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“Of course. There was no possible way for them to get worse.”

I’m dying to know what happened, but I already pushed him once, and I know trying again won’t get me anywhere. “That’s not exactly motivating.”

“Depends on how you look at it.”

The scary part is that he actually believes that, but how can you look at your life being in shambles and see the silver lining? I’m homeless, I’m trapped, and I’m getting way too attached to the unpredictable man beside me.

He reaches over to take my bowl. “I’ll clean up, you go to bed.”

“Let me help?”

“No. You’ve done enough today.”

His words are final, and now that he’s home and I’m fed and I’m half-convinced that Antonio isn’t going to pop up halfway through the night, I am really tired. So for once, I don’t bother arguing and just do as I’m told.

The air mattress isn’t exactly comfortable, but it’s warm, and listening to Lynx move around his place fills me with a different kind of comfort.

The light turns out, and then there’s the rustling of blankets as Lynx climbs into bed.

I listen for his breathing, but it’s silent.

“Good night, Lynx.”

“Night.” There’s a long pause. “Sweet dreams.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

LYNX

Listening to someone breathe the entire night is distracting, and I’ve barely had any sleep by the time my cubs show up, bringing nothing but noise with them.

I slip out the front door, careful not to wake Sasha, and it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the six kids in front of me.

“Where’s Matt?” I ask. He’s seventeen and almost grown out of being one of my cubs, but that doesn’t stop the immediate flare of worry that takes over me.

“Had to help Nixon with something on the house,” Josie says. At fifteen, she’s the next oldest, and other than JJ and Gracie, most of my cubs are from the Sheppard family. Nixon did what he had to when he ran away with his siblings, and he’ll always have my respect for that. I don’t know what I’ll do once Leo is fully grown and my cubs no longer need me.

“Fall in line,” I tell them and watch as they move in order of age, pulling out their various weapons of choice. Most of them go for knives, like me, but JJ has his club, and the sheer weight of it has turned him into a weapon of his own. I can already see JJ becoming the protector around here when I’m no longer up to it.

We go through basic weapons work and then some sparring. Since Matt isn’t here, I don’t have to pair up with him and can spend my time walking around and correcting form. We’ll probably spend our next lesson on navigation in the forest because I want them to have all the skills they need to survive, but self-defense is my main focus. Whether they grow up and stay in the End or move on to other places, it’ll help them in any environment.

“What’s he doing here?” Gracie suddenly asks. Her glare is directed toward my cabin, and I turn to follow it. Sasha is leaning on my front porch, still wearing my hoodie, but at least he’s pulled his shorts on underneath it.

“He needs protection. Which will be the same with you if you don’t pay attention.”

“Protection from who?”

“Bad people.”

She’s too perceptive for her own good. “It doesn’t look like you’re doing a very good job protecting him.”

I take Sasha in again, from the cuts on his face to the grazes on his knees, the bruises all over his thighs, and that split lip … she’s right. Especially considering I’m the one who did those things to him.

Hunting him was the most exhilarating moment of my life, but now that I’m looking at him properly, I have to wonder whether it all happened because Sasha thought it had to happen.

If he couldn’t say no to Antonio, does he think he can’t say no to me as well?