Chapter 4
CHAPTER
FOUR
WILDE
A ll weekend, I’ve been twisted in knots over what the hell to do, and I’m still not convinced I’m making the right choice.
But here I am, forced back into this town I hate, creeping through an eerily familiar house, and pushing the bedroom door open on a man whose presence sets my teeth on edge.
These men have been here for far too long, and it’s time to let them know they’re not welcome.
I’m not a bad guy. I’m not even a mean one.
But when it comes to this town, I’ll do anything I need to in order to keep it safe.
For me and for all the people who have landed here.
Wilde’s End is a safe haven from the harsh realities of the outside world, and that will never change for as long as I have the power to protect it.
It’s the same man sleeping in the downstairs bedroom as last time—Hudson, according to his ID—and I creep closer, curious if he’s still as attractive as I remember or if I’ve built him up in my head.
Unfortunately, even watching him from a distance all week isn’t enough to prepare me for seeing him again.
He’s unnaturally fucking hot.
I hate him for it.
Thankfully, it won’t be a problem for much longer.
On a night out, he’s exactly the type of man I’d pick out of a crowd. Here, in my town, he’s exactly the type of man I never want to see again.
So I cross to the bedroom window and shove it open so hard the glass shudders in the frame.
The man’s jolt upright takes a few seconds too long to be useful under attack. He grunts, then mumbles something unintelligible as he sets an unsteady hand to his forehead. At first, I worry he’s going to roll right over and fall back asleep, but slowly, his eyes blink open. Once. Twice.
Then they drift to me.
He watches me for one sleepy moment before he jumps so hard his back hits the wall. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Wilde,” I forcefully admit, folding my arms across my chest to stop the way my hands keep folding into fists.
Hudson’s jaw is working madly like he’s trying to choose how to respond, and his gaze keeps darting to the door. The last thing I want is to have to deal with all three of them when I can have him pass on my message, so I get my warning in before he can call for help.
“ Leave .”
“Excuse me?”
“I want you gone.”
His fists curl into the bedding as the shock melts away and a panicked sort of anger takes over. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“Keep your voice down,” I force out through my teeth .
He chokes on his response. “You’re not going to break in here and tell me what to do.”
“I can and I am.”
“ Fuck you.”
“I said to keep your damn voice down.”
“Make me.”
“It would be too fucking easy.” The way he’s bringing my blood to boiling has me desperate for a fight. He’s supposed to be scared. Supposed to cower and promise to leave.
I underestimated him.
Hudson meets my eyes. “My brothers will get here before you have a chance to lay a hand on me.”
A bitter smile tries and fails to cross my face. “I have no interest in touching you. I’m here to talk.”
“Talk?” The way he spits the word makes it clear he doesn’t believe me. “You broke into my house to talk ?”
“Yes.”
“Get out.” He isn’t bothering to keep quiet, and it’s rattling me.
“I told you to shut up.”
“And I told you to fuck off.”
I move closer to his mattress, standing at full height, and look down at him. He’s coiled for a fight and watching me like a caged animal. “Don’t test me,” I warn.
The blond man snorts, the wariness slipping from his face as a spark of defiance takes over. “ You broke in here . You don’t get to make the calls.”
This conversation proves, yet again, why I hate people. All he had to do was keep his mouth closed and let me talk so I could be on my way, and instead, he threw self-preservation out the window. I could kill him out here, and no one would ever know .
He’s lucky that while I might be many things, I’m not a murderer.
But I am low on patience.
I cross to his bed in two strides, crouch down, then grab hold of his calf. The inflatable mattress makes it too easy to haul him close enough for me to get in his face.
“I’m only going to say this once,” I warn. “Get your people, and get out of my fucking town.”
Instead of looking intimidated, he leans closer. “Or what?”
“You don’t want the answer to that question.” Just thinking of Lynx has tension tugging at my muscles.
“I’m a pretty curious guy, actually.”
“There are people out here …” My grip on him tightens. “That you don’t want to test.”
