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

by Raines,Harmony

  “The guy is still a criminal. He might not get custody.”

  “Then he’ll go into foster care. What if he never ends up with a mommy and daddy of his own? If the truth of what happened is in his file, what if no-one wants him?”

  “I know someone who wants him. And they are sitting right here.”

  “Us?” she asked, shocked.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t even know you,” she said, pulling back from him.

  “We are mates. You saw my bear, and you know you are the only woman for me.”

  “But…” She looked at Sam, and back to Joel. “I never imagined being a wife and mother, never. It wasn’t something I ever wanted.”

  “And now?” He stroked her face, and then kissed her lips lightly.

  “You have broken me, Joel McMillan.”

  “No, Chrissie, I think I put you back together.” Then he kissed her, a long, lingering kiss that would have to sustain him until this was over. But he could wait, and then he was going to ask for some time off so he could make love to her over and over.

  Chapter Eighteen – Chrissie

  “One thing I am going to insist on, once this is over, is that you get a bigger car.”

  Chrissie stifled a giggle as he peeled himself out of the passenger seat and then straightened up slowly. Despite the danger they were currently in, on the journey back to the city, she had felt lighter than she had for a while. Joel had opened up a part of her that had been sealed off for a long time.

  In those first few months after her dad stopped being her rock, her protector, her six-year-old self had convinced herself that it was now her role in the family. Her mom was so busy getting the best care for her dad, that Chrissie had become the one who looked after Kelly, made sure she had a bedtime story, even if she had to make it up because she couldn’t read all the words yet.

  At school, it was Chrissie who made sure Kelly had her lunch, handed her homework in, and fought her battles in the schoolyard. Chrissie had grown up being the sensible one, the one who wasn’t allowed to show weakness, and who wasn’t allowed to think of her own future, when there were three other futures to take care of.

  By the age of thirteen, she was cooking most of the meals, while her mom continued researching a way to bring back the man she loved. The help they had always had, a cook, gardener and cleaner were long gone, the money saved on wages diverted into the care fund for her father.

  “I think it’s cozy,” she said sweetly.

  “I’ll have to teach you the meaning of the word cozy later,” he said, going to the back door and taking Sam out. “Come on, my friend, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

  “What about the key?” Chrissie asked. “Don’t we have to go and get it?”

  “Nope,” Joel said, walking up the path to the front door. “Here, you hold Sam, and I will get it.” He walked over to a plant pot and lifted it up. Under it was a key.”

  “And you told me off for leaving my GPS in the car. I mean, that is the first place anyone will look.” Chrissie shifted Sam on to her other hip, waiting for Joel to open the door.

  “This house is surrounded by police. Anyone even sniffing around here would be arrested.”

  Joel unlocked the door, and they went in; they hadn’t made it to the kitchen before his phone sounded. Welcome home. L

  “I take it back,” she said, restraining her urge to go and look out of the windows to see if she could spot the officers watching the house. “This does creep me out, though.”

  “Hey, we could go upstairs and make love with the curtains open.” He kissed her cheek, but she shoved him away.

  “You are joking?” she asked.

  He pulled her close. “Most definitely, I am not sharing you with anyone. Ever. Not even a peek at those luscious breasts of yours.”

  “Language,” she said, covering Sam’s ears. “Sam’s first words are going to be bad words.”

  “Sorry.” He kissed her all the same, and then sighed. “I’m going to make some coffee, and then we can settle in and wait for things to kick off. Now that we are back, Landy said they will let Anderson have his phone, and we wait to see if he contacts us.”

  “What if he gives up? What if Anderson realizes how bad this is and goes straight for the rest of his life?” Chrissie asked.

  “We have to hope that he doesn’t. Either that or we have to find the guy who killed Angela. They have his DNA, they just have to find him and make the match.” He was putting the coffee pot on, while she warmed a bottle for Sam.

