Brash Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 3) (9 page)

Bella bit back a smile and
focused on Harlan. The guy was delusional if he thought she was
going to just hand him the ring. She owed him nothing.

But Harlan always had a
skewed sense of reality, didn't he? He thought the world owed him a
living, and he thought he was better than everyone else, so much
better that he didn't have to work for what he wanted.

“Give me the fucking
ring, Bella! I need it to settle some debts,” Harlan yelled.

Bella almost rolled her eyes.
He was always in debt, always living beyond his means. Nothing had
changed. “Harlan, there is nothing here for you,” Bella
said evenly. “You...”

“Bullshit!”
Harlan yelled. “Don't lie, Bella. I saw you hand the ring to
her.”

“You saw…?”
Her eyes widened. “You've been...watching me?” She
finally focused on what he was saying and she tasted bile at the back
of her throat. She had come to Shadow Point to get away from her ex
and her old life. But her past couldn't seem to leave her alone.
Just how long had he been stalking her?

As if he could read her
thoughts, Harlan laughed. “Yeah, I know you have a new man
now. You're screwing your contractor. Fucking the hired help, are
we, Bella?” he sneered. “Just how much are you paying
the guy to nail you?”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

Bella balled her fist to stop
herself from rushing forward and giving him a stinging slap across
the face. He was goading her, trying to get a rise out of her.

No, she wasn't wasting her
emotions on him. She wasn't going to get mad. He couldn't hurt her
anymore.

“Get her to talk,”
Harlan said, moving the knife down to Celia's neck. “The bitch
won't say where she hid the ring. Get her to talk, or I'll slit her
throat.”

“That won't be
necessary,” Bella said coolly. “I know where the ring
is.”

When Harlan narrowed his eyes
at her, she pointed at the shoe box beside the cupboard. “It's
in there.” It wasn't of course. Bella had no idea where her
clever neighbor had hidden it. She just knew that Celia would keep
it absolutely safe for her.

Celia opened her eyes and
blinked in confusion. Bella managed to give her a quick, assuring
nod.

Don't worry. I know what
I'm doing.

Celia nodded back and held
her breath as Harlan pounced on the shoe box.

Quick as lightning, Bella
barreled forward and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table. With
all her might, she raised the lamp and smashed it over the back of
Harlan's head.

The lamp shattered and glass
and metal pieces rained down on Harlan's back. He bellowed in pain
and shock, and stumbled back clutching his head in both hands.

“You bitch!” he
screeched. “You...fucking...bitch!”

He stood up and swayed on his
feet. There was a trickle of blood from the side of his head, and he
pressed his hand to his temple and cringed. Staring at his bloody
hand, Harlan made a sound of disbelief and anger.

He lunged for her and Bella
twisted away just in time. His knife sliced through the air and he
crashed into the wall. Cursing viciously, he whirled round and
screamed, “Where is the fucking ring, Bella? Just give it to
me, you bitch!”

“No.”

That simple, straightforward
answer stopped Harlan in his tracks.

“What did you say?”

“I said no,”
Bella repeated. “You are not getting anything from me, Harlan.
If you want something, earn it.” She sighed and added, “Grow
up, Harlan. It's high time you grew up.”

Harlan blinked at her. His
eyes seemed to clear for an instant before his features contorted in
rage. He was furious because she was right, and she had shamed him.
How dare she!

Roaring, he charged at her
with the knife. Bella gasped at the crazed, murderous look in his
eyes. He wasn't just a thieving bastard. He was completely
unhinged. Why hadn't she realized how unstable he was when she was
married to him?

Bella screamed when his knife
narrowly missed her by inches. She ran to the door, but he was
faster. Kicking the door shut, he yanked her back by the hair and
pressed the knife to her throat.

“Are you going to say
no to me now?” he hissed.

She closed her eyes briefly
and clenched her fists. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she
slammed her head back forcefully.

There was a sharp, satisfying
crack and Harlan released her abruptly.

Bella fell forward and she
scrambled away in a blind panic. Turning around, she saw Harlan
clutching his broken nose and howling. Blood spurted from his
crooked nose and he was screaming in pain.

Standing up, Bella faced him
and panted, “That's right, Harlan. My answer to you will
always be no.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

The crew was just packing up
at the work site when Josh dropped the box of tools he had been
carrying on Damien's steel-capped work boots and ran straight for his
car. Damien let out a string of colorful, inventive curses as he
hopped up and down on the spot. But Josh didn't have time to explain
anything to his brothers and work mates. He just knew he had to get
to Bella right away.

He pulled up in front of
Bella's house with a screech of tires. Leaving the engine running,
Josh bolted from his car and ran straight to Celia's house. He knew
exactly where his mate was, and he could feel her burning anger like
a lightning bolt. Her anger called to his bear, and his beast had
reared up in answer.

The door of Celia's house was
ajar. He knew the layout of her house well. His crew had remodeled
her kitchen and bedroom just a few months back.

Josh followed his mate's
scent and rushed to the bedroom. A man was waving a knife at Bella,
scowling and swearing as he covered his dripping nose with one hand.

His bear roared at the sight
of someone threatening his mate. Joshua slammed into the guy and
felled the bastard with surprising ease. The guy didn't seem too
steady on his feet, and he screamed and kicked like a girl.

Josh twisted the man's wrist
and made him drop the knife. He pulled his fist back to punch the
daylights out of the piece of shit and the man screamed again. The
coward actually screamed and tried to shield his face instead of
fighting back.

What a wuss.

Josh snarled and socked the
man in the jaw. His claws sliced out and he was about to stab into
the bastard's chest when Bella held his forearm and stopped him.

