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  Carl moved to get to his feet, and despite his annoyance, Kade stepped to assist him, hauling him up and placing an arm under his shoulder.

  “Two hours, Stormer Carl; if you’re this determined to go, perhaps I have underestimated you,” Cester called.

  Carl replied with a grunt as Kade dragged him through the doorway. Meg came alongside them and helped support Carl’s other side. “Why are you doing this?”

  Carl huffed out a slow breath, his voice tight. “The gods only know.”

  Meg frowned at him, and Kade’s despair grew. Not only did he have to put up with Carl, he now had to put up with Carl in pain and likely whining non-stop. Why?

  The question bounced around all the way to Carl and Brute’s cabin, where Kade had been sleeping so Hadley could take his bed.

  Carl stumbled up the stairs and barely managed two words before they saw him to his untidy bedroom. Meg closed the bedroom door and kept her voice low. “You don’t think he’s just trying to get away from all the wedding talk, do you? Maybe it’s reminding him of Rose and his wedding?”

  Kade scratched his chin, before shrugging and keeping his voice low to match hers. “You don’t think he’s hoping we’ll detour to see Rose?”

  Meg grinned at him. “Maybe you should? You could have a double date?”

  Kade shook his head. “I don’t think Cester would take kindly to us skiving off while on Stormer business.”

  Meg’s gave him a sly smile. “I’ll take care of that; Carl could bring her to the wedding?”

  Kade smiled back at her. Maybe seeing Rose again would be just the thing to take Carl’s attention from Hadley?

  The more he thought on the idea his sister planted, the more it grew into a plan he couldn’t see anything wrong with. Kade waved his sister off to check that his own kit was ready to go.

  Maybe Meg was right. Maybe Carl needed to just get back to seeing the girl that was waiting for him?

  He pondered the idea, kicking it around, checking to see where they could go wrong. As long as Carl behaved himself, which he always did around Rose, it might be a pleasant diversion to visit. Maybe even roll in and say hello to Jack.

  Kade chuckled as he looked skywards. The gods, he decided, must be looking the other way right now. May as well make the most of their inattention.

  After swift goodbyes and multiple teary hugs from Meg, they set off an hour later than planned to accommodate Carl’s grogginess. As she’d been trained, Luna took point, scouting the area ahead as they ascended the pathways almost clear of snow.

  Little was being said as they plodded along, riding single file with Hadley in the middle, happy Cester was allowing her to travel in more comfortable riding pants, with the option to disguise herself should the need arise.

  By the time they reached the top of the ridge where the pathways widened enough for them to spread out, conversation became easier, and Hadley sent a look sideways to check on both Kade and Carl.

  Kade looked fit and strong as he met her gaze. Carl, by the same token, appeared washed out, slumped slightly in his saddle, his voice flat when he spoke. “Couple questions. Why am I supposed to make sure you aren’t ever alone, and what was that all about meeting the Southern Captain? I may or may not be slightly buzzing, so you might be repeating this later.”

  Hadley’s stomach flipped as she shared a look with Kade. Would it make it more awkward? Or easier if Kade told him what had happened?

  Kade glanced over at him, shrugged, and pulled his gaze forwards to watch Luna as she zigzagged across the path, nose to the ground, tail in the air. “You know Cester and his rules. He told me the same thing. Neither of us is supposed to be alone with Hadley. And Cester wasn’t overly keen on the idea of joining forces with the Southern Unit.”

  Hadley held her breath while Carl seemed to chew it over. Kade kept his eyes front, and she turned all her focus on keeping her face as passive as possible.

  Carl scrunched up his face. “That doesn’t make any sense. I thought the Units were supposed to be available to join together if needed?”

  Kade shot a look at her before answering. “I don’t know why Cester told us to steer clear of them. I’d have thought it would make sense to pull resources.”

  Hadley found an answer before Carl started asking the wrong questions, questions that would lead to awkward answers. “Maybe he doesn’t want the Southern Stormers to know he’s looking?”

  Carl stared at her as though bewildered she’d think of such a thing before he shook his head. “You think he’s afraid someone will get tipped off or something?”

  Hadley raised her shoulders. “I don’t know, I was just talking out loud.”

  Carl smirked a little, but he remained silent.

  Kade spoke again. “Why don’t we save judgment till we get there, eh? See what the rest of the units are like. They can’t all be tossers like Jax.”

  Hadley frowned at him. “But wouldn’t the captain have known he was violent?”

  Carl’s lips twitched as he stared at her for a beat. “He ain’t anymore.”

  Hadley shook her head and sent him a scolding look. That wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have right now. Though she didn’t condone violence, she also wasn’t despairing the world was devoid of one less predator.

  Her thoughts were already scattered enough without Kade finding out about the cruel way Carl and Brute had left Jax behind, defenceless in a barn.

  Carl sent him a smug look that caused Kade’s expression to turn hard. “What do you know about Jax?”

  Hadley swallowed as Carl merely sniffed and snapped his eyes front again. Kade glanced at her and narrowed his gaze. “Something you want to tell me?”

  Heat crept upwards as he continued to stare. “Jax found us at a tavern.”

  Kade’s jaw worked, his grip a little tighter on the reins, making his fingers blanch at the tips. His curse was harsh. “You weren’t hurt?”

