Chuckling, she counters, “I’m not even showing any cleavage, plus, it’s almost eighty-five degrees, and you don’t have air conditioning. I’m in a tank top and shorts, not my underwear; I think it’ll be fine.”
Agreeing with her, Bo beats me to the punch. “She can wear whatever makes her the most comfortable. If someone can’t keep their eyes where they belong, that’s their face’s problem when I beat it to a bloody pulp.”
The smile it brings to her face reaches all the way to her eyes, and for the first time in a week, I’m confident that things are going to be okay. Maybe not perfect, and maybe the world will continue to try and beat us down every time we come up for air, but between all of us? We can make her happy, and that’s all I’ve ever really wanted.
While Tony’s clearly entranced, he keeps his wits about him and rushes out, “There was an incident in the warehouse.”
The temperature plummets around us as Merricks frigid voice demands, “What sort of incident?”
Tony freezes, nervously glancing between me, Damian, and Hunter, before returning his focus back to his alpha. “A... not... good one?”
Slade scrubs a hand over his mouth to hide his amusement, pivoting in his chair so that they can’t see his silent laughter. Feeling our eyes on him, Merrick stands taller. “Explain.”
Tony’s eyes flit our way and back, pleading, but before he can get another word out, the entire cabin shakes with the force of a distant explosion. I’m on my feet in an instant, but with the way Tony cringes, it’s clearly an anticipated incident; one isolated in the Slaughter’s warehouse a mile away from here.
“A couple of things may have been mislabeled upon delivery,” he finishes lamely, bracing himself for the lashes about to come his way.
But Merrick ignores him completely, turning his pained gaze onto Sabrina instead, and the sliver of fear I see in his eyes makes me question my moral standing in this situation.
Sensing his nerves, Sabrina encourages, “Go, it’s fine. The guys can show me around, and we’ll all catch up some more at dinner, okay?”
I share a swift look with Hunter, then Damian, but none of us want to correct her. This close to winter, food needs to be rationed, so we tend to stick with one meal a day and maybe a small snack if we can get our hands on something. It’s not a problem where Sabrina is concerned because everyone is in strict agreement that the women need to be kept in the best health possible, and the Slaughter’s are far better off than we are, but since they didn’t immediately agree, I have to wonder if things have been getting more challenging for them as well.
Sabrina’s going to get suspicious if we keep saying that we’re not hungry all of the time. And hell, the Hawthornes don’t have a clue, either.
Fuck.
Sabrina misinterprets our collective silence and lifts her necklace from Bo to show off, and though her words are cynical, they’re delivered with a teasing lilt. “No need to panic, I was adopted; have the papers to prove it and everything. Best part of being a rare breed? The fancy collars that replace the need to get chipped.” Letting the pendant fall, she continues, “I have no immediate plans to leave, but as long as you treat me with mutual consideration, I’ll make sure to keep you in the loop if something comes up to change my mind.” She turns to Bo. “Peace offering, you think? Temporarily at least?”
Grumbling and complaining, he strides over to one of the bags stacked against the wall and fishes out the receiver, passing it to Sebastian and showing him how to operate it, a scowl permanently etched into his face all the while. Leaving them to it, I take a deep breath and choose to be honest about this before we repeat our mistakes of keeping secrets to try to protect her.
“That may have been part of their worry, but it was actually the dinner comment that earned the awkward glances. When we got here, I checked our storehouse, and it was about half of what it typically is at this time of year. So I'm betting they’re feeling the hit, too, and there’s only one more harvest until spring.”
Leo snaps, “Why the fuck would you tell her that?”
But I keep my gaze locked on her, watching as she automatically glances at the router and modem set up in the corner. “Ooph, guilt, my favorite dessert.” Then, she narrows her eyes at Merrick. “I asked if you wanted us to bring anything, and you said not to waste my money. We could have brought some food if we’d known it was this bad.”
He matches her scowl. “Because it isn’t your problem. We’ve got things covered; you’ll be taken care of.”
It doesn’t take a genius to see that this is about to go downhill fast, so since the twins are conveniently silent for the first time ever at the most inconvenient time, I shift gears as a distraction. “How about we table this discussion for later? They’ve got work to take care of, and if my mom finds out about you through the grapevine and not me introducing you to her, it’s all we’re going to hear about for the next decade.” Meeting Merrick’s eye, I adamantly declare, “She’ll be safe, and we’ll have her home before dark.”
Sabrina snorts. “And you’ll keep your hands to yourself,mayberisk a goodbye kiss when you drop me off on the porch after our date?”
“Damn straight he will,” Sebastian growls the same time I reply, “Absolutely not.”
I’m not sure what possess me to do it, maybe because it’s unsettling as fuck to think of the Slaughters as actually human, but I cross the room, wrapping an arm around her waist. Palming the back of her neck, I dip her low and kiss her breathless. Maybe I want them to show their true colors before Sabrina gets any more attached to them. Or maybe, like Cinjin and Sabrina, I’d rather watch something explode, even if it’s my face, than go back to my dreary, monotonous existence. I’d rather have thrilling, terrible chaos over the mind-numbing illusion of peace that I’ve been taught to accept as the best we’ll ever get, any day.
Lifting her back to her feet, her cheeks are heated as she shoots me a look that I’m seventy percent sure either means ‘knock it off’ or ‘knock me up,’ while the Slaughters areseething.Their faces are twice as red as hers is, on the brink of saying to hell with it and beating the shit out of all of us on principle, but another explosion rocks the ground, demanding their attention. Though I’m sure they’d prefer to insist she remain where they can see her, even at the risk of her discovering what they’re doing in that warehouse, with chemicals exploding, it’s the last place you want to drag anyone that you want to keep safe.
Smacking his palm against the table, Merrick curses, raking his other hand through his hair. Leo takes over, jabbing a finger at my face with a harsh warning. “If she so much as scrapes a knee, you won’t have to worry about how you’re going to feed anyone.”
Merrick adds, “Any of our people give you trouble, I expect names so we can make an example out of them for the rest of our pack to keep them in line. If it’s any of yours, I expect their heads to be delivered the same time you bring her home.”
“This is a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Sabrina asks.
Sebastian gestures at her scarred leg. “You’re clearly ours with as much of a punch as you can pack, but you’re not indestructible. And the men here,” he trails off with a growl, setting off a chain reaction.
Hunter finishes his sentiment. “It’s not like what we were dealing with in Shadow Ridge, Sabrina. They wouldn’t want to use you to hurt your mates,oryour fathers, some might just want to... use you. Hell of a lot of men, barely any women, and the only thing keeping you from being eligible for new mates is your current ones.” Shaking his head, he grits out, “If they don’t have anything left to lose, it may inspire some men to take a shot at you, even if they know they’re likely to end up dead for attempting it.”
