Lost in Silence (The Lost Series Book 1)(28)

I look up to see Bear standing in front of us next. His eyes meet mine and I tense, nervous to see his reaction of her. Bear hasn’t been the same since our last mission. Hell, none of us have been but it was different for Bear. I know he isn’t a threat to anyone here but his cold demeanor can be off putting, especially to someone like Alice. She steps toward him, nothing cautious about her behavior. He sticks his hand out to greet her but his blank face makes her stops.

“Alice, this is Bear,” I say softly but she isn’t paying attention to me anymore. Her vibrant smile fades as she stares up at Bear. A few moments pass before she abruptly steps into him. Worried she might reach out and wrap her arms around him, I brace myself, ready to protect her if necessary. She doesn’t. She lifts her hand and gently places it on Bear’s face, she stills. Bear tenses under her touch but he makes no move to disconnect her. Their eyes rest on each other. Piercing one another.

The air in the room grows heavy with each passing second but their bodies are immune to it. Already in a position to protect her, I can do nothing but wait while the others stand wide eyed watching the pair. They’re in as much disbelief as I am. Bear drops his head and closes his eyes, leaning into her touch. He takes a deep shuddering breath, as she runs her thumb across his cheek.

A moment more before she drops her hand and steps back, a single tear falls down her face. Bear swiftly turns and walks out of the room. He exits the house through the kitchen and the sound of an engine roaring to life is all we hear before he drives away. Bear is gone.

Before any of us can react, Alice has wiped away her tear and is now standing in front of King with a new smile on her face. King returns her smile and thrusts his hand out to her.

“Kingston Cole,” he introduces himself before my brain and mouth connect. Leave it to King to recover faster than the rest of us. “The guys call me King.”

I release a nervous laugh, tucking her to my side once again. This night was a surprise for both of us and she handled it better than I imagined she would. She placed herself outside her comfort zone tonight. She stood in front of some of the toughest and most dangerous men I know, bringing the biggest one to a stillness I hadn’t see since before the accident and she did it all with a smile. Maybe she could come out the other side of what she’s gone through with only the scars to prove it happened after all. Tonight gave me hope for her.

“Thank you for meeting us,” King’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts and back into the moment. Alice was beaming and truthfully, so was I.



*****

Alice

When I first walked into the room and saw the group of huge men standing in wait I’m not going to lie, I wanted to run, to panic and to get the hell out of there as fast as I could. I would have too but Hudson reached over, grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I felt safe with him near, and really what did I have to fear of the men before me? I recognized the big brawny, intimidating lot standing across from me after a few moments. Even before he told me they were members of Hudson’s team. Their faces were older versions of the ones staring back at me earlier from the photo on his mantel.

I could tell Hudson was happy to see them but I also saw the caution in his eyes. The caution wasn’t for me, it was for them. He was warning them. My heart clenched, not used to being protected like this. I didn’t need him to worry about me. I wanted to be there. I wanted to meet these men. Yes, I was nervous but as they approached me, cautiously, something came over me and I embraced it.

Meeting them, one by one, helped whatever nerves I hadn’t been able to calm myself. And if I’m honest, I was in awe of each man as he stood before me. Their strength and honor shined bright and it helped they were easy on the eyes. It was like someone made a batch of hot guy cookies using a quarter cup of disturbingly sexy, a pinch of ‘is this real’ and a handful of ‘I need to change my panties’. Combined it all together and baked it at the hottest temperature possible. Still none of them affected me the way Hudson did.

The biggest of the group did something to me and not because he was devastatingly handsome, which he was. Looking at him, face to face, something about him felt kindred. I saw it in his eyes, an emotion he barely bothered to mask. It was something he carried everywhere with him. A punishment of sorts. Something I recognized easily because I too carried something like it with me. Bear, is what Hudson called him, didn’t feel worthy of this world and it broke my heart because I knew the self loathing he experienced.

I knew there were no words to comfort him and even if I could’ve given them to him, it wouldn’t have helped. Instead, I gave him what I could in the silence we shared. I let him see everything I’ve kept hidden, hoping he’ll see he wasn’t alone. I expected him to pull away from my touch but he didn’t. He let me in, he let me see the darkness swirling around him. It was strong and I knew it had something to do with his service and the men standing around him. They were all affected by it in some way, but Bear, his wound ran much deeper. And because of who I am, I took it and he walked away knowing he wasn’t alone anymore.