Page 21 of Love in the Wild

The guy was a puddle of gasoline just waiting for a spark. He’d only made it this far on dumb luck, but he’d probably go out in a blaze of his own making. He was the kind who might shoot up a place before putting a bullet in his own head.

Gage headed down the hallway to the back exit. There was only one thing Bruce could want from him if he was hanging out behind the garage.

The cold hit Gage for a split second before he quickly covered the three steps to the shed. It was a metal building with a heavy door and a lock that weighed as much as a truck battery.

He pulled out his key and swiftly unlocked the door. The dim light inside wasn’t much brighter than the twilight outside, but he could make out Bruce’s silhouette in the back.

“Took you long enough,” Bruce mumbled.

“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were too busy catchin’ flies in their mouths to tell me where to find you.”

Bruce picked up a gallon jug and handed it to Gage. “It’s go time.”

Gage took the jug from Bruce and picked up two more in the same hand. “Where?”

“The other side of Silver Falls.” Bruce pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to Gage. “You’ve been there before.”

Gage studied the address and handed it back to Bruce. “I know where it is.”

Bruce pulled a lighter out of his pocket and set fire to the corner of the paper. “He wants forty.”

Gage picked up three more gallons and moved them closer to the door before jogging through the garage. He backed his truck up to the shed where Bruce was waiting to load the moonshine into the bed.

The cold seeped deeper into the collar of Gage’s shirt with each minute, pushing him to get the drop loaded faster.

They had five jugs to go when Emerson burst out of the back door. Her long hair whipped in its ponytail, and she shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. Making a beeline straight for Bruce, she whispered something to him over the howling wind.

Bruce shook his head and turned away from his daughter, dismissing her without a word.

Emerson’s chest heaved as she stared at the back of Bruce’s head, following his every move. Her jaw ground from side to side for a second before she turned and stomped back into the garage.

Gage loaded the last jugs, shut the tailgate and cover on the truck bed, and followed Emerson without looking back. “I left something inside.”

7

GAGE

Gage would bet his next meal that whatever Emerson was fired up about had something to do with Thea. He marched down the hallway and out into the front of the garage. Emerson was rounding her car with a purposeful stride.

He caught up with her just as she lowered into the driver’s seat and was about to slam the door closed. Stopping the door with a hand, he leaned down, covering the opening with his body.

“What was that about?”

Emerson narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed. “Nothing.”

“Did you tell him I know about Thea?” Gage asked, low and leveled despite the roaring in his ears.

“I didn’t, but it’s not a secret that I know she’s here. It was Dad and Cain, by the way.”

Great. Emerson was more in the know than Gage, which meant Bruce, Cain, and Tommy were leaving him out of the loop on purpose. “What did they say?”

“She checked out of the hospital. I asked him if he knew where she was.”

“Does he?” Gage had spent his entire life carefully controlling his reactions to manipulate situations, but the question came out sounding slightly desperate.

Emerson was the type to take advantage if she knew she had the upper hand. He couldn’t let on that he’d lost track of Thea too.

“No. He wants to report her as a missing person.”

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