10. Bear
10
BEAR
I want to take her back up to the room so badly. Even if I only get to hold her, that would be okay because I’d know she’s safe. But I know she’s right. I’m not the kind of man that can walk away from a woman in need, and from the looks of it, there’s quite a few that are in need tonight.
“Fine. We do this. Do you have your piece on you?”
She rolls her eyes, grabs my hand, and brings it down between her legs. I can feel her thigh holster, and fuck if my dick doesn’t get hard. She’s definitely my kind of woman.
“All right, you ready?”
She nods. “Yeah, but we should probably turn the mics back on because the guys are probably about to charge in here.”
I flip mine on, and so does she. She was right, too, because the guys are on the line arguing and stop suddenly when they hear us. “Fuck, Bear. You can’t do that shit,” Logan says.
“I know. Sorry, guys, let’s do this.”
We’re walking back into the room, and we listen to Knox go over the plan. “All we need is some surveillance. Get it on film with the women being purchased. FBI is enroute.”
“Got it.”
I grab on to Sam’s waist and do my best to relax as we weave in and out of the crowd of people. We find our way to the front and watch as men find their way to the front to make their bids.
I’m facing one way and Sam the other, doing our best to get it all on film.
An elderly woman makes an announcement that the bidding is starting, and everyone takes their seats. The first woman comes onto the stage, and it’s obvious she’s young and frightened. “Bidding starts at twenty thousand. She has all her papers. She’s fifteen and has been checked by the inhouse doctor. Her hymen is intact.”
The bidding starts, and bile rises in my throat. “Let’s end this, guys,” I say into the microphone, and as soon as I get the words out, the doors bust open and the room is flooded with FBI and all the members of the ghost team. I’m surprised when I see Nash; he doesn’t normally come on missions anymore, but I’m not going to question it. He is the boss.
Sam already has her gun drawn, and I do the same. People are trying to flee and there are people that are fighting back, but they are outnumbered as the local swat team follows in behind the FBI. There’s chaos all around us, but it’s not long before the people realize they’re had and lie down on the ground, waiting to be handcuffed.
The room is on lockdown, and Sam and I move to the back room to help with the women.
We work endlessly through the night, helping the woman get to shelters and working with transport to the local jail facilities until they are all contained.
The FBI captain walks up to us. “The largest number of arrests in one night in Miami history. Good job, men.” And then as if he’s just noticing Sam, “And lady.”
Nash talks to him while the rest of us continue packing up our gear. Someone already packed up Sam and my stuff from the room, so we’re getting on the plane tonight to head home.
“Well, we thank you. The people of Miami thank you.” The captain addresses us all again.
We all nod, and Knox, who’s closest to him, shakes his hand. “We’re just doing our job, sir.”
The press is starting to arrive, and that’s our cue to get out of here. We load into two vans and go to the airport. We bypass all security and are loaded onto the plane in a whirlwind. As soon as everyone’s on board, Aiden has the plane in the air.
Sam is sitting a few seats up from me, and I can’t take my eyes off her. At least not until Nash gets up and stands beside me. “Want to debrief me on what happened out there, Bear?”
I nod. “Sure thing, sir.”
I stand up, and Sam turns wide eyes to me. I can see the question in her eyes, and I try to smile, even though I’m sure it looks more like a scowl than anything. I hate to explain myself to anyone, and I have a feeling I may not like what Nash is going to say.
Nash takes an aisle seat in the very back of the plane, and I sit in the seat across the aisle from him.
“So...” he starts, and I hold my hand up. I may be a man of few words, but these are important.
“I’m not going to stop seeing her, Nash. If you’ve got a problem with us dating, tell me now. I’ll find another job.”
Nash stares at me, and I’m waiting on him to rip my ass or ask me what the hell I’m thinking. But he surprises me. He lets out a breath. “I’m not going to tell you that you can’t see her. Fuck, Bear. You find someone you care about, you don’t give her up. Trust me, I’ve made that mistake before, and I wouldn’t wish that kind of doom on anyone.”
For just a second, Nash looks lost in thought with pain etched on his face. I’ve never talked to Nash about his personal life, but as long as I’ve known him, there’s never been a woman in the picture. Obviously, there’s one I don’t know about.
Nash shakes his head. “So, anyway, I get it. But you tell me. I can’t lose you or Sam. Are you going to be able to work together and get the job done?”
I grit my teeth. “We’ll make it work. There’s no other option, Nash.”
He seems to weigh my words and finally nods. “Fine, but for a while, you’ll be going on separate missions.”
“Nash, I don’t think...”
Nash holds his hand up. “You trust her?”
I nod.
“You trust the guys?”
Fuck. “Yeah, I do.”
“Okay, well, until we smooth out the kinks, that’s the way it’s going to have to be. Separate missions until we get rules laid out.”