  “So many ifs. What if we can’t adopt Sam because of this?” She had set her heart on having the little boy in her life and watching him grow up. Joel had opened her heart and now it needed to be filled with love, which she could shower on the small, wriggling child in her arms.

  “Don’t add any more ifs to the list. I don’t think the Chief is going to be willing to let this go. One way or another, he is going to pin it on Anderson. We have time, we just need patience.”

  “I know.” She blew the air out of her lungs, and then took a deep breath. “OK, diaper change, and then we can settle down to this nice, warm bottle of milk. Do you like the sound of that, Sam?”

  She took him into the sitting room, taking in the sparse furnishings, which almost matched the last house. Beige sofa, two chairs, hardwood floors, easy to clean, and a couple of pictures on the wall of bland country scenes. A fireplace, swept clean and little used, was the only thing with the potential to add cheer to the room.

  “We won’t be here for long,” she told Sam. “Then you can come and live with me. And Joel. Which will be weird, because I am used to living on my own. But we’ll muddle through. Yes, we will.” She smiled and shook her head at Sam, who reached up to touch her hair, smiling.

  She was so preoccupied with his gorgeous smile that it didn’t register her phone was ringing. It was Mr. Anderson.

  “Damn it. Joel,” she called, and he was there, next to her inhumanly fast. “What do I do?”

  “One moment.” He dug out his phone and texted Landy. “They’ll record it.”

  “How?” she hissed as if Mr. Anderson might be able to hear her talking before she had answered the call.

  “The tech guys have had his phone.” He nodded. “Now.”

  She answered the phone. “Hello, Mr. Anderson?” She knew she sounded breathless. “Sorry, I left my phone in my bedroom. It’s good to hear from you. I was worried when you didn’t phone.”

  “It was stolen. I didn’t have your number. How are you, Chrissie? How is Sam?” He sounded off, his voice strained.

  “We’re OK now. You heard about the attack the other night?” she asked.

  “I did. That was why I was so worried. I wanted to come and see you, but the police wouldn’t let me have the address. And my phone was stolen. For some reason the number we have on record didn’t match yours.”

  “Oh. I see.” What was she supposed to say? She shrugged at Joel, who motioned for her to keep him talking. “I think they are being super-careful.”

  “So they suspect me?” he asked suddenly.

  “Not specifically, I’m sure.” She winced at her words, they sounded stilted, as if she thought he was guilty. Pulling on all her years of experience, she said, “Mr. Anderson, the police are doing their job. You understand how important that is.”

  “I do.” His phone beeped, telling him he was receiving another call. A moment’s pause, and then he said, “I have to take this. I’ll call you back.”

  The call ended, and she slumped forward. “Do you think he believed me?”

  “Yes. But I think he’s under so much stress, he’s about to break.”

  “Break? How?” She thought of Mr. Anderson and all the good he had done, and could not equate him with the man who had destroyed Angela’s life. Not for money.

  “I’m not sure. But I am going to check all the windows and doors, and make sure Landy has us fastened down tight.”

  He got up and went
to move away, when Chrissie’s phone rang once more. “It’s Anderson.”

  “I think we’re about to hear his end game.” He texted Landy, and then gave her a thumbs-up.

  “Hello, Mr. Anderson, I didn’t expect you to call back so soon.”

  “I want to see Sam, to make sure he is all right.” His voice was quiet.

  “I can’t tell you the address,” Chrissie said.

  “No. I understand that, and I can’t come there anyway, can I? Not when the police are waiting.”

  Silence. She mouthed, he knows, to Joel, who nodded, not looking surprised.

  “They are protecting Sam. Just like you and I are protecting him,” she said.

  “Haven’t I always been honest with you, Chrissie?” he asked.

  He called her Chrissie. The last time he had called her that was when he interviewed her for the job. This was bad. “I thought so.”

  “Well, I’ll be honest now.”

  “Go on,” she said softly.

