Page 28 of Bear

“Now, wait just a Goddamned minute!” There was a sharp gunshot, then silence. Bear kept my face against his chest with one big, strong hand on the back of my head.

“What about Boon?” Ringo looked to Rocket for instructions.

“Cut him loose.” Rocket addressed Boon, “You want to stay with us? Prospect?”

Boon rubbed his wrist when Ringo cut him down. “I think maybe I would, Rocket.”

“What about your family?” Bear turned us but didn’t let me go or move my head to look at Boon. “The reason you didn’t come before was because you didn’t want to uproot them.”

“My wife divorced me when I was in prison. My kids are grown and don’t want anything to do with me.” He shrugged. “I thought I’d maybe get a fresh start.”

“Crush will have to look into your background, but if Bear vouches for you, we’ll take you in.”

“Bear vouches for him,” Bear said. “Now, I’m takin’ my woman out of here. Boon, good to see you. Hate all the shit you went through, but I’m glad you found your way here.”

“Thanks Bear. I owe you.”

“Anytime, brother. We’re family here. Welcome aboard.”

Chapter Ten

Bear

The ride back to the clubhouse took some time. Not only was the terrain less than ideal, but Crush wanted us to take the scenic route and do a few double backs to make sure no one was following us. Or that we didn’t have some kind of tracking device on us. It wasn’t exactly standard after what we’d done, but he and Byte wanted to be careful since we had no idea where the tech on Liv’s phone came from.

A couple hours -- and a different vehicle -- later we rolled through the compound gates. Yeah. The paranoia from Crush was just too great to risk bringing the truck back, so we sold it to a guy named Red at Red’s Garage in Palm Beach. The guy was road captain for Salvation’s Bane. After giving him the rundown, he swapped us a truck and set about making ours disappear. Not my business how. That was Ringo’s department. All I was concerned with was taking care of my girl.

Liv clung to me, sitting sideways on my lap. Her slender arms were around my neck, her face against my chest.

She was silent, the kind of silence that spoke volumes, her breathing uneven at times as we rolled onto safe ground. Every now and then, her grip on me tightened like she was reminding herself I was real, that she wasn’t alone. It did something fierce to my heart, knowing how much she relied on me.

When we finally pulled in front of our little house inside the family area of our compound, the sense of relief was palpable.

There were several of the guys waiting outside for us. Bullet approached first, his sharp-eyed gaze scanning Olivia before he looked up at me. “You guys need anything?”

“I think we’re good,” I said, exiting the vehicle with Liv in my arms. “Maybe have a prospect bring some stuff for sandwiches and some drinks.”

Apple darted from inside the house and ran straight to us. “Is she all right? What’d you do to her, Bear?” Her face looked as fierce as Lemon always did. Like she was ready to take a motherfucker down. In this case, the motherfucker in question was me.

“She’s fine,” I said, fighting the grin tugging at my lips. “Been a rough day for her. She’s gonna need you, Apple. Once I get her settled and she’s had time to rest.”

“You say the word and I’m there. I’ll stay with her now if she needs me.”

Liv shifted then, turning to look at Apple. “Thank you, Apple. For everything.”

“I didn’t do anything, honey.”

“You helped me get into Grim Road. I’m sorry I used it as a way to get inside to spy, but you brought me to Bear.”

Apple waved off my comment. “These guys are more than capable of taking care of themselves and you clearly needed help. Maybe not like I’d first thought, but close enough.”

“You didn’t even know me that well, Apple. You went out on a limb to help a stranger. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“Just take care of Bear there. He’s got it pretty hard around here. None of the club girls want him. I damn sure don’t want him.” She tapped a finger on her lips as if contemplating her next words. “You know, he’s not nearly good enough for you. Maybe I better look for someone else for you.”

I growled at Apple, who grinned up at me with a superior smirk on her lips. Thankfully, Olivia gave a little chuckle.

“Nah. Think I’ll keep him. He’s already semi-housebroken. I’d hate to waste all that time and effort.”

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