CHAPTER TWELVE

Marcella poised the nib of her pen over a piece of motel notepad paper, prepared to take notes as Dana walked past her webcam again and again. Apparently, she was searching for something in the office that couldn’t wait until after the conference.

Soren, unbothered, lounged on his side on the bed with his head propped on his fist. No pen. No paper. He hadn’t even opened his phone’s notepad app.

“Seriously?” she muttered.

He pushed up his eyelids only to narrow his eyes at her. She’d disturbed his impromptu slumber.

“I found it,” Drea said from off-camera. “Let me get to my computer.”

“Oh, good.” Dana plopped into her desk chair and adjusted her laptop’s lid so the camera centered her face. “Sorry about that. Doc dropped off some information on an encrypted drive yesterday abstracting the results of the SHREW Study. I wanted to send the pertinent docs to you in case you needed to make some quick observations about the Bears down there. I’m interested in seeing if they experienced any of the same effects that we did, or if their genetic alterations are new and unique.” She shrugged. “Anyhow, that information should be easy to read. It’s in plain language for the most part, but you can get Soren to help you with the Bear stuff.”

Soren grunted.

“Am I holding up your catnap, Ursu?” Dana asked with a laugh.

“My eyes may be closed, but I’m listening.”

“Come on, it’s not that early.”

“Bullshit. And have you ever noticed that when Peter and I can choose shifts, his is always in the morning?”

“I had, but I never put two and two together.”

“Should I write that down?” Drea shouted, probably from the office hallway. “Not to schedule Soren for morning jobs?”

Again, he grunted. “I’ll be all right. You need something done? I’ll get it done, regardless of the time of day.”

“I’m going to take your word for that,” Dana said. “So, Marcella, I read your email from last night. Twice, actually. I forwarded the important stuff to Doc, which is why Drea is currently uploading information from a thumb drive to send to you. I think it’s interesting that they added men to their experiment group this time.”

“But did they?” Soren asked. Even though his eyes were closed, he was obviously paying attention.

“What do you mean?” Marcella asked.

“Guess.”

She sighed and rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to play guessing games with Soren with her potential boss observing through a video feed, but at the same time, she didn’t want Dana to see her getting hot under the collar over her unwanted chaperone’s nuisance act. “Are you suggesting that the male Bears weren’t part of the drug scheme?”

“Yes.”

“Then there’d only be two reasons they’d be here, assuming they’re made-Bears like the women. Either they got attacked by the women—”

“And that’s assuming that the women have the capability to change anyone,” Dana said.

“Right,” Soren said. “Not all made-Bears are capable of transmitting the biological element that sparks the mutation.”

Marcella counted off on her fingers. “And the second reason would be that the men came from somewhere else.”

“That’s a possibility that may need further investigation. Pamela said Wes didn’t send them the Bears to help like he promised. If there are outsiders present, we’d need to confirm they’re truly independent and not actually infiltrators Wes or Gene sent to keep an eye on them.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make heads or tails of what’s happening in time,” Dana said. “What I want you to dig deeper into is CarrHealth, and specifically to find out if they fostered the creation of the drug and, of course, keep trying to root out Wes. Drea did some preliminary searching on the addresses you sent over. We’ve already eliminated one. A lab fire caused the entire structure to go up in flames last year, and aerial footage shows there’s a new landfill there now. The other address, though, is in a ten-story office building in Marietta. Per the leasing company’s website, CarrHealth has administrative and study recruitment departments there.”

“So, all of the Bears here who signed on for the trial would have filed through that office at some point,” Peter said.

“Exactly.”

“What’s the security situation at the building?” Marcella asked.

Dana shook her head. “Don’t know, sweetie. You’ll have to find out. Soren might be recognized if there’s anyone there we’ve confronted before, but you’re new, and no one would have an immediate recall of your face. You know the deal.”

“Yes. Check the lobby for a security staff. If they require a sign-in, don’t. If no sign in is required, proceed to the floor of the company for a closer look.”

“You got it.”

Soren gave her hip a nudge. “Hey, listen to you, sounding all professional and shit.”

