Chapter 35
Sammy
We hit the truck still running and Cameron picks me up and throws me into the truck like I’m a sack of potatoes or something, climbing in right after me and jerking the seat belt around the two of us. Bear follows moments later, checks that my seat belt is locked, and then does his own.
And normally I’d complain about being manhandled when I’m perfectly capable of buckling my own seat belt, but right now I’m too frightened and elated to bother arguing.
Frightened at what just happened. Furious at some guy evidently thinking he could just pick me up and do whatever he wanted with me. Disappointed at the idea that that guy might be my dad, and I may have just figured out why my mom didn’t want him back.
Elated that Bear and Cameron dropped everything and came to get me.
And that’s the part that’s really sticking.
Because they had no idea where I was. Hell, they didn’t even know I was gone until they woke up and I was already at the cafe.
They had every right to be angry at me for leaving without telling them, and even more right if you considered how often I’ve fucked things up.
How often Cam’s had to save me.
And yet they dropped everything and came running, and I swear to God they must have learned how to fly–with the truck–because there were only minutes between when I sent the pin and when they came creeping up the driveway.
My men didn’t even know what sort of danger I was in, and yet they were on their way to save me.
And then Bear tried to sacrifice himself to make sure I got out of there.
And Cam essentially carried me for the rest of the run and then made sure I was in the truck before him.
And now Bear is driving like an escaped felon to try to get us home, and Cam is on the phone with his uncle trying to get backup while we’re all crouched down like we expect bullets to come flying at us any moment, but somewhere in my heart, something is singing that it’s all going to be okay. We’re all going to be fine.
Because Bear and Cameron chose to come for me when they didn’t have to.
It’s such a ridiculous, stupid, fluffy thought that I shove it away from me the moment I have it and focus on the real issue here.
We’re on the one and only road back up to Wood and though we’re screaming along–at least 20 mph faster than is safe–we’re in a truck and can only take the turns so quickly.
The bad guys–I refuse to call him my father–are behind us in a smaller, faster car, and they’ve got guns.
They’re going to catch us, and when they do, we’re going to be in trouble.
I need to make a plan, and instead I’m sitting here drooling over the fact that I’m sitting between two heroes.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask, trying to get my head into the right space. “What do we do if they catch us?”
Because I might spend my free time trying to jump off bridges, but right now, when I’m facing down death, I realize that I’m not actually ready to die.
I still have way too much to live for.
Cameron gets off his phone and shoves it into his pocket. “The council’s on their way, along with some of Mars’ gang. They’re going to meet us just past the cafe. They’ve got guns.”
“Just past the cafe,” Bear growls. “That’s too far away.”
“Best I could get Archie to agree to,” Cam says quickly. “Mars and Orion would have come all the way here, but we can’t afford any murders, and that’s what’s on their mind. If the council is present, we might actually be able to arrest this guy instead.”
“And if they catch us before then?” I whisper.
Cameron pushes his lips out, thinking, but Bear doesn’t hesitate. “Then I’ll deal with them while you two run.”
I want to tell him he doesn’t have to do that. I want to say I forbid it. But I know it won’t do any good.
No matter how much I want to keep him, if it comes down to saving me, he won’t hesitate.
And that’s both an expanding balloon in my chest and the razor-sharp knife trying to pop it.
He leans into the gas pedal, pushing the truck even harder, and though we start skidding around the corners in a way that makes me grab for Cam, when I look backward, I realize we’re starting to leave Duane and his men behind.
We’re getting some space. And the road is too twisty for them to use their guns.
We might actually make it.
“Two more minutes,” Cam says. “That’s the main road up there. You need to go right, Bear.”
“I’m aware of that,” Bear growls. “You keep an eye out for the council and Mars. If you see them before I do, shout it out.”
I tip my head, surprised at the cadence that’s developed between the two of them–two men who hated each other for the last three months–but I don’t question it.
I don’t have time. We’re already sliding through the turn, wobbling on the tires as we take it too fast, and then suddenly regaining our balance and speeding forward.
