Page 62 of Claiming Ours
“Shit,” I cursed, rushing to help Memphis off his ass.
“What the fuck are you doing, Liam?” Langston yelled at my back.
“Saving his ass and your life,” I snapped, turning around to face the asshole.
Keeping my body positioned between them, I searched the group to get a read on why no one else had intervened. Baylee sat calmly on the porch swing beside Amy, both failing to hide their laughter and wide smiles behind loose fists.
My brows pulled in tight, utterly confused why she thought Langston fighting Memphis was funny. “What am I missing?”
“They weren’t fighting,” Ethan offered from where he leaned against the railing near the swing. “Though, knowing Langston like we do, I can see why you thought that instead of what was really happening.”
“Which was what?” I asked, looking around. At the base of the steps, Brandon and Carl stood side by side, heads together, talking in low voices. “What’s going on?”
The earlier irritation made me jittery, the urge for a fight an insistent itch beneath my skin.
“Langston, the grumpiest asshole you’ll ever meet, was actually attempting to hug your third.” It took a second for Ethan’s words to register. Memphis grabbed my shoulder, drawing my attention, and nodded. “Apparently, the tatted newbie is officially a welcomed and protected member of our community thanks to him saving West’s life.”
Then it clicked. West and Langston were in a complicated relationship. They shared women but also had their own version of fun if an interested female wasn’t around. I wasn’t sure how much they actually cared for each other, but if Langston was here hugging Memphis for saving West’s life, then it was more than I suspected.
Memphis stepped up to Langston and held out a hand. “I’m glad to hear your friend is all right, and I was happy to help.” He leaned back against the side of the cabin and turned to me. “Langston stopped by to let everyone know West made it to thehospital safely and the doctors think they can save his fingers, including regular mobility.”
“Really?” I questioned, hope lifting my tone.
Langston ran a hand over his short dark hair, appearing more exhausted than I’d ever seen him. “He’s scheduled for surgery in the morning. They had to call in a special surgeon.”
“We’ll help cover all the medical bills,” Brandon chimed in before turning his attention back to Carl, his expression bleak.
“What’s this about?” I motioned between the two of them, but Langston was the one to respond.
“West was out of it from the pain meds, but before I left to grab clothes and shit, he dropped a fucking bomb on me and Juno.” It didn’t go unnoticed that Langston didn’t have the same snarl when mentioning Juno. “He said only one thing made sense for why the chopper was such a damn mess inside. It was sabotaged.”
Either the entire world went quiet or my hearing went out, because there was only silence as that unexpected word repeated over and over in my head.
“I know what he said, but that doesn’t make any sense. It had to be the pain meds,” Amy said beside Baylee, who grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Who would want to sabotage our shit?”
“What about that guy?” Memphis mused, hitching his chin at Baylee. “The doctor guy who gave you a hard time yesterday.”
I stood up a little straighter at that fucking news. “What is he talking about, Little Bit?”
A flush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks. “Taylor—Dr. Richards—came by yesterday, and when Memphis intervened, Taylor got a little mouthy.”
“Mouthy, my ass. The asshole spewed vile shit about this group. Hell, I could almost taste his disdain.” Memphis huffed and reached into his jeans pocket, pulling out a pack ofcigarettes. He lit the end and took a deep inhale. “But I think it was more about Baylee calling me a friend, and me intervening, than his resentment for you guys.”
“How do you mean?” Brandon asked, joining the conversation. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dax jogging our way.
“Just a feeling that he’s interested in her. He mentioned her ‘being smarter’ or something similar. Makes me think he sees her as an equal to himself, maybe the only equal in town.”
“Huh,” Amy said. “You know, now that you say it, I can totally see that asshole thinking he’s better than everyone because of his fucking degree.”
“Hey,” Dax said, slightly out of breath as he paused in the middle of the group. “Finley and I just got back from flying over Caper to assess the damage. The main road to their settlement is completely gone from the landslide.”
“What?” This was the first I’d heard of any issues from the storms.
“We received a call on the emergency line this morning while you were out,” Carl clarified. “They need supplies, which we can air-drop, but they also said the slide damaged the homes, and their animals were caught up in it too.”
Baylee stood so fast, the swing rocked backward from the force. She came to stand at my side, fully engrossed in the conversation at the mention of injured animals.
“From what we could see, the main road and even the ATV trails are all impassible, which means there’s no way for us to get someone in there to assess the damage except on foot. I can’t land the floatplane. The helicopter would’ve been our best bet, but it’s out of commission.” Dax’s gritty tone spoke to how frustrated he was.