“I told you that you didn’t need to come with me. I can figure things out.”

He grinned. “Shrews work in pairs. I can’t sit around looking pretty. I need to be doing something active.”

“You’re right. I’d be even more annoyed with you if you weren’t doing anything.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dana chirped. “Cooperation makes success happen. All right, then. So, moving on. Drea had some intel on Pamela’s daughter.” She leaned out of the screen and called down the hall. “Drea, you coming in with that, or should I relay the details? Oh. Never mind, she’s on the phone.” Dana rustled some papers on her desk and then, while clicking open the cap on a bottle of TUMS, clucked her tongue. “Ah. Here we go. Kimberly Little.”

Marcella scratched the name onto her pad.

Soren’s eyes were closed again.

She sighed.

“Drea found a couple of child support garnishments, and that sent her on the path,” Dana said. “Looks like her father died in prison in Illinois two years ago. Some kind of riot. As far as we can tell, he wasn’t a major player in Kim’s life. We learned that Kim dropped out of high school in eleventh grade, and later got a GED. Drea found some evidence of a hospital stay about a month after she dropped out that was the right length for—”

“How?” Marcella asked.

Dana cocked a brow.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but isn’t that information supposed to be confidential?”

Dana shrugged. “For the most part. You have to know how to research outside the usual channels. Drea picked up the clues on Facebook. Kim’s profile is more or less private, but not all her friends’ are. People love to discuss other peoples’ business on the Internet. There was a lot of not-so-coded discussion about Kim’s boyfriend of the time. A lot of he-said-she-said stuff, and there was a comment about Kim allegedly saying that she ‘wasn’t going to keep it.’ Kinda put two and two together.”

“A baby, then?”

“Yep. Couldn’t find any pictures of the child in anyone’s timeline, but Kim was tagged in a picture where she was wearing a specific kind of hospital bracelet—the kind with a newborn’s information. The evidence adds up.”

So, social media is the devil. Good to know.

Marcella massaged her temple. “So, our suspicion now is that the alleged child you think she had was put up for adoption.”

“Looks that way. Kim doesn’t seem to have recovered from the choice, in my opinion, but admittedly, we’re talking about something that happened a year ago. It seems that she really wanted to keep the baby but, for whatever reason, didn’t feel she could. Other than that, we can tell you that Kim works thirty-two hours per week at a local dollar store and that she occasionally takes a class at the community college. Introductory biology. The kind of thing you’d take as a core class at a four-year school. Maybe she wants to transfer. Anyway, I hope some of this information helps.”

“I believe it will. I need to sit down and compile my notes, though. If I need to follow up with you, I’ll send you an email.”

“You’ll do great, I’m sure. Well, I’m off to bed.” Dana stood up and stretched. “The night was way too eventful. Lots of calls came in. Nothing urgent, but the ladies will be scrambling this morning. Sarah will be in the office in about twenty minutes if you need a live voice.”

“Thank you.”

“Is my brother still there?” Soren asked.

“No, I sent him out on a job,” Dana said. “Need something?”

“No. What I have to discuss with Peter is family business. I’ll call him later.”

“Okay, then. Good luck.” Dana disconnected the call.

Marcella closed the program and opened a new tab in her cloud-based notepad app. She needed to do a brain dump to capture all the little details of the conversation—even the ones that didn’t seem important. She had no way of knowing what petty, throwaway comments could make or break a case, and her gut gave no guidance. She needed more experience.

“So efficient,” Soren murmured. He pushed himself upright and then, heaving a sigh, padded to his coffee cup.

“I want to do this right. How do you do keep track of everything? Do you keep all of the information in your head?”

“Mostly, but the way I investigate is different from the way the Shrews tend to. I move more like a Bear and go where my curiosity leads me. There’s less order and structure to my methods. Even if there seems to be a rhyme and reason, mostly I’m using my knowledge of how people behave than any actual evidence.”

“But that works for you.”

He grunted and peeled back the lid of his cup. “Nine times out of ten.”

“That’s still pretty good odds.” Marcella finished typing her flyaway thought about Kim before turning her focus squarely on Soren. “What happens that tenth time, though?”

