by Kim Fox
Lucas couldn’t talk. Jessica fixated on his trembling hand.
What came next sounded like a baseball bat hitting a slab of meat. Over and over again.
Jessica stared down at her shoes. She was wearing her scuffed up white running shoes, the ones with the broken yellow lace on her right foot.
She should have picked up a rock or a stick and attacked her brother from behind. She should have ran for help. She should have screamed at him and begged him to leave Lucas alone. She should have tried to call the police.
But she didn’t do any of these things.
She just stood there terrified, waiting for Kai to finish.
When Lucas fell to the ground, a pile of blood, bruises and tears, Kai stormed up to her. Her left shoe had a piece of blue gum peeking out from under her toe. He gently touched under her chin with his index and middle finger and lifted her face up to his. Kai’s green eyes, pumped with adrenaline and hatred, were shinning like emeralds.
“The next time that I see you with a boyfriend I’ll kill him.” Kai turned and pointed to the sobbing boy curled up on the ground. “And that will be you.”
He ran over and gave Lucas one more kick in the stomach before he left with Jack, laughing and shadow boxing with their bloody knuckles.
That was the first and last boyfriend that Jessica ever had. The word got around how Kai treated the ‘boyfriends’ of his sister and since that day they all avoided her like she was made of Ebola. She had never held another boy’s hand, never been on a date and never even kissed a boy. Kai had denied her so much in his attempt to ‘protect’ her and run a ‘disciplined’ and ‘respected’ household.
The footsteps returned overhead and Jessica cringed, staring again at the light under the door. I can’t live like this.
She wanted to run, to escape this hell, but Jessica’s fear of her brother was paralyzing.
Jessica’s bear grumbled inside her, urging her to go find her mate. As if life wasn’t hard enough before, now she had to live with a worked-up, frustrated black bear inside her.
Jessica’s pulse froze as the door at the top of the stairs opened and heavy footsteps barreled down the steps. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking back and forth slowly as Kai entered the basement. She kept her eyes down on her knees, focusing on the happy penguin holding an umbrella on her pajamas.
Kai approached her bed, breathing heavily with a nasty hiss. Even the sound of his breathing made her nauseous.
“After all I’ve done for you,” he said, with his hands on his hips, “you embarrass me like this.”
Jessica kept her eyes locked on the penguin splashing in the rain. Why would a water bird need an umbrella?
“I’ve given you everything,” he continued. “Our piece of shit father left our family name a disgrace. Look what I’ve accomplished. I’ve brought honor and dignity back to our family and how do you repay me? You act like a slut in front of our sworn enemies!”
Jessica squeezed her legs tighter.
“You’re pathetic. And weak. Just like our parents.”
Jessica closed her eyes, praying that he’d leave.
“I swear I must’ve been switched at birth.” But he wasn’t. Jessica had the same piercing, emerald green eyes as Kai.
“You’re going to stay down here until I figure out what to do with you.”
Jessica rocked back and forth.
“Oh don’t act so miserable. I’m doing this for your own good.”
He spun on his heels and stomped back up the stairs. Jessica let out a long exhale after he slammed the door closed and locked it.
A tear dropped onto her knee, wetting the penguin. The umbrella was no help for him after all.
I can’t live like this.
Finch stared at the ceiling of his bedroom and waited. Beckett went to bed about two hours ago. It should be enough time.
“I’ll tire him out first,” Amanda said with a wink after dinner. “He’ll be sound asleep.”
Finch crept out the front door and snuck around the cabin. Keene’s snoring was like a chainsaw ripping through the quiet of the night.
The candle burning in Beckett’s window was blown out. He was asleep.
“Go find her,” Amanda had said to Finch while the guys were doing the dishes. “I’ll put a candle in the bedroom window and when Beckett is out for the night I’ll blow it out.”
“Thank you,” Finch said. “Beckett warned me to stay in camp. But it helps to be near her. Even if I don’t see her.”
Amanda gave him a hug. “Let me worry about Beckett. But Finch, this is under one condition.”
“What?” he asked.
She smiled. “You tell me everything.”
Finch crept towards the forest looking back at the camp before entering between the trees. It was dark and quiet. He had about six hours until the sun came up. He ran to the cave in the forest near the highway where he stashed an old dirt bike that he had restored. He pulled off the gray tarp and rolled it out. It was about a forty minute ride to the Flint Crew’s headquarters. He hoisted the bike over his shoulder and sprinted to the highway.
It was a warm July night, the full moon lighting up the forest in front of him, and his mind wandered to the familiar face of Jessica. He wondered what her voice sounded like; what she was like.
He placed the dirt bike onto the dark, empty highway and started the engine. He hopped on and took off down the road wondering what her favorite food was. Her favorite color. Did she like to read or prefer to curl up and watch a movie? There was so much to know about her. Would he ever find out or would he be left wondering forever?
Time flew when he was thinking of her and before long he had arrived. He turned off the highway and ditched his dirt bike in the forest beside the road where it couldn’t be seen in the dark. The rest of the way would be on foot.
