Callan Read online

  “Hey, did he hurt you?”

  I studied the fullness of her lips and her high cheekbones. For a second, I didn’t think I’d seen a more beautiful woman in my life. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. What was I doing? She was a mom. She belonged to someone else. And she was scared shitless by that super.

  “Can I help you up?” I offered.

  I tried to lift her to her feet. She allowed me to reposition her so she was no longer on the ground.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “No problem.”

  I saw the creaminess of her throat as she swallowed. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Did he hurt you?”

  I chuckled. “A few scratches, but I’ll be fine.” I was lucky it hadn’t been a lot worse.

  “Where did it go?” Her eyes darted past my shoulder.

  “He’s gone. Off the cliff.”

  “So he’s dead?”

  I shook my head. “I wish. They’re a lot harder to kill than that.”

  “What was it?” Her voice cracked. “That thing…what do you call it?”

  “Nothing you want to get mixed up with again.” I took a small step backward to see if she was steady on her own. The baby had finally stopped crying.

  “But you attacked it.” I heard the disbelief. “You stopped it from hurting us.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay. You two are safe. Can I get you back to your husband? Maybe you want to call him? I can tell him what happened if you want.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “He will probably want to know what happened to you and your baby. Maybe I should explain it to him. I think you’re in shock.”

  “Oh. Oh. No. That’s not….she’s not mine. Not like that.”

  I scratched the back of my head. “Whose is she?”

  The girl finally smiled. “This is my niece, Olivienne.”

  “Olivienne? I know this kid.”

  “You do?”

  “Nolan’s baby. Right?” I couldn’t tell if she trusted me more now, or was suddenly more suspicious. “I work with him. We’re both in the same department.”

  “You’re a cop.”

  “Sure am.” I stood with my hands rested on the corners of my running shorts.

  “And a shifter?” She posed the question as more of an accusation.

  “Are you conducting an interview right now?” She had finally moved away from the tree. I was glad she was regaining her confidence after the attack.

  Her forehead crinkled. “It’s just other than Nolan, I don’t know any other people like you. I’m sorry. Was that rude?” Her eyes fell to the tree roots. “I’m so sorry.”

  I laughed. “It’s okay. You aren’t from Hunters Lake, are you?”

  She blushed. She probably had no idea how pretty she was with more color in her cheeks.

  “It’s that obvious?”

  I shrugged. “You seem a little out of place.”

  “I’m visiting my sister, Ava. I came to help her with the baby. But she’s going to freak out if she finds out the first time I left the house with her I almost ended up eaten. Oh my God, she’s going to kill me. She’ll never let me near Olivienne again.” She hugged the baby. “I wanted to help. Do something for her, you know?”

  I watched as she leaned against the tree.

  “Who says she has to know?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “What?”

  “You’re right. You should probably tell a new mother her daughter was about to be the latest casualty in the super shifter war.” I tried to lighten the mood.

  Ava lived in Hunter’s Lake and was mated to a bear cop. She understood the dangers lurking in this town more than her sister did.

  She squeezed her eyes together. “Why did I walk so far? Why? Why? Why?”

  “Look. Let’s get out of here. I’ll make sure you and Olivienne get somewhere safely. We can talk about what to tell Nolan and Ava.”

  “Okay. That sounds like a good idea.” She pushed off the tree.

  I offered her a hand to step over the uneven patches of roots. “I’m Callan, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you Callan.” She smiled. “I’m Hannah.”

  Hannah. I said her name inside my head. As soon as I did my bear was instantly trying to take control of the situation. He wanted to know more about her, all at once. I had to reign him in. Push him back. Stop him from destroying what I was starting to realize.

  Hannah wasn’t a random woman I had rescued in the woods. My heart pounded, and I could feel the blood rush between my ears. She wasn’t a tourist passing through town that I’d never see again. My fingers felt numb. She wasn’t some girl I’d hook up with before she went back to where she came from. I shook my head. She wasn’t any of those things. My bear knew exactly who she was, and it scared the hell out of me.

  I turned to smile at her as she followed me out of the woods.

  Hannah was my mate.

  3

  Hannah

  I was still in shock. I had to be. I was following a complete stranger through the woods. Was I being a moron? He wasn’t just any stranger. He knew Nolan, at least. But after that thing came out of nowhere and tried to eat Olivienne and me, maybe I should have been more cautious. My guard should have been up. I was almost a meal, and my niece could have been his dessert.

  I stayed a few paces behind Callan. He stopped every two to three feet to check if I needed any help. He even offered to carry Olivienne, but I felt like I needed to keep her close to me. She never saw the monster the entire time it attacked. I kept my hands over her eyes, protecting her anyway I knew how. I doubted she would even know what she was seeing. Her cries were from my screaming. I had probably scared her to death. I had a new appreciation for parental instincts and remaining calm in a dangerous situation. I wasn’t sure I had handled any of it the right way, but the hot cop leading me through the woods didn’t seem to notice. The baby and I were alive. The monster was gone.

