Page 40 of Bear
In the next moment, all hell breaks loose.
“Get your fucking hands off her.” As if it happens in slow motion, my head turns to the side. I catch a glimpse of blond hair, and all of a sudden, I’m caught between two heaving, angry men. All the breathwhooshesfrom my lungs, snatching the ability to cry out as I’m jostled around. Duke grips both of his dad’s forearms and squeezes hard, wrestling with me in the middle. “I said let go,” he grunts.
Tristan finally releases me, growling through gritted teeth. “Is this how it is? I thought about it at the football game. And then when I was told you were staying with her during the fight, I was a little surer. No fucking wonder you’ve been so goddamn tight-lipped.”
Behind me, Duke’s chest heaves. He belts one arm around my waist and the other is slung upward, between my breasts, his palm flat against my chest, fingers splayed out just below my neck as he pulls me backward with him. “Being her stepfather doesn’t give you the right to put your hands on her like that.” Held tight to him, I feel the rage pouring forth from every cell in his body.
It confuses me.
Setting aside the strange flow of emotion from Duke, I swallow hard, and my eyes flick up to Tristan’s cold blue gaze. He. Is. Pissed.
“Inside, Duke. Office. Now.” Tristan doesn’t mince words, and the second the command is out, he strides past us and up the stairs, his entire body radiating anger.
I bring my arms up, my hands covering Dukes, fingers curling between his. I’m shaking, but the only thing I can do is lean against Duke’s chest and try to breathe.
“What the fuck is going on?” Bear’s voice is gritty and low as he comes to a skidding stop at our side.
Mason appears only a split second later, takes one look at me with his dark eyes searching mine, and grinds out, “The hell? Kin, are you okay?”
Duke groans at my back. “Myfather.He—” his head drops next to mine, bringing us cheek to cheek. His lips move against the curve of my jaw. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry I couldn’t get out here faster.” His voice hitches. “I-I saw. From upstairs.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” I tap his arm, letting him know I want him to loosen his hold, and I turn around, resting my hands on his bare stomach. Looking into his fiery blue eyes, his jaw twitching and popping, I can still sense the animosity toward his father seething directly under the surface. I bite my lip with only one thing on my mind. “Why did he say I have you lying for me? I’ve never asked you to lie about anything.”
His eyes crash shut for a moment, and when he opens them again, I see the fight being waged inside him. He’s torn. But what the hell? What’s he hiding from me?
“Duke?” My fingers dig into his skin, absorbing his heat, his strength, and wishing he’d answer me but knowing it’s fruitless. He won’t allow himself to answer me, and I haven’t a fucking clue why not.
He rips his gaze from mine and shakes his head, running his hand over his jaw. The anguish is clear in his eyes, but—as I suspected—rather than talk to me, he snaps, “Bear? Mase? Get her the fuck to class.” He tears himself from me, both his body and his gaze, striding purposefully up the stairs and into the house where Tristan waits for him.
I may have been thrown by how Tristan treated me a moment ago, but nothing hurts worse than watching Duke’s tension-filled back as he walks away from me.
TWENTY
MASON
A confrontationwith Tristan Valentine was not exactly the hangover cure I was hoping for, but opening the front door to see him manhandling Lennon like that and Duke having to wrestle her free of his clutches was enough to snap me out of it and push away most of the fogginess and lethargy.
Who the fuck does he think he is, anyway? She’s nineteen. He’s supposedly a revered businessman, the owner of a good portion of this fucking town, one who donates to charities and those in need. Most people don’t know his businesses are as dirty as hell. But even if he truly were the saint he’s known as, that shouldn’t matter because no one has the right to put their hands on anyone else the way he just did. I don’t give a fucking fuck if Lennon’s his stepdaughter or not.
Flames lick at my insides, even though he’s no longer in our faces and she’s mostly unharmed. Asshole prick with a god complex. That was complete fucking overkill the way he went after her. She didn’t deserve it. And we don’t even know the filth he spewed before we got out there.
My head steadily thumps as I watch Duke hurry up the steps after him. That’s one summons I wouldn’t want to answer. I hope he can fucking handle his father because right now, I think the best thing for us to do is follow his direction and get Lennon the hell away from this house. Rubbing my hand over my face, I exhale hard, staring at Bear through my not-quite-sober eyes. “You know he won’t want me to intervene after last night, that much I’m sure of. But I also—” My fists clench as my gaze shifts to Lennon. “Fuck.” I’m an idiot. She’s staring at the ground between us, her hands shaking ever so slightly, giving away the truth of how this has affected her. “Lennon.” She glances up at me, blinking rapidly, and not quite meeting my eyes.Fuck.I hope her finding out about me and Duke doesn’t change things with us. I don’t want it to, and the only thing I can think to do is show her. “Come here.” I tug her against my chest. “Don’t you let that fucking asshole bother you.”
She slowly nods, then looks over her shoulder toward Bear. “Why does he think Duke’s been lying to him?”
“Little Gazelle, from the moment you started setting those alarms off, I think they’ve been watching and waiting. No fucking clue what for.” He grits his teeth, stepping up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. He buries his nose in the hair at the top of her head, which makes me smirk a bit. Damn, Teddy Bear is so head over heels. His gravelly voice rumbles as he continues. “I’d say Duke’s been downplaying some of the shit that’s happened lately, and when his father asks how things are going around here, he’s been telling him everything’s fine. Even though we all fuckin’ know there’s a whole lot that’s not.” He squeezes her shoulders. “I’d imagine he’s protecting you because he knows in his gut you aren’t at fault. He’s not blind, Lennon, no matter what other issues the two of you might have with each other. And hell, his dad doesn’t know the half of it, only what the stupid fucking security company is making him aware of.”
That we know of.I have a sneaking suspicion they have ways of knowing our business, and whether that means there’s a rat on the inside, cameras, both, or whatever-the-fuck, I’d like to find out.
“Tristan thinks I’m doing it all on purpose. He always has—the sleepwalking, the nightmares, all of it. Like a ploy to get attention. But—”
I interrupt her. “You’re not. We know. I can’t fathom what the fuck his problem is, or any of our fathers’, for that matter, but we’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.”
Her body trembles between us. “How can I not? You didn’t hear what Tristan said. He thinks I’m fucking crazy.”
My jaw tightens, irritated at Tristan’s manipulation tactics. “You’re not.” One minute accusing her of making it all up and the next saying she’s crazy? He’s fucking psychotic. I ease away and tip her chin up, the back of her head coming to rest on Bear’s chest. “You’ve been through a lot, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t come out stronger and more beautiful, Kintsukuroi. Remember that. I see you.” I glance at Bear. “We both do.” I wink at her, and her body releases a shuddering exhale as she nods.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t let him gaslight me.”