Finch crept through the forest until he spotted the faded green roof of the mill popping out of the trees in the distance. He snuck towards the tree line, stopping behind a thick oak tree. The property was dark. It was late and everyone should have been asleep.
Some nights he just sat in this spot, letting his bear be as close as possible to its mate. Usually the bear purred, still agitated, but less than usual.
But tonight it didn’t seem to be enough. His bear was pushing him forward, urging him to go investigate. Maybe just for a minute.
Finch crept forward, careful to stay downwind to hide his scent from the werebears inside. He walked along the wall of the mill, careful not to step on any dry branches that might snap under his foot. He peeked around the corner at the camp about fifty yards away. There was a large log house with beautiful stone walls and a sprawling front porch. It was the alpha’s house for sure. Finch wondered if Jessica stayed in there with her brother or in one of the smaller cabins lined up beside it.
His bear pushed forward and Finch followed. He walked quickly and quietly, trying to stay low, which was hard for his tall, lean body.
He flattened himself against the stone wall of the house, with his heart pumping. His life would be in danger if he was caught. He glanced back at the safety of the forest. His bear grumbled in protest.
He glanced around, looking for any movement or sign of trouble, when something caught his eye. Fresh metal bars on the basement window. What is that for?
He tiptoed over and sank down to his knees. The metal was free of rust and there were still cement shavings on the grass where the bolts were drilled in. It was installed in the past couple of days. Were the Flint Crew planning some sort of attack or something?
Finch tried to calm his pounding heart and peeked through the corner of the window. His mouth dropped open and his heart sank when he saw what was inside.
His love, his soul mate, on a bed, sobbing. His Jessica.
The sight was both beautiful and devastating. He had to fight every cell in his body that was urging him to rip off the bars, climb into the basement and comfort her
. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms, kiss the tears from her eyes and take away all of her sorrow. She was too precious to be sad, too much of an angel to have pain.
His heart broke for her but it also came alive. That was her. That was his Jessica. His mate. His pulse sped up and his mouth went dry.
He didn’t know what to do. He just knelt there and watched. He could watch her for hours. For days. Forever. She was perfect.
She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Rays from the full moon cascaded down onto her bed, illuminating her shapely frame with soft, tender light. Her legs were thick and strong, her breasts ample and heaving. She was a large girl. The type of girl that could handle a werebear. The type of girl that made his breath speed up.
His fingers, out of his control, wrapped around the bars as he distractedly stared down at her. His watch clinked on the bar like an alarm siren going off.
Jessica sat up on her bed, startled, and looked right at him.
There he was.
The man who haunted her mind every second since she had laid eyes on him. The reason she was locked in the basement. The reason she was in so much pain. The reason she was put on this earth.
There he was.
Just as she had prayed. He stared at her with a painful longing that she only understood because she was feeling the same thing for him.
Jessica approached the window with every nerve in her body tingling. Her bear purred inside.
She wiped the spiderwebs away and slid open the cheap, plastic window. Just a screen and those dreadful steel bars separated them.
They stared at each other in silence. Just the sound of their heavy breathing and rapid heart beats filling the night air. He was at a loss for words, just like her.
“I’ve seen you every moment for a week,” he finally said, his voice soothing her and moving her more than any song she’d ever heard. “I’d tell you that I’ve been dreaming of you too but that would be a lie. I haven’t slept a wink since that incredible moment when I first laid eyes on you.”
Jessica swallowed hard. Her mouth was so dry. “What’s your name?”
“Finlay,” he said, “but my friends call me Finch.”
“Finlay,” she repeated under her breath.
She placed her hand on the screen. “You came for me.”
He squeezed his hand through the bars and placed his palm on hers. Her bear purred as his skin lit fire to every nerve ending in her hand. A warm, comforting glow flowed through her arm finding every last cell in her body and igniting it in pure pleasure. Her bear rumbled in content. She had finally been brought back to her mate.
Jessica never wanted to let go.
“Why are you locked up?” he asked.
“My brother doesn’t want me to see you.” Jessica glanced back towards the door. He should go. If Kai saw him here…she didn’t want to think what he would do.
Finlay pulled back his hand and her whole body went cold. Numb. Every nerve, that a second ago was lit with warmth, was now extinguished and dull. Her bear grumbled in irritation.
Finlay wrapped his hands around the bars. “I can rip this off.”
“No,” she snapped in fear. “Kai will hear.” She could feel a thickness filling her throat. “He’ll kill us. Please don’t touch them.”
He stared at her with an open mouth and sorrow filled eyes. “I have to get you out of here,” he said. “You can stay with us. We’ll keep you safe.”
Jessica took a step back shaking her head. “No one can keep me safe from him.”
He examined the bars with a furled brow. “I’ll come back this time tomorrow. I can take these bars off quietly.”
Jessica chewed on her fingernail. The room felt stuffy all of a sudden and she couldn’t breathe. “I have to stay here,” she said. “He’ll find me.”
“I’m not afraid of him.”
“You should be,” she said, remembering the haunting image of Lucas lying in a puddle of blood.
“Okay then just for the night,” he said, placing his palm back on the screen. “I’ll put them back in place and no one will ever know you left.”
