CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO #4
“You’re gonna pay for that giggle, you know that.” He tugged my braid, making me laugh even harder.
James shook his head and leaned back against the pillows, pulling me closer. His hand stayed on the small of my back, his fingers warm against my skin.
“We had a big ranch too,” he said. “Being a rancher in Texas is basically in our blood. That’s where everything started for us—with my grandpa, the first owner of this watch.
” He lifted it, placing it in my palm so I could take a closer look.
“Your family raised horses. Mine raised cattle. I loved that ranch, but between my dad’s business and my mom always dancing, we spent more time in the city.
It was nice, but… I liked the ranch better.
The city had too much noise. Too many bad people, even back then. ”
“How was it… when it all happened?”
“It was like being trapped in a disaster movie, except the credits never rolled. At first, we all thought we were gonna die. No one knew how it started, and no one really had time to figure it out. It took a year, and when the dying finally stopped, the world wasn’t the same anymore.
I still remember the last radio broadcast. They said ninety percent of the world’s population was gone. ”
I handed his watch back.
“My dad saw it coming before everything really collapsed. One night, my mom was performing at the theater. By the next week, the theater didn’t even exist anymore.
First, the planes stopped. A month later, gas stations ran dry.
And when phones died, that’s when people really lost it.
We couldn’t reach anyone. There was no one left to call for help.
Even the army was gone. Hospitals shut down. Stores were looted.”
James shook his head, like he was still trying to make sense of it all.
“It was unreal. Everything normal just… vanished. And the world turned violent.” His fist clenched around the watch.
“We left the city early and stayed at the ranch for good, at least until I was thirteen. Then a gang took over our town, and…” He stopped, jaw tightening.
“Bad things happened. We ran and never went back. Dad taught me everything to survive, but after Mom was gone, we argued all the time. And being an Outsider didn’t help. He wanted peace. I wanted to fight.”
We sat in silence for a minute.
He didn’t say how his parents died or how he got his scars.
James’s hand brushed mine as I traced the scars on his chest. After a long pause, he spoke again, his voice softer than before.
“Tell me about your mom. The only thing I know is that she had a butterfly tattoo.”
My heart gave a small, happy kick. He wanted to know about me as much as I wanted to know about him.
I rested my chin on his chest, smiling up at him, thrilled to finally talk about her.
“Mom was a doctor. Michael learned everything he knows from her books.” James smiled at that.
“She died giving birth to me. She loved horses. That’s what made her fall for my dad.
She was supposed to work at some big-city hospital, but she chose him instead.
She chose that tiny town in Colorado, where she spent her days curing the flu and helping neighbors deliver their babies.
She loved our ranch. Loved planting flowers just so butterflies would come. And she was wild.”
I grinned, thinking of every story my dad ever told me about her.
“She was a force of nature. Dad always joked he barely had the energy to keep up with her.”
“Like mother, like daughter,” James teased, finishing with a wink that was sexy as hell.
I rolled my eyes, but my heart flipped anyway.
“Maybe it’s time I talk to Michael about us,” he suddenly said.
I snorted. “Michael’s just like my dad. If you pay attention, he basically says the same things, word for word.” I leaned back, giving him a knowing look. “And if you tell him, he’s gonna beat the shit out of you.”
“Okay, now I’m officially scared, little danger.”
“Well, you’re the one who took my virginity,” I said, already freaking out picturing my brother’s face if he found out. “Oh boy. I think you’re right to be scared. He’s gonna kill you. I should go.”
I pulled away from his touch, sitting up and scanning the floor frantically for my clothes.
“Don’t you dare get out of this bed.”
I smirked, pointing at the mattress. “Your bed?”
“Our bed!”
I laughed as he grabbed my waist and pulled me back down, pinning me to the mattress. His lips trailed from my neck, lower, lower—
Knock, knock, knock.
“James?”
Michael.
“It better be important enough to get me outta this bed, Michael,” James grumbled against my skin, and I giggled.
“If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be here, idiot!” Michael called back. “And bring Sarah too. She needs to see this.”
James and I exchanged a panicked look.
How did Michael find out?
James got up first, reaching for his jeans. I scrambled right behind him, pacing around the room, looking for my scattered clothes. He really had thrown them everywhere. I scooped up my shorts, then my bra, but my shirt was nowhere in sight.
James zipped up his jeans and glanced over to see me, half-dressed, chewing the corner of my lip, scanning the room like a lunatic. He bent down, picked up his long-sleeved flannel from the floor, and handed it to me.
He had no idea he’d just given me something I was never going to give back.
I pulled on the oversized shirt, the fabric swallowing me up, hanging just above my knees. It smelled like him. I rolled up the sleeves, smiling.
As we stepped out of the room, hand in hand, Michael was waiting. He was leaning against the wall in the hallway, arms crossed, eyes stormy as hell.
“Are you kidding me right now? You’re wearing his shirt?”
“I couldn’t find mine.”
“Not helping, Sarah.”
James cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Michael, I can explain—”
Michael shut him up with a single raised hand. “Did you really think that something could happen around me and I wouldn’t find out?”
His glare was sharp enough to cut glass. And of course, he was looking only at James, as if I wasn’t even part of this situation.
James’s shoulders loosened a little, and I swore there was a hint of a smile on his lips, as though he was remembering something.
“Wow, you were right, Sarah. Michael is just like your dad.”
I giggled back at him. Probably not the best timing, because Michael’s scowl only got worse.
“I’m gonna make sure you don’t forget this punch,” Michael said.
James blinked, that almost-smile freezing midair. Well, he couldn’t say I didn’t warn him.
“But before I do that,” Michael added, turning on his heel, “I need to show you something.”
He walked down the hallway, and James and I followed, still holding hands like that wasn’t about to get James killed.
Michael led us into Nathan’s room, which, just like James’s, had a wall covered in windows. Nathan’s brothers lounged against the opposite wall, but when they spotted me and James holding hands, elbows jabbed ribs and winks were tossed my way.
My eyes landed on Nathan next, standing by the window. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze flicking down to James’s oversized flannel on me, and a smirk tugged at his lips.
Heat crept up my neck.
“There.” Michael pointed out the window, and my eyes followed.
Muddy footprints were scattered across the sidewalk, leading right up to the building.
“That noise Nathan heard the other night,” Michael said. “You were right. We’re not alone in this town. Someone’s watching us.”
James’s hand tightened around mine as he stared at the tracks, his whole body tense.
“Maybe they’re already gone. But if we’re planning to stay a few more days, we can’t all be asleep at the same time.”
James crossed his arms over his chest, jaw clenched. “No, we can’t. Someone has to be watching at all times from now on.”
Nathan nodded. “Agreed, Outsider. It’s our best shot.”
Michael cracked his knuckles. “Good. Now that that’s settled…” His eyes shifted back to James. “…about that punch.”
I stepped forward, hand halfway to his arm. “Big brother, don’t—” But he was faster, slamming his fist into James’s cheekbone, hard.