Page 76 of Hell or High Water

“He’s pissed I drove. Did you see anything?”

Oz shook his head. “No. If he was here, he didn’t come from the north end.”

“Not the south either,” Bane replied.

“How would you know? You drove,” I retorted, annoyed.

“Because he wouldn’t have slipped by me. My guess is, he made it past Forge. Ransom would be too hard to slip by. We need to do a thorough sweep of the east end.”

As much as I hated that he was making this assumption due to age, I had to agree with him. Out of the two, there was no chance the bastard had made it past my brother.

“I’ll head that way now,” Oz said.

“Not alone. I’ll go with you,” Bane told him, then looked at me. “Stay here. And stay out of her bed.”

Oz’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’m not fucking her,” I snarled.

“Sure you’re not,” he quipped sarcastically.

“I’m not. She gets scared at night.”

Bane nodded his head once. “And you just comfort her. In bed. Alone. Sure, Than. That’s believable.”

“I said I wasn’t fucking her.” My teeth were clenched so tightly that my jaw hurt.

“Okay, if you two could stop bickering like you have cunts, we might find the fucker and all get to sleep in bed with our women at night again.”

Both our eyes swung to Oz.

“Did you just call me a cunt?” Bane asked him.

Oz looked amused, if that was possible. He rarely showed much emotion. “I said you were bickering like one. Can we go now?”

Bane shot a warning glare back at me. “If you hear anything, text me. Don’t come out alone.”

“Fine,” I agreed just so he would fucking go.

I waited until Bane and Oz disappeared into the darkness, going east, before heading back inside. It wasn’t like I was going to go back to sleep, but at least I’d get to watch Montana while she slept. Yeah, that wasn’t messed up at all. I might be fucked.

Thirty-Four

Montana

When my eyes opened, the bright sunlight coming through the shades told me I’d slept later than normal. I could smell bacon and knew I was alone in bed. The lack of a hard, warm body against my back had been the first indication. Trying not to feel disappointed, I threw back the covers and swung my feet off the bed to land on the soft rug that covered a large portion of the room.

Reaching over, I tapped the screen on my phone to see the time. Ten minutes after eight. It wasn’t as late as I’d thought. With a sigh, I stretched and then stood up. Sitting there and sulking over not getting to wake up with Than was not good for my headspace. Last night, I’d gotten caught up in the lust and pleasure. That was all. I hadn’t fallen in love, nor was I falling in love. I’d just enjoyed the things we did.

I was fine.

The door opened before I could make my way to the bathroom, and my eyes soaked in Than, shirtless in a pair of gray sweatpants, holding a spatula. His hair was mussed, and he hadn’t shaved since I’d met him. The stubble on his face was getting a little thick. Last night, I’d felt it between my legs.

“Six, you can’t look at me like that when I’ve got a pound of bacon frying on the stove. The cabin will end up burning to the ground,” he drawled with a knowing smirk.

Trying to blow off the fact that he’d read my thoughts, I rolled my eyes. “The only look I had on my face was excitement from the smell of bacon,” I lied.

He chuckled. “Uh-huh. And does that scent also make your nipples into hard little pebbles?”

---