Chapter Five

Bear

Once Venus opened the door for Olivia to enter the main room of the house, my gaze zeroed in on her. Venus gave a curt nod in my direction. I narrowed my eyes at her before glancing back to Olivia.

"You let her keep phone?" Venus pulled the device from her back pocket and tossed it to me.

"Didn't search her," I said as I easily snagged the phone out of the air. "Didn't want her to feel threatened, and it didn't really matter. This place isn't secret and if we stayed here very long, I'm sure they'd find us with or without her help."

"Fine. We ready to move?"

" Da ." Venus turned to Olivia. "You will ride with me and Piston. Apple is anxious to see you." Venus actually gave Olivia a friendly, if small, smile.

Olivia opened her mouth to say something but shut it before she did and nodded crisply. "Very well." Then she preceded Venus outside.

I followed, meeting Crush behind the Bronco Piston and Venus had brought. Crush's bike was a classic Harley Softail. The younger man had bought it off Red at Salvation's Bane, and I was pretty sure he wanted to make love to that bike.

Crush stepped forward and shook my hand. "I've got Byte working on this from the command center." That's how we referred to his and Byte's office. We were joking. Crush wasn't. "I'll take her phone off-site and take it apart. Inside and out. Any data on that phone I'll extract."

"Good. And Crush? Let me know the second you find something."

Crush gave me a steady look. "You know I gotta tell Rocket or Lemon first, but you'll be right behind them." This is what I liked about Crush. He and Byte were both like this. He absolutely would not lie. No matter what. At least, if he ever had, I'd never caught him. Both men always let you know where you stood with them and where they stood with you. There was no sugar coating, no false promises.

"Just do what you can." There was no use pushing Crush. He'd do what he felt was right. For him to call me ahead of Rocket would be against his personal code.

"I will. I'll also have Knox send someone for your bike."

"Thanks, man. Tell him not to send Falcon. Bastard's had his eyes on my bike since Lemon painted his."

"Probably wondering if he could get away with painting yours pink so he could paint his black again." One corner of his lips curled upward.

I snorted. "Yeah. Likely."

Crush pocketed the phone, then started his bike and took off.

Venus held open the door to the back seat of the Bronco while Piston stood with his arms on the open door and top of the vehicle, his foot propped on the running board on the driver's side. He kept watch, scanning the surroundings intently, looking for a threat.

I climbed in the back seat on the driver's side so that Olivia was sandwiched between me and Venus. She glanced at me nervously before swallowing and fumbling with the middle seat belt. I could feel her trembling where my shoulder and thigh pressed against her.

"One last time, Liv," I growled next to her ear. "What's goin' on?"

She didn't respond, just clenched her teeth and pursed her lips. One tear escaped and trickled down her cheek, but she didn't acknowledge it.

I sighed and straightened in my seat. "You will, Liv. Eventually, you will." I didn't raise my voice or even look at her, but I could feel her stiffen. I wanted her scared, but it nearly gutted me to do it deliberately. I could very well be pushing her away from me when I wanted to do anything but. It was as much for her safety as the club's.

If I was honest, it might be more for her than Grim. And I didn't mean that she'd be in danger from Grim. It was Leon Black. The bastard would stop at nothing to find me. I was the one blemish on an otherwise perfectly stellar career for him. He'd managed to deflect the blame to someone else, but the stain still followed him behind closed doors since it'd happened.

So, yeah. I was very concerned for Olivia's safety. Well, that was about to be fixed. I was taking her to Grim Road to stay with me. I'd prove she could trust me and I'd work on trusting her.

Piston pulled a blindfold and a hood from the console and handed them to me. I carefully placed the blindfold over Liv's eyes and the hood over her head to prevent her from seeing where we were going. The back windows were darkly tinted, so no one could catch a good glimpse of us in the back seat. Piston took back streets and made several direction changes as he took us to the club house.

Piston's phone rang. Venus picked it up and answered.

" Da ." There was a silence before Venus disconnected the phone. "Byte says all clear. We go back to clubhouse."

We were always careful about returning home, but Piston and Byte were assuming we were actively being followed. He even left the road at one point and went through the wetlands and back trails before Byte gave him the all clear. When we got to the clubhouse, it was by way of the back of the property.

* * *

Olivia

The second I was able to ditch the hood and blindfold and climb out of the vehicle, I spotted Apple. She ran full force, shoving her way through the big men scattered around us, and threw herself at me.

"Liv! I was so worried! Thank God you ran into Bear and Ringo!" Apple hugged me fiercely, not letting me go even when someone tried to pull her off me.

"I'm OK, Apple." I patted her back a couple of times before gently pushing her away. When I did, one of the men kept her moving away from me. "It's OK." I sounded like I was consoling someone while on the way to the execution chamber. Because I knew absolutely it was not OK.

"Come on," Bear said, taking my hand. "You can spend time with her once this is cleared up."

