Okay, she was trying to irritate the shit out of him. And it was working. She’d wasted some damned good food.
“I said I’m not hungry.” She grinned and then whipped the plate as if it were a Frisbee, off into the looming darkness.
He shrugged, pretending her ruining a perfectly good meal didn’t rub him the wrong way. “Well don’t come crying to me tonight when the wolves decide this place smells good and they drag you off into the woods and eat you.”
Just like he wouldn’t mind eating her.
He ripped a hunk of bread off the loaf Laurie had baked for him after learning he was heading out for a bounty. He hadn’t told her he was going after her friend Reena or she would have laced the bread with rat poison.
Just thinking of Laurie had him smiling. She enjoyed playing mother hen to the four men currently living at the Outlaw farm. Aside from his brother Mac and himself, she also cooked for Tyler and his best friend Hunter—her two lovers.
He sighed at the memories of what happened when darkness descended over the Outlaw farm. That’s when Laurie and Tyler and Hunter headed off to the bedroom the three of them shared. Their guttural moans and her whimpers would send him and Mac scurrying outside to get away from what was going on behind closed doors.
Cade knew something was going on between Hunter and Tyler, too. It was evident in the way the two men looked at each other—expressions filled with caring and need and love.
The two had suffered years of torture in a terrorist prison. They’d also shared a prison cell for several years before being rescued. After returning to the States, they’d seduced Laurie into their bed.
But he and Mac never complained about the erotic groans and moans coming from that bedroom at night, because they knew how lucky they were to have the youngest Outlaw brother back alive. Lucky, too, that Tyler had a strong woman like Laurie to accept him and his male lover.
Cade didn’t know if he would be able to share a woman with another man. Some of his brothers had been able to share. But he wasn’t sure he could do it with a woman he loved. These days, however, men had to adapt. There were so few women to go around. He’d finally come to the conclusion he may not end up with a wife in the traditional sense.
“What’s got you all smiling? Are you picturing me getting ripped apart by wolves? I guess all you really would have to do is bring my head back to get your bounty,” she said coolly from the other side of the fire.
“They want you alive. They just want to talk.”
“See? That’s why I find you amusing. With you being an Outlaw, I wouldn’t have expected you to buy bullshit like that. The government needs me dead.” She reached up with her cuffed wrists and brushed a stray strand of hair off her rosy cheek.
“Actually they want you to come in and negotiate a peace agreement. They’re willing to talk.”
“Over my dead body,” she whispered.
She didn’t believe the government. Hell, he hadn’t believed them either. At first. But a close friend of his who worked inside the government, a man Cade trusted, had confirmed the request was legit.
“There’s something you should know, Red. Your father is now working with the people you hate so much, and he’s been able to convince the president that having you on their side would be more productive than having you dead and a martyr…or in prison. So they’ve asked me to bring you in so you and the president can come up with some compromise.”
He’d expected her to be surprised at the news of her father being involved. Or at least doubtful. Instead she merely shook her head.
“My father is dead,” she said softly.
“Well, he was very much alive when I left him several days ago. If something’s happened in the meantime that I should know about—”
“He’s dead to me,” she clarified.
She raised her head and looked straight at him. The pain shining in her eyes unexpectedly rocked him.
Cade inhaled slowly, trying to settle his composure. He hadn’t figured he would be in the middle of some family dispute. Whatever her father had done, she wasn’t happy about it. Her father had reassured him that once she found out he was involved, she wouldn’t be a problem. Looked like daddykins didn’t know his daughter as well as he thought. Or maybe her father wanted her dead just like the others? No, the guy seemed sincere. His face had glowed with love and even remorse. His voice had filled with regret when he’d told Cade he’d been away from his daughter too long. His wife was dead and Reena was the only thing left in his life. Sincerity like that couldn’t be faked.
“Okay, so you two had a falling out. He still wants to talk and I still need to bring you in.”
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. The woman remained totally pissed at him. He could tell by the way her mouth twisted tight and the muscles in her jaw twitched.
“We’ll have to spend the night here.”
Her head snapped up. Surprise and panic flared in her eyes. “Why can’t we head back to my cabin? I’m sure I can find it in the dark.”
He shook his head. Roaming around in the storm could prove fatal. They could get lost, one of them could trip and break a bone and, besides, he had no idea how many weapons she had in that cabin. She could have anticipated getting captured and set a trap.
Call him paranoid, but she was a resourceful woman and he wouldn’t put anything past her. Even if they did make it to the cabin and he permitted her to call her Resistance friends as she’d said she needed to do, she could call at a predetermined time and give them some sort of code indicating trouble. Nope, it was better this way.
