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“Laurie?”
Another headshake.
“Liam?”
Silence hung heavy, until finally, Mason breathed out “no.”
“We owe it to them to give as much as they did. Your friends, your family, they laid down their lives for you. For us. For all of us.” He spun his gaze around once more, slowly meeting the eyes of everyone around him. “I am willing to fight and to die for this cause, for a better future, just like your fallen brothers and sisters were. If you feel the same, then I’ll be heading out at dawn.”
Sawyer turned and walked away, and after a few seconds of staring at the somber faces around her, Anna quickly rose and rushed to follow him.
“Sawyer!” she hissed. “Wait up!”
He didn’t slow his gait, but she managed to catch up to him anyway. “That was a helluva speech,” she muttered. She’d heard some rumors about Sawyer’s speaking abilities, but she’d always imagined they were exaggerated. He seemed far too gruff to speak so eloquently.
“I didn’t stumble into the position of leader due to my good looks,” he grumbled.
“So dawn? We’re really going? Even if they don’t come?”
He nodded. “Dawn. My brother’s already been there for two days. Three seems a bit excessive.” His pace slowed, just a touch. “And they’ll come. Don’t worry about that.”
“Cocky much?”
He grinned. “I’ve been doing this for a long, long time.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest at the thought of being back with Hayden, soon. She kept telling herself he was fine, just biding his time until they came to get him. And to kill Greene, but somehow… that didn’t feel like it mattered much anymore.
The only thing that mattered was Hayden.
And for his sake, she might as well try a little harder to get along with his brother. It was obvious that Sawyer was doing the same thing. “Y’know, you were born to be a leader. You’re really good at it.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “You should really get your shit together before you ruin it. A lot of people are counting on you.”
He stopped walking, head swinging toward her. “Get my shit together?”
“The pills,” she guessed, though it came out like a statement. It was the only thing that made sense. His erratic moods, dilated eyes, weird walks away from others and frustration when anyone followed him.
“How the fuck did you—”
“A guess,” she said, holding her hands up. “Just a guess.” And clearly, a correct one.
Sawyer’s jaw tensed. “Don’t tell Hayden.”
She’d be shocked if Hayden didn’t already know. Though, he seemed to have a bit of a blind spot when it came to those closest to him… “Bring him back to me safely and I won’t say a word. I’ll be too busy using my mouth for other–”
“Okay!” Sawyer nearly shouted, this time holding his hands up. “Message received.”
Anna smirked, enjoying the discomfort on his face. Maybe she wasn’t all that good at playing well with others. “I’m serious, Sawyer. Get it under control. This country needs you.”
“That’s the damn problem,” he muttered, so low she barely heard it. “While we’re throwing threats around, don’t hurt my brother.”
She raised a brow.
“He cares a lot more than he lets on.” His face softened. “I see the way he looks at you, the way he spoke of you. Don’t break his heart.”
Her own heart squeezed. “I won’t.”
Sawyer nodded. “Now fuck off, please.”
She chuckled, the sound jarring her as it popped out of her mouth. “So polite.” She spun on her heel, heading back toward the others and leaving Sawyer to… whatever it was he did out there.
