Stepbrother Bear: The Complete Set

by Rosette Bolter

  Aiden led me around the sides of the buildings again, until we approached the hole in the fence. We ducked our heads through it and approached Jared in the car.

  “Stop,” Aiden said suddenly.

  He was looking down into the darkness of the road.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Suddenly there were lights emerging from the horizon. I heard the faint hum of vehicles approaching.

  “We have to get out of here,” Aiden said. “Now.”

  We rushed back to the car and hurried inside it.

  “Come on,” Aiden said to Jared. “Get us out of here.”

  “Did you get what you were after?” Jared asked.

  “No time to talk about that,” Aiden replied. “We need to go now.”

  “What? Were you caught?”

  “Shit…”

  I stared out to the horizon again.

  Motorcycles. Dozens of them.

  Jared started the car and we backed out into the road and made a u-turn.

  Both Aiden and I turned and looked out the back window.

  They were almost upon us.

  “Hurry up, man,” Aiden said. “Step on it.”

  Jared accelerated.

  “Who the hell is that?” I asked. “The soldiers?”

  “I can’t see from here,” Aiden said.

  Out of nowhere there was a white flash and we ducked just in time as a bullet went through the glass.

  “Shit!” I screamed.

  I grabbed hold of Aiden’s hand as he peered over to Jared.

  “Jared?” he began. “Jared…”

  I heard the thud sound as Jared’s lifeless body caved into the dashboard. The car was veering off the road and towards a paddock.

  Full speed.

  “Oh shit,” I cried. “Oh no… I’m so sorry…”

  “It’s not your fault,” Aiden snapped. “I should never have brought you into this.”

  “It is my fault,” I said.

  “Why?” Aiden demanded. “What did you do?”

  “I pushed the button…”

  PART THREE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Even with my eyes shut tightly and my hands over my ears, the sound of the car slamming into the oncoming trees split through my brain like a falling axe. The impact caused the car to violently rebound, sending us off on an angle, the adjacent trees crashing into Aiden’s side of the car. He dived on me just as it did so, acting as a shield between me and the glass.

  After a moment we were stationary, but I could still feel the hum of the car’s engine. Opening my eyes, Aiden crawled across me to unlock my door and push it open. My face was contorted in a permanent wince. The shock of the collision was railing inside of me. A feeling I couldn’t feel. A thought I couldn’t think.

  I felt his hands at my waist, unbuckling the seatbelt. He then put his hands underneath my arms and guided me a little to the open door.

  I smelt gasoline. Motor oil.

  Smoke.

  Finding some strength, I crawled over onto my belly and began to slide myself further out the door. My hands were reaching through the open air. Almost touching the grass on the ground below. I closed my eyes again. Struggled with my left knee to get it elevated. Then my right. I reached out a bit further, but just before my fingers found the earth, I pair of giant hands ripped me from the seat and hoisted me over a shoulder.

  Not someone I knew. Not a friend.

  My eyes swung round as the man carried me back to where he’d come from, and all I could see was the car with Aiden climbing out of it. He fell to his knees once he was free, exhausted and out of breath. His eyes met mine. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but no sound came out. No sound that I could hear.

  As the man carried me away further, shadows began to hit the ground surrounding Aiden. I watched them approach from all sides. Tall, towering, shadows. Aiden wasn’t given the same immediate treatment as I was. I watched as he was kneed in the chest and kicked a couple of times. He then took a fist to his forehead and a foot was placed over his fallen neck.

  I watched it all.

  So quickly. So fast.

  Gloved fingers unbuttoned a dark jacket to produce a silver object, its shine reflecting briefly in the moonlight. The gun was then pointed at Aiden.

  And I knew he was about to die.

  CHAPTER TWO

  My assailant set me down on the back of one of the motorcycles stalled in the area behind the crash.

  Before he turned, I managed, “Don’t kill him.”

  The man looked back to me briefly. His beard and sunglasses hid any emotional response. “Stay there,” he said. Then he went to confide in a couple of his fellow bikers.

  I looked back to where Aiden was. The gun was still there being held over him, while its owner barked his questions at him. I could hear Aiden was answering him, albeit in a quieter voice, but I couldn’t make out what either of them were saying. Any second it seemed Aiden could get a bullet in the head. And there was nothing I could do about it.

  The man who grabbed me was now returning. His face was pointed right at me.

  “What’s your name?” he asked gruffly.

  “I’m … I’m Bianca.”

  “And the fellows you’re with?”

  “That’s Aiden. Who you’re talking to.”

  The man looked over his shoulder. “Your boyfriend?”

  “No,” I mumbled. “I mean. Well. No. He’s my brother.”

  He looked back to me, “Not so confusing, is it?”

  I just stared.

  “What about the other one? Did you know him?”

  “Not really,” I replied. “His name’s Jared. I think … you killed him.”

  The man nodded. “And what are you doing out here?”

