Read Online Beck (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey Book 4) by Becca Fanning - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Becca Fanning
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the foul musk of the men who’d been hiding out since they began their operation. Carter was about the cleanest of the bunch, but that didn’t speak for much. When he grabbed Jane by her cheeks, she could feel the grime and dirt on his hands. She winced at the pain of his grip, and Carter’s scarred face broke into a horrible grin.
“Too suspicious for your own good, miss,” Carter drawled in that typical, post stoned lazy way. “I’m sick of having to hurt nosey little pricks like you.”
“Then don’t,” Jane struggled to say. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”
That was a lie, and a well told one, Jane thought. But Carter didn’t seem convinced.
“You don’t think I’ve got eyes everywhere in this park?” he said slowly. “Johnny Boy tells me he’s seen you hanging around with a ranger. So I can’t have you running back to your boyfriend to inform on us, right? Seems to me that you’re going to have to stay here as insurance, to make sure the rangers don’t decide to rat us out.”
Jane cursed inwardly. It was just her luck to have been spotted with Hart, when she’d hardly even begun their relationship. There was something about Carter’s confidence that stumped her though.
“You…” she breathed amid her stunted sobs. “You don’t think those rangers are much of a threat, do you?”
Carter gave a deep, guttural laugh at that notion.
“Those pretty boy posers?” he asked, almost to himself. “You can tell they’ve never seen a real fight just by looking at them. They’re all workout regimes and protein shakes, but no genuine muscle.”
There were three other men in the small, dark space at that moment, and they all chuckled in reply to Carter’s bold assurance. He had no idea that the Best boys were shifters, and that element of surprise was all the hope that Jane had. A buzzing sound alerted her, and her eyes moved to the sight of her phone, which was ringing on a nearby shelf of plant pots. Carter moved towards it, eyeing it malevolently. Then, to Jane’s astonishment, he swiped the screen and answered the call.
“Yeah?” he said gruffly.
There was a faint voice on the other end of the line, but Jane couldn’t make it out. She was certain it would be one of her useless interns, wondering what the hell had happened to her these last couple of hours. She was supposed to be getting back to them on approved headshots for the newest people on the books. A grim irony settled on her as she eyed Carter’s gun, which he toyed with in the holster as he listened to her phone.
“Yeah, Jane ain’t coming to the phone right now,” he teased viciously. “I’m her new boyfriend, and we’re a little busy, if you know what I mean.”
His voice rose to a wicked crescendo at the end of the sentence, and he and his cronies laughed as he hung up the line. Then, without a second thought, Carter dropped Jane’s phone to the ground and stomped on it with the heel of one of his boots. She watched her business, her lifeline, her whole livelihood smashed to pieces. And all she could think of was Hart, and how she desperately wished that she’d gone to see him after lunch instead of burying herself in stupid work once more.
More than an hour had passed, and Jane was amazed to find that she’d been out cold for a while. She didn’t remember passing out on the chair, but hunger, thirst and exhaustion had gotten the better of her somehow. Her whole body ached from the tightness of her bonds, and once again her chest was heavily constricted. She feared the numbness in her lower body, wondering if the tape had cut off some of her circulation, and the atmosphere had turned much colder since she was last awake.
There was little to see by except for the buzzing lamps which were trained on the nearest plants, but Jane had enough brightness to make out that she was alone. There was no noise outside, no sign that Hart and the Best clan had arrived to aid her rescue, yet something
“Too suspicious for your own good, miss,” Carter drawled in that typical, post stoned lazy way. “I’m sick of having to hurt nosey little pricks like you.”
“Then don’t,” Jane struggled to say. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”
That was a lie, and a well told one, Jane thought. But Carter didn’t seem convinced.
“You don’t think I’ve got eyes everywhere in this park?” he said slowly. “Johnny Boy tells me he’s seen you hanging around with a ranger. So I can’t have you running back to your boyfriend to inform on us, right? Seems to me that you’re going to have to stay here as insurance, to make sure the rangers don’t decide to rat us out.”
Jane cursed inwardly. It was just her luck to have been spotted with Hart, when she’d hardly even begun their relationship. There was something about Carter’s confidence that stumped her though.
“You…” she breathed amid her stunted sobs. “You don’t think those rangers are much of a threat, do you?”
Carter gave a deep, guttural laugh at that notion.
“Those pretty boy posers?” he asked, almost to himself. “You can tell they’ve never seen a real fight just by looking at them. They’re all workout regimes and protein shakes, but no genuine muscle.”
There were three other men in the small, dark space at that moment, and they all chuckled in reply to Carter’s bold assurance. He had no idea that the Best boys were shifters, and that element of surprise was all the hope that Jane had. A buzzing sound alerted her, and her eyes moved to the sight of her phone, which was ringing on a nearby shelf of plant pots. Carter moved towards it, eyeing it malevolently. Then, to Jane’s astonishment, he swiped the screen and answered the call.
“Yeah?” he said gruffly.
There was a faint voice on the other end of the line, but Jane couldn’t make it out. She was certain it would be one of her useless interns, wondering what the hell had happened to her these last couple of hours. She was supposed to be getting back to them on approved headshots for the newest people on the books. A grim irony settled on her as she eyed Carter’s gun, which he toyed with in the holster as he listened to her phone.
“Yeah, Jane ain’t coming to the phone right now,” he teased viciously. “I’m her new boyfriend, and we’re a little busy, if you know what I mean.”
His voice rose to a wicked crescendo at the end of the sentence, and he and his cronies laughed as he hung up the line. Then, without a second thought, Carter dropped Jane’s phone to the ground and stomped on it with the heel of one of his boots. She watched her business, her lifeline, her whole livelihood smashed to pieces. And all she could think of was Hart, and how she desperately wished that she’d gone to see him after lunch instead of burying herself in stupid work once more.
More than an hour had passed, and Jane was amazed to find that she’d been out cold for a while. She didn’t remember passing out on the chair, but hunger, thirst and exhaustion had gotten the better of her somehow. Her whole body ached from the tightness of her bonds, and once again her chest was heavily constricted. She feared the numbness in her lower body, wondering if the tape had cut off some of her circulation, and the atmosphere had turned much colder since she was last awake.
There was little to see by except for the buzzing lamps which were trained on the nearest plants, but Jane had enough brightness to make out that she was alone. There was no noise outside, no sign that Hart and the Best clan had arrived to aid her rescue, yet something
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