26
The Bear
“Let me sort it,”I assure Emaline after she updates me on what Brielle had confided in her, and I clench my fists in suppressed rage. Someone squealed to the Viches, and I wanted to know who that was. “What do you think the point was of hiding Brielle’s phone in my bag?”
“The only conclusion I came to is they were using you to deter the Viches off their track,” she sighs and rubs her eyes under her glasses as we enter the elevator.
“Let me sort it,” I repeat sternly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Sorry,” she says shyly, cupping her hands together nervously, and I realize she’s taken my sharp tone the wrong way.
“I’m not angry at you, Em,” I rein in my tone to sound warmer. “I suspect Kieran and Kody have something to do with the Viches finding out, and I want to confront them about it.”
She shakes her head. “No, we already worked out the timeline. Whoever told the Viches must have known at the very beginning when Brielle discovered the USB stick, leaving only one person. Harley.”
I screw my face up and clench my jaw, restraining my anger. “Really? I suppose anything is possible.”
“Do you know her well?” she innocently asks as the elevator door slides open.
“A little,” my answer is downplayed because she is in my contacts for hooks up, and I have fucked her a few times, as has Kieran. But the last time I tried to fuck, I couldn’t get hard. So, yeah, I guess I know her.
A sudden thought occurs to me. “Hang on,” I stop dead as Emaline keeps walking forward, then looks back once she realizes I have stopped.
“What?” she enquires curiously.
I wonder if it was Harley who put Brielle’s phone in my sports bag when I invited her into my room for sex. I can’t tell Emaline this because I don’t want to see that disappointment on her face that I used to fucked around a lot. Not so much now, considering that my cock has eyes only for her. “The frat house on campus is open to plenty of people, although not everyone. But Kieran, my roommate, dates Harley, so…”
“You think she may have snuck into your room?” she asks with a furrowed brow and my crotch lurches. Fuck, I’m so attracted to this girl, especially now when she’s vulnerable and worried.
“Yeah, maybe,” I answer non-committedly, losing focus because my mind has taken a sharp turn into another realm. A hospital cleaner steps out of a small room with a trolley bucket and cleaning supplies, and a dirty thought strikes me: “Come this way.”
My hand finds the small of her back as I lead her to the small room. The cleaner comes out, cautiously opens the door, and pokes my head inside. The room is empty of human life. Good.
“What’s in there?” she asks, trying to peer past my hulking body to see the secret that lies within.
“Us,” I exclaim, pulling her inside, slamming her against the closed door, and claiming those rosy lips.
She sighs into my mouth, and her hands cling to my arms. “Someone will come in,” she’s slightly frantic as the hustle and bustle of hospital staff walk past the door, their shoes squeaking on the shiny floor. It’s not in her nature to do something like this, but I will teach her that freedom sometimes lies in being impulsive.
I undo her jeans and slide my hand inside to find her wet and sensitive to my touch. She gasps and claws at my arms as I push two fingers inside her, still eating her mouth with mine, fucking her with my tongue. “I want to fuck you so bad,” I croon into her mouth. “You’re my fucking drug. My fucking Viagra.”
Finally, she surrenders to my touch and allows me in. I know it stresses her being in an environment like this, whereas for me, being dangerously close to being caught gets me hard. “Do you want me to take my glasses off?”
“No time,” I answer swiftly, assuming she’s asking me because I told her to take them off the last time we fucked. “I need to get inside you now. You turn me on so fucking much.”
Her little hand tugs on my crotch, and I wipe out my cock that’s glistening on the head, already dribbling pre-cum fluid. I lift her against the door, legs wrapped around my torso, and slide inside in one go. Her head drops back and knocks against the door”s wood as footsteps stop at the door; Emaline holds her breath, and a broad smile glides across my face.
The footsteps move on, and Emaline exhales as I start moving inside her, moving my hips in circles to stretch her soft, warm canal. Her lips part as warm juice surrounds my cock, triggering me to rail her, slapping my hips in quick succession.
Bang, bang, bang against the door. A shelf containing cleaning products starts rattling with every thrust I inflict on my Emaline. She gasps with every jab and digs her fingers into my skin for fear I’ll drop her.
Another set of footsteps stops outside the door, and the handle turns. However, I push the door back hard so they assume it’s locked. Em remains silent as her usual look of fear is replaced with a joyful thrill. She’s enjoying living on the edge, so close to being caught bare-assed performing an indecent act—dirty girl.
The person trying the handle pushes the door harder, and I push back. I can hear them calling down the hall, “It’s jammed. I think something fell over and blocked the door.”
Em bites her bottom lip, trying not to make a sound, inhaling her scent as I bury my face in her hair. My cock is still inside her, but I refuse to move until they’re gone. There’s another push against the door, and I force it back with my strength before they resign to giving up and moving away.
