Chapter 3
3
BEAR
B ear heard Archer before he saw him—heavy boots slammed against the concrete floor of the warehouse, each step fueled by fury and barely contained aggression. Bear didn’t bother standing from where he sat, arms crossed, legs stretched out in front of him, waiting. He’d known this was coming. Hell, he’d expected it the moment they got Meri out.
The door burst open, and Archer strode in like a man ready for war. Fitz followed at his side, looking more amused than concerned, but Bear didn’t miss the way the Scot kept his hand close to his weapon, which was probably a good thing. Because if Archer thought he was taking Meri from him, he’d find out real damn fast just how far Bear was willing to go to keep her.
Archer’s sharp hazel eyes locked on him, rage simmering beneath the surface, his hands curled into fists. "Where is she?"
Bear didn’t move. Didn’t blink. "Sleeping."
Archer’s nostrils flared. "Then wake her up."
"No."
The single word dropped like a hammer between them, the air thick with the unspoken challenge. Archer took a step forward. Bear didn’t.
"She’s my goddamn sister, Cole," Archer bit out. "She’s coming with me."
Bear met his gaze without flinching. "No, she’s not."
A muscle ticked in Archer’s jaw. "You want to say that again?"
Bear tilted his head, slow and deliberate. "You heard me the first time."
Fitz chuckled under his breath, leaning against the wall. "Well, this is entertaining."
Archer shot him a glare before snapping his attention back to Bear. "This isn’t up for discussion. She’s been through hell. She needs to be home, where she’s safe. With family."
Bear finally stood, pushing off the chair with unhurried control, letting Archer see exactly what he was up against. He wasn’t a man who made threats. He was a man who made promises.
"You’re thinking about what’s best for you," Bear said. "Not what’s best for her."
Archer’s jaw tightened. "She’s my sister. That makes it my call."
"Not anymore."
The words settled over Archer like a shroud. He fisted his hands at his sides, chest rising with restrained fury. "You think you know what she needs? You think you’re the one who gets to make that call?"
Bear didn’t hesitate. "Yeah. I do."
Archer took a step closer, too close, challenging, but Bear didn’t move. "You have no idea what she’s been through," Archer growled. "What was done to her."
Bear’s gut twisted, fury curling in his veins at the thought of what Meri had suffered. But he didn’t let it show. Archer wasn’t the only one who wanted blood.
"I know enough," Bear said. "I know she wakes up expecting to be caged. I know she doesn’t trust what’s in front of her. And I know the second you try to take her back into your world—into what’s familiar—she’s going to feel owned all over again. You’ll want to protect her…"
“What the hell’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing if you don’t want her to heal. Meri needs time and space, preferably with someone who can offer her some nurturing guidance.”
Archer’s lips pressed into a thin line, a flicker of something flashing through his expression. Doubt. Bear took advantage of it.
"You take her home. What happens next?" Bear asked. "Are you going to watch her every second of every day? Control who she sees? Hover over her so she never feels safe on her own again?"
Archer’s glare hardened. "She’s fragile right now…"
"She’s a lot stronger than you think," Bear interrupted. "She doesn’t need a babysitter. She doesn’t need someone making decisions for her—structure and discipline, yes, but she needs to make her own choices and accept that those choices will have consequences. She needs to feel in control again. And she needs someone who isn’t going to let her push herself over the edge just to prove she’s still standing."
Bear didn’t raise his voice, didn’t lean into the heat of the moment. He just laid out the facts. Meri was his now. Not in the way those bastards had tried to own her. Not in the way Archer wanted to protect her. But in the way that mattered… a way that would let her piece together the fragmented pieces of her physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Archer studied him, breathing hard, the fight still crackling in his gaze. He wanted to argue. Needed to. But Bear saw it—the shift. The realization that, as much as he hated it, Bear wasn’t wrong.
Fitz let out a slow whistle, breaking the silence. "Bloody hell, mate. Didn’t think anyone could talk Vaughn down."
Archer shot him another glare but didn’t argue. Instead, he exhaled hard through his nose and turned back to Bear. "She’s still my sister. I’m not leaving her with you unless I know you understand exactly what that means."
Bear crossed his arms over his chest. "And what does it mean?"
Archer stepped closer, eyes like steel. "If she calls me, I come. If she tells me she wants out, I take her. If I find out you hurt her—physically, mentally, any way in between—there won’t be a force in this world that stops me from putting a bullet in your skull."
Bear didn’t blink. "She’s safe with me."
