Free A Pair of Bears: Bear Shifter Menage Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Page A

Jackson kept petting Paisley, but his other hand brandished a miniature video camera.
    Eli bent over the pile of bulletproof vests. He selected one bulky vest and one thin one. “I saw that you were comparing your vests with the current-issue ones. Good science. So I’ll give you a choice. I’m going to fire at your heart while you wear one of them. You get to choose which one.”
    “You have got to be kidding,” Reed burst out.
    Paisley couldn’t help letting out a satisfied meow. Jackson smiled and scratched her between the ears. Reed’s furious glare raked over her as well as Jackson and Eli.
    Eli tossed the vests at Reed, who clumsily caught them.
    “Pick a vest,” Eli said. “I grabbed them at random from your storeroom.  If you have confidence in your product, wear it and stop me from getting video I can use to discredit you and your cutting-edge armor. If you don’t want to risk a one in four thousand chance of dying, wear the old vest. I guarantee you, the old ones work. I’ve product-tested them myself.”
    Eli raised the pistol. “Choose.”
    Reed’s gaze flickered from one vest to the other, then moved to Eli’s set expression, took a brief and incredulous detour to Paisley, and finally settled on Jackson’s video camera. Then, defiantly, he put on the SmartDefense vest. “See? I trust my product.”
    “Let’s hope that one works better than Ryan’s and mine did,” Eli replied. “Jackson, don’t watch this. You’ve never seen anyone die of a gunshot wound. It’s painful and bloody. Might give you nightmares.”
    “Okay. Thanks for the warning.” Jackson kept filming, but he turned his face to the wall.
    Eli leveled the pistol at Reed’s heart. Then he flicked off the safety with a sharp click.
    “Wait, wait!” Reed screamed. “Don’t shoot!”
    His face twisted in terror, Reed ripped off the SmartDefense vest and flung it to the floor. Then he snatched up the old vest and strapped it on with shaking hands.
    Eli’s deep exhale broke the stillness of the room. A tension Paisley hadn’t realized he’d been carrying slipped away from his face. At long last, he seemed at peace.
    “Okay,” Eli said. “We’re done here. I don’t hurt people who can’t fight back, no matter how much they deserve it. I’ll just tie you up so we can get out safely. Kneel down and put your hands behind your back.”
    Sulkily, Reed obeyed. But as Eli tied him up with rope from his pack, he muttered viciously, “Your buddy doesn’t look good. I hope he does have internal injuries.”
    Alarmed, Paisley twisted around to peer up at Jackson’s face. She couldn’t see color as a cat, but his skin was a shade paler than normal. He wasn’t just resting his elbows on the desk, he was leaning on them like they were all that was holding him up.
    She meowed urgently.
    “It’s okay… Um… Kitty,” Jackson muttered. “I’ll be all right.”
    Paisley cuddled up closer to him, mewing softly in what she hoped was a comforting manner.
    “Have fun getting your buddy and the armor and the cat out before the lasers come back on,” Reed jeered.
    “The cat walks by herself. And I’m done listening to you.” Eli yanked off one of Reed’s polished shoes, taking the sock with it, then stuffed the sock into his mouth.
    Reed’s face twisted with rage and humiliation as he tried and failed to spit out the sock.
    “Security cameras are offline.” Jackson gave a meaningful glance to Paisley, then to the backpack where she’d stashed her clothes.
    “Right.” Eli gathered up the armor, then grabbed Jackson’s backpack. He dumped it all out in the corridor outside the office, then whistled. “Here, kitty, kitty. Go guard our stuff.”
    As Reed watched incredulously, his cheeks puffed out by the sock, Paisley jumped off Jackson’s lap and raced into the corridor. The door closed behind her.
    She was already so focused on human things, like worry for Jackson and happiness at Eli’s triumph, that she shifted