Page 29 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)
Chapter Twenty-Four
Beau
Smoke rose from the charred earth on either side of us as Barrett navigated his SUV along the windy road. This was the part of fighting fires I liked the least, after the fire was extinguished and everything left behind was revealed. Some things reduced to rubble, others defiant and still standing.
“I should get out there and help the guys,” I said. The volunteer fire department was always short-staffed, and this needless blaze spanned multiple municipalities.
“No,” the rest of the occupants of the SUV said in unison. Even Gigi lifted her head from my lap and gave me an incredulous look.
I was so relieved my girl was okay. We’d wrapped one of her paws that got cut during our journey. I hated that anything happened to her, but was also so thankful it was something she’d easily recover from. She’d be getting extra treats and snuggles for the foreseeable future.
Kayla put her hand on my arm, igniting a very different fire inside me. “You’ve done more than enough today. And we need to get your injuries checked.”
“Kayla’s right. You stayed cool under pressure and made smart, quick decisions today that probably saved your lives,” Barrett said, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Extremely impressive work, Beau. Once you’ve recovered from the ordeal, I’d love to chat with you about the decisions you made.
I think it will benefit the other guys on the team. ”
“Absolutely.”
“If you’re open to it, we’d like to make you a tactical trainer,” Bellamy added.
“We get resumes from a lot of guys who know how to guard, but they’ve never had to act under pressure before.
Some of it you learn in the military, but the rest is pure instinct and confidence.
With a little training, these guys could be exactly what we need.
Barrett and I just don’t have the time to do it, and we’ve been talking about adding someone into that role.
With this job, you proved that you’re the guy. ”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I mean, yes, obviously, I’d love to help out Sawtooth Security any way I can.
” This was pretty incredible. I wasn’t sure if I should play it cool or totally geek out that the guys thought I was ready for more.
I was a rookie, and as Kayla had pointed out, I always thought of myself as an underdog.
Now I was getting an opportunity to give more guys like me a chance to thrive.
Barrett brought us back to the place it all began—the cabin.
“Glad to see this place still intact,” Kayla said as the SUV came to a stop.
“We sent some of the guys to check on it to make sure it was safe,” Barrett said. “Passed with flying colors. We’ll keep the rental for a few more days, so Kayla can make plans to go back to her regular life.”
She sighed softly, but the guys didn’t wait for her to answer.
“I’m gonna miss this,” I said.
“Me too.” She wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I’m glad we get to give the place a proper goodbye.”
After coaxing Gigi off my lap, I walked hand in hand with Kayla up to the old cabin. I hated that this could be the last night that we spent together. There was no doubt that The Wolf’s Moon would be anxious to have her back on set.
It doesn’t have to be goodbye , my bear reminded me.
But as we joined my coworkers inside the cabin, I was at a total loss for ways we could make things work between us. I’d just been offered my dream job, and Kayla would be headed back to hers.
You’ll find a way, my bear insisted.
I wanted nothing more than to be alone with Kayla, to kiss her and make all the things that happened today go away. But I was grateful that the Sawtooth Security guys found us. Even though it had felt very much like we’d been fighting alone, we weren’t.
“Thanks for all the hard work you did on this case,” I said once we got inside the cabin. “I’m sure things could’ve gotten much worse today if we didn’t have an eye on these guys.”
“We won’t stay long,” Barrett said, like he could read my mind. “But we figured you’d want to know what we learned about the crypto ring.”
“How bad was it?” Kayla asked as she settled on the couch. I took the seat beside her, and Gigi pushed her way between us.
“Worse than we thought,” Bellamy said. “Turns out, Mark Peters was no lovesick superfan that got mixed up in a bad crowd. He was the mastermind behind the whole ring. He was using the proceeds from the crypto money to do experiments on humans, injecting them with shifter genes to create hybrid creatures with certain abilities.”
Kayla gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath.
Bellamy nodded. “As you can imagine, this practice went horribly wrong more than it went right. But apparently there was a market for the successful hybrids. Buyers were treating the hybrids as pets, or like their own personal blow-up dolls.”
“That’s so horrifying.” Kayla shuddered. “Even more that they kept trying to abduct me for moon knows what.”
