Page 29 of Burdened Bonds

Renzo

It’sdark by the time she comes around and we’re deep in the heart of the forest, south of her home. The ground is hard and cold, the first breath of winter whispering in the night’s air. A fire crackles in front of her, the orange of the flames flickering over her face, keeping her warm.

I blow into my stiff fingers, watch as her eyelids slowly flicker open, excitement jumping in my veins. She’s more fun awake than asleep.

This time when she regains consciousness, it’s not like before. This time realization hits her brain almost immediately, and she snaps up, my leather jacket sliding off her shoulders.

“You fucker, you knocked me out!” Her brows pull low and wrinkling her forehead.

“You weren’t cooperating,” I tell her, rubbing my fingers together.

“And that’s how you operate, huh? Every time someone disagrees with you, you knock them out.”

“Nope,” I say, flicking dirt from under my fingernail. “I kill them.”

She jolts, then sits up straighter.

“So I’m lucky? Every timewedon’t agree on something, you’ll simply render me unconscious so you can get your own way?”

I shrug. Seems as good a plan to me as any other. But one I’m gathering she doesn’t like.

She throws my jacket down to the ground in irritation and peers around into the darkness.

“Where are we and where’s Pip?”

I point to my lap where her little pig is resting his head.

“Pip!” she snaps. The pig’s head jerks upward. “You can’t be serious?”

“He agrees with me. He doesn’t think it’s safe to return to Los Magicos.”

“He’s a pig,” she says, her bottom lip protruding slightly, begging me to come bite it. “And not a very smart one at that.”

“Huh,” I say, rubbing my knuckles against the little man’s head. “I might be wrong but I’m not sure that’s a very nice thing to say.”

She gapes at me, her mouth now hanging open. “You tried to kill me. Do you think that was very nice?”

“You tried to kill me back.”

“I was defending myself!” She rolls up onto her knees and jabs her finger my way. Is this foreplay? Because it’s turning me on. “Plus, you also just knocked me out without my permission. Do you thinkthatwas nice?”

I scratch my cheek and make a wild guess. “Err, no?”

“No, it was a complete dickhead move to make.”

“There are people out hunting for you. I don’t want them to hurt you,” I tell her for like the twentieth time. My little rabbit is smart. Smarter even than the pig. I don’t understand why she doesn’t get this.

“Youthinkthere are people hunting me. You don’t know that for sure.”

I huff, pick up one of the sticks I gathered for the fire and toss it into the flames, watching as they curl around the wood, engulfing and smothering it completely.

“Little rabbit,” I say, deciding it might be time for some truths, “I don’t think I’ve been the only one looking for you.”

She eyes me, fiddling with the zipper on my jacket that now lies by her feet. “You haven’t,” she agrees.

I push the pig from my lap. Hot fire licks through my body.

“Who else?” I ask. “Who else has been looking for you?” How close did they get? Did they lay hands on her? Did they hurt her?