Page 45 of Marked

“Finish that sentence and you’ll have to drink your meals through a straw for the next three months.”

“Jeez, Noah. It was a joke, man.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Should I get Waverly and Duncan? This kinda screws our plans for later.”

“Absolutely,” I said at the same time Lanie emphatically replied, “No.”

“There’s no reason to involve them in the”––she jerked a thumb over her shoulder toward the crowd––“Mary Jane menagerie going on.”

“Too late,” Duncan grunted, as he and our slack-jawed RAC trudged out of the woods, coming off the path which led to the yurt. “There are some things you can’t unsee.”

“Right? This fresh hell is right up there with the time I walked in on my parents gettin’ busy.” Koen shuddered.

“Thanks for that image, dick,” I grumbled. “I’ve met your mom.”

“Anytime.” He beamed.

Waverly strode toward us, leaning up against the fence on the other side of Lanie. We were getting to see a much different side of our boss since their arrival. Back in Huntington, much of her time was spent behind closed doors in meetings or on calls with someone whose identity was above my pay grade. Don’t get me wrong, she was damn good at her job. I’d seen her verbally wipe the floor with a dirty politician or two, but I’d never witnessed her in action in the field.

“I didn’t think itwas possible, but your family ranks right up there next to mine with their outlandish behavior.”

Lanie went to reply, but was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a blood-curdling scream. We spun around, trying to find the source, which didn’t take long.

“Oh my fucking God. What the hell does she think she’s doing?”

Lanie didn’t wait for a reply. She took off, and we were right behind her, heading straight toward the center of the field where her mom shoved a bloodied Jill Benson backward. No one tried to stop her, in fact, Percy was clearing the way.

“Iris, you’ve got it all wrong.” The woman wiped a drop of blood from her lip.

“The FBI knows you tried to kill my baby, but I’m gonna get my licks in before they arrest you.”

“Well, shit. The jig is up,” Koen deadpanned.

Iris drew her fist back, except Lanie got there first, putting herself directly between them. I was seriously gonna redden her ass this time.

“Mom, knock it off. You’ve been hitting the bong a little too hard.”

“Move, Alaina.” She juked left, but my girl saw it coming a mile away, tagging her around the waist.

“Christ, can I get a little help here, Dad?”

Percy didn’t budge, although he did blink his glassy eyes a few times as if he was trying to clear his vision.

Iris slipped out of Lanie’s hold which—considering she was still naked—was easy to do. She lunged, taking Jill to the ground where the two of them began rolling around.

“That’s okay, you boys stay here and enjoy the show. I’ll help Lanie.”

Waverly rolled up her sleeves, joining the melee. Nomore punches were thrown and within a few minutes, she and Lanie were able to separate the other two women.

“Sit there and don’t move. Either of you.” Lanie winced when she turned my way.

Fuck, I was an asshole on two fronts.

First, she had stitches. She shouldn’t have been tussling with anyone. Second, I was half hard after watching her corral her mother like a prized pig. It was sexy as fuck. Sure, I could have helped, but in my defense, two of the four women were in their birthday suits. As a man, it would’ve been highly inappropriate for me to go hands-on. At least that was the excuse I was gonna give Lanie later when she chewed my ass out.

“That was like the hippie version ofGirls Gone Wild,” Koen cracked up. Duncan and I joined him, because…well, he was right.

10NOAH MICHAEL ANDERSON

Lanie

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