Lowlander Silverback(47)

“I said shut up!”

The man who held Kong’s mother released her and ran for the car.

“Run, little monkey,” Beaston said.

“Never!” Fiona shrieked as her car backed away behind her. “You’re mine! Mine! Do you hear me? I’ll never rest until you are broken beneath me!”

Kong beat his chest and roared.

Kong’s mother was running toward them at a dead sprint as Fiona’s car sped away. Layla rushed forward and grabbed her hand. “Run,” Layla urged Kong’s mother. Panicked, she said, “Don’t stop.” Something awful was about to happen. Her instincts screamed to escape the clearing.

The Gray Backs were retreating with them now, too, sprinting toward the trailers as the breeze that had been a whisper moments before kicked up to gale-force. The sky went dark above them.

Terror clogged Layla’s throat as something massive wrapped around her waist. Kong crushed Layla and his mother against his chest as they skidded to a stop on the dusty gravel road. Behind his massive shoulders, the night sky lit up with burning fire. So hot. Hard to breath. Tears streamed down Layla’s face as she clutched the thick fur on Kong’s arm.

A moment dragged on and on, and then suddenly, it was done.

The heat lifted, and the night was doused in darkness once again. All that was left of Fiona was a long streak of charred grass and billowing smoke.

A few feet away, Beaston hovered over Aviana, shielding her with his body. He dragged his inhuman gaze over the scorched earth and whispered, “Chomp.”





Chapter Sixteen




“Barney, you’re cut off,” Layla said, taking his empty glass away to clean it.

“I’m barely tipsy,” he argued.

Jake settled the phone into its sling and said, “Perfect timing because your brother is in the parking lot waiting for you.”

“It’s only eight.”

“It’s ten, and Sammy’s has been booked for a private party.”

Layla frowned at the back of her boss’s head as he led Barney toward the door. “What private party?”

If Jake heard her, he ignored her like a champ. Not once did he turn around as he made his way to the door with a stumbling Barney. A stream of customers flooded in around them, and a grin split her face when she saw Willa and Aviana at the helm.

“Mid-week and the Gray Backs are here? Party animals,” Layla teased as she wiped down the sticky bar top where Barney had spilled half his last drink.

“We need tons of shots,” Willa said as she sat on the barstool.

“What’s the occasion?” she asked.

Willa jerked her head toward the door just as Kong ducked under the frame. “You.”

With an uncertain smile, she shook her head, baffled. “Okay, how many shots is a ton?”

Denison and Brighton were now up on stage plugging in their cables, and the rest of the Ashe Crew were trickling in around Kong.

“Enough shots for all the crews and Damon,” Willa said.

Layla’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Damon is going to be here?” As far as she remembered, the gorilla-chomping dragon had never set foot in Sammy’s Bar.

Aviana leaned over, her eyes bright and excited. “Rumor has it he’s coming down from his mountains to party with us.”

Layla blinked hard and whispered, “Wow,” as she began lining up all the clean shot glasses they had.

Layla laughed and chatted as her friends dropped by the bar to say hello. Maybe this was a version of the Shifter Nights she and Jake had discussed. If so, he could’ve warned her, though. She went from a few customers to slammed in seconds. Jake helped her rush to fill glasses, and every time she looked up, Kong was watching her with such adoration in his gaze. He didn’t have to ignore her anymore. One of many changes that had happened in the two months since Fiona’s barbecue.

Now, Kong’s mother, Josephine, and Kirk helped him run the sawmill. Layla had wiggled out of her apartment lease and had moved into Kong’s cabin with the three of them. It was crowded, but anyone with eyes could see it was good for Kong to live near Kirk and Josephine. Layla smiled as happy warmth flooded her cheeks. Kong had the best of both worlds now, as he deserved. He was a part of the Gray Back Crew, and he’d secured a family group in Saratoga.

And Fiona would never hurt them again.

Layla called out, “Pass ’em around!” and laughed as she watched the most important people in her life hand out shots through the notes of the Beck Brothers’ song. Her eyes landed on Kong as he wove through the crowd and approached the bar.

His eyes were soft brown and locked on hers. Tall, strong, scarred, and with that hesitant smile tugging at his lips, Layla’s breath froze in her chest with how beautiful he was. When he reached the bar, he set a book on top of it.