  “I got myself into trouble. It was Angela’s fault, really. She told me Krieg had a bounty on them. A big bounty, because he wanted her back so badly. Or at least the baby back. I believed her, and I thought, why not. After all, I have worked all my life to help others, and they were going to take it away from me. All those years…”

  “I know, and it sucks. But was it worth Angela dying? Is it worth Sam’s life being ruined?”

  “It’s too late, all of it is out of my hands. You see, I hired someone… All he was supposed to do was take Sam, and bring him to me. He said he knew Krieg, and he could set up a deal. But he slit her throat…” Mr. Anderson sobbed into the phone.

  “You didn’t ask him to kill her?”

  “No. I wouldn’t.”

  “Then why not go to the authorities, why not end this?”

  “I tried, but he told me if I did, I would find my wife with a red smile too. And she’s been through so much. But I can’t afford the drugs on the pension I’m going to get… What am I supposed to do?”

  “Mr. Anderson. Let’s finish it now. I’ll come get you and take you to the police station. They’ll keep Mrs. Anderson safe, I promise.”

  “You can’t. You have to take Sam to the police officer’s home.”

  “Why?” Fingers of cold dread stroked her spine, and she wanted to hang up, and not hear another word, because Chrissie knew it was about to get worse.

  “He has a girl called Beth. He says if you aren’t there in half an hour, he’ll start cutting her. He wants his money, he wants to sell the baby to Krieg, and he’ll do what it takes to make that happen.”

  She struggled to keep from being sick. This couldn’t be happening, they had planned for everything based on Anderson coming for the baby.

  Looking up at Joel, she saw his face deathly pale, and then he snapped to attention and was on his feet, his fingers hitting the keypad on his phone as he dialed Landy’s number.

  Chapter Nineteen – Joel

  “I want you to stay here,” Joel said, heading for the door. “Look after Sam.”

  “No. You cannot go in there without a baby.” She put Sam in the carrier, and picked it up, grabbing his bottle as she followed Joel.

  “We are not taking Sam in there.” Joel was horrified she would even contemplate taking Sam to the maniac who had Beth.

  “We aren’t going to. I have a plan. But we have to stop by a toy store on the way.”

  “What?” Joel asked.

  “Trust me. Now let’s go.” In the baby carrier, Sam began to cry. “Great, you are going to have to air those lungs for a few minutes, baby, and then you can have your nice milk. Which means you get to drive.”

  She threw the keys at Joel, and then placed the baby carrier in the car, strapping it in, before sliding in beside Sam. Then she took out her phone and recorded the sound of Sam crying.

  “What the hell are you doing, woman?” he asked as the car screeched down the road. She would need a new car by the time she got it back at this rate; the small Nissan was not built for this kind of use.

  “Shh. And drive slower, just for a few minutes.” Sam cried louder, and when he looked in the mirror, he could see Chrissie looked happy he was crying. She had her phone by his mouth, and then he realized what they were going to do.

  Decoy.

  ***

  “This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” Chrissie said, as they walked up the drive to Joel’s house.

  “You could have stayed with Sam and Landy down the street.” He held the baby carrier in his hand, a toy doll’s head poking out, and tried to gauge if it was about the right weight. He thought it was near enough to fool the man who had Beth, if he picked it up.

  “We’re mates, right: you said that meant we stick together, through everything. And now you are asking me to bail at the first hint of danger.”

  “This wasn’t what I was expecting when I dreamed of bringing you back to my house. I had visions of taking you up to bed, not having a maniac with a knife waiting for us.”

  “Then let’s get him out of your house.” She took his hand as they approached the door.

  “Am I supposed to knock?” he asked, his hand poised, but before he did, the door opened and Beth stood there, a knife to her neck.

  His bear roared in Joel’s head and wanted to emerge, all bristling fur and sharp teeth, to rid them of this threat, but Joel kept control, knowing that one wrong move and Beth would suffer.

  “Baby?” the man, who was mostly hidden behind Beth asked.

  “In the carrier,” Joel said through gritted teeth. “So let the girl go.”

