Page 18 of Saving Meri

Bear stood in front of him, silent, controlled, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt with slow, deliberate movements. He didn’t hurry. This wasn’t a fight. This was systematic dismantling.

Fitz and Kai had already worked over Gerald Foster, one of DeLuca’s middle-tier traffickers. Fitz and Kai had softened him up, breaking ribs, dislocating a few fingers, making sure he understood just how bad this was going to get. But now? Now he belonged to Bear.

Bear squatted in front of him, elbows resting loosely on his knees. "You ready to talk, or do you need more incentive?"

Foster spat blood onto the floor. "Go to hell."

Bear sighed and stood, rolling his shoulders. He glanced at Fitz, who stood in the shadows near the door, arms crossed overhis chest, watching with a mixture of boredom and approval. "How many bones have we broken so far?"

Fitz made a thoughtful sound. “It’s difficult to say. We didn’t keep count.”

Bear nodded, like he was considering the options. "Right. It’s better not to rush these things."

Foster’s swollen eye twitched. "You think beating the shit out of me is gonna change anything?"

Bear stepped closer, looming over him, his voice dropping into something low and absolute. "No. But it’ll make me feel better while I wait for you to get smart."

He moved fast. A single, brutal punch to the man’s side, driving his knuckles into already broken ribs. Foster howled, his body jerking violently against his restraints.

Bear waited until the man’s screams died down before speaking again. "I’m not in a hurry. I can do this all night." He grabbed Foster’s chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. "You were one of the men who handled Meri Vaughn. You were there at the auction. You put your hands on her, didn’t you?"

Foster’s bloody mouth pulled into a sneer. "I did more than that."

Bear snapped. Bear’s fist crashed into Foster’s face, breaking something not already shattered. The man’s head snapped to the side, blood spraying from his nose. His body sagged, struggling against the zip ties that held him in place.

Fitz let out a low whistle. "Gotta say, Bear, I thought you were gonna draw this out a little longer."

Bear’s chest burned with fury, but his voice remained controlled. "I don’t like liars. And I don’t like men who hurt women."

Foster coughed, a wet, ragged sound. "You think you saved her?" He lifted his head, his bloodstained teeth showing through the mess of his ruined face. "You think she’s free?"

Bear went still. Fitz straightened from the wall, the air shifting with the weight of something unspoken.

Foster laughed, his body shaking with pain. "She wasn’t just another girl for sale. She was special. High-value. The kind of thing you don’t just auction off to some random bidder. She was being prepped." He coughed again, a string of blood trailing down his chin. "Rented out. Broken in. Getting her ready for a private auction—to be offered to only the most select clientele. The kind that doesn’t go through normal channels."

Bear’s pulse turned to ice. Meri hadn’t just been stolen. She hadn’t just been sold to the highest bidder. She’d been marked and taken with more than profit in mind.

Fitz stepped forward, his voice sharp. "Who?"

Foster’s swollen lips pulled into something resembling a grin. "You already know who. You just don’t want to admit it."

Bear grabbed the man by the throat, squeezing just hard enough to make his airway collapse halfway. Foster’s body jerked, his feet kicking against the floor, his face turning red.

"Say it," Bear ordered.

Foster twisted, trying to break Bear’s hold, his body convulsing with panic. Bear loosened his grip—just enough to let the bastard speak. The words came out on a wheezing breath.

"DeLuca."

Bear went still.

Fitz swore. "Fuck."

DeLuca wasn’t just another trafficker. He wasn’t some mid-level bastard running an operation out of a dingy warehouse for a cartel looking for an extra revenue stream. He was a high-end trafficker who operated world-wide. He didn’t just groom sex workers and sell them to sadists. This was a man who found and took unspoiled women, trained them and then sold them off.

Bear’s vision narrowed, his heartbeat steady despite the fury tearing through his chest.

Foster laughed weakly. "You can kill me. Won’t change a damn thing. DeLuca will come for her. That girl? She’s been promised to a wealthy, well-connected patron. DeLuca plans to make a fortune off her."

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