Page 58 of Bears Not Included

I fold my arms over my chest and look ahead at the road until Deacon parks his massive, scary-looking black SUV at the back entrance of Jimmy’s. I know the drill. Deacon will follow me inside. He’ll take the same seat in the same booth that Callen and Mason have before him, and I’ll have to endure his presence for four full whole hours.

When I’m in the kitchen, Babs hands me the envelope, and luckily Deacon can’t see into the back of the kitchen from his seat. I quickly shove it into the tote bag I carry with me.

Now all the papers, cash, and flight and bus tickets I need are in my possession. I could easily slip out of the kitchen and never look back.

I have four hours to do so.

Just before the diner can start filling up, and I’ve done a good job of ignoring Deacon, a friendly voice draws my attention to the counter.

“Hey, Livia.”

I turn around and see my friend from school, Randy Morrison. His pleasant eyes and easy demeanor immediately make me smile.

“Where have you been? I missed you the last couple of days,” Randy says, leaning over the counter to get closer to me. I really like him, but not in the capacity of being my boyfriend. I did say no to him once, and I’m glad he was okay with it and respected my decision.

“You still owe me a movie night, and I think I know what I—”

Randy’s voice fades, and in the infinitesimal moment of silence that follows, my blood runs cold.

Deacon.

By the time I round the counter, Deacon is just about to… I don’t know, break Randy’s limbs.

“Can I help you?” Randy asks firmly but politely. Dear god.

I come to stand between Deacon and Randy just seconds before anything happens.

“No, no, you don’t.” I stand up against Deacon. He’s removed his jacket so that when I put my hand out, it presses against his broad muscular chest and the fine thread of his shirt, luxurious under my palm. The steady, strong, unhurried beat of his heart scorches my hand and enflames my whole body.

“I had a life before you completely derailed it. I had friends, and Randy is one of them, so you can’t just—”

“Livia, who is this guy?”

I spin around, but my whole back is flush against Deacon’s as I form a barrier between Randy and him. The power in Deacon’s body surges through me, the bulge in his pants presses against my ass, and I pray my swollen nipples aren’t visible through my shirt or that the scent of my wetness is not noticeable. I’m acting as if I can control him.

“Are you in trouble?” Randy asks, suspicion lining his features, he’s already reaching for his phone to probably call the cops. “Just say the word. I can help,” he continues, but I can also see fear reach his eyes, and he’s torn between staying and running.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Livia

I want to tell Randy nothing, and no one can save me now, but behind me, Deacon starts to relax. Instinctively, I know he’s waiting to see my next move before he breaks Randy in half.

“Randy, please leave.”

“What’s going on? Who is he?” The fear in Randy’s eyes increases, and he really doesn’t know what to do, but he’s such a good guy that despite being nervous and scared because Deacon is so extremely scary, he stays to see if he can help me.

“He’s my husband,” I say as if it were some dirty confession. Randy’s eyes widen and he takes a step back in sheer shock.

“You’re married?”

“Yes. Randy, I need you to leave. Please.”

Relief floods through me when Randy finally turns to leave. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I saved his life.

“I’ll see you around, Livia,” he says, and I wish he didn’t.

“You won’t,” Deacon says, and I spin around to face him as soon as I hear the bell on the door jingle when Randy leaves the diner.

---