Bear and I spent the rest of the day being lazy, enjoying each other’s company. Lying on the couch, stuffing my third slice of deep-dish pizza into my mouth while wearing a pair of Bear’s red plaid boxers and a worn-out Metallica shirt with a hole the size of Texas in the left armpit, I couldn’t picture myself happier.

My life had fallen apart not even a blink of an eye before. My marriage had been ripped apart at the seams. All of my possessions were still with my cheating scumbag of a husband. My body was swollen and bruised from him running me off the road, and I still had a pounding headache. I had no idea where my cellphone or wallet was.

None of it mattered. It all seemed so pointless when I tried to think about it.

All that mattered in that moment was the feeling of Bear’s skin on mine. The delectableness of the pepperonis that were making my taste buds do a little jig in my mouth. The lingering weakness in my knees from the mind-altering, awe-inspiring, earth-shattering orgasm that lasted longer than I could hold my breath.

That was what mattered to me.

One minute, I was lost without anything in my life. The next, I felt like I was handed a second chance on a silver platter—well, it was more like it was gift-wrapped in leather and covered in motor oil, but still.

There was one problem: I had lied to Bear. It was not a complete lie, but a lie was still a lie, even in the smallest sense of the word. I hadn’t meant to; it was completely innocent, but I needed to set the record straight. I knew he would get angry. I knew it was going to be a terrible conversation to have, but I couldn’t let that stop me.

I swallowed hard. I grabbed the remote from Bear’s hand, turning the television off. It was time.

“Bear, I have to tell you something.” I shifted in my seat, scooting away from him a bit.

His hand landed on my thigh. “You can tell me anything, sweetheart.”

Right as I was about to spit the words out, Bear’s cellphone started vibrating in his pocket. With a grumble, he leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I have to get this, darlin’.”

I sighed and shooed him away. “I understand.”

“Knox?” Bear started to pace in the space between the wall unit and the coffee table. “I don’t care what the customer’s other mechanic said,” he grumbled.

He stopped dead, staring at me. “Where’s Jaxon? Can’t he handle this?”

Bear gripped the end of his beard and pulled down as he reluctantly gave in to the request on the other end of the line. “Fine. I’ll be in shortly, but I am going to have your head for this one, fuckface.”

He sat on the stained oak table, grabbing my hands in his. “How about you put on some of those clothes Jaxon’s old lady let you borrow and we take a ride up to the shop?”

I pouted, throwing my hands over my face like a child. “But you promised you didn’t have to work today.”

“Please. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Before I could protest, Bear’s arms were under me and he was walking up the stairs to his bedroom.

“I would have given in. You don’t have to carry me everywhere to make me do what you want.” After Bear set me down, I grabbed the pair of black cotton shorts and pink tank top out of the grocery bag Jaxon had given me.

“Maybe I just like doing it.” Bear’s hand gently slapped my ass before I could get the shorts all the way on.

“All right. I might be able to get used to that.”

“You’re going to have to, darlin’. You said it yourself earlier: you’re mine now. That means I can pick you up any time I want.”

Without warning, I was back in Bear’s arms, being held up high in the air above his head. I loved the sight of his muscles flexing under his tight shirt and cut as he manhandled me like a little doll.

He set me down gently after making sure to kiss me from my forehead to my lips. “Get ready, sweetheart. The guys are waiting for us so I can deal with that douchebag of a customer for them.”

“Let me just brush my teeth and then I’ll be ready to head out.”

I ducked into the bathroom with the clear plastic bag from the hospital that contained my few belongings. After scrubbing my teeth and washing my face, I ran my fingers over my hair and recoiled from my hideous appearance in the mirror over the sink. I had scrapes and greenish-yellow bruises all over my face and down my neck. Looking down, I saw the same injuries were covering most of my legs and arms. Up until that point, I hadn’t cared because I was hidden from the general public at the hospital, where it was normal to be injured and grotesque. Now, though, I was going to have to go into public, meet Bear’s friends, possibly run into someone I knew. A sinking feeling took over my stomach as I tried to compose myself.

