Baby Protector Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 4) (7 page)

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 course.”

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.”

“Not if you know the facts. My brother-in-law bailed them out. He paid off the debts and set them up with an income. He took over managing everything for them. Something I should have done. Something I should have saved them from.” She tried to pull away, but he held her close. “Damn it, I just wanted to protect Sam and now you are accusing me of being the worst kind of person.”

She felt the breath shudder through his chest, and he let out a long breath. “Thank you. I just didn’t want to call the police and get you into trouble. I’m sorry I had to ask.”

“I’m calling the police.” She pushed herself away from him and he released her. Taking her cell out of her pocket, she pressed the keypad.

“No.” His hand stilled hers. “I’m calling Landy first. I trust him.”

“That means you don’t trust everyone.” She looked down at the floor. “Which is sensible, because someone betrayed us.”

At those words, the man on the ground moved, and then started to laugh. “What are you talking about? You know very well it was you who paid me to come here and steal that baby,” he said to Chrissie.

Joel wanted to kick the guy unconscious. He didn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth for one second, but others would.

“I didn’t pay you. I’ve never even met you,” Chrissie said.

“Yes, you have, I came to your house, sat on your floral sofa and drank coffee. You gave me an envelope of money and then put these luscious lips around my cock and gave me a blowjob.”

“Liar!” she gasped.

The guy chuckled. “Why would I lie? What possible reason have I to frame a woman like you?”

“That’s what you’re going to tell us,” Joel said, moving towards him, threatening him with every drop of the essence of his bear that leaked through to his human form. He was fighting for control, fighting with his bear, trying to stop him breaking out and defending his mate’s honor. She would not do something like this, and the thought that someone had set out to ruin her—worse, to have her jailed for being part of Angela’s death, was too much.

“Joel. Just call the police. We can clear this up.”

“You would think so. But I’m going to swear you paid me, and they’ll believe me, because why would I lie?” He sneered. “You are going down with me, Crystal Cartwright.”

Joel raised his hand to punch the guy into the ground; he wanted to hit him and keep on hitting him until he was gone from the planet, gone from their lives, which he was threatening to destroy before it even got a chance to actually get going.

The only thing that stopped him was Chrissie’s hand on his arm, futile in its match for his strength, but the shock that swept through his body at her touch brought him back to his senses. So too did his phone, when it beeped in his pocket.

“You’d better check that,” she said, shoving him away.

“Yeah, do as you’re told, or she will pay someone to hurt you too,” the guy cackled. “I have you in my control, sweetheart.”

“How do you live with yourself?” she spat at the man. “You killed an innocent woman. For what? Money.”

“Those with money never understand what it’s like for the rest of us. You live in your big posh houses, and have your perfect lives. The rest of us are just rats in the gutter.”

“That is not true.” Then she closed her mouth and stepped back. “I’m not arguing with you.”

“Not going to defend your precious lifestyle.”

“I have nothing to defend.”

After a few deep breaths, he felt his bear settle, and then he took out the cell phone the chief had given him. It was a text message from a number he didn’t recognize. It simply said—G
et out of there. Now! Find somewhere safe, I’ll be in touch. L

His stomach dropped. It had to be from Landy, or was this a setup too? Joel raked his hand through his hair. This had all gone so wrong: what should have been a few days with his mate by his side had turned into a disaster, which he had to get them out of.

“Chrissie.” He motioned for her to join him in the kitchen.

“What about him?” Chrissie asked, pointing at the guy on the floor.

Joel picked up the Taser. “He moves, he’ll get this. I don’t care if it’s the right thing to do or not.”

“I don’t need to run. You’ll let me go so I won’t give evidence against your girlfriend.” He lay back down and began to whistle. This guy was the worst kind, he thought he was invincible, and Joel’s bear longed to tell him otherwise.

“What is it?” Chrissie asked.

He showed her the message on his phone. “We should go.”

“Run. You want us to go on the run? We’ve done nothing wrong. Especially you. This has nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me. I told you I would protect you, and that means from everyone, not just scumbags like this.”

“It will get straightened out,” she insisted.

“Will it?” He arched an eyebrow, questioning her.

“It has to.”

“Have you given any thought as to who is setting you up? I don’t know what Landy knows, but he gave me orders, and I follow orders,” Joel said firmly. “If what he says is true, someone is going out of their way to make you the fall guy. Who would do this, Chrissie?” His theory on Anderson was looking thin: what reason did he have to hate Chrissie? But the key, and the code, it had to be someone who had been here, and knew it was where they were bringing Sam. The chief had said four people knew. Damn it! What if Landy had sent his cryptic message because their chief had set this whole thing up?

“I don’t know.” She put her face in her hands and shook her head. “Maybe someone from work, a disgruntled client.” She looked up at him. “Or it could just be Krieg. How do you know this isn’t his way of covering up his own involvement? Look, if I was blamed for the death of Angela, he could come forward and take Sam legally.”

“That would be smart thinking. Is Krieg that smart? And it doesn’t explain the key, or the code.” Joel shook his head. “It doesn’t add up.”

“I don’t know too much about Krieg, I got the feeling he used brute force rather than his brains. And you are right, it doesn’t explain the key.” She looked so tired and pale. He longed to tell her to go back to bed, that by the time she woke up in the morning, he would have it all resolved. But that would be a lie, and mates didn’t lie to each other.

“We need to move. If Landy sent this, and I’m sure he did, then he has a good reason for wanting us to run.”

She lifted his hand and read the text again. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure if we don’t, we are going to play straight into the hands of whoever is behind this. And I am not willing to let that happen. We run, we regroup. I’ll talk to Landy. All we have to say is we were afraid for Sam. The chief already admitted there was a mole. So let’s try to unearth him.”

“But where do we go? It’s not easy to lay low when you have a baby in tow.”

“I know where. It’s a long drive, so grab everything you can, let’s load it in the car and get out of here.”