“They look perfectly calm,” Malcolm notes after a while.
I nod, frowning. “You think they’ve already made peace with their deaths?”
“I think they made peace with it when they took this job. I’ve always thought it was really weird how kind they are. The guys outside our barracks always seemed to cheer me on, as if I were their chosen gladiator and they wanted me to win the battle.” He shakes his head. “It’s weird as fuck.”
“That is weird,” I agree.
“I’ve never known what to make of it. These people, you’d think they would be cruel. Bullies. Tormenters. At the very least, assholes. Besides the hunters themselves, I haven’t met a single one who fits that description. I’ve been here long enough that one of the guys, the one you took, is fuckingfriendlywith me. We’ve actually had a conversation more than once.”
Our conversation stops as the lodge comes into view. There’s no one outside. Only vehicles. No movement. No sign that anything is wrong.
I kiss Brek’s head and let him lean back on the seat before climbing out. “Hold on, Brek. Almost done.”
He grunts, eyes closed. Fear grips my gut again as I close the door. The guys in the bed of the truck are watching me. “What will we find inside? How many people? Are they armed?”
“Usually only two. Three at most,” the driver says. “It’s like a small hotel. Hunting parties can spend the night if they choose. Make a weekend of it. Reception is right inside. The offices are behind. Yes, everyone is armed, though not like we were. They have access to firearms, but they don’t carry them. You have time to subdue them as long as the person in the front doesn’t sound the alarm that you’re there.”
“You’re being very cooperative,” I note as I look at the lodge. “Why is that?”
“We thought your friend there would turn the tables on their side eventually,” one answers, nodding in Malcolm’s direction. “To be honest, I’m curious to see if you succeed.” He shrugs.
“This isn’t what I signed up for,” another answers. “You try to walk away, you become the hunted.”
The third man, the driver, nods.
Curious. I’m sure they have more information, which is why we didn’t just kill them on the spot.
I glance at Brek, and he’s watching me. Sighing, I say, “I can’t leave him in there.”
“I didn’t expect you to.”
Thank fuck he’s not going to argue about this. Malcolm helps me get Brek out of the truck, and we head around the side of the lodge toward the front. Making a somewhat rash decision, I hand him my rifle. Brek looks at me, horrified. I take the knife he’d been clutching.
“I’m much better with throwing sharp objects than I am with loaded weapons anyway,” I assure him. “If you don’t recognize someone who walks out of the trees or pulls up, start shooting. I don’t care if you miss. It’ll startle them, and we’ll hear it. Okay?”
“Voss, I can’t?—”
I interrupt him with my lips on his. “You can. Almost over, Brek. Then I’m taking you home, and I’ll never let you out of my sight again. Promise.”
He sighs. “Fine. Hurry up. I feel dizzy.”
I lean him against the side of the lodge, then Malcolm and I walk toward the front door. A glance inside shows a single woman at the desk.
“Plan?” Malcolm asks.
“We’re walking in, and I’m going to kill her before she can even look at us. You head into the back and take care of who you can while I look for the weapon that man spoke of, and I’ll join you. If you’re okay with that.”
“Am I killing them?”
“If you can keep them alive, that would be preferable. I have questions. And my brothers are going to want to play with them before we let them die.”
Malcolm studies me. “I have questions too, man.”
Grinning, I turn for the door. “Ready?”
He nods.
Taking a breath, I open the door and step inside. It’s just as the driver said. The reception at a hunting lodge. The woman behind the desk looks up, a smile on her face as she begins to greet us. The blade in my hand is already flying through the air before she registers my movement.
