Page 56 of Powerless
"I want you, too," I confessed. "But to make this work, I think we need to hash some things out. We need to make some ground rules on what's okay and not okay, then make sure we stick by them."
"I agree." His fingers curled around mine as he turned his head to kiss my palm. "There's a lot I haven't told you, and that's my fault. I forget that other people didn't grow up in the same culture as Noelle and me." He smiled as he gently lowered my hand. "But hopefully that can wait until Hades and I have a bit of time to recover?"
"I suppose," I sighed jokingly, kissing him one more time before stepping away. "If you're not hurt, you're definitely dehydrated."
"Yeah." Reaper eased himself down on the couch, wincing slightly. "We walked back, about thirteen miles by my estimate."
"From where?" Jandro asked, already filling a bowl of water for Hades. "And why on foot?"
"I crashed into a guy who was trying to knock Shadow off of his bike," Reaper accepted water from Noelle, gulping deeply. "We both got thrown off and went tumbling. Lost our weapons so came down to using fists."
"He's probably one of the un-ID'd bodies out there," Jandro muttered.
"Oh yeah. His lower jaw wasn't attached anymore when I was done."
Noelle jabbed me with her elbow at my open-mouthed stare. "Get used to it, girl."
"One of his buddies came at me shooting," Reaper continued after more gulps of water. "I ducked behind a crash site, saw one of their own bikes still ridable, so I got on and he gave chase. Next thing I know, Sheol is nowhere in sight."
"Hades was with you the whole time?" The pup had finished drinking his own water and now laid his head in my lap.
"Yeah, poor boy got run ragged. Didn't you?" Reaper stroked his head. "You've never ran like that, huh?" The SDMC leader looked up at us with pride. "He took down two riders himself but the guy on my tail, he was damn slippery."
"Mari took down a couple, too," Jandro cocked his head in my direction.
"Really now?" Reaper's eyes sparkled with glee. "I knew you weren't all sugar and sweetness."
"She needs to work on her aim," Jandro said, then laughed at my glare. "What? It's true! Your shots were a little wide."
"I'll be happy to never shoot a man again," I grumbled. "Yes, they attacked us, but Ikilledsomeone. That's a big deal to me."
"You'll get used to that, too," Noelle said. "'Cause it'll keep happening. And you'll need to know how to defend yourself."
"We'll teach you the basics," Reaper added. "Then Gunner can teach you fancy shit when he's back."
"He's already teaching me how to swim," I said. "I was able to float on my back at the pool."
"I know," Reaper said with a tone I couldn't place. "I saw you two together."
"I bet he's thrilled that Horus took down a Razor Wire, too," Jandro grinned. "He's probably celebrating right now."
"What?" I knitted my brow.
"The bond," Reaper reminded me. "With a kill that big, Gunner definitely would've felt his divebomb and seen the whole thing from the bird's-eye view."
"Anyway," Noelle waved her hand to catch the guys' attention. "How the hell did you end up walking here?"
"Oh, the gas tank was running on empty. I already figured I wouldn't be able to ride it back, so I decided to crash it."
"You what?" I demanded.
"I know my way around bikes, sugar," Reaper placated me. "I wasn't in danger but the dude chasing did not expect it, that's for sure. I let him crash into me, he flipped over his handlebars and cracked his skull open. I think Hades ate some of his brains."
I looked at the adorable, doe-eyed dog in my lap. "Hades, did you?"
He licked his lips and grinned at me. Everyone laughed at my horrified expression.
"Have I heard it all yet?" I groaned, lowering my forehead to my palm.