"She better be," Archer said, then turned toward the door. "But regardless, if she says she wants out…"
"Then she goes," Bear cut in. "No argument. But you and I both know she won’t."
Archer hesitated for half a second before shaking his head as he turned and stalked toward the exit.
"Damn idiot. Both of you,” said Fitz following behind. Before disappearing through the door, he glanced back. "You’re playing with fire, Cole."
Bear’s expression didn’t change. "I know."
The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Bear alone with the reality of what had just happened. Meri was his. Archer didn’t like it. Didn’t trust it. Didn’t trust him. But none of that mattered, because he’d done what was right for Meri, he’d entrusted her to Bear.
Bear was still watching the door when Lanie Vaughn walked in like she owned the damn place. That wasn’t a surprise. What was surprising was that Archer wasn’t right on her heels, trying to drag her back outside. Guess even he knew better than to fight her when she was on a mission.
She paused a few steps in, scanning the space, then fixed him with a knowing look. “You’re pissing him off on purpose, aren’t you?”
Bear didn’t bother denying it.
Lanie sighed, shaking her head as she crossed the room, not the least bit intimidated by the man who had just squared off with her husband. "I’m not here to fight with you, Bear."
"Good," he said. "You’d lose."
She huffed out something close to a laugh, but there was no humor in her eyes when she stepped closer. "Archer wants to protect her."
Bear met her gaze evenly. "So do I."
"Yeah, but you’re actually going to help her."
That made him pause.
Lanie folded her arms, tilting her head as she studied him. "He can’t see it. Not yet. But you’re what she needs." Bear wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Lanie didn’t wait for him to figure it out. "Archer loves her, but love isn’t enough for what she’s been through. She doesn’t need someone who’s going to wrap her in cotton and shield her from the world. She needs someone strong enough to hold her together while she learns how to put herself back together."
Bear hadn’t thought about it like that, but it settled in his chest like the truth.
Lanie nodded like she could see his mind working. "That’s what you do, isn’t it? You pull people out of hell, make sure they don’t drown in it afterward." His jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. "She’ll fight you on it," Lanie continued. "She’ll push. She’ll resist. But she won’t break."
Bear’s gaze darkened. "I don’t break what’s mine."
Lanie’s lips pressed together, something flickering in her eyes. Approval. A silent warning. Maybe both. "Good. Then don’t let her break herself, either." She didn’t wait for a response, just turned and walked toward the exit. As she reached the door, she paused. "Archer will never like this, you know."
Bear didn’t hesitate. "I don’t need him to."
Lanie chuckled softly, shaking her head before disappearing through the exit.
Bear ran a hand over the back of his neck, letting her words settle. Meri wasn’t just another rescue. She wasn’t just another survivor. She was his. And that meant keeping her from falling apart—no matter how hard she fought him on it.
A familiar Scottish drawl broke through his thoughts. "Well, that was interesting." Bear turned to see Fitz leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, a glint of amusement in his sharp blue eyes. "She’s not wrong.”
Bear grunted. "I know."
Fitz pushed off the wall and walked toward him, his usual smirk replaced with something heavier. "We need to talk."
Bear didn’t like that tone. "Say it," he ordered.
Fitz’s gaze flicked toward the closed door where Lanie had disappeared before settling back on him. "We pulled more intel from the auction site. Intercepted some chatter before we pulled the plug."
Bear didn’t move, but his pulse went cold. "Meri wasn’t just a random captive." Bear steadied himself to show no emotion.
Fitz’s voice lowered, serious and clipped. "No. She was targeted. They knew who she was. Knew exactly what taking her would do."
Bear’s breath slowed, his mind working through the implications.
Fitz nodded. "She was more than merchandise. She was a message. A way to get to Archer. And to us."
Bear forced his breathing to stay even, though every instinct in his body screamed for violence.
Fitz kept talking. "The trafficking ring we’ve been hunting? They’re not just some cartel offshoot. They’re organized. Funded. Connected. And they’re not done." Bear’s stomach turned to stone. Fitz’s gaze darkened. "They took Meri to make a statement. We just tore apart their operation to get her back. You think they’re gonna let that slide?"
No, they weren’t. And that meant Meri wasn’t safe yet.
Bear didn’t hesitate. "Double the security on the safe house. No one in or out without clearance from me."
Fitz nodded. "Already done. But we both know security will not be enough."
Bear’s jaw clenched. "Then we take the fight to them."
Fitz’s grin was sharp, all predator. "That’s what I like to hear."
