Bear: Chapter 8
I kept an eye on Ilara all afternoon. We were busy unloading her car and then finding places for stuff. She was still overwhelmed with the things I’d bought at the store. I knew she had been living with only the essentials and those were wearing out. I wanted her to have new stuff and to wear pretty things. I knew women put a lot of stock into that kind of thing. While I didn’t think she needed makeup or to dress in anything other than my t-shirt, I knew that wasn’t going to work. Hope had been so damn fun to pick out cute outfits for and then toys. I wanted her to be my princess, and a princess needed to be spoiled from time to time.
Tate helped me empty Ilara’s car. It still pissed me off when I thought about the two of them living in it. Anything could have happened to them and it almost had. I hadn’t asked her yet to tell me more about what went on last night. I was going to ask her tonight, after I asked her if she’d thought about what I told her about my background. God, I prayed that wouldn’t change her mind about giving us a chance to be together. I was hopeful it wouldn’t, seeing as she was letting me unload her stuff in my house.
I’d been proud as hell to have her on my arm today. People staring didn’t bother me, not even the woman in the store who remarked about my age. As long as it didn’t bother Ilara, they could go to hell. I did give more than one guy a warning look when I caught them looking at her with interest. She didn’t think she was beautiful, but she was. I could see it on the outside and inside.
I was checking the car one more time to be sure we’d gotten everything out of it. Tate cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable, which wasn’t like him. “What’s wrong, Tate? Something bothering you?”
He hesitated then answered me. “I don’t know how to say this. I don’t want you to get mad. I know you’re a member and I’m just a prospect.” He paused before continuing, “Why is this woman moving into your house? I heard the old ladies found her last night, and she was staying in her car. That sucks and all, but why move her here? Couldn’t she stay at Warriors’ Haven? It’s ready for people, isn’t it? Seems like this is a lot to ask of you, and I saw the bags of stuff you bought.”
I stared at him. At first, I wanted to blast his ass then I thought about it. I hadn’t talked to all the members or the prospects about her. Bull, Rebel, and Ajax, along with their women, knew what was going on. I’d been excused from church this morning to stay with her on her first morning here. I’d told Mitch, but he’d obviously not told anyone else.
“First of all, it’s not really any of your business, but I’ll answer this for you. This club helps people however they can. It’s true we have Warriors’ Haven and she could have gone there, but I didn’t want her to. You might as well know, I intend for her to be my old lady. It made no sense to move her into the Haven and then again here when I win her over. I cut out the middle move. Something terrible happened last night to her. We’d have helped anyone in that situation.”
“Shit, I don’t mean to make you mad. I hear you about helping people, I do. I just don’t see this being something that will turn out. How do you know she’s not just using you? You know, to get shit for her and her kid and to get into a nice house. You don’t know her. She could be conning you.”
“Why in the hell are you saying that? Tate, I’ve never heard you say a word about any of the other old ladies. Did you think they were trying to con my brothers?” I was at a loss to understand where this was coming from.
“No, I didn’t think that, but they all came with jobs and had their own places and lives. She’s someone who just appeared one day. She’s been living in her car. You look too good to be true. I just don’t want to see you hurt. What if she’s after your money and someone to take care of her and her daughter? She might use men.”
I was about to blast his ass when I heard a sound and then Ilara spoke up. My heart sank. “Tate, I’m not using Bear or anyone else here for anything. They insisted I stay and move into this house. I tried to make Bear not buy all this stuff. I’m not looking for someone to take care of me or my daughter. I was planning to leave Hunters Creek to find a job elsewhere before last night happened. I think it’s probably still a good idea. Sorry for all the unnecessary work.” She turned on her heel and walked back into the house. Her back was stiff and straight, her head held high.
I swung around to face Tate. He looked a little sick and a bit scared. Good. If he’d fucked this up for me with Ilara, I’d kill him. “You’d better pray she doesn’t fucking leave, Tate. Because if she does, I’ll kill you. I’ve gotta go in and make her understand. I don’t believe that shit you just spouted out your dumb ass. You stay the hell away from her. Don’t say a fucking thing about her or we’ll be having a talk you won’t like. Get out of my sight,” I growled at him.
“I’m sorry, Bear. I didn’t mean for her to hear that. I’ll leave.” He hurried back toward the clubhouse. I raced inside. She wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. I ran upstairs and down to what was now our bedroom. As I passed Hope’s room, I saw through the cracked door, she was taking a nap in her little bed. I kept going and walked into our bedroom to find Ilara was inside, putting stuff she’d already unpacked into bags or boxes, depending on whether they were new or old. I came up behind her and laid my hands on hers to stop her.
“Beloved, please, don’t do this. Tate didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. He was mouthing off about something he has no clue about. I was setting him straight. I don’t believe for a second you’re using me. Please, stop packing,” I pleaded with her. My heart was aching at the thought of her leaving. She stood still for a moment. That’s when I felt the tremors running through her body. I turned her around to find tears streaming down her face. I crushed her to me and kissed her hair. “God, baby, don’t cry. I can’t stand it.”
