Page 162 of After the Burn

“We need to keep moving,” I whispered in her ear.

“It’s plantain.”

I looked at the weed. “It doesn’t look like the plantain I’m familiar with.”

“Not the banana kind.” She looked at me in exasperation.

I held up my hands in surrender. “I must have missed that lesson from Ben.”

She rubbed a leaf between her fingers. “Ben taught me to use it for bites, stings, and minor scrapes.” Her expression grew melancholy. “You crush it and make a poultice.”

I knew how much she missed her dad. I missed the old asshole quite a bit, too.

I plucked several leaves and tucked them carefully into an outside pocket of her pack. “If the world keeps insisting on trying to kill us, these will be of use.”

She smiled, and I kissed her on the tip of her adorable little nose. “Now let’s get moving, baby.”

Taryn nodded, then pulled me into a hug. “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I love when you call me that.”

“What?”

She ducked her head shyly. “Baby.”

Lucas and Beck chose that moment to approach.

“Hey, Fox is much better than a generic ‘baby’” Beck scowled.

Lucas looked offended. “Menace is even more creative.”

We all followed close to Taryn as she walked on. “I said I liked it, not that it was the only one I liked. Sheesh.”

“Okay.” Beck smiled.

“Just keep it even.” Lucas scolded.

Taryn grinned. “Maybe, or maybe we can do a points system.”

“Points system?” Beck frowned.

“Yes, whoever pleases me the most that day gets a score between one and ten.” She smirked evilly. “And the one who pisses me off has points deducted.”

“Fuck that.” Lucas shook his head. “History has shown us that the one who pisses you off the most is probably going to be me.”

Taryn threw her head back and laughed.

“Quiet.” I hissed, hearing something off in the distance.

Every trace of humor disappeared from her face instantly. That was another thing people consistently underestimated about her. She could go from laughing to lethal in less than a heartbeat.

We moved deeper into the trees, and the smell of fuel grew stronger.

“That smell is only a few miles away.” Beck raised his head to sniff, looking like a predator scenting prey.

Wren slowed. “This is where we stopped coming.”

She’d lost the playful expression that usually graced her face.

“You’re sure?”