Bear Meets Girl

by Catherine Vale

  “Yes, it is.” The Commander turned and gestured to the shifter female, who reluctantly rose to her feet. “This is Detective Angela Mason. She’ll be working with you on the case.”

  Cole stiffened, suddenly understanding why Angela was so displeased to see him. As a purebred shifter female, she would naturally be prejudiced against working with him, and that was definitely not something he wanted to deal with. “I work alone.”

  The Commander scowled. “Not on this one you don’t. Angela’s brother happens to be the mastermind behind my daughter’s kidnapping, and because of her close connection to both him and Raina, I want her working on this case. Her knowledge is invaluable.”

  Cole’s mouth snapped shut, knowing that the Commander was right though he didn’t like it one bit. Angela apparently decided to take that as a cue for her to speak up. “I don’t understand why we need him,” she told the Commander. “We have a houseful of well-trained, dedicated Protectors right under this roof who are more than capable of retrieving Raina. We don’t need to hire a mercenary.”

  Cole knew he should be offended, but part of him admired that the woman had the balls to say what was on her mind when he was standing right here in the room. “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart,” he said before the Commander tore a strip off her hide, “but you need me, more than you know.” He raked a hot stare over her curvy body, which nicely displayed by the form-fitting red leather bomber jacket and skin-tight jeans she wore.

  Angela’s face flushed as she caught his stare, and she tossed her coppery curls defiantly. “And just why is that?”

  “I think you’d better show her the ransom letter,” the Captain said quietly.

  “What ransom letter?” Angela’s head whipped around to look at Captain Fitzsimons.

  The Captain picked up a file on his desk and withdrew a letter. He handed it off to Angela to read, and Cole looked over her shoulder, wanting to get a look at it in person though he knew the contents of the missive already.

  “This is a ransom demand,” Angela said after a long moment. “Raina’s life, in exchange for Commander Madison’s. It says here that if he doesn’t turn himself in, they’re going to kill her... and that she’ll be the first of many.” She looked up at the Commander, aghast. “When did you receive this?”

  “Not twenty minutes ago.” The Commander pressed his lips into a thin line. “Your brother’s people work fast.”

  Cole watched as a muscle flexed in Angela’s jaw. Clearly she wasn’t happy about the fact that a member of her own family was responsible for her partner’s kidnapping. “The fact of the matter is,” he said, drawing her attention back to him, “your Commander could order a manhunt for Raina’s kidnappers and involve the whole precinct, but that’s going to create a hell of a lot of mess and publicity that he wants to avoid. Since the Commander’s running for office next year, I imagine he wants to avoid all that.”

  Barely leashed fury flared in Angela’s green eyes as she rounded on the Commander. “So you’re hiring a mercenary to rescue your daughter instead of relying on the proper channels because you want to improve your chances of getting a seat on the council?” she hissed, balling her fists at her sides in a way that Cole knew meant she was itching to deck the Commander in the face. He felt his respect for her go up another notch – though he was getting paid for the job, he too found the Commander’s choice of priorities to be just a hair away from despicable.

  Commander Madison’s face reddened. “There is absolutely no reason why you and Cole won’t be just as capable of retrieving Raina as a task force would,” he growled. “That’s why I hired Cole – because he’s the best, and my daughter deserves the best. Now if you want to have any part in finding her, I suggest you stop arguing with me and get on it. Unless you’d rather I find someone else to help Cole?”

  Angela face blanched with fury, and for a moment Cole really did think she was going to deck her Commander. But then the moment passed, and she nodded stiffly. “We’ll find her. You have my word.”

  “Good. Now get out of my sight, and don’t come back until you have something to report.”

  * * *

  Angela stormed out of the building, with Cole just a few paces behind her. If she’d been a mage, the air around her would have been crackling with magic, her hair whipping around her face as her entire body glowed with the need for retribution. As it was, she settled for the stiff wind pushing her hair out behind her, which in turn cooled some of the heat that was scalding her from the inside out.

  “Hey there,” Cole called from behind her. “Why don’t you slow down for a second and tell me where exactly we’re going?”

  Angela took a deep breath as anger sparked from within her, then waited for it to fizzle out before she turned to speak to him. It infuriated her even more that he was standing there so calmly with his hands in his pockets, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and part of her wondered if maybe he hadn’t felt that same spark of desire she had back in the bar.

  Can we focus, please? A voice in her head urged, and she sighed. The truth was that, as much as she didn’t like it, she needed to work with Cole in order to find Raina. Focusing attention on these sudden feelings that may or may not have been between them, wasn’t going to further that goal. “We’re headed back to the precinct so I can have access to my files and my desk while we work.”

  Cole frowned, gesturing to the building behind them. “You mean you don’t work here?”

  Angela shook her head. “This is the central precinct,” she explained. “I work at the eastern precinct, over by the Golden Gate Bridge.”

  Cole raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of precincts for one city.”

  “Yeah, well there are a lot of supernaturals around here, too.” She cocked her head, some of her ire fading away to curiosity. “I’d think as a mercenary you would know more about this.”

