Blind Date With A Bear (A BBW Paranormal Romance) by Marie Mason Page B
Authors: Marie Mason
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Council. Yeah, Council with a capital letter . When shifters had decided to ‘come out’ the governments had insisted that controls be put in place. Shifters had insisted that they would take care of their own and they did so with an iron fist. If a shifter, or a group of shifters, got out of line, justice was swift and fierce.
He’d petitioned the Council to review his case against Marcum. The case was weak, but the Council members knew the true reason he was here. To remind the Council if they didn’t deal with the jackal pack in Atlanta, the Blackwood brothers would do it for them. Bears were usually not territorial and he could handle a business competitor. He wouldn’t, however, tolerate someone who deliberately sabotaged his site.
Last night, Ryland had found the concrete mix they’d had on site for another major pour had been contaminated. If they hadn’t discovered the problem, and had used the concrete, the top floors of the building would have collapsed soon after occupation and no telling how many individuals might have been injured, or worse, killed. No, he could take a lot of things. Putting innocent lives in danger to harm a business’s reputation was something he wouldn’t stand for. Plus, damn it, he needed to focus Paige and the mating heat consuming him.
“Mr. Blackwood?” A uniformed driver called ou t to him as he made his way through the busy airport.
“Yes,” he turned to th e man with a frown. Only the shifter who represented the bear clan on the Council had known his flight schedule.
“The Council sent me to escort you to the meeting.”
“And you are?” Yeah, he was a big, bad bear shifter and could take a man out with a swipe of his paw, but he wasn’t dumb. Humans had a way of evening the playing field. With guns, tranquilizers, poison. He wouldn’t put it past Marcum to try something stupid.
The man held out a sealed envelope and Quinn saw the crest of the bear clan. Only high officials had access to this seal. Inside was a letter from the bear representative telling Quinn the agenda for the day. His father had been approached to serve on the Council. He’d refused because he still had young cubs. Quinn hoped someday his father would reconsider. He was a good man and would serve the shifter world well. He stuffed the letter into his jacket pocket. “Okay, let’s go.”
A moment later, his way was blocked by a large man wearing a suit and tie. Bill Marcum. The reason he was in this city and away from his newly discovered mat e.
“I think we should talk, Blackwood.”
“What’s there to talk about? My brothers and I found the scent of your flunkies all over our building site.”
“Now how do you know it was my boys, Quinn?”
Quinn gritted his teeth in frustration. He heard the arrogance in the other man’s voice. Marcum wanted nothing more than to see Blackwood Brothers Construction fail. For years, he’d been tossing around unfounded accusations about the brothers. This wasn’t his first attempt at sabotage, but it was the most dangerous to date. During other builds, Marcum had confined his efforts to stolen equipment, misdirected deliveries and other things that had resulted in annoying delays. Not real threat, more like frat boys on a hazing dare.
Two weeks ago, the same things had started on this site. It had quickly escalated into something more sinister. The bolts on some of the I-beams girders had been seared off. Other girders had been compromised by repeated heavy blows to their sides. Blows that could only have been made by a shifter using the beams as a punching bag. Quinn figured Marcum had his nose out of joint because Blackwood Construction had just won a major government contract Marcum had thought he had in the bag. A very lucrative ten story building renovation. All the brothers preferred new construction, but in today’s economy, you couldn’t be choosey, and you certainly couldn’t turn down a government contract.
Normally, they didn’t
He’d petitioned the Council to review his case against Marcum. The case was weak, but the Council members knew the true reason he was here. To remind the Council if they didn’t deal with the jackal pack in Atlanta, the Blackwood brothers would do it for them. Bears were usually not territorial and he could handle a business competitor. He wouldn’t, however, tolerate someone who deliberately sabotaged his site.
Last night, Ryland had found the concrete mix they’d had on site for another major pour had been contaminated. If they hadn’t discovered the problem, and had used the concrete, the top floors of the building would have collapsed soon after occupation and no telling how many individuals might have been injured, or worse, killed. No, he could take a lot of things. Putting innocent lives in danger to harm a business’s reputation was something he wouldn’t stand for. Plus, damn it, he needed to focus Paige and the mating heat consuming him.
“Mr. Blackwood?” A uniformed driver called ou t to him as he made his way through the busy airport.
“Yes,” he turned to th e man with a frown. Only the shifter who represented the bear clan on the Council had known his flight schedule.
“The Council sent me to escort you to the meeting.”
“And you are?” Yeah, he was a big, bad bear shifter and could take a man out with a swipe of his paw, but he wasn’t dumb. Humans had a way of evening the playing field. With guns, tranquilizers, poison. He wouldn’t put it past Marcum to try something stupid.
The man held out a sealed envelope and Quinn saw the crest of the bear clan. Only high officials had access to this seal. Inside was a letter from the bear representative telling Quinn the agenda for the day. His father had been approached to serve on the Council. He’d refused because he still had young cubs. Quinn hoped someday his father would reconsider. He was a good man and would serve the shifter world well. He stuffed the letter into his jacket pocket. “Okay, let’s go.”
A moment later, his way was blocked by a large man wearing a suit and tie. Bill Marcum. The reason he was in this city and away from his newly discovered mat e.
“I think we should talk, Blackwood.”
“What’s there to talk about? My brothers and I found the scent of your flunkies all over our building site.”
“Now how do you know it was my boys, Quinn?”
Quinn gritted his teeth in frustration. He heard the arrogance in the other man’s voice. Marcum wanted nothing more than to see Blackwood Brothers Construction fail. For years, he’d been tossing around unfounded accusations about the brothers. This wasn’t his first attempt at sabotage, but it was the most dangerous to date. During other builds, Marcum had confined his efforts to stolen equipment, misdirected deliveries and other things that had resulted in annoying delays. Not real threat, more like frat boys on a hazing dare.
Two weeks ago, the same things had started on this site. It had quickly escalated into something more sinister. The bolts on some of the I-beams girders had been seared off. Other girders had been compromised by repeated heavy blows to their sides. Blows that could only have been made by a shifter using the beams as a punching bag. Quinn figured Marcum had his nose out of joint because Blackwood Construction had just won a major government contract Marcum had thought he had in the bag. A very lucrative ten story building renovation. All the brothers preferred new construction, but in today’s economy, you couldn’t be choosey, and you certainly couldn’t turn down a government contract.
Normally, they didn’t
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