Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,142

her and whispered in her ear that all of this was temporary. Someday soon, the children would be taken away. And every day that she came to love and care for them more, the fear became strong. Cody had assuaged that fear somewhat. He made her feel as if he might be able to sweep in and save them all, or the cubs at least. She didn’t think of herself at all as a person who required saving. It was the cubs that mattered. Because some days, she forgot they were not her blood. They might as well have been for how she felt for them.

So she was in a good mood, for the most part, before the sleuth bears showed up. The ghost of worry was there, but it was muted. It was one of those workdays when Jessie mostly enjoyed her work. She was interested in the audiobook she listened to on her phone as she cleaned, a murder mystery, and she found a sense of satisfaction even in the scrubbing, dusting, and bed making. She even found herself smiling, thinking of heading down to the kitchen for dinner before Cody could come find her. She hoped he was making a pasta dish. She was in the mood for pasta...

She was vacuuming a suite when four men showed up. They were at least twice her size and she didn’t recognize them as guests. But when she saw the coldness in her eyes, she didn’t wonder who they were. Immediately, her heart started pounding. She felt as if the walls were moving around her and she blinked, taking a deep breath. They’d finally caught up with her and as they moved in, it all seemed utterly inevitable.

She didn’t ask who they were. There was no need to.

“Where are the cubs?” Her hands were shaking badly and her voice was worse. She felt like her heart was constricting in her chest. “Please don’t punish them.” Tears were already sliding down her face as they grabbed her roughly and another took a heavy pair of manacles from his jacket pocket. “Please-”

“The cubs are none of your concern.”

That was all they would say to her. They led her through the back of the lodge and Jessie prayed to the fates that they at least hadn’t found out about Cody. None of this was his fault.

Maybe he can save them.

The idea wasn’t so crazy. The Strauss brothers were influential. They were rich and powerful bear shifters. It was a sliver of hope that made her feel a little calmer as she was shoved into a black van and a bag was stuffed over her head, her wrists shackled behind her.

Maybe he can save them.

It was all she could think on the long drive to wherever they were taking her as they would not tell her. It was a chant in her head, but it was all she had to hold onto as they dragged her outside and into a musty-smelling building. They finally took the bag off and she found herself in what looked like an old fashioned small-town jail, now abandoned.

“We need the shackles for the other one,” one of the shifters said. They unlocked her shackles so her hands were free and threw her into a cell and latched the iron-barred door. It was dusty and damp, but at least it wasn’t disgusting.

Jessie hissed as she hit the ground and she staggered to her feet and sat down on the stone bench against the wall. She was pretty sure this was some old sheriff's jail. There were a few old Western ghost towns outside of Black Bear Lake. They must have found one where they could hole up. She dusted off her hands and frowned when a hot tear hit the back of her hand. She hadn’t realized she was still crying. She supposed she was a little out of it.

“We only have one pair of shackles?” One of the shifters said. “That is stupid.”

“Thought we’d only have one prisoner, I guess. We won’t need them for the cubs.”

Just that word made Jessie spring to her feet just as they shut the bars in her face. She gripped the bars so hard it hurt and sniffed, catching her breath. “Please. Please don’t hurt them-”

“Shut up.” The bigger shifter of the four had a giant belly but he also had huge muscles. His eyes weren’t exactly cold but they had a “don’t mess with me” look in them and when he looked