Page 14

In my peripherals, I see Eden shoot to her feet. She yanks Jasper’s 9-millimeter from his waist and levels it on the Reapers, set and cold and furious . Her hands shake a little.

She’s remembered to switch the safety off this time, though.

My pulse trips over itself at the sight of her. She’s back. She’s safe.

Sure, she’s also a filthy, murderous mess, but fuck if it doesn’t make me want to pick a fight with her first.

Miss Manners ain’t playing nice today.

“Eden,” Jasper hisses, like she isn’t mostly protected behind the oak Beau was swinging his dick on earlier. I debate shooting him just to stop him drawing attention to her.

Lucky keeps his trap shut for once and covers her exposed side.

I dart a look at the Reapers to see if they’ve clocked her, but they’re still focused on the doc and Jennifer.

Idiots. They aren’t armed.

Eden is the threat.

Sara cuts out of the trees behind Beau, circling wide, her gun drawn, and her movements smooth and confident. While the Reapers snap around to track her, Katherine leans around a tree behind them, her rifle trained on their backs.

Jo skids in to crouch a short distance away, and Ida and Ethel close in with their bows drawn a moment later.

It’s too much movement, too much danger all at once, and everyone’s too armed. This is how shit goes south fast—I don’t know what the fuck Beau was thinking, jumping out like that.

I ready to swing my rifle around, waiting for these assholes to explode, to react .

And they do.

. . . Like idiots.

All four of them drop their weapons, their eyes widening like they’re staring down a unicorn’s asshole and not a bouquet of Berettas.

The sweaty, bearded one with the “full-time charmer” cap pulls it off his head. It crumples between his hands.

“Well, I’ll be,” he breathes, his eyes shining.

The porn-corn hat guy turns to stare at Katherine, then he slaps his friend’s shoulder. “Oh my word. Look, Buck, there’s another one. They’re everywhere!”

“I see her, Pete!” Something close to awe dawns on Buck’s face, and he wrings his “full-time charmer” cap. “They’re all so pretty. I never thought they’d be so pretty.”

Eden gives him a sharp look.

Their weapons are on the ground; they’re not even trying to defend themselves.

I look around at the civilians—lethal, armed to the teeth—and down at myself, who they were ready to beat to a pulp. I don’t get it.

Even Sawyer’s punchable smirk has been traded for puppy eyes. They fix on Jennifer’s pain-drenched face as Beau storms toward the group.

“Oh, shoot. Miss Ma’am, are you okay?” Sawyer asks anxiously.

The pretty one, Cole, darts a look at his friends, then snatches his cap off too.

His hair is in the kind of mess that chicks always lose brain cells over, and he runs his fingers through it.

For some stupid reason, he throws Sara some shy smile, like she’s not about to light up his brain matter like a busted lava lamp.

Even stupider, her rifle dips away from him. Like it worked .

Everyone’s losing their damn minds.

“No, she’s not okay,” Beau snaps as he approaches. He looks over my shoulder at Dom. “I need to get her back to Bristlebrook. I’m in the red on supplies. I can’t do shit out here.”

My mood instantly fouls as he ignores me. Not like it’s any surprise he’s not taking my lead. He was always going to side with his bunker buddy.

Beau used to send anyone who questioned the captain’s authority off for a prostate exam with the ice-fingered old dinosaur on base, Doctor Grimblefode—he was invasive, had the grip of a car compactor, and the twisted technique of a torque wrench.

I shudder.

Fucking Beau.

Fucking Grimblefode.

That old asshole might have had his hands on my jewels too many fucking times, but he isn’t here now, thank fuck... and Dom isn’t taking over this time.

He looks at me.

“What do you want to do?” He meets my eye, the same way he did when I rolled on up to the regiment, and adds, “ King ?”

I glare at him under the ridge of my brows—more out of habit because he says my name with none of the old mockery the shitbags used to fire it off with.

He’s . . . calm.

What the hell is his game here? Since when does he take a back seat?

“This is ridiculous. You know that, right? He can’t just take your job,” Beau mutters to Dom. He adjusts Jennifer impatiently, and her injured leg jostles. She lets out a yelp, then a string of curses so foul even our old squad would have flinched.

Blood pools under the bandage, and I scowl at him. “Go fucking fix her. What are you wasting air looking at him for?”

Beau rolls his eyes, but I’m already turning to Sawyer. “You’re coming with us—keep your shit holstered and hands where we can see them.”

It doesn’t matter what Dom’s doing. If I have to jockey dicks with Beau, Jasper, and all the Reapers, then I will. If I have to do the touchy-feely bullshit, then I will. I can be patient.

Eden needs food.

Everyone here needs food.

I turn toward Bristlebrook, but Beau doesn’t move. “You really sure you want to bring the trigger-happy armed strangers home for tea? Around Kasey? Around Eden ?”

Blood leaks down Jennifer’s leg, and Beau’s still looking at Dom like he wants to push him to step in. I pull out Ryan’s pocketknife and run it between my fingers.

I’m still patient.

But I’m not the only one the doc is pissing off.

Sawyer’s frown vanishes in a furious poof . “We don’t hurt women.”

No one says anything, but Jennifer’s pained breathing fills the forest.

Sawyer rubs the back of his neck. “Well... except for that one time.” He clears his throat and adds, “We’re real sorry, ma’am.”

Bearded Buck swipes at his wet forehead, muttering, “Why’re all the ladies out here where they can get shot at, anyway?”

There’s a loud snap as Jo replaces the magazine on her rifle.

These assholes are going to get themselves shot, and we’ll never get our food.

