Page 25 of God of War

I can’t stop her. She’s too quick. Or I’m just too big and dumb and slow. Delaney slips around me, lays a palm on the door and pushes it open. She swans into the gloom of the trailer and all I can picture is her getting her face blown off by a shotgun that someone’s rigged up just inside the door.

I spring into action, slamming into Delaney and pitching us both to the floor. I land on top of her, and there’s a noise that I think could be a gun going off.

Only it’s not.

There is no gun. There’s just me, flattened against the length of Delaney’s back on the living room floor, and a broken TV that I’ve knocked over in the chaos.

Delaney groans beneath me. “What the fuck… Ow…”

She wiggles, her ass practically grinding into my crotch, and I push up off the floor, my hands on either side of her tiny frame. She rolls over, face flushed and chest rising and falling in quick little breaths.

“What the fuck is your problem?” she grumbles as she sits up. She rubs her chin, glaring at me. She must have banged it on the floor when I knocked her down.

My embarrassment at my mistake is overtaken by a rush of anger.

“I was trying to save your life.”

“From what? Dust mites?” She groans as she heaves herself to her feet. She brushes off her shirt and my eyes track her hand as it swishes over her tits.

Fuck, those tits.

When she peeled off that disgusting hoodie and sat back down in the car beside me, I wanted to gouge my eyes out, only because they wouldn’t stop flicking over and raking over her curves.

“Fuck,” I growl, and turn away, running a hand through my hair. “Just… just let me go first, okay? You wait until I say it’s all clear.”

There’s a beat of silence behind me. “Okay. Sorry.”

Goddamnit, why do I feel bad now? She’s the one who— Never mind. I clench my eyes shut and pull a long breath, hoping that it’ll calm the pounding of my pulse in my ears.

When I open them, Delaney has moved away from me and is picking her way through the rest of the trailer.

So much for letting me go first.

“Looks pretty clean,” she says over her shoulder. Her backpack is still clutched in her hand and she sets it down carefully on the small kitchenette. She turns the tap in the sink. It gurgles and a spurt of brown water rushes out before turning clear.

“There’s running water.”

She comes back in my direction. Stopping by the open door, she reaches for the light switch and flicks it. One bulb sparks, pops, and dies, but the second, over the living room, is enough to cut through the shadows.

“Nice,” she says. I can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or not. I reach over her and flick the light off.

“No lights.”

“Are you a bat, Ares? Do you have some special eco-location skills I don’t know about? Because us regular humans tend to need the lights on so we can see.”

Growling, I shove past her and squeeze into the tiny kitchenette. I rifle under the sink and find what I’m looking for. I slam the two battery operated lanterns on the counter and turn them on. White, glaring light spills from them.

“No overhead lights,” I tell her, as I come back. I shove one of the lanterns in her hand. “I’m going to make sure the rest of the trailer is secure. Stay here.”

I slide my gun from the back of my jeans and Delaney’s green eyes catch on it, flashing wide for half a second. When I head for the rear of the trailer, Delaney mutters something under her breath, but I can’t hear it. Probably calling me an asshole or something.

I check the rooms. Of which there’s only two — a small bathroom with a toilet and shower, and a bedroom with a dusty but mostly clean-looking double bed. Everything clear, I glance back down the hall. I can’t see Delaney but can hear her moving around the living room.

There’s no immediate danger, and yet adrenaline won’t stop pumping through my blood. I feel wired up, angry, and fucking stupid for throwing her to the ground like that. Tucking my gun back into my jeans, I pull a deep breath and sag against the flimsy trailer wall.

My pocket buzzes and I snap to attention. There’s a text from Griff. A single word.

Status?

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