Page 87 of Bears Behaving Badly
David let out a snort. “Good thing this isn’t a romance, huh?”
She had no reply to that and went back to staring out the window.
* * *
Brennan greeted them with open arms. Actual open arms.
“We didn’t shake on it,” David muttered to Annette. “It wasn’t a real bet.”
“Crybaby.”
If Brennan’s warm welcome was an attempt to put them at ease, it flopped. Nobody should be that happy to see a scruffy PI or scruffier (they were still in yesterday’s clothes) caseworker from IPA.
“Hey, it’s people like you who keep the system running,” he beamed when they introduced themselves, which was so dumb, David had to make a deliberate effort not to roll his eyes. “What can I help you with?”
“Thank you for seeing us without an appointment.”
“No problem, no problem.”
“We’re tracking down some children who went missing after they were discharged from United,” Annette said. “We’re hoping you’ll be of assistance.”
Brennan plopped into his chair behind a desk that could have doubled as an oak moat: four feet wide, six feet long, and gleaming with generations of varnish. His office, located in the Hamm Building in downtown Saint Paul, was all dark, sleek wood, lush carpeting, and prints of random British people steeplechase-jumping on horseback. There was a huge globe in the corner which his family had probably lugged over on theMayflower, a small fridge and wet bar beside the globe, and cubicles outside for the peons. It was like being on the set ofWall Street. The original, not the sequel. The only things missing were screaming brokers, shoulder pads, and frosted perms.
“Missing kids from United? If you’ve got my card… That’s how you found me, right? So then you know I found them.” He spread his hands in aWhat can you do?gesture. “So, again, what can I help you with?”
Annette studied the diplomas on the wall. “I thought you were an investigator, but you’re a lawyer.”
“I’m an investigator who passed the bar,” Brennan corrected with a grin. “What can I say? Double threat.”
Brennan was one of those Shifters who convinced David that discovery by the wider world was inevitable. Everything about the man screamed “werewolf.” Even Stables probably sensed it, though they wouldn’t know why he made them uneasy. When he smiled, he showed very white, very sharp teeth, with slightly elongated canines. His brown eyes were almond-shaped but under fluorescents they had a yellowish cast, and his cheekbones were so high and sharp they threw his face into shadow. He wore his dirty-blond hair slicked back to his collar, making his face seem longer. His black tailored suit showed off his lean build; his hands looked strong, and his no-polish manicured nails looked sharp. He looked like he could run a deposition or attack a flock of sheep at any moment.
“Have we met?” Annette asked suddenly, turning away from the ego wall to study Brennan’s face.
“I don’t think so. I’d remember someone likeyou.” This, followed by a broad grin that made David want to play amateur dentist.
He cleared his throat. “The thing is, Brennan—”
Brennan’s eyebrows arched, though he didn’t seem put out. If anything, the smile got wider.He likes this stuff to be out in the open. Okay.
“—nobody’s actually seen the cubs you said you found.”
“SaidI found?”
“And some people—”
“Uh-oh, ‘some people.’” Brennan grinned. “That sounds bad.”
“—think that you didn’t actually find them. That all you did was manipulate some computer records to make it look like the kids were found.”
“Wow, you think a lot of my skills. I’m flattered, man.”
“No,youthink a lot of your skills. And it’s apparently justified.” Annette tapped a framed diploma. “Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. And then law school.” She smiled back. “That sounds exhausting.”
Brennan warmed to Annette’s version of yummy cop. “I don’t need much sleep.”
“Lucky,” she replied. “Wish I could say the same.”
“Yeah, well, you bears have…other nice qualities.”
