Page 12 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Chapter Ten

Beau

What did it mean for us? I had a minute to get my shit together and think about my answer as I took the cheesesteak garlic bread out of the oven. I hadn’t been prepared for her to come out of her bedroom looking camera ready and smelling like sun-warmed honey.

She has no idea that you got yourself off fantasizing about her , my bear said. Just play it cool and answer the question.

Easier said than done.

“It means we need to be vigilant,” I said as I put her sandwich on the plate and handed it to her. “There’s a salad in the bowl too.”

Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed the tongs, adding the leafy greens to her plate.

She took a bite of the sandwich and moaned. “This is so good.”

That sound made me want her even more. “Glad you like it.”

She took another bite, closing her eyes and savoring it. Watching Kayla enjoy my food was the most satisfying thing ever. She fully appreciated every bite.

You could keep her, my bear said. Cook for her when she comes home from set…

No. We had separate lives, worlds apart. This was a fantasy, just like someone had written a script for us, and we’d inevitably come to the end of our story.

“You should cook professionally,” she said. “Seriously, this is amazing. It’s simple but everything is perfect.”

“Thanks.” I grinned. “If I was a professional chef, I wouldn’t be here with you, and you wouldn’t be having this awesome sandwich.”

“True.” She took another bite. “So did Barrett mention what ‘more vigilant’ means?”

I shook my head. “He trusts that I can keep things under control.”

She put her sandwich down on the plate and met my gaze. It was like getting sucked into another dimension. I’d never felt this with another woman before. This wasn’t just a celebrity crush. She was my mate. It didn’t matter that she was a decade older than me, famous, or a wolf.

Kayla Mitchell was mine.

“Does that mean you didn’t tell him about our adventure this afternoon?” She raised a brow.

“I didn’t.” Lowering my gaze was almost impossible. I should’ve beared up and owned my decision. “Everything went great. I didn’t want to worry him for no reason. Or give him a reason to reassign me.”

“Would he do that?”

“I’ve only worked with them for a few months. I haven’t gotten everything right, but it’s not because I don’t care.”

“Did you mess things up, or did you do them your own way, and the other guys didn’t expect it?” she asked.

Good question. “A little of both.”

“You obviously care about your job, and you don’t blindly follow rules. You listen to your instincts. It makes you good at what you do.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“So I asked what vigilant meant because I have a proposition for you.” Her voice was low and husky. “But it requires another outing.”

“Kayla.” Telling her no wasn’t going to be easy. “Not sure that falls under being more vigilant.”

She leaned forward. “What if those guys are watching us too?”

“Impossible.” My bear rumbled inside me. “We’re off the grid. Sawtooth Security employs the best in the business.”

“But the guys they’re investigating are no joke. They convinced many smart people to give them a lot of money. They managed to get past security at The Wolf’s Moon and abduct me. You said it yourself—they won’t be satisfied until they get everything they want.”

“I’m not sure where you’re going with this,” I said slowly, studying her. “Or why any of this justifies putting you in danger.”

“It’s bigger than me. My friends were involved too. If they gave in to these demands, they haven’t said anything. And just because those thieves got what they wanted from them once, twice, doesn’t mean they won’t come back for more, especially if they can’t get to me.” She shuddered.

It took everything I had not to go to the other side of that island and take her in my arms. They’d never lay a paw on her.

“Shea said that he heard Amelia was in town, so I checked The Wolf’s Moon site while I was getting ready,” she continued.

“We do silly little vlogs in between takes. The viewers love it. The most recent one talked about how everyone was handling the hiatus—and yes, Amelia is here, in Sawtooth Forest. She said she’d be at the Fourth of July cookout. ”

Oh. “She’s one of the people who lost money in the crypto scheme?”

Kayla nodded. “Yeah. Not sure how much. Once everything went sour, no one wanted to talk about it. So I’m not sure if she’s had any additional encounters with these guys, but if Sawtooth Security’s intelligence is correct, it sounds like she has, or she should be expecting another visit soon.

I need to warn her. We need to go to that cookout. ”

Technically, she was right. But there had to be a better way to do this. “We can get her a message.”

“No, I need to talk to her. She could have information that could help your coworkers solve the case. An email or a text would warn her, sure, but I can’t tell her it’s me, and no one involved with the investigation can tell her you’re guarding me, because it could blow your cover.

Not to mention, if Bellamy can get into the crypto stuff—they can probably track us. ”

I raised a brow. “And how will you talking to her in person not blow our cover? Everyone in Granger Falls watches The Wolf’s Moon because Amelia is pack.”

Kayla gave me a grin that sent all the blood in my body rushing to my cock.

Whatever she was about to propose was dangerous—and I had no idea how I’d tell her we couldn’t do this.

Under any circumstances. We absolutely needed to let Amelia know she was in danger.

Put a security detail in place for the cookout.

But a face-to-face meeting could put the entire investigation in jeopardy.

“I go in disguise. Don’t reveal my true identity to anyone but Amelia,” she said, running her teeth over her bottom lip like she knew it would send me over the fucking edge.

“If we do it right, it will strengthen our cover. Won’t your fellow firefighters wonder why you’re not at the biggest event of the summer?

Didn’t you say they were expecting you to bring the chili? ”

“The guys know I’m on a special assignment with Sawtooth Security.” I sighed. “How do you think you’re gonna pull this off? We don’t have a team of makeup artists at our disposal to change your appearance. Sawtooth Forest isn’t Hollywood.”

“We don’t, but I’ve watched them work their magic for enough years I feel like I can do a pretty decent job on my own. We just need to order a wig and some makeup.”

“This is insane,” I said. “We could blow the entire investigation. At the very least, I could lose my job.”

“I’ll hire you to be my personal bodyguard,” she countered. “I need to go to that cookout, Beau. I won’t be able to live with myself if one of my friends gets hurt and I could’ve done something to stop it.”