Page 46 of Uncharted

“I’m coming with you.”

“That’s fine; it’s not like he’s somewhere private or doing anything private.”

“I don’t care if he’s cranking it or not; it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

I stopped. “You’ve seen it hard?”

Colin squinted. “I…no, why?”

“Well, you talked about him jerking off,” I explained awkwardly.

“I just meant I’ve seen his dick before,” Colin said with a snort. “I mean, I got an eyeful the first day, a real good eyeful.”

I stopped again and turned to face him. “Why are you telling me you stared Jake’s dick down? Am I understanding that right?”

Colin winked. “Hey, when a man like that gets naked, it’s hard not to at least glance at the offering.”

“Right,” I said, not liking the anger bubbling in my stomach at the thought and pushing it away. “Good for you?”

“Of course,” he said, and I would swear there was something evil in his expression, but I wasn’t stupid enough to call him out. Colin was a good man, but there was an evil imp under that face, and I didn’t trust him for a moment. I wasn’t going to say it was a trap, but it definitely felt like I was being baited.

Leading Colin outside, the first stop I made was one of the trucks. There was a blanket in the truck bed, two in fact, one of them bundled up to be a makeshift pillow, and I snorted. So he wasn’t there, which meant there was one more place to check.

“If he’s where I think he is, he’s not far from the clinic,” I assured Colin and then frowned when I realized one of the trucks was missing. “Who’s missing?”

“Carter and Mav,” Colin explained. “A few last-minute things still need to be repaired in the Exile House.”

I snorted at the way he wrinkled his nose at the name we’d given the cabin at the edge of the outpost’s property line. It was called that because it was so far out of the way of the rest of the buildings that it was like going into exile. “I forgot about the new guy.”

“Leon,” Colin added, even though I knew the new arrival’s name. “And his two kids, Carla and Blake.”

“You know, I remember Xander mentioning that at our pre-storm meeting, but with everything that happened, I forgot to follow up. Why exactly are we getting someone new with kids? We don’t…this isn’t exactly a place I could imagine kids being,” I admitted as we rounded the main building and headed for the path between it and the science building.

“A special exception was made,” Colin said with a strange tone in his voice. “Xander wasn’t given a choice.”

“I bet that made him happy,” I said, and then stopped. “Don’t tell me who took the choice away…”

“Bryce,” Colin said with thinning lips. “That’s right.”

“Jesus,” I muttered. “He’s really swinging for the fences when it comes to trying to piss Xander off, isn’t he?”

“From what I’ve learned, these couple of things aren’t exactly a shocker,” Colin said, looking up at the sky with a frown.

“Xander told you?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s told me everything.”

“Bet you he’s told you more than he’s told us.”

“Probably. Are you going to ask?”

“Even if I thought you’d tell me, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know,” I admitted as I continued walking. “Do we know much about this guy and his kids?”

“I know the girl is nine, and the boy is four. And I know Leon is, uh…an environmental scientist.”

I came to another stop and twisted around. “I’m sorry, I thought you just said⁠—”

“Who is not here for the same reason you are,” Colin said with a smile. “He’s here because of some deal the government has going with some tech company.”