Stepbrother Bear - Complete (6 page)

 
CHAPTER SIX

I picked up the fallen mike from the
floor and put it to my lips. Lara, perhaps having a premonition of what was
about to occur, made a motion to take it away from me.

But of course
I wouldn’t let her.

“Ladies and
Gentlemen,” I murmured into the microphone.

I looked back
to Aiden. Curious to see if he was going to try and stop me.

But there was
no move from him. No flicker of emotion at all.

“I want to
express my congratulations to the bride and groom for sticking together through
my mishaps today, which I humbly apologize for…”

Some mild
applause.

Lara seemed
to relax a little.

“No, really,
a lot of it is my fault,” I continued. “And you’re really going to hate me for
what I say next. But…”

Aiden’s neck
shifted upright and back. Standing his ground.

“Well, me and
Aiden just had sex,” I confessed.

After a brief
silence, there came a few short chuckles amongst the audience.

“I’m not even
kidding, we just fucked.”

This stirred
even more laughter.

I frowned
staring at them all. “I’m being serious. It’s true.”

Now at least
half of them were laughing. I couldn’t figure it out. Were they laughing
because they thought I was joking?

Or were they
laughing that I fucked my brother?

I looked back
to Lara. Her hands were at her hips.

Fuming.

“Thanks for
letting me share that with you.”

Okay, well,
now it really did sound like I was joking. I dropped the mike and walked
amongst the crowd whilst they clapped and cheered. I shouldn’t have been
surprised. It wasn’t like they had a record of exhibiting good taste.

I pushed open
the doors to the resort’s entrance just as Lara had retrieved the microphone.

“Well, I’m
sorry about that,” she mumbled. “Bianca certainly has an odd sense of humor…”

She believed
me.

I knew she
believed me.

The doors
shut behind me and then I was out in the parking lot again. I was free. No more
needing to think about this dreadful wedding. No more about Aiden. I’d drive
home and get everything I needed from my room and put it in my car. Then I’d
take off. I was done with this fucked up family and their lack of
understanding. Done.

“Hey, come
on,” a familiar voice said behind me. “Where are you going?”

I turned and
screamed in Aiden’s face.

He took a
step back, looking a bit stunned.

Then I
continued marching on to the car.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

I wasn’t going to fall for it.
Whatever tricks he was planning on showing me. I’d been fooled time after time
after time in quick succession. Because I’d wanted to believe in him. Because
he meant something to me.

Obviously, it
wasn’t true the other way around. Otherwise he wouldn’t have continued to
embarrass me like that. Just because he thought it was funny. I couldn’t say I
understood everything that was going on – especially not since I’d seen what
the government had done to him – but I didn’t want to know anymore. I didn’t
care. He’d gone too far.

Upon my
reaching the car, Aiden was still following me. He wouldn’t go away.

“Just give me
two minutes to explain myself,” he hollered at me. “You owe yourself an
explanation.”

I scoffed out
loud.

My hand went
for the car door, but he grabbed hold of it before I could.

“Let go,” I
grumbled.

Then he
shoved his body against mine against the car.

Now I was
really mad. I was going to freak the fuck out.

“Just
listen
to me,” he said. He grabbed a hold of my chin so I was forced to face him.

The lights in
the sky seem to hover around him like an aura.

“I’m here to
save your life,” he said.

“What?” I
spat back.

“What you
know is classified information,” Aiden continued. “They wanted to take you out.
And they were thinking about taking out everyone else here with you.”

“But why?”

“Because you
might have told them. Clearly you haven’t.”

“I don’t
believe you. Get off me.”

Instead of
getting off, Aiden’s pressure towards me intensified. He seemed angry now.

“You’re not listening,”
he said. “If you don’t go back in there and behave yourself, then the guys I’m
here with are going to make a phone call, and this place will be overrun. This
isn’t a game they’re playing. I had to convince them you could keep a secret.”

“No,” I said.
“No, I –”

“Wake the
fuck up, Bianca,” he scolded me. “This is serious. You think this is like
shaking up cans of soda and stupid whoopee cushions? You think this is all some
joke?”

“They said
you only slept with me … as some kind of bet or something. That it was –”

“You didn’t believe
it was real? Just because they said so?”

“Well, I
don’t really think I can –”

Aiden put his
hands around my cheeks and I couldn’t finish what I was saying, my whole body
trembling.

“Is this
real?” Aiden asked me.

Then he
kissed me.

And whether
or not I could tell the difference, I only knew one thing.

I wanted to
believe that it was.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Aiden was going to let it be my
choice. Before I opened my eyes, his body had stepped back from mine, and he
was no longer in front of me. I moved from my place against the car and saw he
was heading back to the resort. Not waiting for me. Not looking over his
shoulder to see what I was going to do.

I couldn’t
let it be that easy for him though. I couldn’t just let him kiss me and then
everything was okay. I couldn’t suddenly believe him now.

I wasn’t
sure. That was the truth. Of course, in our moment together, he seemed genuine.
He seemed real. But that was just like Aiden. To create a performance of some
type and then sucker me in under false pretense. And yet, even with him being
who he was, the gravity of what he’d said was so heavy. What was more
unbelievable? That there were a bunch of government agents closing in to stop
me from telling anyone Aiden could turn himself into a bear?

Or that he
set up a scheme with a couple of his wolf shifter pals to fuck his sister, just
to prove how much of a player he was?

Shit. I
wouldn’t put it past him.

