Chapter 11

With the gun pointed at Harper's head, Lucky and Bear had no choice but to hand over their phones as demanded and watch as they were destroyed. Cindy and Harper were weeping messes at the sight of their husband and father. Neither woman was particularly happy with the man, but neither of them wanted to see him hurt or dead.

Lucky was bound first. His hands were zip tied behind his back and then his feet bound together. He was forced to sit on the kitchen floor—where he had a perfect view of the horror going on in the living room.

Mateo didn't feel the need to bind Bear's legs. Though he did call Bear ‘one big motherfucker', it seemed his cast made him appear helpless. Lucky and Bear exchanged a look. Them leaving Bear's feet unbound might just be the thing they needed to get out of this situation. Bear was placed on the floor with his hands tied behind him and his back to the kitchen cabinets. His crutches were taken into the living room to "try next" on the sheriff.

Harper's hands were tied together in front of her. The man who did it also did a very thorough search of her person for weapons and her phone. Lucky let out a shout but couldn't do anything to stop the man's wandering hands. Bear, who was closest to them, chose not to act. He wanted them to think he was helpless. As much as it killed him to see Harper groped, now was not the time to act. He couldn't risk being restrained more.

He sent Harper a silent apology and hoped she forgave his inaction.

Their situation was dire. While he didn't want harm to come to Harper or Lucky, Bear couldn't help but be grateful that neither Tessa nor Scotty was with them. It was their one saving grace.

Once bound, Harper was thrown none-too-gently onto the kitchen floor. Lucky immediately wormed his way over to her. Together they got themselves against the far wall. Lucky was practically sitting on Harper in an attempt to cover her entirely with his body. Harper was shaking, completely terrified. Bear could see the fear in Lucky's eyes too, but he was trying to remain strong for Harper. More than that, he saw Lucky's anger.

Bear and Lucky knew each other well enough to know the other was trying to figure a way out of their situation. The fact that they'd left Harper with them in the kitchen was good. There was a back door, but currently only Harper could run. And Bear knew without even asking that Harper would refuse to go without the others.

Cindy wasn't bound. Instead she was given a chair directly across from her husband.

Mateo glanced between his audience in the living room to the ones in the kitchen. He clapped his hands together like he was excited about a big announcement. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering what is going on. Mr. Hannigan here," he reached forward and squeezed Hannigan's face tightly, making the man grunt in pain, "owes me a debt. Since he refused to give me what I asked for," Mateo moved over to where Cindy cowered in her chair, "I had to take something else. But now," he threw his hands up in excitement, "what I asked for came walking through the front door without even being invited. What are the odds of that?"

If it wasn't for the fact that Harper was now in danger, Bear too would be questioning the odds of them finally coming to pick up Cindy's things on the same day Mateo decided to pay the sheriff a visit. As much as he might doubt Cindy's intentions to leave her husband, Bear knew she would never willingly endanger her daughter. If it had been just Bear and Lucky, Bear might be inclined to believe this was a trap.

"Now, who here has three hundred thousand dollars?" Mateo turned, surveying the room. "No one? Too bad." He indicated to the man with the brass knuckles.

The man punched Hannigan in the ribs. Hannigan grunted, tipping to the side. In his condition, Bear was impressed the man was still conscious. He'd known better trained men who would have cracked long before now. Then again, Hannigan didn't have what Mateo wanted. Cracking didn't matter when you had nothing to give.

"And what about the motorcycle club who ruined my operation and ratted on me to my brother? Huh? What about them?"

Lucky and Bear exchanged a look. Neither of them was wearing their cuts. Bear still hadn't gotten his replacement one, and Lucky's was in his cage from when he'd driven over here. Mateo had no idea that he had two officers of the VDMC in his presence.

Bear heard Harper's sharp gasp and Lucky's quick shushing.

Hannigan picked up his head, if only slightly. He looked into the kitchen, but his one good eye appeared out of focus. Bear wondered if the man could even see Lucky and him.

As Brass Knuckles made contact with Hannigan again, Bear realized that the man did have something to offer Mateo. Since Mateo was not a local, he likely had no idea where to find the Via Daemonia and/or any information on them regarding numbers, weapons, and such. Mateo had no idea the VDMC wasn't a one-per center club or that he'd be facing a group of war-hardened veterans.

