Bear
I knew Faith had questions. So far, she’d kept silent. Dread patched me up and went to check on the others. After he left, Piper went to Spider’s house to sit with Marianna and Cordy. Even though we were alone, I wasn’t in any shape to do much but enjoy a movie with my woman. I’d let her pick and a rom com played on the big TV. I’d taken a seat on the couch, and Faith cuddled against my side. The one that didn’t have stitches in my arm.
I glanced at the bandage and wished I’d made those fuckers hurt more.
Once I’d received Faith’s text, Fox had called a halt to Church so we could check it out. As the Sergeant-at-Arms, I’d led the attack. Hornet, Iron, and Fangs had gone with me. We’d found four men skulking around the fence line, clearly trying to find a way inside. I knew it would cost a fuck ton, but I think we needed to seriously consider electrifying the damn fence. At the very least, we needed cameras and someone to monitor them at all times.
Like Fox had said… the club was growing. We had more kids and babies on the way. Even if we weren’t into the same shit as before, our past could come back to bite us in the ass at any time. Not to mention we all seemed to fall for women who had trouble nipping at their heels.
We’d gone through the front gate, not hiding the fact we were leaving on foot. Iron had gone to the left with me, and I’d sent the other two to the right. Iron and I found the men, then called the others to us. I hadn’t wanted to wait, though. We’d snuck up behind them. I could have ended them quickly, but I’d held back. I’d wanted them to suffer the way Faith had.
Iron stabbed one of them in the side immediately, then slit the bastard’s throat while he was on the ground. As he launched himself at another one, I’d cuffed the one in front of me on the side of the head. It stunned him long enough I could go after the last one. I’d landed blow after blow. Rage had engulfed me, and I’d forgotten about the first man. He’d shaken off his stupor and cut my arm.
Everything after that was a bit of a blur. Iron had made sure I didn’t kill the last one standing, but we’d beaten the others until they had no fight left in them. We’d soaked the ground with their blood, and I didn’t fucking regret it one bit. Those assholes deserved that and so much more.
Faith sighed, and I glanced down to see she’d focused her attention on me.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve been talking to you, but you were a million miles away. Thinking about Spade and his men?”
I nodded. No sense lying to her. Didn’t mean I’d give her a play-by-play of what happened earlier, but I needed her aware of what was going on. Enough that she’d keep herself safe at any rate.
“The fact they were here and tryin’ to get inside means they aren’t sure their other plan will work. I don’t know if they’re aware their sacrificial lamb has a tie to this club, or if they just don’t trust their whores. I’m hopin’ it’s the second option. I don’t like the thought of that girl being in any more danger than she already is. It took guts for her to warn us.”
“Why did she?” Faith asked.
“She knows Joe. It’s just a coincidence she has ties to the Hades Abyss. If Spade was aware of it, I think he’d have chosen someone else. They have somethin’ they’re holding over her head. Forcin’ her compliance. We’ll do everythin’ we can to keep her safe.”
“You think they’re going to make another move soon?”
“If it were me, I’d stop and reassess. Not sure what’s goin’ through their minds right now. They have to know their men are dead, and one is missin’. Could mean they’ll change their plans entirely. Or they could trust he won’t talk and move forward.”
“Why did you specify the girls and I have to stay here or at Spider’s house?” she asked.
“Motion detectors,” I admitted. “I have some set up around the perimeter at both houses. I get an alert if it’s anything bigger than a raccoon. Not right up by the house. Closer to the property line. So you and the girls can go out without tripping them. They’re well hidden, so no one will notice them.”
“Why do I get the feeling after this you’re going to increase the security at the house?”
I smiled. “Because you’re learning. I’m going to have an alarm system installed, including camera feeds at each external door and all the windows. Not where anyone would watch us being intimate, but I want to make sure no one can enter this house without me knowing about it.”
