Adrian’s teeth are sharp when he snarls. “We will, brother. Together.”
19
GOLDIE
Iscream into my gag, struggling to free myself from the restraints tying me to this chair. I’m in a basement, it’s dark and cold. But the worst thing is knowing I’m away from my bears and in Thomas’s clutches again.
Tears of anger and frustration well in my eyes.
How could this have happened?
We had just finished making love for the third—or was it fourth?—time. Marcus and Adrian were fast asleep, like, well, hibernating bears. They were lightly snoring, the sounds lulling me to sleep, when I felt Kieran untangle himself from the messy sprawl of our limbs. After that, I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I decided to follow him to the kitchen—maybe for a snack, maybe to turn him into a snack, maybe both. But halfway down the stairs, I heard two thuds and ran in without paying attention to my surroundings. Kieran was lying on the floor, unconscious, a man wearing form-fitting black, including a balaclava, standing over him.
Next thing I knew, there was a pinch at the back of my neck. I didn’t even have time to scream for Marcus and Adrian. Drugged, they hauled me out of my bears’ cottageand into a black SUV. I only had the strength to do one thing before I passed out: I spotted a phone on the backseat and let it fall to the ground as they were pushing me in. Hopefully it didn’t get run over. And hopefully, Kieran can use it to find me.
The goons bragged about how much the Westons were paying them to retrieve me. If they knew how lucky they were to not have been torn to shreds, they would’ve known it wasn’t enough.
The door creaks open, followed by thudding steps descending the basement stairs. I recognize Thomas’s swagger before I see his deceptively handsome face.
“Ah, you’re awake,” he says nonchalantly, his hands in his pants pockets.
And you’re an asshole, I think. But all I can do is glare at him.
“I know you must be so grateful that I saved you from those forest hermits,” he continues as he reaches for my gag. “I’ll give you the opportunity to tell me. Maybe you can use that mouth to show your appreciation in another way too.”
Chuckling at his lame joke, he undoes the knot. I smack my lips together as soon as the cloth leaves my mouth, trying to swallow, my throat dry and scratchy.
“Water,” I whisper hoarsely, keeping the vitriol to myself. For now.
“Ah, yes,” Thomas says. He uncaps the bottle on a dusty table next to me and tips the contents into my mouth. Water dribbles down my chin and onto my front, but I don’t care—I don’t remember ever being this thirsty.
“Where are my parents?” I ask once he takes the mostly empty bottle away. “What do they think about you tying me up in your basement?”
Thomas’s eyebrow pops up imperiously. “They’re not apprised of the situation. I believe they had an appointmentat the ranger’s office,” he chuckles ironically. “Too bad the chief ranger’s dead and can’t help them.”
Pins and needles suffuse my entire body, starting at the top of my head and traveling down to my toes. It can’t be true, it just can’t.
“W—what?” I stutter, gaping at him.
Weston crosses his arms, looking down at me. “Yeah. I can see the headlines already: Drug-addled hermits found dead in the woods.”
My lower lip trembles. The men who took me left immediately, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a second team.
“Don’t tell me you actually cared for these weirdoes?” Thomas mocks with a scoff. His upper lip curls. “It’s unnatural for three grown men to live together in the middle of nowhere.”
Wait… He saidmen. Thomas doesn’t know my guys are bears.
When I speak, my voice shakes with emotion. “How many of your brutes did you lose killing them?”
He tilts his head in confusion, those soulless eyes narrowing. “Why would I lose military-trained muscle on a bunch of redneck tree-huggers?”
I close my eyes as my shoulders lower with relief. No, he doesn’t know they’re bears. And there’s no way Thomas’s men would have gotten out unscathed if they clashed—it’s a miracle and an unfortunate chain of events they got through as well as they did already. If we hadn’t fucked each other into veritable comas, my bears would have been more alert.
But surely they’re awake by now? They must know I didn’t leave willingly…
I told them I love them. I never told anyone that before, not even my disinterested parents. And they said they love me too. They wouldn’t just leave me with the Westons, would they?
“Now, are you going to behave or share their fate?”