“I’m coming,” she sighs, as her body clenches tightly around my cock.
“You dirty little girl,” I tease and release a load into my sweet Emaline.
It’s over quickly, but I’m still reeling as I pull out my glistening cock and let her down softly onto the floor. “I can’t believe we just did that,” she whispers, aghast.
Once we’ve pulled our clothes back up, making ourselves respectable again, I open the door a crack and check that the coast is clear before stepping out and holding the hand of the girl who drives me wild.
As we walk quickly toward the hospital exit, I glance back at my girl, whose face is lit up, giggling and utterly radiant. For those few minutes in the cleaning cupboard, I made her forget the worries and concerns that haunt her during the night and day. It only makes me more determined to make this Viche problem disappear.
Once back inside my new SUV, I take her face in my warm hands and kiss her full lips, softly at first, then more firmly. She graces me with a gorgeous smile that sets me alight, and I hold her face in my hands, stare into those soulful eyes, and promise, “I will fix this. Okay, Em. I will fix this.”
“Okay,” she breathes. “I believe you.”
“I’ll take you to class to ensure no one is following, and I’ll pick you up afterward. But in the meantime, I have a bone to pick with someone,” I explain, giving little away.
“Who?” she asks, clicking her seatbelt.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head over that, Em,” I say sternly, starting the motor and revving it a few times because it gets me pumped.
After walking Em to her class, I messaged Kieran asking for his location, and he quickly replied: training.
I plot in my mind how I will approach this, but I’m the type of guy who likes to cut to the chase, and once I see his smug face, I won’t be able to hold back. It’s Emaline’s voice, though in my mind, that reminds me that Kieran can’t be the one that squealed because he wouldn’t have known, but I wonder if she’s being na?ve.
I pull up outside the gym, immediately spot his red supped-up SUV, and exhale to chill for two minutes before climbing out. I need to keep my cool to siphon information out of him before plowing my fist into his face.
“Bro,” I call out when I see him by the weights talking to Kody. He stands up and walks over, holding his fist out to bump, which I do reluctantly.
“Sup,” he grunts. “Come to lift some iron?”
“Yeah, a bit,” I answer, cocking my eyebrows at Kody. “Can I have a chat with you two.” That wasn’t a question. It was a statement. And I won’t take no for an answer.
“Sure,” Kody states awkwardly, and suspicion crawls along my spine as a reaction to why he’s so cagey. Maybe it’s because Austin and I bailed them up down in the vault after they were holding Emaline. They had a reasonable explanation, but now I’m looking at the situation differently.
“How’s Emaline?” Kieran asks, and I refuse to answer. Instead, I shoot him a warning scowl to keep the hell away from my girl. Even him mentioning Emaline annoys the shit out of me.
Ignoring his question, “When did you find out about Brielle?”
Kieran hesitates before answering, “When Harley told me.”
“Bro, I’m trying to figure out the timeline because someone squealed to the Viches that Brielle had some information, so I’m trying to figure out when you knew,” I explain, keeping my voice steady.
“Harley told me when she was planning to move Brielle down into the vault when her parents came home from vacation,” he informs me, and I cast my eye on Kody to study his body language.
Kody adds, nodding toward Kieran, “He asked me to help.”
“So, who told the Viches, then?” I snap angrily. “Someone is fucking lying.”
Kody shrugs his shoulders, playing dumb as Kieran seems distant, as if hooked on a thought that maybe he’s not too keen to share.
“Do you think Harley would snitch?” I them.
“Nah,” Kieran answers immediately, raising alarm bells inside me.
“How can you be so sure?” I ask him, clenching my fists as I drill him with a threatening gaze.
“Well, you know, Harley and Bri are like besties, bro. Harley wouldn’t fucken snitch,” his explanation is a little thin and unconvincing.
“Yeah, but she used to work for the Viches,” Kody adds.
Well, well, well. We’ve got a live one here. “When?” I hit impatiently.
Kody looks to Kieran for clarification. “Wasn’t it a couple of years ago in a strip joint in Chicago?”
“Yeah,” Kieran answers guardedly. “That doesn’t mean anything. She still wouldn’t fucken tell.”
“Well…if it’s not her, then it must be you two,” I snarl, planning to take no prisoners if we break into a fight, but I can tell by their body language that fighting is not what they have in mind.
Kody shakes his head. “Bro, you’re barking up the wrong tree. We were helping Brielle by hiding her from the Viches.”
I’m getting nowhere here. Maybe they’ll confess their lies if I beat the shit out of them. I exhale out my frustration and let that mystery go for now. “So, do you know who dropped Brielle’s phone in my sports bag?”
Kieran clears his throat, and instantly, I can tell he’s about to spill the goods. “Harley.”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” I proclaim, holding back my growing resentment of these two who have been by my side through thick and thin, wins and losses, yet here they are, choosing to lie.