“Don't kill him.”

Joshua shook his head, trying
to clear the red haze from his eyes. “Why not,” he
growled. His bear wanted to take the enemy out once and for all.
Just kill the scumbag and be done with it.

“He deserves to be in
jail. Not in the ground,” Bella said softly.

Joshua whipped his head
round. “Who is he? He hurt you, didn't he?” His eyes
were still feral, glowing with the rage of his beast.

“He's my ex-husband,
Harlan,” Bella answered. “No, he didn't hurt me. He can
never hurt me again.”

Josh heard familiar footsteps
running through the front door. His twin came bursting into the
room, his eyes wide and anxious. When Jax saw Josh on the ground
with Harlan, Jax growled and unsheathed his claws.

“I'll finish him off,”
Jax snarled.

Josh shook his head at his
brother. “We're taking this one alive.”

“Why,” Jax
snapped, glaring at Harlan.

Josh turned to look at his
twin. He and Jax shared a connection that couldn't be explained,
couldn't be broken. They could understand each other without words,
and knew what the other was feeling. And they always had each
other's backs. As boys, they usually shrugged off a blow that was
aimed at themselves. But they would fly into a terrible rage and get
into a violent brawl if someone hurt their twin.

Jax was outraged on his
behalf, and he had rushed after him without question. His brother
would kill for him, just so that Bella wouldn't have to watch her
mate kill her ex-husband.

“He might be scum, but
he doesn't deserve to die,” Josh said with deceptive calm.

Jax scowled. “But he
hurt her. And her.” Her jerked his head at Bella and Celia.

“And he'll pay—just
not with his life.” Josh worked hard to reign in his predatory
instinct and blood lust. “Call the Sheriff,” Josh
instructed his brother. “Winston Knight and his deputies won't
go soft on scum who prey on defenseless, elderly ladies. Don't
worry. He'll be put away for a long time.”

Jax grumbled under his breath
but pulled out his phone. He glanced at Bella and huffed, “You
okay?”

“Yes.” Bella had
managed to untie Celia and was helping the lady stand up. She gave
Celia a hug and whispered, “I am so, so sorry, Celia. I should
have taken the ring back at once. This wouldn't have happened if...”

Celia patted her shoulder.
“I'm okay, aren't I? And I wasn't really afraid. I was just
playing along. I pretended to be so shell-shocked that I was
speechless. I just babbled nonsense, but I'd never tell him where I
hid your ring. Hmph!”

Celia turned to Harlan, who
was pinned to the floor by Josh's boot. “You don't intimidate
me, punk. When I was a teacher, I taught in a really rough
neighborhood. My students thought they were real badasses, until
they met me. I made them sit up and shape up. I still receive cards
and flowers from some of them on Teachers' Day,” she smirked.

The sound of a police siren
cut through the air. Josh came to Bella's side and put his arms
around her shoulder as the Sheriff and his deputies handcuffed Harlan
and hauled him away.

“We'll like to take
your statement,” a deputy told Bella gently. “I
understand you're shaken, so any time you're ready...”

Bella didn't hesitate. “I
am ready.”

She was ready to close this
chapter. This was the last of her past. Hopefully Harlan would turn
over a new leaf after serving time. But what he did with his life
wasn't her concern.

She didn't want to see him
again, but she didn't want revenge either.

She had a wonderful life
ahead of her, and she didn't want to waste a minute of it.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT

Bella came out of the kitchen
holding the huge apple pie aloft and asked, “Who wants
dessert?”

All hands shot up. “Me!”

Jax jumped up. “I'll
get the ice-cream,” he volunteered.

“I want to get the
ice-cream, Daddy,” Ashley protested.

“Okay, princess, you
get it,” Jax chuckled.

Ashley grinned and pulled out
two tubs from the freezer. Bella gave the girl a smile as she came
marching out with her favorite flavors. Ashley knew every corner of
her place and where she kept everything. Josh's family came over for
dinner almost every weekend. Josh always went next door and invited
Celia to join them. And he wouldn't take no for an answer. Celia
was family too, as far as they were concerned.

Bella and Josh had discussed
if she should move to the big house he shared with his brothers, or
if he should move in with her. In the end, Josh decided that they
should stay in her house. “I've done so much work on it. We
should enjoy it. It'd be a pity to rent it out,” he said,
surveying his handiwork with pride.

He had certainly transformed
her shabby little house into a beautiful home. He'd built new
cabinets, repainted the whole place and replaced the flooring. He
spent almost all his free time doing up her house and was at her
place so often that when he wasn't around, the house actually felt
too big and empty without him. So they had taken the logical step
and moved in together.

Bella loved living with Josh.
They knew each other's habits and quirks, and they didn't try to
change each other. She'd made many friends in Shadow Point but she
was just naturally quiet and introverted. She was comfortable with
Josh's family, but she was still a little nervous when his work mates
came over. But she was getting to know some of the guys quite well.
And Nick wasn't just a good friend. He had become almost like a big
brother to her as well.

As Ashley scooped the
ice-cream onto the warm slices of apple pie, Josh and Celia handed
out the plates. They always had apple pie for dessert when the
family came over. It had become almost like a tradition.

Bella passed her hand
protectively over her belly and chewed her lip. She had just done a
home pregnancy test this afternoon, but she hadn't yet told Josh the
news.

As everyone was tucking into
their dessert, Josh stood up and cleared his throat. Marcus and Jax
looked up at him with knowing smiles, and they put down their forks
and sat up straighter in anticipation. Jax rubbed his hands with
glee and leaned forward.

Josh went to Bella and pulled
out a dainty, velvet box. Then he got down on one knee and sucked in
a breath.