A hot wind blasts through the trees, snagging and swirling leaves across the earth. New, sweltering sweat breaks out along my scalp.

I can do it. I can be patient.

So. Fucking. Patient.

“The fuck does it matter if they come back with us?” I ask Beau impatiently. “It’s not like they haven’t crawled up our asshole already.” I flick my knife and roll my eyes. “Besides, if they can’t even avoid a simple tripwire, then they’re too stupid to be a problem for us.”

Sawyer rounds on me, his mustache twitching. “Did your mama drop you on your head? You come beggin’ to us and you still want to measure dicks?”

He’s in my space again, breathing my air, and I’m done.

Patience is overrated.

I shove him back. “What did you say about my mama?”

He blocks me hard, a snarl on his lips, getting up in my face. “You have any clue how much good we could do for you, you little shit? You think I don’t remember how you came onto our land and stole from us? You’re scavengers. Poor, pathetic?—”

Broke. Trash. Jaykob King, trailer park royalty.

I’m raising my fist to knock his lights out when a sudden, brutal bang blisters the air, and the dirt explodes at my feet. I throw myself back, and Sawyer trips me up as he does the same. Clods of dirt and burst leaves spray us in a damp confetti as we hit the ground, rolling.

“Oh my God! Jayk?” Eden’s panicked voice filters in. “Jayk? Are you okay? Oh crap !”

“The hell was that?” Cole shouts. “Sawyer? You good?”

I shake my head, and dirt sprinkles down. Sawyer grunts, lying next to me.

“Eden, give me the gun.”

“Holy shit, she actually shot Jayk. Nice.”

“I’m sorry !”

I’m pulling myself to my feet, swiping up my dropped pocketknife, when delicate hands start tugging under my elbow. “Jayk, I’m so sorry! He was in your face, and I panicked—I swear I didn’t mean to pull the trigger.”

Eden’s face comes into focus, white to her lips and all big, frightened eyes. She smells like lavender.

“You just shot me,” I say, dazed.

Misery fills her face, and I snort incredulously.

“Sugar, if you want to make me bleed, at least take my clothes off first.”

Her lips tremble, and I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and yank her in for a fierce, hard kiss. It breaks under me, and I only get a second of the hot, wet slide of her mouth before I hear someone give a low whistle.

I pull back to glare at Sawyer. But it’s the pretty one, Cole, who ignores me to check out Eden.

“How you doin’, pretty lady?” he asks gently as he helps Sawyer up. “You don’t need to worry about us, but try to lay off the trigger, yeah?”

His little smile looks like a rat’s butthole, and my grip tightens on Eden’s neck as I remember how Sara lost her damn mind over him. But she just leans into me, and when I look down at her, she’s biting the corner of her lower lip and watching me, not fancy-face.

Just me.

I love you, Jayk, with all my heart and never only a part of it.

Heat creeps into my cheeks, her letter hanging between us. Damn it. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

I had a whole speech.

And she wasn’t supposed to shoot me.

A callused, dirt-lined palm thrusts between us, breaking our quiet conversation.

“Earnest Sawyer, ma’am. I am mighty pleased to meet you.

” The man’s handlebar moustache twitches over his sudden grin, his eyes bright with interest as he looks at Eden, and my teeth grind together.

“I am so sorry to come barging in like this. We have some Ts and Is to be going over with your menfolk here. Some negotiations that need negotiatin’.

You understand. I can promise you we didn’t come here looking for trouble.

” He plucks off his cowboy hat and presses it to his chest. Earnestly .

“We come from a gentler kind of place. Why, all this mess just took us off guard.”

Yeah. He’s a regular lady’s maid.

“Um, Eden. Charmed,” she replies uncertainly, placing her hand in his for a brief shake. “I’m also, uh, very sorry about the, um...”

She falters, waving her hand awkwardly at the rent earth and bullet holes.

My brows slam down. “The fuck you are.” I yank her back and scowl at Sawyer. “Touch her again and you’ll go home wearing your intestines as a necklace.”

Eden lays a delicate hand on my arm. “Jayk, I’m sure our guests could use some refreshments?”

Right.

Diplomacy and shit.

She clears her throat. “And maybe Jennifer . . .”

Jennifer’s leg is still bleeding, and the doc looks ready to take my head off. Guilt stabs me, and I roll my shoulders to shake it off.

“Yeah. Fine.” I glance Sawyer’s way and mutter, “Come with. We’ll get you some...”

Ah, shit.

Do we even have anything? Water? Booze?

Cole exchanges a bemused smirk with Sawyer, and my ears burn.

Eden comes to the rescue. “Tea. We’ll make some tea.”

She squeezes my arm, her fingers cool and firm. Soothing. My blood pressure starts to go down at the contact, and I shrug. “Yeah. Tea. Love tea.”

Beau just gives me one more frustrated look, then strides toward Bristlebrook. Dom follows without a word, but he’s got that tight, disappointed look he gets whenever I start shit. I scowl, hating that I feel it in my gut.

How did I forget about the talking part so damn fast? I’ve been managing all of this just fine the last two weeks.

It’s everyone else who sucks.

Sawyer’s grin turns into a lazy smirk at me, but he inclines his head to Eden in sweet acknowledgement. Then he and the Reapers turn to follow Beau.

Jasper and Lucky lower their weapons, and Ida, Ethel, and all the others begin to fall in for the walk home.

I watch them clear out and nerves start chewing at my insides.

Maybe I’m in over my head with this King shit.

Maybe they were right to leave me in the tool shed.

Kasey said it just now—I blow up every conversation I have.

How the fuck am I going to negotiate anything?