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

by Raines,Harmony

  “And you said you were the voice of experience.”

  “I am, just more of the down and dirty experience. I’ve worked hard, sacrificed my personal life, to take down people who like hurting others. I worked undercover, then the drug squad. I’ve seen the best and worst in people.”

  “Why Homicide?” she asked, setting the pan to boil.

  “Would you believe, because my partner, Liam, found his mate and wanted to settle down?”

  “His mate? Is that some kind of code for a boyfriend?”

  Joel chuckled. “No, his mate is all woman. They just got married, which is why I was the obvious choice for this job. I’m partner-less for a couple of weeks.”

  “So you switched departments when he got married?”

  “No, when he met her.”

  “So they married even though they had only just met?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shotgun wedding?” she asked.

  He laughed again. “It would have taken more than a shotgun to stop him marrying Carla. We’re an old-fashioned breed,” he said cryptically. “Once we see the woman we want, there is nothing, or no one, who will keep her from being ours.”

  He smiled and her insides turned to liquid fire, thinking that sharing a bedroom, hell, sharing a bed, with this man was the right thing to do. Even if it was just for a few days, or a few weeks, her body ached to find out what it would be like to play happy families with this man.

  The only thing that stopped her was she knew if she did, and he wanted her, she might very well be trapped for life.

  Chapter Nine – Joel

  “That was delicious,” he said, sitting back in his chair, and stretching. “I miss home-cooked meals.”

  “Glad you enjoyed it. You can be on dish duty,” Chrissie said, looking more relaxed. She had seemed a little tense after telling him about her family. It was probably something she kept to herself, and he couldn’t blame her; he had seen enough people with a past following them around to know escaping it was difficult.

  “Dishes it is,” he said, getting up and clearing the table.

  “While I have a cuddle with this young man,” Chrissie said, lifting Sam out of his high chair. “Soon you will be able to eat all the good things too.” She kissed his cheek, and sat him on her lap, bouncing him and talking to him as Joel left the room, smiling at the two of them.

  One day it would be their own child Chrissie would be making giggle. Although he was concerned over how Chrissie would feel when they had to hand Sam back, when Krieg was finally brought to justice.

  He took out his phone and dialed the station. “Landy?”

  “Hey, how are you and Mrs. McMillan?” Landy asked.

  “Funny. We’re good, settling in. I just thought I would check in, will you log this call?”

  “Sure,” Landy said and Joel could hear him logging on to his computer.

  “Any news about Krieg?”

  “Nope, we are trying to flush him out. With Sam out of the way, we figured it was time to bait him. Nothing. We set eyes all over the city, but nothing. He’s laying low, and the chances are they’ll just put Sam in the system under a new name. Hopefully he’ll get adopted and never learn the truth that his dad was responsible for his mom’s death.”

  “Listen, can I ask you something?” Joel lowered his voice.

  “OK. As long as it isn’t if you can sleep with my wife,” Landy said, but his voice was serious.

  “I know she only has eyes for you, you big hunk of man-meat,” Joel returned.

  “OK, it’s safe, ask away.”

  “The attack on Angela Manilla. You have proof it was Krieg?” He took a breath and tried to clarify what was working its way into his head. “I mean, I know it was a hit man, linked to Krieg, not Krieg himself, but you are sure he was the one who paid the piper, so to speak?”

  “You have someone else in mind?” Landy asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “I’ve logged the conversation,” Landy said. “Whatever you say now, will be between us.”

  “Can I trust you?” Joel had to ask.

  “Do you think I would invite you over for dinner if you couldn’t?” Landy asked, but there was no offense in his voice.

  “No. I had to ask, though.” He thought it over one last time, and then said, “What about the boss of social services? This Anderson guy.”

  Landy laughed down the phone. “Guy’s been a paragon of good behavior. Not even a speeding ticket.”

  “So you checked him out?” Joel asked.

  “Only a background check. Anderson is high up in social services, anything odd about him, they would know, surely,” Landy said. “Like I said, paragon of society. Really, I think you are way off the mark.”

  “Maybe, can’t be too careful though, huh?” Joel said, running the water into the sink. “Thanks, man.”

  “Pleasure. So what’s she like? I did a little digging on your Chrissie, as a background check, to make sure you were safe. Would hate to see you tied to the bed and taken advantage of, my friend.” Landy sounded as if he was fishing for information.

  “I would not say no,” Joel admitted, hating that Landy had been probing Chrissie’s background. “She told me about her father.”

  “She also tell you he had to file for bankruptcy, but someone bailed him out last minute? Saved them from losing their house.”

  “No, she left that part out.”

  “Watch your back, man.” Landy was full of concern. “Who knows what people will do for their only family.”

  “She wouldn’t…” Would she?

  “Listen, people do strange things when money is involved. You have the most experience out of all of us. Chief would not have let anyone else go on this. It’s why he also wanted to keep Anderson and Chrissie in the loop.”

  “Then why the lineup?”

  “To make it seem as though she picked you. Blend in, play the game, but keep one eye open. Did she point the finger at her boss?” Landy asked.