What baffled Bear was that Hannigan hadn't given the VDMC up. Bear lifted an eyebrow at Lucky. His friend nodded, indicating he'd noticed the same thing.

The obvious reason why Hannigan had kept his mouth shut about the VDMC was now sitting in the room with him. Regardless of how the Via Daemonia felt about their new sheriff, in addition to all the grief he'd put Harper through six months ago, Bear couldn't dispute the current evidence that the man did love his wife and daughter.

Hannigan had to have known that Cindy would go to Harper, and it was common knowledge that Harper now lived with Lucky on VDMC property. He'd kept his mouth shut to prevent Mateo from finding Harper and Cindy—protecting the VDMC was just a byproduct.

Unfortunately, Mateo now had someone that could make the sheriff talk. Two someones, but Bear was hoping the man would forget about Harper. Not that he wanted anything to happen to Cindy either.

The man with the gun was standing outside the open kitchen doorway. He had his back to them, but his gun was still out and ready. From the movement behind Lucky's back, Bear could only assume that Harper was trying to either cut or loosen the zip ties binding Lucky's hands.

Bear also started to feel behind him. The cabinets had curved metal handles. It would be slow going, but he might be able to break the zip ties on them. The trick would be doing it without the man with the gun noticing.

In the living room, Mateo had moved behind Cindy. He was caressing her tear streaked cheek like he might a lover's. The sheriff weakly fought against his bindings. Unlike Bear and Lucky, he'd been roped to the chair.

"Leave her alone!" Though the command was likely meant to be shouted, Hannigan's voice was so weak that it came out as a croaking plea.

"And if I don't? Come on, Ronald, what are you going to do to stop me? You know what I want to know. Tell me where the motorcycle punks are who ruined my operation and I'll let your pretty little wife go. I promise."

Hannigan didn't look like he believed Mateo any more than Lucky or Bear did. Mateo had no reason to let Cindy, or any of them, go. They were witnesses. In addition, the man was sadistic enough to not make any of their deaths painless.

While that meant the next couple of hours would not be pleasant, it did give them hope of rescue. Tessa would worry when they did not return for dinner. Conner would notify Steel, and Steel would send in the calvary. Unfortunately, there was potentially hours between now and then in which they were on their own.

Lucky and Bear couldn't count on a rescue. It was four tangos against one and a half of them. Bear was big, but he currently wasn't balanced or fast.

"Please," the sheriff was pleading pointlessly at them. "Please, don't hurt her."

Bear flinched, a feeling of despair washing over him. While it might seem noble to offer himself up in Cindy's place, the reality was that it wouldn't help them. Even if they agreed to allow him to swap places with her, Cindy might be spared, for a time, but eventually she'd be right back where she currently was—and Bear would either be dead or too weak to assist Lucky. The heartbreaking reality was, they were all better off with Bear remaining where he was and trying to work on escaping.

It was sickening, but Bear needed to think of everyone—not just Cindy. While he placed his own life lower on the list than the others', it was still his hope that he made it out of here alive to see Tessa again.

Based on Lucky's increasingly frustrated expression, Harper and he weren't having any luck getting his ties undone. Unfortunately, neither was Bear. He was pretty sure all he was doing was irritating his skin.

A ripping sound was followed by a feminine cry. Bear looked over in time to see the man who'd been holding the crowbar tear open the front of Cindy's blouse. The action revealed her bra covered chest. Cindy's face was scrunched up in embarrassment and mortification, which unfortunately the assholes ate up like a free dessert. Bear wished he could tell Cindy not to show her discomfort, for it only fueled these assholes' enjoyment.

No, actually, if he had a wish, he'd wish that Cindy would have never been put through any of this. Harper too.

That train of thought made Bear wonder what Mateo's endgame was. Obviously, it was to kill them all, but then what? Storm the VDMC clubhouse and kill all the brothers? What would that prove or solve? Yes, the VDMC had put an end to his sex trafficking operation, but really they'd just shed a light on the situation. It was Mateo's brother Juan who had shut it down. So why was Mateo coming after Hannigan and the VDMC? Why now—over five months later? Did he think the VDMC had the three hundred thousand Richard Hannigan had owed him?

