Becoming A Vincent (The Wild Ones Book 1)(51)

See? It’s not just me. A freaking water cannon demands attention.

“Does he realize he’s starting a war?” my aunt demands. “And what happens if they keep this up? The town will insist on a fifth corner. Who would move?”

The sound of cars pulling in behind us has me turning around, and I see people getting out of their vehicles, hurrying toward us. Tons of people too, not just a few.

“What the hell?” I ask on a long, confused breath.

“For once, I have no damn clue,” Aunt Penny groans, looking over the ridiculous amount of uninvited guests.

Delaney is practically beaming as she races toward the edge to watch the showdown.

“If you want out, you have to promise on the graves not to throw another one of those fucking bombs. Ever,” Benson tells them, moving over to take position behind the water cannon as Deacon takes over the boat’s helm.

“Fuck. You,” Hale seethes, starting to haul himself out.

Benson blasts him with the water cannon, and Hale flails backwards, slapping the water with a clap when he lands on his back.

“I must have heard you wrong,” Benson says, grinning as he holds his finger on that trigger.

Seriously! Where’d he get a water cannon?

“Don’t move to the wilderness, they said.” Liam’s voice has me jerking my head to the left to see him right beside me, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares out at the lake to see this bizarre turn of events.

“You’ll be bored to death, they said,” he goes on. “Peace and quiet gets old, they said.” He turns and gives me an eye roll. “Funny how this wasn’t in the town brochure.”

I’d laugh under normal circumstances, but these are most definitely not normal circumstances.

“Wait…Tomahawk has a brochure?” I ask, unable to help myself.

“Yield or freeze to death. Your choice,” Benson tells my brothers, reminding me there are far more important things going on than brochures.

“Damn it, they’re going to freeze to death,” I grumble.

“We’ll yield the pipe bombs, but you still aren’t getting near our sister,” Killian acquiesces.

As if he’s known exactly where I’ve been all along, Benson turns to face me, and he says something I can’t hear to Deacon, as both my brothers start scrambling to get on their boat.

Benson’s boat turns and shoots toward us, and he curses when Deacon doesn’t line up correctly, bumping the dock too hard when he tries to dock it.

“Sorry. I don’t drive a boat to the store in Seattle!” Deacon defends loudly.

Benson says something I can’t hear, and hoists himself onto the dock before jogging my way.

I look for somewhere to hide, but there’s really no way around this. Only problem is…I now notice half the town is here.

Benson doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of me, cupping the sides of my face.

My eyes stare into those dark brown ones, and he lets his gaze rake over me like he can’t bear not seeing everything at once.

“I’ve been in love with you for over a year, Lilah Vincent. You’re a different brand of crazy than I realized if you think I’m going to let you go now.”

I almost fall forward when he releases me suddenly and takes a step back, smirking at me as he goes to stand on top of the picnic table. My heart is still pounding as I try to process the fact he just told me he loved me.

“I’m on the challenge committee, so I have the right to instate a new beard challenge if I want to,” Benson says, drawing a few hushed whispers.

“There’s a challenge committee?” Liam asks.

“And I will,” Benson goes on, smirking over at me. “Unless Lilah Vincent tells me she’s still mine, and that she’s not ever going to leave me again.”

I narrow my eyes when Delaney comes over and grips my arm painfully.

“Don’t you dare let them grow back the beards,” she hisses.

“The challenge was voted against once. It’ll be voted against again,” I point out, even though it’s just a small act of defiance. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m already his. Never stopped being his.

And he won me over the second he took my brothers out with a freaking water cannon. Because I totally want to shoot them with it myself. I also really want to shoot the Malones. Maybe even the Nickels and Wilders too.

Aunt Penny is unfortunately right. I’ve loved the asshole for longer than I realized. And now I’m boiling.

Benson’s eyes glint with determination as he stares me down.

“Unless the challenger assumes the punishment to instate the challenge on his own accord—don’t forget that little clause. I’ll swim to the other side of the lake. If I make it without being pulled out, the challenge is set. No one can refuse. It could be another nine years before it ends. What do you say, Lilah?”