Free Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) by Sydney Addae

investigative skills show. If Ivory had taken a few minutes to check into Ryan’s background, he should’ve realized Ryan had been at the police station yesterday.
    “He filed a missing person’s report on your cousin and today he’s attacked,” Ivory said re-stating the obvious.
    “Yes.”
    Their gazes clashed for a few seconds.
    “Grizzle hunt.” His beast demanded to be released to find the bear who attacked Ryan.
    “Not now.”
    Grizzle growled at the challenge and for a moment there was an internal tug-of-war. Tag forced his beast down but didn’t glance away.
    Ivory blinked and took a step back. His hand fell to the butt of his gun. The uniformed officer’s eyes widened at Ivory’s actions and stepped closer, mimicking Ivory’s stance. Onlookers stopped and stared at the police officers.
    “Is there a problem?” Tag asked, knowing Ivory couldn’t identify what he’d just seen but if the BMP were watching they’d take him in for an examination immediately. A shifter unable to control his beast would be terminated rather than incarcerated.
    Ivory looked strained around the mouth and straightened. “No. I’ll be in touch.” He turned and left.

Chapter 8
     
    Tag took another sip of steaming black coffee as he watched Brody’s travel agency from his car across the street. Slivers of sunlight streamed through the early morning mist. Brody arrived 10 minutes ago, but hadn’t turned over the open sign on the door. The darkening sky confirmed the weather report of a morning storm. Temperatures plummeted. A few brave souls out and about pulled their jackets close as they moved briskly along the street.
    The dashboard clock read 8:40am. Tapping his fingertips on the steering wheel, Tag glanced at his cell hoping to hear from Tyra or Lorenzo.
    Last night Ryan regained consciousness but couldn’t recall anything. When he realized he was in the hospital and couldn’t search for Camilla, he broke down in tears then started gasping for air. The nurse came in and ushered them out for upsetting her patient. Tyra begged to be allowed to remain with her fiancé; her performance softened the heart of the nurse who granted her request.
    Tag had waited in the hall and dealt with an aggravated Grizzle. The beast wanted to hunt down Ryan’s attacker. Each delay made Grizzle harder to handle. An hour later, Tag went in to see a much calmer Ryan.
    “Will you find her for me?” Ryan asked in a low, somber tone. Fire blazed in his swollen eyes and Tag knew if he said no, Ryan would find a way to leave the hospital. Seeing such painful determination, Tag could only think how he’d feel if one of his sisters were missing and he couldn’t look for them. His throat squeezed so tight he could barely speak past the pain. Ryan had stepped into the gap from the death of Camilla’s father just as Tag would.
    “Yes. I will,” Tag promised. With that commitment, finding Camilla Lopez became his mission. Grizzle grunted his agreement.
    A tear rolled down Ryan’s cheek and he blinked a few times. He couldn’t use his arms so Tag moved closer, grabbed a tissue and wiped them away. “Thank you,” Ryan whispered.
    Tag cleared his throat. “No problem. I’ll head to Loveland in a bit, watch the place and see what’s going on.”
    After leaving the hospital, Tag returned home, shifted and released Grizzle in the mountains. Hour after hour Grizzle hunted for Ryan’s attacker until just before dawn, exhausting them both. Tag slept for two hours before heading to Loveland. Now he waited for an update on Ryan from Tyra and more news on this Brody character from Lorenzo.
    Another hour passed. Very little activity happened on the street, shops opened but there wasn’t much foot traffic. His stomach growled. The massive breakfast he’d eaten at the buffet this morning wouldn’t hold him much longer. Just as he decided to go find food, a late model BMW pulled up in front of the agency.
    Out of habit, Tag wrote down the license