Page 10 of Bones
“Sit down, Lana?”she parroted back at him, her voice rising. “My brother isdeadand that’s all you have to say?”
Dread fell over me like a thick blanket.
“We’ll have time to grieve once we get home.” Griz’s voice gentled. “Right now we gotta follow orders.”
“Ourorderswere not to save this bitch,” Lana raged, tears glimmering in her eyes. “We were supposed to bring back the weapon?—”
“Sheisthe weapon,” Trey interrupted from a few feet away.
In the silence, everyone stared at me, and I stared at the crackling fire.
“No,” Lana snarled, moving suddenly.
My gaze shot up to her. She’d drawn a gun and pointed it straight at me.
“We couldn’t even bring his body back! I had to leave my brother on the fuckin’ roof, with the fuckin’ mercs! I can’t evenburyhim. And it’s her fuckin’ fault.”
“Lana!” Trey held out a hand. “Put the gun down.”
“Blood for blood.” Lana’s hands didn’t shake, but her voice did.
I stared up at the gun, but I couldn’t deny that I felt as much relief as I did fear. Wolf snarled, but gods, I was just so damn tired. Then Mac appeared behind Lana, his gun pressed against the back of her head.
“Put it down,” Mac ordered, all scary quiet as his eyes sparked in the firelight. “We’re seein’ this through.”
Lana bared her teeth at me like a wildcat. Tears shone in her eyes, but finally, she lowered the gun. Mac took it from her and then Trey joined as they marched her back behind the rover. In the silence, I waited in resigned misery to hear the gunshot signaling her execution, but it never came.
“Eat,” Griz said next to me.
The food smelled amazing, but it’d been a long time since I ate actual food. I ate as much as I could, stopping when my stomach roiled. I set the plate on the ground by my feet and wrapped my arms around myself.
Mac, Trey, and Lana returned after the fire had died down. Lana still glared at me with glittering hatred, but she stayed silent. Mac and Trey resumed eating like nothing had happened. I eyed them, feeling curious despite my best efforts. If anybody had challenged Juck like that, they’d have been dead before they got a handful of words out. Or just close to dead so Juck could have some fun. The small bit of meat and potatoes I’d eaten turned to rocks in my stomach. My fingers touched the scar on my chest.
“Was he shot by the mercs?” I asked Griz.
Griz glanced at me, surprised. “Yeah.”
I let the weight of that sink over me. If I hadn’t run, her brother would probably still be alive. Blood for blood. I thought of Wolf and a chill ran down my spine.
“That’s Raven on Lana’s left,” Griz added, nodding toward the other girl on their crew. She had long black hair on one half of her head and a shaved scalp on the other side. She continued to ignore me, and I didn’t mind.
“Sam is the one over by the kid.” Sam had close-cut blond hair and a short beard. He appeared to be teasing Jax who scowled at him.
I gave a brief nod, and Griz lapsed into silence again. He cleaned his plate and then eyed my still full plate.
“You should eat more.”
I shook my head. “I’m done. You can have the rest.”
He eyed me for a few seconds, but then shrugged and took my plate and dug in. I studied him. He wore a light jacket, but the bulky muscles in his arms showed through the fabric. The dark chocolate brown of his skin glowed in the firelight. There was a soothing calmness to his quiet, steady presence that annoyed me. I didn’t want to feel calm, nothing about this should make me feelcalm.
Once Mac and Trey had finished eating, everyone moved to their bedrolls. Griz pulled me up by the arm and led me behind a tree to relieve my bladder. I fumbled with my pants, but Griz kept his gaze elsewhere. When we returned to camp, he paused, looking at Mac.
“She can use Exo’s bedroll,” Mac said.
Rage flashed across Lana’s face. Exo must’ve been her brother. She opened her mouth but before she could speak, I did.
“No. I don’t need…no.”