“I hate rules,” I tell him.
He laughs, and the crew in the front of the plane all turn around to see. “I know you do, but they’re needed. You know I’m right, Bear.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sam
“He’s always like this. He has to decompress and sort things out in his head after a mission. Usually doesn’t say two words to anyone,” Knox says while giving me a sympathetic look.
I guess I’m making it obvious the way I’m staring after Bear. He went to the back of the plane and talked to Nash for a while, and when he was done, he walked right past me and sat in the very front seat of the plane.
I know this was a hard mission. No one wants to believe that there are people in this world that would do these kind of things, but I know that since Bear was a POW, he’s seen worse. Maybe he’s having flashbacks to that. I’m just going to have to be patient.
The flight is quick, and when we land at the base, we all get out. Nash calls a meeting for the next day, and I don’t even go inside; I head straight for my car.
I’m embarrassingly slow, carting my luggage behind me, hoping that Bear is going to stop me, but he doesn’t.
He’s talking to Logan and Knox, and I hear Knox asking if they want to go grab a beer or something. I don’t even wait to hear an answer. I shut the door on my SUV and pull out of the guarded lot to head home.
It takes no time at all to get home, and I park in the garage and make my way into the house. I hate this feeling, but I don’t know how to shake it. Something spectacular happened between Bear and me. Did he change his mind, though? Did Nash tell him it’s his job or me, he had to choose?
Fuck, I didn’t even think of that. I kick off my shoes and am about to fall on the couch when my doorbell rings.
I hold my breath as I practically run to look out the peephole. It’s him. It’s Bear. I take a deep breath and let it out before pulling the door open. I do my best to keep my voice calm. “Hey.”
He starts to walk in the door, and I put my hand to his chest to stop him. “Wait. You think you can ignore me, act like nothing happened and then what, you show up like I’m some dark secret you need to keep hidden from your buddies?”
His face is intense, and he looks furious. “No, I don’t want to hide you. Every one of the guys knows how I feel about you.”
I barely hold in my laugh. “Oh well, good, that’s great. I’m glad they know how you feel, because I don’t have a fuckin’ clue.”
His eyes go round, surprised by the curse word, I’m sure. I may work with a bunch of men, but I usually don’t cuss. He grips the door. “Let me in, and I’ll show you how I feel about you.”
“No.” I jut my chin at him. “Tell me.”
“I love you, Sam. I have since the day you walked into the warehouse with Walker and I thought you were with him. He may have saved my life before, but I swear I was ready to kick his ass in that moment.”
“There’s nothing going on with Walker and me,” I mutter to him in frustration. What is it with everyone thinking Walker and I had something going... And then it hits me. “Wait... did you just say you love me?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. I do too.”
I almost reach for him, but I stop myself. “So what does that mean? We have to hide this or I’m out of a job? Is that why you ignored me? I saw you talking to Nash.”
“Can we talk about this inside?”
I move to the side and wave him in. He walks in and looks around my small living room. “Have a seat.”
He sits on the closest chair and pulls me down onto his lap.
I struggle to get up, but he keeps me in place. “I’ll tell you everything, but I haven’t had you in my arms in awhile, and I need this, Sam. Please give it to me.”
When I agree, it seems his whole body relaxes underneath me, and his voice is soft and smooth as he starts to talk. “I talked to Nash and told him that I wasn’t giving you up. Surprisingly, he’s okay with it. We don’t have to hide it, and he said that he needs us both, so you don’t have to worry about your job or anything. But he did say that for a while, we will do separate missions.”
I put my hand on his neck and force him to look at me. “That sounds reasonable. What’s the problem?”
“I’ll worry about you. How can I stay here and let you go into danger? I don’t know if I can be that man or not.”
I lean into him and bury my head in his neck. “I know, Bear. But I’ll feel the same way when you have to leave.”
He takes a deep breath. “And the reason I was so quiet afterwards—well, it’s always hard afterwards for me. I wish I could say I never think about my past, but I do. Sometimes, I just need time by myself to work it out. I’m sorry if you thought I was trying to hide what I felt for you.”
“I understand. But I want you to know I’m always here for you. I hate seeing you alone... you don’t have to be. Even if you just want to sit next to me and hold my hand, I can do that and let you process it all. I just want to be there for you.”
His eyes darken. “I’d like that.”
I know he’s really struggling with this. “Liam.”
Surprised that I called him by name, he looks at me wide-eyed. I kiss his chin, his cheeks, and finally his lips. His arms tighten around me, and I could about get lost in the kiss, but before I do, I know I need to tell him. I pull away, gasping. “I love you, Liam James. I love you so much. I know this will be hard, but we’ll figure it out. We’ll make it work.”
He rests his head against mine. “We’ll have to, Sam. Because you’re mine now.”
“And you’re mine,” I tell him before leaning in and pressing my lips to his.