But that look
in his eyes…

His hands to
my face … His lips to mine…

What if he
was telling the truth?

I knew it.
I’d always known it. I had to give him another chance.

I walked back
around the side of the car and headed in Aiden’s trail towards the resort. Only
now did he look back. As if he knew I would take the time to think about it.

There’s no
expression on his face. He was just standing there, one hand holding open the
door, looking back at me.

Thinking.

“Oh brother,”
I whispered.

He let the
door slide behind him and reenter the party.

I continued
walking.

Into what, I
did not know.

CHAPTER NINE

Be normal. Behave rationally.
Say nothing about the things you know…

From the
corner of the room Aiden shot me a glance, and then looked away, and went back
to his conversation. The lights had dimmed and Lara and Ryan were slow dancing
in the centre with others around. The music was soft, emotive and heartfelt. In
moments like these, we could believe all is forgiven.

I pulled out
an empty chair and sat down, the wedding couple disappearing under the shadows
of others. I plucked the wine bottle from the ice bucket in the centre of the
table and poured myself a glass. Drank it. And for a few minutes, nothing else
happened. Everybody was okay.

Then I heard
the sound of a chair scraping the ground behind me. A shuffling of feet.

“Bianca.”

I turned and
came face to face with the first soldier from earlier.

His face
still marked by the bruises Aiden had inflicted on him.

“Bianca, I
saw you talking with Aiden. I told you not to do that.”

“I won’t say
anything,” I said trying to reassure him. “No one needs to get hurt.”

He stared at
me whilst pressing his tongue to the bottom of his mouth. His lips parted and
his pointed teeth sparkled.

“You better
not say anything,” he murmured. “It will be bad for him if you do.”

My eyes
drifted out to where Aiden was.

His back
still facing me.

“I know,” I
said.

The solider
leaned forward. “You had better apologize to your sister once she’s finished
her dance. You better let her know that you were just talking crazy before.”

“I will,” I
said, glaring back at him. “There won’t be any more outbursts, I promise.”

“Good girl.”

He patted me
on the back and then stood up.

I saw him
signal to his comrade, and the pair began to make their way out to the
entrance. It appeared they were leaving.

Meanwhile the
lights had brightened and a more upbeat song was playing. Lara approached me,
with her husband lingering behind her.

“Who was
that?” she asked. “He’s not on the guest list.”

“One of
Aiden’s friends,” I said. “I think he’s leaving now.”

Lara nodded.
“Good.”

She turned
and I grabbed her wrist. “Wait a moment.”

“What?”

“Can you sit
down?”

Lara’s
eyebrows frowned with suspicion, but she relented. “Apologizing again?”

“Yeah,” I
said. “I don’t know why I said that stuff before.”

“Because it’s
true?”

“What? Of
course not. I couldn’t he’s –”

“I’m not
stupid,” she cut me off. “I know the truth when I hear it.”

“Well, it’s
not really what you –”

“He’s sick,
Bianca,” she said. “You always knew that. He doesn’t know right from wrong. I’m
disappointed, shocked, disgusted, I honestly don’t know how you could do it,
tonight of all nights.”

“It wasn’t
like what you’re thinking,” I said. “Not at all.”

Lara nodded.
“I still need time to process it, and I don’t want to think about it now. Do
you understand?”

“Look,” I
said leaning forward. “There are other things too. You … have no idea the types
of…”

I trailed
off.

Lara looked
like she was about to punch me in the face.

“What’s going
on here?” Ryan said, peering over her shoulder. “You were just kidding about
that stuff before right? With you and Aiden?”

“Yes,” I
said, nodding. “I’m really sorry.”

“I told you
it was a joke,” he said to Lara. “Now come on, let’s dance again.”

Lara pursed
her lips together and stood up.

“Go on,” I
said. “Enjoy what’s left of your night.”

“Same to
you,” Lara said tonelessly.

Then she and
Ryan walked back out to the floor.

I took
another drink from my glass.

I looked
around for Aiden but he was nowhere to be found.

CHAPTER TEN

The night wore on. I hadn’t seen
Aiden in half an hour, and wasn’t sure if he was still here. Lara had retired
from the dance floor to her table, surrounded by her bridesmaids chatting with
laughter. I had a feeling soon people would start leaving. It was getting kind
of late. I figured that it was time for me to go home also, but felt sad that I
wouldn’t be able to talk to Aiden beforehand. You know. Just to say goodbye.
Who knew how long it was going to be before I saw him again?

I spotted my
father at the bar and decided maybe I’d ask him.

“Why?” he
asked, looking up from the table. “I thought you guys –”

“Never mind,”
I muttered.

“Try the
men’s room,” someone else suggested.

“Uh … Okay…”

I walked
round and towards the passageway with the toilets, and went down the end to the
men’s.

I knocked
quietly on the door.

No answer. I
pushed the door open slightly and peered round the corner. It appeared to be
empty.

Then I heard
a voice.

“If we’re
going to do this thing, we need to do it now. I think Aiden’s still here, but
he could be gone any minute … They’re keeping him … Did you tell them about it?
Or are we taking them out too? Okay. Right. I’ll start the countdown. Do you
have people watching from your end? No one can get out of here alive…”

I let the
door swing to a close and took a few steps back.

Heart rate
falling. Panic rising.

I felt numb.

The door
suddenly opened and I turned away quickly walking in the other direction.

“Bianca,” the
male called behind me. “What are you doing?”

I turned.

It was Lara’s
newlywed husband.

Ryan.