Heathens & Hand Grenades (Book 1 of the Heathens Duet)

Chapter 7- Jaxson

Dario is idly petting her hair as she leans against his chest, passed out. Riggs is silently staring ahead, eyes on a barely detectable swivel, stewing over her confession.

Her words struck a nerve and it's just a waiting game to see how he plans to attack the problem. Kace, Kace is for once unpredictable. Normally he'd be right with Riggs, ready to save a damsel in distress, but this one puts his brothers at risk. Hard to tell for most when he's upset since he does everything with an overly bright smile and a boisterous laugh. But I watch as his eyes occasionally dart over to check on Riggs. I don't envy their closeness, but I do sympathize. Kace, for all his relaxed manner, tries to carry both his and Riggs' burdens and no man can do that for long before the weight crushes them both.

Deviations from the plan are commonplace for us, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Turning the music in my air pods helps to drown out the constant whimpers and pleads. I had thought that changing professions might help, but alas, nothing helps. I can still hear them, still feel their desperate hands as they claw at me, hoping for one ounce of mercy. But despite my appearance, I am not that kind of angel. Bloodstains are impossible to erase when they are soul deep.

We made the mistake of naming our stray and now Dario's gotten attached. To anyone else his words of wanting to keep her were just that, meaningless words, chatter to keep her nervous.

His eyes tell the truth. This stray cat that he picked up is his now and he doesn't want to return her.

Bambi. Dario may call her a cat when her claws come out to play, but in her eyes, I see the fear. She wants so desperately to run from us, but her big brown chocolate eyes, hidden beneath a curtain of thick lashes see how futile the effort would be. You can't escape when a trained hunter has you in his sights. Instinctively she knows that is exactly what we are.

The guys challenge me, but they don't fear me, not like she does. Curious and cautious. The caution makes perfect sense, both from her history and her current predicament, but the curiosity and tenaciousness are what have me intrigued. Suppressing it had clearly been a learned behavior and I am eager to learn who the little doe is when she isn't trying to make herself small.

Dario will follow Riggs whatever the decision. I won't vote either way. This is Riggs' mission, I just signed up for it. With nothing better to do and the screams getting harder to drown out, I knew I couldn't have stayed in much longer. They should've known the very training that made us the best at what we did would just as easily turn us into ghosts.

Two moments of temporary courage mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Could just as easily be a reactionary response to stress. I'll let Dario play at crazy with her even though the kid is more a lethal teddy bear.

She'll need more of a spine than she's shone to survive in this wolf pack. Needless to say, she'll have to decide quick. Weak prey doesn't last long in the wild when the hunt is on.