Undercover Bear: Grady (BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance) Read online

  8

  Ava

  A wave of sadness crashed over my body as I watched Grady get dragged from the lab. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I took this job thinking I was going to cure some infectious disease, not test on shifters. I sank down in my desk chair and let my head fall to my hands. There had to be some mistake. Purest was a large corporation. There was no way that company of their size could get away with testing on shifters and never have to explain themselves. I must be jumping to conclusions. Grady had to be a willing participant, right? A wave of nausea went through my body.

  But did Purest put willing participants in cages?

  From the moment I started working at Purest, I could tell that there were several things that no one was telling me. I would type up all of these reports on test results, but I never could connect them to a study on infectious diseases. At the time, I chalked it up to being an entry-level lab tech. I figured as I moved up in the ranks at the company, I would be given more information. After being thrown into this research assistant position, I was sick and tired of being left in the dark. I needed to figure out exactly what was going on.

  I shot up from my desk and ran down to Michelle’s office. The woman scared the hell out of me, but I would put my fear aside so I could know the truth. Blood drained from my face with each step I took. The sounds of the screams from the pipes rang through my ears. I reached Michelle’s office door and paused momentarily to catch my breath. I knocked lightly and waited. I obviously misunderstood something; Michelle would clear this all up.

  After several seconds, there was no response to my knock. Maybe she didn’t hear me? I leaned my ear close to the door to see if I could hear if she was inside. I pressed my ear up against the hard wood and hoped for the sound of her voice; however, I was met with silence. I sighed and moved so that my forehead was leaning against the door. Michelle must still be in those meetings that she mentioned earlier.

  My thoughts shifted to the gorgeous man in the cage and the look of agony in his beautiful eyes when the guard tased him. Willing participants in a clinical trial would not get tased. I had to know what was going on. I quickly glanced both ways down the hall. I was all alone, standing outside of her door. I placed my hand on the door handle and held my breath as I tested to see if it was locked. I heard an audible click and felt the knob turn, and the door slowly opened. I paused for a moment and thought about what I was about to do. I was technically about to break into her office. If she came in while I was there, I would be so screwed. The buzzing sound of Grady being tased entered my thoughts again, and at that moment, I didn’t care if she found me. I had to know the truth.

  I slowly pushed open the door and entered her dark office. I put my hand out on the wall and felt for the light switch and flicked it on. I quickly glanced around the room, which thankfully wasn’t very large. Michelle had a large mahogany desk in the center of the room with two computer monitors on top of it. Next to the keyboard were several stacks of papers and folders. Maybe I could find some information in there. I just needed to see for myself that Grady willingly put himself into this clinical trial. I had to know that we weren’t testing on him against his will.

  I walked behind her desk and started to shuffle through the stack of papers. Most of them had to do with results of different tests. Most of the paperwork looked like the files I normally sorted through in the lab. I needed something more than that, like Grady’s consent form. I moved on to the next pile. There were a few papers on the top, and underneath them, I came across a large manila folder. I carefully opened up the tabs and pulled out the papers that were inside. I glanced over them quickly and realized they were more results on tests, but I stopped short when I read some of the researcher’s notes.

  “Subject 25697-8 appeared violent today when testing began. As a precaution, we gave the subject another dosage of the tranquilizers to reduce the subject’s ability to shift.”

  I scanned farther down the page and continued reading.

  “Subject 25697-8 was given dobutamine intravenously. Subject’s heart rate spiked, and we were ordered to increase the levels of dobutamine to measure how high the subject’s heart rate would go. Heart rate increased to 220 before reaching cardiac arrest.”

  All of the blood drained from my face. The researchers purposely induced cardiac arrest on a subject. I slammed the file down on Michelle’s desk and took in a shaky breath. No one in his or her right mind would consent to being induced into cardiac arrest. How could I be so stupid? I was furious at myself for being so blind to what was really going on around me. I was smarter than that, and I should have questioned it sooner.

  I let out a long sigh and glanced over at Michelle’s clock. I cursed under my breath when I realized that I had been in here by myself for too long. I needed to get out of here before she came back. I quickly straightened the stacks of papers and rushed over to the door and opened it slightly. Please don’t let there be anyone outside, I thought. I poked my head and realized that no one else was in the hallway, and I slipped out of her office.

  As I walked back toward my lab, I let my thoughts drift back to Grady. There was no denying now that Purest was testing on shifters against their will, but for what purpose? Those frightening research notes about what they had done to the test subjects sent chills down my spine. How could those researchers conduct those experiments knowing what the outcome would be? I walked up to my laboratory door and reached for the handle, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. If I did, my life would continue the way that it was before. I would end up sitting down at my desk and finishing my work. After experiencing what I had today, the wool had been lifted from my eyes. How could I continue to help with these awful experiments happening a few floors below my own?