I could see Apple arguing with Leather. He was steadily leading her back to the club house, not forcing her or being overly aggressive, simply moving her away calmly as he spoke to her. I didn't know Apple that well, but she'd seen the end of an argument I'd had with my father and Mr. Black. Apple had marched toward us and grabbed my hand, telling the pair to fuck off while she took me to a local diner and offered me a place to stay. That was the first time we met.

The next time I'd met Apple, it had been with a black eye and a busted lip. While the first encounter had been an accident, the second one hadn't. And I'd suffered through it in silence.

Bear took me to a small house a short distance away from the clubhouse. We walked, my hand firmly in his. We could almost have been a couple out for a stroll under the moonlight. Except for the elephant hanging over us.

He ushered me inside. I wouldn't say it was dirty or anything, but it was definitely a man cave. It was messy with beer cans and pizza boxes on more than a few surfaces. But the couch and chairs were free of clutter. There were no dishes in the sink or dirty clothes laying around on the hardwood flooring, and the place smelled clean.

"Fuckin' prospects," Bear muttered. He pulled out his phone, selected a contact and put the phone to his ear. Whoever he called answered almost immediately. "You tell that little punk, Redwood, to get his fuckin' punk-ass friends over here and clean up my place. If it ain't exactly how I left it in thirty minutes, Imma kill every single one of them motherfuckers. And if there is even one thing out of place in my bedroom, it won't matter if they get my place clean." He stabbed at the phone's screen, disconnecting the call. "Motherfuckers," Bear muttered under his breath.

He scrubbed a hand over his face, then turned his attention to me. "Same rules apply here. No shut doors except those leading outside. House has an alarm that goes straight to Crush and Byte, so we'll have you back before you reach the perimeter."

"I understand." I refused to meet his gaze. Bear already knew my tells. He knew when I was lying.

There was silence. I wrapped my arms around my body as I stood there, unsure what to do next. Bear shuffled around the room, picking up beer cans and bottles despite sending for the people who'd apparently made the mess. He didn't say anything until there was a knock at the door.

"Thank Christ," he muttered, then stomped to the door and yanked it open. Three younger men stood outside. All of them looked ready to piss themselves.

"Sorry, Bear," one of them said. "We were comin' back to clean up but thought we had more time. You said you'd be back in the morning."

"So the first lesson you better have learned is not to put shit off. When you have a job to do, you fuckin' do it."

"And we never went nowhere except in here and the bathroom," one of the others said as he picked up a nearby box and started moving through the room. "And no whores, Bear. We was just watchin' the game. I swear." The guy didn't much more than look at Bear. He was picking up everything out of place and tossing it into a big-ass contractor trash bag.

"How could you guys have eaten so much pizza during the fuckin' game anyway?"

The third guy had a cocky smirk as he leaned against the door. "We're growin' boys, Bear. Got all kinds of…" He paused and turned his gaze to me, his smile widening to a lascivious grin. "Voracious appetites."

Bear lunged for the younger, smaller man and grabbed him by the throat in what looked like a crushing grip. The guy went for something at his hip. Bear was all up in his face, so I was certain there was no way he knew what was happening.

"Bear! Knife!" The words popped out of my mouth before I could stop them. I even lunged to grab the guy's hand as he came out with the knife.

There was a scuffle as one of the men was pulling at the guy with the knife, the other trying to pry Bear's hand loose.

"Drop it, Redwood!"

"He's gonna strangle him to death, French!" This was the guy trying to pull Bear off the guy they called Redwood.

"If he does, Wood deserved it." French grunted as he managed to get the knife away from Redwood. In the process, my arm got in the way and the knife laid a fiery gash along the underside of my forearm.

I gave one sharp cry, backing away. Then I clamped my mouth shut and slapped a hand over the wound. Bear immediately turned to me, dropping his gaze to where blood seeped between my fingers and dripped to the floor.

"Fuckin' Christ." He let go of Redwood, not bothering to look at the man. "What the fuck did you mean to do, girl? Fight off a man twice your size -- with a knife -- using only your bare hands?" He snagged my arm, putting his own huge hand over the wound as he moved us to the sink. "Banjo, get that bastard out of my sight. Tell Rocket or Lemon what happened. Let them deal with the little prick." He refused to turn toward the men, instead pulling out a dish towel from a drawer and wrapping it around the cut to stop the bleeding.

"Consider it done, Bear," Banjo pushed Redwood toward the door.

"You tell ‘em everything. Not just that I busted his ass. You tell ‘em why. You tell every fuckin' horny-ass prospect in this fuckin' compound. ‘Cause this ain't fuckin' over." Bear did turn to look at the other men then. "Best make your peace with whatever God you believe in, you son of a bitch."

"I swear I didn't know she was yours, Bear," Redwood pleaded, his eyes wide. "I'd never have said that if I'd known she was your old lady."

