Chapter 2: The Message He Didn’t Want Me To See
The words on Bear’s phone blurred before my eyes.
Not because I couldn’t read them.
Because I was terrified of what they meant.
*Ava, if you’re reading this, you need to know the truth about why Derrick came after you…*
My fingers loosened around Bear’s hand.
For a few seconds, the diner disappeared.
The rain outside.
The nervous customers watching us.
The bikers standing silently nearby.
All of it faded.
There was only that sentence.
Why Derrick came after me.
I looked at Bear.
“What is that?””
His jaw tightened.
He didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me more than anything.
Derrick noticed too.
His face had changed completely. The confidence he walked in with was gone. He looked like someone who had just seen a door open to a room he thought was permanently locked.
“Where did you get that?”” Derrick demanded.
Bear slowly turned his phone away.
“Interesting question.””
Derrick stepped forward.
“Give me that phone.””
The room shifted.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
But everyone felt it.
A waitress stopped carrying a coffee pot.
The bikers straightened.
A man at the counter quietly put his newspaper down.
Bear didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
“No.””
One word.
Calm.
Heavy.
Derrick stared at him.
“You don’t know what you’re involved in.””
Bear’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Neither did she.””
The way he said it made my chest tighten.
Because he wasn’t talking about the message.
He was talking about me.
About the last two years of my life.
About every time Derrick convinced me something was my fault.
Every apology.
Every promise.
Every moment I questioned whether I was being dramatic.
I looked at Derrick.
“Why does he know something about you?””
Derrick’s face hardened.
“Ava, don’t listen to him.””
“That’s not an answer.””
His expression flickered.
A tiny crack.
But I saw it.
“You don’t understand.””
I laughed quietly.
The sound surprised even me.
Because it wasn’t a happy laugh.
It was the kind that came after someone had been pushed too far.
“You’re right, Derrick. I don’t understand.””
I stepped away from Bear.
My legs felt weak, but I forced myself to stand straight.
“I don’t understand why my ex-boyfriend knows a man with a tattoo he’s terrified of.””
Derrick looked around.
For the first time, he seemed aware that everyone was watching.
His voice dropped.
“Not here.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Actually, I think here is perfect.””
The old Ava would have whispered that.
The old Ava would have apologized afterward.
The old Ava would have tried to keep everyone comfortable.
But that woman had disappeared somewhere between Derrick grabbing my wrist last month and the moment I ran through that diner door.
Bear watched me carefully.
Not interfering.
Not taking control.
Just standing there.
Giving me space.
Derrick noticed.
And somehow that bothered him more.
“You trust him?”” he asked.
I looked at Bear.
A stranger.
A man whose last name I didn’t know.
A man whose past was clearly dangerous.
And somehow, I trusted him more than I trusted the person I had loved.
“I trust him more than I trust you.””
The silence afterward was brutal.
Derrick looked like I had slapped him.
Then his face twisted.
“You have no idea who he is.””
Bear’s expression remained unreadable.
“Neither do you.””
Derrick stopped.
Bear looked at the phone.
Then back at him.
“But you know enough to be scared.””
That landed.
Hard.
Derrick looked away.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Regret.
Not the fake kind.
Not the kind that came after he hurt me.
Real fear.
Real regret.
Like he knew something was about to come out.
Bear walked toward the counter.
“Can I get another coffee?””
The waitress blinked.
Almost confused.
After everything happening, he wanted coffee.
“Yes,” she said softly.
Bear nodded.
Then he looked at me.
“You should sit.””
“I’m fine.””
“You’re shaking.””
I looked down.
He was right.
My hands were trembling.
I hated that he noticed.
I hated that I couldn’t hide it.
Bear pulled out the booth seat for me.
“Sit, Ava.””
It wasn’t a command.
It was concern.
That made it harder.
I sat.
Derrick remained standing across from us.
Like he didn’t know whether to leave or fight.
Finally, he spoke.
“Who sent you that?””
Bear didn’t answer.
Derrick’s eyes moved toward me.
“It’s probably fake.””
“Why would someone fake a message to her?”” Bear asked.
“Because people manipulate.””
Bear gave a small nod.
“Funny.””
“What?””
“You saying that.””
Derrick’s face darkened.
“You think you know everything?””
“No.””
Bear picked up his coffee when the waitress placed it in front of him.
“I know enough.””
The words hung there.
Then Bear looked at me.
“I need to tell you something before you read the rest of that message.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
He took a slow breath.
“The tattoo you saw.””
I glanced at his forearm.
The black wolf wrapped around the broken chain.
“What about it?””
“It belonged to a group.””
My heart sank.
“What kind of group?””
Bear looked at Derrick.
Derrick immediately looked away.
“A group that helped women disappear from dangerous situations.””
I frowned.
“Disappear?””
“Not hide forever.””
Bear’s voice softened.
“Escape.””
The diner became strangely quiet.
I looked at Derrick.
“You knew about this?””
He didn’t respond.
“Derrick.””
His eyes met mine.
And the fear was back.
“Yes.””
The answer came so easily that it hurt.
“How?””
He swallowed.
“Because I used to know someone connected to them.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer.
Bear did.
“Marcus.””
The name again.
The same name Derrick whispered earlier.
I looked between them.
“Who is Marcus?””
Neither man spoke.
That was the moment I knew.
The truth was bigger than Derrick.
Bigger than our relationship.
Bigger than whatever argument had led me to run into this diner.
Bear reached for his phone.
“There’s more.””
He tapped the screen.
Another message appeared.
This one was longer.
I started reading.
*Ava, if Bear found you, that means Derrick made his move. I’m sorry you had to learn this way. The man you loved wasn’t just hiding anger. He was hiding what he did before he met you.*
My breath caught.
I looked up.
Derrick immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Bear didn’t move.
But his eyes stayed on Derrick.
The message continued.
*He didn’t meet you by accident.*
My entire body went cold.
I stopped reading.
I couldn’t.
I didn’t want to.
Because suddenly every memory felt different.
The first time Derrick saw me at the coffee shop.
The way he always seemed to know where I was.
The way he pushed me away from certain friends.
The way he hated when I asked about his past.
My voice barely worked.
“What does that mean?””
Derrick stepped forward.
“Ava, listen to me.””
“No.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t tell me to listen.””
“Ava—”
“Did you find me?””
His silence answered.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
Bear looked at Derrick.
“Tell her.””
Derrick’s fists tightened.
“You don’t know the whole story.””
“Then explain.””
Derrick looked at me.
And for the first time, he looked less like an angry man.
He looked like someone trapped.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I stared at him.
“Protect me from what?””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then his phone rang.
The sound cut through the diner.
Derrick looked at the screen.
And his face changed.
Not fear this time.
Panic.
Bear noticed.
“Who is it?””
Derrick didn’t answer.
The phone kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then Derrick slowly lifted his eyes toward me.
“It’s him.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
Derrick looked at Bear.
May you like
And whispered:
“Marcus.””