Mateo leaned over Cindy's shoulder, facing Hannigan. Bear couldn't see the man's face, but he could guess the man was smiling. He dropped a hand down Cindy's front and hovered over her chest for a moment before dipping his hand into the cup of her white bra.

Cindy gagged, turning her face away from her husband. The woman had nothing to be ashamed of. Bear gritted his teeth and tried all the harder to get out of his zip ties. It was the creep groping her who should be ashamed. Sick fucker.

Mateo squeezed his hand hard, making Cindy whimper and flinch. Bear glanced to his right to see Lucky was still blocking Harper. She couldn't see what was happening to her mother, which Bear was all too grateful for.

"Tell me," Mateo encouraged as he fondled Cindy's breast. "You can make all this go away, Ronald. Just tell me what I want to know."

Bear had to wonder, if Hannigan was only keeping silent to keep Cindy and Harper safe, why was he remaining silent now? Mateo had Harper and Cindy. There was no one else Hannigan would be trying to protect—was there?

Maybe Hannigan was keeping quiet as some sort of self-punishment and penance for his part in his son's actions? Bear didn't think that option likely, but figured it was a possibility.

Perhaps Hannigan had accepted the dire reality of his current situation and wanted to go out on his terms, not Mateo's. Not answering his questions was certainly pissing Mateo off. Whatever his reasonings, the only thing Hannigan spoke were pleas for Mateo to stop touching his wife.

Mateo eventually sighed and indicated to Brass Knuckles to start hitting Hannigan again. He removed his hand from Cindy's bra and had the nerve to wipe his hand down his pants like he'd touched something disgusting. "Tit was too saggy," he told Crowbar, who chuckled. "Need me a younger piece of ass."

Lucky stiffened at those words. Bear heard him tell Harper to grab onto him and not let go, no matter what. Harper's only answer was a sobbing whimper.

Cindy, however, stood up—her personal fear replaced with a mother's protectiveness. "No! You will not touch my daughter." The men paused, including Brass Knuckles who stopped mid-swing to turn and look at Cindy. The assholes then had the nerve to laugh at her bravery. Flustered and shaking, but still standing tall, she told Mateo, "You can do what you want with me, but you leave my daughter alone."

Mateo was nearly doubled over laughing. When he finally got himself under control, he swaggered closer to Cindy. She was now gripping the pieces of her tattered shirt in an effort to cover her chest. Mateo wasn't overly tall—around five-nine—but he seemed to tower over the older woman. Bear wished he was in Cindy's place so he could show Mateo how it felt to be intimidated by someone larger than him.

"Really, mama? Is that an offer? And what if me and my homies want a taste of you—a real taste? Would you just lie there and take it like a good little bitch?"

All the blood drained from Cindy's face. Bear started pulling harder on his restraints. No way was he allowing Cindy to be gang-raped in front of them. No way in hell.

"I… I…" Her voice kept cracking. No other words would come out.

This made the dickwads laugh even harder. The man with the gun moved closer to the others in the living room. Bear took advantage of the distraction to more boldly rub the plastic ties against the metal handles on the cabinets.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. At first, he thought Lucky had gotten free and stood up, but then he realized a man was standing outside the kitchen door, peering in through the panes.

Bear's eyes widened when he recognized Conner. What the fuck was the prospect doing here? Bear could care less.

He tried to mouth, "Steel," to the prospect. Conner nodded and then ducked down out of sight. Bear turned back towards the living room. No one else seemed to have noticed they had an audience. Bear wasn't even sure Lucky had seen Conner.

Light scratching could be heard from the back door. Bear wasn't sure what it was at first, until he saw the door handle turn. Slowly and carefully, Conner eased himself into the kitchen. He must have picked the lock.

Conner started towards Bear, but Bear shook his head. "Harper," he mouthed. As if he hadn't realized they were there, Conner turned his head to the right and widened his eyes at the couple. He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and snapped it open.

But before he could work on Lucky's or Harper's binds, a shout of "Hey!" rang out.

Conner stood in shock, then bang.