“I don’t have an issue with that. Might not want to tell the girls. Or this little one,” she said, putting a hand over her belly. “That way if they get bold and try to sneak out later, we can catch them.”
“Don’t think Piper will be sneakin’ anywhere. She’s too bold to slip out a window.” I shifted and pulled a set of keys from my pocket. “Her new car is at the clubhouse. The people delivered it right before Church. Didn’t want to bleed all over it, so I left it there for now.”
“What did you get her?” she asked, reaching for the keys.
“Nothin’ big. It’s a Ford Focus. One owner car. Well maintained. It’s three years old so the warranty should extend to us for another two years.”
“Sounds expensive.” Her nose wrinkled. “I thought you weren’t going to go crazy when you picked out a car for her.”
“Spent a little more than I’d planned, but there’s a reason for it. The car belonged to a girl three towns over. Kid had a brain tumor. Died a few weeks ago. She only got a chance to drive the car a handful of time, so it has less than three hundred miles on it. Mom didn’t want to look at it anymore.” I looked at the keys in Faith’s hand. “The town is far enough away, no one at Piper’s school should tie the car to that girl. She won’t get shit over havin’ the vehicle. It’s why I didn’t look at things closer to home. Didn’t want to get a leftover from one of her classmates. I know kids can be cruel as fuck.”
Tears slipped down Faith’s cheeks. “That’s so awful! I can’t imagine how heartbroken the mom must be right now.”
“Yeah. She didn’t even want to look at it when I sent someone to check it out. Askin’ price was only five grand, which was way too low. Once I heard the reason, I had Carlos offer her a fair price for it. She wouldn’t accept it when she heard a sixteen-year-old girl would get it, but I did get her to take nine thousand. In this economy, with gas prices bein’ sky high, she could have easily gotten double that.”
“You need to tell Piper the story behind the car. Maybe not the price, but everything else. She’ll appreciate it that much more, and if I know my daughter, she’ll try to do something for the woman.” Faith leaned her head against my shoulder. “Thank you. Not only for doing something so nice for our child, but for trying to help that mom too.”
“Don’t make me out to be a saint, Faith. I’ve done bad things in my life.”
“The world isn’t painted in black and white, Charlie. Everything is shades of gray if people looked at things honestly. You’re a good man, and nothing you say will ever change my opinion.”
I kissed the top of her head and held her close. Whatever I’d done to deserve a woman like Faith, I hoped I never crossed a line so bad she saw me as a monster. I hadn’t kept it from her when we killed those men today. Hadn’t told her the entire story, and she didn’t need to know it. But even realizing I’d taken a life, she still sat here in my arms, letting me love her. And anytime I’d killed someone, it had been necessary. It wasn’t like I’d go out and shoot some innocent person.
“I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Charlie. The day you saw Piper shoplifting, you could have alerted the clerk, or called the police. Instead, you followed her, made sure I knew what she’d been up to, and tried to give her another shot. Not everyone would do something like that. They’d have thought she was a bad kid, or on her way to a life of crime. Instead, you looked beyond the act itself and tried to think of why she might do something like that.”
“Like I said. I’m not a saint, Faith. We’ve all done things we wish we could go back and change. Havin’ her arrested wouldn’t have solved anything. Bein’ in Juvenile Detention might have hardened her more. Made her less likely to lead a productive life later. More than twenty-five percent of kid offenders will end up committin’ another crime within a year of bein’ released.”
“Do I even want to know why you have that information?” she asked.
“Probably not.”
She didn’t need to know it’s because I’d checked on the ones released who had nowhere to go, wondering if they’d be a good fit for the club. Not the violent ones. But kids like Piper who got picked up for theft were another matter. As long as they weren’t stealing shit for fun and had a reason, it meant they could have a good life here with the Hades Abyss, or with other clubs like ours.
Knowing my sweet Faith, she’d put me even higher on a pedestal than it seemed she already had. That was the last thing I needed. The higher you were, the harder you’d fall.
