Page 69 of Bear Hunt

“Club doc, please.” My throat feels scratchy, likely from a little smoke inhalation, but I smile through it as best I can.

“You got it.” He kisses the top of my head and I sigh, whimpering slightly at the impact. I’m happy, I’m sad, I’m all the things and I’m trying desperately to not continue sobbing into his already wet T-shirt again.

An ominous red-orange hue coats the compound as the firemen do their job, checking the buildings for people and getting ready with their hoses pointed toward the garages. The brightness slowly dies down behind Bear as he walks me toward the main building, where the clubhouse and rooms are, but he hesitates before going inside then changes direction. Heading around the building, he takes me toward a small cottage-typehouse down in the far corner of the property and knocks on the door.

“Darlene, it’s Bear. You’re safe. Mac’s safe. Can I bring Athena in, please?”

I don’t know why he’s being so specific with this announcement before Darlene even opens the door, but when I see her face, I get it. I know that look, and I notice how she’s trying to soothe herself with deep breaths when she wraps her arms across her chest and taps with her fingers.

“The doc’s gonna come here to check Athena out, is that okay?”

She doesn’t respond to him with words, but she nods before stepping aside to let us into the house.

“Where’s Sabrina? Is she here?” Bear looks around the main living area, not making any move to put me down just yet. “There you are.” His muscles relax a little when the blonde woman comes through the door from another room holding two mugs of what looks like coffee. “I’m sure you ladies have already figured out there was an explosion on the compound. Vanessa is out there with the brothers. Everybody has been accounted for except Diablo and Shade.” His breath stutters slightly as he says the names, but he doesn’t hold back on the information he gives them. He’s not trying to placate them or tell them lies to make them feel better, and I like the honesty. “It’s being dealt with. The fire department is here and we’ll do everything we can to find our brothers. Okay?”

Tears are streaming down Darlene’s face, and she looks so much like Mac in this moment, but she nods again anyway, just as strong as her daughter.

“Now, how’s Gryffin? Is he still asleep?”

Another nod from Darlene and Sabrina signs something before shaking her head and simplifying whatever she was trying to say by first pointing to herself, then mimicking rocking ababy, ending with a thumbs up and a wink. She attempts a half smile too, but the horror from everything happening is clearly weighing on her.

I can’t help thinking this is all my fault, though. That if I had never come here, they wouldn’t be dealing with all this. But thinking like that isn’t going to solve anything. Wishing the past didn’t happen has never worked, and will never work. Not even the gods can do it successfully if the stories are anything to go by.

Bear takes up the whole couch, with me still firmly in his hold, while Darlene disappears upstairs with Sabrina after they made us each a fresh coffee.

“Here, you’re shivering.” Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, he places it across me before handing me my coffee.

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired, achey, but I’ve felt worse.”

His eyes darken briefly, as if he’s angry with my response, but I quickly realize he’s not angry with me.

“What I wouldn’t give to watch him die again. Sorry.” It’s as though his thoughts came out without the careful filter he often uses, but his protective instinct only makes me more in awe of him and what he does to the butterflies in my stomach.

“Don’t be sorry. I’ve been thinking the same thing.” I cough a little and shrug, because it’s true. The satisfaction at watching the life drain from my abuser’s eyes was immense.

He chuckles lightly and kisses the top of my head, but there’s a sadness in his dark brown eyes and a tenseness to his strong muscles. His brothers are missing, and I know he won’t be fully okay until they’re found.

“Let me strap you in.” Bear leans across me to grab the seat belt before clipping it into the slot, then he straightens in his seat and turns the engine on.

“Thank you.” I give him a small smile, unable to take my eyes from the way his arms move the steering wheel.

The doc came and went, after checking us both over at my insistence. Neither of us have any obvious internal injuries, and I’m only suffering from a mild concussion—as well as the other scars and wounds the doc found. Both he and Bear scowled at the sight of them, but again, I knew it wasforme, notatme.

It’s about four in the morning, and once the fire engines and cops disappeared from the compound, almost everyone decided to go back to their own homes tonight. Their compound had been infiltrated, their working garages destroyed; the decision was made to give them time to thoroughly check the property over in the daylight. Even the women who live in the house in the corner have gone to some of the brothers’ homes for the night.

I could see the struggle in Bear’s eyes at the idea of leaving without knowing where two of their club brothers are, but the fire department confirmed there were no bodies within the destruction. Each member of the club is under strict instructions to send a group text as soon as one of them is found.

The drive doesn’t take long, and before I know it Bear is out of the truck and opening my door. He leans across me again, unclipping the seat belt and pushing an arm beneath my legs to lift me out.

“The doc said I’m fine to walk.” It’s not much of a protest though, because I eagerly wrap an arm around his neck as he slides me across the seat and out of the truck.

“Yeah, I know, but I want to hold you. Is that okay?” He pauses halfway to his front door and looks down at me with a small smirk.

I nod in response, unable to help the smirk of my own.

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