“Beck and Travis have both met Hudson,” Jamie pointed out. “They’ll vouch for her.”
“If they’re there,” Lennox said somberly. “Those two spend half their time combing the colony for cars to fix up.” He sighed. “I’d come with you, but I don’t like leaving Jamie here alone.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself, asshole.”
“Of course you can, love. I just don’t like leaving you.”
Hudson didn’t miss the way he looked at Jamie when he said that. Tenderly. The cocky rogue had vanished, replaced by a man who… Oh hell. He was in love with Jamie.
And Jamie was in love with Rylan. Not only that, but she didn’t seem at all affected by Lennox’s rakish good looks and magnetic charm. It was obvious from the way she treated him that she viewed him as nothing more than the best friend she’d had since childhood.
Thinking about the love triangle that neither Rylan nor Lennox probably even knew they were part of made Hudson’s head spin, so she pushed the thought aside and focused on more pressing matters.
“I’ll be fine on my own,” she assured Lennox. “I don’t want to put your life at risk.”
“No, it’s not safe to travel alone.” He glanced at Jamie. “Are you sure you’re okay with manning the fort while I’m gone?”
“Seriously, Len. Insult me one more time and I’ll carve your balls off with this spoon.” With a sweet smile, Jamie waved the spoon in question before using it to stir her coffee.
“Jesus, woman. Leave my balls out of this.” His trademark grin returned as he glanced over at Hudson. “We’ll head out in thirty. Why don’t you grab something to eat while I gather some gear and gas up the —”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.
The gunshots that exploded in the air shook the walls, causing Jamie’s mug to slip out of her hand. It hit the floor and smashed to pieces at the same time heavy footsteps pounded on the hardwood floor as multiple intruders entered the house. Another gunshot rang out, followed by a loud crack and a deafening crash, as if pieces of the ceiling had snapped off and fallen to the ground.
Hudson’s pulse raced in panic.
They were under attack.
Eight hours. Rylan and the others had been gone for eight hours, and Connor couldn’t fight the gnawing worry that something was wrong. Lennox had confirmed over the sat phone that Hudson was with him, but it took only three hours to reach his place. Three hours there, three hours back. Connor tacked on an extra hour for Rylan to sweet-talk Hudson into agreeing to come back, and that totaled up to seven.
They should have been back by now, damn it.
Unless they’d stayed for a drink, or to shoot the shit, or… Hell, maybe they weren’t coming back. Maybe they’d decided his shitty leadership wasn’t worth coming back to.
But no, they’d be back. Or at least Pike would, because no way would the man leave the wolf behind. Hope had planted herself in Connor’s cabin the moment the others had left, and she’d been staring accusingly at him ever since. She didn’t seem to like the rain, though. Each time a boom of thunder rumbled in the sky, she whimpered and burrowed her head into the mattress. Whenever Connor tried to reach for her, she snarled at him.
Jesus. He really had no allies left.
“Relax, beast. I’m going to make it right.” His voice came out in a hoarse rasp. He’d smoked so many cigarettes today, he was surprised smoke wasn’t blowing out of his pores. He hadn’t given in to the temptation to drink himself stupid, though. He couldn’t be piss-ass drunk when the others returned. When Hudson returned.
He needed to be sober when he told her he loved her and threw himself at her feet to beg her forgiveness.
You didn’t kick her out because it was the best decision for camp. You did it because it was the best decision for you. Because she hurt you and you lashed out like a goddamn lion with a thorn stuck in its paw.
Rylan’s accusations had been running on a loop in his head for eight hours straight, and not even the rain pounding relentlessly against the roof could drown them out.
It had taken only about twenty minutes for the words to sink in, and by then his men had already been gone. So had any vehicle he could’ve used to hightail it over to Lennox’s, which left Connor with no choice but to stay behind and think about what an asshole he was.
“I screwed up, okay?”
Hope cranked open one eye before lowering her head again. Unimpressed.
He didn’t know what possessed him to defend himself to a wolf, but he couldn’t stop the desperate words that poured out of his mouth. “I let my pride and temper get to me. I fucking know it, so quit looking at me like that.”
The wolf didn’t even blink. Her eyes were no longer ice blue, but contained a yellowish tinge now. Eventually they would change color completely. Yellow-gold most likely, the same shade as the she-devil that birthed her.