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Rowdy lets out a snort of derision and says, “Ryder has standards.”
Wild bristles at his words.
Yeah, I have standards.Of the sibling variety.
“Gigi’s a cheerleader,” Wild explains, irritation in his voice. “They don’t get better than that.”
“I’m not interested,” I grumble. “Sorry, man.”
Wild glances at me again, eyes narrowed, before shrugging. He then regales us with another tale of his previous football season. Since neither I nor Rowdy know shit about football, we’re forced to listen to him drone on about his favorite thing besides girls. This goes on for miles and to the point I’m ready to shove a pinecone in my friend’s mouth to make him shut up.
Rowdy stops walking and cants his head to the left to look at something on the ground. If it’s more hair, I’m going to fucking lose it. I shove past Wild to see what Rowdy’s looking at.
Shit.
It’s literally shit.
A big-ass human turd.
Flies buzz around the Coke-can-sized log of shit.
“It’s fresh,” I mutter. “They can’t be far.”
“Could just be wet from the rain,” Wild says, playing Devil’s advocate.
“Nah,” Rowdy grunts. “They’re close. I can feel it. We need to break for camp.”
“I’m not sleeping by a pile of shit,” Wild argues, stepping away from the bomb left behind. “Fuck no.”
Rowdy shoots him an irritated glare, as though he’s still thirteen and an annoying kid.
“Hey,” I say to my brother, ignoring Wild’s outburst. “We’re close. Why stop now? We should keep going.”
Rowdy shakes his head. “No, man. We need to set up our tents, get dry and rest, and put a little food in our stomachs before we try to take on this group. Plus, with it raining and nightfall upon us, they’ll start a fire for warmth. We can scout later by the scent of fire or even sighting it.”
Though he makes a point, I’m not especially eager to give up when we’re so close. But I do know we need to be strategic. Charging into their camp, just the three of us, is a bad idea. We’re heavily outnumbered and won’t stand a chance. No, when we find them, we need to quietly advance on them. Surprise is our best weapon.
I give my brother a nod and follow him a bit farther away from the shit pile to a small clearing just big enough for our tents. The three of us erect our shelter in record time. We devour a quick dinner of nuts and jerky before going our separate ways. Undressing down to my boxers, I slide into my sleeping bag and force myself to nap.
Tonight, we’re bringing them home.
Tonight, I will finally be able to fucking breathe again.
The rain beats down on our little caravan, but Michael doesn’t show any signs of stopping. If I’m shivering and can’t feel my fingers, I worry about Declan and Dakota. They’re too little to be trudging through this weather.
Now that most of my hair has been whacked off by that witch, the chilly air bites at the back of my neck. I wish I could punch Mya all over again.
Sadie walks beside Tom ahead of me. We haven’t had a chance to speak properly since the night of the “choosing,” but she’s miserable. I’d been lying when I told CJ I’d rather sleep with Tom. His body odor coupled with his giant form rutting over me would make me gag to death. Luckily, CJ still believes me and gets pissy anytime I look at Tom.
At least he didn’t put the moves on me last night. None of the men drank, so camp was surprisingly quiet and mild. I’d been relieved to have survived another night without CJ’s touch.
Looking past Sadie, Tom, and his kids, I can see Destiny walking beside Mya. I seriously hope she’s not punishing my sister because of me. From my vantage point, it appears they’re just talking. Or, more accurately, Mya’s running her mouth while Destiny is forced to listen.
Behind me, Jace and CJ carry on a conversation in hushed voices. I know CJ is complaining about me, but I don’t care. I hope he tells Jace I think he has a puny little dick that doesn’t interest me. Maybe Jace’s dick is even more sad and he’ll leave my sister alone. Since she hasn’t been crying and doesn’t seem to be distraught in any way, I don’t think he’s made any physical moves on her either.
It’s only a matter of time, though.
I glance over my shoulder, looking back at Kristen, Ronan, and Logan, who pull up the rear. Ronan’s face is bruised from the other night, but he seems in better spirits ever since I saw him at the creek. There’s a fierce glint in his eyes that gives me hope that he might have a plan.