Bear didn’t care what Fitz liked. He cared about one thing—Meri. The men who had taken her weren’t just some faceless enemy hiding in the shadows. They had a plan, a purpose, a vendetta. They would not stop, but then, neither would he.
Bear turned toward the closed door leading to the bedroom, where Meri was still asleep. They wanted to use her as leverage. They were about to find out what happened when they came after what belonged to him.
He stared at the closed door that separated him from Meri, his mind already spinning through the implications of what Fitz had just laid at his feet. Keeping her locked away in a safe house like some delicate thing waiting to be rescued wasn’t going to cut it. Those who abducted her hadn’t finished. They had been making a statement by taking Archer Vaughn’s sister, but now that Cerberus had ripped her from their grasp, the message had changed.
They were coming.
Bear wasn’t the kind of man who waited for a fight to land on his doorstep. He was the one who went looking for it, taking out the problem before it could grow into something worse. Hiding Meri wasn’t a solution. Eliminating the threat was.
Fitz watched him carefully, reading the storm that was brewing behind Bear’s eyes. “I figured you’d say that,” Fitz muttered. “I already have Kai running recon on the remaining players. Our contacts are piecing together who’s left, and which ones might try to retaliate first.”
Bear gave a sharp nod. “We hit them first. Cut them down before they regroup.”
Fitz’s expression was grim. “It won’t be clean.”
“It never is,” Bear said, already shifting into battle mode. “I don’t care how long it takes. I want every name on my desk by morning. We will dismantle their supply lines, burn their resources, and leave no one standing to threaten her again.
Fitz grinned, but there was nothing friendly about it. “Now that’s the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear.”
Bear’s pulse was steady, despite the fury crawling under his skin. He knew what men like that were capable of. He’d spent years tracking them down, erasing them from the world. But this time, it wasn’t simply about eliminating a target. It was about her.
He wouldn’t lose Meri. Not to them. Not to her ghosts. Not even to herself.
Fitz studied him a moment longer before shaking his head. “You sure you’re up for this? Because, from where I’m standing, it’s starting to look like more than just another job for you.”
Bear didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. Fitz already knew the truth—Meri was his. Not in the way those bastards had tried to claim her. Not as property, not as a victim to be used and discarded. She was his in a way neither of them understood yet, but he sure as hell would not ignore it.
Fitz rubbed a hand over his jaw, letting out a low breath. “Gotta say, I don’t envy you. She’s a fighter, and she sure as hell doesn’t want to be saved.”
Bear’s mouth pulled into something close to a grin, but there was no humor in it. “Good. That means she’s still in there.”
Fitz snorted. “You planning on breaking down those walls she’s got wrapped so tight around herself?”
Bear’s eyes darkened. “No. I’m going to show her she doesn’t need them with me and let her pull them down herself.”
Fitz gave a low whistle. “Christ, you really are in deep.”
Bear didn’t respond, because what the hell was the point of denying it? He couldn’t pinpoint when, but between watching her battle the hell she’d been through and recognizing her continued disbelief in her safety, a shift occurred.
Meri had spent months learning how to survive, how to shut down, how to keep herself locked away where no one could touch her. Bear had seen women like her before—had rescued them, had done everything in his power to make sure they never had to be afraid again. But Meri? She was different.
She had been born into a world that had promised her safety, only to be dragged into one that made a mockery of that illusion. Now, she didn’t believe in anything. Not freedom. Not peace. Not herself.
That was going to change. Because if there was one thing Bear knew with absolute certainty, it was that Meri Vaughn had survived hell, but she wasn’t living. He’d be damned if he’d let her stay that way.
“Do what you need to do,” Bear ordered, pulling himself from his thoughts. “Find me the men who are still breathing.”
Fitz gave him a jaunty salute before striding toward the exit. “On it. Try not to scare the girl too much while I’m gone.”
Bear didn’t respond, because Fitz didn’t get it. Scaring Meri wasn’t the problem. She’d already lived her worst nightmare. No, what scared her was trusting anyone to hold her together while she rebuilt herself.
They took Meri, used her, and stripped her of every freedom she had once claimed. She had been told she belonged to men who had no right to her. But Bear knew the truth. She belonged to herself if and until she shared herself with someone else. Someone worthy.
And if she needed a man who wouldn’t let her drown in her own goddamn fears, if she needed someone who could handle the fight she was going to throw his way just to prove she could still stand on her own—then she’d come to the right place.
He stepped forward, curling his hand around the door handle. Meri could try to keep him out all she wanted, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
And neither was she.