Stepbrother Bear: The Complete Set

by Rosette Bolter

  “What?” I blurted out. “Who are you talking about?”

  “Lara,” Ryan said. “Your lovely sister.”

  “I know who she is,” I growled. “What have you done with her? What about the others?”

  Ryan waved his hand. “Please. One question at a time.”

  A rush of adrenalin surged through me, and I stormed over to him, seizing him by the throat. “What have you doing with them?! Where are they?! TELL ME!”

  Ryan’s eyes watered a moment, and he started choking.

  I let go, and he began coughing violently. He pounded his chest.

  “Jesus,” he said. “I gotta stop with these.”

  I knocked the smoke out of his hand. “Stop fucking with me! What have you done with my family?”

  His eyes widened. He coughed once more, and then a grin began to form itself.

  “Your family is still alive,” he said. “I know exactly where they are, and I’m here to tell you how to get them back.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I looked into his eyes. Was he telling the truth? I couldn’t see anything that would lead me to believe otherwise. But where was I supposed to go from here? How far was I going to let this guy push me?

  “Why are they alive?” I said, expressing my doubt. “It’s been three years. What use are they to you now?”

  “The General’s wish was to keep casualties to a minimum,” Ryan answered. “And she would need leverage for Aiden if he ever showed up again.”

  “But three years?” I whispered. “What have they been doing?”

  “She put them to work. Maintenance. Menial tasks mostly. But someone has to do them.”

  “But…” I shook my head. “Why haven’t they reached out to me?”

  “If they did that then they really would have to be put down,” Ryan said. “Thankfully, everyone was fairly cooperative. Eventually.”

  “And why didn’t you come and take me away?” I asked. “Surely there would have been an opportunity for it. With the fuss I made, with what I know, I don’t understand…”

  “No one was going to believe a story as outrageous as yours without solid evidence backing it up,” Ryan explained. “But of course it was more than that. We needed you for bait.”

  “Bait?”

  “In case he turned up one night. Out of the blue. Without notice or warning. In case he showed up to steal you away with him.”

  “You were watching me?”

  “Someone from our unit was,” Ryan confessed. “Every hour of every day.”

  “I don’t understand. Why is Aiden so important to you? Why not just forget about him and move on? There has to be something more than the ‘secret’ getting out.”

  “The General has her reasons,” Ryan said.

  “Which are?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t question my orders.”

  “So you don’t know? It doesn’t make sense to you? Why they’re obsessed with capturing Aiden?”

  “Whatever the reason is,” Ryan said, “you can bet that it’s something big.”

  I backed away from him and leaned against the wall.

  He adjusted his seating position.

  “You’re wondering what I’m doing here now, right?” he said.

  I blinked. “I’m wondering a lot of things.”

  “Word has been passed down that Aiden is going to be making a brief appearance in town tonight. We know the time. We know the location. We also know he’ll have a lot of protection with him, so an assault on him in the open would be bloody and inefficient.”

  I looked up.

  “Which is why we need your help, Bianca.”

  “What can I do?”

  “You’ll have set instructions. Your job will be to lure Aiden to a location where he can be apprehended without a struggle.”

  I grimaced. Felt sick to my stomach.

  “You can say no,” Ryan said. “We can’t force you to cooperate. But should you choose to do so, your family would be released.”

  A sharp, unexpected laugh shot through me.

  Followed by another.

  And another.

  “What’s funny?” Ryan glared at me.

  “You’re not going to release them,” I stated. “Not after holding them for three years. Doesn’t matter what you get in exchange. If the people find out what you’ve done, there’ll be hell to pay.”

  “No one will find anything out.”

  “Oh really?”

  “With certain kinds of technology today, a person’s mind is little more than a computer. With the assistance of the right materials and equipment, our programmers can hack into a person’s brain and well … change anything they feel like. Including the existence of certain memories.”

  “You’re saying they wouldn’t remember anything afterward?”

  “That’s what I’m saying. What you choose to believe is up to you.”

  My eyes faced the floor. “I don’t know. Seems like a crock of shit to be honest.”

  “Our practices facilitate the transformation of man to beast, in both outward appearance, and inward characteristics,” Ryan stated. “Do you really think a little thing like memory loss would pose any sort of difficulty?”

  I looked up again. Maybe he was telling the truth.

  “Do you have proof they’re still alive?” I said finally. “Photos? Video? And what was that message you said Lara had for me?”

  Ryan nodded. “Go to the window.”

  “The window? What for?”

  “Just go.”

  I kept my eyes on him as I made my way around the bed towards the window.

  I looked out of it, but couldn’t see anything.

  “Is something supposed to happen?” I murmured. “What’s going on?”

  Then there was a faint wooshing sound.

  It got louder and louder.

  And louder.

  Another large bird had descended to land on the tree’s lowest branch. I climbed over the broken glass and stepped outside into the garden. The bird continued to stare down at me, remaining stationary.

  “Who are you?” I whispered edging closer. “Do I know you?”

