“Thanks,” he said with a smile as he popped a piece into his mouth.
Dakota did the same, watching him closely. He didn’t seem worried at all. In fact, he looked relatively happy even though he kept yawning.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “You know, after killing him...”
“It felt good. The world is a better place without him, and we can cross a name off my list.”
“But did it bring you any relief?” Blade always said that it felt like his need for revenge was heavy and that he carried it with him everywhere. Dakota craved revenge, too. The men who killed her and Blade’s families deserved to die, but her need for revenge didn’t feel heavy; it felt like fuel, driving her forward.
“Yeah, I think so,” Blade confirmed. “I think it’ll take a while to really sink in, but the moment I pulled the trigger, something changed in me.”
“Is that a good thing?” Dakota asked, tilting her head to the side.
Blade nodded as he took another piece of meat. “Sure is.”
“I don’t know,” Dakota said thoughtfully. “I don’t regret coming with you, and I want to see this through, but seeing Liam get shot and die right in front of me rattled me a little.”
“That’s only normal.” Blade took a sip of water and moved closer to her.
With a little help from the moon above, she could just make out the scar on his forehead. It was usually covered by his shaggy blond hair, but sometimes it showed. The bullet had been meant to kill him, but it had only taken some fleshand skin with it. Ironically, the scar resembled the shape of a blade, and its owner and namesake wore it with pride.
Dakota pulled her attention away from his scar and looked into his eyes. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, even though you didn’t technically kill Liam, you were an accomplice, and that’s scary. I still remember the first man I killed like it was yesterday.”
“Did it scare you?” Dakota could remember it, too. Blade had told her the story enthusiastically back then, but he only seemed excited. Dakota couldn’t really remember a time, except for the days directly following the massacre, when she had seen Blade truly scared.
“I don’t know ifscaredis the right word, but it definitely stayed with me. I don’t think I will ever forget the look in his eyes as he lay there in front of me. He knew he was going to die.”
Dakota took a deep breath, trying to imagine the scenario. “Didn’t it bother you?”
“Yes and no.” Blade shook his head. “It’s difficult to explain. Killing him didn’t bother me because I knew he was a bad man. Knowing that he had a wife and kids who relied on him did.”
“So how did you move on from that feeling?”
“I don’t think it is something you move on from. You just have to accept it and learn to live with it. Eventually, it starts to fade on its own, especially since you know you did the world a favor by removing a dangerous criminal.”
It made sense. The world was definitely safer without Liam Reed in it, and although she didn’t know all the horrible things he had done over the years, she was certain that they had saved many lives by taking him out.
“I know you’re right.” Dakota leaned forward and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Blade chuckled. “And try not to be too hard on yourself. After a couple of hours of sleep, you’ll already start to feel better.”
Dakota was sure he was right since she did not regret their actions or feel any guilt. It was just a feeling of unease, and she had dealt with much worse than that before.
They finished the dried meat and then settled into their bedrolls.
“That was an easy kill,” Blade said from beside her. “We got lucky.”
“I know,” Dakota agreed. “You think we’ll get lucky with the rest of them, too?”
“We can only hope.” Blade shifted, turning onto his side. “Tomorrow we’ll find some water and start our trek to Montana, but for now, try to get some sleep.”
Chapter 14
Dakota was fast asleep when Blade woke a couple of hours later. Despite the previous night’s happenings, she looked at peace. Killing somebody in cold blood wasn’t for the faint of heart. He could handle it, but he was a little worried about Dakota. She was strong and brave, but she had a good heart, and he didn’t want her to do anything she might regret.
Deciding that he would talk to her about it again later, he started a fire and untied the horses so that they could walk around and graze. Dakota was worried that they would wander off, but Blade wasn’t concerned. Africa was trained better than any other horse he had ever come across, and so was Riot. Blade knew this because he had given Riot to Dakota, and he had helped her train him.
