Page 24 of Bear Hunt

“Hand my nephew over if you’re so eager to give him away.” Bear laughs and carefully plucks the baby from Mac, letting him nestle in the crook of his thick arm before lightly tickling his tummy.

And this smile… well, the smile Bear gives that baby is something else. I’d die happy if I got to see that smile every day.

Woah, that’s an intrusive thought if ever there was one.

“There’s the man. Why aren’t you answering your cell, brother?” The booming voice comes from another man wearing one of the leather vests with the skull and snake logo. He slaps Bear on the back and sits on the arm of the couch beside him.

My muscles tense at the new addition and I become hyper alert, putting my training into action and taking deep, calming breaths to appear unphased.

“Y’all know where I am if it’s important. What’s up?” Bear replies without taking his eyes from the tiny bundle in his arms.

“Well, I guess I can tell the lady herself seeing as she’s here.”

I’m pretty sure Bear grumbles a little, but it’s ignored as the man brings his attention to me. Like with Psycho Aleko, and Mac before our shopping trip, he doesn’t fill me with the urge to trust him the same way that Bear does.

“That part for your truck will be in on Friday morning, so we can get you up and running again by the weekend.” He winks and raises the beer bottle in his hand in triumph, but I just feel a lead ball fall into my stomach.

I’d forgotten all about the truck. It’s not like I’m used to having any possessions so I guess it was easy to push the whole thingfrom my mind. Let’s face it, I have a lot going on in my head anyway.

But now they’ve found me.

Did that man from the mall have time to contact them and let them know he’s found me, or was he just watching and waiting for an opportunity?

If he told them, I’m screwed and I don’t have much time. They have people everywhere and they made sure to tell me that every single day I lived there.

I don’t know why I thought I could escape…

“Hey, Baby Girl, shh, it’s okay.” Warm hands cup my cheeks and I don’t flinch as I slowly focus back on the here and now, listening to the soft, deep tones of the beautiful man in front of me.

I don’t know how long I was spiraling in my head, but the baby is no longer in his arms. Instead, all his attention is on me. Sounds of talking, some music, laughter… it all gradually filters in as I keep my eyes trained on Bear’s shining black ones, the lighter brown flecks reflecting movement around us. The corners crinkle slightly when he smiles, but there is worry there and a little pain that I didn’t notice before. I don’t know how I know it, but I just do. His attention brings my focus back to now and I feel my breathing steady itself out.

“Hi.” The one word is all I can manage. Even though it feels silly, it also feels right. It’s confirmed when his smile grows wider, the worry vanishing and replaced by something I can’t quite put my finger on, but I like it. I’ll say hi to him every day if it will make him smile like that, always.

“Hi.” His reply is full of humor, because he knows as well as I do that it’s unnecessary, but I can’t help mirroring his giant grin.

I don’t care if we look crazy, because this is the happiest I’ve ever felt in my life. The thought shatters almost as quickly whenmemories of Dan assault my mind, and I have to close my eyes and shake my head free of them before looking at Bear again.

I trustedhim. And he betrayed me too.

Nothing is free.

“I don’t know where you go when you do that, but I’d take it all away in a second if I could.” The sincerity in his words is difficult to ignore, just like everything else about him. He sighs, and I’m sad that his huge smile has vanished. “Can I sit beside you?”

I frown in response, but find myself nodding. He huffs a gentle laugh and oh so slowly moves his hands from my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized they were still there.

Now that he’s moved, I notice that Mac has the baby again and the rats are here too. I guess they are as much a part of the family as everyone else around here. Now that I’m seeing them again, they are way cuter than I remember, especially the white one that reminds me of a small cow by its colorings.

“Do you wanna say hi? Here.” Without waiting for a response, Bear hands me a carrot stick and chuckles at my confusion. “Hold it in your palm.”

“Oookay…” I freely do what he asks, which is terrifying in itself, and my heartbeat becomes a more regular tempo the longer he sits beside me with his large thigh brushing against my much smaller one.

He makes a strange noise with his tongue and holds out another carrot stick. The cow-colored rat lifts its head, turns away from the other rat on Psycho Aleko’s shoulder, then quickly scurries down his arm, jumps over to the table between the couches, and finally jumps over to Bear’s knee, where it takes the orange offering.

“This one is Bandit. She’s younger than Ninja, been with us less than a year, but you’d never know it.” He lifts her carefully and holds her in his huge palms. “Ready?”

I can feel my eyes widen and I swallow the lump in my throat that tells me rats are dirty creatures, they’re unclean, like me… but these aren’t the gray rats from the attic—or the basement. This is a pet, and if I’m being honest with myself, her black beady eyes are kinda cute. The way her nose vibrates and her tiny head moves along with it is adorable. I nod again, afraid of my own voice because I don’t want to offend these people by saying something about rats that I shouldn’t.

Staying quiet is how I always managed to get through my days withthem. In large social situations, it always served me well to be silent, so it comes easily.

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