He made a sour face. “I have to call my father for guidance.”

“You poor baby,” she said drolly.

“I know.” He tipped the cup back, swallowing probably one-third of the contents of the super-sized vessel before setting the container back on the dresser. “Smarts when I have to do that. Want to kiss me and make me feel better?”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“That’s not a no.”

He was right.

Marcella cleared her throat, finished up her notes, and saved the file twice to be sure the version would stick before she closed her computer. She scooted to the end of the bed and tucked the machine under her arm. “I’m going back to my room for a while. I think it’s probably too early to hit that office building. We can leave at around eight-thirty, so we’re there right after nine when the foot traffic is heavy. That way, no one will pay specific attention to us when we’re scouting the lobby.”

Soren ripped off a piece of a third bagel and popped it into his mouth. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me no. My self-esteem would be much improved with a kiss.”

“I think your self-esteem is fairly overblown already.”

“I hide my pain well. Stoic Romanian Bear, and such.”

“And when, exactly, did this blow to your confidence occur that you would still be so wounded?”

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed the dark scruff on his jaw. “Help me remember. When did you turn up?”

She sucked her teeth and tried to edge around him, but he took up too damned much space. The tiniest tilt to the right and he was in her path.

Sighing, she closed her eyes.

“Why do you insist on making me suffer?” he asked in a comically petulant tone.

“Why do you insist on behaving as though I owe you anything?” She opened her eyes and gave him a pointed look. Hard to do without her eyes crossing when he was so close. “Just so you know, I don’t owe you anything.”

“You think I would take without giving back? I’m a very generous lover.”

He sounded so self-assured when he made statements like that, so she couldn’t help but believe him. She couldn’t help but wonder what being with someone who’d take his time and learn every intimate detail about her body would be like. Who’d observe all her responses and file them away so he’d know what to do the next time.

And he probably wouldn’t stop until he was sure she felt good. His ego wouldn’t allow him to quit.

Marcella’s face burned so hotly that she was certain Soren could read her temperature in the red of her eyes. She swallowed.

The fact that Soren didn’t hit her radar as a completely selfish shit wasn’t going to change the fact that they were working on a case. Until the matter was resolved, they would be—come hell or high water—chaste.

She nibbled the inside of her cheek and studied him. The lift of his raised brow, the green streaks in his irises, the full, sensuous mouth that always had a slight uptilt at one corner.

He wasn’t going to back down. In any other circumstance, that wouldn’t have been such an appalling thing. There was something undeniably sexy about a man who refused to give up on her. But he didn’t know her. He didn’t understand what sort of creature he was dealing with.

She released her cheek, swallowed, and took a step backward.

Distract him and run.

That always worked. “If I kiss you,” Marcella said, flustered, “will you back off?”

He raised a brow. “For now.”

It was a start. Marcella cleared her throat and pulled her leather gloves out of her jacket pocket. She slid them on, pressed her hands to his cheeks, and gave him the briefest peck on his jaw she could manage. Then she grabbed her crap and made for the door while he was too stunned to respond.

“Uh, Mar—”

“Bye.” She had the door open and one foot outside before he caught up.

“That didn’t count.” He lifted her by the waist as though she weighed little more than the bagel he’d been holding and carried back into the room.

The door closed, shutting with what Marcella thought was a taunting click.

“Damn you!” she spat.

Soren took her computer, her bag, and her coffee cup, and set them all on the dresser. “My father taught me when I was six that if I half-assed things, I shouldn’t be surprised if I was made to do them again.” He nudged her back until her legs brushed the end of the bed and, reflexively, she sat. “You’re going to have to do that again.”

“You’re changing the terms of the deal.”

“No, you’re shorting me on my due. Don’t you agree?” He pressed one hand to the edge of the bed at each side of her hip and leaned down, meeting her gaze. Giving her no room to flee.

She dragged her tongue across her dry lips and pulled in a bracing breath.

He was doing something to her. Chipping away at her defenses. Making her feel like nothing bad would happen if she just gave in once. Making her feel like…he was safe.

