Page 40 of R for Rough

We’d parted ways from the other group some ten minutes ago, and I was so relieved my eyes had adjusted to the dark. Because this terrain was not easy! Moss-covered rocks, boulders, holes, streams, trees everywhere, ferns, and slippery logs made things…very interesting. The moon was thankfully helpful tonight. No clouds that we could see from down here.

“Okay, let’s take a break,” Abel said, out of breath. “This was the water we could drink, right?”

Angel nodded. “Oh yeah, it runs by our cabin. We use it all the time.”

Perfect. I dropped to my knees on a flat rock by the water’s edge and cupped my hands in the cold water. No need to haul out my li’l filtration system, then.

“I’m gonna do a perimeter check,” Kit said. “If the others are anything like Colt, they’ll try to sneak up on us.”

I didn’t know what Dadd—Griffin was like in this environment yet, but I wasn’t worried for crap. No matter his approach, he’d find a way to excite the fuck out of me.

“And we’re absolutely sure they can’t ambush us from the north?” Justin pressed.

“Not yet,” Angel replied. “They’ll need more time if they wanna cover that angle.”

“How fast are your Owners?” Abel asked. “Mad’s stronger than he’s fast, but he can definitely keep up.”

Another thing I didn’t know about Griffin—but what I did know might be enough to give us a good inkling. “Griffin’s always on his feet. I know that much. Like, fishing and hiking, working around his cabin, all the manual labor, and our job’s hectic too. But I wouldn’t peg him for a sprinter.”

“Colt’s not a sprinter either,” Kit said. “I mean, he never was. He was in the Air Force. But, so—” He grinned impishly when Angel and Abel cracked up. “But, that said,” he chuckled, “he will push himself to the extremes.”

“Yeah, that goes for my Daddy too,” Angel said frankly. “He always says—” She faked a dark voice to mimic Ryan. “‘I earned my comfort. You know what they do to lazy Marines? No, you don’t. But trust me, I earned this.’”

I grinned and took another gulp of water. It was admittedly delicious.

So, in other words, we had a bunch of forty-five-plus men who’d replaced rock-hard abs with comfort, but they also had enough stubbornness to make up for what they’d let go of.

I knew we were going down, though. The chase was probably our strongest ally; we could outrun our Owners, but these men were still in great shape for their ages. They were also Sadists who refused to go down.

This was obviously not a fight I wanted to win, but I still wanted to get some kicks and punches in before I surrendered.

I wanted to impress Griffin.

Kit and Justin jogged off to check our nearby surroundings, and I handed out handfuls of my homemade trail mix. We needed the energy!

“Oh my gosh, what is this? It’s so tasty,” Angel gushed.

I beamed. “Cinnamon-dusted almonds, freeze-dried apples, walnuts, pecans, and toffee-coated hazelnuts.”

“Damn, dude.” Abel was a fan too.

That made me happy.

When Kit and Justin came back, they wanted some too, and I emptied the bag into their hands. It wasn’t like we’d be here forever, so I hadn’t brought much.

“Goodness, this would be awesome on ice cream,” Kit mumbled as he chewed. “Is that apple? I like it.”

I was about to respond when we all heard a sound, like a twig snapping, and it made my pulse go through the roof. There were forest sounds, and there were clearly man-made sounds! We looked at one another quickly, and then we fucking bolted.

I couldn’t see anything moving in the trees, but whoever it was couldn’t be too far away.

I was suddenly glad we hadn’t split up earlier, which had been my initial suggestion. Justin’s too. But Kit and Angel had pointed out that our Owners were likely sticking together, because they only had one tablet, and we’d be stronger as a team for when they attacked.

“We need a good place to face them,” Justin said, breathing heavily.

“With hiding spots,” Angel panted. “A twenty-five-yard radius still gives us a chance to hide.”

True.

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