Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bear
She runs her hand through her blonde wig before brushing it up into a high ponytail.
I don’t even recognize the woman in the camera.
I lean back in my computer chair. Damn, she was right.
She can transform into somebody else. I don’t like it.
She looks different. Weird. I can’t wait until this is over and she takes all that shit off.
She asked me where I got all these clothes from that I’ve given her, and I said I’d had them lying around. She didn’t like that answer, but if I told her the truth, she wouldn’t look at me the same way again. I’ll never let her know my secret.
“Bear, get over here,” Kai snaps, and I push back my seat with a grunt.
Zion and Kai have been busy planning out tonight while I’ve been glued to the computer, watching her.
I left the door open on purpose as a test to see if she’d run again, given the chance, and she hasn’t.
She wants to help us, and that fills me with pride.
My captive princess is part of our gang of misfits.
I don’t ever want her to leave, but whatever happens tonight with Cleo will change everything.
After this, we’ll have to do something. Return Amirah or somehow destroy the ville, even without weapons.
I lean back against the couch armrest, folding my arms over my chest.
If we get Cleo back, will Kai and Zion hand Amirah back? Strike a deal? Or will they send her back in a body bag? I don’t believe that will happen. I won’t let it. I’ll fight for her. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her go. She belongs with me. Us.
I won’t sabotage saving Zion’s little girl, but if they choose to let her go, I will fight against them. I’ll ruin anything that gets in my way. Life without her in it isn’t life at all. She’s the only person in this fucked-up place who understands me; she really gets my kind of crazy.
“Bear, are you even listening?” Zion hits my knee.
I bite my bottom lip with a light shake of my head.
“Tate has gathered some men for us if we need them, but I want us to get in and out without too much noise. We don’t have enough weapons. Remember that Cleo’s safety is our priority,” Zion says, gaze set on me.
“And we need to conserve ammunition for when we need it,” Kai says, and I don’t know if he’s talking about when the boys come for Amirah or when we try to take over Daringville, but I hope it’s the latter.
“Whatever, and what about Amirah?” I ask. She’s all that matters to me.
“She’s your responsibility. You don’t let her out of your sight. And make sure Callan doesn’t lay eyes on you. Understand?” Kai asks, and I nod. He’s right—I can’t risk being seen.
“Done,” I agree. That’s what I was going to do, anyway.
We spend the next hour planning everything out.
Natalie has given us all the details we need.
What security is where. Callan’s movements.
It’s all set. We even plan to send Tate to get Natalie, to bring her over to our side of the tracks in case shit gets messy.
Apparently, she has a cousin here she can stay with, and since she recently lost her job, it’s not like she has anywhere better to be.
“Go get Amirah. We’re ready,” Kai says, and I skip out of the room.
I sneak into her room and lean back against the bathroom doorframe, watching her. She’s applying eyeliner to her eyes, and I hate it. She doesn’t need that cakey shit on her face. She’s perfect au natural. I like her without it. Clean. Real. Raw.
“What do you think?” she asks, watching me in the reflection of the mirror.
I scrunch my nose. “I like you better without all that,” I reply truthfully.
She frowns. “I thought guys liked makeup and blonde hair?” she asks, finishing off painting her eyes.
“Maybe, but not me. Us,” I say, and Amirah smiles.
“You guys are pretty close, huh?”
“They’re like brothers to me,” I reply. “Not your kind of ‘we’re so cool and important rich dick’ brothers, but the real kind. Family.”
I push off the door and move in behind her. As I wrap my arms around her, she leans back into my chest, and this feels good. Right. I want to hold her every day. Like this.
“Do you have family? By blood?” Amirah asks, and I swallow hard, unsure if I want to answer her. It’s a complicated question.
“I did once,” I say instead, and Amirah catches my eye in the mirror. “I’m a twin, and she’s just as crazy as I am,” I say.
Amirah laughs. “I doubt that. Where is she?”
“Locked up. Where I should be too,” I say.
“Do you really believe that?” she asks quietly.
I shrug. “Probably.”
“There’s a lot of wild in you.” She tucks my hair behind my ear, and her calm voice—I feel it in my chest. “But there’s a lot of good too.”
I’m afraid she’s wrong. I’m afraid I’ll hurt her someday, when the voices get too loud.
I’m afraid she knows too much about me. That she’ll leave at the first chance she gets.
My hand rests on her heart. The thump is heavy against my palm.
“Nervous?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.
She scoffs. “I may be The Daring Brotherhood princess, but that doesn’t mean a lil action scares me.” The corner of her mouth lifts into a smirk, and my cock stirs, begging to fill her. Do we have time? Would she even let me?
Don’t be weak. Take what you desire.
“You’re excited, then?” I ask, running my hand down her stomach.
She watches me in the mirror, shaking her head slightly.
I lower my hand, inching closer to her waist. She’s a liar; she wants this.
I’ve been dreaming of touching her again.
Those dreams turn into parties with my hand every night.
Then I fight with myself not to come to her room and force myself on her.
I’ve had to chain myself to my bed. Sometimes the voices get loud. Too much.
I lean down, pressing my lips along her tender neck, without tearing my gaze away from hers in the mirror. She shivers. I run my tongue from below her ear to her collarbone. Goosebumps rise on her chest, and a deep fire burns inside me.
My fingers reach the hem of her jeans, the ones that I found for her. The ones I had lying around. They fit her perfectly.
Her hand rests on mine. “Stop. We have to go, don’t we?” she asks, and I breathe heavily out my nose.
“I can be quick. You need this,” I say, and she glares at me.
There’s a knock on the door, and Amirah pulls out of my embrace.
Grab her. We aren’t finished.
I reach out but then pull back. Fuck. I can’t.
She fixes her wig, and Kai stands at the bathroom door, looking between us both with a smug expression on his face. Cockblocking asshole.
“You good?” he asks Amirah, and she nods.
“I hope this works and doesn’t turn into a shootout,” Amirah says.
I chuckle. That would require guns, and that’s our whole damn problem. But I don’t trust her enough to tell her that yet.
Kai leaves and Amirah brushes past me. I grab her arm, pulling her backward.
She gasps, and my mouth closes over hers.
She tries to fight me, then my fingers tangle in her hair, and she kisses me back.
Her plump cherry lips are all I can taste.
She pushes her chest into mine, her hand resting behind my ear.
She slides her tongue against mine, and it’s blessedly quiet in my head as all I hear, taste, and feel is her.
A deep groan rumbles in my chest, and Kai curses from somewhere behind us. I reluctantly let her go, and she takes a step back. Her cheeks are flushed bright pink.
I really hate that blonde wig on her. I want to rip it off—it’s not right.
She turns and walks out of the bathroom. Kai glares at me, and I flip him off. It’s no secret that she’s mine. I’ve laid claim to her from day one, but I can see the way he looks at her. How much he’s fighting with himself about her.
I don’t share much, but her, I’ll consider. Just with my best friends.