Free River Bear (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Blue Bear Rescue) by Terra Wolf, Holly Eastman Page A

for so long?” Delilah asked.
    “Because he did a dime in a state pen for killing his wife the night Jake split on them,” Harley said, and Delilah flinched.
    “He was in prison,” she said slowly. She turned to Jake. “You saw it? You testified against him?”
    “Yes,” Jake answered simply, wanting to squash it all. Mostly, he just wanted to move on to the part where they could go kick Ray’s ass back to prison. Anything to end this whole ordeal that had dragged all of his friends and even Delilah into the line of fire. Jake had had enough talking. He swung his gaze to Xavier. “What’s the move, boss?” he asked sharply.
    Xavier rubbed his stubble, staring absently at the grungy wood floor. “We need to know what his end game is here. Or what’s driving him.”
    “You think revenge isn’t enough?” Jake asked. He scoffed. “I put his ass in prison.”
    “No, the fact that he killed his wife put him in prison,” Nash corrected, and Jake rolled his eyes.
    “The fact is, we don’t know for sure what set him off like this,” Xavier said. “Now that we’ve seen some faces, we can identify more of his friends and try to get closer, figure out what’s going on here.”
    “And that’s where I come in,” Delilah said.
    “I agree,” Xavier said at the same time Jake said, “Hell, no.”
    The men faced off, and Delilah whirled on Jake. “Don’t get all alpha male on me about this, Jake. I can handle myself.” She held up the knife from her boot. “You saw him bleeding when he left, right? I’m fine.”
    “Jake, you’ll go with her, but she’s right. She has the experience in turning over rocks and finding out what people want to know. Just keep backing her up like you’re doing,” Xavier said.
    Jake growled, and Xavier blinked at him in surprise. Jake couldn’t remember the last time he’d challenged his friend, but damn, this was madness. He couldn’t think straight, and every time he imagined Delilah out there sleuthing around or whatever the hell she did, he lost it.
    But he also knew arguing with Xavier was pointless. Even with a lifetime’s worth of friendship between them, the fact was that Xavier was alpha. Period.
    So instead of arguing, he shoved off from the counter and stormed out, leaving a speechless cabin in his wake.
    He made it as far as the truck and slammed his hands against the bed, using it to prop himself up as he hung his head and concentrated on breathing deeply.
    “Dude. You all right?”
    His head snapped up, and he found Nash watching him cautiously.
    Jake glared at him, happy to have someone here to take his anger out on. “That breathing shit you taught me doesn’t work. I’m still pissed,” he said.
    Nash’s brow rose, and for some reason, it infuriated Jake. “In fact, all of your metaphysical bullshit is on my nerves. You’re just a dude who likes to sit with his eyes closed. It’s called napping.”
    “You’ve got it bad for her, huh?” Nash said, and Jake growled, doing everything he could to resist the shift right here. He’d lose his pants. Again. But he didn’t care. His nerves were out of control. His bear wanted out.
    “What are you talking about?” Jake huffed.
    “Dude, I’ve never seen you mad, especially for no reason. You’re the happiest guy I know. But you’re grumpier every time I see you lately. You want to tell me what’s up or just fight it out? I can do either one.”
    Jake seriously considered taking him up on the fight, but Nash was right. His shoulders slumped. He was never the fighter of the group. That was Harley. And Lucas when the demons got too bad. “Man, it’s your dumbass vision.” Nash’s brows furrowed and Jake threw his hand up. “The vision. From our lake trip? The human girl with wavy hair. Bleeding. Me standing over her with her blood on my hands. I kill her, Nash. I fucking kill her. That’s what you said. And even knowing that I can’t make myself stay away from her. Shit, she’d be dead