"She's in my fuckin' house, isn't she?" Bear was livid. That much was certain. This was a side of the man I never wanted focused on me. "Be very fuckin' glad I'm not the one to decide what happens to you. Not only did you disrespect my woman, but you pulled a fuckin' knife on me."

"It was reflex, Bear. I swear I wasn't gonna use it!"

"Don't care. Get the fuck out."

"Come on, Wood." Banjo took hold of his arm and led the man outside. French took the knife and laid it on a table by the couch. He glanced up at Bear before the three of them left. Banjo snagged the trash bag on his way out.

Bear carefully removed the dish towel from my arm. The cut wasn't deep, but it was long. It still oozed blood, but it wasn't bad. He wrapped it tight around my arm again before picking up his phone and shooting off a text.

"Gonna get Bullet to come look at this. At the very least you'll need a tetanus shot."

"Why would you care?" I was trying very hard to keep from breaking down. My heart pounded, and my arm was starting to sting like a motherfucker.

"You heard me claim you, Liv. That means you're mine to protect. That means I beat a fuckin' prospect for being disrespectful, that's what I do. You hurt yourself? I get you a doctor. Which brings up my first question. What the fuck were you doing?"

"I was trying to keep you from getting stabbed," I snapped. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. The adrenaline was leaving my body, and I was shaky and nauseous. I tried to turn around to wash my hands, but my knees chose that moment to buckle and I thought I was going to hit the floor. Instead, Bear's strong arms came around me, pulling me solidly against his muscled body.

"Careful, honey."

My hands landed on his chest as I looked up into his eyes. Instead of the feral look of a few minutes ago when he was strangling the man who'd made a crude comment to me, he now wore an expression of concern.

"Bear?" My breathing quickened and I moistened my lips.

"Christ, woman," he growled in a husky voice. "Don't do that unless you want me to kiss you. Because I can't think of doing anything else."

A little whimper escaped me just before Bear lowered his lips to mine and took my mouth in a tender but firm kiss.

Warmth swept through my body, a heat from within as I surrendered to Bear's kiss.

Bear's lips were rough and demanding but gentle as they moved against mine, claiming and possessing. There was a wild, woodsy taste to him, strong and intoxicating. I permitted him access when he gently nudged my lips apart with his tongue, exploring every inch of my mouth. I moaned softly into the kiss, my hand fisting in his shirt. His free hand moved up my back to cradle the back of my head, holding me closer to him as if he was afraid I might slip away.

My knees finally gave out, and Bear had my full weight. He bent and picked me up, one arm under my ass. I wrapped my legs around him automatically and he grunted his approval. He never let up on the kiss, taking my mouth in a sensual and lust filled act that threatened to make me lose my mind.

There was a knock at the door and Bear growled into my mouth. He didn't stop either. Just kept thrusting his tongue inside my mouth to flick and taste.

When the knock came again and a man called out, "Bear? Wanna let me in?" Bear groaned and ended the kiss. He pressed his forehead to mine, his breathing as ragged as my own.

"Christ," he muttered. "Wait here, Liv. It's Bullet. Do not get down. Understand?" He pinned me with a firm gaze.

I nodded, unable to actually form even a word as simple as "yes." He patted my thigh and leaned back down to kiss my forehead, then went to the door to let in the other man.

I wanted to jump down and bolt. Run to a room in the house and barricade myself inside where no one could get me. Except I totally believed Bear when he'd told me before he'd break down any door between us. Having seen the way he moved when Redwood spoke to me, I knew he was capable of violence. Hadn't I been warned by Black these men were dangerous? I was still trying to reconcile a man who could help slaughter a village of innocent people with the man with me now. Not only was he gentle with me, but he'd assaulted a member of his own club, a man he presumably knew much better than he did me, on my behalf.

Not for the first time, I started to question what I'd been told about these people. What if Black had been lying? Lord knew he'd lied about plenty since the first time I'd met him. The pressure inside me was mounting by the second. This wasn't me. I wasn't a spy or soldier. I was just a girl afraid to break away from a father she knew had put her in this situation to begin with simply because he was her family. You stuck by family. Supported them. Right? But how could I betray people who'd taken me in with no questions asked simply because I'd said I was in trouble and needed help? The questions had only come after they'd gotten me safely away from the situation.

So my dilemma now became whether or not to continue with my instructions, or take a leap of faith and tell Bear everything. Let him help me figure out what to do. Assuming he was even interested.

This was something I really needed to think about, but I didn't have a lot of time. One thing was certain, though. This thing was becoming less and less about helping my father and more about being able to look myself in the mirror after it was done. When I believed they were essentially mass murderers, it was easier. I wasn't going to be the one to harm them. I'd believed they'd done some truly horrible things.

Now? Yeah. I needed some time to sort this out. Because my gut was telling me this situation wasn't black-and-white. There were a million shades of gray. I wasn't remotely qualified for the sort of task I'd been given. Betraying these people would not only be the wrong thing to do, but it could destroy my soul.