Page 72 of Hunted

“Aside from the fact that Sanchez is a crazy motherfucker?”

“Yeah, that.”

He sighed. “You really don’t get what it was like, when we lost Gregor. When he was dying we were seeing fucking ghosts, thinking they were enemies, fighting each other because we didn’t even know who was who. And then when he died, it was like ripping the center out of a wheel, and all the spokes just fell apart. We weren’t connected to anything anymore. The only decent thing that happened to any of us in years, gone.”

“But Gunn was there for you. He pulled you back together.”

Boomer tightened his lips and moved his hand back and forth in a ‘maybe, maybe not’ gesture.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “Gunn’s a good commander, and not really too much of a dick. He’s also, like, stupid responsible, a quality which is in short supply up at the Ridge.”

He bit his lip. “But an alpha has to want the job. Not for power or any shit like that. But having an unwilling alpha is kind of like a kid getting orphaned and sent to their bachelor uncle who never wanted kids and only takes care of them out of duty.”

He shrugged and looked away. “Gregor knew all of us, what fuckups we are, but he got us. And… it was kind of like a family, where you all might not really like each other that much, but when it’s all said and done, they still stand behind you.”

He gave a little huff of not-quite-laughter. “I can’t explain shit like this,” he said. “I blow stuff up, you know? But Sanchez misses Gregor the most. And he hates you because he knows that Gunn would rather be with you than us—and if he leaves, what do we do then? It’s like being married to someone who’s always got one foot out the door. Not that I’d know about being married. Because can you imagine?”

That made her laugh. “Not really.”

He grinned at her. “Because the women all want me, am I right? How could I choose?” He stood up. “Anyhow, the guys know Gunn isn’t all in. It hurts their wolves’ feelings.”

Chapter 32

During the rest of the flight, Michelangela turned over in her mind what Boomer had said. For a guy who claimed not to be able to explain stuff, he’d done it pretty well.

It made her even more sure that she and Gunn together had to bond the wolves, to make them feel safe. It seemed now like the hard part would be getting the chance.

They finally landed at the base. Boomer uncuffed Mikey and cuffed her to himself, walking her off the plane. She murmured, “I’m getting really, really tired of coming to this place in handcuffs.”

Boomer snorted. “Then Gunn’s definitely not doing it right.”

The Outlaw Ridge airfield was a large graded area on a shoulder of the mountain, out of sight of the main compound. Michelangela hadn’t even known it was there.

It had two runways, big enough for small jets or military aircraft, two helipads, a big hangar and a covered area for vehicles.

Boomer led her to a Jeep, open at the sides but with a roof on top. Sugar got into the driver’s seat. The Sanchez cousins wanted to crowd in too, but Boomer warned them off with a glare. “Take another truck.”

They grumbled, but surprisingly, they did it. Boomer must have more influence than she’d thought.

Or maybe it was because he could blow them up.

They didn’t go all the way down into the compound; they turned off about halfway and pulled up in front of a house.

Make that a mansion—one that looked like forest giants lived in it. As they got out of the Jeeps, people melted out of the shadows of the forest. Rex, Dobe, a hard-faced scary-looking man, and one who looked like someone’s hot, charming older brother that everyone had a crush on. There were more behind them.

“What the hell happened?” Rex demanded. “Why is she in handcuffs? And where’s Gunn?”

Boomer said, “Sanchez fucking threw him off the helo.”

There was a chorus of gasps, turning to growls. “What the actual fuck?” Dobe said.

“About damn time,” came a voice from behind the other Jeep. It was only then that Mikey noticed a group of men on the other side, behind the Sanchez cousins.

The two factions, she realized. For Gunn, and against.

Someone else said, “Might as well throw him out before he leaves on his own.”

Mikey said, “He wasn’t leaving. He was coming back.”