Page 55 of Resistant

She glances at me and angels her body between Brynn and the others. It’s a protective stance, one I recognize. It’s a detail I’ll explore on my own later and I have the feeling that I have met this woman before.

Rick points to a man in the corner who is lounging back in the chair with ease, his legs stretched out in front of him with his ankles crossed.

His expression is unreadable, and his brown hair is pushed back from his face. He’s tall, and well built. He looks like ex-military. Out of all the people we have met this guy seems like he’s the one in charge.

“That’s Paxon. He’s, our strategist. Every plan we’ve attempted that he contributed to has been successful.”

Paxon waves politely from his seat. I nod at him, and Brynn mumbles a nicety. Brynn grabs two crackers from the disappearing cracker plate and slips one between her lips. She crams the second one in my mouth before they all disappear. I smile at her around my cracker, and she giggles, puffing out cracker crumbs.

I sit in a large chair across from Paxon, presumably Rick the Dick’s seat, but fuck if I care. I pull Brynn into my lap and hand her some water.

Paxon raises a brow at my boldness. Riesa smiles to herself, her eyes moving from Brynn’s and back to mine. She relaxes in front of us, a discreet gateway between us and the rest of the room.

Rick the Dick and his wife look stricken.

I smirk, “Thanks for having us here tonight. We appreciate your help. Where do we start?”

Paxon leans forward in his seat.

“Well, we don’t have all the details ironed out yet, we’ve been waiting for you to see what you both bring to the table. I have maps and ideas about things that may work, but we need more hard data about the exits, guard changes, and patrols. And of course, we’ll need Riesa to get supplies. Rick has largely committed to funding our project with the understanding he will need your help once you are on the outside. I’ll let him tell you about that more later.”

“We’ve been doing our own reconnaissance for the last few days. I’m sure you have seen us running in the neighborhood. We need a mini camera to film our routes so I can make better notes about the area. I’ve been doing my best to remember and take notes when we get back, but the process can be sped up if we have video. I can play it back on my laptop. Is that something you can get for us Riesa?”

“Sure.” She nods. “I’ll let you know what I find out and we’ll work out the exchange.”

“Brynn can fight and hold her own, although she’s not a fast runner. And she can shoot almost anything you give her. I can shoot anything you give me, and I have combat and medic training.”

Paxon nods lost in thought for a few moments.

“Well, that is better than I’d hoped. So, let’s get Declan his camera and we’ll work on next steps once we have more data. In the meantime, you need to remain alert, take note of what is happening around you. Do you have any contacts that can get to the outside?”

Brynn squeezes my hand.

“No, we don’t,” I say without hesitation. I will not betray Sasha. Right now, she’s the only person who has demonstrated any loyalty to Brynn and I won’t sacrifice that.

“I know a guy. I’ll try and get him to attend our next gathering.”

Paxon turns to Rick the Dick.

“Which is when?”

Rick stumbles all over himself, saying words but not anything coherent.

Riesa pipes up, “Well, we shouldn’t meet on the same day or in the same place every time. Why don’t we meet at my bungalow next Thursday? And Paxon, you can bring your guy.”

“Sounds good,” he says and looks to me.

I nod.

“Well, it’s been nice meeting all of you. We better get back.”

I stand, bringing Brynn up with me, an arm slung around her waist. I hold her a few inches off the floor and don’t let go.

She pushes at my arm, but I ignore her silent protest. We step outside, and I shift her over my shoulder and set off at a fast jog.

I hear a muffled giggle behind me, and I feel her smack my ass. It doesn’t even sting, but I’ll still enjoy punishing her anyway.

The Things that Sting

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