I slunk out of the bathroom with my hands covering my face.

“What is it now?” Bear asked while peeling my fingers away from my eyes.

“I’m hideous,” I whined with the slightest hint of a giggle laced in the words. I knew how ridiculous I sounded, but I couldn’t help it—I felt utterly ghoulish.

“Psh.” He tucked me into his side as he walked me out of the bedroom. “I don’t think that could ever be possible.”

“I don’t know if I should go out in public like this. People might think you beat me.” It came out as a tease, but I was dead serious. It wasn’t the craziest notion in the world.

“I’ll just tell people you fell down the stairs.”

I stood with my feet planted firmly in the dirt next to Bear’s Harley. “Are you sure you don’t mind being seen with me?”

He rolled his eyes and put a helmet on me. “I promise I do not care what you look like. I am going to be showing you off to everyone that will listen to me.” After fastening the chin strap, Bear pecked my lips.

“Okay. That’s the end of it, I promise, but on our way home, can we stop and at least grab some makeup so I can cover this black eye that refuses to go away?”

“Yes, of course, sweetheart.”

Bear got onto his hog then helped me get on the back. I hadn’t ridden on the back of a motorcycle since I tried to teach Jasper how to ride when we were first dating. He was awful, and after two lessons, I refused to let him on my bike ever again. All his friends teased him for years, saying his girl was more of a man that he ever could be. I used to think they were just being jerks, but they were definitely right.

I hated that Bear didn’t even ask about what I had wanted to tell him, but I knew he was distracted by work and had no idea how big of an issue I had built the situation up to being in my head. I reminded myself that I would get another chance to talk with him about everything, but it kept gnawing at the back of my mind.

* * *

As Bear pulled into the parking lot of the shop, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. I slammed my eyes shut and buried my face deep down into Bear’s back, praying Jasper hadn’t seen me from the front seat of his car, which was parked out in front of the garage.

“Pull around the back,” I was finally able to scream to Bear.

“What?” he yelled back over his shoulder.

“For the love of all things holy, pull into the back of the building.” I screeched.

Thankfully, Bear was able to hear me and parked the bike behind the large building.

“What is going on?” He threw out the kickstand and twisted to look at me.

“J-Ja…” I stammered a few times. “Jasper is in the fucking parking lot. How did he find me?”

Bear pulled me off the back and into his lap with little effort. “Take a deep breath, darlin’. You have to breathe and tell me who the hell Jasper is.”

“He’s my husband.” My head fell onto Bear’s shoulder as I started to sob in his arms.

Bear whistled at an ear-piercing volume and within seconds, two men in cuts were running around the corner to our aid.

“Scarlett, which car is his?” Bear’s hands were gripping my shoulders as his eyes locked with mine.

“The blue sedan parked in the far corner,” I muttered.

“Are you positive it’s him?”

I nodded.

“He ran you off the road, didn’t he?” His words were sharp.

All I could do was nod some more as my sobbing took complete control over me.

“Scarlett, this is Knox. He is going to take you on my bike and get you out of here.”

I gripped at the sides of Bear’s cut. “You can’t.” I violently shook my head. I was in a full-blown panic attack.

“Do you trust me?”

I nodded.

“Scarlett, you have to say the words. Do you trust me?”

“I trust you, but you can’t leave me. He knows. He’ll find me. Please, Bear, you can’t let him find me.”

Bear wrapped me in his arms. I slammed my eyes shut, silently begging for this to all be a bad dream. I prayed to wake up on Bear’s couch with a silly movie on and a half-eaten pizza sitting on the coffee table.

“Knox, Brock, I need you two to keep him distracted while I get Scarlett out of here. I’m going to take her away for a couple of days. Get Jaxon back here no matter what the fuck he is doing. I want you guys to find out everything you can about Jasper and how he found us. I will be calling you in a few hours. Do you understand?”

Both men agreed right away, and that was that.