“Joel. You need to calm down a little. You’ve only just transferred to Homicide,” Harry said.
“Isn’t that the point?” Joel argued. “I know how to handle myself in this situation. I’m not a pen pusher, a guy who looks down a microscope to see the evidence. I’ve been out there gathering it, getting my hands dirty.”
“We gather evidence,” Harry said, puffing his chest out, although he was no match for Joel, who had to be at least six four, and with so much muscle he could snap poor Harry in two.
Which was not going to happen. The testosterone in the room needed defusing before it exploded in a fistfight.
“OK. Thanks.” She smiled brightly and moved to stand between Harry and Joel. This posturing was getting them nowhere. “Chief, I think we’re done here.”
The chief, who had been leaning against the wall, a smile on his face, straightened up. “Sorry, Chrissie, I was enjoying the show.”
She wanted to tell him this wasn’t a show, that the whole thing was deadly serious, but she didn’t; she simply wanted to take the baby and get out of there. If she could have gone alone, she would have. But she was sensible enough to know it wasn’t safe for her out there alone, she needed one of these men to watch her back. That made her decision clear. Harry might be the kind of guy she would chose for a date. Safe. But Joel was the kind of guy who could look after himself, and the baby.
And me, she thought, a small shudder passing through her. There was something dangerous about him, something intense, something in any other circumstance she would run away from. Far away.
“So what’s it to be, Chrissie?” The chief looked at her expectantly, but not half as expectantly, or as eagerly, as Joel. He knew who she would choose, knew he was the best candidate for the job, and she so wanted to blurt out, Harry.
She didn’t. “Thanks for offering to help, Harry.” Harry’s face dropped, and he slung a sideways glance at Joel that was none-too-friendly. At least for his part, Joel didn’t stand there and crow like a rooster, although he certainly pushed his chest out like one. Chrissie sighed; she was going to regret this. Or maybe she would be more than grateful for his strong arms and broad chest before this thing was over. However long that was going to take.
Chapter Three – Joel
Relief flooded through his veins, and inside his head, his bear sighed with relief and settled back down. Throughout their interview his bear had stood alert, muscles bunched, preparing to break free and tear Harry’s head off if he got too close to their mate.
This might be a problem. He wasn’t used to having to battle with his bear for control. Normally they worked well together, a team, both wanting to make the world a better, safer place, for humans and shifters alike.
If anything, Joel was a big squishy teddy bear at heart, always wanting to make people happy, which was what made his job so rewarding. Getting scum off the streets, whose life seemed to consist of spreading unhappiness, was what he came to work for. Some people didn’t deserve to walk this earth freely, and his life’s mission had always been about putting a stop to them.
He had clashed with Harry, because he wanted to help protect the baby as much as he wanted to spend time with Chrissie, his mate. OK, so that might be stretching the truth a little. Spending time with his new mate was always going to be his priority, but he also knew he was the best option for keeping Sam safe. His enhanced hearing and sight might well be the thing that kept Sam from falling into the hands of his father.
Normally he was a strong advocate for children living with their parents but this was definitely an exception. Although babysitting wasn’t exactly what he thought he’d be doing when he transferred to Homicide with Liam, his partner.
Liam. Now he knew why his partner in crime fighting had been willing to give up his old life for a safer work environment, one where you went home at night after work. Their days of being holed up God knows where undercover were over.
“If you’re ready?” the chief asked.
“Yes. Sorry.” He dived to open the door when Chrissie moved towards it, nearly knocking her over, but she hid a small smile, rather than huffing at him again. A small breakthrough.
“Thank you,” she said, softly, but it nearly blew him away. There was a sexy lilt to her voice, and her eyes connected with his for the briefest moment, before she looked away and walked out, with the chief hot on her heels.
Or had he imagined the whole thing? Hallucinating. Wishful thinking, maybe. He shook his head, chastising himself. He had to keep it together, or she would be safer with Harry looking after her. And he was sure Harry couldn’t protect anyone if the going got as bad as it might with this case.
The manner in which Angela Manilla died meant they were in danger. If the same person came after Sam, he had to be ready; he had to be on his guard at all times. His bear shuffled around and agreed with him, sitting with his nose lifted into the air as if scenting for danger.
That’s better, we need to work together, he told his bear.
I know, his bear replied.
Joel only hoped if trouble came their way, his bear would behave and not risk them being exposed. A bear running loose around the city would surely cause questions that would need answers he could not give. It would also put our mate in danger, he reminded his bear. This time he got no answer.
“Joel. I hope you give Chrissie everything she needs,” the chief said.
Joel tried to stop himself conjuring up a vision of what he thought Chrissie might hopefully need from him. It involved her naked on a bed. A snort from Landy told Joel he had been eavesdropping, both on what the chief was saying and on what Joel was thinking. He let his features relax, hoping Chrissie hadn’t read the open lust too.
“I will try my best, Chief.” His composure was returning. “So what’s the first thing on the agenda?”
They were walking along the corridor, leaving his usual surroundings behind, and heading downstairs to the holding cells and interview rooms. Chrissie answered, “First, we fetch Sam. He’s being looked after down here by my boss, Mr. Anderson. Then I guess we drive back to your place so you can pack.”
