Brainy Bear (Justice Squad Book 5)

by Scarlett Grove

  "No. It's his fault. He's the one who hurt her. That monster needs to pay."

  Megan gripped the wheel of her Honda Civic and merged onto the freeway. It was twenty miles back to her hotel in a small town called Fate Rock. She was running out of time and money, though, and she would have to figure out what to do about the monster soon or it would be too late.

  Megan remembered the day she’d come down from Denver to pick her up. She'd been so surprised that Amber wanted to leave her adventure so soon. But when she'd arrived at the hotel and had found her sister bruised and bloodied, Megan had almost collapsed in shock.

  "Who did this to you?" she’d demanded.

  But Amber wouldn't say anything. She was completely mute all the way home. Megan had done her best to make her twin comfortable in her bedroom in the apartment they’d shared. Then she’d begged her sister to tell her what had happened. Amber wouldn't say a word.

  Megan would hear her scream and cry at night. She’d run to her bedroom only to find the door locked. Her sister’s mental health had deteriorated more and more over the next several weeks. She’d had an interview for her dream job but was too despondent to even show up.

  It seemed as if Amber's world was falling apart and Megan had no idea what to do or how to help her. Finally, two months after Megan had picked Amber up from Fate Rock, she’d finally revealed she’d been brutally raped and assaulted.

  “It was my fault," Amber had said in a weak, dry voice.

  "How can you possibly say that, Amber?" Megan had demanded.

  "I went into his house. I even let him kiss me. I didn't know he would do it.”

  "Just because you let him kiss you doesn't mean he had the right to do what he did." Megan had been frantic; her sister was strong and intelligent and well-informed. She couldn't believe what she was saying. It was beyond comprehension.

  "You have to report him, Amber. Something must be done."

  "It's too late. It's too late. No one will believe me."

  "Well, you should report it, but you need to get help, even if you don't. It’s tearing you apart inside. I can't stand by and watch that man destroy you over and over and over again.”

  "I'll try," Amber had said.

  Later that night, Megan had heard a gunshot. She found her twin sister dead in the bathtub, a gunshot through her brain. Something had snapped inside Megan. In that moment, she had vowed to avenge her sister.

  She knew enough about the man from Amber's description. Where he lived, what he looked like. And she'd spent the last week stalking him. She would shoot him with the gun that her sister had used to end her precious life. And then it would be done. Amber would be avenged.

  A tear slid down her cheek as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel where she'd been staying. Megan had never been a person who anyone would think was capable of murder. But something had changed in her the day she'd found her twin. She would never be the same Megan she had been the day before. And while she still struggled with her conscience and wondered if it was what Amber would have wanted, she was determined to confront the bastard, one way or another. Maybe she wouldn't pull the trigger. Maybe she would. All she knew was her sister deserved justice.

  Megan would not allow for her sister's life to be snuffed out without justice being served. As far as Megan was concerned, that man had pulled the trigger on Amber himself.

  Megan sat down on her bed in the hotel room and looked around her at the dingy accommodations. It was the cheapest hotel in Fate Rock and, while it was clean enough, it was certainly nothing to write home about. It also happened to be the same place where she’d found Amber the day she’d picked her up. It was a constant reminder of her pain.

  Megan realized that she was starving so she went down to the corner store to buy a microwave burrito. When she ran her card through the reader, it beeped and came back declined. The checker raised an eyebrow, and she tried it again. After her second attempt was also declined, Megan opened her wallet and found a few dollars inside. She threw the money on the counter and the clerk gave her twenty-three cents in change. The last of her money.

  On the way out of the corner store, she found yesterday's newspaper sitting on a bench. She grabbed it, thinking that maybe she could find an odd job for a day or two. She had quit her job in Denver a week ago, put all her things in storage, and dedicated her life to revenge. The hotel, gas, and food had taken up the very last of her final paycheck.

  She’d had a good job at a top-notch preschool. After completing a Master’s in early childhood education, it was a great starting position. But she’d given it up to come to Fate Rock. With the empty hole in her soul left by the suicide of her identical twin, she had no other choice but to dedicate her life to revenge.

  She went back to her hotel room and threw the burrito in the microwave. When it was done, she sat down at the table and began to look through the paper. She couldn't believe how far she'd sunk. She’d had a life back in Denver. She’d had something to live for. Was she really going to throw it all away for a chance at vengeance?

  Then the memory of her sister in that bathtub filled her mind. It had taken weeks to get the blood out of the grout in the shower. She grimaced and pushed away the burrito, no longer hungry. She flipped through the newspaper, her mind blank. She got to the help wanted section and saw an ad for a nanny position. She circled it and was about to call when she saw another advertisement for a dating website called mate.com. The copy text was so alluring. "Find your one true love and live happily ever after."

  She laughed at it, thinking it was absurd, but Megan had actually heard stories of shifters and their mates. It sounded like a fairytale that always had a happy ending, and that was exactly what she needed right now. Her mind was so jagged and conflicted that she’d forgotten about the job and used her cell phone to go to the dating app.