  Cole shrugged. “I travel way too often to keep track of every police station and order precinct around.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking off into the distance at the Bay Bridge twinkling over the San Francisco Bay in the darkness. The wind ruffled his curls, but somehow didn’t detract from his rugged masculinity. The silvery moonlight shining down on him really brought out the glow of his violet eyes, and made him look, well, otherworldly.

  I think the word you’re looking for is sexy, a playful voice purred in her head.

  Stop that. Whether or not he’s sexy has absolutely nothing to do with anything. You’ve got a job to do.

  No, not sexy. More like smoking Hot with a capital H. Yeah, that sounds about right.

  “Soooo… are you going to stand there staring at me all night, or are we going back to your precinct?”

  Angela blushed furiously as she tore her gaze away from him, annoyed that she’d gotten so caught up in her lust that she’d forgotten herself. She chalked it up to needing to get laid in the worst way possible, and filed it away at the top of her to-do-list of Things to Get Done Once I Rescue Raina.

  “Let’s go,” she said, turning away from him before she could embarrass herself further. “I’ve got a motorcycle, so you can go ahead and follow me back to the precinct as long as you can keep up.”

  “That sounds like a challenge,” Cole remarked, his lips curling up at the corners in a way that was far too charming for his own good.

  “It’s a promise.” I don’t have any more time to fuck around, she decided as the anxiety started to take hold again. She needed to find her partner before something truly bad happened to her… and knowing her brother, they didn’t have very long at all if she wanted to get Raina back whole and healthy again.

  * * *

  Raina was shocked abruptly back to consciousness as someone dumped a bucket of icy water over her head. Spluttering, she blinked open her eyes to find herself chained hand and foot on a cot in a large concrete cell with no windows or additional furnishings. Panic expanded her chest as she shot upright, a wild scream from her vocal chords im
pending.

  “Ah, good. You’re finally awake.”

  Choking back the scream, Raina turned toward the doorway to find a male shifter standing there, flanked by two other shifters who seemed to act as bodyguards. “Who the hell are you?” she snapped, hating that her voice trembled.

  Really, what the hell kind of Protector was she that she was ready to fall apart at the first sign of trouble?

  “My name is Garrison Hendricks,” the shifter male said, stepping into the room within striking distance. Raina tried to conjure a ball of flame to throw at him, but the chains around her hands hummed, enforcing some kind of magical pressure on her that prevented the energy from getting out. “I’m the Chieftain of the Black Moon Clan, and it’s my hospitality you’re enjoying tonight.” He smiled, glancing down at her hands. “I wouldn’t push your luck on conjuring any kind of spell,” he told her. “If you try to hard the chains will simply backlash the energy into your own body, which has devastating effects, or so I’m told.” He shrugged, leaning against the wall.

  Raina narrowed her eyes as she studied him. Dressed in a white button-up shirt and linen slacks, he presented a rather unassuming presence with his sandy brown hair and lean frame, and she found it hard to believe he was a Chieftain of anything, much less a bear clan. But as she looked into his pale blue eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine, and instinct told her that here was a man full of cold and ruthlessness who would not hesitate to mow down anyone in his way to get what he wanted, even if it meant his friends.

  And Raina was definitely not his friend.

  “The Black Moon Clan?” she said carefully, racking her fuzzy brain to try and dredge up the niggling memory the name evoked. Whatever funk they’d given her earlier to knock her out had really done a number on her – she had a lightning-fast memory that was practically photogenic and usually had no trouble recalling anything. “Aren’t you that radical clan who hates mages of any and all kinds?”

  It was Garrison’s turn to narrow his eyes. “I don’t like the flippancy in your tone,” he said, his eyes darkening.

  Raina straightened her spine. “Yeah, well I don’t like being drugged and held against my will, especially against radical groups who hate my kind, so you’ll have to forgive me if I sound just a tad bit disrespectful.”

  Garrison laughed. “I like your spunk,” he said, and he did sound genuinely appreciative. “It’s too bad that you’re a mage, or we might have been friends in another lifetime.”

  “I doubt it.” Raina lifted her chin. “I happen to have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to bigoted assholes like you.”

  Garrison’s face reddened, and he punched Raina square in the jaw. The powerful blow sent her reeling back, her head cracking against the concrete wall as she collapsed against the bed. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he growled, looming over her, and it suddenly struck Raina how tall he was. Fear shortened her breath, more than the pain, as he glowered down at her, his eyes glowing orange as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. “For you to call me a bigot, when your kind so mercilessly hunts and kills mine, tells me that you are ridiculously ignorant of your own race.” He let out a long breath, then, his eyes returning back to normal as he looked away. “I guess that’s why I have to forgive you, then,” he said, stepping back. “It makes me no better than any of you if I can’t find the wisdom to show mercy when it’s warranted.”

  Oh, why thank you, Raina wanted to say, but she knew sarcasm would only unleash Garrison’s fury again, so she kept her comments to herself as she struggled up into a sitting position, rubbing her sore jaw. “So did you come to welcome me to your humble abode?” she asked, gesturing around the cell. “Or was there something you wanted to tell me?”

  Garrison cocked his head. “I came down to check on you, make sure the drugs hadn’t completely screwed you up.” His lips pursed. “My men may have inadvertently given you more than was advised.”

