Page 67 of Fastlander Fighter

Yes or no? Send.

Yes.

He was going to finish what he’d started and kill Gunner. With a snarl, he stood and pulled on a pair of jeans as fast as he could before he bolted out the front door.

He jogged over to Gunner’s trailer and pounded on the door. No answer.

“Gunner!” he roared, pounding on the door again.

“He’s not here,” Owen said in a tired voice from a chair on his porch.

He was pale as a sheet and his black T-shirt had wet marks on it. He smelled like iron.

“Where is he?” Captain demanded.

“He’s headed to the lair of the dragon.”

“Why is he going to Damon’s?”

“The girls are there.” Owen shrugged. “He’s probably needing to be closer to Hallie while he heals.”

“If your mate is there, why didn’t you go with him?”

“I was waiting for you,” Owen said simply.

Captain didn’t understand. He parted his lips to say as much, but he didn’t like admitting when he was confused. He’d always seen that as weakness. Instead, he asked, “Where are Ace and Wreck?”

“Ace is waiting on a late inventory delivery, and Wreck is, I dunno. Probably freaking camouflaged in the yard, waiting to pop up and strike us all with lightning for funsies.”

Captain snorted. Wreck did have a tendency to camouflage well and appear at inopportune times. Including today. Captain still didn’t understand where all the fire had gone. There had been blistering heat and billowing smoke, and then nothing was left but some burned trees and ash piles in the woods, like the fire had been weeks ago.

“Will the woman be there?” Captain asked.

“Sloane?”

Captain folded in half and nearly retched. “Gah, shit,” Captain said queasily. “Yeah, her.” Sloane. That was right. Pretty name. Sloane and Ruger.

“Gunner did a number on you,” Owen said, standing.

“I want to fight him.”

Owen chuckled. “Again? You just did.” He grunted as he made his way down his porch stairs. “You’re driving. Silver has my truck.”

****

“Do you need anything else?” Clara asked from the open doorframe of the sprawling guest room. It had a four-poster bed and a kitchenette, and was bigger than her entire apartment.

“Oh, no, I’m all set. Really. Thank you so much for offering me a room for the night. It’s a long drive back. I didn’t want to make Silver take me back to my place and then drive all the way back to Laramie.”

“No worries at all. Mason is already home for the night or I would ask him to drive you out. He can first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s a lot to think about, huh?” she asked.

“It’s overwhelming,” she admitted.

Clara gave her a sympathetic smile and leaned on the doorframe. “It’s going to be okay, you know. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”

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