Page 31 of Caught Bear Handed

I held out my hand to a stunned Barrett, who gave it a firm shake.Bellamy did the same before they came inside the cabin.

Closing the door, I leaned against it for a second and let my wolf do a little victory dance inside me.Then I sauntered over to Beau and put my finger under his chin.I didn’t have to ignore how soft his beard was against my skin as I pushed his still open mouth closed.

He grabbed my hand and kissed it.But there was no hiding how tense he was as he put on the show in front of his bosses.His gaze met mine, making everything melt away if only for a moment.

I winked at him and broke the spell.Pulling my hand away, I turned back to the burly bears and put my hands on my hips.“Did I pull it off, gentlemen?”

“Where did you live before you came to Sawtooth Forest?”Bellamy asked, testing me.

“Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.”The lie rolled off my tongue easily.“I teach second grade, and I have a little time off before my summer gig starts.”

Barrett nodded.“If I didn’t know who you were, I’d never guess.For the record, I still think this is a terrible idea.You can back out.We can figure out a way to pull Amelia aside and talk to her.”

“I want to do this,” I said, dropping the accent.“It doesn’t feel right to hide while other people do the hard work.There are things I’ll know and see that you might miss.I’m not discounting how good you are at your job.But I’ve been in the middle of this since it started.I won’t make the same mistakes twice.”

“We need to fit you with an earpiece and a camera,” Bellamy said as he stepped closer, opening a bag containing the surveillance devices.“Might seem like overkill, but when we say everyone in town will be at this cookout, it’s not an exaggeration.Packs will be coming in from all over the Northwest.There will be music, motorcycles, games, and so many kids.It will be easy to get lost in the crowd, and we need to have eyes on you at all times.The camera’s on this necklace, and I’ll be watching your feed on my phone.If you see anything unusual, the wrong people getting too close, say three two seven.Work it into conversation if you have to, and we’ll come get you.”

Beau bristled.“I don’t plan on leaving her side.”

“It’s a great sentiment, but you know how these parties get.We need you to act like your regular self.But no drinking,” Barrett said.“Non-alcoholic beer only.You’re working.Things will be chaotic, we can’t risk any more distractions.”

“Whatever it takes,” Beau said.

“I don’t drink,” I said in my Gina drawl.“Unless it’s a kombucha.”

“Don’t make your character too healthy.”Bellamy chuckled.“There will be so much food.You’ll regret your choices.”

“Ready?”Barrett asked, running his hand through his hair.“I hope I don’t regret agreeing to this.”

“You won’t,” Beau insisted, hooking his arm around my waist.Warmth surged through me.

“I’m ready.”

Gigi wagged her tail hopefully.

“This party’s a little too wild for you, girl.”Beau moved away from me, offering his first love a brand new chew stick as a concession.

It seemed to do the trick, as she brought it to the living room to get to work in her favorite spot.Beau motioned to the door so we didn’t miss our window to slip away unnoticed.

Barrett and Bellamy headed to their SUV, and Beau went to the driver’s side of a truck I’d never seen before.

“Is this yours?”I asked as I climbed into the passenger’s side.It was different than the one that we’d taken to the ranch.

“No, it’s another replacement.”He glanced at me.“Shit.We missed that, but it’s too dangerous to bring my truck here.There will be so many cars in the lot, no one will notice we’ve got a sweet new ride.”

“We could say it’s my truck,” I suggested.I couldn’t believe that we’d miss such an important detail.

Beau nodded.“That will work.”

It only took us a few minutes to arrive in the actual town of Granger Falls.It was a tiny mountain town, with only a few roads, and traffic slowed as we headed to the outer edge of town, to the parking lot of a bar called The Stepchild.

“If you watchedThe Real Werewivesseason that was shot here, you’ll be familiar with this bar.”

I raised a brow.“Is it the one with the sex club in the back?”

A flush blossomed at the edge of Beau’s beard.“That would be the one.”

The muscles between my legs pulsed.“Have you been there?”