Branded (Savage Men 4)

I grin. “We made it.”

Brandon takes a deep breath as we skid across the road, escaping our attackers. “For now.”

“But damn, that was a waste of good pie,” I say, settling in my seat.

“Hmm … At least you got a few bites,” he replies, and for a second there, I think I spot a tiny smile before it disappears again.

“So where are we off to now?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Off the road.”

“When?”

He pulls on the wheel, making me sway in my seat and shriek as I try to hold on. “Now.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Brandon

I don’t stop until we’re so far off the road that no one will be able to follow us. There aren’t any trackers underneath the car either. I checked. Now we’re out in the middle of fucking nowhere with just the moon to light the world around us.

I’ve gathered a bunch of dry sticks and lit them with my Zippo to create a small fire. It’s not a lot, but it’ll keep us warm. We’re huddled together in front of the car, taking shelter under its bumper while also keeping warm by the fire.

Dixie has her hands in front of her, warming them up, while I keep the lizard I caught above the crackling flame to smoke it. It’s not much, but it’ll do to ease an empty stomach. We’re lucky there was still a bottle of water inside the car, which we’re now sharing. Funny how that ended up.

Me sharing food with Dixie Burrell? I probably would’ve laughed if I thought about that happening, but I just sort of rolled into it. I can’t let her perish out here in the fucking wilderness either, now can I? That would make the whole idea of me taking her pointless.

And I hate doing things I’ll regret. So I’ll make sure she survives until I can figure out what to do with her.

Because fuck me … things are getting complicated, for sure.

That whole shitshow at the diner proved just how conflicted I am.

First, the fact that I wanted to give her something to eat as if I somehow cared about her well-being and her hunger. Then the fucking looks she gave me when that waitress started flirting with me. I gotta admit, seeing her get riled definitely pushed all my buttons. I loved seeing Dixie squirm. It brought back memories of a time long ago when we weren’t two people entangled in a miserable fate.

Now we’re stuck together in the middle of the desert, and I have no fucking clue what I’m going to do with her.

Part of me wants to punish her even more for what she did, maybe give her a good spanking and a branding, just for the sake of it. That would teach her not to mess with my family … not to toy with me.

But my family is gone now, and the only one I have left does not give a shit about me.

He’d probably kill me if it meant he could get his hands on her.

I’m pretty sure he’s called my phone fifty times already. I’m glad I blocked him, but what the fuck do I do now? Do I end it? Can I even kill her? And what if I’m done with her … what then? Do I let her go?

I pick up some more twigs from the ground and chuck them into the fire.

Maybe I should stop thinking about shit so much and do whatever the fuck I want. It’s too late to make the right decision anyway. My uncle will probably never accept me back into his hotel or even anywhere near the family.

Sighing, I rotate the lizard until it’s crisp and take it out. I start cutting into it with a small army knife I brought and hold out a piece to Dixie.

She winces. “No, thanks.”

“You sure?” I ask, taking a bite out of the meatier part. “Beats being hungry.”

“Yup, I’m sure,” she says, making a face as if she’s about to puke.

I shrug and rub my lips together. “Suit yourself.” Then I take a bite.

She cringes again, practically turning green at the sight, making me laugh.

“It tastes delicious.”

“Ew, don’t tell me. I don’t wanna know,” she says.

I love how I can make her hate me just by eating food. I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with seeing the rage in her eyes. Or why it makes me wanna laugh.

There’s just something about this girl that makes it hard not to care.

I sigh as I stare at the fire and take another bite of my dinner.

“You sure do love the fire, don’t you?” she suddenly asks.

“Mmhmm,” I mumble. I love it … the smoke … the red glow. I love it a little too much. Like an unhealthy obsession. Like her.

I swallow down the piece of lizard.

“My papa and I used to do this all the time,” I say.