  “You … were shooting at us. We crashed.”

  The man laughed. He moved closer to me.

  “What kind of answer is that?”

  “I don’t know,” I mumbled.

  “What were you doing outside Fort Pacific?”

  “I … we…”

  I didn’t have anything else. How could I explain it to him? I didn’t know anything about him. It was too long of a story.

  The man knelt down beside me, and took off his sunglasses.

  His gaze was so wooden I still couldn’t tell what was going on behind it.

  “Which one of you pushed the button?” he asked.

  “What?” I gasped. “What button?”

  “Was it you? Or was it him?”

  “I don’t know what you’re…”

  GUNSHOT.

  The man was immediately on his feet as I sat up to see what had become of Aiden.

  He had rolled off to one side with the others chasing him.

  “Aiden!” I screeched.

  Moments later Aiden had shifted into his bear, and was thrashing his arms about in defense. He got to his feet properly and grabbed the guy holding the gun, and lifted him up into midair. The gun went off again but it somehow missed Aiden. He then threw the man several hundred feet away from him.

  “The tranq-gun!” the man beside me shouted. “Now!”

  Aiden was still defending himself from the oncoming crowd of bikers.

  They were forming a ring but keeping their distance.

  The man beside me held his hands in the air to catch the large rifle, and then immediately proceeded towards Aiden with it.

  Aiden growled vehemently, aware of the man approaching.

  I got off the bike and hurried towards the crowd behind him.

  “Don’t make me do it,” the man with the tranq-gun said earnestly. “Come back to your human form.”

  He hoisted it on his shoulder and aimed it square at Aiden, as his bear continued to back away.

  BOOM!

  Our crashed car suddenly exploded with a giant fireball rising from it and particles scattering in all directions. Everyone dropped to ground, including me. Everyone, but Aiden.

  He boun
ded over the group of bikers, even trodding on the fallen man with the tranq-gun who cried out in pain. By the time he reached me however, he was his human self, and pulling me up from the ground.

  “Quickly,” he urged me.

  We rushed to the nearest bike and I climbed on the back of it whilst Aiden twisted the ignition.

  “Son of a bitch!” someone cried. “After them!”

  Our bike ripped up the grass as it tore its way around in a u-turn back towards the direction of the road.

  I heard the sound of bullets firing though none came into contact with us or the bike.

  My arms clung to Aiden’s chest, and through the wind and cold of this timeless night, we vanished once again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Streetlights. Traffic. A whole world of civilization in front of us. It was just after nine thirty pm as we pulled up along the sidewalk opposite a gas station on the corner of town. Aiden got off the bike first and then helped me off. He pulled me forward a bit and then we started walking along the footpath and into town.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. “Do you … have a plan?”

  Aiden’s head was bowed. Silent.

  I briefly looked back to be certain we weren’t being pursued.

  “I think we lost them,” I said.

  “Not for long,” Aiden replied. “They’ll figure out we came this way eventually.”

  “How would they do that?”

  “They have their ways.”

  Once again, it seemed Aiden knew a hell of a lot more than he was letting on. I didn’t need to know absolutely everything with what had happened but some indication would have been nice.

  “Will you just tell me at least where we’re going?” I tried again.

  “Look, I…” he trailed off.

  We stopped at an intersection, and he pressed the pedestrian buzzer. We stood there waiting for the Walk sign to go green.

  “That’s not an answer,” I said after a moment.

  “You don’t want to be involved in this,” he replied. “It’s too dangerous for you.”

  “Why? Because I’m a girl?”

  Aiden threw his hands up in the air. “How are you supposed to defend yourself if they find us again?”

  “I don’t know. But … maybe we should go to the cops. Just tell them what happened.”

  “That’s great, ugly,” he muttered. “Just great.”

  The light went green. We started walking.

  “Well, how do you think you’re going to handle this shit on your own?”

  “I’ll find a way.”

  “Find a way… Look, you ain’t telling me shit. And unless you do, then I will go to the cops.”

  Once we had finished crossing the road, Aiden grabbed my arm and shoved me up against the nearest building wall. “With what story?” he demanded. “What are you going to tell them?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, pushing him away. “How about the truth?”

  “The truth?” he laughed, shaking his head.

  “What’s so funny?” I muttered. “What … you think they won’t believe me?”

  “Would you believe it if someone told you the same story?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I’ll leave out the bear part. Alright? Just tell them about the people who attacked the wedding. They’re probably already investigating it anyway. At least then they’ll know where to look…”

  I knew I was becoming emotional. My face was flushing. Tears were forming.

  It was all catching up with me.

  “Why can’t you just trust me?” Aiden said. “Could you do that?”

  “We almost just got killed,” I yelled back at him.

  “And whose fault was that?”

  I looked away from him. Then I straightened myself up from the wall.

  I started walking up the road again.

  Aiden hurried to my side. “Don’t get upset with me now. You have to own what you did.”

