No, he didn't. He really didn't. Sawyer knew that deep down in his soul.
"Sawyer, damn it."
The corners of Sawyer's mouth curved up at the aggravation he could hear in Stefan's voice. He was really glad he had a mask covering the lower half of his face and didn't see him smile. Stefan also had a temper, and now was not the time to see it.
Sawyer aimed his gun and shot the marauder who suddenly appeared around the corner of the building before running toward them with a machete then kept on walking. His reaction was lightning fast. He was used to it by now. Stefan wasn't. He heard the man gasp behind him.
"Jesus, Sawyer."
"Hurry up. We need to get you up to that roof."
"Yeah." Stefan's footsteps picked up.
They reached the building Stefan had told him about without further incident. Most of the fighting was toward the main gates. At the bottom of the rusty stairs leading to the roof, Sawyer stopped and turned to Stefan.
The man had grown better looking over the last two years. If anything, he was sexier now than he had when they'd first met. Sawyer ached just looking at him.
"Close your eyes."
Stefan's brow crinkled. "What?"
"Close your eyes, Stef."
Stefan stared for a moment before his eyelids slowly lowered. Sawyer curved one hand over the side of Stefan's face. With the other, he pulled his mask down and leaned in to brush their lips together.
He groaned at the heady taste that was all Stefan. Curving his hand around the nape of the man's neck, he pulled him closer, devouring Stefan's mouth. Stefan pressed into him, the man's body molding against him, just as he had done when they were together.
Stefan always took whatever Sawyer wanted. He never denied him. That much control was heady stuff, going straight to Sawyer's dick. Feeling an answering hardness press against him just made it all that much better.
And all that much worse.
Sawyer jerked back and pulled his mask back up before Stefan could open his eyes. He stared down into the man's alluring eyes then took a step back. "Be safe."
Sawyer forced himself to walk away. Hell, he was running away, and he knew it, but sticking around wasn't an option. Stefan had questions he couldn't answer, and Sawyer couldn't take the chance that one of the others would spot him and figure out who he was.
Still, he had promised to take care of the marauders. He'd also promised to stick around after the fight, but this was the only part of that promise he could keep.
Sawyer waded into the fight, knocking out those he could reach and shooting the others. The loss of life was regrettable, but these people weren't here for a picnic. They had come to the settlement to take what they could, uncaring of who they hurt in the process.
Justice was swift and brutal in this new world, but it had to be. There was no centralized government, not anymore. The ADF tried, but they were trying to wade through a flooding river with blow-up wings.
Sawyer grunted when something slammed into the back of his head. He turned to see a man standing there with a thick piece of wood in his hands. Sawyer shot out with his fist, nailing the guy square in the face. There was a rather satisfying crunch right before the man dropped to the ground.
He turned his attention to the rest of the fight, which seemed to be dwindling down. There were still a few fights going on. Sawyer started to head to one of them when he heard the loud crack of a rifle being fired.
He spun around just in time to watch a man with a machete drop to the ground. Sawyer turned and looked up to the rooftop where Stefan was. He gave a single nod of thanks then turned and waded back into the fight.
When he saw the last marauder fall, Sawyer stepped back into the thicket of trees closest to him. He cast one last look at the rooftop then turned and disappeared into the shadows. He could hear Stefan shouting at him. The pain and desperation, and even the betrayal, echoed in Stefan's voice. Tears sprang to Sawyer's eyes as he forced himself to keep going.
"Freeze."
Sawyer stopped.
"Lower your weapon to the ground."
He slowly bent down and placed his gun on the ground. He didn't need it. He could take this guy out without it, but he wouldn't.
"Lock your fingers behind your head."
