Page 18 of Bearnapped at the Altar

“Then how did you find this evidence?”

“I was in his office, looking for details on a new location, and found the blueprint. I never confronted him about it, but he must have had cameras in there, because I was fired by the end of the week.”

Barrett let out a long sigh. “We have records of him buying pack land, but this accusation…it’s pretty damning. His pack would be banned. His company dissolved.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” Bellamy scoffed.

“Does anyone else know about his plans? Any other human coworkers?”

I took a moment to think about my final interactions with my ex-coworkers. “I don’t think so. On the surface, Gideon was a pretty good boss. He paid well, and the benefits were unmatched. Most of my human counterparts considered themselves lucky to have such a good job. I did too, until I realized something was very, very wrong.”

“He wants to silence you,” Barrett said.

A shiver reverberated down my spine hearing someone else come to that conclusion. After all the time I’d begged people to listen to me, to take me seriously, having someone actually do wasn’t comforting at all.

“That was exactly what I was afraid of when Gideon showed up on Moonlight Mates. Even more so when the show doctored the paperwork to make it look like I okayed a marriage contract.”

“Can you prove that?” Bellamy asked.

“Yes, I sent the original contract to my legal team to look over. Via email, so there’s a copy of the original. I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb. The changes should be obvious.”

Barrett raised a brow. “You have a legal team?”

“Of course I do.”

The bears looked at each other, skeptical. Not that I could blame them. I hadn’t presented myself as someone who had their shit together.

“My niece is studying to become a paralegal. She was excited to look over the contract, and I took her out for a fancy dinner as payment. She’d thought she’d manifested it, and I was feeling pretty good about my chances with the universe at that point too.”

“I think the universe has put you exactly where you need to be.” Barrett rose from his chair, and I took a long sip of lukewarm coffee to keep myself from looking at his ass for too long. It was high and round and as muscular as the rest of him. He pulled a laptop out of the bag and slid it across the table to Bellamy. “We made a fool out of Gideon in front of all those cameras. He’ll want to get the last word. Let’s make sure he doesn’t get that chance.”

Chapter

Eight

Barrett

“I feel like a bank robber,” Tegan said when she emerged from the bathroom in the black hooded sweatshirt and black leggings I bought for her. She did a little twirl, like she was on a stage. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m super grateful. And the sports bra? Genius move. You can totally tell you’re a girl dad.”

“You look adorable,” I said before I could stop myself.

Tegan stopped mid-twirl.

“I’m so sorry.” Fuck. It was only a matter of time. My bear had tried his damnedest all night long to convince me to crawl into bed with her. Hold her like I had on the helicopter. “That wasn’t professional at all.”

“It’s okay. It’s been a while since I’ve felt adorable.” She frowned, and any of the swagger she’d had about her sweatsuit was gone. “You must think I’m a desperate, feral spinster who will do anything for a man, coming from a reality show and then basking in the first compliment that gets thrown her way.”

“No, I don’t think that at all.”

Her spark didn’t return.

“I think you’re a woman who’s been underestimated for too long and you’re ready to step into the spotlight.” That was my bear talking.

Oh hell, I might as well admit that I agreed with him.

Tegan considered the redirect. “I like that assessment.”

She took a step closer to me. My bear rumbled in appreciation. He wanted me to take her face in my hands and…

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