“I-I’m not using you. I wouldn’t do that. Don’t you think if I wanted, I could have let some man take care of us? There’ve been men who have offered. They wanted sex in exchange for shelter for us. I’m not a whore. I told you that. I think this was a mistake. If your club thinks that of me, I can’t live here. They’ll never accept me. I don’t want Hope exposed to what she might hear or how she’ll be treated. I’m going to leave Hunters Creek like I planned. It might take me until tomorrow to get everything ready. Is that okay if I stay one more night? I’ll stay in Hope’s room.”
I was gutted. I sank down on the floor, taking her with me. I held her on my lap and rocked her. I was still hugging her tightly to me. I couldn’t let go. She’d disappear. “Jesus Christ, don’t do this. Don’t leave me, Ilara. I’ll fucking be lost if you do. Tate is a dumbass. He doesn’t know shit, and he doesn’t speak for the club. I can promise you, no one will think that about you. I didn’t get a chance to tell them all about you this morning. I didn’t go to our weekly meeting this morning. Please, please stay.”
I knew she could see the pain in my eyes. I was close to crying like a pussy. A big bad biker was reduced to crying like a baby, because the woman he was pretty sure he was more than half in love with was going to leave him. There went my chance at a family and love. It would destroy me if she left.
She gazed at me for a minute without saying anything, then she sighed and kissed my lips softly. “Donovan, I don’t know. What if more of them think like him? I want to stay, more than you know. I want to see if we can be what you said. I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a man. You’re amazing with Hope, but I’m not looking for a daddy for her. I can raise her without one. That was my plan before I met you.”
“Baby, I know you can raise her on your own, but I don’t want you to. I want to help. I want her to call me daddy and be my princess, while you’re my queen. Tell me, is it just what Tate said or are you still upset about what you learned the club did years ago?”
“No, I thought about it and that doesn’t really bother me. It was a long time ago, and you didn’t do what I consider the unforgivable stuff. Maybe I should care, but I don’t. As long as you guys never do it again, I’m good. I hate the idea of people you’re close to thinking like Tate. They’ll never accept me if they think that.”
“They won’t. I know they won’t. Give me time to show you they don’t. Give me a week. Please.” I was grasping at anything I could think of to get her not to leave. I’d work my ass off to show her over the next week no one thought what Tate did. She sat on my lap for a minute then she gave me a tiny nod.
“Okay, I’ll give it a week, but I make no promises. I have to do what’s best for me and Hope. It’ll kill me to leave, but I will if it’s the best thing for us,” she warned me.
I nodded. I’d take it. “Deal. Since we’re getting all the heavy shit out of the way, can I ask you what exactly happened last night with those two men? I heard what the women said. They just told us they found two men who had a hold of you and they ran when they came. Can you tell me more or is it too soon?” I wanted to find out if there was anything I could use to identify them. If I found them, they wouldn’t be liking life for a while.
She huddled against me. I knew it had to bring back bad memories for her. I was about to tell her never mind when she softly answered, “I was late getting back to the car. Usually, we make sure to get there before dark. That way we’re inside before people are out. However, Hope was hungry, and I went to get her something more to eat. When we got back, there were two men walking up the alley. I kept my head down when they yelled at me. I tried to get us both in the car before they got to us. I wasn’t fast enough. I got Hope in before they grabbed me.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “They pressed me against the car and were trying to convince me that we could go somewhere and have fun. They said things about how I looked and what they wanted to do to me. They even said they’d give me money, since it looked like I needed it. One of them grabbed my breast. I tried to fight and get away, but it wasn’t possible when there were two of them. They were trying to feel me up and undo my clothes when Jessica and Madisen came running into the alley, screaming. It startled them and they took off. You know the rest.”
I was trying hard not to yell and hit something. They’d been going to rape her in front of her kid. She’d never have been able to recover if that had happened to her. I knew it would have destroyed something within her. I was so damn happy that Madisen and Jessica had gone back to the bakery last night and then heard the commotion. “I’m so damn sorry that happened. It shouldn’t but you know it does. Have you ever seen them around town? Can you tell me what they look like?”
“It was pretty dark, Donovan. One of them I thought looked familiar, but I have no idea where I might have seen them. I’ve been all over the place. They were both around six feet tall, I’d say. Built but not like you and maybe in their thirties. One had dark hair, cut short with facial hair. The other was a blond, who had no hair on his face. That’s it. I can’t think of anything else.”
“That’s alright. If you think of anything else, let me know. In the meantime, it’s been a long day. How about I order some food for dinner? We can relax, watch television, talk or whatever. Is Italian okay?”
“Okay, that sounds good. I love Italian. Lasagna if they have it. Hope should be waking up from her nap soon. Let me get this put back away and then I’ll get her up.”