Savior Bear

by Raines, Harmony

  Madison’s blunt words hit him hard in the solar plexus. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with much-needed air. “Yes.”

  “And that’s what you want from me?” Madison asked. “After all you know about my relationship with my mom, you want me to ask her to show you the images of your brother-in-law being blown up. Why?”

  “Why?” Rob repeated the question but could offer her no explanation.

  “Yes, Rob. Why do you need to see it?” Madison’s words were hard. She was upset.

  Rob closed the space between them, his hands reaching out for her, but she pulled away. “I know what you are thinking.”

  “Do you?” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you know how I’m questioning everything you’ve said to me? How I’m beginning to think this whole thing was a setup just so you could get me to help you?”

  “No.” He reached out.

  “So if I asked Evan, he wouldn’t have been coerced into trying to kidnap me? Coerced by you?” Tears rolled down Madison’s cheeks.

  Rob moved fast, he encircled her with his arms and pulled her close. “I swear to you. I had no idea there was a connection. Even if I’d set you up with Evan, how could I have known your mom would call in a bodyguard?” He rocked her as he held her in his arms. “I know it looks like too many coincidences, but I swear, everything I’ve said to you is true.”

  “Why do you want to see the footage?” Madison asked, her tone less harsh, but her body still rigid in his arms.

  Rob took a deep breath. He was going to have to risk everything and tell her about shifters. Only then would she fully understand why he needed to check the footage himself.

  “Colm’s body was never recovered from the scene, only his dog tags. There was no DNA evidence either. But he was in the vehicle moments before and the footage apparently does not show him leaving the scene.” He took a step back from Madison and looked into her eyes, needing her to see the truth in his words.

  “So, what? You think the footage was tampered with?” she asked.

  “No.” Rob shook his head. “All I know is my sister is hurting and if there is any chance Colm was not in the vehicle or that he somehow got away, then I have to turn over every stone and look under every bush until I can give her an answer.” He couldn’t explain about shifters. Not here. “Will you come with me?”

  “Where? My mom is arriving in the morning, I have to see her.” Madison had her own questions that needed answering.

  “Out of the city. We’ll go and find a quiet place to talk. I promise we’ll be back before your mom arrives.” She didn’t look convinced, so he added, “I have something I need to show you, something that will make this all seem clearer. All of it.”

  “And you want me to go with you.” She pulled away from him and poured the coffee, her hand trembling so much she nearly spilled it on the counter.

  “I want the chance to explain.” He stood still, not wanting to put any more pressure on her. “Will you do this one thing for me?”

  She turned around and faced him, her eyes brimming with tears. “Answer me one thing first.”

  “Anything,” he promised.

  “What you said about true love…was that all make-believe?” A tear ran down her cheek, and she dashed it away angrily.

  “No. That is true. Every word.” He placed his hand on his heart. “I believe that two people are brought together for a reason. To share their lives, and to help each other. This is why we found each other now.”

  “To help your sister?” Madison asked, unconvinced.

  “Or to help you. To help you and your relationship with your mom.” He didn’t know what to do to convince her to come with him. He only hoped if he did succeed, that when he showed her his bear, it would all make a lot more sense.

  It had better, because right now we are in a mess, his bear said unhelpfully.

  And he was right.

  Chapter Fifteen – Madison

  Since the first kidnapping attempt yesterday, her life had been turned upside down and she didn’t know which way was up.

  If she had any sense, she would simply walk away from Rob right now. She should tell him to pack his bags and get out of her life. There was something not right with him.

  But she couldn’t deny that at the same time there was something very right with him.

  “Okay. I’ll go with you.” She must be crazy, but she’d spent her life alone, lacking in love, and she could not deny she loved Rob. Maybe it was an infatuation, who knew, but she had to take a chance, she had to take a risk.

  On love. On Rob.

  “You will?” he sounded genuinely surprised.

  “Yes.” She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Rob. “But this had better be good and you had better get me back in time for when my mom arrives.”

  “Deal.” Rob took the cup of coffee she offered him. “Thanks. And I promise this will all become clear.”

  “I hope so.” She nursed her coffee cup in both hands. “How is your sister? It must be tough losing someone like that.”

  “She’s strong, but she’s devastated. She hurts for the kids, too. No child should lose a parent at such a young age.” He looked down at his coffee cup, lost in thought.

  “She’s lucky to have you by her side.” Madison walked over to Rob and leaned against him. “Which brings me to one other point. I know you are being hired by my mom, and I know you said you would fulfill the contract even though the threat has been neutralized. But after her visit tomorrow, if they charge Evan, and I’m no longer in danger, I want you to go back to Bear Creek.”

  “Will you come with me?” he asked.

  “Rob…I have a life here. I can’t just drop it and leave.” She shook her head, but really, she wanted to yell yes, she’d follow him to the moon if he asked her to.

  He turned toward her. “I wasn’t joking about love at first sight and after this evening you’ll see that I can’t just leave you and never come back.” The intensity of his eyes made her swallow down her need for him.

