“That’s not what I meant,” I point out.
He stands, shoving the water back in the bag. “I know what you meant, babe, but I ain’t ready to fuckin’ tell you about it. We got tracks to make, so let’s move.”
With a sigh, I stand, and we begin walking again.
This is going to be fun.
~*~*~*~
We stop three hours later just as the sun is dropping over the mountaintops, and a cool breeze is trickling through the trees. Krypt finds a large overhanging rock that provides some great shelter. We both drop down underneath it, exhausted and panting. After a bottle of water each, we’re able to catch our breath.
“I’ll make a fire,” he says. “But it has to be small. Don’t want no smoke givin’ us away.”
I point further underneath the rock. “If you do it right back there, no one will see.”
He stares at me, and my cheeks flush under his scrutiny. “You are smart, ain’t ya, Wildcard?”
“Don’t call me Wildcard,” I mutter.
“Why not?” he murmurs, opening the pack. “It suits you.”
I watch him unload a folded blanket, a couple of tins of food, and a flashlight. He lays the blanket out on a softer patch of ground and points to it. “Sit on that. It’ll keep you warm.”
I don’t hesitate. I slide over until I’m on the thick, fleecy material. He joins me, sitting beside me so our legs are touching. I bite my lip, trying to avoid showing how much him being so close affects me. I don’t understand this insta-attraction; I can only put it down to his looks and the fact that I haven’t been laid for a long while.
“You hungry?” he asks.
“Sure.”
Like someone skilled with nature, he creates a small fire and prepares some food in a small dish he had in his pack. I tuck my knees up to my chest and watch him work, the expression on his face is one full of concentration.
“So, are you going to tell me what is going down?”
He sighs, but keeps his eyes on the food. “We’ve got rivals, big ones, and they’re causin’ a problem for our club.”
“Another MC?” I ask.
He raises his brows at my term.
“What? I know a little bit about clubs.”
“Right,” he mutters. “So then you’ll know we take shit very seriously. This club is messin’ with things they shouldn’t be messin’ with. Firstly, they put me in prison.”
“But you shot and killed those people.”
“Wrong,” he says, his eyes hard. “I shot and killed Johan Reed, but it was all a big set-up.”
“They set you up to kill someone?”
He growls, low and throaty. “Let me fuckin’ finish.”
I close my mouth.
“I had every intention of shooting that fucker, but it was set-up that I’d end up in the same place as Johan. I got a call out to there sayin’ shit was goin’ down with another club. Took another one of the boys and went to check it out. When I arrived, I saw nothin’. I went inside the coffee shop to check things out further and he was there, that filthy, motherfucker. I’d been lookin’ for him for a long fuckin’ time, and there he was. I lost my shit, pullin’ out my gun and shovin’ it at him. People freaked out, screaming and causing shit. I told them all to get down and stare at the fuckin’ floor. I couldn’t deal with them. I was wavin’ my gun around like a mad man. It wasn’t my finest moment.”
My mouth opens.
“You need to understand I was blinded by rage. I didn’t care about the people around me. They were all face-down when I shot Johan in the head, doubtin’ anyone saw much—it’s why witnesses were sketchy.”
Makes sense.
“Screams broke out, Whiskey came in, and before I knew it shots were comin’ in through the doors. They killed the rest of his family. Cops showed up minutes later, arresting me. The witnesses missed most of it, but there was enough evidence to assume I killed them all—I was the one they saw wavin’ the gun around, so why wouldn’t it be me? I was arrested.”
“What did he do to you that would make you so angry?” I whisper, eyes wide.
“That ain’t any of your business. All you need to know is that I didn’t kill the rest of them. I’m sure if they did their fuckin’ research, they would see the bullets weren’t from my gun.” He snorts loudly. “Or maybe they were. Howard and his club are fuckin’ clever.”
“What you’re telling me is that this other club shot the rest of his family, making it look like you did it.”
“That’s exactly what I’m tellin’ you. They even cut the cameras so no one would see it. It was fuckin’ crazy; people were everywhere. It wouldn’t have been hard for them to slip shots in. I know Howard has some fuckin’ good shooters. These people deal with bad shit. They have contacts with the cartel. They aren’t the kind of people to fuck around.”