Fergus - An Irish Mafia Shifter (Boston Bear Brothers 1)

“Yes. You did that, but you had a reason, and you didn’t hurt me, not seriously.”

“I’m sorry for that. You’ll be able to go home soon or wherever it is you plan to go when you leave here.”

“What about you? What’s your family trauma?”

“I’m a bear shifter in a human world. I was forced out of my homeland by rivals hellbent on killing my family and me. Nothing big.”

“Right,” she laughed.

“It’s just life, Eimear. We make choices to let it define us, turn us into victims, or we overcome it and make our own path. I’m no one’s victim. Are you?”

“Well, I’m your victim,” she said, smiling at him playfully.

“Nah. You might be my captive, but you are no victim. You weren’t scared of me, and you climbed through thorns in an attempt to escape. Pretty brassy.”

“I was scared of your bear.”

“No need for you to be. I’d never hurt you, not as a bear or as a man,” he said softly, surprising even himself with the feeling that came across in that statement. He quickly changed the subject, “Come on, let’s get out of here before we turn into prunes.”

She stepped out to dry off while he rinsed the rest of the suds away, waiting until she had moved back into the bedroom to climb out and dry himself off. He walked into her room behind her, admiring her body as she let the towel slip to the floor and began to get dressed.

“If it’s going to be a while longer, I’m going to need more clothes or a laundromat.”

“There’s a laundry room in the basement,” he told her. “I’ll take you down there and show you.”

“There’s a basement?” she asked, cocking her head to one side curiously.

“Yeah, it’s a little weird. The house has been here for a while, and the entrance is outside. You’d have probably noticed it yesterday when you pounded down the trellis if you weren’t in such a hurry to go for a swim.”

She chuckled at this and continued to get dressed. He walked out and went into his own room, not bothering to lock her in when he left. She could run, but after yesterday, he really didn’t think she would. A part of him would like to believe it was more than just a fear of his bear that was keeping her here, but he didn’t have time to really give much credence to any thoughts that he might somehow keep her beyond the purpose he’d set out to achieve.CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOEimear

When she’d first found herself at the mercy of the Irish Mafia, Eimear had been afraid. Somewhere down deep, she was still afraid. The past few days with Fergus were a huge change from when he’d first brought her here. He was like a different person to her now. Instead of viewing him as a ruthless mafia thug, she could see him as a person, someone she could care about. She wasn’t sure that she didn’t already, but it might just be some sort of weird captive reaction like Stockholm Syndrome.

There was no reason to make more of it than what it was. She was stuck here with him, though he’d given up on locking her in or tying her up. He’d given her carte blanche to wander the grounds alone, though she’d noted that he was still very reluctant to allow her in his room. The one time she had popped inside the door, he had hurriedly closed the laptop on the table there. She’d not thought much of it. He was bound to have business that it was best she not know about, and she was good with that.

It was odd that she was still incredibly bothered by the fact that Ciaron had hidden his criminal ties from her but was so accepting of what she continued to learn about Fergus. The difference was that Fergus was honest about who he was, what he did, and why. Plus, he excited her in a way that Ciaron had never done. If she were being honest with herself, she had to admit that she’d been bored with Ciaron for a long while, but she’d just felt too invested to see it for what it really was.

How close had she come to being nothing more than a trophy wife to trot around on his arm. He’d hidden his infidelities so well. She’d never had the slightest inkling that anything was going on behind her back. She’d never considered that the reason he’d been so secretive about his business was because he was really just a low-life criminal and pimp in fancy clothes. No wonder she’d had to be escorted everywhere she went. How blind she had been to it all, but now she could see it so clearly.

“You look lost in thought,” Fergus said, taking a seat beside her by the lake.