Page 32 of Bear Haven
“I call bullshit.”
“I think he’s telling the truth,” Bex said. She didn’t want to give the Mayor any credit, but in this, too, she believed him
“I think so too,” Luke added.
“All of you need to leave the area.”
“Why?”
“It’s not safe.”
“With you and your kind hunting us, nowhere is safe.”
Gus reached for the man who’d just spoken and wrapped an arm around his neck. Michael. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“I’ll be better when you let go of me.” Michael shirked away, but not before a look of understanding passed between the two men.
The Mayor focused on his son. “You have to go. What I did to Richard and that all of… That all of you are still alive… You have to go. Somewhere. Anywhere away from here. They’ll come back. They’ll come to see if you… To see if there’s anyone left.”
“And you? What about you?”
“They’ll hunt me, too. I’ve stayed longer than I should have. Those who were with him, scrambled after I shot Richard and threatened to do the same to them.”
“Why didn’t they just take you out then?”
“They don’t know who to trust. Their loyalty is compromised. They’ll realize soon enough exactly what my reasoning was when the shock wears off.”
“Who was this Richard person and why will it matter so much that you killed him?”
“He was my brother.”
Aside from the roar of the fire, no one in their small group made a sound. He shot his own brother? Bex couldn’t even begin to comprehend something like that.
Beck hung his head.
“We’ll get him out of the area,” Bex promised.”
“We will?”
Bex leveled a glare at Michael. “Yes, we will.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, I’m not doing this for you. I’ll heed your warnings, but that’s all. I’ll see that Beck is safe.”
“I’m right here, you know?”
Bex smiled. “I know.”
“Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Father? Where will you go?”
“I have friends. I’ll be okay for a few days until the word begins to spread.”
“Oh, that’s swell. More of you.”
“More than you’ll ever know.”
