Chapter Five.
“Trust me,” Bear said as I looked at him in suspicion as Bear pointed to a path between a thicket of close-growing trees. A great place to hide my body.
“Trust is something you and I don’t share, Bear,” I retorted with acerbity. Bear nodded in agreement.
“No, we don’t, so I’m going to share my shit first, woman. Thalia, we need to get along, or Clio will be fuckin’ miserable, and that will be our problem. Ain’t gonna stand for that shit,” Bear said and strode off down the path. Worried, I stared at Bear for several long moments before trudging after him. If the man wanted to kill me, I’d make shit very hard for Bear.
“We’re guaranteed privacy here,” Bear said. As I approached, Bear sat with thick tree trunk legs splayed open.
“For my death?”
“Possibly,” Bear sniggered, and I offered a blank stare. Bear’s sense of humour was showing, which made him likeable. And I didn’t want Bear to be pleasant, I wanted Bear to be very hateful, so I could keep disliking him. An amiable Bear was quite attractive, and I didn’t want to be attracted to him. Not in the slightest.
“Thalia, we need to earn each other’s trust, so I’ll go first. The brothers suffered this, but we don’t talk; it’s far too painful,” Bear said. Bear’s voice trailed off, and he gazed into the distance at something I couldn’t see. Pain twisted Bear’s face, and my heart felt heavy. Bear was about to reveal something harrowing.
“Bear. There’s no need!” I said instinctively, wanting to ease the pain. Bear shook his head.
“Trust has to be earned. Thalia, I had a baby sister. Ellie was everything I wasn’t, and she was murdered years ago by an asshole Chance kicked out of the MC. Chance and I put the asshole behind bars, and he got free and came looking for revenge. He discovered Ellie and took and killed her. Bastard kept Hellfire running in circles for three weeks as we danced to his tune.
Hellfire was clean for five years, and this cunt was forcefully leading Hellfire back to the darkness. But we’d have done anything to find Ellie. Hellfire was running around doing what the asshole wanted so we could get Ellie back. Instead, he’d already killed her. We found her body,” Bear said, and I stared, horrified. There was no emotion in Bear’s voice, which spoke volumes.
Ellie’s death still hurt. Although it wasn’t his fault, Bear blamed himself. The story was awful, and I’m sure Bear wasn’t telling me everything. A man like Bear wouldn’t spill his guts. In Bear’s eyes, I saw a very recognisable pain and knew Bear would suffer for Ellie’s death for the rest of his life. No matter how many lives he saved, Bear could never make up for not saving Ellie’s, the most precious person in his world.
“How long ago?” I whispered.
“Ten years a few weeks ago. Ellie’s death hurt every brother Hellfire had. Levi designed a memorial tattoo, every brother in Hellfire who knew Ellie had it tattooed above our hearts. Ellie was the last innocent victim Hellfire allowed,” Bear said, his gaze on the distant clouds.
“What did Hellfire do to the murderer?” Bear swallowed hard and leant forward, his elbows on his knees.
“Before you ask that question, decide if you want the true answer, Thalia. Hellfire may be clean and legal now, but Hellfire still has a dark side. That won’t disappear in my generation,” Bear said seriously.
“Tell me,” I demanded without hesitation.
“Chance and I cut him up alive, and one piece at a time. A foot, then a hand, you can understand the rest. Thalia, the asshole paid for Ellie a thousand times,” Bear said heavily.
“Good,” I said vindictively. Bear looked startled.
“Damn, you mean that.”
“Yes, I damn well do. And I hope whatever Hellfire did, he suffered and hurt for a long time before ending his life. Do you have a picture of Ellie?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Bear said and pulled out his wallet and flipped it open. He pulled out a picture and handed it to me. I stared at the face of a young girl in her early teens and gasped. I hadn’t realised Bear meant she’d been a child. Long straight blond hair hung down her shoulders, and blue eyes gazed at me. She was laughing, and her inner light showed. Ellie was beautiful, and my heart broke as I imagined her fear. Tears welled again as I stared at Bear’s sister and prayed she’d not suffered.
“Bear, she’s beautiful, so beautiful. You must have been so proud of her,” I said.
“We loved her, and she loved us.”
“I don’t have dark like that, but I have a shameful secret,” I said, and it was my turn to gaze away. Bear sat quietly, offering silent encouragement.
“When my parents died, I danced on their grave. Literally danced on their grave. I snuck into the cemetery and found the grave, and danced on it. They’d rejected me my entire life, and that hurt so much. Now, of course, I know why they did, but that doesn’t bring understanding. Instead, I wish they were here so I could tell them how hateful and nasty they were.”
“That’s dark enough, babe,” Bear said, nodding.
“Well, you often hear the saying, dance on your grave, well I took it literally. Despite them ignoring me, I’m still here and successful in my own right. Of course, Grandmother and Papa hugely helped, but I got myself here at the end of the day. I could easily have been another useless socialite, full of air and piss and not useful to society. But Bear, that was something I wasn’t. I believed in a strong and moral work ethic. I have helped loads of kids get careers that are quirky and unusual. And they love their jobs, kids don’t want boring jobs, and those kids who are in trouble want something to aim for,” I said passionately. Bear studied me intently.
“You care about them,” Bear said with wonder in his voice.
“Yes, I honestly do.”