Page 28 of The Enforcers: KANE

Kane would have been happy to bleed someone at this point, but he could see the relief on Rachelle’s face at hearing it wasn’t going to happen. “I take it that’s not it?” she said.

Emma giggled. “No,” she said. “They’re rock ‘em sock ‘em sausage fights. At the lake.”

Rachelle turned to Kane, a smile hovering on her lips. “You fight each other with sausages? That sounds dirty.”

Kane raised his eyes to the heavens. This could not be happening. He hated his fucking pack.

He heaved a huge sigh. “They play in teams,” he said. “One person sits on another person’s shoulders, in the water. The people on top have ridiculous three-foot inflatable sausages, and they whack each other like idiots until they start laughing so hard they fall off. Whichever team is left standing is the winner.”

He turned to Jace. “And no, we’re not—”

“Sounds awesome,” Rachelle said. “Can anybody lend me a bathing suit?”

“Sure,” Emma said, looking pleased. “I’ll go get one for you.”

Rafe slung a cooler onto one of the truck beds and came over, dusting off his hands. “New challengers? Do I hear new challengers? Soon to become l-o-s-e-r-s?”

“This is Rafe,” Kane said. “He’s a fucking pain in my ass.”

Rafe shook hands with Rachelle. “He really likes me,” he said in a confidential tone. “He keeps begging to be friends with me.” Kane snorted, but he saw Rachelle was smiling again.

“So,” Rafe went on, “you seriously convinced Kane to put his sausage up against mine?”

“Eeww,” Kane muttered. “My sausage is never going anywhere near yours.”

Rachelle snuggled up next to him. “I’d put Kane’s sausage up against yours any day,” she told Rafe.

“Gross,” Kane said. “No.”

Rachelle said, “But I beg to differ on who’s a l-o-s-e-r. Kane and I are street scrappers, my friend. We’re going to kick all your pansy little Enforcer asses.”

“Oooh, them’s fightin’ words,” Rafe said. “But words are not enough. Everyone knows my sausage is superior.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Ask Terin.”

Kane just put his head in his hands. His romantic date was going to turn into one giant cluster fuck. He could feel it.

* * *

By the time Rachelle had changed into her borrowed bathing suit, nearly everyone was already down at the lake. Kane led her off down a dirt path through the woods. Ahead of them, she could faintly hear the rest of the group talking and laughing.

Kane had gone quiet, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She hesitated a minute, then moved closer to him and laced her fingers through his.

“I like your pack,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Everybody does.”

But they didn’t like him. Or, he thought they didn’t.

“Hey,” she said, squeezing his hand. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I just didn’t want to disappoint your friends.”

“They’re not my friends,” he said, as if it was an automatic response.

She shook her head, frustrated. “Then why did they plan all this?” she asked.

He frowned. “They have barbecues all the time.”

“On a Monday afternoon?”

He seemed to think about it. “I guess not,” he said. “You think they did all this for you?”