Addicted

  Jamie grinned as another memory surfaced. “He was such an ass sometimes, though. He might not have wanted to screw me, but he was crazy protective and liked to make my life difficult. That boy I was into? Lennox beat the shit out of him after he found us making out in the woods. Then I fell for this other guy who treated me terribly, and Lennox pounded on him too. Oh, and I was in love with this older guy for a while—poor thing used to crap his pants when Lennox was around, which was hilarious because this guy was five years older. But Lennox had a reputation by then for watching out for me.”

  Hudson snickered. “It sounds like you’ve been in love a lot.”

  She considered it. “I guess I have. I tend to fall hard for people. And super fast.”

  “I’d never been in love before Connor,” Hudson confessed. “But I fell fast for him too.”

  “Of course you did. That man is smoking hot.” Jamie pulled her shirt over her head, then unclasped her bra as she searched for something to sleep in.

  It wasn’t until she glimpsed the slight flush on the other woman’s cheeks that Jamie realized her nudity was the source of Hudson’s discomfort. She always forgot that Hudson still wasn’t used to the lack of modesty in the free land. But Jamie had stopped being modest a long time ago. Growing up in a camp full of people and having to share quarters more often than not had pretty much erased any shyness or self-consciousness she might’ve felt. “Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting you’re from the city.”

  “Oh, it’s all right. I don’t know why it still surprises me.” Hudson’s cheeks turned redder. “By the way, that visit to Foxworth? I have never seen so many naked bodies in one room before.”

  Jamie laughed. “Reese hosted a party for you, huh?”

  “Yep. We didn’t stay long, though. Connor wanted—” She stopped abruptly, then grinned. “Well, you know what he wanted.”

  “I can imagine.” And only imagine, because although Connor had been a frequent visitor to the whorehouse, Jamie had never had the pleasure of sleeping with him.

  Sparing the other woman from seeing her bare tits, Jamie turned away and slipped an oversize T-shirt over her head. It was one of Lennox’s, with a huge hole on the sleeve, but it was soft and worn and her favorite shirt to sleep in.

  “What’d you think of Reese?” Jamie asked. She knew that most women found the reigning queen of Foxworth incredibly intimidating.

  Hudson surprised her by saying, “I liked her. She’s smart. Calculating. Looks like she knows how to get shit done. Well, I guess she must, since they’ve been living in that town for years and the Enforcers have left them alone.” She paused. “Until recently, anyway.”

  Jamie’s spine stiffened. “Is that what Reese said? Enforcers have been sniffing around and causing trouble?”

  The blonde nodded. “I’m sure Lennox is going to tell you all about it after he’s done with Con, but I might as well fill you in now. Reese wants Rylan and Pike to go to Foxworth for a while to train her people how to fight. There were some attacks on Foxworth, and now everyone is on guard.”

  Rylan was leaving?

  It annoyed Jamie that her first thought was about Rylan leaving, and not concern for the people of Foxworth. “When are they going?”

  “Soon, I imagine. I’m sure Connor and the others are figuring out the details now.”

  But clearly they’d already finished, because a sharp knock sounded on the door, followed by Lennox’s deep voice. “Jamie. Need to talk to you.”

  Hudson slid off the bed as the door swung open. She greeted Lennox with a smile, then squeezed Jamie’s arm and flitted out the door.

  The moment they were alone, Jamie narrowed her eyes at Lennox. His serious expression told her everything she needed to know. “You’re going with them.”

  He nodded.

  She nodded back. “All right. When do we leave?”

  A pained look crossed his features. “You’re not coming with us.”

  “Are we really starting up this bullshit again?” She flopped down on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms. “I deferred to you about the meeting, but you’re not going to win this one. I go where you go.”

  It was the pact they’d made when they were kids, and each of them had spoken those words time and again over the years.

  “We’ll be gone for weeks, love. And Foxworth is apparently taking some heat from Enforcers. I’d rather you stayed here where it’s safe.”

