Page 34 of Chaos Destiny
My attention shifted.
Ari could barely walk, never mind disappear.
Tayler walked past me again, this time toward the back doors that led to the area where we’d had lunch. Something about the determination in her steps made me follow, but I went from trailing her to several paces ahead when I spotted Ari facing the fence—empty-handed.
Allen was crouched behind her, running his palms along her legs. Next to him,asleep in the fucking dirt,was Thandie.
Ari tried to fight him as best as she could, but it would be days before she regained her strength. Under our current circumstances, it could take weeks.
That wasn’t the case for me.
I scooped Thandie up with one hand and shoved Allen aside with the other, knocking him off balance and to the ground. He tried to scramble to his feet, but I pushed him back down. It wouldn’t matter how much he fought. I was the stronger one. When it came to the people I loved, I would never be anything but the stronger one.
“You don’t look at her,” I warned. “You don’ttouchher.”
He tried to stand.
I sent him sprawling.
“Repeat after me, ‘I won’t touch her. I won’t look at her.’”
He coughed, spraying dirt into the air. “You’ve got to be out of your fucking mind.”
“Not yet, but if you touch Ari again, I’ll get there, and you don’t want me as an enemy.”
“Seriously, who the hell do you think you are?” He moved just out of the reach of my limbs before rising to his feet. “You just got here.”
“Don’t touch her, don’t look at her. Trust me, I’ll kill you. These two are the reason I keep going in this fucked up world, and nobody, especially not a fuckwit like you, is going to hurt them. You must be out of your fucking mind, putting your hands on her. You don’t know shit about me, and you decided to put your hands on myfamily?”
He flung a hand in Tayler’s direction. “You’re not acting like you have a family. You haven’t been here two days yet, and you’re all over my girlfriend.”
“You fucking wish,” I growled. “God, I wouldloveto be all over Tayler.”
Ari snickered.
Allen looked in her direction.
“We’re swingers,” Ari said. “We’ve been looking for a third, and the doc here is gorgeous.”
I started to silence her with a glare—or attempt to—but then I caught Tayler looking from me to Ari, no doubt trying to put together the pieces of our strange ass relationship.
Allen, visibly deflated, shook his head and tossed up his hands. “Look, what the fuck ever. I won’t touch her, but the minute your wife’s stabilized, all three of you need to leave.”
Tayler’s confusion disappeared. “You don’t get to make that decision,” she said. “I’ve already told them they can stay.”
“Youdon’t get to make that decision,” he argued. “Look, if you keep stepping out of line, I might have to start enforcing some rules around here. You’re a doctor. That’s it. Take care of your patients, and I’ll take care of this camp.”
Ari snickered again. “How, by watching Gage? I mean, it’s not a bad idea. You’ll get to see what a real leader looks like.”
“Ari,” I snapped.
While I knew this was who she was, and I was more than grateful that she was returning to her “normal” self much quicker than expected, she wasn’t making the situation any better. Then, we weren’t yet in a position to break the façade, and as much as I wanted Tayler, Ari’s safety took precedence. One opening was all I needed, and I would make love to Tayler all over the camp, to the point that it would be impossible to hide.
“Allen,” Tayler pointed at the doors, “just let it rest. You’re in the wrong. Own up to this.”
“I’m in the wrong?” he hissed. “I was checking her for bites.”
“Which I already did. I’m the doctor, remember?”
