to fly second,” Hazard said before dropping onto the leather couch cushion next to him. A shirt and pair of pants from one of the Ryderwood brothers were stretched so tightly across his chest and thighs that Terror didn’t know how the seams were holding.
“You look ridiculous,” Terror said unkindly. “What is that? Child size?”
“Funny,” Hazard replied dryly and then scratched at the red welt on his wrist. “Zeph practically knocked me over to get to the doctor lady first. He took the bigger pair and left these for me. I didn’t want to be an asshole and ask for something else. This family has already done enough to help us.”
“Stop scratching,” Terror chided and smacked away Hazard’s hand. He motioned toward the weeping welt on his wrist. “You’re making it worse.”
“It fucking itches!”
“I’m sure it does, but that’s why they gave you the cream.”
“It’s not working.” Hazard gestured to the pale blue cream dotting his face and neck. “This shit is relentless.”
“You shouldn’t have walked through those plants.”
“Oh, well, I’ll remember that the next time I’m stumbling through the dark after crash landing in a forest,” Hazard shot back sarcastically. Then, with a huff of laughter, he said, “At least I didn’t make the mistake Zeph did.”
Terror tried not to laugh, but it was impossible not to as he remembered the bizarre shuffle Zeph had been doing when he came into the cabin. The poor bastard had picked the worst possible spot on the entire mountain as his makeshift bathroom and had worsened the problem by using the wrong handful of leaves at the end.
“He looked like a broken crab,” Terror said in between huffs of laughter.
“His ass looks like the red giant over in System 89!”
“I thought he was going to jump through the roof when that nurse tried to investigate the situation down there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any man hop that fast or high with their pants down around their ankles.” Wiping at his face, Terror tried to stifle his laughter. He didn’t want to wake Grim who had finally settled down on a pallet near the fire.
“You should laugh more often.” Hazard nudged Terror’s boot with his bare toes. “You’re always so damn tense.”
“You would be, too, if you had my job.”
“So, don’t.”
Terror frowned. “Don’t what?”
“Do your job anymore. Change jobs. Promote.” Hazard stretched out and folded his arms behind his head. “Hell, quit. Go retire on some sunny beach somewhere.”
He snorted derisively. “You make it sound so easy to walk away.”
“It is easy,” Hazard insisted. “You fill out the form. You throw your gear on Vicious’ desk. You put your right foot in front of your left foot and repeat until you’re far away from all of this bullshit.”
“And what happens when I’m gone? Who handles all the bullshit?”
Hazard shrugged. “Why does it matter? It’s not like anything is ever going to change, Ter. Even if we finish the war with the Splinters, we’ll just find someone else to fight. It’s who we are. Our people are warriors, and that’s never going to change.” Hazard exhaled loudly and crossed his ankles. “You did your bid, Terror. You gave more to the cause than anyone. Maybe it’s time to enjoy some well-earned rest.”
“I don’t think I know how to rest,” he admitted.
“You’ll learn. You go find yourself a beautiful woman, buy a nice house on some faraway planet and make some fat little babies. You teach those kids to walk and run and swim and climb. At night, you climb into bed with your pretty mate and let her ride you until you’re both spent.”
Terror grunted. “You seem to have given this a lot of thought.”
“Haven’t we all?” Hazard wondered. “Isn’t that what all of us dream about when we’re alone in our bunks? That all this shit we face every day is leading us to something better? To a mate and children?” Hazard’s attention turned toward the second floor. “I thought that’s what this whole mission was about,” he added. “I thought that’s what you wanted with the beautiful woman upstairs, the one who looks at you like she wants to drop to her knees and beg for—”
“Watch it,” Terror cut in harshly.
“Your collar,” Hazard continued defiantly. “So why the hell are you down here when you could be up there with that woman? Making plans for the future?”
Terror rolled his tight neck. “I remember why I never liked spending time with you.”
“Don’t be an asshole. Answer the question.” After a long