the world a better place.

  Picking up the first coffee, he leaned against the wall, giving himself a few minutes of peace before he went back to Johnson and Landy. With Liam away, he was tagging along with them for a couple of weeks, and although he liked them a lot, he wasn’t comfortable being aroun
d them all the time, and he knew they felt the same.

  When two people work closely together they fall into a particular rhythm, and having Joel around was adding an extra beat to that rhythm.

  He heard Johnson laugh. That was better: Landy had gotten him away from thinking about women with their throats cut. What he wouldn’t give to be able to rid the world of men who hurt women. Or who hurt children. He couldn’t imagine a small, innocent baby being brought up by a monster who would teach him to be evil.

  A child should be brought up to respect life, and all those around him, whether shifter or human. That was what his father had taught him until the day he died.

  Death. That seemed to be on his mind a lot lately. Not exactly healthy. Maybe he was coming down with something. His neck tingled at that thought. Yes, definitely something wrong with him, and it was getting worse by the minute. He looked at the coffee in his cup. Machine coffee wasn’t the best, but it had never made him ill before.

  Joel stood up. His hands were clammy, and a sense of nervous energy came over him. Had he been drugged? Was this what it was like? Damn it! What if someone knew he was a shifter and had some of the drug Niq It and now he was poisoned, about to bond with the first person he saw?

  He closed his eyes, not wanting that to happen. If he had to, he would crawl around with his eyes closed until he found his true mate. But how would he know? Panic filled him; his life was about to spin out of control.

  “Hey, McMillan. Come on, the Chief needs a word. The Krieg thing is a go.”

  Joel nodded, but he kept his eyes closed. He was not going to be bonded to Johnson. No way.

  “McMillan. You OK?” Landy was there too. Shit! Landy grabbed Joel and placed one hand on either side of his face. “Look at me, man. Hey, look at me.” Landy began to tap his face. “Frank, let’s get him to the doc.”

  “I’m fine. I have something in my eye, that’s all.”

  “OK, open it. Let me have a look. This one?” Landy’s thumb was on his eyelid, trying to open it.

  “I’m fine. Honestly.” Joel tried to push Landy away.

  “You either open your eye and let me look at it, or I am taking you to the doc.”

  “OK. Give me a second.” Joel managed to push Landy away, and then turned his back to the two men, so he now faced the wall. Then he gently prised his eyes open. All he had to do now was get out of there without directly looking at someone, because the sensations covering his body were telling him something was wrong.

  “Right, if I could have everyone’s attention. That includes you three out there. I know you maybe have better things to do, but this is important. I want to introduce you to Chrissie Cartwright. Chrissie has volunteered to look after the Krieg baby and go into hiding with one of you lucky guys. Chrissie, welcome.”

  “Thank you, Inspector,” a soft, sensitive voice said.

  “Oh, I’m ditching you and volunteering for this job,” Landy said, with a low whistle. “Curves in all, and I mean all, the right places.”

  Joel’s eyes flew open. It didn’t matter where he looked; he hadn’t been drugged. Her voice had confirmed what his body had been trying to tell him. His mate had just walked into the room.

  And the only lucky man in here was Joel McMillan.

  Chapter Two – Chrissie

  Fun. Standing here in front of fifteen men and a handful of women reminded Chrissie of the time her mom had persuaded her to give herself away, for one date, at a charity auction. Let’s hope this ends better than that little escapade.

  There was nothing worse than spending an uncomfortable five hours with Ryan Hargreaves, who had been crushing on you since third grade, and who you loved dearly, but not in the way he wanted. He’d seen this date as his big chance, but by the time it was over she had crushed his crush completely.

  “Right. Before we delve into what this entails, I’m going to want a short list of names. I know that for many of you, leaving your family to protect a child for an unknown length of time is not possible. So don’t feel bad, or obliged.”

  Way to sell it, she thought. Although he was right. Not only did she not want someone to give up their family for her and Sam, she didn’t want them to give up their life either. Maybe it would be better if she simply took the baby and disappeared on her own. Somewhere this Krieg monster would not be able to find her. If such a place was possible to find.

  Angela had thought she was safe. They had provided Angela, Sam and her mom with a safe house, promised them Krieg couldn’t know where they were hiding, and then, bam, Angela was dead.

