Chapter Eighteen – Rex

It was well after dark before Rex finally found Mindy. She had called him on his cell phone. She was in a bar, sitting at a table by herself, with a beer clutched between her hands. Her eyes were red and puffy, the injuries she’d suffered before standing out on her pale skin. There was a new bruise showing through the parting of her hair.

Rex hurried over to her, his heart in his throat. What had happened? He slid into the seat next to her and took the beer from her hand, already seeing that she had had too much to drink.

Mindy blinked as she stared at him for a moment.

“Are you okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low and soft.

“No,” she choked out. She lunged, flinging her arms around him. Her speed surprised him. He held her tightly, trying to whisper soothing words while knowing that they would make no difference. Mindy buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Meyer’s scent clung lightly to her, along with the scents of the sea, and copious amounts of beer. From the scent alone he knew that Meyer had been around her, but it wasn’t very strong. Rex’s heart eased. At least he knew that Meyer hadn’t touched her. He stroked her hair, rocking her gently.

“I’m sorry,” Mindy whispered again. “I . . . I lost her, Rex. I lost our daughter.”

“No, you didn’t.” Rex kept his voice firm. “You didn’t lose her. It’s my fault. I’m supposed to protect her, and I failed. But I am going to get her back, Mindy. I promise. No matter what I need to do.”

Mindy stared at him for a long moment before she nodded. He helped her to her feet, supporting her when her knees buckled and took her outside. One of the servers came over to them, looking suspicious and Rex passed her a wad of bills to pay for Mindy’s drinks. When she asked Mindy if she wanted to go with Rex, Mindy told her yes, and they headed out.

Rex helped Mindy into the car, where she promptly passed out.

His heart was heavy in his chest as he drove to the hotel where the four bears were staying until they could make the trade with Meyer. He carried her up to the room. The other three were already there. Noel turned down the blankets on the bed so that Rex could lay Mindy down on it and Jarvis soaked a washcloth so Rex could clean up some of the dried blood on her face.

“What happened?” Noel asked, a hand on Rex’s shoulder.

“I don’t know yet. She just said that she lost Ginny. From the smell, she’s seen Meyer . . . ”

Fredrick growled. “Did he—”

“I don’t think so. The scent isn’t that strong.” Rex inhaled again, this time smelling Ginny on her as well. His stomach cramped. If Meyer had hurt her . . . 

“I’ve arranged with him to do the handoff in a warehouse on the other side of town tomorrow,” Fredrick said after a minute. “I’ve got enough money to make it look real, but we’ll have to act quickly once we’ve found him. We have no guarantees that he’s going to bring Ginny with him.”

“I know,” Rex whispered, his voice thick. He looked up at the three men, a lump in his throat. “Thank you. All of you.”

Mindy stirred, bringing his attention back to her. Her eyes fluttered open, and tears began to course down her face. Rex gently wiped them away as the others slipped out of the room, giving the two of them privacy.

“Rex,” she whispered. Her hands clutched at his shirt. “Oh, Rex!”

In a burst, she told him everything. With every word, his heart grew heavier. When she was done, he trembled with fury, shaking from head to foot. His hands, gentle on her back, longed to become claws to tear Meyer apart. Soon enough, he promised his bear as it paced, snarling for blood.

“I wasn’t strong enough to keep her safe,” Mindy whispered, her face against his shoulder. “I’m never strong enough to save the people I love. My brother and my sister . . . and now Ginny . . . I shouldn’t love people, I always just end up losing them. She’s better off without me. Without this shallow, sorry excuse of a mother that I—”

“Stop right there.” Rex’s voice remained low but firm. He wasn’t going to have her doubting herself, not now. Not when the grief and pain would tattoo it onto her brain forever. “You love her. She loves you. You are a wonderful mother, and I will get her back. I swear, even if I have to tear apart this entire world. I’ll find her, and I will bring her back to you.”

“How?”

Rex ran a hand up and down her back, relieved when Mindy started to relax against him. “We’ve got a meeting set up with Meyer tomorrow. We’ll find out where he took Ginny. I promise.”

Even as he spoke, the fear that he had felt six years ago when the lone boat had returned from the storm and pulled into the dock. The cramping in the pit of his stomach when his parents and Angela did not get out of that boat. The knowledge that he’d never see them again. Fear clenched his heart, stopping it from beating. His bullet wounds ached—was he strong enough to get her back when he hadn’t been strong enough to protect her in the first place?

“You shouldn’t love me.” Mindy let out a shudder and drew back. “I hurt everyone I touch. If we had never met, you wouldn’t have this grief and—”

“And I wouldn’t have you or Ginny. Knowing you has given me a reason to fight harder for my life.”

Mindy’s lip trembled. “Oh, Rex . . . you don’t know the worst of me. The car crash that killed my siblings? It was my fault.”

Rex kept his arms around her. “How was it your fault?”

Mindy shuddered. “My brother was driving. I . . . I egged him on to go faster. I thought it was funny because my sister didn’t like it. So I was laughing at her and telling him to go faster. We hit a patch of ice and . . . ”

Rex could guess what happened after that. He held her, trying to find a balance between tight and gentle and nuzzled into her hair. How was he meant to reassure her, tell her that it wasn’t her fault? From what she had told him about her mother, it was probably something that she had had to hear ever since it happened, that it was her fault.

“You’re strong,” he whispered. “I know what it’s like to want to erase that pain. But you’re stronger than that, Mindy. I know you are. I will get Ginny back.”

Mindy sighed, relaxing into his arms again. Rex kissed the top of her head and got a whiff of Meyer again. His heart clenched as he thought of Mindy alone with him, cameras pointed at her with the expectation that she take off her clothes. His bear snarled as he took a deep breath.

