Page 103 of Slay Ride

He grabs his clothes, slides off the bed, and gives me a kiss before exiting my room. I shove down the butterflies and remind myself to play it cool. If we can just make it through the next twenty-four hours, we’re going to be just fine.

Kindra peers over her shoulder to be sure I’ve followed her into the makeshift armory at the base camp for the winter hunt. I’m grateful she had a spare set of snow pants for me to wear. I’d forgotten all about the hole I slashed into mine. Now my outfit is a regular hodgepodge of mismatched snow gear.

“Are you sure you don’t want to team up against the guys?” Kindra asks. “I thought me, you, and Eve in a head-to-head against Ezra, Bennett, and Maverick would be fun. Plus, it would ensure you and your arch nemesis don’t cross streams.”

“Oh, I think I’ll be okay.” I step toward a table filled with weaponry of every shape, size, and caliber. My hand drifts toward the familiar crossbow, and I pluck it from the pile. “Where do they keep the ammo?”

Kindra smiles at me, and water brims in her dark eyes. “Oh, Cat. I’ve hoped for this day for you for so long. You’ve finally claimed your weapon.” She pulls me into a hug, and I can’t even hug her back because I’m so shocked. She leans back and places her hands on my shoulders. “I’ll get the bolts for you. You stay right here.”

She shuffles off to a side room and returns with a bag full of bolts. With a grunt, she hefts it onto the table.

“It’s kind of heavy,” she says. “You might need Maverick to carry it for you.”

“No need,” someone says behind me, and I turn to see Bennett.

My heart picks up speed in my chest, and not just because he looks so ruggedly handsome with all that stubble on his jaw. He’s offering to do something nice for me, and that’s certain to send up warning flares for Kindra.

Kindra pulls the bag closer to her. “No fucking way. You’ll ‘lose’ them just so that Cat can’t hunt today. Fuck no and fuckyou.”

Ezra enters the shed and hurries to get between his fiancée and his brother. “What’s all the fuss, you two? Today is supposed to be fun. Let’s leave all the paltry bickering to children, shall we?”

“Paltry bickering?” Kindra says as she wheels around to face him. “He’ll block her kills, and you know it! The only reason sheeven got her first kill was because Maverick was nice enough to give her the time and patience she needed. Bennett is incapable of that kind of care. He’ll rush her, Ezra. Or worse, he’ll keep kill-blocking her.”

Bennett winces, and I want to comfort him as the hurt reaches a visible level. Because the praise belongs to him, yet he’s denied it, and it’s all my fault.

I have to do something.

“We came to a truce,” I blurt.

The three of them face me, and each face displays a different expression. Kindra is offended, Ezra is shocked, and Bennett is panicking because there is no predetermined story and I’m about to wing it.

“Yes. We talked,” I say. “Last night.”

“You were with Maverick last night,” Kindra says. “I’m pretty sure the entire mansion heard your screams of ecstasy.”

Bennett cocks his head behind Kindra and Ezra. His eyes widen.What the fuck are you doing? that look says.

Shit.

I hold up a finger. “Right, but it was before that. I went to the kitchen to clean some mustard from my shirt, and Bennett was in there. That’s when we talked.”

Kindra’s eyebrows pull together. “Mustard? Cat, we had soup for dinner.”

Double shit.

“Maybe it was some turmeric. I don’t fucking know.” I sling the crossbow over my shoulder. “There was a stain on my shirt, and I went to clean it off, and that’s when I saw Bennett. That’s when we talked and made a truce for the hunt. What is with the third degree?”

The pressure weighs on me until my skin heats to a painful temperature. Before she asks anything else and forces me to lie to her again, I rush out of the shed. Cold air caresses my face,soothing me the moment I’m outside. I suck in a deep breath and power walk to the other side of the building, where I can collapse in private. Lying is not my favorite thing to do in general, but lying to someone I care about? It fucking sucks.

Footsteps crunch in the snow behind me. I turn, expecting to see Bennett, but Eve strides up on long legs draped in designer snow gear.

“Hey, is everything okay?” she asks. “I saw you run back here, and I wanted to make sure you’re good.”

“I’m fine. I think I’m just nervous.” I swipe my glove beneath my nose before the snot freezes in place, and then I turn to face her. “This cold is making my eyes water. I’m not crying.”

Eve purses her lips and raises an eyebrow. “Honey, we don’t do that here. I don’t know when it became cool to stuff down your emotions, but we don’t do that. Now let it out and tell me what’s got you so worked up.”

I look into her eyes and consider breaking the news to her as a trial run. She and I are on our way to becoming close friends, but we aren’t Kindra-Cat level close. If she doesn’t completely disown me, maybe Kindra wouldn’t either.

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