“Chrissie has been debriefed, and she’ll pass that information on to you. Rather than you both hanging around here, we wanted to get you on the move.” The chief turned and gave him a look, which concerned him.
“That bad?” Joel asked.
Another look passed between Chrissie and the chief. Then Chrissie spoke. “We have reason to believe there is a mole.”
He raised his eyebrows and whistled. “A mole in the department?”
“I’m not saying it is our department. But the safe-house where Angela was should not have been discovered. This should never have happened.” The chief shook his head. “Never happened before, not on my watch, which is why I’ve gone to great lengths to get it right this time. I have personally overseen the whole setup. Only four people will know exactly where you are staying. I wanted it to be three… Anyway. This time Sam will be safe.”
“I hope so. For Sam’s sake. We can’t allow a repeat of last time.” She looked at him nervously, and her hard façade looked as if it was about to crack. Then she glanced once more at the chief and pressed her lips together, leaving whatever was on her mind unsaid.
It was OK, there would be time for that later. When she trusted him, he would get her to tell him all the details. He needed to know exactly what he was up against. This Krieg had a reach that went all too far, and all too deep, if there really was a mole. That idea didn’t sit easy with him. Loyalty was one of his strongest traits. It was a bear thing.
Although he hated the idea of Chrissie been in any danger, he was already beginning to hope the guy made a bid to capture the baby, just so that Joel could bite his head off.
His bear was influencing his thoughts again. Damn it. No biting off heads.
Unless it’s the last resort?
Unless it’s the last resort, he conceded, knowing he would do whatever it took to protect Chrissie. And the most ad
orable baby, whom he had just set eyes on.
“Well, aren’t you the cutest?” he asked, and yes, he did put on a cooing voice, babies did that to him, it was involuntary.
“This is Sam,” Chrissie said softly, going to the carrier that Sam was strapped into, and lifting him out.
Joel’s throat contracted. There was his mate, holding a baby, and his whole world centered in on them. This was what he had longed for, had waited for. It didn’t matter that Sam wasn’t his: he would protect them with his life.
But he would be OK with it not coming down to that.
Chapter Four – Chrissie
His reaction to Sam was not what she expected. He genuinely seemed to like the baby, which was a relief; she had dreaded being stuck with a man who was good at the protection side of this case, but who would moan every time he lost an hour of his beauty sleep to a crying baby.
“Want to hold him?” Chrissie asked, knowing this was the real test, anyone could say coochie, coochie coo convincingly, but a baby usually had some inbuilt sense of who genuinely liked them and who didn’t.
Sam had a knack for not liking people. For some reason, that included her boss, who had been babysitting Sam while Chrissie had been meeting her potential partners. When Sam had first been held by Mr. Anderson, he had burst into tears, something he repeated every time her boss tried to pick him up.
Sam must be the only person in the world who didn’t appreciate the man who had seen countless babies just like Sam have better, safer lives. So while Mr. Anderson had been looking after him in the cell, he had rocked him in the carrier, rather than picking him up and making him bawl his heart out. Chrissie blamed it on the trauma of the night his mom was killed, but in truth, Sam hadn’t liked Mr. Anderson even before that.
The theory it was because he didn’t like strange men—and Angela had been around a lot of strange men in Sam’s very short life—was about to be put to the test.
“Sure,” Joel said, holding out his strong, well-defined arms to Sam, who wriggled in delight. They liked each other. Chrissie didn’t let her eyes drift to Mr. Anderson, who was watching the whole exchange from his seat.
Sam giggled, and Joel blew a raspberry, which the baby appreciated immensely. Great, two kids. Seems like she was going to be outnumbered once they got settled, if these two boys made silly mischief together. Although, she liked that Joel made Sam happy, it was what he needed. Sam lifted his small, chubby hand to stroke Joel’s stubbly chin. Big blue baby eyes widened at the roughness of it, and then he sighed and tried again, this time breaking into a toothless smile.
“He likes you, Joel, seems you’ve missed your calling,” the chief said, looking around the room, satisfied his part in this was over.
Mr. Anderson stood up, and came to stand next to Chrissie. “It looks as if you are ready to leave, Princess.”
Chrissie let the names wash over her. She’d gotten used to Mr. Anderson having pet names for all his staff, since they were usually said with affection, but since he had started using the name Princess a couple of weeks ago, it had been said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yes, I’d like to get Sam settled. He’s due a feed, and then he should sleep.”
“We can feed him at my place,” Joel said, casting Mr. Anderson a look that said he wasn’t too keen on the man either.
“A princess and a knight in shining armor, Sam shouldn’t want for anything more,” Mr. Anderson smiled. It looked genuine, but there was something off about him. Of course, he too was worried about what might happen to Sam; after all, Angela had been murdered on his watch.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Anderson, we’ll take good care of him.” Chrissie smiled and nodded at her boss.
“I’m sure you’ll try.” He edged towards the door. “All the release papers have been signed. I must get back to work.”