Harper screamed, clutching herself even tighter to Lucky's back. Conner, shocked and bewildered, looked down at his chest as a red patch started to grow. Lucky and Bear started shouting. Bear wasn't even sure what he was shouting, but he was suddenly thrashing against his binds like a fish out of water to try to get to the prospect.

Conner fell to his knees. He dropped his switchblade and it slid across the floor. Bear couldn't see where exactly he'd been hit. It wasn't directly in the heart, but that could be equally good or equally bad. As Conner fell backwards, hitting the linoleum hard, Mateo came bursting into the room.

"What the fuck?! How many people live in this house?" He looked down at Conner, who was thankfully still breathing, like he was an ant that needed to be squashed. Bear needed to get to him and soon if he had any hopes of helping the prospect though. Fuck, how was he going to stop the bleeding with his hands tied behind his back?

"I am so sick of this fucking family," Mateo snapped. Then he pointed at Harper, who was still being shielded by Lucky. "Bring her out so Mommy and Daddy can see what happens when they don't give me what I want."

"No!" Lucky shouted, pushing himself back further against Harper. It was a wonder she could breathe, he was pancaking her against the wall so.

Brass Knuckles and the man who'd shot Conner approached Lucky. They tried to pull him off of Harper, but the Via Daemonia's Vice President was too strong. He held himself firm over his fiancée.

Brass Knuckles took a swing at Lucky's face. With his hands behind his back, Lucky could do nothing to block the blow. After two hits, a cut appeared over his eyebrow. It only made Lucky more determined not to move. Harper was crying behind him but did as she promised and didn't let go of him.

Knowing he could do nothing to help Lucky but might be able to do something to help Conner, Bear used the distraction to reach out to Conner with his good leg. It took some core muscles but he finally was able to drag Conner close enough that he could reach the prospect. It was worse than Bear'd thought: the wound was a through and through, over his left pectoral. Likely he'd punctured a lung, most definitely bleeding internally. If Conner didn't get to a hospital soon, he was going to die.

With his hands tied, Bear did the only thing he could to stop the bleeding. He turned his body and pressed his back to Conner's chest. Gravity and his body weight would hopefully do the rest.

He could feel Conner's arm moving underneath him, like he was stretching for something, but didn't move to relieve the pressure. Already he could feel Conner's blood seeping through his own shirt and soaking his back. Not good.

A scream had Bear looking up over his shoulder. Lucky was on his side, bloody and bruised. Harper was still clutching him, but Mateo's men were easily able to lift her off of him. She didn't have the strength to hold onto Lucky and lost her grip. Harper kicked and screamed as she was carried out of the kitchen.

Shouting, Lucky tried in vain once more to get to her. He got himself up onto his knees before collapsing back down. Likely he had a concussion. Fuck. Still, Lucky tried again.

Bear turned his head in the other direction to look down at Conner. "Did you call Steel?"

Conner shook his head. When he opened his mouth, his teeth were caked in blood. "Tessa." His voice was raspy. "In the cage down the road. Told her," gasp, "if I didn't come back," gasp, "in ten minutes," gasp, "to call Carlos," gasp, "and Steel."

Fear pierced Bear's heart like shards of ice. Fuck! Tessa was right down the road from here? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She better stay in the fucking cage. She better not move a fucking inch from that cage!

Then Bear remembered Tessa and Conner hadn't been alone. "Scotty?"

Conner coughed up blood. "Couldn't leave," gasp, "him alone." Gasp. "In cage too."

Double fuck! A pregnant Tessa and Scotty were right down the road from this horror. Hopefully having Scotty in the cage would be enough incentive for Tessa to not leave to investigate on her own.

Something sharp pricked at Bear's wrists. He glanced down even though he couldn't see his wrists. However, he could see Conner's arm moving back and forth in a sawing motion. The knife! Conner must have been reaching for it and that was the movement Bear had felt a few minutes ago.

Harper screamed.

Lucky yelled in reply and tried to worm his way across the floor on his stomach. He was leaving a blood trail behind him. He must have another laceration than the one on his forehead.

Bear felt his restraints snap. Thank fuck! He looked into the living room to assess the situation.

