Chapter Twenty

Keir

“We saw him, sir, but only briefly.” The installer’s voice was tight, growly. “But we didn’t know it was from your home. He came out from some bushes and walked on down the sidewalk just as we were getting out of the van. By the time your guest appeared at the door to tell us what she believed was going on, he’d turned the corner where he must have had transportation waiting.”

“How is Iris?” She’d been through so much already, and I would have sworn he hadn’t found her yet. “Is she very shaken up?”

“She’s gone back inside, but she was very concerned. What would you like us to do?”

“Phoenix and I are on the way, and we need you to keep her safe until we get there.” Nix was driving, and at his current speed, he could not look away from the road. “We will give you further instructions then.”

“Yes, sir.” The phone disconnected.

“We shouldn’t have left her alone.” I was so angry with myself. “If he harms a hair on her head, his will be on fire.”

“I’d rather start with the tender parts first.”

We kept ourselves calm for the longest drive home ever, while deciding how we would torture the bear who thought he had a right to come near our home and frighten our mate. We pulled into the driveway next to our installers’ vehicle and climbed out. The lead man approached us. “Gary is around back, keeping watch.”

They weren’t bodyguards, but they were schooled in basic security and therefore knew what to do while they waited for us to arrive. “We’re here now, so you can get started with the cameras and other equipment. There’s no time to lose.”

We spoke with the men for a minute or so then went in to find Iris. She was not in the central area or the kitchen, so we started up the stairs to the mating suite, sure we’d find her there. But we didn’t. “Where do you think she is?” I asked, a chill in the pit of my stomach. “Iris!” Why hadn’t we called to her before?

“In here.” Her voice came from Nix’s wing, and we raced in there, finding her in the theater, piling things on a tray. “I was cleaning up.”

We froze in the doorway watching our mate work. I was not entirely shocked not to find her cowering somewhere after what had happened. She’d been through so much, and once again, she’d come through it standing. But she did not need to be facing him on her own, which had very nearly happened. “Iris.” I said it softly this time. “Put that down and we’ll clean up in a while. First, we need to make sure you’re all right. I feel like we’ve let you down.”

She looked at us, clutching that damn tray, and I noticed her knuckles were white. In two strides, I was in front of her, prying her hands loose and setting the tray aside. I guided her out of the theater and through the house, up the stairs toward her suite. Her ex was not nearby anymore, now that he’d been seen, and we had some of our employees combing over the neighborhood to be safe. We’d downloaded a picture of him, now that we knew his name, and if he was nearby, we’d find out.

“Iris, why don’t you take a bath and relax?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really want to be alone.” She sniffled, and tears spilled down her cheeks. “What a baby, right?”

“No!” Nix pulled her into a tight hug. “You were incredibly brave as you have been since the moment you left that cretin.”

“And before,” I added. “Even while you were in the house with him, you kept your spirit intact. You’ve told us a lot, but I know it wasn’t everything.”

“Most of it,” she sniffled. “But it was all the same, generally. Demeaning, cruel behavior. I wouldn’t have agreed that my spirit was intact at the time, but now I know that it is. Then, I just felt like it was too hard to do anything but what he told me to.”

“He knew what he was doing,” Nix said. “And you are a good person who didn’t see it until it was too late. But you still got up and walked through every day.”

“If I take a bath, could you both stay with me? I’d like to try out that big tub, but what if he climbs up and comes in the window?”

Damn, I hated how she had been treated.

“We’ll stay with you, of course. If that’s what you want.”

In addition to our extra cameras and other security for the house, I had someone at the office running down whether anyone in the bear community might have some authority over the bastard who had so mistreated her. He was an alpha with others under him, but from what I’d been able to determine, they were essentially rogue. And bears might be predators but they were overall as protective of their females as dragons. Nothing about her previous situation was “normal” in any sense. While we loved that she wanted us with her, we also wanted it because she cared for us, not because she feared that if we left for five minutes, she might be kidnapped or harmed.

If we could not find someone to take on and right this wrong, we’d do it ourselves, whatever that meant.