  “No, she’s my insurance. She’s how I plan to get out of here.”

  “No,” Chrissie said. “Let her go and you can take me. I know Sam, I can feed him and stop him from crying.”

  Right on cue, Sam’s cries filled the air, loud and insistent. “Shut him up,” the guy yelled.

  The crying lasted a few more minutes, while Chrissie spoke to Sam and calmed him. “You see, you need me.”

  “Chrissie, no,” Joel said.

  “You know I have to.” Chrissie’s hand curled around the baby carrier, and she nodded at him. He relinquished his grip, his nerves on edge. If this played out wrong, if something happened to Chrissie, he would never forgive himself, or be able to live with himself.

  “A trade. You let Beth go.” Chrissie stepped forward. “Two for the price of one. Better odds, don’t you think?”

  “In.” He motioned to Chrissie, and she slipped in through the doorway. “You, back off. Right off.”

  Joel fought the urge to lunge at him, to test his speed and reflexes against this scum of the earth. But he did as he was told, taking two steps back, then three, his eyes fixed on Beth, nodding to her, willing her to know it was all right. He hated to see her puffy face, to know how scared she must have been.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Marie standing in her front window, a police officer by her side, and he wanted her to know it was OK, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Beth. Then the teenager was pushed forward, nearly falling to the ground, but Joel caught her.

  “It’s OK.”

  “I’m so sorry, Joel. He was waiting inside.”

  “It’s not your fault,” he said quickly. “Now run home.”

  He pushed Beth away, urging her to get out of there and she scrabbled along the ground, before getting her feet under her. The front door of her house opened and she went in, the door slamming behind her.

  “Just us now,” Joel said.

  “We’re coming out.” The guy had the knife at Chrissie’s neck, and Joel saw her put her hand in her pocket, and then a crackling sound filled the air, and the monster’s legs buckled under him and he went down.

  “I so want to kick him in the balls,” Chrissie said through gritted teeth. “Maybe I should have Tasered him there instead.”

  Joel rushed to her, grabbing hold of her and not letting go, until the other police officers, including Landy, arri
ved on the scene and arrested the man who had killed Angela.

  His bear still wanted to rip his head off, but he settled for the knowledge that their mate and Sam were safe.

  Chapter Twenty – Chrissie

  “I can’t believe today is the day we finally get to call Sam ours.” Chrissie rolled over onto her stomach and rested her head on Joel’s broad chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Sam McMillan.”

  “I like the sound of that, just as much as I like the name Crystal McMillan,” Joel said.

  She smiled and held her hand up to the light, the sun streaming through the window catching her diamond engagement ring, which nestled against her gold wedding band. “I like being Mrs. McMillan.”

  “I like making love to Mrs. McMillan,” Joel said, turning her onto her back, his body hovering over hers. Lowering his head, he kissed the tip of her nipple, making it harden into a taut bud, and then he opened his mouth and sucked it in, rolling his tongue over it, until she was squirming beneath him.

  “Then why don’t you make love to me, Mr. McMillan, instead of just teasing.”

  “My pleasure.” He guided his cock into her sex, groaning with bliss as she sheathed his hard length. He moved back out of her, and then thrust forward harder, in and out, his momentum building.

  Chrissie closed her eyes, and let the sensations sweep over her, Joel continued to torture her breasts with his mouth, and the sensations joined together to overload her senses. She had to be the luckiest woman alive: she had the man of her dreams as her husband, and the sweetest baby in the world, about to make their family complete.

  “I love you, Chrissie,” he whispered in her ear, his thrusts slowing, leaving her wanting more.

  “I love you, Joel.” She lifted his head, and kissed his lips. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For choosing me,” she said, stroking his chest. “Now finish what you started, we have a son to make ours.”

  He chuckled. “I knew you only wanted me for my body.”

  “And only one part of your body right now.”

  He nipped her earlobe, and then kissed her neck, down over her collarbone, and before he captured her nipple in his mouth again, he murmured, “Only one part?”