As soon as Sebastian stills, Hunter breaks free of his hold, taking a couple of steps away rather than capitalize on the opening to get a shot in. Tense is an understatement as the seconds tick by until he finally says, “You called me Dad.”
Keeping a wary eye on him, Hunter crosses the room to free my wrists before snatching his pants off of the floor and yanking them on. My shirt has been reduced to a tattered mess, so on my way to hunt for a new one, I snag the rumpled blanket off the bed and toss it over Damian’s lower half.
Another surge of heat floods my cheeks. “You guys are the ones that said you were claiming me as your daughter whether I was or not.” Cinjin’s bag is closer, so I steal one of his t-shirts and quickly tug it over my head. “No need to make it weird.”
Hunter snorts, rubbing a hand over his jaw where a massive bruise is already beginning to form. “Yeah,that’swhat’s going to make this weird.”
Forcing myself to turn around, I find Sebastian still standing frozen in place. Holding his stare for a tense thirty seconds, the moment finally shatters as he scrubs a hand over his face, giving me a glimpse of his bloody knuckles. “I need to bleach the cabin before the others get back.” Scowling, he looks around the room, wrinkling his nose. “Or burn it.”
Grimacing, I tentatively point out, “But they won’t have seen anything and want to go on a murderous rampage, only know that their adult, married daughter has sex.”
The words are hardly out of my mouth before he gags. “Trust me, that’ll be enough to incite a murderous rampage.”
A small groan proceeds Damian stirring. As Sebastian storms out of the room in a huff, I watch Damian sit up, blinking rapidly. He gently presses a few fingers against the swollen knot on his temple, hissing in a sharp breath. When his gaze lands on mine, there’s still a dazed look about him. “What happened?”
“Remember that star-crossed lovers fantasy you had, the one where you snuck into the enemy’s house and fucked his daughter? It didn’t end like you’d hoped it would.”
He blinks several times, getting his bearings. “What?”
With a completely straight face, I clarify, “Sebastian knocked you out cold with one hit, and Hunter fought him naked. It was an incredibly awkward time for everyone involved, be happy you blacked out.”
Sebastian returns with a bottle of bleach, dramatically gags again, and pours it straight on the floor in the doorway. “I’m never going to be able to sleep in here again.”
Hunter helps Damian to his feet as I search for where his pants ended up so he can get dressed. “Then you may want to sit out the next couple of family lunches, too.”
Pausing, Sebastian looks over his shoulder toward the table in the main room. “You didn’t.” He narrows his eyes at me, to which I sheepishly shrug with an apologetic smile. Grimacing, he points in the direction of the front door. “I’m about two seconds away from killing them on principle, so go find something to do before I change my mind.”
If they were uneasy having me roam around in the first place, the confrontation with Ash this morning should have him more on edge than ever.
By the time I’ve switched into shorts and Damian’s steady on his feet, Sebastian’s already hard at work scrubbing the hell out of the table, grumbling under his breath. On our way out, I peck a quick kiss on his cheek in passing. “Thanks.”
Pausing in his assault on the furniture, he pins me with a withering look. “Don’t thank me. This better be the first and last time I’m cleaning up after your sexcapades.”
With a genuine grin, I clarify, “For trying, I meant. And actually listening to me instead of letting blind rage take over.”
Damian clearly has been spending too much time with Cinjin. “Sabrina, that wasn’t nice.” Opening the door, he gestures for Hunter and me to go through ahead of him. “Now Sebastian’s going to have to bleach his face off since your lips were wrapped around Hunter’s cock twenty minutes ago.”
He barely gets the door closed behind him before the bottle is hurled at his head hard enough that it cracks the wood.
***
Hunter frowns. “I doubtKaige would have taken them out to the fields unless there was a serious emergency.”
Damian slings an arm around my shoulders in a failed attempt to act casual. “Like he’d be able to drag Boden that far away from Sabrina. They’re likely hiding from him to get out of work, you saw the sort of lifestyle they were used to.”
Ignoring the nerves writhing in my stomach like angry vipers, I point out, “We could ask the next guy we pass. You have dozens of people to play telephone with and spread the word around that we’re looking for them.”
“I’m not sure we want to advertise the fact that you’re down to two escorts.” Slowly, Hunter scans the trees as we carry on down our current path. “Have you noticed? When we arrived, people would respectfully look away. But now,” he trails off.
Damian offers a curt nod. “Now every time we turn around, we find someone staring at you with far too much interest. And they don’t back off with a warning glare as easily as before.”
Patting my back pocket, I assure myself that I’ve got Hunter’s taser on me just in case, but keep my tone upbeat. “Murder Mountain is giving off some real rapey kidnapper vibes lately, I agree. Bright side, it looks like I was everything you hoped for and then some.” In my peripherals, I watch men chopping wood with far more aggression than necessary. The ones hauling stacks of firewood in the direction of the communal bunks slow their steps, eyeing Hunter and Damian with contempt. “They look less lifeless already, and we’re only a couple of days in. So, you’re welcome.”
A low, agitated rumble escapes Damian’s throat. “We were after inspiring them to rise up to take control of their lives back, not to turn on each other in some twisted desire to possess you.”
The snakes in my gut shift from fighting each other, to striking at me, trying to destroy me from within so they can escape. “Maybe now you’ll actually listen the next time I remind you that hope only leads to disappointment. You get semi-hostile wolves that want to murder you, or depressed zombies; take it or leave it.”
The sound of hurried steps has all of our heads whipping to the right, and my knees nearly buckle in relief at the sight. Kaige’s jaw is tight, shadows dulling the orange of his typically bright eyes. Slowing to a jog, chest heaving as he catches his breath, he huffs, “Fuck, there you guys are.” Facing Damian, his expression morphs into one of pity. “It’s your dad.”