  “Rob, you have your family, they need you.” She reached out to him and stroked his cheek, wanting to erase all the pain and hurt she saw there. “This is just a dream.”

  “No, this is real, more real than anything else in my life. And I don’t think I’m wrong to think it’s the most real thing in your life either. We belong together.” His fierce tone washed away any doubts she might have.

  “Then we’ll figure it out.” Did she really believe that? Did she believe they were meant to be together? Her place was here, her job, the modeling contract with Holly and Jones, she couldn’t just abandon that for love. She worked too damn hard and people had put too much faith in her.

  “We’ll work it out. Together.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. The room spun around and the stars came out in the day. Or so it seemed. Which was ridiculous, this kind of love wasn’t real, couldn’t be true.

  “Rob.” She pulled away from him. “I don’t know if I can be all that you want me to be. When you talk about true love, I believe you. But then I take a sanity check and tell myself it can’t be real.”

  “Then let me prove it to you,” he said. “Drink your coffee and let’s get going. By the end of tonight, you will be a believer.”

  “Wait, you aren’t a member of some kind of cult, are you?” she asked. “We aren’t going to drive out to some abandoned house somewhere where the rest of your people are living?”

  He burst out laughing, a real belly laugh that was infectious. Before she could stop herself, she was laughing, too. Laughing until tears ran down her cheeks. “No cult, I promise.”

  Madison wiped her eyes. “This is the craziest couple of days of my life. Everything was going right at last. I was on the path I always wanted to be on, and then boom, I’m nearly kidnapped. Twice, and then I meet a man who tells me he’s in love with me. Can things get any weirder?”

  Rob sobered a little. “Oh, honey, they can.”

  “Ok
ay, let’s just go before I change my mind.” She put her coffee cup in the sink and left the kitchen. Going to her bedroom, she changed into jeans and a warm sweater, before pulling on a jacket. As a final act of sanity, she turned on the GPS locator on her phone so her mom would know where to find her body if she’d hideously misjudged Rob and he turned out to be a serial killer.

  But her mom would have gotten references from Bear Creek Protectors. So he had to be for real.

  “Ready?” Rob stood at the front door, waiting for her. He looked nervous. Whatever he wanted to show her meant a lot to him.

  “Ready for anything.” She grabbed her purse and followed him out of the door, hoping she would see her apartment again and not wind up dead in a ditch.

  They exited the apartment and Rob led her to his rental. With one last look at her home, she got in, willing this to turn out okay. She’d had enough of disappointment. She’d had enough of feeling unloved. When she was with Rob, he made her feel special, and she didn’t know if she could cope with that all being a lie.

  “Relax,” Rob told her. “It’s all going to be okay.”

  “That’s not entirely true, is it?” Madison asked. “Even if whatever you are going to show me takes our relationship to another level, that isn’t going to mend your sister’s broken heart or bring back your nephews’ dad.”

  “True, but maybe we should take things one step at a time.” Rob held the steering wheel in his hands, looking relaxed. Not looking like an axe murderer.

  “Do you really think if you saw the footage of the explosion it would help?” Madison asked. It had been on her mind since their earlier conversation and she was having difficulty shrugging it off.

  Rob didn’t answer for a moment, he was lost in thought as the SUV ate away at the miles along the highway leading them to the mountains, which she could see as a large shadowy mass in the distance. “I think it would give me and Ray closure. If we knew for sure Colm was in the vehicle and never made it out when it hit the landmine.”

  “How could he have made it out? My mom and, I’m certain, several members of Special Forces would have watched the video closely.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re holding something back.”

  “I am,” he admitted. “But I can’t tell you yet.”

  “And when will you be able to share that information with me?” Madison asked. “Before or after I ask my mom to show you the video? Which I assume is classified.”

  “Before you ask your mom. But after we get to the mountains and I show you…what I need to show you.” He swung his head around and fixed her with his ice-blue eyes. “Will you trust me, please?”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?” she answered shortly. “Sorry.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I’m confused. About a lot of things. And I don’t mean to take it out on you, but at the same time, I’m not willing to go along with everything that’s happened, and is still happening, without questioning everything.”

  “Good.” He grinned. “In order to stay safe, you have to question everything. Don’t ever take what people tell you for granted.” He winked. “Unless it’s me telling you how beautiful you are.”

  She glanced in the side mirror of the car. “Urgh, that one is the hardest to believe.”

  “Why?” Rob passed another car. He always kept his speed steady and one eye on the road. There was nothing reckless about her bodyguard at all, and that gave her faith in him.

  “I don’t know. Do you ever look in the mirror and wonder what other people see? Like do they see you, the real you, or do they see what they want to see?” She rolled her eyes. “That’s not a good explanation of what I mean.”

  “I understand.” He glanced in the rearview mirror and then looked back at the road. “We see ourselves through our experiences. So if we feel ugly on the inside, or there’s a darkness there, it’s hard to see the beauty. But other people, people who don’t know about your past, see you in the instant you meet, with all the other baggage stripped away.”

  “And we all have baggage,” Madison finished.

  “We do,” he agreed. “We might not know it, or be willing to accept the baggage, but it’s there. Some good, some bad.”

