She waved a careless hand. “We’re not going to hear back from them for a while—they’re busy with their own missions. But the council has to be reeling. This is the perfect time.”
Rylan knew Sloan wouldn’t like what he had to say, but he said it anyway. “I agree. Let’s strike now. Garrett’s definitely taken out his outposts by now, and the council’s got to be scrambling for answers. Being hit at these different outposts will thin their ranks. They’ll be rushing to the four corners trying to figure out who’s behind the attacks.” He paused. “How many men are supposed to be at this outpost?”
“Five to ten.” Reese was eyeing him in approval.
Rylan tried not to preen like an idiot, but damn, he craved that approval. And Sloan’s too. For some fucked-up reason, he wanted to show them both that he had more going for him than what hung between his legs. He could be Reese’s left hand while Sloan was the right.
Last night, Sloan had looked to him for support. They’d acted as a team. A solid, cohesive unit that had taken care of and pleasured their woman—and each other.
And it had filled him with more satisfaction and contentment than he’d ever thought possible. He couldn’t get enough of either one of them. With Reese, he was drawn to the fight in her. The woman wouldn’t do a damn thing that she didn’t want to. She certainly wouldn’t have spread her legs for some dirty traveler in exchange for a sack of potatoes if her man ordered her to. Reese would never allow herself to be used like that.
And Sloan . . . he was as steady as a rock. He wouldn’t use a person for his own benefit. Hell, the man would cut off his own arm before he’d let anyone hurt the people he cared about.
So yeah, maybe Rylan wanted to be a part of that. And . . . since he was being so damn honest with himself, he couldn’t deny he was excited about torching another Enforcer station. There were only two things worth doing in life: fucking and fighting.
Well, he’d already fucked last night, and now Reese was asking him to fight. This was a no-brainer for him.
“Five to ten men,” he echoed thoughtfully. “That’s it?”
Reese pointed to the map. “Maybe not even half as staffed. It’s got no supplies, and it’s nowhere near the city. It’s protecting nothing.”
“Not nothing,” Sloan reminded her. “Hudson said the council is establishing a colony out there. There could be more soldiers there than anywhere if it’s being considered as the location for a new city.”
Sloan made a good point, but up until now, Reese’s instincts hadn’t steered them wrong. “I’m with Reese on this,” Rylan said quietly. “She was right about launching the outpost attacks and she was right to keep you here in case Enforcers showed up.”
Sloan ran a ragged hand through his hair. “This is a low value target. We’ve got tired fighters and our ranks are depleted. We haven’t even gotten our men back from Mick or Brynn.”
“Mick’s probably finishing up his attacks and sending them our way. I bet they’ll be here in a couple of days,” Reese said, sounding impatient.
“Who are you going to leave to protect Foxworth?” Sloan challenged.
Now she looked annoyed. “Last time I was leaving, you said I could put anyone in charge. Even Randy, remember?”
Sloan’s expression darkened. “And I was wrong. I was wrong then, but I’m not now. Look, let’s send some runners out first, gather some intel, and then figure out what to do next.”
“If we send a scout, we might alert the Enforcers. Let’s use the element of surprise.” She turned to Rylan, expectant.
Again, he backed her up. “Agreed. I’m still not seeing the point of waiting.”
“This is a bad idea,” Sloan said flatly.
Reese smiled. It wasn’t a full-fledged grin, but a fierce one, full of teeth and a lot of anger. “If you don’t want to come, then stay here,” she told Sloan. “We don’t need you.”
*
Sloan froze. Beside him, Rylan sucked in a breath as if he’d been the target of the blow Reese had delivered, but it was Sloan’s gut that took the punch. He nearly staggered backward from the force of it. For a second, even Reese looked stricken.
But then her features hardened and she bent over the map, brushing away the bullets and rolling the papers into a tight tube.
It was a sight Sloan was used to. Sometimes Reese coped by shutting down. She wrapped her defenses around her and there was no penetrating them. No amount of cajoling or even sex would bring her out of it. She raged and fought and then when it all got to be too much for her, she turned off. Jake had found that out early on, and he’d complained bitterly about it to Sloan on more than one occasion.
Well, fine. She could shut down all she wanted right now. But Sloan knew that her and Rylan’s assessment about this mission was dead wrong. Something bad was out there. He could feel it in his bones, but he also knew he wouldn’t stay behind.