Bear My Baby (Shifter Squad Six 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

at her pile of research and her MacBook sitting idle, waiting on her to write another copywriting article for a website that paid nowhere near enough.
    But single mothers on the run from a faceless evil looking to kill them couldn’t be choosers, right?
    “What’s up?” she asked, swallowing the distaste that the name “Ellie” still made crawl up her throat.
    “Well, you know how you’ve been saying you should start dating again?” Adelaide began, her voice sugary sweet and full of traps.
    Cassie could smell a cleverly concocted plan a mile away when it came to Adelaide, and she definitely had some tricks up her sleeve this time.
    “I remember you saying that I should start dating again. And I remember me firmly saying no to that, seeing as I have a toddler and a job that takes up all my time and the house—”
    “Nonsense! You’re young, you’re gorgeous—at least you will be when I get you to put on anything but sweatpants and actually do your damn hair—and your life can’t end because you had a baby!” Adelaide said, obviously having rehearsed all her objections beforehand. “I’m not taking no for an answer. You told me you want to get out more. So I’m going to get you out more. Tomorrow night. We’re going out for drinks and we’ll get sexy and we’re going to love it, okay? It’s this or I’m going to make you use SassyDate!”
    With a sigh that sounded far more like early resignation than Cassie dared admit, she lowered her eyes to the book she was reading and then looked at Monroe again. Going out sounded damn nice. She’d barely seen San Francisco and she’d been living there for what seemed like forever already. The only real human interaction she’d been getting, not counting her precious baby boy, was online, chatting on writers’ communities and trying to learn the craft as fast as possible to make a decent living for herself and her son.
    “But what about Monroe? I don’t have a babysitter and I don’t know anyone I can call. You know my family isn’t in the picture anymore,” Cassie said, selling the lie that had been drilled into her head when she’d been inserted into her little suburban townhouse.
    It still sent a twinge of regret shooting through her, knowing she could probably never see her parents again, or her sister. But at least she had Monroe. And exactly because she had him, she wouldn’t risk exposing herself to anyone. Especially because she didn’t even know who the hell she was running from, let alone whether they were still chasing her or not.
    “Don’t worry about that none, babe! My sister’s free and she’d love to keep an eye on your little angel. Bring him over at six to my place and we’ll get ready together. And you can also make sure that Amanda isn’t some winged and horned devil sent to devour your baby,” Adelaide announced.
    Cassie could see the good-natured roll of her eyes through the damn cellphone.
    “Fine,” she said, smiling slightly. “We’ll be there. Six tomorrow.”
    “See you then! You won’t regret it!”
    Oh, she was sure she was going to. But Cassie was going to go anyway. It was bad enough that she was almost growing roots in the house, but Adelaide was right. She had to start feeling human again. Even if that seemed like an impossible feat at that very moment.
    Dark thoughts pooled around her, snapping at her ankles and threatening to drag her down. That night. The last ragged breath that Jonah drew. The rooftop. Him.
    Cassie shook her head quickly, standing up and going over to Monroe. She picked him up and hugged him close, walking toward the backdoor.
    “Come on. Let’s grab dinner.”
    Monroe looked exactly like him. It made it that much worse. And that much better.
     
    ***
    “That looks so cute on you!” Adelaide squealed, taking a sip of her wine cooler and thrusting Cassie’s in her hands as well.
    She almost fumbled, grabbing for it, but managed to not spill it on the ruby-red dress that Adelaide had