  The moment that Grady entered my lab, my whole outlook on Purest had changed. The work that I thought I was doing for the greater good now felt tainted and dirty. I never signed up to be a part of something that caused people pain. Grady was a shifter, but a part of him was also human. I needed to find him again and try and save him before it was too late. But how could I do anything to help?

  I turned from my door and saw a guard I did not recognize walk toward the double doors that required secure access. I needed to get down to the lower levels. I quickly ran up to him and turned on my charm as much as possible.

  “Hi, I forgot my keycard at home. Do you mind swiping me in with you?”

  The guard looked slightly startled at my question so I snaked my arm in his.

  “Please? It would be a huge help.”

  I pushed my body closer to his and he smiled and nodded, and I followed him into the secure area.

  9

  Grady

  I gathered up all of my strength and tried to ram my body into the cell door. I let out a loud grunt as my shoulder made contact with the metal bars, but the stubborn frame wouldn’t budge.

  “It’s no use,” a male voice said from the cell next door. “No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to break it. Save your strength.”

  I let out a frustrated breath. “Thanks for the tip.” I paced my confined prison again and searched for any other possible way out.

  “Will you stop your damn pacing?” The voice came through the concrete again. “I’m telling you, it’s no use.”

  “Sorry if I haven’t resigned myself to sitting around waiting to be tested on. There has to be a way out.”

  He let out a loud laugh. “Well, you’re stubborn, I’ll give you that. Keep that up, kid. It might help you survive the tests.”

  I walked to the back of the cell and sank down to the floor. I knew that I put myself in this position. However, I would be damned if I didn’t try to get the hell out of here before the fuckers started to probe me. It didn’t help that I hated confined spaces. They put my bear on edge.

  I leaned my head back on the concrete and tried to think of something that would calm me down. I tried to think about The Crooked Crow and grabbing a drink the
re after a long day at work, but I still felt the walls of my cell slowly closing in on me. I thought about Harrison and the rest of the boys and how they became my family, but my bear still bristled under the surface. I squeezed my eyes shut and my thoughts immediately went to Ava and her sweet face. I felt a sense of calm wash over me as I thought about how her soft hands felt against my skin.

  Jesus, when the hell did I start to sound like a Hallmark card? I shook my head and tried to remove her from my thoughts. I never thought about women. Sure, I had spent several nights in different beds, but none of those girls were able to captivate my interest like Ava had. And I hadn’t even fucked her yet. Shit, these tranquilizers must have been messing with my head more than I thought they would. I opened my eyes and looked around my cell. I needed to quit thinking about Ava and focus on the mission. Otherwise, I would be stuck in here forever.

  The sound of footsteps down the hallway made my body tense up and my bear stood on high alert. I would not be caught off guard again, like I was with the taser in Ava’s laboratory. I slowly pushed my body up and walked over to the cell door to see if I could get a look at who was walking down the hallways through the bars. A familiar curvy frame came into view in the darkness. She was walking slowly and looked like she was searching for something.

  “Ava?” I called out hesitantly. Could that really be her? The figure rushed over to the sound of my voice, and I smiled brightly when I saw her honey colored eyes.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I saw the blood rush to her face and she looked down at her feet. “I needed to see you again. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m fine, just a little woozy still.” Why was she really here? Did she come because she truly wanted to know that I was all right? Or was this somehow a game to test me put on by Purest? Deep down I wanted to trust her, but I wasn’t sure if I could yet. Silence permeated the air between us. She slightly shuffled her feet and kept glancing around her at every noise. She seemed nervous.

  “Are you not supposed to be down here?” Her eyes shot up to mine.

  “No, I don’t have clearance.”

  “Then how did you get here?”

  “I flirted with a guard. Told him I left my card at home.”

  I smiled but my bear bristled inside of me. I hated the thought of Ava flirting with someone. I walked to the back of the cell and ran my fingers through my hair. Fuck, what the hell was going on with me? Why did I care that she was flirting with someone? Ever since I first saw her face, I felt as though I had been wearing my emotions on my sleeve, which I never did. I always kept everything inside.

  It had to be all the stress that I was under. Being in this cell, even though it was only a short period of time, was making me go stir crazy. Ava wanted to see me, which was why she snuck down here. But why? Was it because she actually wanted to or was she trying to cure her guilty conscience?

  “Well, you’ve seen me. I’m fine, despite being trapped in this hellhole.”

  She dropped her head into her hands. “I honestly didn’t know that this was happening.”

  I turned back to face her. Anger started to bubble up inside me. She was a research assistant. How they hell did she not know what was going on? “But you work here. How could you not know what they were doing?”

  “They never told me!” she yelled, frustrated. “When I was hired, they told me that I was going to assist with research on curing an infectious disease.”

  “Well, here I am. The infectious disease,” I growled. Deep down I knew I shouldn’t take my anger out on her. But I couldn’t help but be pissed at the whole situation.