“Bye.” She tilted her head. He hadn’t been his usual self for a couple of weeks. She couldn’t blame him: his wife had been ill lately and there were rumors he was going to take early retirement next year, on an obscene pension.
“Goodbye.” He nodded to them all, and shook the police chief’s hand, before leaving the room.
Joel didn’t say a word; he simply bristled like some oversized version of a barbarian in modern clothing. Yes, she could just see Joel in a loincloth, running around the plains with a sword in his hand. The guy had something primitive, primal even, about him.
She’d also like to see what he had hiding under his loincloth. To see if it matched up to the impressive stature of the rest of him.
There was a small vulnerable child present, so her obsession with a naked Joel had to stop. She could only put it down to her biological clock going into overdrive since her sister had her first child. It had brought her own life into focus. Her heart ached for a baby of her own, but her life had no room for a man, let alone a child. The career she had chosen was so that she could protect the weak and vulnerable. So that she could stop others being victims, and never have to watch a loved one get hurt.
But lately, the wall she had built around her heart was being worn away by the need for all the things she had denied herself since she was six years old.
“OK, Chrissie, if you are ready, we should leave,” Joel said, bringing her back to the room. “Or do you want to stare at my chest for a few minutes longer.”
She stiffened, bristling outwardly as she tried to put on a scowl. “I was thinking… You just happened to be in the way.”
“Well, if you have finished thinking, do you want to leave?” He took a couple of steps towards the baby carrier, sat a still-smiling Sam in it, and began to do up the straps.
Trying to do her job, and wanting to make sure he knew how the harness worked, she moved closer to him, feeling the heat of his body though her clothes. Sexy as hell. And just as dangerous. She suspected Joel was a ladies’ man and if she wound up in his bed, it would be no more than a notch on his post. She had to keep her feelings under control. She might not have had sex for over a year, but that did not mean jumping into bed with a man like Joel was a good idea, or a good career choice. She intended to prove herself on this job, in the hope she would be sent on similar jobs in the future.
“Do you want to check I’ve done it right?” he asked.
At first she thought he was being sarcastic because she was hovering over his shoulder, but then he added, “It’s different to the one my niece has, and I do not want any harm to come to Sam if I’ve done it up wrong.”
She softened, and leaned in to check the straps. “Perfect.”
“Here are the keys. The address is on this cell phone. If you have any problems, use this to call in. We have your personal cell phone number too, Chrissie. One of you will phone in every day, make sure the entry is logged. In an emergency, this is the number we’ll use. Keep it with you at all times. Got it?” The chief handed everything to Chrissie and she put everything in her purse.
“Yes,” Joel nodded, confidently, and she was relieved she had such an old hand at going undercover with her.
“Good luck. The house was picked at random, by me. No one will know you are there.”
“Unless you have a mole?” Chrissie asked.
The chief shook his head. “I have taken more precautions on this one. That is why you only have Joel with you. Less people to be noticed, you’ll look like any other new family. If I sent two men with you, people might talk.” He winked at Chrissie, and she smiled.
He gave off a good vibe, and seemed like a nice guy, but even nice guys could be selling out to Krieg. Was he the mole? With his sincerity a cover for the truth? Since the murder of Angela, she had looked at the world differently, at other people differently. At first, she had even looked at Mr. Anderson as a suspect, but he had been distraught at Angela’s death, and she quickly realized she was being paranoid and her thoughts lacked the loyalty he deserved.
“Then let’s go for a ride, young Sam,” Joel said, lifting the baby carrier as if it were empty, not filled wit
h a small, chubby baby. “See you on the other side, Chief.”
“Take care, all of you,” the chief said, a worried look in his eyes, which she chose to ignore; they had to deal in facts, not personal hunches, if they were going to stay safe.
“My car is outside,” she said.
“I thought we could take mine,” he answered easily as they walked down the corridor, Joel leading the way, while she followed, a nervousness building in her stomach. Once they were out of this door, it would be just the two of them against the world. Two people against the mob Krieg might send after them.
“I’m a highly trained emergency response driver.”
“And I’m a highly trained social worker.”
“Your point?” he asked, stopping to look at her. At least he wasn’t steamrolling over her.
“My point is that if anything happens, you would be free to fight someone off, while I drive.”
“Good point. But I still think my truck would be better.”
“Your truck?” she looked around the parking lot. “That one?” She pointed to a large pickup truck that was battered and bruised by too much wear. “Inconspicuous, isn’t it?”
“And your car?” he asked.
She pointed to her small, black Nissan. “There.”
“Blends in, all right.” He sighed, and she could almost read his thoughts. He would have to practically fold himself in two to get into her car. “Listen. You follow me back to my place, and then we’ll decide.”
“Sure,” she said, not wanting to draw attention to them in such an open place. She looked around, expecting someone to be watching them. Paranoia was her friend, she reminded herself.
“You OK?” he asked. He looked around too, but there was no one there.
“Yeah. Just a little paranoid.”
“Understandable, considering the circumstances.” He automatically put his hand on her upper arm, as if to comfort her, and then he jerked back as if she has shocked him. Had she? It was as if some kind of static electricity passed between them.
Baby Protector Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 4) Page 2