  She lifted her chin in defiance. “No.”

  “Jamie—”

  “No,” she repeated. “I’m coming with you.”

  “What about Piper and Layla?” he countered. “You’re perfectly okay leaving them alone?”

  “Connor and Hudson will be here to watch over them. I told you, Len—you can’t win.” She shrugged. “Besides, this training thing could be useful for me. It’s been a while since I got in any target practice.”

  Lennox snorted. “You can shoot better than anyone I know, Pike and Rylan included.”

  He had her there. The adults at the camp they’d grown up in had made sure every single child knew how to shoot a weapon. Jamie and Lennox used to take their rifles into the woods and set up targets, and by the time she was seven years old, she could blow a glass bottle right out of the sky while both she and the target were in motion.

  “Fine, then I’ll work on honing my combat skills.” She refused to back down. “Either way, I’m going with you.”

  A crease of unhappiness dug into his proud forehead, but Jamie knew he was close to capitulating. Lennox didn’t like letting her out of his sight and they both knew it. And that was fine by her. His overprotective bullshit annoyed her sometimes, but when it came down to it, she and Lennox were a team and always had been.

  “Fine,” he grumbled. “You can come.”

  She snickered. “You say that as if you’re giving me permission. But sure, you can keep thinking you’re in charge if it makes you feel better.”

  His lips quirked in an exasperated smile. Then he walked over to the bed and captured her chin with one big hand before dipping his head to kiss her cheek. “Night, love. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  The soft brush of his warm lips on her skin made her smile. Lennox was always so tender with her, which was ironic, considering that it was no secret that he liked rough sex. Jamie had seen him pound into women with fervor, use his lips and hands and teeth to let out his sexual aggression.

  She was one of the rare people who got to experience the gentle Lennox. The sweet Lennox. She would’ve missed out on that if the two of them had gotten sexually involved, because going to bed with Lennox would’ve come with a choice: sex or friendship.

  Times like these, when he ran a tender hand over her cheek and gazed at her as though she meant the world to him, she was glad she’d never been forced to make that choice.

  * * *

  Rylan could tell that Connor had more to say. While the other men headed off in different directions, he remained on the porch, studying his best friend’s serious eyes.

  Usually Con was a lot harder to read, but tonight he was conveying his unease as clearly as the neon lights that had once lit up city billboards. Rylan remembered being shown a picture of a place called Vegas when he was a kid, and how his eyes had grown larger than saucers when he saw all those lights, shining bright even at night.

  Nowadays, nights were shrouded in darkness unless you were lucky enough to find a place with a generator or access to the power grid. Or if you lived in the city, where modern conveniences were given freely to the citizens who toed the line.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked the camp leader.

  Connor rose from his chair and joined Rylan at the railing. He stared into the dark forest for a moment, opened his mouth, then closed it when soft footsteps sounded from the path on their right.

  They both turned to find Hudson
approaching the cabin. “I’m exhausted,” she announced as she climbed the steps. “You coming to bed?”

  Connor gave a brisk nod. “Give me a second, sweetheart. I need to talk to Ry.”

  “Don’t take too long.” She glanced at Rylan. “You’ve got five minutes and then I’m dragging him inside. He’s exhausted too, but he’ll never admit it.”

  “Of course not. We’re men, baby. We can never admit to having anything less than go-all-night stamina.” Rylan waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Laughing, she stepped closer and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. “Night, Ry.”

  Rylan squeezed her back, planting a kiss on the top of her head. The other man watched the exchange without a hint of jealousy in his eyes. He turned into a possessive asshole whenever anyone showed interest in Hudson, but never around Rylan. Maybe Connor was confident that Rylan would never try to steal his woman. Or maybe Con just suspected what Rylan had never voiced out loud—that he had no interest in settling down. Ever.

  Either way, it didn’t matter why his friend trusted him. He enjoyed his visits to their bed, and as long as Con was willing to share Hudson, Rylan was happy to accommodate them.