His gaze, silvery in the darkness, moves from one of my eyes to the next. “You’re lying. This town is abandoned.”
“Then what the hell am I doing here?”
Suddenly, his expression changes. “You’re the man who was watching me the other day.”
“And every day since.”
“That’s creepy.”
“No, you being here is creepy.” I’m trying so hard to keep my cool. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you and what you’re doing here.”
“Why?” he asks. “You into me?”
Before I can dispute it, he shoves forward so suddenly it forces me back onto my heels.
He tries to get in my face, but my hand shoots out and catches him around the throat.
All I want is to put him on his ass, scare him enough to leave, but instead of shriveling up and giving in, the asshole fights back.
He elbows me away and throws a fist at my head.
I duck it, push to my feet, and he follows with all his weight.
Hudson throws me into the wall but only manages to pin me for a second before I shove him so hard he loses his footing and lands back on the mattress.
I follow without thinking. My weight lands on top of him, his back flat against the bed as I pin him at the wrists and try to hold down his struggling. “Don’t be stupid!”
“Get off me!”
I catch both wrists in one hand and use my other to cover his mouth. “I told you to keep your fucking voice down.”
He thrashes under me, and I strain to keep him pinned, but I’m determined to win this one. I will protect my town from people like him, and if that means scaring him off, then so fucking be it.
“I will only give you this one warning, so keep that smart mouth closed and listen. Pack up your car. Pack up your shit. Get the fuck out. We don’t take kindly to strangers, and if Lynx finds out you’re here, even I won’t be able to stop him from skinning you alive.
” I’m exaggerating. Mostly. Where I hate people, Lynx completely loathes them.
I tolerate him in town because he keeps the wild animals managed, but I don’t trust him, and he seems to revel in people being scared of him.
I’d use it to our advantage here, but he’s beyond control, and as much as I want these guys gone, I don’t actually want them hurt. I don’t think.
The man tries to say something, but it’s muffled under my hand. We’re both panting slightly, chests separated by less than a foot of distance as my knees drive into his legs.
Fuck me, he is really, really pretty. I hate it.
“Just nod that you understand me,” I demand.
He glares, but his head moves up and down.
“If I let you go, will you keep your mouth shut? If you make me fight all three of you, you’ll regret it. ”
His glare deepens, and he tries to say something again before he nods.
I keep his wrists pinned as I slowly release his mouth.
“You have two seconds to get off me before we test out that theory.” He bucks his hips, and they brush up against mine.
The sudden contact makes me release him and back up. When he sits, his glare is still deep, but at least he doesn’t look like he’s going to start screaming for help.
“I want you gone by tomorrow,” I warn, standing and turning toward the window.
I’m not expecting his humorless laugh to follow me. “Prepare to be disappointed.”
It takes all my willpower not to walk over there and manhandle him again.
“You don’t want to play that game with me,” I whisper.
“Why? Because you’re some big, bad mountain man? If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already.”
I hate the tiny flicker of respect his words create, and I shove it down hard.
He’s not being brave; he’s being a city boy with a big mouth.
He’s not in the land of law and order anymore, and he clearly hasn’t worked out that the rules don’t apply.
“Where you’re from, if something happens to you, if someone breaks into your home, who do you call? ”
His glare lessens at the sudden topic change. “The police.”
“And who do you think we call around here?” He doesn’t answer, and the sneer I give him is mean. “ I’m the police. I’m the judge. I’m the fucking jury. My word is law. And when I tell you to leave, you leave.”
“That’s a lot of power … Careful. You wouldn’t want it to go to your head.”
“I hope you’re this funny when you’re being run out of my town. ”
I’m not expecting him to smile, and I’m definitely not expecting him to push to his feet and approach me.
He’s a breath away, and his low voice is a gentle hum that steels his confidence and puts a dent in my own.
“ Your town?” he echoes. “Try again. My brothers and I just bought this place. And we’re not going anywhere. ”