Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,128
girls and anyone else here who needs it. So I’m playing you this round. I’m all in.” Gage grinned. “You haven’t ever backed down from a challenge, so I know you won’t now. If you do, I’ll be right behind you shoving you back in.”
“That’s not your decision.” Addy clipped the words, lowering her voice to a low growl.
“It is.” A glimmer reflected in Gage’s eyes when he looked at her. “You wouldn’t have backed down if Zoey ran. Or Kamren. Or Vi. Or Mary. You never got in their faces, but you were the sentry at their side. You were there, even if none of them realized.”
Emotion clogged Addy’s throat. “When the hell did you become a sage of wisdom?”
He shrugged and leaned back on the sofa. “What can I say? I’ve picked a few tricks up along the way.”
“It’s hard not to around here,” Johnny said, voicing his presence for the first time since the weird conversation started. “He’s right, though, Red. That’s why I’ll be beside him the entire way. Me and Shep. The others are still on the fence.”
Of course they were. They were the protective brothers she’d never had growing up.
“Everything okay?” Kristof asked as he entered the room. “Gage.”
“Kristof.” Gage motioned toward the hall. “I’m gonna hang with the guys and keep Olaf company. Jesse’s got a rotation schedule going.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Go.” Johnny motioned toward the door. “Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, and if you do, name it after me.”
Kristof’s laughter rolled through the room as he settled a hand on her waist and guided her out of the cottage. She punched his stomach playfully.
“What was that for?” He rubbed his gut.
“It’s a good thing you’re so sexy because you’re a serious pain in my ass. You can’t laugh when someone on my team says that everyone on the compound knows we’re going off to screw.” Addy unlocked the vehicle.
Kristof boxed her in against the driver’s door. “A couple things.”
“What are you doing?”
“Setting the record straight,” he whispered against her ear. “First, I don’t give a shit if the entire world knows what we’re doing, Addy. Side note, we aren’t screwing. We aren’t fucking. Those words are too inadequate to describe what I feel for you.”
Wow. Okay.
Addy forced a breath despite the rapid pounding of her pulse. She really, really liked what he said. “And second?”
He caressed her cheek. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart. We’re in uncharted territory here. It’s easier to sling sarcasm and feign annoyance rather than face whatever the hell this is head on, but you aren’t alone. I’m not backing down from whatever this is that’s going on between us.”
“You heard what Gage said,” Addy guessed.
“I heard enough to know that man in there has your back because you’ve had everyone else’s. He’s got mine because I mean something to you.”
Her stomach somersaulted. “Kristof…”
He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled away. “We don’t need to travel that road and look around. Not right now. You aren’t ready for whatever sits at the end. When you are, we’ll have that conversation. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Let’s get this kidnapping underway.”
The drive took longer than Kristof expected. Conversation flowed easily once Addy had turned onto a highway heading north out of Nomad, a small town twenty miles from The Arsenal compound.
They’d taken turns playing music from their phones since local radios had shitty tastes in music. It wasn’t too surprising they both had eclectic tastes, likely because they’d both travelled and been exposed to a variety of cultures through the years.
Tree-filled hills encroached both sides of the narrow, windy road. They’d passed a couple towns, but Addy hadn’t stopped for gas or to stretch her legs, which meant they were likely close to their destination.
She paused at a four-way stop in a small town, then turned into a tiny convenience store. “Hang tight. I’ll be right back.”
Kristof wanted to go with her but nodded his agreement as she exited the vehicle and disappeared into the squat building. Two gas pumps that looked older than him were outside the vacant lot.
Where were they going and why did it make Addy so nervous?
She returned and opened the back door of the truck. She set a large box down and closed the vehicle door. Sliding into the driver’s seat, she offered a smile as she put the still running truck into drive and headed back onto the road.
“Gus isn’t a fan of strangers. It took me a few times coming up here before he’d even speak