Mark nods. “Sure, but I’m not doing this for free.”
Beside me, Ollie tenses and her eyes narrow, but she stays quiet. The rest of us remain relaxed. This is to be expected since out here, you can’t afford to just give things away, not when it can be the difference between life and death.
“What are you wanting as payment?” I ask, easily slipping into my role as mediator. Rhys is too hot-headed for this, and Alex has no interest in bartering unless it’s one of our bets.
Mark strokes his chin as he mulls over my question. “Depends on what you’re willing to part with.” His eyes flick over to Ollie.
Immediately, the atmosphere changes as all four of us tense and stare at him with hard eyes. I’m pretty sure Rhys even growls as his hands ball into fists on the table while Alex draws himself up to his full, intimidating height. Ollie, meanwhile, has her teeth bared as she glares at Markwith so much malice, I’m not sure how the man hasn’t wilted beneath it.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Alright, message received. I won’t ask for that.”
“Too fucking right you won’t,” Rhys snarls, his eyes molten with rage.
If I wasn’t so pissed off myself, I’d find the entire thing hilarious. All of us, without hesitation, jumped to Ollie’s defence with such fervour, we’re painting our feelings about her on neon signs above our heads. And yet I’m pretty sure the woman in question is none the wiser as she continues to stare daggers at Mark. Hell, I’m not even sure Alex or Rhys know the true depths of their feelings for her.
Which means this is going to end up amazing or catastrophically fucking bad.
Alright, time to defuse the situation. “Rhys and I could offer our services to check over your guard routines and security,” I say, causing everyone to turn their attention to me.
Mark relaxes back on the bench and nods. “I think that would be an appropriate payment, but I want at least two of you to take a guard shift tonight.”
“Done,” Rhys says with a hard voice as he stands. “Can you show us where we’ll be staying for the night so we can get settled?”
Mark nods, stands and leads us out of the marque and toward the building that once used to be aTravel Lodgebefore the world ended. As we walk, I wrap my arm around Ollie’s shoulders and pull her against my side.
“How are you feeling?” I ask her quietly. She seemed pretty uncomfortable all the way through dinner, constantly looking around at the people surrounding us. Being thrown into the middle of a busy settlementlike this must be a massive change compared to the quiet she had at her cottage and with us on the road.
She shrugs. “I’m fine. Seeing Ethan wasn’t exactly great and there’s a lot going on here, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.”
Speaking of the devil, Ethan eyes us from his post next to the gate as we pass by. Even shrouded in darkness, I can see the lustful hunger in his eyes as they travel down Ollie’s body. The action makes my lip curl into a silent snarl as I glare back at him.
I knew the guy was a massive asshole from the moment I met him months ago, and his reaction to Ollie has only cemented that opinion. But the worst part is that he’s not the only one eyeing her like a predator; most of the male population in camp is. It’s like we’ve stepped into a shark tank and everyone is circling, waiting for us to drop our guard so they can take their chunk of Ollie.Not fucking happening.
My arm tightens around her shoulders. “No leaving the room when we get up there,” I tell her as we step into the old lobby of the Travel Lodge.
I half expect Ollie to argue back, or at least bristle under my command, but she doesn’t. Instead, she nods. “I agree.” Her eyes scan the small lobby, narrowing at a few of the men hovering next to the check-in desk. “I don’t trust anyone here.”
Considering she’s been pretty much by herself for over a year, she’s got good instincts. I guess that’s why she trusted us so readily, even after several men attacked her.
“Two rooms?” Mark asks as he steps behind the desk to grab room keys.
“One room,” Rhys says as he crosses his arms over his chest and glares at the men next to the desk. They wilt under his gaze and slink away.
Mark cocks an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. “Here. Room two-oh-seven. It’s on the second floor. Stairs at through that door.” He points to a wooden door on the left before handing Rhys the key. “Come find me down here and we can go over schedules once you’re settled.”
Rhys nods, takes the key, and leads up through the door to the stairwell. Two flights of stairs later and we find ourselves in a narrow, barely lit corridor. A few people are milling around, leaning against the wall as they eye us—or rather Ollie—with curiosity and lust.
I don’t know what’s changed since the last time we visited the Lodge, but it’s causing alarm bells to blare in my head. There’s a dark savageness lurking in the shadows in this place, and I can’t help but wonder if the people here are slowly becoming their own gang. Or maybe they’ve always been like this and it’s only because Ollie is here that I’m noticing. Either way, I’m thankful we’re only here for the night and can get the fuck out of here tomorrow.
Rhys finds our room and unlocks it. The room is small but clean with two double beds, a desk, a sofa and a functional en suite bathroom. We filter inside with Ollie immediately bee-lining toward the bed furthest from the door and collapsing on top of it with a sigh. Harlow happily follows her, jumping onto the bed beside her and curling into a ball of fur.
Rhys makes a noise of disgust. “Dogs don’t belong on the furniture.”
“Too bad I don’t care about your opinion,” Ollie shoots back, her voice muffled by the duvet.
“So I’ve noticed, princess,” Rhys says drily as he shakes his head, but there’s a gleam in his eyes. He probably enjoys winding her up just as much as she does. Although I doubt either of them would admit it. Alexand I share knowing smirks, but the atmosphere quickly turns serious with Rhys’s next words.
“Anyone else noticed how downhill this place has got in the past month? I’m half-regretting coming here and putting Ollie in danger like this.”