  The bird began to shift into its human form.

  Through the mess of long hair, and the black silky dress, I could barely make out the woman’s face. She jumped from the branch and landed on the ground in front of me.

  “Lara…?”

  She looked up. “Yes it’s me. Hello, sister.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Lara! Oh my gosh!” I rushed over and wrapped my arms around her. “I missed you so much!”

  Lara buried her eyes into my shoulder and started to cry. “I missed you too.”

  The sound of glass crunching startled me from behind. I whirled round and stood between Lara and Ryan defensively.

  “Relax,” Ryan said casually. He pulled another cigarette from his case and lit it.

  I turned back to Lara and held her face up to mine. “What’s happened? What have they done to you? What – What –?”

  “Never mind about that,” Lara said pushing my hands down. “I’m okay.”

  “What about Dad and Mom? The family? Our friends who were at the wedding?”

  Lara winced a little. I could see that she was looking in Ryan’s direction.

  “Go on,” he said. “Tell her.”

  “Everyone is fine,” Lara said stiffly.

  “They are?” I demanded. “Or is he just making you say that?”

  Lara’s eyes avoided me. I knew she wasn’t telling me everything.

  “You have to do what Ryan says,” Lara droned. “It’s the only way to save the rest of them.”

  “Save them from what?”

  Ryan’s footsteps moved in closer behind us. I glanced back at him.

  “What have you done to her, you monster!” I barked.

  Lara put a hand to my shoulder to pull me back.

  “Just do what he says,” she insisted. “If you don’t…”

&nbs
p; Suddenly Ryan grabbed my wrist. He pulled me way from Lara.

  I fought him off by punching his chest.

  Lara was backing away from me.

  I stopped, still standing between the two of them.

  “You can go now, my dove,” Ryan said. “We’ll see you soon.”

  Lara bowed her head and shifted back into her bird. Then she rose up and flew into the sky above us.

  I stepped further away from Ryan, turning back to face him.

  He still had the flaming cigarette in his hand.

  “There’s stuff you’re not telling me,” I said. “Stuff she wouldn’t tell me.”

  “All we want is Aiden,” Ryan said. “Help us capture him and we’ll set the others free.”

  I looked back to the sky where my sister was, flying through the air.

  “But you’ll need her too,” I said. “Now that she’s been affected the same way Aiden has.”

  Ryan’s presence drew close to me. He dropped the cigarette.

  “Bianca,” he said with his hand at my waist. “Lara is already free. We just need your help now.”

  “Okay,” I sighed, turning back to him. “Tell me what I need to do.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  As soon as I’d said yes, it became clear Ryan had an entire setup already in place. My consent, my willingness to go through with it, was the key to the ignition to get the whole thing started. The limousine was ten seconds away from Ryan’s phone call. From it I’d be taken to a hotel where I’d be given a new dress and matching shoes to wear, for the party I was about to attend. I’d be taken there at some point, and once inside this gathering, my task would be to locate Aiden inside.

  From there I had to lure him into a car parked across the road.

  Then my job would be done. I could stop thinking about him, and worry about the family walking into my open arms.

  Did I trust Ryan to keep his word? No way.

  Did I trust what Lara had said to me? Absolutely not.

  But this was the only way for me. The only way I was going to get closer to the rest of them. Perhaps when I was close enough, the path would become clear.

  “I have every bit of confidence in you,” Ryan said as the limousine pulled up in front of my house. “I know you can do this. You won’t let us down.”

  “Let me put my shoes on,” I muttered, and climbed back through the bedroom window.

  Maneuvering my way around the broken glass, I couldn’t but be aware of the level of malevolence here. He didn’t come to the door with Lara and ask me nicely to cooperate. He smashed right through the window and tried to scare me. She was only brought out when scaring me didn’t work. I knew I was being tricked. Manipulated. Used. And yet I had to keep going.

  Till when, I wasn’t sure.

  Once I had some shoes and a coat on, I rejoined Ryan in the garden as he waved me goodbye.

  “How will I get in touch in with you again?” I murmured. “If something goes wrong.”

  “There will be an ear piece for you waiting in the hotel room,” Ryan said. “Put it on, and I’ll hear everything that’s going on. If things don’t work, then at least we’ll know you tried.”

  I looked away from him. “I just hope that doesn’t make things even more difficult.”

  “You’ll be fine, Bianca,” he assured me. “As long as you keep smiling and play the part right, Aiden won’t suspect a thing.”

  “Any thoughts on what I’m supposed to say to him? How I came to be at the party and –”

  “You’ll be made aware of your cover story shortly before you arrive. Don’t worry. Have faith.”

  He stepped forward to the limo and opened the door for me.

  I walked towards it.

  And even though I knew I had to get in, it still didn’t feel right.

  “No…” I whispered. “I can’t do this.”

  Ryan’s face morphed into a wicked snarl. “Yes. You are.”

  “I don’t have any guarantees. I’m helpless. This is – this is just stupid!”

