Page 60 of Protected By Her Mate

Pleased that my new buddy has given me his ‘friends’ name, I ask, “Are you named after the bear in that old, animated Robin Hood movie?”

He grins his approval. “Indeed, I am.”

Enough chatter.Concentrate on the mission at hand.Lennox demands through our private connection.

You’re just jealous I’m making new friends.

We aren’t here to make friends.

Which is why you don’t have any.

His chuckle echoes through my mind and I know he’s not really annoyed with me, just worried that I’m here.

I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m ever so slightly regretting my insistence on coming. I’m not the police. I have no place here. What if I get in the way?

Your place is here, Lennox reassures me.You were a lead investigator on this case and you should be here for the bust.

But you tried so hard to have me booted off the team,I point out, confused by his contradictory messaging.

Your mate tried to have you kicked off the team, your partner is proud to have such an impressive investigator on his side.

I glow at his praise and nearly miss what he says next because he says it out loud, instead of through our connection. His voice is hushed as he speaks to the team. “The other squad is in place. Get ready. We breach in two minutes.”

My heart pumps faster and a zing of adrenalin shoots through me, making me giddy. I take several deep breaths, calming myself. Lennox is right, I belong here. I’m a damn good investigator and any good investigator will see their investigation through to the end.

“Let’s go,” Lennox growls and as a unit we move swiftly and silently toward the warehouse.

At this point, unless absolutely necessary we don’t use our headsets. Instead, we communicate only through the hand signals Lennox taught us.

I’m proud of my partner as he breaks a window in a way that causes little sound and disturbance before being the first to climb through. A shot of fear goes through me as I wait tensely for him to give the ‘all clear’ signal. What if the room he entered is rigged to blow? Maybe I should have gone in first.

I breathe easier when he gives us the thumbs up through the window.

Then one at a time, we climb through. Even though I’m second to last, it’s Lennox’s hands that encircle my waist as he lowers me to the floor through the window, setting me on my feet before returning to the front of the team.

As Little John climbs in behind me, I take in my surroundings. We’re in a small basement room with a single desk and chair, both pushed up against a wall. We follow Lennox out of the room and into a long hall. His shadowy form looks smaller than usual and it takes me a moment to realize he’s hunching in on himself, his body curving around his gun as he makes himself a smaller target. I copy him, folding my body in on itself as much as I can while still being able to walk unhampered.

We move through the basement like a swarm, searching each room we come across in a labyrinth of hallways. There’s very little of interest in the basement rooms and soon we’re heading up a staircase toward the first floor.

Our mission is threefold, which is why there are so many of us. First, we’re here to locate and rescue Roscoe, the teenage bear who infiltrated ASHRA. Second, we’re here to seize any explosives found on the premises, and third, to arrest any members of ASHRA we come across.

Lennox points at himself, then at the first door on the first floor, then signals that we should stay behind. Everything inside me wants me to follow him, but I know it’s the mating instinct. Lennox is safest if I stay in my position surrounded by bear shifters and human police officers.

“In here,” Lennox calls softly through the door.

We enter the room and I gasp softly, rushing to help Lennox as he approaches an unconscious young man chained with his arms over his head, the chain attached to a ring drilled into the concrete wall.

“Roscoe.” Talon lifts the boy against the wall as Lennox and I grapple with his chains. The others cover the door.

The room is empty other than Roscoe.

“What…?” A faint sound issues from between the cracked lips of the youth as he opens an eye. The other is swollen shut. He’s been severely beaten.

“We need a key,” I whisper to Lennox.

“They… have… key,” Roscoe says, his voice creaking.

Lennox yanks on the chains as though testing them, then says to me, “Help Talon steady him. I’m going to pull the chain from the wall.” He grips the chain beneath the ring.

---