“We locked him away underground. We wanted to get some information from him before we finished him off. Before you start worrying, we did have him, but not anymore. Several brothers in the club couldn’t control themselves. Don’t worry, no evidence can be traced back to us. We have a connection with the police department, and they took care of everything. You are safe.”
I stiffened when he said that he was underground. I don’t want him close to me, but I feel a little better knowing that he is dead now.
I let out a yawn and snuggle into Bear’s chest. We have been talking for a while, and my eyes have started to droop.
“We can talk more about this later. We should go to bed because you need your rest,” he says.
I nod and get comfortable in his arms.
“Goodnight.” He kisses the top of my head.
“Goodnight.” I kiss his chest, too lazy to kiss his cheek.
23
BROOKE
It’s been a week since I woke up. I took three days off before I gradually started to return. I was getting tired of doing nothing. Gears said that he would let me come back to work if I took it easy. My leg isn’t bothering me as much, and I can do almost anything now. Gears makes me take breaks when I am working, but I am just thankful I get to work.
Bear has been super protective of me, so he tends to hover a lot and tries to stay near as often as possible. I’ve had to tell him that I will be okay and will stay in the clubhouse. Normally, I am around Ink, Whiskey, Gears, and Phantom when Bear is on a run. I don’t mind, I don’t really type on the phone, but listen to the guys talk.
I have met several more people in the past couple of days. They are all super eager to meet the person who has stolen Bear’s heart. I don’t think I have his heart, but I definitely am close to him. I’ve felt safer in the past few weeks than I have in years.
I have gotten to know the layout of the compound. Exploring is how I’ve managed to meet so many people, but sometimes I am by myself, and I enjoy that. I am not supposed to be by myself and am always supposed to have a brother with me, butI don’t tell Bear that I am alone. Gears lets me have some alone time as long as I stay on the compound.
“All right, Brooke. You are done with work, and so am I. Let’s go get something to eat,” Gears says.
I nod and walk toward him. Before Gears can ask me what I am doing, I wrap my arms around his torso and give him a hug. I take a deep breath in as his arms wrap around my body.
“Thank you,” I say.
Gears puts his hands on my shoulders and pushes me away. He has round eyes, and his mouth is hanging open.
“Did you just speak?” he asks.
“Yes,” I reply.
He grins and pulls me in for another hug. He squeezes me really tight before letting go.
“What are you thanking me for?” he asks.
“Everything. You have been nothing but kind to me and haven’t given up on me,” I reply.
“You don’t have to thank me for that. You are worth it. You have made your way into almost every biker’s heart in this club. Your first week here, you showed us how timid you were, and we all wanted to protect you. Pres said something bad had happened to you, so we all wanted to help you get away from the danger.”
I give him a grateful smile. He has always stayed positive and joked around with me, even when I ignored him. I tried so hard not to interact with him, but failed miserably because he just kept trying and showed me that I didn’t have to fear him.
“Did you say your first words to me?” Gears starts to get excited.
“No, my first word was ‘help’ to Bear when I got kidnapped. And after I woke up, I was only talking to Bear,” I whisper.
“Awwww. I really wanted to be the first person you talked to. I guess I can understand you talking to Bear first. Am I at least the second person?”
“You are. I am slowly getting more comfortable with other people. I grew the confidence to talk to you. I don’t think I can talk in front of a lot of people, but one-on-one I feel more confident.”
“And that is perfectly fine. Don’t let anyone push you to talk. I won’t tell anyone that you talked to me. It can be our secret, well with Bear, but you understand.”
I nod and chuckle, grateful that he’s so cool about it.