  She quickly filled out the profile, using a random string of numbers, letters, and icons to create her username. She didn't fill out any of the information. She just wanted to see if the silly questionnaire would match her with someone. She'd been completely honest on every question, as ridiculous as they seemed. And when she was done, her matches loaded.

  She wasn't expecting to be matched with anyone for real. The first match was only a 75% match. Apparently, a one hundred percent match meant that it was your fated mate. She rolled her eyes and began scrolling through the photographs of hot, hunky shifter men.

  They were all attractive and eligible. And if she had been in her right mind, she wouldn't have minded dating any of them. There was an 82% match, an 87% match, a 93% match, and 99% match. Then at the bottom, there it was, her 100% match.

  She blinked multiple times, her eyes starting to water. His username was Brainy Bear, and he was a freelance computer programmer living in a small town. She clicked on the photograph.

  Dark, intelligent, and sensitive eyes stared into her soul. His body was smoking hot under the conservative polo shirt he wore, and he had to be the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

  She couldn't believe what she’d just done. It was all too surreal to handle in her fragile state. She clicked off the app and dialed the number for the job. The phone connected after the second ring.

  "I'm calling about the ad for a nanny?" she said, barely able to keep it together.

  "Yes, yes. I am in need of someone immediately. Could you come for an interview tomorrow morning?"

  Chapter 3

  Sampson entered several lines of code into his computer. He was so close to hacking into Dark Trove’s database undetected. He had all his bases covered. Just a few more lines of code and he would be in; the reign of terror the hyenas had over the world would end. His finger hovered over the enter key.

  A long wail erupted from Jimmy’s room. Sampson pressed enter, trying not to allow himself to get distracted. He watched the code scroll up his screen, ready to back out if anything went wrong.

  Jimmy screamed again. He must have needed a diaper change after his nap. I
t was too critical a moment to walk away. Sampson saw the code begin to corrupt. Dark Trove’s firewall was on to him. He had to abort. He quickly typed his withdrawal code and backed out of the system.

  “Dammit," he growled, slamming his fist into his desk.

  He launched himself up from his desk chair. He wasn’t angry at Jimmy for needing to be cared for. He was just angry at himself for failing. He went into the little tyke’s room and found him standing in his crib. His face was red, and his diaper was full.

  Sampson picked the little boy up from his crib and took him to the changing station he and Max had built the day before. Sampson had been having a heckuva time trying to do his job and care for the child. And it wasn't going well.

  He’d placed an ad in the paper for a nanny, and he still hadn't received any replies. He was getting so desperate he might have just hired the first person who responded. After changing Jimmy's diaper, he took him downstairs and put him into his highchair, then opened the refrigerator door and scanned the contents. He filled a sippy cup with milk and grabbed a banana from the counter. He cut it up into small pieces and offered it to the little boy.

  "Good 'nana," Jimmy said.

  Sampson watched his nephew eating his food and he realized that he too was starving. He went to the fridge and grabbed a dozen eggs and bacon. It was evening, but he was too worn out to cook a big meal. He made a pan of scrambled eggs with some cheddar cheese and half a packet of bacon that he shared with little Jimmy.

  They sat in silence, eating their meal while Sampson wondered what the heck he was going to do if he couldn't find a nanny to help him. His cellphone sat beside him on the table, and it buzzed with a text message. He went to pick up the phone, when it rang.

  "Hi, I'm calling about the ad for a nanny?" the woman on the other end of the line said.

  "Yes. I'm looking for a nanny. Could you interview tomorrow morning?"

  The girl, who he learned was named Megan, was available for an interview the next day, so they arranged for the meeting. By the time Sampson got off the phone, he was feeling much more hopeful about his ability to care for his nephew. As he set down the phone, he remembered he had a text message.

  To his utter shock, it was a message from mate.com. His heart jumped into his throat when he tapped on the notification and a message opened.

  “Congratulations! We found your fated mate.”

  Sampson almost fell out of his chair. He hadn't been expecting this; he hadn't even thought about it. He was taken completely off guard. His first thought was how he was going to handle courting his mate in the middle of this mission while also taking care of little Jimmy.

  Then he remembered the way that Hawk had met Elena. It had been at the worst possible moment, and the two of them had somehow made it work out. But Sampson was not Hawk. His skill was with technology and computers, not relationships. He wasn't a leader of men like Hawk. That just wasn't him. He had no idea how he would be able to deal with the pressure of maintaining so many disparate relationships.

  But his curiosity got the best of him, and he immediately opened up mate.com to read her profile. Sampson had to admit to himself that although he hadn't been looking for a mate, and it was honestly not the best time, he really did want someone to share his life with.

  When he opened the profile, he found no picture. The profile name was nothing but a string of numbers and letters. None of the profile was filled out. There was absolutely no information whatsoever. One minute he'd been struggling to admit to himself that he really did want a mate, and the next minute he was struggling with the disappointment of finding that his fated one simply didn't care enough about getting a match to even fill out her profile. He frowned and looked up at Jimmy.

  "Her profile doesn't say anything.” Sampson didn’t know what to think. He'd never heard of anyone having a perfect match who hadn’t even bothered to fill out their profile. Jimmy shrieked and grabbed for the phone.

