The Wayward Sister (The Wayward Sons 5)

She takes a bite of pancake and chews. “Those three are close. Really close. I’m sure they’ll have a way to figure out how they want to handle it.”

We finish up and I walk Katie out to her car. She needs to head back to the lodge and I have tons of work to do back at the house. As she pulls off, I search for my keys in my bag, rummaging through all the stuff I have inside. I don’t notice the person walking up to me until they’re a few feet away. I glance up and a chill runs down my spine.

Reid.

He’s just as big as I remember him and there’s a faded, yellowing bruise near his eye.

“What do you want?” I ask, still feeling around.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he admits, looking slightly contrite. “That was out of line the other day.”

“You’re damn right it was,” I say, pretending my heart isn’t beating wildly in my chest.

“I was drunk. I got your signals mixed up.”

“Dude, I told you to stop—there were no mixed signals. I said no.”

He narrows his eyes. “Whatever. I wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding, but obviously you’re just a frigid bitch.”

“You’re a fucking predator.”

“What did you call me?”

I swallow, realizing how alone we are in this stretch of the parking lot. There’s no one around and Reid is big enough that he could overpower me in seconds. Again.

To prove this point, he rests his hand on the top of my Jeep, blocking my way inside.

“I called you a bitch, but really I should call you a liar. If you really thought I did something wrong, you would have reported it to the police. Your boyfriend already got me arrested, but you didn’t press charges,” he takes a step closer, so close I can smell the coffee on his breath, “because you know that you wanted it.”

My fingers finally graze my keys and I pull them out.

“You’re delusional,” I say, swallowing back bile. “Here’s a little tip: no girl wants you to shove your tongue down her throat or your fingers up her pussy without a fucking invitation. Stay away from me or I will call the police.”

That’s when I drop the fucking keys.

They land with a clank, right between the two of us. He doesn’t move, and I realize just how alone we are right now. I can’t bend over, giving him a view down my shirt or of my ass. I’m frozen with the reality of the situation.

A horn blares on the street, breaking the silent impasse, his eyes flicking toward the road. I dive for the keys and shove them in the door. Despite my shaky hands I manage to get it open, although I’m forced to brush against him as I push my way past him to get inside.

His smirk is nauseating, victorious as he watches me lock the door. He knows I’m scared. Gets off on that more than anything. Fuck him. Fuck him. Fuck him, I mutter. I manage to slide the key in the ignition on the third try. Reid hasn’t moved an inch, and I make no efforts not to run him over as I back out of the parking spot and into the road. I floor the gas, well aware that he’s watchi

ng me, and wondering if maybe it’s not the first time.

20

Holden

“We’re working as hard as possible to get everyone reassigned and into housing,” Brent, our supervisor, says from the head of the table. “We do still need people working up on the east entrance. Obviously, housing is limited, so if you have options in the area, please let me know.”

“How long are you thinking?” Smith asks.

“A few weeks, maybe four. We’d already planned to open a new ranger lodge near the midpoint. Luckily, it wasn’t damaged in the fire. It should have been ready by now, but since we’ve had to divert resources and the park has been closed, it fell behind schedule. I’m confident it will be ready to occupy by the end of the month.”

“We can stay where we are for a few more weeks,” Adrian says, confidently.

Smith and I exchange looks. Sierra probably will let us stay, but Adrian shouldn’t say so until we talk to her first.

“And you?” our boss asks Robbie.