Chapter Thirty-Five
“You could have been killed.”
Aasia sat on the closed toilet lid as CaDee took out the first aid kit from the closet.
“Yes, but I’m alive, and I’m fine. I just have a few scratches.” Aasia touched her forehead and winced.
“That’s more than a scratch. I’ll have you fixed up in no time,” CaDee promised.
“I should be with Phoebe. She was very scared.”
“And she’s fine. She’s resting, just what she needs. Grimes is with her. Something tells me he won’t leave her side for the next, well, nine months.”
Aasia felt like she was being watched and looked around to see Bear standing in the open bathroom doorway. He nearly filled the space. He looked exhausted and worried.
“Hi,” she said to him.
“Hi,” he answered. “CaDee, can I take over here?”
“Is that okay?” she asked Aasia.
“Sure.”
On the way out, CaDee patted Bear on the arm. “She’s been through a lot so no arguing, you hear? Things can be settled tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bear said with respect.
He stepped into the bathroom and suddenly all the oxygen seemed to be sucked out. He always made her feel like she’d just run a marathon.
White light spilled from the vanity light, lighting his tired features.
He looked like hell. She’d heard from Grimes what had happened with Clark.
He’d faked his death only to end up dead anyway.
Bear had saved Aasia and Phoebe’s lives because if it wasn’t for him Grimes and the others wouldn’t have known the sisters were in danger.
He knelt down in front of her which brought them face-to-face. She swallowed against the tension in her throat. She’d missed him so much. Yet, she had to control herself. What he’d done, the lies, felt like betrayal. She couldn’t be with someone she couldn’t trust.
“Are you okay?” his voice rasped.
“I’m okay.”
“It has been one helluva night for both of us. I should never have left town. I was stupid.” His concern etched worried lines around his eyes and mouth.
She couldn’t help but touch him. She laid her palm against his whiskered cheek. “You aren’t responsible for this, Bear. You did what you were supposed to do.”
He nodded, but relief didn’t reach his eyes. He stood and opened the lid to the kit and took out the antiseptic. “This is probably going to sting.”
She gave a breathless little laugh. “I can handle it.”
He wetted a cotton ball and dabbed at the wound on her forehead. “How did you get this?”
“I hit my head on a vase, which I then used to knock out Fitsgerald. It only seemed fitting.”
“Sharp debriefed me. You acted heroically. I should have been there for you.”
“Don’t, Bear. You’re here now.”
His gaze met hers and there was a flicker of something in his eyes that awakened more of her emotions. Did she think she could ever be away from him?
He brushed her hair aside as he gently cleaned the wound above her brow.
“It’s not bad. I’ll live,” she said. His touch was stirring up emotions.
“It’s not too bad.”
“What happened tonight? Did you find out anything?” she asked.
He rummaged through the old tin first aid box with a force that told her he had a lot of restlessness inside him. “Clark set up his fake death. He was trying to get away but Fitsgerald found him and shot him.”
“You’re shaking.” She laid her hand on Bear’s.
“I’m pissed. The man was embroiled in a lot of shit, but he tried to make things right by handing over ledgers and documentation that will bring Fletcher down. Fitsgerald has been arrested and will be interrogated for information, but we have a solid case.”
She touched his wrist lightly. “I wasn’t involved in any of Bentley’s business dealings. It was happening right under my nose.”
“I already knew this. I’m sorry that I had to keep things from you,” he said quietly, stepping back between her legs, his body filling the space, crowding out all the bad.
“I can get why you couldn’t tell me everything, truly I do, but I wish you could have trusted me enough to tell me.”
He met her gaze. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you.” He squeezed out some ointment on the tip of his finger. “Hold still.”
“That usually means it’s going to hurt.”
“It will. Worse than the antiseptic.”
The cool gel touched her skin and the sting was instant. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She grabbed his shirt, bunching the damp fabric with her fingers. “You’re right.”
“I know, sweetheart. This is the good stuff though. It’ll help heal the wound faster.”
Sweetheart. That made her heart beat faster.
“The sting is easing up.”
“Good.” He recapped the tube. “There’s a lot we still need to talk about. Questions I need to answer.”
“Not tonight.” She offered him a slight smile. “I’m too tired. I need every brain cell functioning when we discuss everything.” She wrapped her fingers over his wrist. She looked from her sun to his moon tattoo. They were bound.
He put a bandage on her wound and cleaned up his mess. “Where are you staying tonight?”
She shrugged. “I’m guessing Phoebe is staying with Grimes. I really haven’t thought that far ahead for myself.”
“I’d like for you to stay with me.” His eyes held something deep, an ache that went all the way into his soul.
“I’d like that. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”
The room stilled.
Everything outside of the two of them seemed far away.
He swallowed hard. “When I learned that you were in danger…damn, it just about killed me. If I could have grown wings, I would have to get here faster. You have no clue.”
She searched his face. “Tell me.”
His chuckle lacked humor. “I suddenly understood what Sharp meant when he said he became both a warrior and weak man when he met CaDee. I would have killed any man who stood in my path of reaching you, but when I saw you here, seeing you hurt, I felt weak. Vulnerable.”
“Vulnerability doesn’t make you weak if it’s with the right person.”
That almost made him smile.
His hands, large enough to break bones, shook.
“I care for you. I don’t want there to be secrets between us. I want you to know who I am.”
She stood and touched his whiskered jaw with trembling fingers.
His body tensed.
His gaze stayed on her forehead as if he feared what she’d see in him.
“Look at me,” she said softly.
He did.
What she saw there made her breath catch.
This wasn’t the man who people crossed streets to avoid. The one who’d built walls of protection. The soldier saw unspeakable things in the line of duty. This was a man who had opened all the doors and windows, inviting her in although she could see his fear.
“No matter what layers I find I’ll still want you. I’ll still love you. I have seen who you are, how you protect the ones you love. You show me a kindness and gentleness I’ve never known.”
His lips parted but no words came.
His chest rose then fell.
“I love you, Aasia. I have for so damn long I can’t remember what life was like before you.” His frustration was highlighted in the lines around his eyes. “I want a new beginning. A life with you. I want all the things a man like me isn’t supposed to have.”
“A man like you deserves all the things, my love.” She smoothed her fingers down his jaw.
He cupped her cheeks with both hands. “I don’t think I’ll want to leave your side ever again.”
She laughed. “You will. But for tonight, let’s revel in the need we have for each other. Tomorrow, we can tell each other everything. I have my secrets too. I have information on Bentley.”
He nodded. “Tomorrow. Tonight, I hold you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the backs of her knuckles. “You think that you’d ever want to marry a man like me?”
“You big oaf,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I’d be a lucky woman to have you forever.”
They kissed and at that moment everything clicked into place.
They kissed like they’d been waiting for each other all their lives. Nothing mattered but their connection, and their love.
He made a sound deep within his chest then he pulled back. All that roughness, all that grit, softened.
“You’re stuck with me,” he said.
She smiled. “Good. I like being stuck with you. In fact, I think we should go and talk about how much we’re stuck together without using any words.”
He wagged his brows. “I like the way you think.”
Not the end but only the beginning