Quickdraw Slow Burn (Battle of the Bulls #3) - T. S. Joyce Page 0,32
taught me how to stay safe. Taught me how to be a lone wolf. Taught me how to hunt the people who hunt me, and there have been many. And every single time, he’s shown up and backed me. He’s fucking crazy. That’s what you’ll think when you meet him, but to me? He’s taught me everything I know in order to survive. So for me, if I feel like I disappoint him? That’s okay. That’s part of my process. Being hard on myself is okay because I’m doing it so I’ll never make the same mistake again. So I can keep myself safe. So I can keep…”
“So you can keep what?”
“So I can keep the people I love safe. Rork teaches me how to do that.”
Quickdraw growled. “Annabelle, you aren’t alone anymore. You aren’t just some lone wolf out there in the world trying to get through to the next week. You’re safe. I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Quickdraw stood suddenly and made his way to her, sat down, and hooked a finger under her chin. She’d ducked her gaze away from him, and he hated it. “Annabelle… You. Are. Safe.”
And that brave little wolf did something he wasn’t prepared for. Her pretty blue eyes rimmed with tears. “He scared me a little.”
Quickdraw sighed and gripped the back of her neck, pulled her close and rested his forehead on hers. He had a very strong feeling that Annabelle was used to being tough. That she didn’t allow herself to be vulnerable like this often. “That scared me, too. I don’t want you that far away anymore. How long does it take you to change into your wolf? If you have to protect yourself?”
Annabelle tensed in his grip, and Quickdraw eased back. “How long does it usually take if you aren’t under stress?”
“If I’m not under stress?” Her tone sounded so off right now. “Thirty seconds. Twenty if I push it.”
“Good.”
Her phone rang, and Hunter Kaid’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hello?” she answered. “You’re on speaker phone with me and Quickdraw.”
“Okay, good.” Hunter’s voice came through the speaker loud and clear. “Where is the rest of your herd?”
“Um, in their RVs.”
“Go get them and bring them all in for this call. Call me back. I learned you should lean on your pack. Annabelle, you ain’t got a pack, but you got a herd, and that’s the same damn thing. You and Quickdraw want to do this alone, but it ain’t that simple. Bring in your people and give me a call back, okay?”
Annabelle swallowed hard and looked up at Quickdraw with wide eyes.
“Okay, we’ll call you back in five,” Quickdraw said into the phone.
He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and put a simple text into the herd loop. I need y’all.
A knock sounded at the door three seconds later, and when he opened it up, Dead was standing there, breathing heavy like he’d run here. Of course. He’d probably been waiting on pins in needles for the last week for Quickdraw to need something. He was so damn annoying. So, really, he liked that he could depend on Dead’s weirdness but, outwardly, he would only ever tell him, “You’re annoying.”
“Do you need me to buy you a drink or share my skittles, or are you wanting a different color of friendship bracelet, or—?”
“Shut up, or I’ll kill you. We’re having a herd meeting.”
“Herd meeting!” Dead screeched out into the great beyond.
Quickdraw hunched his shoulders at the awful sound.
Two Shots, Cheyenne, and Raven came sprinting up to the RV. Sprinting.
“What happened?” Cheyenne asked.
“You said something mushy in the group text!” Raven exclaimed. “There was no middle finger emoji! Something is wrong!”
“I’m here for the beer,” Two Shots grumbled, stepping inside past him.
Quickdraw took the seat on the couch by Annabelle to comfort her. Nah, fuck that, he was selfish by nature. He needed to comfort himself with her touch, just as much as comfort her.
“We’re hunting the people who have been poisoning the bulls with Filsa,” Annabelle said softly and then connected the call to Hunter.
While it rang the two times, the others settled around the RV in chairs, on the counter, on the floor.
Hunter picked up, “Is everyone there?”
“Yes,” Annabelle told him. “You’re on speakerphone with the entire herd.” She gestured to the phone. “Hunter Kaid is helping us out.”
The herd greeted him and settled down, questioning glances being tossed around the room.
“I saw the video. I watched it eight times. Quickdraw, I know you want to