A Pair of Bears: Bear Shifter Menage Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Read Free Book Online

fight again, and better since he knew it was for a worthy cause.
    But he hadn’t only fought for the memory of Ryan, and for all the men and women in uniform who’d be in danger if his mission failed, or even for his best friend. Though Eli hadn’t shifted, he’d fought as a bear fights, knowing nothing but the primal urge to protect his mate. He’d have laid down his life for Paisley without a flicker of regret.
    Eli replaced his earbud. Softly, he said, “Paisley? Jackson? What’s your status?”
    To his relief, they both answered immediately.
    “We’re good,” said Jackson. “Still downloading the data. There’s a lot of it.”
    “Are you all right?” Paisley asked.
    “Sure,” Eli replied automatically. “Well— I just knocked out two guards. But I’m fine. How did you know to ask?”
    He imagined that he could see Paisley’s shrug as she replied, “Just a funny feeling. I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
    Eli smiled to himself as he said, “Same here. I’m taking out my earbud now. I need to focus. Yell loud if you need me. Eli out.”
    He went on, following the directions Jackson had given to him, until he neared Research & Development.  Eli slowed. There were sure to be more guards there. He listened carefully as he crept forward, his ears attuned for the slightest rustle.
    Voices came to his ears, drifting through the closed door up ahead. These guards weren’t bothering to keep quiet. Eli carefully set down his backpack, then reached into it as he listened to four men arguing over the latest NBA draft picks.
    He hadn’t bothered to arm himself to fight only two guards, but even he couldn’t take out four men barehanded before a single one could yell for help. With a pang, he missed his SEAL team. And Ryan. SEALs worked in teams or pairs. They didn’t fight alone unless they were the last one standing.
    I’m not alone, Eli reminded himself. I’m with my mate and my best friend. They’re right here with me.
    He touched the earbud in his pocket, then found his hand drifting to his heart. Eli jerked his hand down. He couldn’t be distracted.
    He took a rapid-fire tranquilizer gun from his backpack, then crept to the door. Eli held the dart gun ready as he kicked in the door. He fired in a semi-circle, spraying the room. Then he dove through the doorway and rolled.
    Eli fetched up hard against the leg of a lab table. A shock of pain jolted through his ribs. He ignored it and swung his pistol around. Three guards had collapsed in drugged heaps on the floor, but the fourth was lunging at a red alarm on the wall, his hand outstretched to hit the button.
    Eli fired. The dart hissed through the air and smacked into the guard’s hand. The man yelped, jerking his hand back. Then he staggered, his eyes rolling back in their sockets, and fell to the floor.
    Eli surveyed the scene. Four guards unconscious, no alarm sounded. He didn’t bother tying the guards; they’d be out for hours.
    He was in a huge room lined with built-in cabinets, like a bank vault full of safe deposit boxes. Thickly glassed windows looked into more storage rooms, and also a number of laboratories. Some contained medical equipment, while others looked more like chemistry labs.
    Eli paced around the room, peering through each window. He found two rooms that were obviously used for testing military equipment, with targets set up, but the equipment itself was nowhere in sight.
    Then he found what he was looking for. Eli didn’t blink at pools of blood or mangled bodies, but he flinched at the sight of the room with an array of guns and a bunch of shot-up crash test dummies wearing those fucking vests. The way some were tumbled, he could see how the bullets had pierced the vests and gone out the other side.
    He stared through the window, blood hammering in his ears. All he needed to do was go in, grab as many vests as he could carry, and he’d have his proof. No one else would ever have to die like Ryan had died, trusting in armor