Page 101 of Bear
I squeezed her hand in mine and nodded. She shut her eyes and shook her head while her lips moved silently. Lane looked at me with sadness washing over her face.
Now was not the time for Mom to fall off her game. We all needed her on her toes. I knew it was easier said than done though. Nothing was up to Mom anymore. It was all about what her brain decided to do and when.
“We got you out of there in time though,” Kareema assured her.
“Bear needs to get this job done. What are we waiting for?” She asked. Her tone was steeped so deep in irritation it made me feel like a kid being scolded. I knew she was only frustrated because it was hard trying to pretend to be okay when she wasn’t.
“We’re waiting for the party to get underway. Bear wants to see if there are anymore soldiers on Griffon’s side before he moves. You know he likes to be sure he has all angles covered. He needs to know he owns the playing field,” I told her. Ace looked at me and turned down the corners of his mouth.
“I’m impressed, Dimples. You know the plan like you made it.”
“Didn’t have any choice. When you’re close to Bear, you can’t help learning.”
“Let’s go upstairs so I can make it sound like I’m fucking you,” Ace sighed, locking his arm with mine. I laughed at how unimpressed he seemed by the task. Kareema snickered and shook her head.
“I’m sure it’s the worst job you’ve ever had to do,” she teased.
“It is. I officially have on family goggles when I look at Dimples so pretending to fuck her isn’t doing it for me. She’s like a little sister.”
“Aww, you love me,” I cooed.
“You’re okay. I’ll be glad when you’re a better shot so you won’t need a personal security detail all the time.”
“You’d still stalk me just to protect me,” I grinned as we headed up the steps. Ace shrugged his broad shoulders and cracked a smile as we walked into the guestroom.
“Just to make sure you didn’t shoot yourself with your gun,” he assured me. I closed the door and locked it behind us then flopped on the bed.
“Do I have to moan your name?” I quizzed.
“I really rather you didn’t.” He flicked his icy gaze toward me and I could see questions floating around in his head. “You’re not scared to be in here alone with me?”
“No,” I frowned and folded my arms across my chest. I knelt up on the bed and bounced a little. Just enough to make the springs groan beneath me. “Why would I be?”
“I’m not exactly a good guy, Dimples.”
“Okay? Bear trusts you with his life and I know you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that nor would you do anything to get yourself killed. Not over me. Besides, I don’t get a monster vibe from you, Ace. I’m usually good about reading people.”
He tilted his head to the side a little. “Oh yeah? What do you read when you look at me, Dimples?”
I paused in bouncing on the bed and walked over to him. I studied his eyes and behind all the ice, I saw something lonely and battered but still very much human. He wasn’t a monster at all.
“I see you. The real you. My friend. You’re not a bad guy, Ace. You’re a good person.”
“I think that might be the first time anyone has ever referred to me as a good person. I think your moral scale is off if you think me and Bear are good people,” he laughed but I was serious.
“I do think you’re both really good people. Maybe that makes me a little crazy but mostly I think it makes me someone who can see the good where everyone else only sees bad.”
“That’s not a horrible way to be. Thank you for thinking highly of me, Dimples. Makes me want to always do right by you.” He winked at me then took his turn bouncing on the bed while we cracked jokes and looked at memes on our phones.
Twenty minutes passed and Ace and I decided we’d been pretend fucking long enough. “The door has opened and closed several times, so I’m guessing people are starting to show up,” I mentioned. Ace nodded. He heard the same thing.
When we found Bear, he was in the living room where most of the people had gathered. I recognized them all as his soldiers. The good ones that would stick by him no matter what. I’d seen them follow his every word blindly because they knew he’d never lead them into harm’s way.
I smiled at them briefly then I noticed a chill ripple across my spine. Griffon was staring at me like if he took his eyes off me for a moment, the world would vanish. It made me sick, to be honest.
He talked to the soldiers gathered around the room in clusters and sipped from a heavy-bottomed crystal glass filled with something brown that made his smile crooked and dangerous. I didn’t like his brand of danger. I liked Bear’s. Bear’s danger excited me and put a thrill in the pit of my stomach that was far more delicious than any dessert. Griffon’s brand of danger was wrong. It made me feel coated in slime.
“Cecily, come here,” Griffon instructed. Bear’s eyes flitted to his father then to me but he never missed a beat in his conversation with Ace. My stomach flopped forward and I took timid steps toward him. “Don’t act shy now. You’ve been throwing that pussy around since I got home. What would Lu think?” He spoke quietly but I knew the men standing nearby could hear. It pissed me off even though I knew everyone understood the plan and what was happening.