  From this angle I could catch glimpses of Callan’s defined muscles and rippling body. I shouldn’t have focused on how built his arms were or how toned his ass was, but it was hard not to see a body like his and ignore his features. It didn’t help that he was shirtless and glistening in every ridge of muscle. I almost tripped a few times because my eyes were locked in on the wrong places. They darted upward every time he turned around, but I knew he caught me sneaking glimpses.

  I thought I heard him chuckle and I blushed.

  “My car is just through this clearing,” he explained, pointing ahead.

  I felt a sense of relief, leaving the wooded trails behind as we stepped into the gravel parking lot. Callan’s car was the only one parked. The walk had helped settle my nerves. I was no longer shaking, and I felt clearer and calmer.

  He kicked a large rock out of the way, revealing where he had stashed his keys. I stared at him.

  “I don’t like running with my keys,” he explained. “I hide them in different places just in case you plan on stealing my car later.” He winked.

  I walked toward the car and stopped. “Oh no. I don’t think we can ride with you. I just remembered.”

  “Why not?” He opened the door.

  “You don’t have a car seat. My sister would never let me put the baby in a car without a car seat.”

  “How did you get to the trails?” he asked.

  “I walked way too far.”

  He rubbed the back of his head. I watched how his bicep flexed. “I don’t think you want to hike back through the woods to get to their house, and it’s way too far to stick to the road and walk all the way around to town.”

  “What do you suggest?” I asked.

  “Sit in the backseat. I swear you two will be safe. Hold on to her and I’ll drive.”

  I hesitated. I remembered when Nolan and Ava spent hours reading all the safety reviews on every piece of baby gear they listed on their registry. He was a safety-first kind of guy. If Ava didn’t kill me for doing this, he definitely would.
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  I shook my head. “I can’t. No way.”

  Callan considered my stance. “How about this? I’ll take the baby and sit in the backseat. You drive.” He extended the keys toward me.

  “How is that any better?” I argued. No matter what I did Ava was going to make sure I never babysat Olivienne again.

  He laughed. “I’ll wrap my arms around her. She’ll be safer than in any car seat. I swear. Arms of steel.” He winked. I was ready to salivate at the sight of his arms again. I didn’t want him to see me shamelessly drool.

  “I thought that was Super Man.”

  He laughed. “And bear shifters. Come on. I’ll take her. Nothing will happen. I wouldn’t risk Nolan’s kid. I swear to you. I’ll hold her like fine china, and protect her like she was my own.”

  My belly flipped when he said the words. I studied his eyes. They were a deep brown that swirled with something playful. A hint of protectiveness with a side of sexy.

  I unclipped the harness that held Olivienne to my chest. I wiggled her out of the contraption, expecting her to awaken, but she slept.

  “If anything happens to her,” I warned.

  “It won’t.” He stopped me.

  I nodded and handed him my sleeping niece. My chest heaved with an involuntary sigh when I saw him take her in his arms. He slid into the backseat and wrapped his forearms against her small frame. Lucky little baby, I thought quietly as I adjusted the steering wheel to my level. I tilted the rearview mirror and caught Callan watching her sleep. My niece and I would have to talk when we got back to the house about how she had managed to wrap the hot detective around her tiny finger.

  * * *

  I pulled into the driveway and expected to see my sister nervously pacing in the front yard, but the porch was empty, and Nolan’s truck was still gone. I wouldn’t be able to keep everything from them, but the sight of their baby girl riding without a car seat would be enough to panic Ava. I had avoided that drama. For now.

  Callan pushed open the back door and stood next to the car.

  “We made it,” he announced.

  “We did,” I agreed, stepping onto the pavement.

  “She has no idea she rode without a car seat.” He gazed at the baby, sleeping against his chest. I swore she sighed.

  “Maybe she won’t tell on me,” I teased.

  “I think your secret is safe.” He placed Olivienne in my arms. She nuzzled against me.

  I exhaled. “Thank you. For everything.”

  He closed the door to the backseat. “Don’t mention it.”

  I eyed the top of his shoulder where the monster had scratched him. “Why don’t you come in and let me look at that cut? You don’t want it to get infected.”

  I didn’t know why I was stalling. It would be easy to let him get in the car and drive away, but the last thing I wanted him to do was leave. I stood holding the baby, not making a single move to let him go without me tending to that scratch.

  “It will heal. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Please. It’s the least I can do for everything you did for me.” Our eyes locked and I wondered if he could read my thoughts. Did he have any idea that I had never been so attracted to a man in my life?

  “Okay.” He grinned. “I’ll come in for a minute.”

  I felt a slight victory. Callan followed me in the house. I was surprised the lights were off. I crept along the hall. Ava’s door was closed. Had she been asleep this entire time? She must have been more exhausted than she was willing to admit.

  I pressed my index finger to my lips for Callan to stay quiet and wait for me in the living room. I placed Olivienne on her back in the crib and left the door cracked. Next, I stopped by the bathroom, rummaging through the medicine cabinet hanging over the sink. I collected bandages, ointment, and an antiseptic. I took the armful of supplies back to the living room.

  I sat next to Callan on the couch. I eyed the scratch.

  He winced when I dabbed at it with the antiseptic.

  “I thought you had arms of steel,” I whispered.