  Chrissie focused on her breathing, not needing to conjure up the nightmare image of Angela bleeding out on the floor, or her mom, Camilla, lying in her own daughter’s blood, clutching her heart, while the man who had committed the crime grabbed Sam and made for the door. She hated to think where Sam would be now if the police hadn’t arrived in time. Camilla had been incredibly brave to have taken him on, when her daughter was already dead.

  Chrissie had spent many sleepless nights trying to get rid of that image, and the thoughts of the life Sam would have if Krieg ever got his hands on his son.

  Focus. A word that seemed impossible right now. She had volunteered for this, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for all her task involved. Not only was she going into hiding, but she was about to become the full-time mother of a small child who had just lost his real mom.

  Sam might only be six months old, and would thankfully not remember that terrible night. But he still missed his mom, the woman whose face, whose smell and voice meant everything to him. She had been the one to comfort him when he cried, to feed him when he was hungry, and now he was going to get Chrissie. About as inexperienced when it came to babies as you could get. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know exactly what they needed, it was her ability to deliver it that worried her.

  She’d held her baby niece, said all the right things when she had told her sister, Kelly, how lucky she was. But deep down inside, having a family had never been Chrissie’s top priority. Kelly was maternal; Chrissie was not. At least, not that she would admit. Instead, she told herself she was a career woman, who wanted to work at helping lots of people, lots of vulnerable people, like Angela and Sam.

  Of course, for Kelly, it helped that she married one of the richest men in the county. Ryan Hargreaves, once he realized Chrissie was not going to be his wife, had noticed her younger sister. And who wouldn’t? Kelly was fresh out of college and a beautiful, confident young woman. They made a good match, and were blissfully happy. Which made Chrissie blissfully happy. Chrissie now admitted she loved Ryan, but in a purely platonic way, because he made Kelly so happy, and he had been so generous to the rest of the family when they needed his support.

  “OK. Let’s take this somewhere cozier, shall we?” Police Chief Riley was saying to the five men who were volunteering to come on baby protection duty with her.

  She must be mad. As if having to become a mom overnight was not bad enough, she was going to have to do it all in the company of a man she didn’t know. Remembering her promise to Angela the day before she died, she shook off her reservations and told herself to suck it up. She’d sworn she would never let Krieg get his hands on Sam, and she meant to uphold that promise. Whatever happened.

  “Landy.” One of the men offered her his hand, and she took it, smiling, despite him holding onto it a second or two longer than was appropriate.

  “Chrissie. Good to meet you. Thanks for volunteering.”

  “My pleasure.” He lowered his voice. “I am willing to play mommies and daddies anytime.”

  “Landy, you know how serious this is. Now get out,” the police chief said. “Anyone else thinking this is an easy ride should know better. We are up against one of the meanest pieces-of-shit, excuse my language, Chrissie, on this planet. He’s small-town and small-minded. He will not stop if he wants that child. And we know he wants him.”

  Landy left the room. Another guy stalked out too, and she turned her he
ad slightly to watch them talking outside. Partners. It was probably best they stuck together. So that left three.

  “OK. Let’s do a quick interview. Who wants to go first?”

  One of the guys stepped forward. He was intense, his eyes fixed on her, making her want to squirm a little. She didn’t. Reminding herself that she wasn’t allowed to play at mommies and daddies either.

  “Name’s Joel McMillan. My partner is on his honeymoon, so I have the time. And I have worked extensively undercover for more years than I like to remember. So I think I would be the best man for the job.” He half smiled, his eyes aflame and something inside told Chrissie she could trust him with her life.

  She had never lived her life on intuition. This was not the time to start.

  “Thanks, Joel.” She looked across to the next guy, but Joel was still stood in front of her. She looked back to him and smiled. “You can sit down.”

  He started at her words, as if he had been someplace else, not fully present in the room. Then he turned abruptly and sat down, leaving her concerned about his personality. So that left two.

  “I’m Harry. I take all my work very seriously. My sister has a baby, so I’m a hands-on kind of guy.”

  “Have you ever worked in the field?” Joel asked, butting in. “Have you ever had to live and breathe as someone else?”

  “N… No,” Harry said, his eyes darting to Chrissie and then back to Joel. “No. I haven’t.”

  “Ever pulled a gun on someone knowing you could shoot them if you had to?”

  “No.”

  “And you…” Joel stood up and squared up to the last guy. “Have you ever pulled the trigger?”

  “Listen. It might not come to that…”

  “But it might,” said Joel. He turned to Chrissie. “So you want someone there who can look after himself, because that’s the only way someone will look after you and the baby.”