Page 3 of Fastlander Fallen

“Corey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this was going to happen, and—” Crash! The sound of breaking glass came from the trailer.

“Get out!” someone roared.

“Oh, that’s Gunner,” Hallie murmured, running for the trailer. A giant man came flying out the front door and landed in the yard, and Gunner, Hallie’s boyfriend, launched at him with an animal-like grace and began fighting. At least that’s what she assumed, because the crowd was merging inward, chanting, “Fight, fight,” like they were back in high school.

“This is a shit-show,” she murmured to herself.

“They’re all shit-shows in the beginning,” a man said from beside her. When she looked up, it was the tall man with the black hair and blazing-blue eyes. He was irritatingly hot.

“What do you mean?”

“All Crews form from disaster.” He jutted his chin up toward the fight. “This Alpha is going to be messy.” He slid his too-bright gaze to her. “You should really take this back.” He offered the bagel.

“I don’t want the stupid bagel back.”

He cleared his throat. “Trust me when I say, you can’t give this to me.” His eyes bored into her soul, saying something she didn’t understand.

“Yes. Yes I can. Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” Just like a man to start ordering her around in the first sixty seconds they met. Obnoxious.

“You’re hot,” someone said off to her left.

“Hot and bothered by the male gender right now,” she called.

“You like ladies instead?” he asked. “That’s hot too.”

“No! I like dick…you know what? For the sake of this horrid conversation, sure, I like ladies. Bye.”

“Can I get your number?”

She clenched her fists and screamed at him as long and as loud as she could, until her throat hurt and got scratchy, and she had to stop yelling to cough.

“A simple no would’ve done.”

Bagel Boy chuckled beside her, and she jerked her attention up to his stupidly-high-up-in-the-air face. “What are you, seven feet tall?” she muttered.

“Six-nine.”

“Is that a line?”

“What?”

“Sixty-nine. Really?”

He just stared at her. “Would you like a tape measure?”

“Oh.” He was serious. Must’ve been a giraffe shifter or something. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s eight a.m.”

“I’m going to go now, bye-bye then.” She continued her eternal freaking journey to her car, but the man kept pace right beside her.

Corey glared up at him and walked faster.

So did he.

She pumped her arms and walked even faster.

So did he.

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