Page 69 of Butcher

“No,” Isla shot back, “because we work alone and the only people around are those we kill.”

He tilted his head. “Fair enough.”

“What was I supposed to say?” she asked.

“Nothin’. You did just fine,” Toxic told her. When she held his stare he shrugged. “You can respond with 10-4, or good copy.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “I’ll do that. Make sure you guys don’t go all secret squirrel code on me once the shit hits the fan or I’ll have no idea what you’re talking about.”

That made us all laugh. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “I’ll go over the codes with you, so you know a few.”

“Thanks,” she said, picking up two of the rifles as I grabbed the other two. “Toxic, could you set up my laptop over there?” She pointed over to a small desk sitting in the living room. It was a pretty spacious cabin, but it was going to be stuffed to the seams with thirteen bikers and one assassin, plus all our shit.

The sun was starting to dip over the horizon by the time we made it back into the cabin. Lock walked in and looked around at everyone. “Is everybody ready?” We all nodded. “We’ll have Isla contact her friend tomorrow morning. Once she does that it’s only a matter of time before these fuckers come for us.” His gaze stopped on Isla. “Do you think they’ll come one at a time, or in waves?”

“Waves, definitely,” she replied. “This is going to be one of those times when we’ll see assassins teaming up together in groups. It’s less about getting the money for my contract and more about making sure I’m dead. And they’re not stupid,” she added. “They’ve probably beenwatching us enough to know that I’m with you guys and that they’ll have to fight you, too.”

“Would be fuckin’ easier one at a time,” Hush said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Which is why we know it won’t happen that way,” Lock replied with a chuckle. “Our luck is never that good. Rip is all your equipment up?”

“Almost,” he said as he finished mounting screens on the cabin wall. He sat at the desk and put his own laptop next to Isla’s. “Should be up and running in ten.”

“What I want to know,” Smoke asked, “is what am I smelling?” He sniffed the air. “It smells fucking delicious.”

“Pulled pork,” Isla answered. She pointed over to where three crock pots were busy cooking our dinner. “I made coleslaw to go with the sandwiches.” She’d helped take weapons up to the area where both she and Priest, and a few others, would be staked out shooting assassins as they came at us. Lock had stationed them near the mouth of the hills, where the road cut through.

Hellfire took the liberty of cutting a few trees so that a good shove from him would knock them into the road. That way if anyone was stupid enough to come in by vehicle it created a natural chokepoint for our snipers to take them out. Once she’d seen her area, and left Donna and ammo there, she’d come back and started fixing dinner for us.

“What a woman,” Toxic sighed.

“Mine,” I growled at him because he was shooting a puppy love kind of stare Isla’s way.

Toxic rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you guys take all the good ones.”

“Like you haven’t sampled your fair share,” Ricochet pointed out.

“True. Guess I’ll have to just keep sampling since you all went and tied yourselves down,” Toxic replied. “It’s just me and Lock now.”

Lockout was bending over Riptide’s computer, reading something on the screen, but when Toxic said that his head shot up. “No. There’s no you and I for any of that shit. Don’t rope me into your fornications.”

“I didn’t mean together,” Toxic said with a roll of his eyes.

“Together, alone, doesn’t fucking matter. Don’t lump me in with your bullshit,” Lock said with a glare.

“You juggle everything,” Toxic pointed out. “Us, the club, your business... Why not throw pretty women into the mix?”

“Because pretty women equal trouble,” he growled. “Legal trouble, apparently, if you’re any indication.”

“Yeah,” Hush said, though in a low voice. “Besides, he’s already got enough trouble with a particular pretty woman.”

Lockout shot him a murderous look, so Hush shut up and looked away.

“You’re kidding me?” Toxic complained. “I’m the only one left?” He let out a heavy sigh. “Guess I’ll have to be the lone wolf.”

I shook my head. “Lone my ass. You’re always dragging me around with you.”

“You should head up to Phoenix and party with us,” Kilo offered. “None of us are married.”

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