  "Gimme gimme."

  "Cellphones aren’t for babies.”

  "Jimmy big boy."

  "You certainly are.” Sampson picked up the child. “And that's why it's time for you to get some exercise.”

  He dressed Jimmy in some warm clothes and took him out into the backyard to run around. It was growing dark and Sampson realized that he’d let the child sleep too long for his afternoon nap. He would pay for it by not being able to get the child down to sleep until late in the night.

  At least Megan would be coming tomorrow. And if she had any amount of experience, Sampson hated to admit it to himself but he was probably going to hire her on the spot.

  After Jimmy was done playing and starting to get a runny nose from the cold, Sampson took the child back inside and gave him a snack of grapes before taking him to his play area in the living room.

  After Max's visit, he’d learned that his house needed to be baby proofed if he wanted his belongings to survive and he wanted Jimmy to make it to his third birthday. So, he'd cleaned up all the books on the bottom shelves and replaced them with toys. He put a baby gate around the fireplace and a baby gate at the door.

  There were toys strewn about and an ABC rug on the floor. It had none of the charm and utility of his previous interior design, but it was no longer a toddler deathtrap. He climbed over the baby fence while Jimmy played on the rug with a toy truck and started a fire in the hearth. He wasn't going to be able to get any real work done until Jimmy went back to sleep, so he decided he might as well get some reading in.

  He enjoyed reading by the fire, even though he could no longer actually sit right by the hearth. When it was lit, he climbed back over the baby fence and sat down in his favorite easy chair with his book. Jimmy began throwing blocks around while Sampson attempted to focus on his spy novel. But all he could think about was work, and his life now that he had a child to take care of.

  He wondered if he was going to have to tell his CO that he just needed more time to hack Dark Trove’s system. He’d never failed on a mission before, and he didn't want to. But he supposed there was a first time for everything.

  Jimmy threw one of his blocks over the child fence and it landed right in the fire, sending sparks flying. Sampson shot up from his chair, concerned that the sparks might hit the baby, but luckily they didn't. He picked up the boy and inspected him for damage. He seemed completely oblivious to the danger he'd put himself in, laughing and clapping at the sparks from the flames. Sampson let out a long sigh. The nanny couldn't get here soon enough.

  Chapter 4

  Megan packed up her things and put them in the car, just in case she got the job. If she didn't get the nanny job, she wasn't quite sure how she was going to carry on. There was really no other option.

  After throwing her duffle bag in the trunk, she made her way to Sampson's house. The gun in her glove compartment seemed to blink like a red warning light. She let out a long sigh, not really sure who she was anymore.

  Before she'd found her sister in her bathtub, Megan had been a complete pacifist. She didn't believe in war or violence or guns, or anything like that. She'd even admonished her dad for hunting back when she was a kid. How much she had changed. She herself had become a hunter. And it wasn't for a deer to pack the freezer for winter. It was for revenge.

  She pulled up to the well-appointed suburban home and parked in the driveway. Her heart fluttered in anticipation. She prayed that he would hire her. Otherwise she would have to go back to Denver empty-handed. She considered whether that might be the best thing anyway. Maybe it was all a big mistake to be here in the first place.

  But just as she stepped out of her car, an image of her sister’s body flashed through her mind. It haunted her night and day. She could never let it go no matter how much she tried. Megan had printed out a resume at the hotel lobby the night before. It was all true. She stood on the doorstep with her resume in hand and her heart thwacking in her chest.

  "It has to work out," she told herself. "For Amber."

  She took a dee
p breath, let it out, and knocked on the door. She stood there for several long minutes and then checked the time on her phone. It was exactly 9:30; when Sampson had told her to arrive. She wondered if there had been a mistake.

  But a moment later, just as she was about to turn to go, she heard rustling inside and then the doorknob turned. It slowly opened and when the carved oak door revealed the man standing on the other side, Megan gasped in shock.

  It was Brainy Bear from mate.com. Her mouth went dry and her words stuck in her throat. She blinked several times, trying to comprehend what was happening. He was holding a little boy, about two years old with a big mop of curly black hair and the biggest, most adorable brown eyes. Her heart melted for the little tyke. And her heart melted even more for the handsome man holding him. She gulped, unable to form words.

  "Megan Moore?" he asked, blinking several times.

  "That's me," she stammered. She felt foolish and exposed. Heat rose in her cheeks and her heart pounded in her chest. She started to sweat and wanted to wipe her brow, but refrained out of embarrassment.

  "I hope I didn't leave you standing on the doorstep too long," he said, stepping back for her to have room to enter. “Jimmy had an accident.”

  "Not a problem," she said, finally finding her voice.

  "Come in, come in." He led her into a living room through a baby gate and invited her to sit on the couch across from him as he sat little Jimmy on the floor.

  "I see you brought your resume," he said.

  "Oh, yes." Megan stood and rushed to hand him the piece of paper. She nearly tripped over her own feet as she approached him, but quickly regained her composure and tried to smile.

  She went back to sit in her chair and waited while he read over her resume.