Page 193 of After the Burn

Beck caught him by the throat. “Wrong direction.”

He shoved the man straight into an approaching rotter.

“Cold,” Lucas said, wide-eyed.

Beck shrugged. “Better him than us.”

Fair.

A shout came from near the office, and more men emerged.

Four, no, five.

I recognized the one in front.

Gideon.

Of course he came to help protect his fuel supply, even though Caesar had shit on him.

He looked terrible. There was a bandage around his head and dried blood on his shirt. One arm hung stiffly at his side.

As they drew near, his eyes bounced between all of us. “This is your fault!”

I couldn’t help it and started laughing.

He looked offended.

“This is of your own making,” Adrian corrected him.

He ignored him and turned his attention to Wren. “After all that I’ve done for you! Allowing you to stay even after you lost your mind.”

Everything stopped, and Wren’s face emptied.

Colson stepped in front of her.

He turned back to me. “You destroyed my town.”

“No. Your town was messed up long before I got there.” I growled, thinking of what the women in this compound were going through because of him.

“You opened the fence.” Gideon accused.

“Nope.”

“Liar.”

Wren popped up from behind Colson. “Leave Robin alone. It was me!”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

TARYN

Gideon’s head snapped toward her, and his face went blank. “What?”

Wren ducked her head. “I didn’t know there would be that many.”

“You stupid bitch!” he snarled. “I’m glad your sister was one of the first I traded.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, hoping he was full of shit.