Alpha Bear Detective: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (3 page)

He was clearly a man who knew what he was doing.
And
he was gorgeous—curling dark hair, strong profile, and the quick smile he’d flashed after his little joke could make women melt.

Other women. Not her. Because she wasn’t dating any more of those big, strong men who were so good at melting her. And definitely not a cop whose first impression of her had been a fleeing victim.

After all, she was literally part of his job right now. The absolute definition of a professional relationship.

And that was for the best, obviously.

No matter how gorgeous he was when he smiled.

“Backup ETA two minutes,” the shorter cop reported. “You’ll be getting medical attention soon, ladies.”

Maria was grateful to hear it. All of a sudden, now that the adrenaline was wearing off, her arm had started to throb with pain.

“It’s really okay,” she reassured Laura again, somehow tearing her attention away from Detective Gorgeous. She’d have to remember to get his and his partner’s names and badge numbers tonight, in case Laura wanted to do some sort of formal thank-you. “I got away on my own two feet.”

Laura shook her head. “Well, you’re getting hazard pay this month, that’s for sure.”

“Do either of you have any idea who this was?” the big detective asked seriously. “Any hint about whether there might have been more than one? If someone in the building might be involved, or if there could be any more people waiting around in the neighborhood?”

Laura shook her head. “No, no idea.”

Maria bit her lip. “I have an idea.”

Laura and the cops all turned to look at her.

“I caught a glimpse of his face.” Maria could remember it as clear as if she’d taken a picture. “It was fast, but I know who it was. Roger Sutherland.”

Laura’s eyebrows went up. “Are you sure?”

The big detective had pulled out a notebook and was writing it down. His partner looked less than convinced.

Maria nodded firmly. “It was him.”

“It’s understandable if you’re not totally sure,” the shorter cop said. “It was dark—”

“—and he was running away, and his face was only lit up for a second,” Maria finished. “I know what Roger Sutherland looks like. I spent a few hours the other day memorizing faces from his anti-shifter group. I know it was him, and I also know that he works for George Lisle. I don’t think he does anything without Lisle’s approval.”

“You’re suggesting that he was ordered to kill Senator Davis by this Lisle person.” The shorter cop was looking more skeptical by the minute.

“Lisle runs a radical anti-shifter group,” Laura put in. “They’re very hierarchical.”

Maria nodded. “And very militarized. There’s no way Sutherland would have done this on his own.”

The big cop moved a little, bringing Maria’s focus back to him. She wondered if that was on purpose, or if she was just hyperfocused on the hot guy.

Adrenaline did weird things to your body, that was for sure. She would never have guessed that right after almost being killed, she’d be ignoring her bleeding arm in favor of feelings…lower down. But she couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Detective Tall, Dark, And Handsome. With his—shoulders, and his big hands, and she bet if he turned around, he’d have a
very
nice—

“After you’ve received medical attention, we’ll have you come down to the station and make an official statement,” he said.

Wow, so romantic
. Just more confirmation that all of those fight-or-flight chemicals were affecting her brain. There was no mutual chemistry happening here—the detective just wanted to do his job, for God’s sake! Her body was probably reacting to a near-death experience by wanting to make lots of babies, just in case.

“Of course.” Maria kept her eyes on the detective’s face and her voice professional.
Keep it together.
“Meanwhile, could I get your names and badge numbers? Senator Davis will want to be sure she thanks you later.”

And I’ll be happy to thank you personally any time…stop it, Maria. He’s not interested.

She kept the professional smile firmly on her face. She wasn’t going to mess up this guy’s workday with her stupid hormones.

*              *              *

Levi couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to by-God
identify himself
to the two women before he’d started what amounted to an interview.

Yeah, because if there’s anyone you don’t want to remember you helping them out, it’s a state senator and the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen.

His attraction was making him self-conscious—he was trying to be as professional as he could, avoiding any personal conversation at all, because he didn’t want to be the sort of creep who took advantage of vulnerable victims, and as a result, he was actually fumbling standard procedures.

Not that Maria seemed that vulnerable. On the contrary, she was focused and observant, even in a stressful situation like this. It was truly impressive.

“I apologize.” He tried to keep the professional tone firm in his voice as he said, “I’m Detective Levi Hale, and this is my partner, Detective Danny Sadowski. But there’s no need to thank us, ma’am,” directing this at the senator, “we were only doing our jobs.”

“I’ll thank you if I please.” The senator’s tone was final. “You risked your lives for my assistant and me, and that deserves some recognition.”

“I still need your badge numbers—oh, damn, my purse.” Maria looked around herself, as though it might be sitting on the ground somewhere. “I must have dropped it back on the stairs.” She glanced back at the building. “I suppose—I suppose I could just go get it now that he’s gone.”

“No!” Levi was maybe a bit more vehement than he needed to be, and she looked back at him, startled. “We haven’t completely secured the area. I can go get it—”

“Oh, no, no,” she interrupted hurriedly. “If I can’t go until the area’s secured, you shouldn’t either.”

Levi started to explain that it was his
job
to go into unsecured areas, that he was armed, and that he would be happy to go get her purse for her, but the ambulance arrived before he could make his point.

At least now they had backup, finally. Levi turned his attention to making sure the area actually
was
secure, and tried to ignore the way his bear was thinking unhappily that Maria had been whisked away from him by strangers.

