Page 172 of Peaks and Promises

“We don’t want any trouble with Mayhem,” Reese said. “I just couldn’t let him hurt our son.”

“We weren’t here for the kid. And Axel was fucked anyway. Our orders were dead or alive. It’s all the same to us.” He paused. “No cops.”

Reese shook his head. “No cops. We found Nate out here after Axel dumped him off. We don’t know where Axel wound up.”

“And no one ever will.” Hammer’s eyes flicked to me, but he didn’t say anything else. Just turned and walked away.

“Let’s get out of here,” Reese said. “Sam Fogel doesn’t know we were here, and I don’t want him to find out.”

Reese led us across the field, stopping to get his gun. We found our way back to his SUV, and as soon as we climbed in, Nate took off the shoes.

A second after that, the smell of dirty socks filled the cab.

Reese glanced at me, wrinkling his nose, and lowered the back windows.

Despite everything, I started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Nate asked.

“Nothing,” I said. “I’m just glad we’re all safe.”

“Your feet stink,” Reese said.

Nate sniffed loudly. “Ugh. You’re right, they do.” He pulled off his socks and tossed them out the open window.

Reese glanced over his shoulder with a subtle grin. “Don’t worry, chief. We’ll stop and get you clean socks.”

“And food? I’m starving.”

I looked at him in alarm. “Didn’t he feed you?”

“Not really. The creepy old guy gave me some cereal this morning, but that’s it.”

I huffed in anger and turned to Reese. “You’ve got to be kidding me. He couldn’t have fed him?”

Reese’s mouth lifted in a subtle grin.

“What?” I asked.

“I love you.”

I let out a breath. “I love you, too.”

“Does that mean you’re getting married for real?” Nate asked.

Reese’s smile grew. “We’ll talk about that later.”

My heart skipped. We’d talk about it later? Getting married? Did he mean—

Nate kept asking questions. “How long is the drive home? And can we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house? And Thomas’s? I need to tell him what happened.”

“Let’s just get home first, okay, chief?”

“Okay.”

Reese turned the SUV around and started down the bumpy road back toward the highway. Filled with relief—and fatigue—I reached over and clasped his hand, twining his fingers with mine.

Glancing back one last time, I could have sworn I saw a rooster off in the distance, raising its head in an angry crow.