Page 22 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Chapter Seventeen

Kayla

I could seriously lie in this warm bed that smelled like bear all day, but my bear wasn’t in it anymore.

Beau and Gigi were out for a walk. I had almost asked if he wanted me to come with them, but it was so adorable the way he’d whispered to Gigi, telling her to be quiet and calm because I was sleeping.

But after years on set and insanely early call times—sleeping in wasn’t my strong suit.

I’d been happy to play along, because it was so sweet to listen to him dog dad. Which made me wonder what he’d be like with a baby.

Wait, what? I’d never thought about babies before.

Because you never met your mate before , my wolf reminded me.

She was right about that, but it did nothing to calm my nerves.

A baby. What about my job? Production tried to be parent friendly, but it was hard, especially when we were on location.

I felt bad for my colleagues who pumped milk in pop-up changing tents.

Of course, I could hire someone to help, but I didn’t want someone else to raise my baby, which I’d never given much thought to before a few minutes ago.

Was it even possible to deliver a half-wolf, half-bear baby?

I knew it was, and in most cases, the baby wound up taking on the traits of the parent with the dominant genes.

But we’d all read those nightmare stories of the hybrid shifters who turned into complete abominations.

The fact that it was uncommon, but not impossible, sent a shiver down my spine.

Would Beau even want a baby? Did I?

Okay, there was no point lying here and letting my thoughts spiral. It was time to get out of bed and distract myself. I rose, stretched, and sighed.

There was still that weird emptiness, that not knowing what to do with myself. My bodyguard bear had been an excellent distraction, until I needed to be distracted from the bear. I brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, and made myself presentable.

I wanted to surprise Beau.

It wasn’t something I usually had an opportunity to do, since we were together almost twenty-four/seven. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to do nice things for him. I couldn’t shake the feeling that my choice to make him breakfast was somehow related to the sudden onset of baby fever.

He was always making these magical meals for me, and I wanted to return the favor. I could cook—basics, but I was usually pleased with the results of my efforts. I took a peek into the fridge. I’d left Beau in charge of all this, besides letting him know what my favorite things were.

The bear likes spoiling you , my wolf said.

And someone needed to spoil the bear. Even though he was kind, caring, and fierce, he needed someone to show him how to receive those things. That chip on his shoulder? It was still there, maybe even more so since the cookout. Beau had something to prove.

I pulled out the carton of eggs, some ham, feta, and a bag of spinach. There was a basket of tomatoes on the counter. Perfect. I could make omelets.

Sometimes, Beau took Gigi on an extended adventure, so I didn’t want to have things ready too early. Cold eggs weren’t sexy. I poured food into Gigi’s bowl and freshened her wateries, because she deserved to participate in this party too.

I got to work, feeling satisfied as I got everything chopped and portioned.

The door slammed open. I came far too close to hitting my finger with this sharp knife.

“Beau?” I called out. I didn’t want a repeat of the gun incident. “I’m in the kitchen,” I added, really hoping it was Beau.

At least I had a knife. And the ability to shift into a wolf on a dime if needed.

Beau stalked into the living room, the tensest I’d ever seen him. Gigi trotted behind him, on edge too.

“I’m surprised there isn’t a full-on grizzly bear in front of me,” I said, trying to lighten the moment to no avail. “What happened? You’re borderline feral.”

He slapped a piece of paper down on the island, using the same force he would to eliminate a bug.

I slid it toward me and gasped. It was a photocopied picture of Amelia and me. My face was circled, and there was a threatening message addressed to Gina. “Shit.”

“Yeah,” Beau spat out. “Shit is right.”

“Where did you find this?” Not that there was an acceptable location.

“On our property.” Those words were pure growl. “Which means we need to leave. Now.”

“Wait.” I put my hands in the air, knife still in hand.

He was probably right. We needed to get the fuck out of here, effective five minutes ago. But what really surprised me was how much I didn’t want this to be over. Sure, the job was far from over, but everything was about to change.

Would the magic die with it?

“Does Barrett know about this?” I asked instead.

Beau shook his head. “Not yet. I was too angry to call him.”

“But shouldn’t he already know?” I asked as I put the knife down. Good thing I’d procrastinated, because this food was probably all going back in the fridge. I hoped someone got to eat it. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.

It would be a shame for us to go to waste.

“He and Bellamy made it sound like they have cameras on every inch of this place, and we’re being watched around the clock,” I added when Beau didn’t answer.

He opened his mouth, then pursed his lips together. “It was in a pretty remote spot,” he finally said. “I know. It sounds like I’m making excuses. Gigi is actually the one who picked up on it?—”

“That means someone got too close for comfort,” I said.

“Listen, I’m not questioning how your colleagues do their jobs.

We’re dealing with a professional crime ring.

They’ve slipped past a lot of safeguards.

But the thing that bothers me is that this says Gina.

Which makes me wonder if we trusted someone that we shouldn’t?—”

“The Sawtooth Pack would never,” he growled.

“You keep telling me how welcoming and friendly they are.”

“I said they were friendly, not stupid.”

Ugh. This was an impossible situation. And I was so pissed that whoever was responsible for this had destroyed our peace, and they could destroy us.

Don’t let that happen . It was my wolf’s turn to growl.

“I need to know everyone you talked to at the cookout.”

“Just Amelia, and her two friends.” In my panic, I blanked on their names. “One had blue hair, and the other is about to have a baby any minute.”

“Luna and Lyssie.”

“Yes.” It gave me a tiny bit of comfort that he knew exactly who I was talking about. In that giant crowd, there was no guarantee he’d know them. “And then your coworkers from the fire department.”

“Baron and Dallas—who is Lyssie’s mate.”

Even better. At least we knew she could be trusted. Or I hoped.

“Wait.” I took a deep breath, because my next thought could make what was left intact of this arrangement implode. “Do you think Brad could’ve had something to do with this?”

A low rumble emitted from Beau’s throat.

“We were never supposed to be separated,” I reminded him. “Barrett was so meticulous about every detail. I can’t imagine he would forget to tell Brad something so important.”

Beau nodded, and his mouth set in a grim line. “You’re right. I’ll talk to Barrett. In the meantime, you should probably get ready to move quickly if needed.”