ChoosingHisChristmasMiracle by Charlie Richards Read Free Book Online

question pulled Raul from his increasingly panicked thoughts. He looked at the wolf shifter flying the helicopter and nodded. “Yeah.”
    “Congrats, mon ami ,” Manon replied, glancing over his shoulder at Raul and giving him a big grin.
    Raul had gotten used to the way the Cajun tossed in French terms on occasion. At least those words he recognized as calling him a friend. The guy had recently found his own mate and seemed deliriously happy about it.
    Trying to convince himself that getting a mate was a good thing, even one he knew nothing about, was a man, and had a baby, Raul smiled back and said, “Thanks. We just caught up with each other so it’ll be nice to get back to him. There’s still plenty we need to learn about each other.” Well, those words are true anyway .
    Manon nodded, then said, “Kontra and Payson be meetin’ us at the airstrip. They got transportation all ready for us and show us where this place is.”
    Raul appreciated the change of subject, giving him something else to focus on. He remembered Kontra as the big bear shifter—a grizzly shifter, he’d been told. He didn’t remember the other guy though, so asked, “Who’s Payson?”
    “He’s a hyena shifter. A little touched in the head, but good in a fight,” Jared replied.
    Raul turned to him. “When did you meet him?”
    Jared shrugged. “I haven’t. But did you really think I’d work with people I didn’t know I could rely on?” he asked, lifting a brow.
    “When the hell did you have time to research them?” Raul asked, confused.
    Carson chuckled, shaking his head. “You took longer to pack than you think you did.”
    “Oh,” Raul muttered. The things Jared could do with a laptop would worry most people. Raul just found it helpful.
    “How many people do you think we’ll need to call in?” Carson asked.
    Jared cocked his head and smirked. “I don’t think we’ll need to call others in. There are already six of us. Any more than that and we’ll be too conspicuous.”
    Carson rested his hand on Jared’s thigh and squeezed. “As long as everyone stays safe.”
    Raul looked out the window of the chopper while Jared and Carson kissed. The enforcer may have said he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but Raul knew what he really meant. Carson was worried Jared would get hurt. Everyone else was secondary to a shifter’s mate. That was just the way it was.
    Sean would put me first like that. Would I be able to do the same for him?
    Just the idea of Sean in danger had Raul’s pulse picking up. Damn! He scrubbed his hands over his face again, trying to calm down. His mate was at home, safe and sound. Double damn! I already think of Sean as my mate!
    Needing something else to think about, Raul asked, “Did Kontra say how big this place was?”
    “ Oui ,” Manon replied in the affirmative. “He say it ‘bout seven thousand square feet a floor and he see two floors above ground. Payson manage to get in and the main floor is office buildings. The second floor is labs. The hyena say he could smell shifters, but not find them.”
    “More hidden elevators,” Jared muttered, making Raul realize his friend and his mate had finally come up for air. Raul looked at the man and saw the pleased smile and glimmer of excitement in his hazel eyes. Jared was looking forward to the challenge.
    And challenge it turned out to be. They spent two days doing reconnaissance, not only on the building itself, but by breaking into the local county archives and stealing every building plan on file for the structure.
    Unfortunately, they didn’t end up being real accurate. Payson, the hyena shifter, pointed out several places where there were discrepancies. Drawing on past experiences, Raul and Jared were able to pencil in three locations that could hold the elevator.
    Since they didn’t have an in and Payson had already been in the building once, the group decided to send Kontra and Manon through the front. As Raul waited for the signal to