  “No, that was all me. Will you dig a bit more? It’s just a hunch, but he came here to the house. Old man down the street saw him. Maybe he is just being thorough in making sure Sam is safe, or maybe there’s more to it.”

  “Leave it with me. I’ll have a rummage through his life. You know I love finding juicy details people think are well-hidden. You might have the muscle, but I have the brains.”

  “Thanks. Let me know if you find anything,” Joel said.

  “You’ll be the first. After the chief, at least,” Landy said. “But watch your lady too.” Then Landy hung up.

  He wanted to tell Landy he could trust Chrissie completely, but it would sound false, since they had only met each other a few hours ago. Joel was glad Landy trusted him enough to look any deeper into Anderson’s background for him. A background check would have just scraped the surface, and why would they have gone further, when the guy was a paragon of society?

  While he washed the dishes, he thought it over. If nothing turned up on Anderson, he would play the long game, keep a low profile, keep Sam and Chrissie safe, and sooner or later, someone would break cover, and they would have the whole thing cleared up. Or Sam would end up in a foster home, with a new identity. Maybe that was for the best. Sooner or later Krieg would surface, and they’d get it out of him.

  Anyway, the longer it took to work out, the more time he had to spend here with Chrissie, playing happy families. And he planned to make sure they were very happy. He wanted to be the perfect man for her, so she couldn’t imagine life without him when it was time for them to leave. How did he do that?

  For him the bond, the need for her, was instant. Somehow he had to act as if he was falling in love with her, not as if it was tightly bonded love at first sight.

  “You OK in here?” she asked, coming into the kitchen with Sam in her arms.

  “Yes, just finishing up. Can I get you anything?” he asked, wiping the surfaces down.

  “No, I am going to feed Sam. Then I am going to
bed. It might be a long night trying to get this little one settled. You might want to put some cotton balls in your ears,” she said lightly.

  “But then I won’t be able to hear if someone breaks into the house.”

  “The alarm is on. Anyway, no one followed us, and hardly anyone knows we are here, we have to be safe for one night.” Her eyes caught his. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes.” He dried his hands, while she warmed the bottle. “I pro…”

  “I know. You promised. And I am grateful. Truly.” She grabbed the bottle and then came towards him, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Joel. I’m glad you’re here.”

  He cleared his throat, the emotion of her lips on his skin almost too much. “I’m glad I’m here too.

  Chapter Ten – Chrissie

  Sleeping in a strange house had always been a problem for Chrissie. Tonight was no exception. She tossed and turned, listening to the house and the noises from the street outside, hearing Joel’s warning in her head every time she shut her eyes.

  Sometime after she had come to bed, Chrissie heard Joel go around the house and check the doors and windows. Twice. He was like an animal on the prowl, coming up the stairs softly, making little noise, despite his big bulky body. She could imagine him walking on tiptoes, being careful of every floorboard that might creak under his weight and wake her or Sam.

  Then she heard his bedroom door open, and the bed creak under his weight. He was there; she and Sam were safe. This comforted her and she slipped off to sleep, only to be awakened, what felt like immediately, by a hand over her mouth.

  Struggling, she opened her eyes and looked up into Joel’s concerned face. He put his finger to his lips and motioned her not to scream. She nodded, her eyes wide, both with shock and trying to focus in the dim light.

  Slowly, he took his hand away, and then bent to whisper in her ear. “There’s someone trying to get into the house.”

  She went cold, shuddering despite the heat of the blankets covering her, and the nearness of his body. “How do you know?” Her ears strained against the silence and heard nothing, making her wonder if he was making the whole thing up.

  “I heard the front door being unlocked.” Backing away from her so she could sit up.

  “Unlocked,” she hissed. “How can someone have a key?”

  “You tell me?”

  “You think this is to do with me?” she asked, pushing him away.

  “No.” She saw him shake his head in the dim light. “But this is an inside job. So did you tell anyone we were coming here?”

  “No one.” Chrissie still hadn’t heard any noise, other than a car driving along the street outside. “It might be your imagination. And if it isn’t, they’ll trigger the alarm and backup will get here. We can keep Sam safe.”

  He shook his head again. “Can’t you hear that? The alarm code is being entered.”

  “What!” She listened, but only the sound of her own heartbeat, mingled with his, sounded in her ears. He was so close, his breath caressed her skin, and she would only have to reach out, and turn his head a little for his lips to be next to hers.

  If only that was why he had come to her room. Instead, her heart clenched in her chest as she heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening, and someone stepping inside.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  “Stay here,” he said. “Be ready in case we need to run. But don’t wake Sam. It would be helpful if he didn’t cry, so I can hear better.”

  “Please be careful, you don’t know if whoever is down there has a gun.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Come back to me, Joel.”

  “I will.” Then he did something spontaneous: he turned his head, his eyes fixed on hers, before they dipped to look at her lips, and he bent forward and kissed her. So soft, so brief, and then he was gone.

  Like a ghost, he slipped out of the bedroom, and she heard only a faint creak as his foot touched the first stair tread. She waited, hardly breathing as she listened for any clue as to what might unfold. Then it came, the sound of an electrical charge. A Taser.

