Page 68 of Following Their Heart

I keep an eagle eye on his exposed skin and its proximity to mine, but at the same time, I go back to that word.Life.I see it in my mind, and I feel it in my heart, and this time, the candle flame grows to a ball of brilliance, like the sun blazing through my consciousness.

The bird flutters its wing.

Chapter 26

Brawn

My boots crunchover dirt and gravel as I patrol the perimeter of the lodge. The place is a godawful mess. A berm of dead birds surrounds the lodge, feathers are everywhere, and the air smells like death and gunpowder.

The knowledge we were infiltrated has my hands shaking with rage, and I’m thankful for a job where I can pace off all this energy. I’m half hoping one of Raptor’s crew comes skulking out of the forest so I can make someone pay for the violation of our home.

It’s a warm morning for early October, and I’m sweating under my tactical gear, but I don’t give a damn. I’m here to keep everyone safe from whatever or whoever might be lurking out in the woods, and that’s damn well what I’m going to do. I can barely handle the fact that Jud’s been taken. I’m not about to lose another one.

Especially not Cora.

Which is another reason I’m furious right now. The fuck is Rev thinking, bringing her with us to get Jud? It’s insanity!

Yeah, yeah, we’re stronger together and all that shit, but fuck! How are we supposed to take back what’s ours—our leader, our brother—while trying to look out for Cora? It makes no fucking sense!

But my objections have been overruled. And not even by the Judge. By the Reverend.

The only thing that kept me from standing my ground against him was sweet Cora wrapping her arms around my middle and calming me down with her gentle words and infuriating support of our de facto leader. Not that I don’t support the guy. I mean, he is Jud’s second, and he’s the oldest of us. It’s just, it should be Jud in charge. With him out of the game, everything feels off. We’re like a ship that’s listing at sea, and if we don’t watch out, we’ll sail in circles instead of keeping to a straight course.

Or worse. We’ll sink.

“Fucking Texas,” I spit as I cover the rear of the lodge again. “Taking Cora with us.” I shake my head. “This is fucking bullshit.”

My gaze touches on Rev, who’s loading up a cart behind an ATV. When my patrol shift is up, the two of us will scout the crash site. I glare at his back, not relishing spending one-on-one time with him.

As if he can feel the anger pulsing off me, he looks up sharply and spins around. He looks confused for a second. Then his intense eyes find me. And they track me as I stride around to the front of the lodge. I don’t lower my gaze until I’m well around the corner and he’s out of view. That scouting trip is going to be a barrel of laughs.

I’m at the front of the lodge again and keeping my attention on the tree line, but I can’t help noticing Doc and Grim pow-wowing. Hands on hips, they survey the birds they’re tasked with cleaning up. I don’t envy them that job, even if it would’ve made more sense to have me do it. With my Gift, I’d make quick work of it.

“Another brilliant decision by fucking Rev,” I mutter.

I’m about to go around the other side when my absent attention on Doc and Grim becomes laser-focused. Grim is holding a dead blackbird in a hand with no glove on it, and Doc is reaching toward the bird…and Grim’s deadly skin. My heart stops in my chest.

“The fuck are you doing!” If there had been any birds in the trees, my bellow would have made them take flight.

My legs launch me in the direction of the two biggest idiots on this mountain. I’m about to tackle Doc to the ground to get him away from Grim, but then the damnedest thing happens. The bird jumps to its feet right there in Grim’s palm. And then it flies away.

Doc watches it go with a huge smile on his face. He’s not dead. Lucky motherfucker.

Grim is staring at his upturned hand.

“We did it!” Doc says. He lifts up a hand to slap Grim on the shoulder, but I grab his wrist.

“The fuck are you doin’ getting so close to him? And you!” I growl at Grim. “Taking off your glove? The hell are you thinking? Put it back on before someone kicks the bucket!”

Grim is still staring at his hand.

“You hear me? Put that glove back on, Grim Reaper!”

“Take it easy,” Doc says, shaking his wrist out of my grasp. “Jesus. I’m gonna have bruises, you big brute.”

My blood runs cold. Did I just hurt him in my desperation to save him?

The fucker is grinning. He’s not hurt, just joking. He has no idea how much jokes like that cut me. The thought of hurting my brothers is like nails in the soles of my feet.

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