“Hmm, the threat didn’t work well with Izzy.”
“Not much did.” She’d been dying to ask a question for a long time. In the boat, alone with her thoughts, the words popped out. “Did you ever sleep with Izzy?”
He stumbled with one of the oars and the boat did a shaky jerk. She grabbed onto the sides until they smoothed back out. “Are you kidding me? Of course not! Why would you ask?”
Relief coursed through her. Gen shrugged. “She always wanted you. I think she’s jealous of our friendship and it would’ve been a good way to get back at me. Said I was the good one. The one Mom and Dad loved. I always felt bad she was branded the troublemaker from when we were young. And then we tried to do exactly what everyone expected of us. I followed the right path and she raised hell.”
He seemed to choose his words carefully. “She tried a few times, but I always knew she didn’t want me. She was confused. In pain. Not sure what she was dealing with.”
“Me neither. When she got hooked on drugs, everything blew up. Dad couldn’t reach her, felt like a failure, and barely spoke to her. She was isolated. I wouldn’t blame you if you did sleep with her, Wolfe. Promise.”
Her tummy slid to her toes when he met her gaze. Those piercing blue eyes held a fierce intent that spoke volumes. “We didn’t sleep together. I never wanted Izzy. Understood?” Her breath strangled in her throat, so she managed a nod. “Good. We’re here. Let’s catch some fish.”
The isolated inlet didn’t seem to be the fish-catching capital of Saratoga, but Gen didn’t care. He taught her to hook the bait, educated her on tackle, and gave her a quick lesson on throwing the rod. Gen sat back and watched the line, waiting for a wiggle or a jump. Now that she was here, she wanted to catch a fish. A bigger one than Wolfe, so she could always lord it over him.
“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking with that grin on your face,” he commented.
“Good, ’cause I’m not telling. Can I ask another question? One that may be out of line?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you have only one name?”
His shoulders tightened, and she regretted asking. Since she’d escaped the altar, her curiosity about his past was growing stronger. She waited for him to call on their pinky promise, but he surprised her once again.
“I was someone else a long time ago. Shit happened. When Sawyer took me in, I was so mixed-up I thought if I changed my name I’d be someone else.”
“That makes perfect sense. A new slate. Why did you pick Wolfe? How come it wasn’t Snake or Serpent like your tat?”
His lip kicked up in a half grin. “That would just be stupid.”
She grinned with him. “Guess so.”
He was quiet, staring down at his fishing rod. “I picked Wolfe because it’s a symbol of a great hunter. I wanted to feel that type of power for a change. The hunter and predator. Not the hunted. Not prey.”
His words blasted through and connected to her on a deep level. Somehow, he was giving her the piece to the puzzle that had made him, but it was too fast and too big to decipher. The snap of the line interrupted them, and suddenly he was jerking the rod, reeling in his prize, while Gen got caught in the excitement and started yelling.
“Pull harder, to the left, you’re gonna lose him, you got one!”
“Shush, you’re scaring them away. Think it’s a big one.”
The rod bent and the fish appeared, flopping madly and spraying water everywhere as Wolfe dragged the fish into the boat. Wolfe unhooked the line, staring with sheer pride at his catch.
Gen stared at the fish. Medium sized. Silvery. Its gills working, its eyes seemed to bug out as it realized its life was officially over. It’d be asphyxiated and suffer a slow, painful death.
“Son of a bitch, I got one! Now, I think Sawyer said to knock him out with one of those hammer things. I brought one right here, I think, and I— Gen, what are you doing? Gen? Hey!”
She dove across the boat, grabbed the slimy, slippery fish, and, barely managing to hold on to it, tossed it back into the water.
Ripples vibrated on the surface, then stilled. Relief loosened her shoulders. Thank goodness. She never thought she was squeamish, but no way was she going to be a part of hurting and torturing a poor animal. It’d swim back to its fishy family and hopefully avoid such tricks in the future.
She was probably more like her sister Alexa than she thought.
Smiling, she turned and stopped dead.
Uh-oh.
“Did you just throw away the fish I caught?” His voice hit a high-pitched note she rarely heard. Like he was really pissed. So pissed he couldn’t control his voice.