Ahead of us, I see the deserted parking lot where Duane grabbed me, still littered with pine needles and dust.
Cam’s truck is sitting exactly where I left it, and though it feels like I parked it there fifteen days ago, time suddenly compresses like nothing has changed, and I see how differently this all could have gone.
I could have told Cam where I was going.
Brought him with me to make sure I was safe.
Told Bear, or turned tracking on in my phone’s settings.
I could have trusted either one of them to understand why I needed to try to meet my father, instead of thinking they would try to stop me.
I could have believed that they’d help me instead of impeding me, and I would never have been in this situation. They wouldn’t have been in this situation.
The realization is like cold water splashing in my face, and the whole world shifts on its axis, because that right there–the idea of intentionally trusting these two men with my whole heart–is so unfamiliar that it shifts everything.
Until I realize that I actually started trusting them a long time ago.
I just didn’t see it at the time.
I finish the thought as we skid into the parking lot and come to a stop next to a group of men–the council, Mars, and his friends–and before I can think of anything else Cam is jerking me back out of the truck and running around to the sheltered side, where we duck down... and wait.
Seconds later the car containing the bad guys screeches into the parking lot and the man who claimed he was my father is out and shouting.
“That man is kidnapping my daughter!” he says loudly.
I jerk back at the words like they’ve slapped me, then turn to see Bear wearing a similar expression, his face dark with anger and fists clenched at his sides. He goes to stand up but I put a hand on his shoulder and keep him down.
We don’t know what’s going on yet, and something tells me Bear getting into a fight with the guy would just make it worse.
In the parking lot on the other side of the truck, a shocked silence descends over the parking lot, and then one of the council members coughs.
“Listen, sir, I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about but–”
“My name is Duane Price, and Samantha Price is my daughter!”
More silence, and I can just imagine the looks on everyone’s faces at this bizarre statement. Bear’s arm has gone rigid under my hand and I glance at him, curious, but then decide that he has plenty of reasons to be upset right now.
This random stranger is essentially accusing him of kidnapping me. Which is rich, considering.
And it doesn’t stop there.
“The girl is unstable. Everyone knows it. She’s never been right in the head, and that man has moved in on her and manipulated her thinking.
Him and that kid of his. They’re holding her hostage and controlling her.
Anyone can see it. I’m her father. I have the right to take her home with me. And I’m exercising that right.”
Another stunned silence... and then Mars starts laughing.
He laughs until the sound is echoing off the trees around us, the mirth shooting through the air like multiple people are taking part, and soon the other members of his gang are joining in.
I hear the deep, somber tones of Dutch’s voice and the even quieter sound of Orion, who looks like he’s never laughed a day in his life.
Soon other men are laughing too, and the sound melts the tension out of the air like it never existed.
Until Archie Banker speaks up. “You may laugh, but this makes sense,” he calls out over the sound of the other men.
The laughter stops as abruptly as it started.
“What are you saying, old man?” Mars asks, his voice coated in danger.
Archie doesn’t seem to hear the threat, though.
“I’m saying that there’s always been something off about Bear Hawke,” he says sharply.
“Man comes and goes as he pleases. Has one kid, then leaves, and when he comes back, he marries a woman with a little girl. What’s the man need with so many children if he can’t even bother staying in town? What did he need with another wife?”
The silence stretches for moments before Mars speaks again. “You’re trying to punish him for having a son and marrying a woman with a daughter?” he asks quietly. “Are you insane?”
“It’s not just that,” Archie hurries on. “Look at how bad things have been since he arrived here. More violence than we’ve ever seen. New bikers in town, and so many tourists making trouble. Bear is supposed to be sheriff, and should be keeping the town safe. Instead, he’s brought trouble.”
Beside me, Bear growls low in his throat, and I tighten my hand on his shoulder.
“No,” I hiss. “Let Mars handle it.”
“Tourists and bikers from out of town,” Mars growls, his tone echoing Bear’s. “People who’ve come from other places. You’re trying to blame him for that?”
“What about the pictures of him with the girl?” Duane suddenly breaks in. “There’s proof that he’s being inappropriate with her.”