Page 48 of One Reckless Moment

Outside. Five minutes.

I dropped the phone onto the bed and closed my eyes. Years of four a.m. wakeup calls meant that, unless I was drunk, I was usually up before the sun. Walker knew that. He knew almost everything about me.

Fuck, this wasn’t going to be good.

I knew I had to face him, but I thought maybe he would take a day before beating the shit out of me. I decided that anything he threw at me I’d take in stride. The hurt and betrayal he was feeling was justified, and I had to pay my penance. I slipped out of Paige’s grip, causing the softest little groan as she cuddled up in the blanket.

I tugged on my jeans and fished a fresh black tee out of my suitcase—it was less likely to show blood stains. I stepped into my boots and picked up my hat, placing it on my head.

“Sneaking out on me, Leonard?” Paige’s sleepy voice made me smile as I noticed her sitting up with a pout.

“Walker wants to talk,” I said, sinking down onto the bed next to her, brushing her messy hair behind her ear.

“No, I want to cuddle and not clean up more blood from your face. It’s too early for that,” she whined.

“I’ll be fine, baby.” I kissed her forehead and stood, heading for the front door.

“Text me so I know I’m not a widow!” she shouted as I opened her door and stepped out onto the landing.

I chuckled and shook my head, but my smile fell quickly when I glanced up and saw Walker standing at the bottom of the stairs with a bag in his hand.

“If there’s a gun in there, I’m going back inside,” I said, raising my hands in surrender.

Walker answered me with a grunt. “Get your ass down here.”

He didn’t wait for a reply and stalked off toward the stables.

Reluctantly, I followed.

Walker led me to the training paddock where we usually spent time working the horses in the early morning hours. Reid and Axle were standing in front of the gate talking to each other casually. When they heard our footsteps, they got quiet and faced us.

This wasn’t usually the most serious group of guys, unless someone fucked with someone they cared about.

Walker stopped next to them, facing me. The three were glaring at me in a way I hoped they never would, like I was a stranger who was trespassing on their land. I worked hard to never feel that way here only to blow it up after a night of reckless fun.

“All right, boys. How is this gonna go? Three against one isn’t exactly a fair fight,” I said, slipping my hands into my pockets in an attempt to look casual, even though my heart was pounding.

“We’re not going to hit you, Cash,” Axle grunted out.

“They wanted to, but Mom said if we bruised your face again before the wedding then we’d be sorry and none of us want to know what that means exactly,” Reid added in, his attitude a little lighter than his brothers.

While Axle and Walker prided themselves on being grumps, Reid had more faith in Paige’s decisions. I was sure he felt hurt that we hadn’t told him about our relationship, but he also knew that if this was what Paige wanted then she deserved to make her own choices. She never asked any of them to defend her honor.

She never asked me to defend her honor, either.

“We’re going to handle this the way we would handle any good old-fashioned hazing.”

The edges of Walker’s lips tipped up as he opened the bag and dropped the contents on the ground in front of him. A bottle of whiskey, a rope, a Sharpie, and a roll of duct tape fell to the dirt.

“I saw a horror movie start like this once,” I muttered, as the guys chuckled deviously.

“Bring him out!” Walker shouted at the stables.

Buck and Tweety guided out a horse who was thrashing his head around so hard they had to restrain him. It took both of them to corral the Mustang into the ring. They let go of the reins and he broke into a sprint, jumping around and throwing his body into the fence.

“Sorry, Boss,” Buck said with a look of remorse.

My heart sank as I started putting together what was about to happen.