Page 20 of Coveted By The Bear

Fuck.

“I won’t hold back,” I warned.

Rick turned his attention to me, away from Hope, which was good.

“Are you fucking serious, man? You’re gonna hurt us for this bitch?”

That was it. My Bear would not tolerate any disrespect towards Hope, and I stopped trying to rein him in. I knew she was going to hate me now, but I had to protect her.

I gritted my teeth and unleashed hell.

Tommy came at me like an untrained cub, trusting his bulk to save him. But I was no slacker and two slices, one across his abdomen, the other across his throat, were enough to leave him disemboweled and choking on his own blood.

“You piece of shi?—”

But that was as far as Rick got. I grabbed his head with both hands and snapped his neck, tossing him away like a broken doll.

Something moved, and I turned my head. Hope froze against the wall. I knew how I must have looked.

Naked. Covered in dirt and sweat and blood.

Fuck.

Arms raised, I approached slowly. Broken shards of glass littered the floor, but they couldn’t pierce my tough skin.

She closed her eyes tight, and she was shaking so hard, I worried she might hurt herself.

“Easy,” I murmured, noting she had some scratches and cuts on her face and her hands where the glass must have hit her.

“You’re okay, Pretty Girl. You’re okay,” I whispered, crouching down in front of her.

“Look at me. Show me those eyes, Hope, come on.”

After one long, drawn out moment, she finally did. Then and only then did I exhale.

“There you are, Pretty Girl. Now, I-I know you have questions—” But that was all I got out before she hurled herself at me.

“Miles? You came. You saved me from them,” she whispered and held on to me for dear life.

Like I was something worth her attention.

Like I wasn’t one of those monsters she was still trembling from.

“I got you. I got you,” I repeated, holding her back.

After a few minutes of hell, I don’t know how long, Hope leaned back. Her brown eyes were so wide and clear and full of questions.

“I have to make a call, Baby. Okay? You just sit here, and we’ll talk until they arrive,” I told her and lifted her off the ground, setting her up on the desk so the glass couldn’t touch her.

I grabbed the phone, but she made a noise and shook her head.

“Th-they cut the line or something,” she said, and her voice was shaky.

Fuck.

I was still so fucking mad. Furious, she’d been scared and hunted.

Tiegs was going to pay for that.

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