Faith
I could tell something was happening tonight. Bear kept glancing at his phone, as if he expected a call or text. The girls felt the tension and kept shifting in their seats. I’d made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, even though it didn’t adhere to the diet I’d mentioned earlier. Since I’d never paid attention to that sort of thing before, I’d need to research some recipes before the next shopping trip.
I set the table and got glasses of lemonade for everyone. When I took the meatloaf out of the oven, Bear came to get it from me. I set a trivet down so the hot pan wouldn’t scorch the wood and he placed the food in the center. Then he brought over the mashed potatoes.
Cordy stared at him with wide eyes. Bear paused and watched her, his brow furrowing as if he couldn’t figure out why she looked at him that way.
“What is it?” he asked. “Do I have somethin’ in my beard?”
She shook her head. “You helped Mama with dinner.”
He looked from Cordelia to me, then back again. “She’s pregnant and shouldn’t carry heavy things.”
I refrained from pointing out four pounds of ground beef hadn’t been too heavy. Mostly because I’d enjoyed him taking care of me. My cheeks warmed as I thought about our night without the kids. I wondered if I gave him a massage if it would end the same way.
Bear smirked at me, clearly knowing where my mind had wandered. He cut the meatloaf and set a slice on each of the girls’ plates as well as mine, before adding three to his. When I stared at the plate, he growled softly.
“Watch it, woman. Don’t ever try to take the meatloaf away from me. I’m old. Not dead.”
“Which is the part I’m hoping to avoid. We’ll start eating healthy in the next few days, so enjoy all the salt you can while it lasts. I’m throwing it out after the next grocery trip.”
Piper’s jaw dropped. “What? Why are we giving up salt?”
“Because it’s not good for your heart. Don’t you want your dad to be around a long time?”
She snapped her mouth shut and straightened in her chair. “Right. No salt in the future. You shouldn’t eat greasy things either. Or drink soda and beer.”
Bear glared at me before staring down our oldest. She didn’t cower, though. Nope, our daughter held his gaze and lifted her chin slightly.
“Girl, you even think of touchin’ my beer, and you’ll be grounded until you’re forty.”
“If you don’t stop drinking it, you won’t be alive long enough to see that threat through,” she said, making me choke on my lemonade. “I didn’t get such an awesome dad only to lose him because he’s too stubborn to give up things that are bad for him.”
I watched as Bear’s eyes lit up, his lips twitched, then he cleared his throat and scowled at her. “I think I’m old enough to decide what I should and shouldn’t consume.”
“Good. Then you know beer is bad for you, so I’ll make sure I take what’s left in the fridge and give it to someone else.” Piper took a bite of her food and ignored Bear. If she’d been looking, she’d have noticed he coughed to cover a laugh. She was something else.
“Don’t ever change, Piper,” he said.
“Didn’t plan on it,” she said before taking another bite.
Bear winked at me and dug into his food. Cordelia watched everything with interest but didn’t join in the conversation. Still, I could tell she was at ease around Bear, and seemed happier than I’d ever seen her before. Both my girls loved it here, and so did I. We’d finally found a home.
Even though we’d lived in the same rental all their lives, Spade made sure we didn’t have friends. If the girls started getting close to someone at school, something bad would happen to their families, and the kids would distance themselves from Cordelia and Piper. Same for me. The one time I’d tried to start a friendship with a neighbor, Spade scared them off and made sure the woman never spoke to me again.
I liked the women at the Hades Abyss, and Bear wasn’t holding me back. If anything, he encouraged me to try new things, meet more people, and figure out who I was. It made me fall for him even more. I already knew I loved him. How could I not? I just hadn’t had the guts to say the words. Things were too new between us, and I worried my heart would break when he didn’t say it back to me.
For now, I’d be content with things the way they were. When I felt like I contributed more to our relationship than I took from it, maybe I’d have the confidence to confess my feelings. Bear needed someone strong to stand beside him. Right now, I didn’t feel worthy of the position, but one day soon I’d be able to look at my reflection and not see a broken woman. I was well on the way to healing.
