Page 32 of Property of Mercury

“I think we’ve fallen into a horrible shitstorm, to be transparent as glass, Daniel,” I reply.

“And what does that have to do with me and my tribe?” he presses.

“We believe they may be using the caves in your mountains to hide, either themselves or their cache of weapons.” I don’t let on that Orbit found information that led us to them; that’s a story for another time.

“We’d like permission to come onto the reservation and search for the caves. We want to shut these assholes down, Daniel,” Gemini adds. “Since we don’t know your land at all, we’d appreciate it if a tracker could come with us.”

A heavy silence follows Gemini’s words and like the rest of my brothers, as well as the women, I wait, nearly holding my breath as the man on the other end of the line ponders our request. He finally sighs and I realize the weight he carries is much like what Gemini does with regard to the club. “I must take this to my elders and gain their guidance,” he advises. “However, I will do that now so expect a response in the next day or so.”

“Thank you, Daniel, we appreciate you taking the time to call us back and listen to what we think is going on. As far as we’re concerned, it’s gotta be stopped, and if your elders say no, we’ll find another way to get what we need. But we have someone who is doing our technological stuff, and he’s advised that there are many across the state who are missing, including some from your reservation.”

Good job, Gemini. You didn’t show our whole hand, but you let him know that we’re aware that they’ve been impacted by these fuckers as well.

“We’ll talk soon, Gemini,” Daniel says before disconnecting the call.

“Well, now all we have to do is wait,” Orion grumbles.

“And plan, brother. We’re going to plan for every eventuality, including whether or not they decide to help us,” Gemini asserts.

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Finley

The guys sit around finalizing several plans. One involves being able to go onto reservation land should they receive permission from Daniel, while the other means that they’ll go out, mostly at night with fancy night vision goggles they all are well-versed in using and continue to scout the first area they found while also searching for any others that might be nearby.

Orbit even sent them some kind of heat-seeking equipment so they can tell whether any of the places that people are held are bunkered down underground. They’re already positive that there are more shacks similar to the one I was held in out there. I barely hold back my shudder when I think of all the others who were before me who didn’t make it out alive. Skippy’s life is still in limbo as she’s in a coma, and I know that Orion is fighting every instinct he has not to stay at the hospital constantly. Instead, Gemini and Mercury have arranged a schedule of sorts between the brothers that allows Orion to handle club business, like getting the shop up and running, while keeping her protected.

I’m sitting on the porch staring at the darkened sky and looking at the stars when I hear footsteps approach from behind. It’s funny, but in the short time I’ve been here, I can pretty much decipher who is coming just based on their gait. So, when Mercury steps into my peripheral, I turn and look up at him, smiling.

“Did y’all get it sorted through?” I ask, my hands cupping the hot chocolate I’ve taken to drinking at night. I’m sure when we’re in the depths of winter I’ll have a constant supply because it warms me from the inside out, but now, it’s almost like having a glass of warm milk before bed. It helps settle me and calm my racing thoughts.

“For the most part, yes,” he replies, holding out his hand. “Let’s walk around the property, wildcat.”

I’m always game to have any part of him touching me, so without any hesitation, I set my mug down and stand, wrapping my fingers around his as he tugs me into his side. “There’s a spot right there that I’m intrigued by,” I murmur, looking at his strong profile. Without thinking too deep about my next actions, I lean up and kiss the side of his neck.

It’s not the first time we’ve kissed, but it is the first time I’ve initiated any kind of intimate contact and I can tell from his indrawn breath that it affects him. “Is that okay?” I question.

“Anywhere you wanna kiss or touch me is yours, Fin,” he says, turning his head and capturing my lips with his. “Hell, I might just have a new erogenous zone and I’ll see if Draco is up to tattooing that spot with your lips as a reminder to anyone who looks that I belong to someone.”

I can’t help the giggle that bursts from my mouth; it’s such a guy thing to say in my mind, anyhow. “You wouldn’t really do that, would you?”

“Absofuckinglutely,” he replies as we start walking around the perimeter.

There are big plans to enclose all of the property once the clubhouse has been delivered and built out, but right now, Gemini has prospects and members patrolling the area to ensure no one is here that’s not supposed to be.

From what I’ve gleaned, the Jeffries family is at the head of this nightmare, but they haven’t approached the club directly, even though I’m positive they’re aware that I survived their so-called treatment. Plus, it’s no secret that Sutton’s now with Gemini, since she now works remotely for the hospital. Although… that’s going to change once they’ve got all their businesses up and running since risk management skills can be applied to anything involving people and numbers. Skippy’s the only one who’s not here, but I’m positive she’s gonna be here once she recovers.

“I hope Daniel receives the okay from his elders,” I say. The silence is comfortable and I don’t feel like I have to fill the void with a lot of useless chattering. Somehow, despite how we began, we’ve planted a foundation based on trust and honesty, which settles my soul.

I feel like I was just coasting before, looking for that one thing that would complete me. It’s a trite saying for sure and has been overdone countless times, as if a person can be someone’s other half, but at the same time, when it comes to Mercury, it rings true.

“We do as well, but we’ve got a backup plan if they say no,” he tells me.

Suddenly, the feelings I have for him are right there and I know I need to say something to let him know I want to take things to the next level. The chicken who lives in my brain is screaming and running around as though I took off its head, but the sane woman who stays there tells me that he’s been waiting on me. For the most part, I’m pretty much healed; the stitches have dissolved and while I still have some soreness and bruising, I’m no longer the broken heap he found in that field.

“Can I ask you something? Or, tell you something?” I query, the thoughts of him touching me intimately shoving the chicken into the corner of my mind. I see my sane counterpart pick up some pom poms and start cheering and almost roll my eyes, because if anyone could hear my thoughts, they’d have me in a psych ward quicker than I could say boo.