  “Is there a problem?” the driver sang out, winding down his window.

  Ryan approached him. “No problem. No problem at all.”

  He turned around.

  His eyes were glowing with green light.

  “If you don’t do this, the General will have you for breakfast,” he said. “I’ll take care of it right here! Is that what you want?”

  I backed away from him. “You have to do better than that.”

  “What do you want?” Ryan demanded. “Tell me what you want!”

  I stopped.

  The clouds in my mind were suddenly clear.

  “I want to meet her,” I said.

  “Meet her? Meet who?”

  “I want to meet The General.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Ryan wasn’t going to come with me, but my last request had changed the course of direction for everyone. He’d gotten into the limo with me and signaled for us to start driving. There were two empty seats between us as he sat huddled in the corner, making his phone call.

  A few minutes later it was done, and he picked up the limo phone to give the driver the address.

  “I take it she agreed then,” I murmured.

  Ryan glanced at me. “She agreed.”

  There was something off about his tone.

  “Was she not happy with you?”

  Ryan opened his mouth, but no words came out. Eventually his eyes shifted back to me.

  “She agreed.”

  I’m guessing that meant she wasn’t happy.

  Didn’t matter, I wasn’t afraid of her. I was looking forward to it. I wanted to stare into eyes of the person who had taken my family out of this world. I wanted to see what was there. If she was just a born and bred animal – a stone-cold psychopath who knew nothing of the feelings of others.

  Or maybe, she would have those feelings after all.

  Maybe she’d be normal.

  I think that’s what I was hoping for. Because that way at least, I’d be sure she wouldn’t forget me.

  The car came to a stop about twenty minutes later. I’d anticipated a longer journey. When I stepped outside the limo, I thought we must have been in the wrong place. We weren’t parked in the confines of a mansion estate, nor had we passed the borders of a military base.

  It was just an ordinary suburban street.

  “Come on then,” Ryan said.

  I followed him across the front lawn of a small single-storey house where the curtains were drawn. Ryan pushed the buzzer and we waited underneath the porch light for someone to answer the door.

  “Is this her house?” I asked.

  Ryan turned back to me. “Yes. Hers and her family’s.”

  The front door opened and a balding man in his pajamas greeted us. “Come in, come in, Mel’s put the kettle on.”

  The house was warm.

  Ryan and I took our shoes off at the door and the man took our coats and put them in the cupboard. He walked us through to the kitchen where a small woman in her late thirties was nursing a baby on one shoulder, and preparing cups of tea at the same time.

  “Hi guys,” she beamed.

  “Oh I’m sorry,” the man said. “I forgot to ask. Do you want tea, coffee…?”

  “I’ll have a tea,” Ryan said pulling up a stool to the counter.

  “What about you, dear?” the woman asked me.

  “I’m okay,” I replied.

  “I’ll make you one anyway,” the woman said. “You don’t have to have it if you don’t want it.”

  Ryan glanced back at me. “Are you going to sit down?”

  I hesitantly took the stool next to him.

  The man opened the cupboard behind them. He brought out a jar of biscuits and set it in front of us. Ryan opened it and took one.

  I couldn’t help but frown.

  “Go on dear, have a biscuit,” the woman said handing me my cup of tea.

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  “I’l
l take him,” the man said reaching out for the baby on the woman’s shoulder. “You guys have some talking to do.”

  The woman kissed the child’s forehead as she handed him over.

  The man walked passed us, singing the child to sleep.

  The woman’s gaze followed them, as she smiled. Stirring the tea in front of her.

  “Are you the General then?” I asked.

  “Yes,” the woman said, sounding far away. “But you can call me Mel.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  She doesn’t give me much of a chance to think. Before I’ve made up my mind on what I’m going to do or say next, her eyes are burning into mine and she asks, “Have you ever thought about having children, Bianca?”

  Ryan adjusts his stool as if he’s interested in my answer.

  “What’s that got to with anything?” I blurted out.

  “A son, or a daughter,” the General continued. “There really is no slice of happiness like a newborn cradled in your arms.”

  She sipped her tea.

  “We have stuff to talk about,” I said in a low voice. “So why don’t you cut the shit?”

  She set her cup down. “Small talk aside then. You asked to see me. And now you’ve seen me. Is there something you wanted to say to me in person?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Then speak freely.”

  “How the fuck could you do this? How the fuck can a person hold innocent people in captivity? You – You –”

  “My dear. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “My family. Our friends. The whole wedding party! You know where they are! Have you not been holding them?”

  “Holding them?” the General repeated. “That’s an interesting term. How about, feeding them? Clothing them? Giving them a meaning and purpose in this world? Making them useful? Helping them to serve our country?”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  The General blinked. “Pardon me?”

  “I said thank you.”

  Her fingers spread out across the bench. “Thank you for what?”

  “For telling me who you are. Now I know.”

  She lifted one hand and picked up the cup to put to her lips. “Who is that?”