Sparrow's Flight (Savage World 1)

“We’ll get her back, Ash.” He and Asher were the same build and height, but where Asher lacked the clear disinterest and apathy in taking a life, Mason more than made up for it. That was the clear difference between them, but then again war would do that do a person, and having to take the lives of two people he loved more than anything also helped in chipping away the human nature of empathy and sympathy. But as strange as it was, Mason did feel something spark inside him when it concerned Sparrow. He just didn’t know what it was or if he was really comfortable with the feeling.

They headed back inside and grabbed their bags. Mason saw Sparrow’s lying over by the clothes rack, stalked toward it, and grabbed it off the floor. When he stood, he faced the supply room and saw the back door partially open. So that was how the fat fucker had gotten in. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and pulled at the longer strands at the base of his skull.

“You know there are probably guys watching us and making sure we leave town.”

Mason nodded. “Yeah, and that’s what we’re going to do.” He saw the curious look on Asher’s face. “Right outside town, we are going to cut through the trees. If memory serves me correctly, there should be a small, if not already grown-over path that leads to the other side of the lake. That’s where that truck was headed, since the road they turned down leads right to it. We can head through there. It will take a bit longer, but it is the safest path.”

“You don’t think there are guys staked out in the woods?”

He shook his head and gestured for them to head out. “No, they aren’t smart enough to think people would cut around.” At least Mason hoped not. “They might not even know you can get to the lake that way. But something tells me they’re arrogant in thinking they can drive someone out with some threats and waving a few guns in the air.” He stopped and looked at Ash. “Clearly they don’t know us very well.” He reached out, gripped the back of Asher’s neck, and pulled him forward. Their mouths pressed together, and Mason swiped his tongue along the other man’s bottom lip. “I don’t know what the hell she has done to us, but I don’t want to let that go either.” There was a flare in Asher’s eyes and a sharp intake of breath. “You know what a hard-ass I am, but it wasn’t until this situation that I realized her silent company wasn’t bad. I like having her tag along, like hearing her soft voice, but I also want you to remember that the thoughts going through your head concerning her can’t happen.”

Asher pulled back and narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“This isn’t about some happy little family, Ash. That girl isn’t about to be with both of us, and the moment we ask, she’s going to run fast and hard, and frankly, I don’t blame her.”

“Who in the hell said anything about fucking her? I am not going to stand around and let some innocent girl get handed to those motherfuckers, pure and simple.”

“And neither am I, Ash. But I see the way you’ve looked at her, and I know you’ve seen the way I look at her.”

Ash was silent for several seconds. “It doesn’t matter how either of us look at her, Mason.” He didn’t miss the hard tone in Ash’s voice.

“Listen, I’m just saying this isn’t going to be some happy little threesome, no matter how much we both want it.” Yeah, he said it out loud, but he wasn’t going to take it back. “You think she is all about being with two guys that fuck each other?” Ash’s gritted his teeth and made a low sound in his throat. “I care about you, okay? It has been you and me for the past several months. But we also need to think about reality. We need to protect her as if she were our little sister.” Asher was silent for several long seconds, but Mason already knew what he was going to say before the words left his mouth.

“I don’t see her as a little sister.”

Yeah, and neither did he, but that wasn’t the point. “Listen, let’s not worry about any of this now. Let’s just go get her.” He stared at Ash for several long minutes. “And we will get her back.”

“I know we fucking will.”

Okay, so Mason’s words had rubbed Ash the wrong way, but he had to say them, because he didn’t want the other man to have hopes that they could be some happy little throuple. This was not a movie or book but real life, and it was a shitty one at that. Sparrow was fragile in her own way despite the fact that she tried to be so damn hard and strong. He had seen it the moment he looked into her eyes.