“Why do you insist on making an alpha Bear beg?” he asked softly.

“Most men can take no for an answer.”

“But you don’t want to tell me no. That’s the problem. You keep trying to repel me, yet everything about you is saying yes.”

“Because you can’t have me.”

“Why not?”

“Because…”

She couldn’t tell him. Couldn’t tell him what a freak she was and how much of an outsider she was. She didn’t even fully understand what she was, only that the only think she could be for him was trouble.

“Because…”

Some sound that was a cross between a snarl and a growl rumbled in his chest.

Her spine lost its stiffness and face resumed its former impersonation of a radiator turned up too damned high.

“I…”

“You what?” he demanded.

“You don’t even know what I am!” she blurted.

He nodded. Slowly. Sardonically. A huff fell out his mouth, and his face was suddenly closer to hers. He whispered, “I don’t know because you won’t tell me.”

“No one knows.” Except for her mother and her grandmother. That was all.

“I think you would feel better if you told someone.”

“Yes.” But she wouldn’t.

Couldn’t.

She couldn’t explain what she was and make any sense. There were no names for things like her. Soren would call her a liar or worse—tell her that she was crazy. He may have claimed to have seen everything there was to see about the paranormal, but there was no way he could have ever seen anything like her.

“So tell me,” he murmured, and his lips covered even closer to hers.

Her throat convulsed with a swallow and eyelids flitted downward.

Her body was acting with no input from her brain, and even her brain was doing very little in the way of processing the madness.

When his lips pressed against hers, her breath fell out in a ragged gust and lips parted more.

His tongue slipped between them, searing across hers and starting a tightening cascade down her chest to lower things. Her fingers curled atop her thighs and then shifted down to her knees where they skimmed the insides of his strong legs. Up his thighs, settling on his hips as he leaned in so much that her only option was to fall backward.

Flat on the bed, his weight pinned her into the too-soft mattresses. His large form crushed her, and she didn’t care. He guided her, and she mirrored his actions. A lick from him. A lick from her. For once, no fear that a man with her was doing something because magic had told him to.

He behaved the way he did because he was a Bear, and the beast in him thought she was his mate, and he wanted her clothes off.

Magic was in play, maybe, but not hers. His. She wasn’t making him do anything that wasn’t already his idea.

His hot lips slid off her mouth and glided across her jaw and up her cheek before landing at her ear. His teeth stung the sensitive flesh, and before the pain could register, his tongue chased away the prickles, and his breath against the side of her face warmed her to her core. “Why do you put on the gloves?”

“Hmm?” She loved the heaviness of him between her legs, and her hips had started up a rocking motion, side to side, and she stimulated her sex against the roughness of his clothes—against the massive bulge hidden beneath them.

That’s okay, isn’t it?

“The gloves,” he repeated. “Why?”

“I told you.” She slid a hand over his mouth to shut him up and wrapped her legs tightly around his thighs. She was probably the worst sort of lover—the very opposite of what he’d proclaimed himself to be.

Selfish and interested in only her pleasure because she hadn’t had any in so damn long. Certainly, Soren had been satisfied far more recently than she’d been.

“I’d like to tell you things, but I can’t. You can’t understand.”

Didn’t matter, anyway. His mouth had been on her, and nothing bad had happened. He wasn’t rendered dumb by her.

He took her hand and peeled off her glove before she could register what he was doing. He kissed the back of her hand and, meeting her gaze with the arresting intensity of a man who was starved for attention, he licked her skin and her fingers splayed. His tongue darted between them, lacing up the sides, and he pulled the middle one into his mouth and sucked.

That was not okay with her.

That suck sent an answering tug to her pussy that would have had her arching off the bed if she hadn’t been pinned down by two hundred pounds of arrogant Bear.

Not okay.

Gasping, she swatted away and with tremendous effort, wriggled out from under him. “No. We can’t—”

“Why not?” He pushed up onto his hands and knees and growled. “Why the hell not?”

“Because.” Again, she grabbed her things scurried to the door. “You’ll understand when you find out. That’s all I can say. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

That time, she got all the way outside, and he didn’t follow her.