“Mostly? What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means I might get a good punch in the face in the future.” He pauses. “Or Alex will.”
Alex nods as if that’s a reasonable answer.
I sigh and shake my head.Men.
Twigs snap beneath boots, causing all three of us to tense until Rachel walks into view. She’s bundled up in a thick coat and a hat with a pot and spoon clutched to her chest.
“I’d say good morning, but it’s not,” she says with a heavy sigh as she plonks onto the ground next to me and nestles her pot into the fire to heat. Harlow’s bum wiggles on the ground as she wags her tail, causing Rachel to chuckle and stroke the dog.
“Didn’t sleep well?” I ask as I resume eating my breakfast. The guys do the same.
“I slept fine. It was when I woke up that shit started hitting the fan. I had to break up a fight between two idiots who were convinced that the other had stolen a packet of crisps. Turns out it was a completely different person, which only pissed them off further. I had to threaten them with bodily harm in order for them to calm the fuck down.” She shakes her head and glances around, doing a double-take when she catches the bruise on Theo’s face. “Damn. Who’s fist did you get acquainted with?” she asks with a low whistle.
Theo scowls at her. “How do you know it was someone’s fist?”
The smile that spreads across her face is a little terrifying. “I’ve punched enough people in my time to know what it looks like when one connects with someone’s face.” Her gaze flicks over to Alex, cataloguing the bruising on his knuckles with a chuckle. “You boys already fighting over Ollie?”
I scoff at the ridiculous question. “No one’s fighting over me, Rachel.”
Theo smirks. “Are you sure about that, princess?”
My stomach drops and my eyes widen. “Please tell me you weren’t…”
Theo’s grin grows, but he says nothing.
Thankfully, Alex puts me out of my misery. “We weren’t fighting over you,” he says while shooting his friend an exasperated look. “Although don’t take that to mean you aren’t worth fighting over.” He turns to me, a knowing look in his eyes.
“Definitelyworth fighting over.” Theo winks as his grin turns devilish and his heated gaze rakes over my body.
I suppress a shiver as memories of his lips and fingers on my skin flash in my mind.
“Ugh, get a room,” Rachel says, reminding me that we aren’t alone.
Theo chuckles and leans back against a tree. “We do. We have an entire forest. You’re free to leave whenever.”
“I think I’ll stomach the flirting over having to break upanotherpointless fight, thanks.” She reaches for the now steaming pot that’s been sitting in the fire and digs into her breakfast. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
We eat in comfortable silence with the only sounds being the scraping of metal spoons against the pots, Harlow’s contented snores, and the birds singing in the forest. There’s the occasional squawk and chirp from Ketchup as she flutters from tree to tree above us. It’s peaceful and relaxing, something I haven’t really had since we freed these people and ran from the Scourge.
Unfortunately, our peace is soon ruined by the stomping of feet and annoyed huffing from the very last person I want to see.
“Where’s Rhys?” Jerri demands as she steps into the small clearing.
She still has a foul attitude, one that’s been grating on a lot of people, especially since she’s still refusing to help with simple tasks like collecting water and helping to set up camps at night. That, combined with the constant catty fights between various people in the group, is only adding to the rising tension. Alex’s constant avoidance of me and Theo weren’t helping either, but maybe that’s no longer an issue if Theo’s bruised face is anything to go by.
The guys say nothing and continue eating as if Jerri isn’t there. I want to do the same, not wanting anything to do with the woman, but poor Rachel has been dealing with people all morning. It’s time I helped.
“He’s not here,” I say as I place my mostly eaten breakfast in front of Harlow and softly give her the go-ahead to finish it.
Jerri makes a noise of disgust. “Of course you’d be the type of person to let your dog eat out of your bowl.”
Theo’s eyes snap to hers. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks sharply, clearly done ignoring her.
She waves him off. “You know what I meant. Where’s Rhys?” She poses her demand to Rachel this time.
The other woman shrugs. “What Ollie said; not here.”