We finished our food, and the girls cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher while Bear and I went to the living room. He started the TV and selected a movie all of us might enjoy. Even though he’d claimed his favorite chair, he’d pulled me down onto his lap and held me close.
“I almost feel sorry for whichever boy has the guts to ask out our daughter,” he said. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“She is.” I ran my fingers through his beard. I’d discovered it was something I enjoyed doing. “She’s more fragile than anyone realizes, though, despite her tough exterior. I’m not sure I’m ready for her to have her heart broken. Spade did that enough already.”
“No one’s going to hurt our girl. If they do, they’ll answer to me.” He kissed my temple. “All of you take such good care of me. Worryin’ about my health. Wantin’ to patch me up. Never realized what I was missin’ all these years. I’d wanted a family, but experiencin’ it is somethin’ different.”
“Of course, we worry about you. Do you have any idea how much you mean to us? And it’s not because you saved us. Well, not entirely. That is a part of it, but mostly it’s because of how amazing you are. You’re exactly what we needed. The missing piece to our family.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me. I snuggled against him, breathing in his scent, and wishing the moment could last forever. I had a feeling, sooner or later, he’d be called out tonight. Whatever had him constantly checking his phone would lure him from the house, and it most likely had to do with Spade and the Raging Demons.
“Promise me if anything happens tonight, you’ll be careful. I can’t lose you, Charlie.”
“You won’t. I’ll come home to you. Whatever it takes, I’ll always come back.”
I lifted my head to look him in the eye. “You told me recently you could return in a body bag, so forgive me if I want to make sure you mean you’ll walk into this house on your own two legs and not as a zombie.”
He snorted. “Stop watchin’ reruns of iZombie and oglin’ Major Lilywhite.”
“I didn’t do any such thing!” My cheeks burned, belying my words. I had to admit the guy was cute, but I much preferred the silver fox holding me right now. Besides, I liked the fictional character. It didn’t mean I wanted to run off with the actor who played him.
“Sure, you didn’t.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. His lips were warm and soft, and I found myself melting against him.
The girls finished in the kitchen and joined us. Bear started the movie, and we settled in to enjoy a night as a family. Before too long, we’d have a new addition. I hadn’t had time to think of names. I wondered what Bear would want to call him.
Bear’s phone buzzed and he checked it. His eyes darkened and his jaw tightened. I knew before he said a word that he’d be leaving. I struggled to stand, and he helped me, then held onto my hand a little longer.
“You need to leave, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I do. The three of you stay here. Keep the doors and windows locked. No one leave.”
“Spade? Is he… did the Raging Demons get into the compound?” I asked.
“I can’t give you details. As far as I know, he’s not inside the gates. I’m not takin’ any chances, though. The four of you mean too much to me. Keep yourselves safe and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Piper stood. “Wait! If someone gets in, we’re sitting ducks. We need a weapon.”
“You know how to shoot?”
She shook her head. “No one ever taught me, but it can’t be that hard. Just point and pull the trigger, right?”
He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Arming you with a gun before going over how to properly hold and fire one, as well as the safety rules, wouldn’t be very responsible of me. But I can give you a knife. It means you’d have to get in close to hurt them, but it’s better than nothin’. Startin’ tomorrow, I’ll teach you about guns and make sure you know how to defend yourself.”
Cordelia came up beside Piper. “I want to learn too, Daddy.”
“All right. Wait here and I’ll get one of my knives, then I need to leave. Just remember what I said.” He walked out and returned a few minutes later with a pocketknife. He showed Piper how to open and close it, gave me a kiss, then rushed out the door. I made sure to twist the lock, then double-checked the windows and back door, before sitting down with the girls.
“Come home safe, Charlie,” I murmured, staring at the closed front door. I could handle a lot of things, but if I lost him, it would devastate me.