  She looked at me with pleading eyes. “I swear I didn’t know. I was hired as a lab technician. I just got promoted to research assistant a few days ago.” She moved closer to the bars and placed her hands on them. I turned away and ran my hands through my hair in frustration.

  I wanted to believe her. I truly did. However, I wasn’t sure if I could yet. I did not want to risk failing the mission by placing my trust in her too soon. There was just too much at stake. I was at odds with myself, as my mind told me to be cautious while my heart told me to crush my lips into hers and make her mine.

  10

  Ava

  Seeing Grady locked up in the cell broke my heart. What was worse was that the whole corridor was lined with cells that were similar to his. I closed my eyes in frustration and desperately tried to hold back the tears that I knew were coming. Coming down here and seeing the magnitude of shifters that Purest had contained made me feel tiny and insignificant. Purest was not operating a tiny lab and testing on a couple of shifters. They had a full, monstrous facility. Alone, I wouldn’t be able to do anything that could help. How could I take on a huge corporation?

  I looked at Grady, who had started to pace his cell. I truly wished there was something I could do to stop this. A noise carried down the corridor and I jumped. Shit, it was probably the security guards. I needed to get out of here before someone found me.

  “I-I have to go.”

  Grady stopped pacing and looked at me. Sadness filled my chest and I quickly turned away and left before he could say anything else to me. I needed to clear my head and figure out what I was going to do next. Would I continue to work at Purest? I desperately needed the job, but was I willing to put aside my morals and pretend that what was happening below me was not actually happening?

  I reached the stairs that led to the double doors and I stopped short when I saw Michelle push her way through. Shit, shit, shit. She knew that I didn’t have access to be down here. I pushed myself to the side and hoped to get out of her line of sight, but I was stopped short by the sound of my name.

  “Ava?” Michelle called.

  I reluctantly turned back to face her. “Hi Michelle.”

  Michelle tilted her head to the side, like she always did when she was contemplating something.

  “Come with me back to my office.”

  * * *

  I tapped my leg nervously as Michelle looked through the paperwork on her desk. We had been sitting in her office in silence for several minutes. I was starting to think that this was her own personal form of torture. To let me sit here and worry about what she was going to say before she said it. Finally, she set down the papers and cleared her throat.

  “Ava, I’m sure after today you have a lot of questions. It’s very normal to be curious about our operations here at the facility after encountering one of our subjects.”

  I slowly nodded.

  “It’s important to remember, though, that there are restricted areas that we do not allow some employees access to. This is a safety precaution. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” I barely whispered. She smiled.

  “Good. Now then, as I am sure you are now aware, we test on shifters at Purest.”

  I held my breath, hoping she would go into a logical explanation about how all of them consented to being tested on. But deep down, I knew she wouldn’t.

  “Shifters are different from you and I. They might seem human, but I can assure you that they are not. They are not to be trusted, because they are deceitful, vile creatures, that will do and say anything to save their own skin.”

  I slightly opened my mouth in shock but then quickly shut it. Thankfully, Michelle did not notice. She had swiveled her chair and was no longer facing me. She continued on with her tirade.

  “One day, shifters will try and take over the human race, and we here at Purest are trying to stop that from happening. The only way is for us to understand shifters both mentally and physically. To do that, we need to have them undergo testing.”

  She swiveled in her chair to face me head on. “Now, I don’t think that I need to remind you of all the non-disclosures and confidentiality clauses that you signed when you first started here.”

  I nodded. She leaned over her desk with a stern look on her face. “If you break those clauses, Purest has the right to sue y
ou, and I can assure you that we would take you for all you’re worth. Purest is a much larger corporation than you think it is. You are replaceable. Plus, no one would ever actually believe you if you tried to tell anyone what you’ve seen today.”

  I leaned back in my chair in shock. Was my boss really having this conversation with me? Was this even legal? I opened my mouth to protest, then quickly shut it before I could say anything that would get me into more trouble.

  “I think you’re starting to understand what I’m saying. Be careful, Ava. I don’t want to have a reason to get Purest lawyers involved with you.” She looked me up and down and smiled, satisfied that she had completely terrified me. “We’re finished here, so get back to work.”

  I slowly stood up and walked out of her office. For the second time today, I felt tears sting my eyelids, and I quickly rushed back to my lab so none of my colleagues would see me cry. I pushed open my door and rushed into my lab. I quickly turned and locked my door and silently thanked God that I had my own laboratory where no one else could see my tears.

  What was I supposed to do now? I walked over to my lab desk and sank down into my chair. If I were to continue working here, I would know all of the horrible things that were happening to innocent people below me. If I tried to find some help, Purest would come after me. Could I just quit and never come back? Even if I did, I felt that Purest would find me and threaten to silence me in some way. Grady’s face crossed my mind. I didn’t think I could leave and never see his face again. I didn’t think that I would be able to just go on with my life and not worry about him every single day. But what could I even do?