Cindy and Hannigan were now sitting shoulder to shoulder. Cindy's hands were tied to the arms of a heavy dining room chair, but her feet were still loose. Harper had been thrown down at her parents' feet onto the plastic tarp. She was kicking and flailing her tied arms. Crowbar moved forward to pin her legs down. He'd dropped his crowbar to do it. The man with the gun was still the closest to the kitchen. However, his gun was now tucked into the front of his baggy jeans. Brass Knuckles was trying to grab Harper's thrashing arms. Mateo was sitting on the couch like a king watching a play.

Crowbar pinned Harper's legs under his body. He'd gotten her shoes off and was reaching for the button of her jeans.

Hannigan looked like he had passed out. His head was dangling awkwardly, and he gave no notion he knew or understood what was happening to his daughter.

Bear looked to Lucky. He was still slowly making his way across the kitchen floor. He'd stopped, thrown up, and then forced himself to keep going. Bear turned to Conner.

He'd expected to have to explain his predicament to the younger man, but Conner looked him dead in the eye. "Go," he told Bear. "Save her."

"You'll bleed out if I move."

Conner nodded tiredly like that was a give-in. "Go." His voice was steady as he said, "I'm not trading my life for hers."

Bear glanced into the living room again. Brass Knuckles was holding Harper's wrists above her head while Crowbar was reaching upward to cut her shirt off with a knife. Her pants were unbuttoned and had been pulled down mid-thigh, which was where Crowbar straddled her legs. Her panties were still in place, though they would provide no protection in the long run.

Harper was shouting, snapping her teeth at her assailants, and tried to no avail to push the two larger men off of her. Cindy was doing her best to kick at Crowbar, but her legs were too short. The chair was too heavy for her to lift and get herself closer. Tears streaked down the older woman's cheeks as she shouted at the men to leave her daughter alone.

Bear only saw one move. He just hoped he was fast enough. He didn't know if Mateo was carrying, though chances were high that he was. Crowbar and Brass Knuckles were currently weaponless, and both were heavily distracted.

He gave Conner one last sorrowful look before Bear got himself to his knees. He used the counter to get himself upright and his feet under him. He had to move slow, only having one shot at this. If the guy with the gun turned and saw him standing, Bear would not be fast enough to move out of the line of fire.

Lucky paused on the floor, seeing Bear was free of his restraints. He glanced between Bear's bloody back and Conner's prone body then changed direction and wormed his way towards Conner. Bear didn't know if he was going for the knife or to try to stem the bleeding. He didn't have the time to look.

Once to his feet, Bear gritted his teeth against the pain shooting up his left leg. Pain was temporary.

Brass Knuckles cried out as Harper's teeth connected with his hand. Good girl, Bear thought.

Then he rushed forward, tackling the man with the gun like a linebacker. He used his larger size and imbalance to his advantage, putting the full force of his weight into it. The man went down. Hard. His head thwack'ed against the hardwood floor of the hallway and his eyes rolled back into his head.

Bear quickly reached for the man's gun that was in the waistband of his low hanging jeans. With the speed of a well-trained Marine, Bear flicked off the safety of the Beretta-92 semi-automatic pistol. He aimed for Crowbar's head and fired.

The man's head snapped back with the force of the bullet entering his forehead. He swayed before collapsing backwards off of Harper's legs.

Mateo went for his own piece, but Bear turned the barrel in his direction. "Drop it! On the ground, now." Mateo hesitated before placing his gun—a Glock—on the living room carpet. Breathing heavier than he'd care to admit, Bear ordered, "Harper, get up. Get the gun and come towards me. Do not cross between Mateo and me."

That would mean crossing his line of fire and give Mateo an opportunity to attack her.

Harper quickly got to her feet. She righted her clothes. As she frantically wiped the tears from her cheeks and eyes, she reached forward and grabbed Mateo's gun. Brass Knuckles remained where he was on the floor, his hands raised even though Bear hadn't told him to do so.

Harper hurried over to Bear. She was shaking, which was completely understandable.

"Help Lucky and Conner in the kitchen," he told her without looking at her. She left, taking the gun with her.