  They drove on in silence until Rob turned off the highway and took a back road along the edge of the mountains. “This isn’t the mountain range by Bear Creek?”

  “No, this is a smaller mountain range. I just needed somewhere secluded to bring you.” He flashed her a smile. “Not because I intend to hurt you and cover my tracks.”

  “I know. But I have a vivid imagination.”

  “That is going to be a good thing,” Rob told her. “A very good thing.”

  “Why not make me more nervous?” Madison joked nervously.

  “Okay, maybe I should rephrase that. What you are going to see will blow your mind. In a good way.” Excitement danced in his eyes. Whatever he planned to show her, he truly thought she was going to like it.

  “I suppose my life does need a little more excitement,” Madison said sarcastically. “Two attempted kidnappings and meeting a man who says he’s the love of my life obviously isn’t enough.”

  “You’re right, it’s not enough.” Rob steered the SUV up a narrow mountain road, and they climbed steadily until they were above the rooftops of the houses and farms where people were settling down for their evening. They climbed higher until all around them were tall trees and rocky outcrops.

  A shiver of excitement passed through Madison. Being with Rob made her feel safe, but right now it was as if she stood on a cliff about to jump off into the unknown.

  Did she trust him to catch her when she jumped? Did she trust him to honor his promise to protect her? Even if it was from himself?

  As he pulled the SUV off the road and switched off the engine, she was about to find out.

  As she got out of the vehicle and walked to the edge of the tree line with him, her life was about to change forever. Her view of the world about to shift on its axis.

  But above all, the love she instinctively felt for the man before her was about to blossom into something she’d never expected.

  Chapter Sixteen – Rob

  At least she can’t run away, his bear’s idea of encouragement wasn’t ideal, but Rob understood he was trying to be supportive. In his own bear-like way.

  I hope running away is not an option for Madison. She’s strong, she’s well-balanced, despite her upbringing. It’ll be fine. Although Rob wasn’t sure he was trying to allay his own fears rather than his bear’s.

  “Shall we walk this way?” Rob indicated a trail that threaded through the trees.

  “You lead and I’ll follow,” Madison walked behind him as he struck off along the trail.

  “I’ve never been up here before,” Rob confessed. “We just need to find somewhere secluded.”

  “What are you going to show me that you couldn’t show me in my apartment? No one could have seen us in there.” Nerves showed in her voice, and he wished he could say something to put her at her ease.

  Tell her it’s so no one can hear if she screams, his bear said, the excitement threading through his veins almost intoxicating his other side.

  That would not be helpful, Rob said with a small smile on his face. The excitement his bear felt at finally getting to meet their mate for the first time in person was contagious.

  “You know you have a crazy smile on your face, don’t you?” Madison asked as she walked beside him. The trail had widened, and the trees had thinned on either side, but they were about as secluded as they could get. Rob sent his senses out as far as possible, searching for anyone, human or shifter, who might be close by.

  Nothing.

  It’s time, his bear said.

  “Okay, this should do.” Rob fought to control his nerves, while his bear fought to escape. His other side was desperate to show himself to their mate.

  “Here?” Madison looked around, confusion in her eyes. “You really did mean to take me to the middle of nowhere.”
<
br />   “I didn’t want any chance that someone else would see.” He held up his hands. “For good reason.”

  “And that reason is…” She folded her arms across her body.

  “I have another side to me…”

  “Oh, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”

  “Something like that. The other side of me is a beast, but not in the same way. He’s more of the furry kind.” Rob took a couple of steps back from Madison, ready to unleash his other side.

  “The furry kind?” Madison took a step back.

  “It’s okay,” Rob soothed. “You stay there, and I’ll just go a little further this way.” He took a couple more steps back. “Don’t run. And I promise you we can’t hurt you even if we wanted to. Not that we would want to.”

  “You’re not making me nervous at all.” Madison’s face paled in the late evening light that penetrated the thin canopy of the trees. It was early spring, the leaves on the trees were still buds of potential, waiting to burst out, just like his bear.

  And his love for Madison.

  “Stay there.” He held out his hands and then unleashed his other side.

  The air crackled and spat around him, as a shimmering heat haze covered him. In an instant, his human form disappeared from the world where his mate stood watching, her eyes wide, her breathing rapid. She was scared, but he was confident she would stand her ground and not run away from him.

  Yet as his bear slowly materialized in front of where his mate had been standing, he could not see her.

  His heart faltered. He was certain she would not run. Lifting his short snout, he sniffed the air. Before his bear had fully formed, he sensed her.

  She is here. His bear turned ninety degrees. There she was, her back against a tree, her hand covering her mouth as she looked at the bear who was once a man.

  Yeah, there is nothing weird about this at all, Rob thought as he watched Madison closely. If it looked as if she were about to run, he would shift back to his human form in an instant and catch up with her and try to explain.

  “This is your secret? You can turn into a bear? What happened, did you get bitten by a werebear?” Her eyes grew wider and she slid around the tree trunk as if to shield herself. “Are you going to bite me and turn me into a werebear?”