Page 21 of Uncharted

“What about us?” Jake demanded, and it was weird as hell to hear how pissed he sounded. I couldn’t remember seeing Jake anything more than a little irritated, let alone downright pissed.

“I don’t wanna see you in here for a couple of weeks,” she said, laying the shotgun against her shoulder. “You boys normally don’t cause trouble, but I’m not having trouble in this place, you got me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jake said quickly and seriously. The same voice he used when his mom gave him an order, or when Cait did for that matter.

“And there had better not be any fighting in the parking lot or anywhere near here,” she shot out as the other group of men shambled out, one of them clasping his arm and another limping heavily. “Get your butt over here and pay the tab.”

Carter was the one who paid the bill, and I snorted when the guy who had been prepared to continue beating the shit out of me reached down and helped me to my feet. He rolled his shoulder, looked me over and walked off with a nod that felt almost respectful. I looked down, brushing off the dirt and dust, and went to help the rest of the group clean up the mess. There was no helping the broken things, but we could sweep them up, and I was pretty sure someone made sure extra money was thrown onto the bill to help cover costs.

By the time we got outside, the guy and his buddies were long gone, though I wasn’t the only one carefully looking around to make sure that despite the bartender’s words; we weren’t going to get jumped. Knowing Jake or Colin would be the ones to spot the danger first, I made my way over to my brother to check on him.

Predictably, he didn’t want me fussing, but I’d be damned if I didn’t make sure he was fine.

“Would you quit?” he bitched as I tried to look at his neck. “I’m fine!”

“Are you?” I wondered as I looked at the bruising on his neck. “I saw the way he had his hand around your neck.”

“I beg the finest of your fucking pardons?” Aidan demanded, his eyes going wide with renewed fury as he stared at Mika approaching him. “What in the⁠—”

“Great, now you’ve got him going,” Mika complained. “Don’t you⁠—”

“Shut your whore mouth and let me fucking see,” Aidan snapped, tilting Mika’s head so he could see better.

Which left me to help explain what had happened. I still wasn’t completely sure, considering it had all happened so fast. I had never seen Jake move so fast, and I’d never seen him immediately leap into violence like that either. I wasn’t thrilled at the guy’s use of the word ‘faggot’ either, not while Colin was right there, and while my brother and Aidan could have been nearby, but Jake had lost it in a way I’d never seen.

I lingered for a moment, watching my brother and Aidan as the latter grumbled and grunted over Mika’s battle wounds. Clearly, neither of them needed me involved, and I drifted away. It was an odd feeling, silently passing over the reins of taking care of my brother to someone else. Yet, Aidan had jumped in without hesitation, so maybe he wasn’t that bad a choice.

Which was probably a good thing because Jake was still furious and getting more frustrated by the minute. It didn’t help that Colin and Aidan weren’t making it easier for him to calm down. Jake was still up in arms about the dumbasses’ language, but neither Colin nor Aidan seemed all that fazed. Not that I was surprised; my brother was as nonchalant with slurs hurled his way too, so I was better prepared for it.

I let the conversation distract everyone as they thought about the punishment that was going to await us when we got back to the outpost and Xander found out. It was then I drifted over to Jake, who was standing at the edge of the parking lot, hands shoved into his jeans and staring out at the road.

“Hey,” I said, resting a hand on his lower back and slowly turning to look at him. “You okay?”

“No,” he said, and I smiled at his honesty. “I just don’t get it.”

“Them?” I asked, nodding toward Aidan, Mika, and Colin, who were making their way toward the truck. “Or the fuckheads that started the whole thing?”

“Both,” he grunted, turning his frown toward the ground. “Just…all of it, I guess.”

I sighed, nodding. “I wish I knew what to say to you right now to help.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Ya don’t have to make me feel better, Reno. Not your job.”

“I never said it was my job,” I told him with faint annoyance. “But you’re my friend, and I⁠—”

“Just don’t,” he grunted as he turned and started walking back to the rest of the group. “Just⁠—”

“Okay,” I said faintly, peering up at the sky and letting out a heavy sigh. “Sure, whatever you want, Jake.”

I was sure what he wanted was to put his fist through a face or two, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. I’d never seen him so mad, let alone mad enough that he didn’t want to talk to me. I suppose the only thing I could do was step back and hope that eventually Jake would calm down enough to talk to me.

4

JAKE

Restless.

No, not restless…pissed.