“Mindy . . . I have to ask. Did he . . . Did he touch you?”

She shivered but shook her head. “No. But if he would have, instead of taking Ginny—”

She collapsed into sobs again. Rex held her, reassuring her and trying in vain to comfort her, for a long time before she slowly fell back to sleep. Rex tucked her into bed, hating to leave her. This new information needed to be shared, though. All the money in the world wouldn’t be enough to get Ginny back now. Not if Meyer had already sold her.

Noel and Fredrick both looked on the verge of murder when Rex told them what he had learned. Jarvis headed for the door, then stopped and turned back.

“I’m going to look for them. Meyer never met me, so I’ll be less conspicuous. I’ll also talk to my lawyers, in case this couple tries to fight to keep Ginny.”

Rex nodded his thanks. Jarvis disappeared through the door. Rex wished he could go with him, but his place was here. He needed to be by Mindy’s side when she woke up. And when they went after Meyer, he needed to be there to finish him.

Noel gave him a look that told Rex that the alpha could see every thought going on in his head. “We can’t kill Meyer. It will stir up too many problems with the humans.”

A low growl echoed in Rex’s throat. “Are you serious right now? He threatened us all. Are you really such a coward that—”

Noel snarled at him, stopping him right there. The alpha loomed over him, eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled back, exposing his teeth.

“What I want doesn’t matter,” Noel hissed at him. “What you want doesn’t matter. Think, Rex. I don’t want my son to grow up without me. The humans don’t care why a man might kill another, they only care that the killer is punished, regardless of the circumstances. Do you want your daughter to have a murderer for a father?”

The pointed question made Rex flinch. He shook his head, reluctant to admit that Noel was right. It went against his instinct to even think of allowing Meyer to live. Not when he had already caused so many problems. Not when he’d already proven that he’d kill Rex’s mate and child without a second thought.

“You’re not going to kill him.” Noel pointed a finger at him. “Not unless he gives you no other choice. Understood?”

“Yeah. I understand.” Rex let out a deep breath. That violent urge was still there, wanting to tear Meyer apart but it was tempered by the fact that it would only cause more problems if he did. Wasn’t following his instincts without stopping to consider the consequences what got him into trouble before? As much as Mindy said that she hurt the people she touched, from what he saw she hurt herself more than anything. He was the one who actually hurt other people.

Fredrick put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump. He’d forgotten that the other bear was there at all. There was something in his eyes that Rex couldn’t quite decipher. Finally, Fredrick shrugged and looked away.

“You should go and be with your mate,” he mumbled, almost more to himself than to Rex. “She needs you. You’re lucky to have her.”

Rex opened his mouth to say that Mindy wasn’t his mate, but he closed it again. Hadn’t he been thinking of her as his mate already? It was something they needed to talk about—once the situation wasn’t so dire, once Meyer’s threat wasn’t looming over them. Once they had Ginny back. In the meantime, though, Fredrick was right. Mindy did need him.

He nodded at the two bears and turned on his heel, heading back to the room. His bear growled, and his heart hammered, but he kept it under control. Tonight, he would make sure that Mindy was safe. Tomorrow, he would get Ginny back. And he would find a way to ensure that Meyer stayed away. Without killing him if he could but if Meyer wouldn’t back off . . . then protecting his family came first. He would deal with whatever consequences that followed.

***

Why is it always a warehouse? Rex felt as though he was in a movie. He frowned as he, Fredrick and Noel entered the huge building. He could see why it’d be a good spot to set a trap, or if you were looking for violence but Meyer hadn’t seemed the suicidal type. Did he honestly think that he could meet three bears here and come out as the winner?

As they entered, Rex’s gaze was drawn straight to the man in question. Hatred roiled in his heart, and he let out a soft growl, starting forward. Noel grabbed his arm and pulled him back, giving him a brief warning look.

Meyer glanced at them and smirked. “Only three? I expected more than that. Do you have my money?”

“Do you have my daughter?” Rex stepped forward, casting a quick look around. Meyer had several burly men with him. They were all very muscly, but they would be no good against bears. The only upper hand that Meyer had in a fight—if it came to that—was guns.

Meyer smirked at him. “Of course I—”

“Because Mindy told me that you sold her.” Rex glared at the man. His bear was once again telling him to go in for the kill, but he held himself back.

Meyer didn’t look surprised. If anything, he looked pleased. “Well. Since that’s out of the way. I hope that you have my money because otherwise, you won’t ever get her back.”

Noel hauled Rex back as he lunged, snarling. Fredrick quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“Should have expected such underhanded tricks from a human,” Fredrick muttered, then spoke louder. “We made a deal. Ginny was supposed to be here. We have only your word that she will be returned if we give you the money. And what good is the word of someone who has proven again and again that he—”

The sound of a revving engine cut him off. Everybody turned to look at the wall it was coming from. There was the crash of metal on metal, and then the wall crumpled inward. A truck crashed through the wall. It jerked from side to side and spluttered to a stop. Mindy leapt from the front seat. Blood dripped from a new wound on her face, and her eyes blazed as she pointed a gun—where had she gotten a gun?—at Meyer.

“Where is my daughter?” she shrieked.

Rex didn’t wait. Meyer’s men shifted their jackets, a few starting to draw pistols of their own and he reacted. With a roar that brought half the attention back to him, he charged forward. Noel cursed as Fredrick attempted and failed, to catch him. Then both of them were at his side, plowing into the first row of Meyer’s goons. Guns went off, the smell of gunpowder heavy in the air.

None of it mattered. Rex punched someone in the face, then elbowed another in the back of the head. His eyes weren’t even on Meyer. Every time he saw a gun, he attacked the person holding it.

He couldn’t let Mindy get hurt.