Page 31 of Dare to be Different

“Yeah, you bring the whiskey and I’ll bring the extra whiskey.” I grin at him. “Nothing to do there but drink and wait around.” At least the lodge is nice. “You coming to Jed’s fight tonight?” I haul a stack of crates, trying to look tough because Kade has me second guessing my badassery. I struggle a bit, but get them loaded.

Remy ties off the crates and secures them under netting, the snow starting to come down in languid big flakes. “Yeah, I’ll meet ya there. Keep your hands off Gar,” he warns with a sexy grin.

No promises. “If anyone fucks with Lakes tonight, I will personally kill a motherfucker.” I’m so sick of guys thinking they can fuck with her because she’s a tiny blond with a sexual appetite that gains her a reputation that should be nobody’s business.

“I’ll hand you the knife and drive the getaway plane,” Remy says, not even joking.

He got into a full-on brawl with us, cuffed and face down in the mud and everything, the night Kade got stabbed. My blood boils at the memory, but my heart remembers that he might look tough as nails, but he’s still vulnerable.

Remy runs a hand through his messy blond hair before covering the whole mop with a winter hat. Slamming the cargo door closed, he waits until another plane taxis out into the open part of the water before continuing. “Okay, we’re loaded. You need anything else?”

“Gimme some hand warmers. Heater’s gone to shit in this one.” I hook my thumb in the direction of the seaplane I’ll be flying.

Remy reaches into his pocket and tosses me a few warmers. I crack them and shove them into my gloves. “Be safe, yeah?”

“You, too,” he says, climbing into the cockpit.

I back away down the dock, cracking my neck in preparation for this rough flight. “Hey, Rem!” I shout, backing away. “You ever gonna tell me who sucked me off that night and changed my life?”

He rolls his eyes and slams his door.

Okay, so I might not be able to shut up about that blowie. My god.

Jed’s getting his ass handed to him, and Laken isn’t having it.

“Smarten the fuck up, Jed!” she shouts from the edge of the cage, her fingers gripped through the chain-link fencing. “He’s bigger than you, but you’re smarter!”

“Debatable,” Kade says.

“Faster!” Laken amends with a grin, but her eyes are laser focused on Jed’s positioning, his footwork, and his offensive mistakes.

Four is right beside her, shouting his coaching at Jed, and between the two of them, they’ve got him covered. I love watching Lakes get all revved up and excited about these fights. She’s a fierce cheerleader, a badass coach, and his biggest fan. She might also be his hardest critic, but he deserves to be put in his place every now and again.

Kade locks her against the fence, arms on either side of her, protecting her while she’s distracted with the fight. I can’t say I blame him. After the last time she got attacked at one of Jed’s fights, she stopped bitching at us for treating her like she couldn’t defend herself; she knows she needs the help if it comes to it, and we know we can’t rest unless someone is always looking out for her. Plus, it helps Jed focus during the fight. Kade won’t stop her from being Jed’s motivation, but he’ll make damn sure she’s well guarded while doing it.

“I think Jed’s eyebrow is just destined to be permanently fucked,” Bo says next to me. “Everyone always goes for his left eye!”

“Because they know it’ll bleed,” Rydan agrees, shouting over the noise of the crowd.

The bell chimes and Jed makes his way over to the corner, panting and a bit bloody, most of it coming from above his left eye. Laken and Four get him patched up and watered, pepping him up for the next round.

Remy slides between me and Bo, handing us both a beer. “You stickin’ around for the after party?” he asks me, breathing against my temple.

“Nah!” I shout back, and when he doesn’t hear me, I lean in real close. “No. We gotta be up at five to leave, and I’m already sleep deprived. You can stay, though.”

He leans in, cheek to cheek with me. “Nah. I’m leaving, too. You going back to your parents’ house?”

I shrug. Hadn’t thought about it.

“Just stay over and we can drive to the airfield tomorrow morning.”

I nod, our temples brushing. Jesus, why am I getting all sparked up? Is it the touching? The offer to stay over? Neither should be so jarring since I do both all the time. Tonight is no different.

I waver between watching Jed’s fight, Gar’s ass, Laken’s body, and Remy’s throat as he swallows each gulp of beer. So many nice things to look at tonight. Whatever pep-talk Lakes gave Jed worked because he’s been on offense the whole round, keeps it up in the following round, and knocks the guy out right before the chime. Jed’s bloody face is proud that he’s kept his undefeated streak going, but his eyes immediately seek his woman and her other boyfriend at her back. Jed nods at Kade, and Kade nods back.

Afterwards, I wrap my arm around Laken’s shoulders as we walk out of the warehouse. “What’d you promise him to get him in the right mindset?”

She leans into me, smirking and wrapping an arm around my waist. “I told him if he didn’t get his cock on straight, I wouldn’t suck it for a month.”

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