Page 15 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Kayla

I’d done screen tests for some of the most famous directors in the world, but I’d never been more nervous about an audition than I was strutting my stuff in front of Barrett.

The plan was risky. It required me to stay in character and then somehow get Amelia alone so I could talk to her without blowing my cover.

And that was before Barrett had added the caveat that this wasn’t a one-and-done job.

If I was outing myself as Beau’s fake girlfriend, it was much more than a cute date.

We were in a full-blown fake relationship.

Which might have been more daunting than his proposal that I should go undercover on the inside of the investigation, against the people who stole from my friends and me and threatened to do much worse if we didn’t bend to their demands.

I was confident in my acting skills, but there was one thing I couldn’t change.

The scent of my wolf. Every animal had their own signature scent. It was unclear if any shifters masterminded the crypto scheme. But they’d targeted us, and there had to be a reason.

Goose bumps blossomed over my skin at the thought of it as I tucked the ends of my hair into my wig cap.

I’d watched the hair team do this more times than I could count in The Wolf’s Moon trailer, but the execution was much harder than those professionals made it look.

I’d smoothed my hair down but getting the tight cap on proved to be a challenge.

Hopefully, no one but Beau would get close enough to me to realize my head was lumpy.

Beau and I would be a couple today. We’d talked about so many things—how we supposedly met, my backstory, what made us interested in each other—but we’d forgotten one vital aspect of the charade. Perhaps the most important one.

How would we act when we were together? Not the script—we had that down—but our body language? Were we one of those couples who separated at gatherings, or did we stay together? What about PDA? Did we touch each other a little too much or not at all?

What if we started kissing and couldn’t stop?

Okay, maybe all this anxiety was simply distracting me from the seriousness of the situation. Chances were good that those men who had hunted me down like a literal dog were closer than any of us expected.

I took in a deep, shaky breath as I checked over my work in the mirror.

The sleek black bob definitely changed my look.

I was known for my heavy bangs and my dirty blonde hair.

I fought the urge to cover my forehead—the bangs saved me a lot of money in Botox.

Not that I was afraid of aging, but Hollywood liked to remind women my age that we had an expiration date.

I blinked, getting used to the blue contacts.

They were a pretty drastic change, along with my pale lip.

I was known for my love of all things red.

I’d done my best reverse contour job to try to hide my cheekbones. Usually, I was proud of them because they gave me a distinctive look—but also, they screamed Kayla Mitchell. Tonight, and for the foreseeable future, I was Gina—a play on my stage name. At least I’d remember to answer to it.

The backstory was I met Beau on an online dating site—ironic, since that was exactly the mistake that had landed me here—and I’d just come to visit him for the holiday. It gave me a chance to disappear again, if things got dangerous, or Barrett sent me on a special mission.

My wolf was on point inside of me at the thought.

I didn’t know what I’d do if I came face-to-face with those assholes.

If I’d be able to stay in character and keep myself from wringing their fucking necks.

Not only did they steal from me and financially ruin some good, hardworking people, but if those rumors about trafficking were true…

It was the reason why I couldn’t say no to Barrett, even though the prospect of going undercover terrified me. I had to wonder if he’d hoped his request would make me back away from my cookout proposal. But I couldn’t. These people had to be caught and punished. So many others needed justice.

Truck wheels crunched on the gravel in the driveway, and Gigi barked in warning as Barrett arrived. I headed out of my bedroom before I had a chance to overthink everything, passed a gaping Beau, and opened the door just as Barrett was about to knock.

“Hey, y’all.” It had been a minute since I had a chance to use my southern accent. My accent coach would probably cringe at my drawl, but it was good enough for my current role. “Beau’s told me so much about you. My name is Gina.”

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 watched The Real Werewives season 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?”

He nodded.

“No comment, huh?” I teased.

“I have plenty of comments, but we’re on assignment, and the last thing I want is to be distracted while we’re bringing these bastards down.” There was a hint of a growl to his voice. “Someday…”

He didn’t finish his thought.

“Someday what?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

It wasn’t nothing. I squeezed my eyes closed but all I could picture was the muscular bear in his towel.

This time, we were in the middle of what on TV they’d referred to as Red Heaven, and I had my hand on top of his, urging him to let go of that towel and follow me into one of the private nooks where I’d lick all the moisture from his body…