  “Shit,” she muttered, and was out of bed, dragging on her hoodie as she went to the bedroom door and looked out. She couldn’t just stand by and let Joel have his throat slit while he was lying prone on the ground.

  Only he wasn’t prone on the ground. At the bottom of the stairs, a fight was breaking out, a shadow fight, between two men. She pulled back, her brain trying to make sense of what was happening. How could they possibly have been found? And what was she going to do about the situation?

  She looked again, assessing the fight between the two men. One the unmistakable size of Joel, the other smaller, weaker, had a Taser in his hand, aiming it at Joel. She rushed down the stairs, trying to keep on her feet, and flew at the smaller man; only Joel had already knocked the weapon out of his hand.

  Then he knocked two teeth out of his mouth for good measure.

  Her forward momentum meant she couldn’t stop, and she slid down the last two stairs, to be caught in Joel’s arms as he scooped her up.

  “Are you OK?” he asked, holding her against his chest.

  “Am I OK? What about you? He Tasered you. I heard it.”

  “It was nothing. I’ve been hit by one of those before, it will take more than a shock like that to bring me down.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. He nodded, and then she wriggled in his arms. “You can put me down now.”

  “Sure. Sorry,” he said setting her feet on the ground, but his hands lingered on her waist, as though he was afraid of letting her go.

  “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad you’re built like a tank.”

  He chuckled. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

  “You should.” She took a step closer and leaned over the guy who was knocked out on the floor; then she looked at the front door. “He had a key?”

  “Looks that way. And the alarm code.” Joel stepped over his attacker, and went to the door, stepping outside to look around. With a sigh, he shouldered the door shut, and then said, “Looks as if he was alone, or if there was an accomplice, he’s gone.”

  “So what now? We call the police?” Chrissie asked.

  “First, I’m going to secure this guy, then you and I need to have a talk before we alert the authorities.”

  She frowned, not sure what he meant by a talk. “Shouldn’t we call the police first?” There was something wrong, he was looking at her sideways, assessing her.

  It was the face of doubt.

  “Give me a hand.” Joel went and rummaged through the cupboards, looking for anything they could use to bind the hands of the unconscious man.

  “This?” She held up some garden twine that she had found at the back of a cupboard.

  “Should hold. If not, we can always Taser him to subdue him. I’m sure it would feel good to take out some frustration on him.” Joel cocked his head and smiled, telling her he was joking, which relieved her; after all, torture was against her morals. But if anyone deserved to be made to pay, this man did, and she intended to make sure he went through the justice system and got put away for a long time.

  “Do you think he’s the one who killed Angela?” Chrissie asked.

  “There’s a good chance.” There was that look again, as he glanced up at her, while twisting the twine around the man’s wrists.

  “So now will you tell me why we haven’t called the police?” She folded her arms, as if to protect herself from what he was going to say. It wasn’t going to be good, she could sense it. His usual relaxed body was tense—understandable since he had just been in a fight, but the tension was aimed at her. He was unsure of her. But why?

  “I called the station earlier.” He began rubbing his hands together as if they were cold.

  “To check in,” she said nodding.

  “Yes, to let them know we got here OK, and that we were settled. Normal practice.”

  “Of cours
e.”

  His hands went through his hair; he was trying to put off saying what was on his mind. She wanted to yell at him to spill, to let her know what was wrong, because she was certain something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “I was told that your dad filed for bankruptcy.”

  She paled. Of all the words out of his mouth, why this, why now, when someone had been sent to hurt them, and steal Sam away? “My dad? What has he got to do with this?” she asked, angry that she had shared personal information with a stranger who had gone digging for dirt.

  “Hey. Hold on. Hear me out.” He came towards her, hooked his hand under her arm and led her to the sitting room, putting the Taser in his pocket.

  “Hear you out? That stuff is personal, and this is work.”

  “Are those two things in any way linked?” he asked.

  “Linked? I’m sorry, did I fall asleep and wake up in an alternate universe? My life is private; this is my job. Separate. Not joined.” She used her hands to emphasize the point she was trying to make.

  “Don’t get mad. Not with me. I believe you.”

  “You believe me. Well, thanks! But that implies someone else doesn’t.” Hands on hips, chin stuck forward, she said defiantly, “Out with it. All of it.”

  “Landy did a background check on you. He found that your dad had recently filed for bankruptcy. And someone bailed him out.”

  Still not making the connection, she shook her head. The whole thing had been so traumatic for her parents. In trying to help her husband have a better quality of life, Chrissie’s mom had spent all their money, and not realized it. She thought they were living off the interest of their investments, but they were using up capital faster than it could be replaced when the recession hit.

  Joel’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “It happened at the same time as Angela got killed.” This last piece slotted into place, and she gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

  “You think I sold her out? To Krieg? To bail out my parents.” Shaking her head, she turned to leave the room, but he was too fast for her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him.

  “It’s not what I think. Hell, it’s not what Landy thinks. But it’s what it looks like.”