From his kneeling position over the unconscious man whose gun Bear was now using, Bear indicated to Brass Knuckles. "Cut the Hannigans free." When the man looked to Mateo for permission, Bear shouted, "Now!"

Brass Knuckles jumped into action, grabbing Crowbar's blade. Mateo still sat on the couch. Bear really wanted to kill him, but the club was going to need answers. Plus, Juan Castillo had promised Mateo wasn't going to be a problem anymore. Clearly, he'd either underestimated his brother's ambition or overestimated his ability to control his brother.

Once Brass Knuckles had cut Cindy and Hannigan free, Cindy rushed to a standing position to help her husband. He was conscious now, though barely. The nurse in Bear wanted to assess the man's injuries to help him, but the Marine was currently in charge. Hannigan was breathing, that would have to do for now.

Cindy looped Hannigan's arm around her shoulder and tried to get him to stand. The man was so weak, he was pure deadweight. She wasn't strong enough to lift him.

"Toss the knife," Bear ordered Brass Knuckles. The man did, smartly away from Mateo. "Help get him up and to the kitchen."

Brass Knuckles quickly took Cindy's place and guided Hannigan across the plastic-lined living room floor. Bear saw Lucky now standing with Mateo's gun at the entry of the kitchen. His friend was swaying and didn't look like he had the strength to take Hannigan from Brass Knuckles. Yet Lucky accepted the man's dead weight without complaint.

As soon as Brass Knuckles passed Hannigan off to Lucky, Bear pivoted, shot, and then returned his aim to Mateo before the body hit the floor. Mateo barely blinked, though he was down three minions. The one under Bear would be out for a while. Bear didn't want to waste the time to shoot the unconscious man and give Mateo an opportunity for escape.

It was only minutes after the last shot was fired that the kitchen and front doors were kicked in simultaneously. Carlos was at the front door and Bear heard Steel at the back.

"Ten-fifteen!" Bear called loudly, indicating that he had someone in custody.

Carlos and Steel merged together at the hall between the kitchen and the living room. Bear didn't look over his shoulder at them. "Conner?"

"Tessa's got him," Carlos answered.

NowBear looked at them. "Tessa? What the fuck!" Then louder he shouted, "Tessa, you get your ass out of here right now!"

"Not a chance," she called back. "We need an ambulance here. Now!"

"Already called," Carlos told her. He indicted towards Mateo. Bear nodded, acknowledging that he had Carlos's back. He lowered his gun so Carlos could approach. "On your knees, lace your fingers behind your head!"

Steel sided up to Bear, his gun still out. "Two down. What about the one under you?"

"Out," Bear said shortly. "Lucky, you good?"

"Been better," his best friend grumbled. "Killer headache."

A sigh of relief escaped Bear. Fuck, that had been close. So close. Too close. Harper had almost been raped… Fuck!

Bear looked up at Steel. "How did Conner know to come here?"

Steel glanced down but then returned his attention to Carlos handcuffing Mateo Castillo. "Tessa wanted pickles from Subway."—Fucking pickles? That was what Bear owed his life to? Those fucking pickles?—"When she couldn't reach you on your phone, she tried Harper, then Lucky. None of you answered. She convinced Conner to drive them out here to check on you. According to Tessa, Conner did so only under the rule that she and Scotty do not leave the cage."

"Fuck, Scotty. Where is he?"

"The others are on their way. Grumpy was the first to arrive. He's outside with Scotty."

Bear nodded his gratitude. "Thanks, man. This could have gone really badly."

Steel nodded in agreement. "It really could have."

"Fuck!" came from the kitchen, followed by a keening wail. Steel quickly ran in that direction. Bear was slower, hobbling and using the wall for balance, but eventually made it to the doorway.

Lucky was kneeling on the floor next to Tessa. She had her head bowed, her hands holding a bloody towel between them. She didn't have to say a word. The anguish in her eyes told Bear everything as she looked up at him.

The sirens of the ambulance could be heard as it approached, but it didn't matter. They were too late. Conner was dead.

In the chaos that followed,Mateo Castillo had "escaped" police custody. Only the members present knew, and Carlos suspected, that Mateo had ended up hogtied and gagged in the trunk of one of the VDMC's SUVs. Gus drove it away with Pumpkin. They were taking Mateo to the clubhouse cellar.

