A Wife For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

she swallowed
repeatedly. Her expression was pained and conflicted. There was
something she wasn't telling him, but Brad couldn't see her as a
liar. It was obvious she was courageous, fair-minded and quick to
action. She had fought the robber off bravely and didn't hesitate to
do the right thing. When she saw that he was injured, she had
stepped right up and wrenched the knife out of his flesh. She didn't
hesitate, flinch or run away.
    Brad couldn't see her as a
manipulative, dishonest woman hiding a dastardly secret. But she was
hiding something. Something that put her in danger.
    He couldn't let anything
happen to her. He had to know the danger that was coming, so they
could face it together.
    “Lisha, your secret is
safe with me. You—are safe with me. You don't have to run and
hide any more. You are no longer alone.” He took a deep, long
breath and said with absolute conviction and commitment, “You
have me.”
    She bent her head lower at
his words and another strand of hair came loose from her tight bun.
Brad studied her quietly. She was petite, at most five foot three,
but she had a full, curvy figure. She tried to hide that luscious
body under frumpy clothes and wore no makeup. She pulled her hair
into a severe bun to make herself look at least ten years older, and
it kind of worked. At first glance, anyone would have thought that
she was a dowdy thirty-something woman.
    But up close, it was clear
that she was way younger.
    “How old are you,
Lisha?”
    She started but answered,
“Twenty-two.”
    Brad nodded and continued
staring at her. There was a faint blush spreading across her smooth,
olive complexion and her chocolate brown eyes were soulful and so
full of hidden emotions and secrets. The pain in her expression when
she told him she had no family alerted him to the fact that her loss
was recent. Her pain was raw and stark, and it cut him to the bone.
    She had just lost everything
that was dear to her.
    Gingerly, reverently, Brad
touched the shirt he was wearing. She had kept her father's clothes.
He was wearing a treasure, a cherished, precious memory.
    “Your father...”
he began, taking both her clammy hands in his and looked deep into
her eyes. Intuitively, instinctively, he knew what those large dark
eyes had seen.
    Lisha had seen her father
die, and she had seen the face of his murderer.
    “You testified, didn't
you? Tell me you put the monster away,” he said through
clenched teeth.
    She bit her lip, and he could
see the conflict in her eyes. Should she trust him? Finally, she
nodded once. “Yes. He's been put away, but...” She
swallowed hard and her expression became grim. “He's just one.
There are more monsters out there.”
    Brad took a deep breath and
forced the words out, “The murderer...he's a shifter?”
He closed his eyes briefly, dreading the answer. If the murderer was
a shifter, she would probably hate shifters all her life. She would
never allow herself to be mated to one…
    Brad started, and jerked
back. Who she mated with was none of his business.
    But the thought of her mating
with another male sent a sharp jolt of jealousy and pain stabbing
through his heart. He withdrew his hand before he clawed deep gouges
into the wood of her dining table.
    Lisha looked up and answered
his question with a laugh, but it was a harsh sound. “Shifters
have been nothing but kind to me. A werewolf family gave me shelter
once.” Her eyes flashed. “No, Brad. The monsters who
killed my father are human.”
    “Monsters?” Brad
murmured. Plural. There were more, and they hadn't been put away.
    Lisha nodded. “Mack
Kross, the man who shot my dad, claimed he acted alone. But I don't
think so. I think...it's a syndicate.”
    “Drug syndicate?”
Brad asked, his voice low.
    “They're not
trafficking drugs.” Her face twisted.
    “Not drugs, then...”
    “Humans.”
    Brad inhaled sharply and a
muscle worked in his jaw.
    “My dad was the lead
prosecutor. I don't know if they're