He begins, “All I know…is that she was trying to get the phone back to Brielle’s sister and thought-”
“No, no, no, bro,” I seethe. “Tell me the fucking truth. I wasn’t close to Emaline then, so why would she choose me to give the phone to without my knowledge?”
“Alright. Fine,” he states. “Harley only told me this recently when I overheard a conversation between her and Brielle in the vault. She was trying to set you up.” He holds his hand up to calm me when I screw my face up. “Don’t get angry with her.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I never asked, and I don’t want to know. Just don’t fly off the handle at her,” he warns. “Maybe you treated her like shit once. I mean…let’s face it, you’ve treated plenty of girls like meat, and maybe she’s getting her revenge.”
He’s right, so I relax, resigning to this new information. “Fine,” I state, turning to leave. “Thanks for helping me out.”
I leave with the sense that they are telling the truth, which fills me with frustration. This means I will have to approach my newborn enemy, Harley Leonard.
Scanning the parking lot for suspicious vehicles first before climbing inside my SUV. I sit for a few minutes reflecting on the conversation that just before my mind drifts to the hospital cleaning cupboard where I fucked a certain Velma Dinkley. I can still feel her on my cock and taste her lips, and her warm, genuine smile is tattooed onto my brain. I have to pick her up in two hours, so I might drive back home and finish off an assignment.
My ringtone goes off, pulling my thoughts away from the indiscretion in the cleaning cupboard, and Harley’s name flashes onto the screen. Huh, this will be interesting.
“Yep,” I answer her call coldly.
She takes a few breaths before saying, “Kieran called and said you want an explanation.”
“Sure do,” I say calmly, expecting more lies.
Background noises of students force her to pause, followed by the slamming of a car door, where it becomes quiet. “Do you know where the Brielle’s phone is now?”
“Brielle dropped it off at the police so they could trace Brielle’s location, but I guess they don’t need to now,” I
“Okay. Are you somewhere no one can listen to the conversation?” she queries, putting me on edge.
“Yes. I’m in my new car after my last one was smashed up by the Viche cunts,” I inform her so she gets the message that I’m at the end of my tether and I have no tolerance for bullshit.
“When the Viches started following Bri, she was about to take the USB stick to the police and the IRS, but somehow the Viches found out and started sending her death threats and following her wherever she went-”
“How did they find out?” I interrupt.
“I have a hunch, but I’ll get to that in a minute,” she says, fueling my impatience.
“So, I had the idea to download a copy of the accounts from the USB stick onto her phone, so we’ll have two copies,” she explains. “I told Kieran that I put Brielle’s phone in your bag as revenge, but the real reason was that if you found you’d either take it to the police or give it to Emaline. If you gave it back to Emaline, she’s likely to take it to the police, and if it’s with the police, then it’s in safe hands.”
“I get it now. You wanted to distance yourself from the phone, but somehow, make sure that it’s found,” I exclaim, as things start to make sense now.
“Correct,” she replies.
“Where is the USB stick now?” I enquire.
She dithers for a few beats as if deciding if she wants to part with that information. “In the vault, under a loose slab in the Butcher’s Block,” she breathes. “As far as I know, they haven’t found it, but if they do, we have another copy.”
“Great plotting and scheming, Harley,” I congratulate her. “You even went to the police playing the part of a concerned friend.”
“I am a concerned friend. I was terrified for her. I know what these men are like, and you don’t want to cross them.” I wait for her to continue, but she falls silent. I sense she wanted to say more, but perhaps the less we know about the Viches, the better.
“I have heard some things. So, who snitched?” I press again because I’ll be hounding her until she tells me.
She exhales and dithers for a few seconds, and I have to bite my tongue from telling her to hurry up. “Like I said, it’s a hunch, but it’s the only possible theory I can develop about how the Viches found out.” She exhales again, and I grit my teeth, receiving a jab of pain in my jaw from tension.
“I’m waiting…” I prompt her.
“Brielle,” she sighs and falls silent, and I wait for her to continue, assuming that was the start of the sentence.
“What?” I’m a little unclear as to what she’s suggesting.
“My hunch and I might be wrong here, but I suspect Brielle contacted the Viches when she discovered what was on the USB stick and realized when they came for her that she’d done the wrong thing,” she enlightens me, and I pause to reflect on it.
“Anything is possible, I guess,” I state, not entirely convinced because I can’t believe anyone would be so careless and stupid, but then I didn’t know Brielle Applegate that well. “Have you asked her?”
“Not directly because I didn’t want to upset her,” she resigns. “And the damage had already been done.”
“True,” I agree. “Well, I’ve got some spare time, so I’ll go down and retrieve the USB and hand it to the police.”
“Make sure you’re not being followed,” she warns. “The reason I haven’t been back to Demon Cove since your party is because I was too scared they’d follow me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, ending the call.