The entire club present in Mount Grove showed up to watch the coroner remove Conner's body from the Hannigan house. Even Angel. No one spoke as they all watched the body bag being zipped closed over his young face.

Guilt swarmed in Bear. He didn't know what he could have done differently, but he couldn't stop the nagging voice in his head that told him he could have done something to save Conner's life. Truth was, though, that Conner had given his life so Bear could save Harper.

Sheriff Hannigan was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. His two missing fingers were found in the living room. As soon as she'd discovered the missing digits had been found, Tessa had ordered them immediately to go on ice and to be sent to the hospital too. Cindy went with her husband.

Lucky was also sent to the hospital, though he'd grumbled the entire time the gurney had been loading him into the ambulance. His nose was definitely broken and he'd need stitches in the cut over his eye. Two teeth were also loose and a third was missing. From palpating his torso, Tessa estimated he had two broken ribs. Like Bear, his wrists were badly raw from fighting against the plastic binds. Harper, still shaky but claiming to be unhurt, rode in the ambulance with Lucky.

Tessa wanted Bear to go to the hospital too. He needed to get his leg x-rayed to make sure he hadn't displaced the rod. While he was the least injured of them all, Bear complied if only to keep Tessa from worrying about him. She was a wreck over not being able to save Conner, and he didn't want to add to her turmoil.

The man Bear had knocked out did end up in the back of Carlos's police cruiser. Someone had to be held publicly responsible for the sheriff's attack and Conner's murder. Since the club wasn't willing to give up Mateo to the justice system, it was going to be that unfortunate soul.

Steel had ordered radio silence to the members in Cottonville. He did not want news of what had happened at the Hannigan house, as well as Conner's death, to reach them and skew their concentration. Telling them now or telling them later would not change the facts or bring Conner back from the dead.

Grumpy was ordered to take Scotty back to Lucky's house. Jenna would meet him there to help take care of Scotty. Grumpy had done an excellent job of keeping Scotty in the dark about what had happened. He'd also made sure that Scotty was well engrossed in a tv show on his iPad when Conner's body had been removed from the house.

Bear refused to have a third ambulance called for him when he wasn't that hurt. Quinten drove Tessa and him to the hospital. Angel followed behind, wanting to get back to Bree. She'd arrived to pay her respects to Conner.

Before Quinten pulled away, Bear called Steel over to the cage. "I want him buried with full colors," he told Steel. "He gave his life for an ol' lady. He earned them."

Steel nodded once. "I'll see it done."

Bear offered his hand, which Steel clasped. "Thanks, brother."

"Go get yourself checked out." Steel slapped the roof of the SUV. "I'll meet you at the hospital once I'm done here."

Tessa had lost patients before.It was the worst part of her job, not being able to heal everyone. Some people just couldn't be saved. That was the way of the world.

As Quinten drove them to the hospital, Tessa stared down at her blood-stained hands. Conner's blood. She hadn't known him all that well, but he'd been kind to her, respectful. He'd even cracked a joke or two when following her around the hospital before she'd been injured. She recalled him saying that he'd had a twin brother who'd died in the service. He'd joined the Via Daemonia hoping to find a fraternal bond again.

So young. She didn't know the full story, but she knew enough to know that he'd given up his chances of survival for Harper's life. He'd freed Bear, giving Bear the opportunity to save Harper. At the cost of his own.

How honorable. Tessa couldn't imagine choosing to give up her own life, knowing it would save another. She didn't have that sort of strength.

Conner had had that strength. He'd died proving it.

She hadn't realized they'd pulled up to the emergency room entry doors until Quinten came around to open her door. He helped her out as an orderly brought a wheelchair out for Bear.

Bear grumbled and groaned but sat in it. His crutches were back at the Hannigan house, so he didn't have much of a choice regardless.

"I'm going to park the car and then follow you in," Q told her. "Stay with Bear."

She nodded robotically. Bear was already being wheeled into the emergency room. Tessa hurried to catch up.

Dr. Bennett came right up to her, concern written all over his face. "Are you okay?" He indicated to her bloody hands.

