Big Bear Mountain - The Complete Series Read Free Page A

go.”
    Again, the bear growled in acknowledgement,
deeply satisfied with Jarrad’s choice of words.
     
    O nce inside the relative comfort of the
helicopter cabin, Jarrad directed Elle to her seat as he tapped Spider on the
shoulder, gave him a big thumbs up and an even bigger I-told-you-so grin.
Spider simply shook his head. He wasn’t taking the bait. Jarrad knew how
dangerous that stunt was and how close he came to losing the girl, his own life
and maybe even Spider’s. There was nothing Spider could say that Jarrad didn’t
already know. That’s how Jarrad rolled. He was all about the mission. He’d
always been that way.
    Fetching an emergency thermal blanket from
a nearby storage locker, Jarrad wrapped it around Elle’s shivering shoulders.
For the first time, he looked into her frightened yet stunning brown eyes.
Something wasn’t quite right. This was usually the part when they thanked him
profusely and the fear dissipated.
    Yet, she was as frightened as when she was
still stuck inside the car and she hadn’t thanked him once.
    He saw nothing but fear in her widening
eyes and his heart went out to her.
    His bear smelled her scent through Jarrad’s
flared nostrils as he breathed in deeply. His bear smelled her fear, too. But
it also smelled something else. Something much, much more important than
anything else his human senses could detect.

Chapter 7
     
    E lle should have felt grateful to be alive,
but without a car, handbag, shoes, cell phone or even a change of clothes, her
safety felt temporary. As did her ability to stay alive. It was only a matter
of time before the cartel, or whoever they paid to come after her, found her.
That trooper finding her like that had seemed like a blessing. Now it felt more
like a curse.
    She felt vulnerable and she hated feeling
that way. Her frantic dash for freedom, safety and anonymity had come to a
crashing halt in the middle of nowhere. She might not have actually been at the
ass end of the earth, but she was pretty sure she could see it from where she
was, right about now.
    To distract herself from the stomach
churning motion of the wind buffeted helicopter and her ever increasing
feelings of hopelessness, Elle took a moment to get a good look at her rescuer
as he struggled, somewhat comically, to fit the safety harness over his
impossibly broad shoulders.
    He was, without doubt, the largest man she
had ever seen.
    Wow! They sure do grow them big up here
in the mountains.
    And easy on the eye, too, she couldn’t help
but notice, despite her many worries. Or perhaps because of them. Eventually,
he gave up the struggle and threw the undersized harness aside before looking
up at Elle. Her cheeks flushed at the realization that he’d caught her checking
him out. A sly smile threatened the corners of his mouth as he pretended not to
notice.
    Standing to move toward her, the helicopter
lurched in response, throwing the huge specimen of a man back into his cramped
seat.
    Spider turned and waved at Jarrad to stay
seated. Clearly, he was heavy enough to upset the state-of-the-art helicopters
stability.
    Pointing to a headset hanging next to Elle’s
seat, Jarrad gestured for her to put it on. Elle pulled it from the hook
securing it to the bulkhead and examined it for traces of earwax before
screwing up her cute, upturned nose at the thought of placing communal
headphones over her ears.
    Just when I thought the day couldn’t get
any worse. Eew!
    “What’s your name?” Jarrad asked as she got
the headphones adjusted.
    “Elle,” she screamed over the drone of the
rotors.
    Jarrad winced as her voice threatened to
pop an eardrum.
    “You don’t have to shout. I can hear you
just fine if you talk normally. These things are designed that way, you know.”
    Elle shrugged her shoulders apologetically.
    “I’m Jarrad. Up front at the controls is
Spider.” Spider raised his hand by way of greeting, without turning around.
    “Spider?” she quizzed.
    “Webb. Jim Webb, at