  He pinched his lips together. “I still feel pain.”

  “Sorry.”

  I tried to work quickly to clean the cut and bandage the wound. By the time I had placed the wrap over his shoulder we were practically nose to nose. I had scooted closer with every pass over the deep scratch. I pressed the end of the tape into his skin, and moved back, noticing the air was suddenly cooler.

  “I think that will do it.” I smiled at him.

  “Thank you.”

  I tried to seem preoccupied, tossing the remnants of the medical supplies on the coffee table.

  “You’re welcome. But I still don’t feel like we’re even. You saved my life. This wasn’t much.”

  “We don’t have to be even,” he stated.

  I tried to read more into his words. I wasn’t sure if that was a mistake.

  He rose from the couch and I stood next to him.

  “I think I’ll head out now.” He turned for the kitchen. I wondered if he had spent time with Nolan here before. I wondered what my brother-in-law could tell me about him.

  “Thanks again.” I paused in the doorway.

  “I know you just got here.” It seemed as if he was searching for words too.

  “Yes?”

  “And today was pretty shitty out on the trail.”

  I nodded. “The worst hiking experience of my life.” I wanted to add in except for the part where he rescued me from the monster, but it felt like I was laying it on too thick. Flirting with him was too easy. Too obvious.

  “I’d love to take you out. Somewhere where you don’t have to worry about supers.” He smiled. “A welcome to Hunter’s Lake that’s friendlier than that.”

  Everything pooled in my stomach in a molten mess. “Yes. I’d love that.”

  “Callan?”

  I turned at the sound of my sister’s voice. She was standing behind us.

  “Hey, Ava. How are you?”

  She entered the kitchen with a look of confusion on her face.

  “I’m good. What are you doing here? What happened to your shoulder?” Her eyes moved to me. “Hannah, what happened? Where’s Olivienne?”

  “She’s fine. She’s sleeping in her crib. On her back,” I added as if that would earn safety points for me.

  “I think that’s my cue to leave.” Callan smiled. “Tomorrow night?”

  I nodded. “Sounds good.”

  “I’ll see you at six.”

  He ducked out before Ava could grill him with anymore questions. I knew he was leaving it up to me to tell her the details of my first afternoon. I turned the doorknob in my hand.

  “Hannah?”

  I grimaced. “Mmmhmm?”

  “What in the hell happened while I was asleep?”

  “Why don’t I fix us some drinks?” I smiled cheerily. “I’ll tell you all about how I met Callan on my walk.”

  4

  Callan

  I jogged down the front steps of Nolan’s house and hopped in the car. I didn’t envy Hannah having to explain to her sister what had happened in the woods today. Ava was a new mom with mama bear instincts. Hannah would be lucky if she ever let the baby out of the house again.

  I needed to get to the station and let Griffin know what happened. He was on-duty today.

  After Allied’s facility had been raided, most of the super shifter reports had died down. A few of the ones the precinct received turned out to be false. There was something sick about people who wanted to file copycat reports and force our officers to investigate bogus claims, but it still happened. There was nothing bogus about what happened today. I had seen the shifter with my own eyes, and wrestled him off the cliff. I wished I could walk into the station and report he was dead, but the fucker had survived the fall.

  I parked behind Griff’s car and strolled to the trunk of my car. I had a spare shirt in my gym bag. I slid the gray T-shirt over my head. At least no one would see the bandage on my shoulder. br />
  I chuckled to myself. It was cute that Hannah wanted to patch me back together. I didn’t bother to go into how my healing ability would work faster than any medicine she had. She seemed hell-bent on doing something, and the truth was I wanted an excuse to spend a little more time with her.

  I had a thousand questions for that girl, but they would have to wait until our date tomorrow night.

  I took the stairs to the police station, and was hit by a blast of cold air when I walked inside.

  “You look like hell,” Jed said. “What are you doing in on your day off?”

  “Thanks, man. Just need to talk to Griff for a minute.” I walked into the room where the detectives worked, ignoring the comment. I was exhausted and my arm hurt. I couldn’t stop thinking about Hannah. My day had exploded.

  I spotted Griff. “I need to talk to you.” I nodded to him to meet me in the office.

  He followed me inside. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

  I closed the door and pulled the blinds. It was the only secure room in the building that shifters couldn’t eavesdrop on.

  I rolled up my T-shirt so he could see the bandage. “I got into it with a super a couple hours ago. He left with me with a pretty nasty scratch.” I thought about how Hannah’s fingertips had tended to the injury. She was gentle but sure. I had smelled her citrus-scented lotion and felt the soft waves of her dark hair when it brushed against me.

  “What the fuck?” he growled. “How many were there?”

  I sat on the corner of the desk. “I only saw one. I can’t say for sure there weren’t more in the area. I didn’t stick around to do a full scan.”

  “Why not?”

  I tried to think how to phrase it so I didn’t fully involve Hannah. “I was out for a run. Training actually for our next raid. I heard him. He had trapped a woman and a baby on one of the trails. I was able to attack him from behind. I lost him off the side of the cliff.”

  “He survived?”

  I nodded. “Of course he did. They are impossible to kill.”