It was good that she was getting medical attention, he reminded himself. He’d find her purse for her while she was with the paramedics, and then he’d focus on
doing his job.

*              *              *

It was only after the paramedics sat her down and started cleaning up her arm that it really started to hurt.

That seemed backwards, Maria reflected, but she supposed the adrenaline was almost gone by now.

Maybe now she’d be able to do her job and not get dreamy-eyed over detectives who offered to charge off into a war zone to get her stupid purse back.

Levi Hale
, she repeated to herself. Well, Detective Hale—and his partner, of course—would get a
very
generous thank-you from Senator Davis. She’d make absolutely sure of that.

Not that Laura would neglect something so important. But Maria would ensure that it was a thank-you they could appreciate. Would they want a public statement to the press?

She’d ask them, she decided. Some people were happy to be publicly labeled heroes, but not everyone would want that. She might not be able to prevent a news story, but she could at least advise Laura on what was best for her to personally say.

“Ow!” She twitched.

“Sorry, ma’am,” the paramedic apologized. “We have to make sure the wound is clean before we bandage it.”

Maria took a deep breath, trying to will the pain away. “I understand.”

She noticed that the paramedic, who’d identified himself as Matthew, was also a big, attractive man, with competent hands that were currently sterilizing Maria’s war wound.

But somehow she wasn’t experiencing any overwhelming urges to throw herself into
his
pants.

She guessed the adrenaline really was wearing off.

*              *              *

It took a long time to secure the grounds—they were enormous, and only partially lit. They were also covered in trees and statues and fountains, things that any remaining suspects could easily hide behind. It was slow, careful work.

Eventually, they finished...and Levi found Maria’s purse, lying on the stairs with half its contents spilling out.

Surrounded by bullet holes.

It was incredibly lucky, he thought grimly, that she had escaped with only a minor injury. The concrete steps were pockmarked all around the area where Maria had dropped her purse, and the steps were one of the few places that were solidly lit up and easy to see. Maria could easily have been killed.

There were spatters of blood where she’d been hit, and his bear was growling inside him, able to smell it, coppery in the night air. Innocents had been hurt, it insisted, and it was
their job
to make sure that couldn’t happen again.

Levi was in complete agreement.

If only they’d arrived a few minutes earlier, they might have caught the guy. But he’d vanished as Levi was running toward Maria, with no way to pursue him in the darkened maze of the grounds. He had to be grateful to Maria for managing to identify him even in the terrible lighting, even when she must have been scared out of her mind.

He wondered if she had somewhere to go, someone to come pick her up and take her home. She hadn’t asked to call anyone at the scene, had been focused on the senator and on identifying the shooter.

She was clearly the sort of person who concentrated on taking care of business, not on being taken care of. He hoped that tonight she’d be able to go home and relax. Maybe she had someone who would wrap her up in his arms—

His bear growled.

What?
he thought.
She should have someone to go home to after a night like tonight.

Come home to us,
his bear suggested.

His bear side didn’t always like human customs, Levi had learned as he was growing up. Customs like dating, and courtesy, and professionalism.

And, apparently, like
not being a creepy stalker
. Although normal police work sometimes prompted his bear to go alpha on other humans, Levi had never gotten fixated on a woman on the job like this. Usually it was asshole men who tripped his instincts.

And fine, he wasn’t happy with the idea that she might have a boyfriend. But bear or no bear, he
did
sincerely hope that she wasn’t going to have to deal with being shot all by herself.

He’d see her at the station, at least. “Danny, we all wrapped up here?” he asked.

Danny nodded. “Time to set up a perimeter in case he comes back, then it’s all over but the crime scene techs.”

“Great. Let’s get to the station to interview the witnesses.” And give Maria her purse.

Which had a lingering scent around it—maybe she kept her perfume bottle in it, or maybe she just carried it so much that it had caught the scent from her skin. Whichever it was, he knew he wasn’t going to forget the vanilla-and-spices scent that was
Maria
very quickly.

Not that he’d be mentioning that when he took her statement.

*              *              *

Maria eventually realized that she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

After being antiseptic-ed and bandaged, she’d been taken to the police station. Laura had needed stitches in her leg, so she was at the hospital while Maria was waiting alone for someone to come take her statement.

It was now almost four in the morning, and the adrenaline had
definitely
worn off. She was having to work hard to keep from falling asleep in her chair in the little interview room—interrogation room? It had the one-way mirror along one side, but maybe what they called it depended on why you were in there. She hadn’t seen another living soul in the last hour, or she’d have begged for a cup of coffee.

While she’d been waiting, she’d gone over and over the night in her head—she wished she had her purse so she could’ve taken notes, but Detective Hale surely had more important things to be doing than running over to the station with it.

The shooter had definitely been waiting for them—he’d fired the moment they came out onto the steps and were clearly visible from the grounds. He’d been firing at both of them, not just Laura—he’d kept firing after Laura shifted and flew away. He’d had some kind of rifle, but Maria didn’t know anything about guns so she couldn’t say anything more specific than that.

And it had definitely, one-hundred-percent been Roger Sutherland.

Remembering names and faces was a big part of Maria’s job, and she was very good at it. She’d seen Sutherland a couple of times at the small protests the anti-shifters sometimes held at political events, and she’d carefully studied his picture along with other members of his organization. There was absolutely no question in her mind that it had been his face she’d seen illuminated under the lamp.