Detective Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Bear Patrol Book 2) by Scarlett Grove Read Free Book Online Page A

of fire when the Bear Patrol moved in.
    He had a secret signal inside his analog watch, installed by Damien before he'd left. When he opened the watch and hit the switch, the Bear Patrol would be alerted to his location. The beacon would inform them that it was time to move in with full force.
    The Fate Mountain Police Department had its own helicopter and the Bear Patrol would be here within minutes of him giving the signal. He’d had enough of watching his mate suffer. He refused to take it a moment longer. But he had to be sly about how he addressed this situation. He couldn't just barge into her tent and tell her to come with him if she wanted to live.
    He had to do this subtly. He needed her cooperation and that meant telling her the truth. He had to believe that his mate would trust him when she had all the information.
    Obviously, she was as affected by him as he was by her. She'd kissed a stranger in the woods, knowing full well how dangerous it was for her to even speak to a man.
    If Gauge told her what was going on, he knew she would trust him. She had to. He picked up her bucket, a plan forming in the back of his mind. He saw the purple stains of huckleberry along the edges of the bucket. She’d probably come out to pick more berries.
    Their encounter had scared her off, and now she would go without. Gauge didn't intend to ever let her go without anything ever again. He took the bucket and continued into the forest, his own sentry duties not starting for another few hours.
    He found the leafy bushes full of purple fruits and began to pluck the berries one by one and place them in the bucket. Soon he had a pretty impressive haul, if he said so himself. Being a shifter meant that his heightened senses could always pick out the closest berry patch.
    He hefted the bucket, inspecting its contents. This would probably be enough berries just to satisfy his mate for today. His plan was to write a secret note and put it at the bottom of the bucket, telling her that he was here to help her. And that she needed to meet him in the woods that night. It was the only way that he could even imagine getting close to her.
    He pulled a pencil, a piece of paper, and a plastic baggie out of the many pockets on his survivalist clothing and wrote a short note. When he was done, he put the note in the Ziploc bag and buried it at the bottom of the bucket.
    As he approached the compound, and emerged from the cover of the forest, he looked around to make sure no one was watching him. He walked across the open yard in front of the cave and ducked into the tent area, on the way towards the latrines.
    With a shifter-quick tilt of his arm, he put the bucket of huckleberries inside Lola's tent and continued walking without even slowing down. When he made it to the latrine, he turned and scanned the area again. The sentries above him were pacing back and forth in their lookouts, and didn't give him a second look. No one had come out of the cave to confront him, and there weren't any people milling about the camp.
    He went into the outhouse that reeked of shit and piss and closed the door. He waited there for several moments before leaving again.
    Outside, he hurried into the sentries’ tent and lay down on his cot as if he were taking a nap. His clock alarm went off when it was time for him to go to his post.
    Gauge swung his legs over the side of his cot and grabbed his rifle before heading out to his sentry post. As he was changing places with the other sentry, he noticed Justin Lockheart walking over to Lola's tent. Gauge had to control his inner polar bear. It had a ravenous hunger to protect his mate and could not abide the sight of Justin Lockheart approaching her tent.

10
    “ W hat were you doing in the woods?” Justin asked her, looking down at the full berry bucket on her table.
    She had no idea where it had come from. Then remembered that she had left her bucket in the woods with Cody. The new guy, who she’d kissed. He must have