Page 23 of Hyde

Leslee

I squint my eyes at his back when he walks away from me, but I take a breath and smile to myself. I’ll have time to get him to see things my way.

Really, it just feels so good to see him again, italmosttakes away all the fear and frustration that I’ve been bottling up since that witch blew into Idaho with her hellish shitstorm in tow.

Considering I just snuggled into him for comfort, I have to get him to see me as an adult and not a child who’s easily overwhelmed.

Northern Grizzlies do not take weak women to be their Ol’ Ladies, I think to myself. I was raised around some of the toughest, smartest women and each of them have a loving and dedicated man, or two, by their side.

I may not have a clue of what exactly I want to do with my life, since I’ve always figured I’d stumble into it—after things with Joe were settled.

The only thing Iamcertain of is that he is mine.

*

Lurching out of bed sometime later, all I can think of is what Joe said about defensive devices on the property and of all the wildlife that must be around here.

Worried about animals I’ve never seen, I grab my hoodie as I slip out of my room. I’m barely awake when I peek in the door to the second bedroom and the bedside lamp shows that the room is empty. Turning, the light at my back helps me see that Joe fell asleep sitting upright in the recliner. The idiot didn’t even put the footrest up and his head is tilted at an angle that hurts me to look at him.

“Hey!” I whisper as I approach him.

Joe jolts out of the chair like I tazed him. “What’s wrong?” he barks out at me.

“The devices that you said you can activate if someone tries to sneak up on us. I was wondering about the deer and bunnies out here—will they be alright?”

“Fuck,” he growls, shaking his head as he tries to work the crick out of his neck. “They won’t go off accidentally and I’m pretty sure if anyone comes calling, that’ll scare the animals away. I don’t know. Christ, I need some ibuprofen.”

Nodding my head, I turn back to my room and dig a bottle out of my bag. Tossing it to him from across the room, his eyes widen at the size of it.

“You don’t mess around do ya?” he asks, shaking the bottle with a grin. I just shrug, not wanting to discuss how bad my cramps get every month.

“Why don’t you go lie down, I can keep watch for a while,” I tell him and he grimaces, knowing he was sleeping on ‘watch’ anyway.

“Your dad would beat the shit out of me if he had caught me sleeping,” he mumbles.

“Then here’s my offer: you go and get some actual sleep and I won’t tell him that you fucked up on guard duty.”

“First of all, you’re still a brat. Secondly, until today, I’ve never heard you swear before and you kinda suck at it,” he tells me, his eyes somewhat hooded as he seems to be assessing my threat.

“Bed. Now,” I demand, stepping back and pointing in the direction of the rooms.

Chapter 6

Riley

“Sweetheart?”

Gunner’s voice tells me two things. Our baby is still in danger, but alive.

I take a deep breath, the first since I heard Jasper call all of the present Northern Grizzlies into Church.

It took every fiber of my being not to barge in there today. Looking up at the face I know so well, there’s something else that he’s worried about telling me.

He tilts his head, standing aside so I’ll have room to pass him. I leave the table that I’m sitting at with Charlie and Molly, without a word and continue up to the room that’s still assigned to him after all of these years.

Looking around, it hasn’t changed much, besides some of the things I’ve added over time. I’ll never forget that day I came here, so damn confident—and foolish. Memories of other days and nights here flood my mind and I wonder how I’ll categorize today, once he gets around to telling me what’s happening.

“I remember that helmet I gave you on your first day here, and how Leslee would use it for her dress up games when she was a munchkin.” Gunner’s low voice makes me smile, the fact that our minds have gone to the same place brings me as much comfort as the feel of his arms circling around me. “The Navaja cartel was waiting for the plane, Parks is dead, but Leslee’s safe.”

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