  Well, that explained the continued bouts of dizziness. “While I appreciate your concern, I think I’d really benefit a lot more if you told me exactly why you’ve decided to pluck me out of my life and place me in a concrete box.”

  “Oh, that?” Garrison shrugged. “I’m holding you for ransom, in exchange for your father’s life.”

  The words crashed down on Raina’s shoulders like a lead anvil. “Why on earth would you do that? My father would never give himself up for me.”

  Garrison cocked an eyebrow. “Interesting. My nose tells me that you aren’t lying… and yet my Intel suggests you are. Which can only mean that you truly believe your father cares so little for you.”

  Raina lifted her chin again, refusing to show Garrison just how much those words hit the mark. “It isn’t that my father doesn’t love me so much, as it is that he loves his career more. I can’t see him doing anything to jeopardize it. You may as well let me go.”

  Garrison laughed. “What a piss-poor relationship you must have for you to truly believe such hopeless words. I almost feel sorry for you.” His expression grew dark. “But forgive me if I don’t take your words at face-value, even if you do seem to believe them. Even if your father doesn’t turn himself in… which I assure you, he will, the backup plan I have will be more than rewarding.”

  “And what back up plan would that be?”

  “It’s quite simple. If your father doesn’t turn himself in, I’ll simply destroy all of his precincts, and then go find a Commander in another area who will give himself up to me.”

  Chapter Four

  Angela admitted to herself she was a little relieved that it was going on two in the morning when she brought Cole into the precinct with her. Few Protectors were actually in the precinct at this time, change of shift having occurred nearly two hours ago, and though Cole did draw a few funny looks from the uniforms at the front desk, they wisely didn’t ask questions.

  Cole stopped behind her as they entered the bullpen, and she turned her head to look back at him. “What?”

  His violet eyes scanned the open space filled with groups of desks and chairs, filing cabinets, and the smell of stale coffee and cigarettes that had permanently sunk its way into the grey walls and carpeting. His eyes lingered on the shield with the four main races emblazoned on it, painted across the far wall – a star, a claw, a leaf, and a drop of blood in each corner, to represent mages, shifters, fae, and demons.

  “It just strikes me every time I walk into one of these places as how similar they all are,” he finally said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

  Angela’s cheeks pinkened a little as her fingers instinctively went to the shield that hung around her neck, with it’s own coat of arms stamped on it that was identical to the one on the wall. “Yeah, well maybe that’s just a symbol of unity. You know, since we’re all working toward the same thing.”

  Cole snorted. “Right.” He moved past her and headed straight for her desk. Angela didn’t have to ask how he knew which was the right way – she could tell he was using his nose to sniff her out.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded as she strode after him, not liking that he was leading the way in her own precinct.

  “It means,” he said, his fingers trailing over the papers and knickknacks on her desk. His fingers grazed over the dream catcher that had fallen off her desk lamp, and he picked it up. “That I don’t judge all of you as equal just because you all stand for the same cause. I’ve met good and corrupt people on both sides of the line, and I’ve learned that it’s better to judge by individual merit rather than the ideals you all hold in front of your faces like some kind of shield.” His eyes flicked dismissively to the shield resting between her breasts, and then back down to the dream-catcher in his hand. “Is this for when you fall asleep at your desk or something?”

  Blushing furiously, Angela snatched the dream-catcher from Cole’s fingers and shoved it into a drawer, refusing to confirm that was exactly what it was for. “Let’s get to work,”
she snapped, pulling out her chair. She paused for a moment as she glanced at the crappy visitor’s chair next to her desk, then sighed and pointed at the desk that sat catty corner to hers. “You can sit at Raina’s desk.”

  “Mmm, good idea.” He sat down in her chair and splayed his hands on the grainy wood of her desk. “That’ll allow me to get a sense of her, which should make her easier to find.”

  Angela snorted, then turned to her computer to log in, but she’d barely typed in her password when Cole’s entire body began to glow softly. Curious about what exactly he was doing – she hadn’t thought he was actually going to do some spell-casting – she turned in her chair to watch him. His hands were still in exactly the same position, his head tilted slightly back so that his curls hung free of his forehead, drawing even more attention to the carved bones of his face. There was a dent in his chin, she noticed for the first time. Shallow enough that she hadn’t seen it in the darkness of the bar, but it was there now, and her fingers itched to flick over the spot and see how deep it was.

  Maybe you could try it with your tongue, an insidious voice suggested. You might get more interesting results.

  She blushed again and pushed the dirty thought from her mind as she continued to look at him. Rather than frowning in concentration, his face was completely relaxed, his pale eyebrows arched, his thick lashes sweeping his broad cheekbones, his full mouth parted slightly. She wondered how his lips would feel against her skin…

  His eyes popped open, and she jumped, a jolt going through her as his wildly violet eyes connected with hers. The glow around him faded. “You’re distracting me.”

  She swallowed, her face burning even more as she wondered if he’d sensed her lust. “Sorry,” she muttered, and then abruptly grew angry that she was being so apologetic. “What exactly is it that you’re doing, anyway?”