Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Look, he’s still alive! I’ll finish him.”
But Hammer shoved him out of the way and kneeled by the dying man who still exuded meat-scented smoke. He met Dex’s wide-eyed gaze. “You’ve done enough,” he said and stabbed the poor bastard’s throat with the same knife he’d just cut his finger off with.
Dex hugged Hammer’s bloodstained cloak like a child seeking reassurance in its blanket. “I just… I wanted to catch Ryker for you. He was alone, and I was sure I had an opening,” he said in a small voice.
Of course he did. Didn’t everyone want to impress the person they crushed on?
But now that the panic-fueled urgency that had driven Hammer into action earlier has dispersed, all he could feel was fatigue. He couldn’t deal with Dex’s feelings right now.
“You don’t have the experience. We both could have died. It’s a damn miracle that we didn’t.”
Dex stared at his toes. At least he wasn’t trying to turn this into a fuck opportunity in a vain attempt to improve Hammer’s mood. “I’ll help you clean up. Where can I start?”
Hammer exhaled and rubbed his face as a drop of sweat rolled into his eye, making it sting. “No. I’d rather do it myself. Take one of the cars and go home. Your uncle will know what to do with the vehicle.”
Dex took a step closer, watching him with the big brown eyes of a baby rabbit about to be butchered. “Hammer? Are we good?”
The weight in Hammer’s chest was like a block of cement about to take him to the bottom of a cold river, but he could not deal with their relationship right now. “No, we're not good. I took you with me in good faith and you broke my trust. I need time to think.”
Dex opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, but it took him several seconds to speak. “So… I’ll do what you say now, but if you need me, at any point, for anything, just call me, okay?”
“I will,” Hammer said and looked away from Dex’s hunched form. He didn’t want to hurt his boy, but sometimes pain could not be avoided.
Chapter 26 – Dex
The drive home had been worse than any walk of shame in Dex’s life. Hammer hated him, Frank hated him, and there was no soft landing between a rock and a hard place.
So Dex bit the bullet, drowned himself in Red Bull and returned to the junkyard without a single sleep break. Every now and then, he checked his phone for messages, but there was nothing from Hammer, and this sudden silence spoke louder than a thousand angry words.
Hammer was pissed off, didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to hear from him, and hadn’t even wanted help with the carnage at the cabin, because that would have meant needing to interact with Dex.
How had he fucked things up so badly in such a short space of time?
Despite knowing the family of the dude whose car he’d taken likely wouldn’t search for him right away, he’d been worried about being stopped by the cops due to holding the steering wheel with just one hand, and was relieved to enter the junkyard. Fatigued and restless, he drove through the gate and was about to rush straight for Frank’s home when a shadowy figure stood in his way with a spear in hand.
Dex yelped and hit the brakes, stopping inches from Jag, who hadn’t even twitched and steadily regarded him from under the frayed hood of his apocalyptic-warrior cloak.
Dex could have sworn that Jag’s recycled getups had become more elaborate since he’d gotten as good as married to a geeky guy with a love of video games and pop culture. Maybe he’d stolen the idea for this outfit from the newest incarnation of Mad Max?
Dex lowered his window, because there was no getting away without at least a short conversation with Jag. “Hey, I’m not in the mood, Jag. Anything I should know?”
Jag grabbed the edge of the window and peeked into the car with a scowl. “What did he do?” he asked with rage reserved for those who endangered people he considered part of his pack.
Dex covered his bruised forehead. “It’s not his fault, I did this to myself. You really don’t have to protect me.” It still hurt to admit his failure, even though he didn’t need to disclose any details to those who hadn’t been present at the cabin. Had he listened to Hammer, the plan would have likely worked out, and the two of them might still be out there, celebrating a successful hunt. But he’d chosen to disobey a man much more experienced than him, causing not only emotional fallout that made his heart as desolated as the junkyard, but also making their job a complete failure. Worse still, Hammer had lost a finger trying to save him. Was there even a way back from this?