Page 41 of Bear (Rebel Saints MC 6)

Time crawled. I hated this. I should be working. I should be…I sighed. Living a normal life. But Rocky wouldn’t allow it.

Then Angie called to check in. “Hi, I wanted to come over and tell you some news about the article,” she informed me.

“Sure, come on. It’s not like I’m all that busy anymore.” I tried to make my voice sound as chipper as I could, but the lie was there. The article was the last thing on my mind. It wouldn’t do any good. Rocky had stolen my ability to fight.

My mother called and I spoke to her as if my whole life hadn’t changed. Everything was spiraling out of control. I didn’t want to be this burden to everyone I knew. I felt like… like I was stuck on the Ferris wheel up at the top. The one I rode all the time at the fair. A flash of my childhood ran through my mind. Growing up in Holbeck, running in my pigtails to the Ferris wheel with my brother. I used to tease him because he was afraid of it when he got on and I wasn’t.

“You big scaredy cat! It’s just a Ferris wheel. Why don’t you wanna go on it?”

“What if it gets stuck at the top? What do we do then?” He had whined.

I smiled ruefully to myself because my brother turned out to be a big, bad thug, nothing like the weedy little thing he was when he was little. He redeemed himself by getting on the Ferris wheel years later. My parents—they were pretty normal and wanted me home with them.

My mother was in my ear constantly wanting me to come and live with her, but no matter where I was, when the article comes out Rocky would come after me.

Angie arrived.

I unlocked and opened the front door. Her sailing into the house ripped me from my nostalgic trip down memory lane.

She approached me with a paper in her hand. She held it up with a big grin on her face and a supremely confident walk. “Delphia! We are about to make history here in this town, let me tell you!” It was super hard to feel enthusiastic, but I put on a good show and even flashed some teeth. “We are about to get Rocky, and I’m telling you, nothing will matter. This case will be re-opened. The old investigator Robert Clarke is pulling out all the stops and has my article to work from. He’s talking to the cops as we speak. You are going to be a free lady. Nothing and no one will be able to stop you. I’m telling you. We have this case blown open. If we don’t get Rocky for the original murder, we are sure as hell going to pin him for the robbery.”

Her delivery was so hyped up I was scared when she didn’t take a breath. “How? The tapes? Could they see something?”

“Yes, they saw a tattoo. Rocky has one near the curve of his hand and they identified it. Aren’t you excited? This means they can arrest him.” Angie’s eyes were boring into mine, seeking validation.

My shoulders hitched. My response was lukewarm at best.

She saw through it and put the paper right in front of me. “Read it. It’s going to change your mind. Is there anything else I can do to convince you?” Angie was pleading.

I knew already that pleading wasn’t her usual style, so I wanted to make her feel a little better. “I’ll read it, Angie, thanks. Thank you for all the work you’ve done on the article.” I could tell she had more to say to me, but she took the hard hint from me seriously, for once.

“Well, I saw Ink outside checking everything around the house, so at least you’ll be safe till Bear gets back. She breezed out the door.

I locked it behind her. Then I tossed the papers onto the table by the door. I didn’t want to read it. It would do nothing but tell me yet again…My life wasn’t mine anymore. It also meant Rocky would be double the monster when he came after me this time. He wouldn’t leave without putting a bullet in my head. I paused and realized that Bear would be between him and I. Wouldn’t that keep me safe?

But Bear might not be. I suddenly envisioned the nightmare that could happen. Rocky would shoot Bear instead to get past him to me. He could even ambush him while he was too busy protecting me.

I would be the one who had a hand in Bear’s demise.

My skin went cold. My breathing nearly stopped as the image of Bear on the ground bleeding out appeared so strongly in my mind that I could even smell that metallic scent of his blood.

I thought I might puke as I staggered over to the couch and sat down hard. No. I couldn’t allow that to happen… No. He would be dead just like my brother. Bear was the only man besides my father and my brother that I had ever trusted.

Ever…loved.

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