Page 49 of Forged in Rain

The guys observe the lit-up house silently. I, too, stare at the facade, remembering the last time I was here and how Saul basically felt me up while I was out of it. He makes my skin crawl, and I don’t have any desire to see him, but I’m also worried about sending these guys in because I’m a nonentity, whereas they’re the enemy.

Just when I’m contemplating what to do, Cyn turns to me with a savagery that startles me and says, “Stay here.”

Nodding with wide eyes, I hesitate but grab his arm when he moves to exit, dropping it just as quickly. “What are you going to do? They have guns.”

Jig chuckles darkly from the front seat before raising a handgun and pulling back the barrel, the sound of the barrel dropping back into place ominous in the silence.

With troubled eyes, I turn back to Cyn, who’s looking me over speculatively. “How do you know about their guns? I thought you didn’t spend much time with them?”

“I didn’t,” I mutter, “but one of the last times we were around him, there was a fight.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Cyn growls.

“A fight, with, um, guns,” I whisper, shrinking from his glare.

“What the fuck were you—” he starts, before breaking off and exiting the vehicle, snarling before he shuts the door in my face, “Stay here.”

Bewildered, I stare at the door as they stalk from the car, unsure if he was angry because I was with Saul or something else, but either way, he was decidedly pissed off. Add it to the list of things I’m sure I’ll hear about eventually. Sigh.

Biting my knuckles, I wait impatiently, leaning against the window so I can hear any sounds, and after twenty minutes, I’m about to exit, my hand on the door, when Bastion appears holding Iris over his shoulder. Behind him, Jig comes with a grim look, and Cyn follows last, spinning around when Saul appears at the door.

Gasping, I cover my mouth at the sight of Saul. Both of his eyes are purple and bruising, his mouth is a bloody gash, and he’s holding his arm at an awkward angle against his stomach.

Bastion opens the back and lays Iris down on the third bench, and with the door open, I can hear Cyn snarl, “Stay the fuck away from both of them, or next time I will cut off your balls.”

“Fuck off. You think I’m afraid of you?” Saul sneers, and I watch, wide eyed, as Cyn steps toward him, and he flinches away.

“Let me make this clear. Rain is fucking—”

Bastion closes the hatch, and I frown, pushing on the door, but by the time I get it open, it’s too late, and Cyn is stalking forward with an angry snarl on his face.

He glares at me expectantly, and I push back to the other side, watching warily as he slides inside, and Bastion starts up the car before pulling away with squealing tires.

I hit the door with an oomph before sailing in the other direction and bumping Cyn in the shoulder. He grunts but says nothing as he watches the house recede out the window.

“You don’t care, huh?” Jig says gruffly from the front seat.

“Fuck off,” Cyn growls, and Jig huffs.

When neither says anything more, I stow my curiosity and glance over the seat. Iris is out cold, but she’s breathing. I can see her chest rising and falling in a gentle cadence. She’s dressed, which is a good sign, but I worry about what he may have done while she was out cold.

“She’s fine,” Cyn says, and I whip back around, hissing, “She’s not fine.”

Rolling his eyes, he mutters, “Whatever.”

We all lapse into silence and unsurprisingly roll up to the cabin a while later. Bastion carries Iris inside and disappears into a room while I collapse against the couch with another long-suffering sigh. It would be super neat to have one fucking night that doesn’t involve drama of some kind.

“Do you guys ever do anything just for fun?” I mutter when Jig appears with a bottle of water and a couple of pain relievers.

With a sarcastic smile, he says, “This is fun.”

Rolling my eyes, I say, “You’re seriously messed up.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” His tone is teasing, but I pause anyway because I sense there’s more to that statement than meets the eye.

“How did you meet Cyn and Bastion?” I ask softly, downing the pills as he sits down beside me.

With a pulse of hurt, I notice that he doesn’t touch me, and I miss the affection from my fun-loving but moody friend.

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