  “You’re the one who told me about it,” I snapped. “You practically waved that thing in my face. I couldn’t help it.”

  “And now Jared is dead.”

  “Oh…” I gasped. “You’re such a dick.”

  My feet were moving faster and faster. I didn’t even know if I was trying to get away from him, or I just wanted him to chase me.

  “Will you slow down,” he demanded. “Can we just have a proper conversation?”

  “Oh you want to talk now huh?”

  “Yes.”

  I stopped. “Where the hell are we going?”

  Aiden sighed. “I was thinking about putting you on a train somewhere.”

  “What? How would that work?”

  “Get you out of the city. Just get you far away.”

  “Do you have any money?” I asked.

  “Yeah… I could get some for you.”

  “And what about you? Where will you go?”

  “Maybe it’s better you didn’t know.”

  “Tell me. I want to know.”

  Aiden rubbed his hands together. “There’s one other guy I know. Who might be able to help me. I didn’t want to call him though…”

  I nodded. “And?”

  “He might be able to put me in touch with my old contacts.”

  “So who is he? Where is he?”

  “A former doctor of mine. He’s at the research facility where it…” Aiden trailed off. He seemed to be having trouble with the words.

  “Was he the one who…?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Aiden replied. “He made me like this.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  We weren’t talking about it. What had happened between us. It wasn’t a part of the conversation, but I knew it wasn’t far away from either of our minds.

  Aiden couldn’t look at me properly. I didn’t know if it was because he was developing new, difficult feelings for me, or he was trying to slaughter the feelings that were left. For me, I found it hard to be close to him. Especially when he was facing me. I think we were both confused by the taboo. There was a sickening pang of disgust that went with it, along with the progression towards what had driven us there in the first place. Maybe we didn’t want to believe it had happened. And yet out of all the things that had happened tonight, it would be hard to say that our shared moments were the worst of it…

  “Stop it,” Aiden said. “Stop trying to convince me you’re up to this.”

  “You need to stop treating me like I’m your little sister,” I countered. “I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”

  We were walking again now. Up ahead was the tunnel leading down to the train station.

  “What do you even think you can help me with?” Aiden asked. “Seriously, what do you have to add that will help us?”

  “Maybe some common freaking sense.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” I said. “And if you don’t let me come along with you, then I’m going straight to the cops. Which I probably have a good mind to do anyway.”

  “That will just put you in even more danger.”

  “How so?”

  “You think they’re not going to be able to find a girl in a police station, who is making up stories about bears and government secrets? You wouldn’t last an hour in there.”

  “You know none of this would have happened if you just stayed where you were,” I said sourly. “They wouldn’t be after us like this. Mom and Dad and Lara would all be okay.”

  “They might still be okay,” Aiden said.

  “Really?”

  He shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that we have to shut their operation down before it gets any more out of control.”

  There was a pause.

  “Hey,” I said. “Who were the guys on the bikes? What did they want?”

  Aiden gritted his teeth together. “I don’t know.”

  “I thought you said that if you pushed the button they were supposed to come and help you.”

  “Look, I don�
��t know, alright?”

  “And how did they get there so fast? I mean – is their base or club house only five minutes down the road from Fort Pacific?”

  “I don’t know!” Aiden shouted.

  “Well, you must know something.”

  Aiden stopped. Right outside the train station tunnel.

  “I’m not going down there,” I said. “I don’t care. I’m coming with you.”

  He looked at me and closed his eyes a moment. Then he turned and walked towards the building at the side of us. There was an ATM machine there.

  “What are you doing?” I said hovering over his shoulder.

  After his transaction was complete he turned and stuffed a pile of cash into my hands.

  “That’s five hundred dollars,” he said. “Get yourself a ticket to another part of town. Find a motel or something and crash there for the night. I promise when you wake up tomorrow morning that there will be some resolution.”

  “Resolution?” I spluttered.

  “I mean you’ll be safe. Safe to go back…”

  He stepped away from me.

  I stared at him, still clutching the money in my hands. “Do you see any pockets on this dress?”

  “Huh?”

  “Where am I supposed to put it?” I said angrily and threw the money at him.

  “Hey!” he cried.

  It bounced off him and hit the footpath. Some of it blew away.

  “Son of a bitch,” he cursed.

  Once he had collected what was left, he stuffed the money in his pocket and then grabbed my wrist.

  “Okay,” he said. “You want to play it that way? Fine.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked for the hundredth time as he dragged me along.

  “We’re going to sort this shit out, like I said before,” he replied. “But whatever happens to you in the meantime – I’m not even going to feel bad about it. It’s your own fault for slowing me down.”

  “Well, I don’t care if anything bad happens to you,” I retorted.

  “Good,” Aiden said.

  “Good.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  This is us in our love-hate relationship. Not that it is a relationship. And it would probably be hate-hate anyway. But here we are. At each other’s throats.