Bear Cop: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Page B

have no idea where your gems are. And if I knew, I wouldn’t want them. I’ve got something far more precious now. I have a home. I have someone who loves me. I’d toss your jewels into the river, if I found them.”
    She released Chris hand at last to walk back to the cabin, only to turn back around towards them after a few steps, eyes blazing with rage. Chris thought he’d never seen anything more lovely.
    “Also, my mate is a cop, you asshole, and a bear. And we’ve all seen him kick your ass. So you’d better not show up here in Linden Creek ever again!”
    “She's right, you know,” Chris murmured threateningly once she was out of ear range. “I'm a cop, and you've tried to kill me. And you've just confessed that you and your friends were behind that theft. You're in such big trouble.”
    Desmond growled at him through his teeth, and Chris laughed into the jaguar shifter’s face.
    “I'll offer you a deal,” Chris said. “A full confession concerning that jewelry business and her dad's innocence. It will knock a few years off your sentence.”
    “Fuck you,” Desmond hissed.
    Chris shrugged and drew back.
    “It's your life you're throwing away. Suit yourself.”
    He followed Eve back to the hut.
    They sat down on a bench beneath one of the windows, where they could keep an eye on their prisoners. Eve had the first aid kit back on her lap and pursed her lips.
    “You use up a lot more bandages than people are supposed to,” she said in accusation.
    “This is the last time you have to patch me up today,” Chris promised.
    “Mm-hmm.” Eve didn’t sound convinced at all, but she was smiling when she set to work.
    Chris winced when she dabbed some of the stinging liquid onto his wounds. Eve didn't look up, but he could feel that she was trying to work even more carefully.
    Not that there was much to be done. The jaguar claws had been sharp, digging deep into his skin. And now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off, the slashes burned like fire.
    “Almost done,” she murmured.
    He nodded, trying to stay still when she moved on to the deepest cut.
    A jaguar claw had opened a slash than ran from his shoulder down to his elbow. Dried blood had crusted on his lower arm, and Eve took it into her lap to carefully wipe the red flakes away with a damp cloth. Chris concentrated on breathing slowly when she finally moved on to the cut.
    “This is going to hurt,” she said in apology when she poured more disinfectant onto a clean cloth.
    “I can take it,” he said, only half-jokingly. With his job—and with his bear—he was used to coming home with scratches. Still, he had to press his lips together to stay quiet when she cleaned the long cut with the stinging liquid.
    “Sorry,” she whispered.
    He reached out with his other arm to gently brush his fingers against her cheek.
    “It's not your fault. Those weren't your claws,”
    She took a deep breath.
    “If not for me, they wouldn't have attacked you.” Eve released his arm at last and met his eyes.
    “Hey,” he murmured. “Remember what you made me promise? I wasn't allowed to blame myself for the bridge. The same is true for you. You're not allowed to blame yourself for this. They chose to rob that jeweler. You had nothing to do with anything that happened.”
    She nodded slowly and tried to give him a smile. “Sorry. I just hate to see you like this.”
    “It will heal soon enough, I promise,” he said again, his voice gentle as he allowed his thumb to caress her cheek.
    At last she sighed.
    “You're right. Sorry. Almost done,” she then said, determined now.
    He felt her take hold of his face with one hand. The other dabbed very gently at the scratches the fight had left on his forehead.
    It stung, although the pain was not as bad as the deep cuts on his arm which still burned like fire. He forced himself to breathe calmly through it. She was so close that her scent and her warmth surrounded him, and he clung to that comfort. When she drew