  The moment Hudson was inside the cabin, Connor finally voiced his thoughts. “Reese is lying to me.”

  “Huh. Okay.” Rylan’s gaze sharpened. “You think there weren’t any attacks on Foxworth?”

  “No, the attacks were real. I spoke to her people. They confirmed it.”

  “They could have been lying too. You know everyone there follows Reese’s lead.” Which never failed to get him hard, seeing the power Reese wielded over her people.

  Something about that woman turned Rylan on something fierce. He found it insanely bothersome that she didn’t return the interest. He could rock the woman’s world, if she’d just let him.

  Connor was shaking his head. “I know when I’m being lied to. Her people were telling the truth. She wasn’t.” His hands curled over the wooden ledge, frustration etched into his features. “Her request for training . . . something about it sounded off.”

  “What do you think she’s up to?”

  “No clue, but there’s definitely something brewing in Foxworth.” Con shrugged. “I need you to find out what it is.”

  Rylan offered a rueful grin. “If you need to me to set up some kind of honey pot operation—or would it be honey dick?—then you might be shit out of luck. My natural charisma doesn’t work on that woman.”

  The other man chuckled. “Guess you’ll have to dip into your other bag of tricks, then. I don’t care how you get the intel, just get it done. I’m not happy about sending people to Foxworth when I know Reese is cooking something up.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” he promised.

  “Good, now I should probably get inside before Hudson comes out and—”

  A loud crash sounded from the vicinity of the trees. In a heartbeat, both men had their guns out of their waistbands and aimed at the dark forest. Since the entire camp was rigged with trip wires, Rylan tensed, expecting an explosion to light up the sky at any moment, but the night went silent again.

  Frowning, Connor slid the radio out of his belt. “Xan, you at the lodge?”

  A static-ridden response came back. “Yeah.”

  “Check the cameras in the east woods. We heard a crash.”

  There was a long beat of silence, then, “Think it was a branch. A few of those dead trees we need to cut down took a beating during the thunderstorm the other night. I’m seeing lots of branches on the ground.”

  Connor relaxed. “Gotcha. Thanks.”

  They kept their weapons trained for several more seconds before lowering them. It probably had been a fallen branch, Rylan decided. The chances of anyone sneaking into the camp without setting off one of the motion sensors or explosives were pretty damn slim.

  Tucking his gun away, Connor headed for the cabin door, then halted when he realized Rylan was still at the railing. He slanted his head and said, “You coming in or what?”

  Rylan barked out a laugh. “Your woman’s tired.”

  A wicked gleam entered Connor’s eyes. “Yeah, but nothing puts her to bed faster than a screaming orgasm. Been a while since we gave her one.”

  Rylan’s dick was hard in a nanosecond. Yeah, it’d been a couple of weeks since he and Connor tormented Hudson’s sweet, delectable body.

  Jamie had already gone to bed, so it probably wouldn’t be gentlemanly if he woke her up to finish what they’d started in the barn. But damn, he could use a good lay right now. Orgasms were one of the few rewards in this dangerous, fucked-up world. Made living in it a bit more tolerable.

  With a grin, he gave Connor a slap on the shoulder. “Lead the way, brother.”

  4

  The group gathered in the courtyard the next evening after the sun had set. While the men loaded gear into the Jeep, Jamie hugged Layla and Piper good-bye before pulling Hudson aside.

  She checked that the other women were out of earshot, then said, “Take care of them for me.”

  “I will,” Hudson promised.

  “And keep an extra eye on Piper. Girl’s as stubborn as a mule, and she doesn’t always follow orders.”

  The blonde grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m used to dealing with stubborn asses.” She cocked a head toward Connor, who was issuing some last-minute orders to Pike.

  Jamie snickered, and the sharp sound startled the one-month-old wolf pup at Hudson’s feet. “Aw, wolfie, don’t be scared.” She knelt down and patted Hope’s soft head. When a pair of eerie blue eyes peered up at her, a shiver ran up Jamie’s spine. “Jesus, her eyes freak me out.”

