Page 41 of Claiming Ours (Anchor Bay #2)

“Mouthy, my ass. The asshole spewed vile shit about this group. Hell, I could almost taste his disdain.” Memphis huffed and reached into his jeans pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

He lit the end and took a deep inhale. “But I think it was more about Baylee calling me a friend, and me intervening, than his resentment for you guys.”

“How do you mean?” Brandon asked, joining the conversation. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dax jogging our way.

“Just a feeling that he’s interested in her. He mentioned her ‘being smarter’ or something similar. Makes me think he sees her as an equal to himself, maybe the only equal in town.”

“Huh,” Amy said. “You know, now that you say it, I can totally see that asshole thinking he’s better than everyone because of his fucking degree.”

“Hey,” Dax said, slightly out of breath as he paused in the middle of the group. “Finley and I just got back from flying over Caper to assess the damage. The main road to their settlement is completely gone from the landslide.”

“What?” This was the first I’d heard of any issues from the storms.

“We received a call on the emergency line this morning while you were out,” Carl clarified. “They need supplies, which we can air-drop, but they also said the slide damaged the homes, and their animals were caught up in it too.”

Baylee stood so fast, the swing rocked backward from the force. She came to stand at my side, fully engrossed in the conversation at the mention of injured animals.

“From what we could see, the main road and even the ATV trails are all impassible, which means there’s no way for us to get someone in there to assess the damage except on foot.

I can’t land the floatplane. The helicopter would’ve been our best bet, but it’s out of commission.

” Dax’s gritty tone spoke to how frustrated he was.

“And I have to get back to Anchorage,” Langston added, rubbing at his beard. “I can’t go as the medic.”

Memphis raised the hand holding the cigarette. “I’d be happy to help where I can.”

“I want to go too,” Baylee added with a determined nod.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good?—”

“There could be injured animals, Liam. I’m going.”

I pursed my lips, wishing like hell I could smack her ass for that sassy tone even though she was right. I just didn’t fucking like it.

“We can take the horses,” I sighed. “They’re our best way into Caper if everything else is blocked, and it’s quicker than going on foot. Dax and Finley can air-drop supplies like water and nonperishable food. We three will assess the damage from the ground and render aid however needed.”

Brandon eyed me as he contemplated my plan.

It was a solid one, even if it would take over a day to get there on horseback.

Caper was a tiny, multigenerational compound of sorts, a grouping of houses all owned and occupied by the Leech family.

It was rustic as hell, but the Leeches had always lived off-grid and wanted to stay.

The fact that they’d reached out to us for anything was a testament to how bad the situation was.

“I don’t know,” Brandon said, taking out his phone and coming to stand at my side.

He pulled up a satellite view of the area.

“It’s rough as hell out there, but there might be some animal trails you could ride along.

” At that, he gave Memphis a skeptical glance. “Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

Pink stained Memphis’s cheeks. Clearing his throat, he responded with a reluctant nod. “Once or twice. There were horses at the rehab facility.”

I pointed at the marked trailhead for the Soul Trail.

“We could start there, then veer off a few miles in. There’s a big drop-off somewhere around here, but I’m sure we could find a way around it.

” My gaze went to Baylee at the mention of the Soul Trail, stomach sinking, knowing it was where all those women had gone missing.

“If we leave soon, we can get several miles in before having to camp for the night. We would get to Caper early tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan.”

“There are a lot of risks.”

I clapped Brandon on the shoulder. “There always are in these types of rescue assignments. You know that better than anyone. But we still help anyone who needs it, hence the ‘adventure and rescue’ part of the company you three started.”

“He’s not wrong,” Amy chimed in. “We’ll make sure they have satellite phones, since there’s no way in hell their personal cells will work out there, plus enough supplies to get them through several days in case things don’t go as planned.

” At Amy’s comment about no cell service Baylee deflated, almost seeming relieved.

Odd. “We have to send someone, babe. They called us for help. You know how hard that had to have been for old man Leech.”

Brandon’s resigned sigh was all the approval I needed.

“Carl, bring three sat phones to the barn.” He nodded, turned on his heel, and started toward the main office where we kept the equipment and had our weekly meetings.

“Baylee, get your personal bag and kit packed for what you’ll need to treat the wounded animals, but remember, we’re on horseback.

Lang, take Memphis to your place and help him pack up your medic bag.

I’ll run to the general store with Amy to grab some jerky and other nonperishable food items that aren’t heavy or bulky. ”

With a loud clap to get us all in motion, I gestured for Amy to head down the stairs first. Before Baylee could follow her, I wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her back against me.

“I don’t like you being in danger,” I said into her ear.

“I won’t be. You and Memphis will keep me safe.” She turned her head to brush her lips against mine. “I trust you, Liam.”

After one more quick kiss, she shimmied out of my hold. I sighed, watching her perfect ass as she walked toward the barn. Running a hand over my head, I started after Amy.

“If anything happens to her,” she said when I caught up, “I will cut off your balls and serve them to you as grilled hors d’oeuvres.” The smile she shot me made me blanch. Fuck, she was scary. “Also, have so much fun and be safe, okay?”

I could only nod in response, because what else could you say to a remark like that?

Though Amy didn’t have to worry about her friend.

I’d protect Baylee with my life. And after earlier with Memphis and Langston, it seemed I felt the same way about the recent addition to our community.

That made the unexpected add-on to my relationship with Baylee way fucking easier than I ever expected sharing her could be.

Baylee trusted and wanted Memphis, and I trusted him to take care of her and keep her safe.

Now all we had to do was make it official. Me, Baylee, and Memphis. Plus Elvis, too, I guess.

Something deep inside me settled at that thought, like everything was finally falling into place.

But like Baylee, I’d had my expected future yanked away and shit on, so it would be hard to trust that this wasn’t fake or short-term.

I just had to trust them… which for someone with my past was a big fucking ask.

But for her—for them—I’d sure as hell try.