Page 17 of Fastlander Fallen

She picked up a block of the greatest food in the world, but was interrupted again by the ding of her phone.

A little swarm of butterflies consumed her stomach as she pulled her phone out. Uh-oh. She should not feel all excited to be talking to a dangerous boy. She needed to get a grip.

Round three interviews just began. Come back.

Why would I want to do that? I have ice cream sandwiches to binge eat. Send.

The dots showed up, like he was typing. She should throw her phone back in her purse and head to the wine aisle, but she just stood there like a dunce staring at her phone.

It wasn’t a written text that came through, but a video instead.

Corey looked around just in case it was a video of his wiener, but no such luck. It was a selfie video of him talking.

He had a pair of cuts on the side of his neck that were oozing blood. His hair was mussed, his skin pale, and his eyes blindingly-bright blue. “Gunner asked where you are,” he said low, then glanced up at something and back to the video. “Hallie said she texted you, but you haven’t answered, so here I am, asking you to come back.” He arched both eyebrows in an expression of seriousness and gritted out, “Come back.”

She had ignored Hallie’s text as a dose of her own medicine, but now she scrolled over to it and read. Gunner said yes. He said you can interview for the Crew. Ace put in a good word, and I asked too. It’s not official, but can you come here and talk to us? Before Damon leaves for the day?

What the hell. Her, a part of a shifter Crew? Had they lost their minds? She didn’t even like paper-cuts, and shifters bled all the time.

She did the annoying thing and connected a call to Ace instead of texting back.

“Hey,” he said.

“Why would I want to be a part of the Crew?” she asked softly.

“So you can be close to Hallie?”

“I live the next property over. I will figure out how to be close to her by showing up unexpectedly at her house.”

Ace snorted. “Suit yourself. Bye.”

“Wait!” Her voice echoed down the aisle with her volume, and a lady at the end startled hard and offered her a dour look. “Sorry,” she whispered to the woman. “Will I have to be a drug mule or kill people?”

“What?”

“I watch documentaries.”

“This isn’t a biker gang.”

“Why are you bleeding again?” she demanded.

“Because round two of interviews were fights for rank.”

She shouldn’t care about this, and she certainly shouldn’t ask. She crossed an arm under her elbow and cocked her head. “And what rank did you end up?”

“Come back to Hallie’s place and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“I’m not coming back for some loser, Ace. What rank did you get? And it better be a high one, I am very sought-after.” She was trying to hide the smile in her voice.

“I can still hear a lie.”

“What. Rank!”

“Third.”

“Third? Who beat you?”

“Gunner is first, and Hallie is Second of the Crew.”

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