Claimed(65)

“Humor me,” she insisted. “Where did you grow up?”



“On a farm. Much farther south than here, in what used to be Texas.”



“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”



“Nope. It was just me and my folks.” His voice stayed deceptively casual. “After they died I joined up with some outlaws who were still rallying for the People’s Army. I was sixteen. No, seventeen, I think. That’s where I met Pike, at the army training camp.”



“Wow. You’ve known him that long?”



Rylan nodded. “Ten years.” He whistled softly. “Jesus. Time passes, huh? Anyway, Pike and I moved up in the ranks and were tasked with training other outlaws who wanted to join the fight, but there was never any sort of organized effort. For all the training and boasting, everyone was too scared to make a move against the GC. Hell, they’re still scared. Eventually we got tired of the promises and ditched the group. We were wandering around doing shit-all when we met Connor.”



“Where was that?”



“Out west. The Enforcers had just wiped out his camp, and he was making his way east.” Rylan grinned. “We tagged along despite his many protests. He didn’t like it at first, but I finally won him over with my natural charm. It was tough – I had to work twice as hard to make up for Pike’s surliness.”



She laughed. “I bet.”



“Though if I’m being honest, I think Con preferred Pike, at least at the beginning. You may not have noticed it, but Con’s not very chatty. He and Pike got along great.”



No, Connor certainly wasn’t chatty. Which drove her nuts. Would it kill the man to tell her something about himself? At this point, she’d be overjoyed to know his favorite color.



“Anyway, the three of us came across this camp and decided it would be a good place to hole up for the winter. But we needed to gather supplies and fortify the place, which meant going on a lot of runs. We met Xander during a raid. He knew Lennox – he’d crashed at the whorehouse a few times – but Xan was a nomad, wasn’t interested in staying in one place. He and I hit it off, and I convinced him to come back with us.”



“And Kade came last? From the city?”



Rylan snickered. “The dumbass was being attacked by bandits when we ran into him. We saved his sorry ass and nursed him back to health. It was my idea to let him stay.”



“Of course it was.” Hudson had noticed that Rylan liked to surround himself with people; the only time he was ever alone at camp was when he turned in for the night. She wondered if it was easier for him to keep up his laid-back charade when he had someone to perform it for.



“And there you have it.” He shrugged again. “I told you it wasn’t an interesting story.”



Hudson had a feeling it would have been very interesting – if he hadn’t left out so many details. Like what it had been like growing up on a farm, what his parents were like, what dangers he’d faced as a child. But she wasn’t in a position to judge him for the omissions. She hadn’t been completely honest, either.



In the back of her mind she knew Dominik and Knox were still looking for her. She could feel it, as if their anger and frustration were being transmitted through the air like radio waves. It was an unnerving sensation that she felt often. Impending doom. Ever-present peril. Each time she found herself relaxing, that nagging feeling poked at her, reminding her that everything could go wrong at any second.



For some reason, the feeling gnawed at her now, as Rylan took her hand to help her step over a fallen log. No sooner had the uneasiness surfaced than an inhuman shriek ripped through the forest.



“What was that?” Hudson said in alarm.



Rylan already had his rifle trained in the direction of the eerie sound. “Stay here,” he ordered.



“No way.” She quickly unsheathed her knife and hurried after him.



Twigs snapped beneath their boots as they moved through the brush toward the commotion. Hudson was nearly knocked off her feet when a blur of white fur flew past her. She registered four legs. A snout. Something dark and fuzzy in its mouth, but the animal disappeared into the trees before she could get a better look.



Rylan caught her arm to steady her, his rifle trained on the retreating creature. “You okay?”



“I’m fine.” She took a breath. “Was that your wolf?”



He shook his head. “My wolf is black as night. Because she was created by the fucking devil.”



Hudson glanced around warily. “Do you think there was some kind of animal fight?”