Page 12 of Warlander Beast Cat

“Remind me again why he’s foreman on this job?” Dante muttered as he caught up to Kru.

Kru wasn’t about to throw Gunner under the bus and explain any of his demons though. A few weeks ago, Lucas Slater had made them all into a Crew. Although he had been in a Crew before, it had been toxic as hell. He was pretty sure Crews were supposed to have each other’s backs no matter what.

Kru sped up his pace. “Kong picked him because he’s the right man for the job.” Even he could hear the lie in his voice. Gunner wasn’t the best man for anything right now. “He’s fine.”

Dante came to a stop atop a huge felled pine. “He doesn’t look fine.”

Jordan muttered from behind them, “I second what Dante is saying. Doesn’t feel right that he’s on the machines either. What if he kills us just for fun?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Kru growled, annoyed at this conversation.

“Yes I would,” Gunner called from up the mountain.

“See?” Dante asked.

“Oh, that’s just great,” Jordan complained.

“He’s just messing with you,” Kru told them.

“No I’m not. I’m being honest,” Gunner called.

“Your friend is messed up,” Jordan huffed. The human was falling behind on their climb to the ridge.

“He’s not messed up,” Kru said at the exact same time that Gunner yelled, “We aren’t friends!”

God, he was a pill on a good day.

“I thought you two were in the same Crew,” Dante said.

“That don’t mean shit,” Gunner called down to them. “Ask him what he did to his Crew a few weeks ago.”

“Don’t ask,” Dante advised. “I don’t even want to know.”

“Well, I have questions,” Jordan announced. “What did you do?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Kru murmured, pushing his legs so he could put even more distance between himself and the other two. He could hear Jordan huffing and puffing to try and catch up.

“What did you do?”

“Tell them, Krueger.”

“Whoa, your name is Krueger?” Dante asked. “I didn’t know that.”

“What did you do?” Jordan asked again.

With a snarl, Kru rounded on him. “I tried to kill them all!”

Jordan stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes went wide. “Jesus, man. Aren’t Crews supposed to be like families?”

“Yeah, well, some families are fucked up. Ask fewer questions, Jordan. You won’t like any of the answers.” He looked twenty yards up the hill at Gunner, whose bi-colored eyes were too bright. “You happy now?”

The wicked smile faded from Gunner’s lips, and his eyes cooled. “I don’t know what that word means.”

Truth. He could hear it plain as day in his voice. Gunner didn’t understand happiness.

“They said I’m messed up, but they should know the truth. I’m not the messed-up one,” Gunner growled. “You are.”

He turned and disappeared over the ridge, headed toward the clearing on the side of the dirt road where they’d all parked their trucks.

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