Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,118

was. But there was no getting around that, she supposed.

When she was finished with her story, she sat back and blinked back the tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat and took a sip of coffee.

Cody wasn’t talking. He frowned and looked over at the kids in the living room. Molly was reading to the younger kids from a book. Most of them were squirming and seemed restless, perhaps because of his presence which no doubt made them uneasy.

“I’m really hoping that, like you said, you won’t tell anyone,” Jessie said slowly.

“I won’t,” he said. But she detected a note of uncertainty in his voice that made her nervous. “I won’t yet.”

“Cody... ”

“Jess, I... ” He lowered his voice, glancing at the kids. He wouldn’t want them to hear him discussing this so frankly. They already looked so scared. “I want to help you any way I can. I think it’s good they’re gone from the sleuth and frankly, they were lucky to have met someone as brave and good-hearted as you-”

“Anyone would have done the same thing,” Jessie said.

Cody barked a surprised little laugh and shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t. But I love that you said that. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound condescending or anything. But it’s true.”

Jessie pursed her lips, flushing a little under the praise. “There aren’t a lot of options in the shifter world. Bears don’t want to go through the processes of the human world. What if they were found? There are only elders of sleuths and they’re not exactly reliable. I doubt anyone knew these kids were being mistreated and who knows if they’d care.”

“Yeah,” Cody said sighing. “I agree. There’s not much justice to be had in our world. There used to be firmer institutions among shifter kind but then everyone started assimilating into the human world and we lost a lot of that. You kind of have to find your own justice. And that’s what you did for these kids. But... ”

Jessie sucked in a breath and the “but.” She tapped her fingers. The thing with Cody Strauss was that, well, he was a Strauss. He had who knows how much money and he probably had powerful friends. He could decide the kids should be living with someone else or change his mind and return them to their sleuth if he wanted to. Jessie suddenly felt powerless and she tensed up, waiting for his verdict.

“But you’re not going to be able to keep this a secret forever,” Cody said. “These kids can’t stay in here cooped up and cut off from the world forever. It’s not fair to them.”

“I know,” Jessie said softly. It was her biggest problem, she supposed. She worried about it every day.

“However... I won’t be the one to tell anyone,” Cody said. “If it’s okay with you though, I’d like to help if I can. And maybe we can decide what happens next together. At least then you won’t be on your own. And if not, you can tell me to go screw myself and I still won’t tell a soul.” He smiled, casual as anything. “I promise.”

Jessie had to turn her head away because this time a few tears spilled over and slid down her cheeks. She had been hoping for, at best, a begrudging agreement that Cody wouldn’t say anything. She figured he’d stop talking to her. No more pleasant chats about books over free gourmet lunches. Why would he want to get close to a woman taking care of six kids who weren’t even hers?

She had not expected him to want to help. But the idea of help... That alone made her want to fall into his arms. She could hardly remember what it felt like not to be exhausted.

“That would be nice,” she whispered. “That would be everything, Cody.”

Cody finally left Jessie that night, promising they would talk more the next day. She agreed to go to Cody’s residential suite before going home. She resisted at first. She always felt bad leaving Molly, who was only twelve, to watch over the kids all day even if she was used to it. But they had taken to shifting and spending time in the woods close to the cabin together. The cubs were always stronger and more independent as bears and that made things a little easier during the day, even if Jessie never stopped worrying about their well-being while she was at work.

Once Cody had left, Jessie found herself in a