Page 61 of Captive of Outlaws

“Say what?” Will cocks a look at him. Rob frowns.

“It’s something my grandmother used to say. Never mind.”

“You and your countrified expressions.” Will sighs. “Anyway, no, cash handouts are a no-go. We tried, people refused. So instead, we...work the system a little.” He leans forward, toward me. “Pop quiz, Maren: what’s the biggest cost-of-living burden here in Sherwood County?”

I have to think about it—but not for long. I think of Ms. Donovan, of old man MacAllister, of Jimmy at the auto parts shop, the one thing they always complain about.

“Taxes,” I say. “They’re astronomical.”

“Bingo.” Will smiles. “So we get the cash, and set up alittle...backdoor payment system, essentially.”

“It’s great,” Tuck butts in. “What I’ve done is created a series of dummy bank accounts that connect directly to the county assessor’s office, and—”

“Tuck,” Will groans. “Don’t bore the girl to death.”

I press my lips together, trying not to smile. “It sounds complicated,” I say politely. “But cool. So you just pay off people’s debts behind their backs?”

“Essentially,” Rob says. He spreads his palms. “Look, it’s not particularly sexy, but it helps. It’s whatwecan do to help. And Sherwood needs the help. So that’s...what we do.”

I nod, slowly. “So you’re just out there...breaking and entering all the time? Do you have like belaying wires and glass cutters and all thatMission Impossiblestuff?”

No one says anything. The other two look at Rob.

“Not...exactly,” he says. “It’s...the methods aren’t important, Maren. Honestly, the less you know abouthowwe do it, the better.” He throws a look first at Tuck, then at Will.

“Suffice it to say,” Will says, after a pause, “we’re more than just your run-of-the-mill cat burglars.”

I breathe out hard. That’s not exactly the explanation I wanted, but then again, he’s probably right. If there’s a chance I’ll need to play dumb in the future, better for me to be actually ignorant.

“Okay,” I say. “I...think I get it.” I take a long sip of the last of my espresso. “Explains why the sheriff hates you. And my uncle.”

“You mean the men whose livelihoods come from soaking the regular folks for every last penny?” Rob laughs. “Yeah, I’d say they’re not huge fans of ours.”

“Any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine,” I mutter. “But...” I rub my forehead. “Okay, this is all very noble and everything, but...why? Like, why do you do this? Why bother? You clearly have family money. It’s no skin off your nose.”

Rob draws in a breath. “The Locksleys have been in Sherwood County since the Jamestown days, Maren. This is our home. The forest, the land, the people—it matters to us. To me. We came to America to find a better life, to escape that kind of tyranny and bullshit. I can’t just let it happen here all over again.”

I throw a glance around the room. “And the two of you?”

“Free room and board,” Will drawls. Rob aims a playful punch at him, which Will ducks, grinning. “No, but really, it’s...we just have a bond, I guess.”

“Rob’s a real collector of lost boys,” Tuck says, also smiling. “We’re basically stuck in pack mentality now.”

“LJ, too,” Will adds. “He won’t admit it, but we’re his family.”

“We’re all family here,” Rob amends. “And that includes you, Maren.”

I nod. I hate to say it, but...

“It makes sense to me,” I say. “So what...exactly is the the problem?”

“That’sanotherthing,” Will says. He’s picked the argument right back up, now speaking directly to Rob, but pointing at me. “What about her?”

“Whataboutme?” I ask hotly, folding my arms. Will throws me a look that’s half-apologetic before turning back to Rob.

“We can’t just leave her here alone,” Will says. “She wouldn’t be safe. And don’t you even try to argue that you can pull this off alone, Rob, because you can’t. It’d be all hands ondeck.”

Tuck shifts his weight from foot to foot. “He’s not wrong, Rob. It’s...unusually risky, even for you.”

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