"Not my blood," she told him solemnly. "Can you check on Bear? He's going to need new x-rays and possibly stitches on his wrists. Definitely antibiotics. Both of us are going to need blood screenings?—"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I got this. Go get cleaned up in the doctors' break room. Looks like we'll be in room four when you're ready. Do you want me to call OB?"

She shook her head. "Not necessary. Thanks, Jordan."

He gave her a friendly smile before proceeding to Bear's room. As Tessa walked towards the break room, she caught sight of Harper standing next to Lucky's bed in an exam room. A doctor Tessa didn't know was stitching up Lucky's head wound. She waved but didn't stop to chat. She needed to get cleaned up.

After washing, using the restroom, and changing into a pair of spare scrubs that did nothing to hide her baby bulge, Tessa exited the break room. Shelly met her almost immediately, grabbing her hand and bringing her around to the other side of the nurse's station.

"What's wrong?" Tessa demanded. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Shelly assured her. "There's a couple of reporters outside looking for the story on the sheriff's attack. I didn't know if they had your name or not and didn't want you walking into them unprepared."

Tessa squeezed the nurse's hand. "Thank you. I definitely do not want to talk to reporters." Now or ever, she added silently.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Tessa nodded. "Shook up, but I'm okay. Dr. Bennett said Bear's in room four?"

Shelly nodded. "Radiology's already been paged, as has ortho."

"Thank you." Tessa glanced around, found an empty folder, and grabbed it. She held it up to block her face as she approached Bear's room. She didn't want to be in any pictures either.

Bear was sitting on the bed, his legs over the side. He was so tall that his feet touched the floor. His wrists were on a table as Dr. Bennett examined the wounds.

"Hey, Mama Bear," he smiled at her as she entered.

She smiled back, even if it was a tired one. "Hey, Papa Bear."

Dr. Bennett rolled his eyes. "What are you naming your daughter, Sister Bear?"

Bear's eyes lit up. "Oooh?—"

"No," Tessa interjected. "One child does not make her a sister."

"Baby Bear?" Dr. Bennett added.

She glared at him. "You are not helping."

He gave her a wide smile. "Bear seems to think I am."

Tessa rolled her eyes. Bear indicated to the bed behind him by patting the mattress. She took the invitation and laid down, feeling like she'd run a marathon. Her whole body ached.

Bear reached behind him with the hand Dr. Bennett wasn't working on to rub her belly. "Feeling okay?"

She nodded. "Just tired." She took hold of his hand. "I'm really glad you're okay, Bear."

"You and me both, honey. There were a few touch and go moments where I wasn't sure what was going to happen."

Tessa curled herself against his back. His bloody shirt had been removed and, like her, he was wearing spare scrubs. She wrapped her right arm around his waist, tucking her casted left arm on the mattress up by his hip. In reality, she was more cradled against his ass than his back, but she didn't care. She'd take any part of him that she could reach.

She'd been terrified when, first, she couldn't reach Bear, and then Conner hadn't returned. If Scotty hadn't been in the car with her, Tessa knew she would have argued and followed Conner into that house. What would have become of her then, of their baby? Her terror had only increased at the sound of a gunshot. She hadn't even waited the full ten minutes and immediately took out her phone to call Carlos and Steel. Minutes later another gunshot. She'd tried to convince Scotty that the sound was firecrackers, but she wasn't sure she succeeded. Then another shot rang out as Steel and Carlos simultaneously pulled up outside the house.

Tessa couldn't drop the thought that it had been Bear who'd been shot. How she could have lost him when she only just found him again. How they were supposed to get married. And their daughter? What would become of their daughter if her father wasn't there to help raise her?

Then guilt seized her—because she'd been grateful when she'd entered that kitchen to find it hadn't been Bear who'd been shot. What kind of person did that make her? A horrible one, that's what. Conner had died in her arms, and she'd still been grateful it hadn't been Bear.

Tessa must have dosed. She vaguely heard something about another bed being brought in so Bear's leg could be x-rayed or perhaps he was just brought to a different room… Tessa wasn't sure. Noises faded in and out. She did however recall the warmth of Bear's big body surrounding her. She fell back to sleep, despite their daughter kicking her from inside her womb.