  Hudson scooped up the wolf and nuzzled her dark fur. “Don’t say that. You’ll give her a complex.”

  That triggered another snicker. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but . . . you and Pike are fucking insane. You realize she’s a wolf and not a person, right?”

  “Agree to disagree.”

  Hudson stuck out her tongue, then ambled off toward Connor and Pike. The latter plucked the furry bundle from Hudson’s arms and whispered something in Hope’s tiny ear. Which only made Jamie gape, because, really? The man barely said a word to the human beings around him, but he was whispering sweet nothings to a wolf?

  An engine roared to life behind her. She spun around to find Lennox straddling his Harley. “You riding with me or in the Jeep?”

  Jamie hesitated. Pike was now straddling his own bike, which left Rylan alone at the Jeep, tossing gear inside. She glanced back to Lennox, who seemed to already know the answer.

  “Gotcha,” he said dryly.

  For some stupid reason, she found herself on the defensive. “It’s a long drive. Figured I’d ride in comfort so I don’t show up to Foxworth with a sore ass.”

  Lennox smirked. “You and Ry alone in a car for five hours? Bet you’ll still be showing up at Foxworth with a sore ass, love.”

  She gave him the finger, but he just laughed and started the engine. A moment later the powerful machine disappeared down the path.

  Lennox had been mocking her about her crush on Rylan for more than a year, though she supposed she deserved it. She was twenty-five years old, too damn old for girlish crushes, but . . . damn it, Rylan was sexy as hell, not to mention the most likable man she’d ever met.

  She headed for the Jeep and threw her duffel bag in the back. When Kade came up beside her, she battled a spark of disappointment. She thought he’d be on one of the motorcycles.

  Just when she’d resigned herself to riding alone in the backseat, the dark-haired man beat her to the door. “Mind if I sit back here? Xan and I were fixing the barn roof all day and I want to stretch out and sleep.”

  “It’s all yours.” She gestured to the torn seat.

  Kade climbed into it, then rested his head on one of their bags and closed his
eyes.

  She and Kade were around the same age, but she didn’t know him well. He’d been part of Connor’s group for a year or so, but there was something seriously haunted about his dark eyes, as if he hadn’t quite left the city behind him.

  “Ready?” Rylan’s deep voice sounded from behind her.

  She walked up to the passenger’s side. “Yep.” She was more than ready, actually. Sitting up front with Rylan for the five-hour drive? Hell yeah.

  He grinned as he slid behind the wheel. “You’re the sexiest copilot I’ve ever had,” he drawled.

  The compliment brought an uncharacteristic flush to her cheeks. Damn it. She was so gone for this man.

  Pike signaled something to Rylan before speeding off on his Ducati, and the Jeep quickly followed suit. Rylan kept the headlights off as he steered down the long path winding along the mountain.

  Jamie wholly approved of the location of their camp. The entrance to the main road was overgrown with foliage, and Connor and his men had removed any road signs that had once directed visitors to the resort. The place was completely hidden from view, high enough on the mountain and shielded by forest so that nobody on the road could see the lights in the cabin and main lodge.

  But while the isolation boded well for safety, it got to a person after a while. She was looking forward to being at Foxworth and interacting with people again. It was rare for large groups of outlaws to congregate in one place, but Reese’s town had a population of nearly eighty, at last count.

  As they followed the motorcycles down the dark, quiet road, she and Rylan chatted for a bit, then settled into silence as he loaded a CD, which was another rarity. Jamie hardly ever got a chance to listen to music, but the Jeep had an older-model CD player that miraculously still worked, and she leaned back in her seat as music floated out of the speakers. They were three songs into the album when she realized how depressing the music was, chock-full of twangy guitar and lyrics about heartbreak and misery.

  “Are you trying to depress me?” she teased.

  He chuckled. “Pike and I stole this Jeep when we were making our way out of the south. Damn thing only had three CDs in the glove box. This one is the most uplifting, believe it or not.”