She placed her hand back on his and the warm glow flooded into her body once more. What would it be like to be held by him?
He waited for her answer with a hopeful look. She couldn’t do it. She had to say no. It wasn’t fair to put him in that kind of danger. Kai was ruthless. A killer. He was worse than just your average thug. He took pleasure in causing pain. He was a lion in a world of sheep. His piercing green eyes were never quite alive and sparkling like they were when he was causing suffering and misery.
“Please,” Finch whispered.
Footsteps thumped upstairs like the sound of war drums. Jessica snapped her hand back and froze. The toilet seat opened with a clink on the porcelain tank.
“You have to go,” Jessica mouthed.
“Tomorrow? Please,” he mouthed back.
It was too risky. She didn’t even want to think about what Kai would do if he caught them. This man that she loved, yet didn’t even know, would be like a deer in the clutches of a lion. And her…she would be like a mouse.
She had to say no. To leave and never come back.
But a “yes,” escaped her lips.
He smiled and disappeared as fast as he came.
three
“I’ll have the pancakes with extra fruit on the side, three sausages, bacon, ham, four eggs over easy and a side of French toast with extra powdered sugar,” Finch said, handing Alexi his menu. He was starving and felt like he could eat double that.
Everyone at the table stared at Finch with open mouths. He hadn’t eaten a thing in a week and now he ordered half the diner menu.
“Are you going to eat any of that Finchy?” Alexi asked, “Or are you just trying to give me a workout.”
Ellis slid his arm around her waist. “You don’t need a workout my love. I love your big thighs.”
Alexi slapped him across the head with the menus and stormed off behind the counter. She turned her back to the table and began pouring coffee into mugs while shaking her head.
“What did I say?” Ellis asked with his hands open on the table.
Beckett rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Just go apologize.”
“For what?” he asked, genuinely confused. “It was a compliment.”
Amanda shook her head. “You’re hopeless.”
Ellis slid out of his chair muttering to himself and followed his girl behind the counter like a little kitten. A pang of jealousy hit Finch. How come they get to be together?
The other waitress, and momma bear of Beckett and Ellis, Barbara, walked over to finish taking their order. “Did my son put his foot in his mouth again?” She glanced over her shoulder at her youngest kid groveling to Alexi. “He is as handsome as a statue with as much charm as the rock its made of. Where did I go wrong?”
“Your oldest son must have took all of the charm and left none for poor Ellis,” Amanda said, wrapping her arms around Beckett’s neck and kissing him on the cheek.
Beckett looked down at his menu with his face reddening.
Barbara flipped through Alexi’s notepad. Her eyes widened at the order. She glanced at Keene. “Is it payday or something Keene?”
“That’s not for me,” he said. “I’m only having two Lumberjack breakfasts.” He patted his stomach. “Trying to stay lean. It’s bathing suit season after all.”
“That’s mine, Mrs. B,” Finch said. “I’m starving.”
Barbara raised an eyebrow. “Got your appetite back?”
“I guess so,” Finch said, trying to act casual.
“I guess that means things are going well with the mate?” she asked. There was no getting anything by Mrs. B. She was as smart as Keene was large.
Beckett raised his eyebrow in the same way that his mother had. His alpha studied his face, trying to find any signs of betrayal. But Finch always had a good poker face. “No,” he said. “Just finally learning to put
those feelings aside.”
Keene hit the table lightly with his fist. “Damn,” he said, “I loved all of those extra portions.”
Someone kicked Finch’s leg under the table as Barbara took Sander’s order. He looked up and Amanda was trying to signal him with her eyes.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she said, standing up. She stared at Finch and motioned towards the bathroom with her eyes as she left.
Mrs. B finished taking Quint’s order as Ellis came back to the table with a relieved smile on his face. “We’re okay,” he said. “She’s not mad.”
Barbara smacked him across the head with the menu. “Make sure you give her a huge tip.”
“I have to go to the bathroom too,” Finch said standing up. “Too much coffee.” The guys didn’t pay any attention to him as he stepped up from the table and raced to meet Amanda.
But Amanda wasn’t waiting for him in the hallway like he expected. Maybe he misinterpreted her?
He pushed open the door of the men’s room, jerking his head back and almost screaming when Amanda popped up right in front of his face. She grabbed his shirt with two hands and yanked him in. She slammed the door closed and slid the lock in place.
“Tell me everything,” she said, standing with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. “Don’t leave out any details or I’ll never help you again.”
“She’s incredible,” Finch said thinking back to last night. It felt like a dream. No way reality could be this amazing. The image of her crying on her bed floated back into his mind. “But she’s in trouble.”
Finch explained about her being locked in the basement by her brother, the real fear in her eyes, the promise to come back tonight.
“She seems terrified, the poor girl,” Amanda said. “Let me talk to Beckett. Maybe he’ll agree to help rescue her.”
“No.” Finch grabbed her arm and squeezed. “You can’t. I can’t put my brothers in that kind of danger. I can take care of it myself.”
“Finch,” she said tilting her head. “He seems pretty horrible.”
