Page 37 of Dream Chaser
“I do sixteen hours a month when they need me. No big deal.”
We gather coats, bags, and whatever dignity we still have left, and then we head toward the hospital doors and to the bus.
Sitting in the back, I look out the window and see several SUVs, including our rental, surrounding the bus. I gasp when Isee the man driving it and elbow Lexi. “Isn’t that the guy who was following us on the way down?”
“Sure is. One of Dad’s goons.” She shakes her head.
“He had us tailed?”
“Of course he did,” she sighs.
A head pops over the seat in front of us. “After all that shit went down, you had someone tailing you and didn’t think to mention it, Iz?”
Skinner say what?
I blink slowly as I look up into scowling moss green eyes. Then I quirk my head to the side. “Dad? Is that you?”
Lexi giggles, but Skinner’s scowl deepens. I wish it made him look less … hot. FYI? It doesn’t.
“Simmer down, tiny tee.” Lexi laughs. “We—all of us—know how to react in a crisis, and protect ourselves.”
He looks out the window, face practically squished against it. “That dude is the size of Bricks and probably armed.”
“Eight of us, one of him, and we’re armed, too.”
His head snaps back to us, eyes on me. “You carry?”
Lexi laughs. “Do you know Jake Ross or hell … any of them? Lo, Riley, Mags, and Iz are better shots than half the boys.”
“You hunt with them?” I swear his voice squeaks.
“Shit, was that a boner killer?” Lexi laughs as she stands. “You two discuss. Mom needs me.”
He doesn’t move; he just stares at me like I’m a freak.
“You, Izzy Ross, hunt with?—”
“Oh my God, Skinner, after tonight’s freaking … apocalyptic playoff game, you’re tripping on girls and guns?”
He moves around the seat and plops his ass next to me. “Do you fish, too?”
“I go fishing with Dad, but he has to take it off the hook.”
“You can’t take a fish off the hook, but you can put a bullet in a deer?”
“I go with the guys, but I don’t shoot anything that’s breathing.”
Mags pops up from behind us. “She’s a pussy.”
I swat at her. “You don’t, either.”
“I would if I were freaking hungry,” she says before plopping back down in her seat.
“I mean, same.” I shrug and look out the window, hoping he goes away.
He doesn’t.
“Do you eat deer meat?”