“Your DNA would be very valuable on the black market,” Bellamy said. “More valuable than your money. Which is probably why they were so focused on you.”
“We’ve been in contact with the local authorities,” Barrett added. “We’ve been helping them gather intel where these things have been happening. They were waiting for us to wrap up this part of the case before they made any public moves.”
“So it’s over?” Kayla asked, her voice heavy with emotion.
“Yeah, the threat is gone,” Barrett said. “I’ve also spoken to an attorney general who is interested in building a case to recover funds for the victims.”
“That would be amazing,” she said.
I reached over and squeezed her hand. We weren’t sure how this case would come to an end. It was so much bigger than us, and I was so proud to be part of a team that shut the whole damn operation down.
“It was a pleasure to work with you, Kayla,” Bellamy said as he rose from the chair. “Since this case is considered closed, you’re a free woman—I hope you never need our help again, but at the same time, I hope to be seeing a lot more of you in Sawtooth Forest.”
“Agreed,” Barrett added. “We know you have a demanding shooting schedule, but we’d love a chance to properly introduce you to the rest of the pack. But for now, we’ll give the two of you some time to recover from your ordeal.”
Once my coworkers closed the door behind them, we were alone.
“Kinda feels like the first night they left us here,” I said.
“How so?” Kayla asked. Her gaze met mine, and my body warmed. All the aches from the day, the shift, and the fight faded away.
“I have no idea what happens next.”
“I have a pretty good idea.” She leaned forward and cupped my face in her hands.
“You’re gonna kiss me, and then we’ll get a little carried away.
Gigi will get annoyed with us and take off in a huff, but we’ll make it up to her with lots of treats and cuddles later.
After we give each other lots of treats and cuddles. ”
Gigi got the hint without us having to coax her off the couch.
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” I teased. I’d had something very different in mind, but I was on board with this idea.
As long as it wasn’t goodbye.
Kayla ran her hand over my forehead. “The wound looks much better,” she said softly. “I think I’ll need to check the rest of you.”
“Dr. Kayla at my service?” I chuckled.
“Well, I don’t play one on TV.” She trailed her finger down my arm. “It’s a private service I only offer to a very exclusive clientele. In fact, there’s only one bear in the entire world that can take advantage of it.”
“Oh, yeah?” My voice was pure growl, and my cock was rock hard and ready for its examination. “Sounds like a pretty lucky guy.”
She shook her head as she pushed my shirt up. Her fingers moved over my skin, whisper light, the perfect antidote to a rough fucking day. “Luck has nothing to do with it. He’s kind, funny, smart, humble, caring, and attentive. He looks at me like I’m a goddess.”
“Because you are.” I sucked in a breath when she hit a sore spot on my ribs.
She drew back and gasped. “I hurt you.”
“You didn’t. It’s fine. It’s just a bruise.” Not that I could confirm that.
“I hate that you’re hurt because of me.”
“Hey.” I took her hands in mine. “You didn’t do this.
I’m hurt because some asshole was hellbent on using you to further his sick agenda.
This isn’t your fault, Kayla. You didn’t do anything wrong and I refuse to let you spend another second feeling guilty about this.
The alternative to some sore ribs would have been much, much worse. ”
“I know.” She squeezed my hands. “I haven’t processed what Bellamy told me yet. When I do, it’s gonna hit hard.”
“Not tonight.” I sat up and ran my lips along her jawbone. “Tonight we celebrate. It’s—” I almost said it could be our last night together, but I wasn’t ready to process that reality. “It’s just about you and me.”
Our lips met in a kiss, tangling together, saying all the things words couldn’t.
I would not let my mate feel guilty, or worse, powerless, because that shithead had targeted her.
She was one hundred percent right that I looked at her like she was a goddess, and I’d make sure she’d never think of herself as anything less again.
All I had to do was figure out how to make what we shared in this cabin last forever. But like she hadn’t wanted to process what Bellamy had told us, I didn’t want to think about my life beyond this case.
I ran my hand under her T-shirt. We were both dusty and sooty from our ordeal.
“I have an idea,” I said. “Why don’t we pick this up in the shower?”
“That’s a fantastic idea.”