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Landry moves like he’s going to join me wherever I’m going, and I throw a hand up.
“Whoa, there, slick. I’m going to shower. Can I dothaton my own or do you want to follow me into the bathroom too?” I don’t turn to see their reaction to that. I fear what I might see and crook a finger to have all three of them join me.
Austin bows. “As the queen wishes.”
Lord help me, it’s going to be a long-ass day.
Ten
Landry
Fuck I didn’t think seeing her again would be so hard. I want her in the worst of ways—we all do—and it’s making me irritable. All I can think about is the need to have her in my arms again and not the angry version of her. The sweet submissive version of our Honor. But we do and we’ll be taunting a sleeping bear. None of us have forgotten the rules laid out for us. We touch, we ruin her life. That simple. Her bastard of a father will see to it.
“We keep to the pact. No touching.” I drop into the silence of the room. Austin and Boone both swivel their heads and lock eyes with me. The map of the terrain spread out over the table, forgotten.
Honor is awake and showering upstairs while we go over the finer details of what needs to be done to see to her safety. She slept most of the morning and afternoon after telling us all basically to shove off.
I’ve brought in the few boxes of food we managed to sling together with our gear at the last minute before heading out and thankfully Austin had the foresight to secure more with the help of the lodge owners. We don’t know how long we’ll be here.
I can still hear the running water so I know we are alone.
From the other side of the table, Austin turns to Boone who still has a dog face on. “You kissed her first.”
He pushes off his elbows and leans against the back of his chair. “And then you did, so that makes it even,” Boone counters, and I hear the challenge in his voice. These two are going to push her away if they’re not careful.
I’m out of my chair and across the room. That or I might pummel a fist into both my friends. “What are we—a bunch of fucking jocks after a fresh piece of meat?”
“Fuck it. You’re right,” Austin says, dragging a hand through his hair. Exhaustion clings to him, and I’m starting the feel the same. We all are.
“I know I’m right,” I say and pour another mug of black coffee.
I reach into my pocket. “Here’s her phone. I found it dropped outside the window she climbed out of. The battery is dead, but I’ve removed it anyway.”
Boone takes it with a nod. “I’ve been looking for that. Anything we need to worry about?”
I know he doesn’t mean from the dead phone, but my check-in call with Honor’s father. “Police are still hunting. It’s just a waiting game now.”
Austin flicks on the TV and finds the news channel.
“New York authorities are on the hunt for two men impersonating New York City cops. They are armed and dangerous. Wanted for the kidnapping of the governor’s daughter, every official has joined the hunt with the hopes of finding the abducted young lady. In other news…”
I sense Honor stepping into the living room and coming to stand by me. She has a thick towel wrapped around her and another around her hair.
“From bad to worse. Look at this.” Austin points at the TV and snapshots of Honor and her father all over the screen from last night’s gala.
I fade out the chatter among the news anchors. Fuck. The target on Honor’s back just got bigger. I look at Boone across the living room, and his grim look matches my mood.
“Now they’ll really be gunning for her. And they have a great shot of her face to use.” Austin makes a sweeping gesture at the TV.
“There’s no way they won’t look for me now. If they didn’t get a good look at me last night they sure the hell have now. This is all my fault. And that poor girl. She has to be terrified.” Her hands are on her mouth. “They haven’t found her all because I was selfish and ran. I thought of only myself. What have I done?”
I reach for the remote and flick off the news.
Boone is by her side, and Austin moves in behind and wraps her in his arms.
The pain on her face stabs me deep in the chest and pisses me off. This isn’t something that can easily be fixed with arming up and going to battle. This isn’t that kind of war. Honor needs a gentler touch, one I’m not entirely sure I am capable of. War has left me scarred in ways I’ve never shared with anyone. Not even my closest of friends.
Being a man of emotion is something that could get me and others under my command killed when facing enemies, so I learned to flick the switch off a long time ago. Turning it back on was the hardest part of leaving the service.
