Page 5 of Raven Blackwood
Hannah’s hand tightened around her spoon. “We’ve asked about him, but Jenkins’smen just laughed. They say he probably ran off and abandoned us.” Her voice trembled with barely contained fury. “But Zach wouldn’t do that. We grew up here together. This farm has been in our family for generations. This is our home. He wouldn’t leave.”
I nodded, the pieces clicking into place. “Jenkins doesn’t like being challenged. Sounds like your brother paid the price for standing up to him.”
Grace’s eyes filled with tears, but shequickly wiped them away. “I just want him home. For the baby’s sake, and I don’t want to do this without him.”
“You’ve got my word,” I said, my voice low but firm. “I’ll find out what happened to him.”
I’d been through this before in Chicago with the gangs and overlords. Life was different out here in ranch country, but the actions of Jenkins and his thugs were hardly different from those of the gangs and overlords. First, I needed to do a little recon before I decided what to do next.
After dinner, I excused myself and slipped out into the night. The town wasn’t far, so I opted to go on foot, moving silently through the shadows. My nanite armor activated with a thought, enveloping me in a protective layer of matte black. It absorbed the moonlight, making me nearly invisible in the darkness.
When I arrived, the town was eerily quiet. Most of the buildings were dark, but a few had faint lights spilling from their windows. Jenkins’s mansion, perched arrogantly on the highest hill, was lit up like a beacon.
I moved through the back alleys, my enhanced hearing picking up snippets of conversation here and there.
“...another shipment goes out tomorrow. Jenkins doesn’t want any delays.”
“Did you hear about the Lawrence girl? Still holding out. Now she’s got a cyborg there, sticking his nose into things.”
“Doesn’t matter. Jenkins will get what he wants eventually. He won’t care about a cyborg.”
I cataloged the voices, faces, and locations. Every detail could be useful later. I processed this speaker probably had no idea what a cyborg really is, or he would know my presence would be worrisome to Mr. Jenkins.
Slipping closer to Jenkins’smansion, I crouched near an open window. Inside, two men were arguing over a map spread across a table.
“She’s tougher than we thought,” one of them said. “But she’ll break. They all do eventually.”
“Jenkins won’t wait forever,” the other replied. “If we can’t make her cave, he’ll take what he wants by force.”
I clenched my fists, a surge of anger bubbling up. These men were cowards, preying on those who couldn’t fight back. But I’d make sure they regretted it.
For now, I’d seen enough. Slipping back into the shadows, I began the trek to the farm. Tomorrow, we wouldprepare to defend the ranch in earnest.
It was late when I slipped back into the barn to change back into my clothing. Despite the chill in the air, I noticed Hanna standing on the front porch, staring out into the night. Leaving the barn, I walked toward the ranch house, deliberately scuffing my boot sole across the dirt on my approach so as not to startle her.
“Evening, Hannah! Would you like some company?”
“I would.”
“I figured we should probably talk about how you want this to go down.”
“You mean us?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, I thought we would get to know each other and go from there.”
I moved directly in front of her and raised my hand to caress her cheek with my fingers. “You are even more beautiful than I could have hoped for.” I pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “May I kiss you?”
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Her eyes sought mine in the dim light, and her lips parted.
“I’ve waited my whole life for this.” Curling my hand around the nape of her neck, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers lightly.She made a little sound in her throat and rested her hands at my waist, kissing me back.
I meant only to give her a light kiss, but as she moved her lips against mine, I couldn’t make myself pull away. Pulling her against me, I held her face between my hands and deepened the kiss. Had she resisted, I would have let her go.
Hannah pressed against me and held on as our tongues did a slow, sensual dance. We kissed until we were both panting, and my cock was hard as a rock against her belly.
“Wow, that was pretty spectacular,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Do things usually go hot this fast?”
