Baby Protector Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 4) (2 page)

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.

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 head 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.”

“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.

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.