Page 186 of Oathbreaker

He hums; the sound is an affirmative.

I raise my eyebrow at that.

“Well, after Rio came in and I decided he wasn’t a threat, I left everyone else in the safe room to find August. Along the way, I came across a few bad guys. I-I shot two people. I think I killed them both.”

I know I killed Rodrigo. And the other guy is probably dead too.

“Jared!” I shout with a gasp.

“Was he a traitor too?”

“No! No, he helped me. He gave me a better gun, but he was in bad shape. Is he…?” I cover my mouth and shift to look at Hunter. The expression he gives me is troubled.

“I don’t know, baby. I wish I did.”

I close my eyes and swallow as tears fall.

“I found August, and Marcus-fucking-Law was there.”

“Marcus Law? Your neighbor?” He rasps, incredulous.

“Yes, one and the same. He killed Carlos, the bastard, and was standing over August. I thought he was going to kill August, so I was ready to shoot him from my hiding spot, but then he just…walked away.”

“Huh,” Hunter says in a thoughtful tone.

“August?” I murmur. Hunter flinches. “You haven’t checked on August? Is he okay?” I force him to release me from his hold.

“He’s…” Hunter begins, and I scoot up the bed, ready to haul myself around the complex to find him.

“Wait, Sunbeam. August is safe. I need to make sure you’re okay,” he says.

“He was drugged, H!”

“And you were shot,” he explodes. His nostrils flare as he inhales sharply, and I rear back into the pillows.

“Yes, but?—”

“But nothing, Winter!” He jumps up from the bed, walking to the other side of the room before stopping with his back to me and his hands on his hips. His head hangs low.

He turns.

“It’s not a competition on whose life I value more—yours or August’s. You both are immeasurably important to me. So I cannot stand the thought of anything happening to either of you.” He breathes in deeply, holding in the air before exhaling in a great bellow.

“Why did you leave the safe room?” His words are low, and he doesn’t look at me as he delivers them.

I blink at the question.

“Why?” I ask again. “How could I not?”

More silence, and then he hums.

“What you mean to say is, ‘Thank you, Winter.’” His eyes lock on mine, and I lift my chin in defiance.

“Thank you?” he whispers.

“Yes, thank you. Because I saved the day once again. I took the bullet for everyone again—the literal bullet this time—and I prevented even more horrible things from happening to August. So I think the words you’re looking for are, ‘Thank you.’”

Hunter stares at me so hard I feel the physical weight of it.

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