Read Online Devoted to the Bear by T. S. Joyce - Free Book Online

more information. If she flew off the handle, which she definitely felt like doing, they’d clam up on her and s he’d have to slink back to the valley empty handed. She would have to go back home without Riker. Tears burned the back of her eyelids and she blinked to keep them at bay. “Buck up, girl,” she muttered. He needed her.
    A bell ran g out as she opened the door to the station. The office was bathed in beige and the lack of color gave it a sterile feel. An oversized desk cluttered the front and two more sat against the walls. Blaine and his rookie sat at them, on the phones while the deputy, Bryant , his nametag read, stared at her with blond, winged up eyebrows from his seat behind the large front desk. His cold expression said she’d already irritated him somehow.
    It was the sight at the back of the room that held her frozen though. A barred cell took up the wall, and though it was large, it wasn’t nearly big enough to hold a man, or shifter, like Benson Riker.
    Riker paced, shoulders hunched and eyes bright, reminding her of a pair of sun bears that had manically travelled the fences of a zoo she’d been to once. He was caged and the tension in his strained body said he wasn’t handling it well. She felt claustrophobic just watching him.
    His nostrils flared and he turned that inhuman gaze on her. His hands wrapped around the bars and he pulled so hard the metal clanged.
    “Cut it out,” the rookie yelled.
    Riker looked away just in time for him to miss the churning color of his eyes. Oh, man, this was bad. Sooner or later, Riker’s bear was going to escape his human skin and all of Bear Valley’s secrets would pour into the police station.
    When Riker lifted his cold gaze to her again, she mouthed, Easy, my love . She had to do something.
    “Lady ,” Bryant said in an irked tone as he waved his hand in front of her. “Can I help you?”
    “That’s my…” She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “He’s mine.”
    Both gold eyebrows arched now and his green eyes tightened. “He’s your what?”
    “Hus—fiancé. He’s my fiancé.”
    “I don’t see a ring on your finger.”
    Right. She rubbed her thumb across the inside of her naked ring finger. “I left it at home. Sorry, this has all been really unexpected. Can I talk to the sheriff about why exactly you’ve arrested him?”
    “Sheriff is busy. You can talk to me.”
    “It’s okay,” Blaine said from behind him. “Please step into the back room and I’ll explain as much as I’m able.” He turned to Bryant. “I’m waiting on a call. Can you keep an ear out for it?”
    “Sure thing.”
    As she passed by, Bryant watched her like a vulture and it made her skin crawl. Riker’s lip lifted in a snarl and his glare bored into Bryant’s back, but she shook her head. No need to get even more worked up.
    A small office at the back of the station harbored a single table and two chairs on opposite sides of the cold, metal furniture. An interrogation room. Blain closed the door softly behind them and she scanned the corners of the room. Two cameras pointed directly at her from the ceiling.
    With a wave, Blaine said, “They’re turned off. Not much use for them. Days are usually quiet around here.
    Feeling wary still, she pursed her lips. “Can they be turned on from in there?” She pointed to a wall of mirror glass she was going to go out on a limb and guess was two-way.
    “Yes, but the door creaks no matter how slow you open it . We’ll hear it if someone gets in that room.”
    “Good. Then what the shit, Blaine? You realize you have a fucking alpha werebear pacing your jail cell, right? Bear, tiny cage, they don’t mix well if you catch my drift. He’s teetering. If you don’t realize how tight he’s strung, you’ve lost your damned mind.”
    “Dammit, Hanna h, listen. This is all way over my head. I didn’t order this, nor is it our department pressing the charges. Orders came from higher up.”
    “Who is he charged