We fill him in about Otto’s death and our rushed escape from High Hope.
“Lyla stayed back to kill the king and appoint Remy instead of him,” River says. “She’s a diplomat.”
“Well, damn.”
We turn at the sound of Buck, and I instinctively take a step back. The man is massive, standing over six ten, all bulging muscles. His dark beard is as thick as his eyebrows, and his arms and neck are covered in scales.
“He really did bring you to life,” Buck says to River. “Last time I saw you… never mind. Glad you made it.”
“Thank you for saving my Josh. I’m glad I didn’t kill you.”
Buck twitches his lips. “Will there be more of you coming?”
“Not at the moment,” Timothy says.
Buck looks down at him. “Frankie would have a blast talking to you.”
“If Frankie is polite, I would be happy to talk to him as well.”
“I wouldn’t quite call him polite, but he makes up for it in other ways. Josh, best take them to the mayor’s house.”
“Can you join us later to tell them what you told me?”
“I’ll do that.”
We begin to walk when Buck puts his hand on my shoulder. “I never forget a face. You were with Derek and his brother’s gang, right? A few years back.”
My stomach tightens. “I was with them for a while. When I could, I escaped.”
“And Derek?”
“Dead. I don’t know what happened to Clint.”
“Clint was the worst of them.”
I taste bile, memories resurfacing. “He was, but Derek was bad enough.”
Buck asks Josh, “You trust him?”
“With my life.”
He moves his hand from my shoulder. “Okay, then.”
We walk deeper into town until we reach the mayor’s house. It’s an impressive two-story structure that seems to have been painted white recently. The front porch is bigger than my whole apartment back in Unity.
“When did you get here?” I ask Josh as we enter the house.
“Two days ago. I think we were about a day from reaching Denver when Buck showed up.”
“Did he know you were taken by the Raiders?” River asks.
“No, he was just hunting around the area to keep Raiders from finding this town. When he tracked down the group that kidnapped us, Caden recognized him and shouted that he should follow my buggy. Then the two buggies separated, and we couldn’t find the one that had Caden.”
We follow him into the spacious living room. He crouches to start the fireplace while the rest of us sit on a long couch.
“Are you okay, Josh?” Timothy asks.
He remains with his back to us, moving logs and waiting for the flames to engulf the wood. “It was rough,” he says. “When Buck caught up with my buggy, the Raiders surrendered. He interrogated them, but all they knew was that Hector had sent them to fetch someone from High Hope to Denver, and they were supposed to get help from the king’s personal guard. When Buck finished interrogating, he let me choose how to handle the three Raiders. I shot each one in their arms and legs to give them a slow death, then we left them by the side of the road.” He grows quiet as the flames dance in the fireplace.
