Page 41 of Bears Not Included

“Take the phone, darling, and call it a win. For now,” Veronica says.

“I’m not stupid. You want me to take a phone that’s been bugged or something?”

“The phone is not bugged, Livia. You have our word,” Callen says. “We’d like you to have your privacy when it comes to your cousin and the girls in your Fairytale Femme Fatales group.”

“We have other ways of keeping you and tracking your phone and listening or reading your conversations with them is not one of them,” Mason adds.

“Let me tell you something, darling girl. These three are way too arrogant to use conceit. And they’re also too smug to lie. Trust them if they say so.”

I’m so confused but somehow I believe what Veronica says about them. And if that’s the case, I’ll definitely be speaking to my father no matter what they say.

Although it’s become more and more obvious that they believe my father is working for Kirill Yenin, the man I was supposed to marry and who happens to be a mafia boss. And contrary to what they say about Kirill Yenin, he is their enemy, and I’m just a pawn in their game.

I’ll find a way to speak to my father anyway, so their restriction is not only utterly ridiculous, it’s also moot.

“I have work, so I’ll need my car.”

“Again, what part of being an Ursid bride are you not getting?” Mason asks, stroking his jaw. “You don’t leave this house to go to work. In other words, you don’t work anymore. You don’t need to. You have unlimited funds available to you at all times.”

“So that makes me your prisoner?” I ask, at my wit’s end, ignoring the part where he says I have all the money in the world at my disposal. I would rather die than take a cent of their blood money.

“You can stop me from working at The Elliott, but I am very much going to show up for work at Jimmy’s. He can’t replace me so soon. He needs time. I’m not going to destroy his livelihood because of this. I am going in, and you can’t stop.”

Tension fills the air. I won’t back down from this. I simply won’t. Jimmy Keppler is seventy-eight years old. Jimmy’s BLT is the only thing keeping him alive. The diner caters to a small, regular batch of customers, so it’s not a thriving business.

There are two waitresses. Me and Jimmy’s wife, and she’s seventy-eight as well. I work there every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for lunch hour, which is their busiest time, and Babs—Mrs. Keppler—can’t handle it all, as she still helps Jimmy do all the cooking.

It’s all they have, and they live in the hope that business will pick up again so they can retire and at least live modestly. If I had any money, I would give it all to Jimmy and Babs, so they could retire and live the rest of their lives happily. But I won’t desert them when they need me the most.

Jimmy is very particular about who he allows in his kitchen. He gets extremely anxious around new people and if I leave, I don’t know who’ll be able to replace me. I don’t want to think of destroying Jimmy like that.

After they lost their only daughter to cancer, Jimmy’s PTSD just became worse. Their daughter also worked at the diner which meant it was only Jimmy and Babs struggling on their own for a while.

When I applied for the job after something like twenty candidates before me, Jimmy reluctantly said he would give me a chance. I’ve been with them since then.

I raise my chin, not backing down one bit.

“Fine,” Deacon says begrudgingly after what feels like an eternity. They don’t ask me what I do at Jimmy’s because they already know everything about me.

Weird doesn’t cover my life right now, and I can’t believe I’m negotiating the very things that made my life what it is.

Veronica leads me upstairs, requests fresh food be sent up for me in an hour, then insists I take two painkillers and drink a giant glass of cranberry juice.

“My job is to make sure you’re okay. I’ve been given that job by Ursid men because they don’t trust anyone else with their most precious commodity. You are their most precious commodity, Livia, darling.” She touches my cheek and gives me a motherly smile.

“Now, by the looks of you, you’re pretty small, and they’re pretty big, and I know you have some discomfort down there, some tenderness, which is a given, and I bet it doesn’t help that they spanked you on top of that.” I turn blood red. How does she know?

“So take the painkillers, drink the juice, and sit in the tub for a bit, all right? After that, a huge breakfast will provide sustenance, and we will get you back to feeling yourself in no time. You just have to trust me.”

I’m so tired that I just nod and let Veronica take over. There’s so much going on in my head that I can’t pick one thing and concentrate on it.

“Good. Now just one more question. When was your last period, darling girl.”

A frown of disbelief settles on my face.

“They didn’t—they didn’t. I can’t be pregnant. They only took my virginity, they didn’t––”

“Yes, of course, I understand. But I do like to be prepared as your PA and I need to know everything. And also, this is pertinent information for them to know as well.”

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