  Carl answered for her. “She was safe: I took care of her.”

  Kade sucked a breath in through his teeth, his posture growing more rigid as they rode at a steady pace. “Great, anything else you want to share?”

  Carl chuckled low beside her, and she sent him as heavy a scowl as she could manage before attempting to slide the subject in a different direction. “Which route do you plan to take?”

  Kade stared at her a beat before looking past her to a smirking Carl. “We’ll follow the river, then take the high roads inland. What happened to Jax then?”

  Hadley sighed. Keeping her eyes ahead, she didn’t need to look at either of them to read the expressions they’d be carrying.

  To prove her right, Carl spoke first. “I laid him out. We stripped him naked and left him outside in the snow. Minus a few essential bits.”

  Her stomach twisted as she realised Carl was relaying a detail he’d left out. “Bits?”

  Carl’s eyes narrowed, and his face hardened. “Let’s just say if he managed to get lose and didn’t die of blood loss, he won’t be capable of bothering women again. Ever.”

  Oh, oh!

  At the silence that met her, she snuck a look at Kade. His scowl drifted from her to Carl before an unkind smile lit his face. “He deserved worse. Cester never should have let him leave.”

  Carl spat out a laugh. “That’s what I said.”

  Hadley’s stomach tightened as they both shared a laugh at Jax’s expense. She sent them each a glare, hoping they’d feel suitably chastened. Vile or not, no one should take pleasure at another’s pain.

  As they made for the nearest village, Hadley’s nerves refused to settle. At least the Dawson boys weren’t squabbling amongst themselves as she’d feared.

  For the most peculiar reason, joking about Jax’s untimely and gruesome end seemed to amuse them both, leaving Hadley to wonder just how many of the rumours about the notorious Stormers really were true. What, by the gods, have I gotten myself into?

  Kade’s skull throbbed with every jolting step his horse took. Thou
gh the mount was sure-footed, every movement sent waves of pain tearing through him. For the first few hours, he’d been fine, enjoying the sun and the fresh air after a month of confinement, but as Renhold came into sight, all he could think of was lying down somewhere dark with a cool cloth on his head.

  Out of them all, Hadley seemed to be fairing the best. She carried a frown every time she looked at him, but otherwise she held herself upright and showed no sign of tiring.

  Carl, by comparison, looked grim, his complexion pasty and sweat plastering his hair to his face. There was no way they could carry on like this. If pride kept them glued to their saddles, they’d end up passing out before they got to the next town.

  Kade glanced around as they ambled through the gates, rusted from disuse. The buildings were a lot tidier than most; being close to the Stormer Retreat had its advantages he supposed.

  Cester wasn’t opposed to his men coming and lending a hand when places needed work done. With the shortage of able-bodied men, the Stormers under Cester’s command were gaining a reputation in the area. Perhaps not enough to offset the general unease most felt in their presence, but enough to make them more accepted in Renhold.

  The village was close enough that the Stormers could visit the tavern, or it seemed from Brute’s description, be coerced into visiting the chapel he’d never bothered to step foot inside.

  His eyes shifted to check out the chapel, a small stone building surrounded by grass and spring bulbs, in contrast to the wooden cottages and shops throughout most of Renhold.

  He frowned as a stout man with a mop of fiery hair, who was on his knees pulling weeds from the small garden at the front, stopped to smile at them.

  “Hullo there, Stormers! Beautiful day the Ancient has blessed us with,” he called.

  Carl managed a grunt, before carrying on past without any response. Hadley’s smile was uneasy, but she responded as she carried on past him. “Hello.”

  The man’s smile widened, and he locked eyes with Kade, peering at him so intently that Kade squirmed and pulled his gaze to rest on Carl’s broad back.

  What was it with these weird followers? Who smiles at Stormers like that? He grumbled to himself and forced his horse to a trot, gritting his teeth as he fought the nausea the movement caused him. “Carl, how about we stop and give you the opiate?”

  Carl pivoted in his saddle, his eyes narrowing as his gaze slid from Hadley, who’d come alongside Kade, back to him. “You look like crap: sure you aren’t stopping for your own sake?”

  Kade forced a smirk. “Just following Ben’s instructions.”

  Carl worked his jaw, gawked at a silent Hadley, then turned back in his saddle. “I can take it while I ride.”

  To illustrate his point, Carl dug around in the saddle bag and produced a pouch of reddish-brown, stringy mixture. He grinned a little as he scooped up a pinch and shoved it into his mouth, before swallowing it down with water.

  Hadley caught his eye, her smile hesitant. “Are you alright? You look a little pale?”

  His brow furrowed in reply. What could he say? That he wasn’t all right? That he was worried he wasn’t at his best? That he was growing more concerned he could no longer do his job?

  He couldn’t do that to her. She’d come back because she needed his strength. To be weak now, despite her words, wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

  The lie was easy enough. “It’s Carl you should be worried about.”

  Carl snorted and turned to cast him a sneer. “In a few minutes, I won’t feel a thing.”

  Kade scowled at the smug look on his cousin’s face. What he wouldn’t give to have something to take the edge off his own pain. He blew out a sigh and rubbed at his temple, hoping Hadley didn’t catch the movement.

  Maybe he should ask Carl for a measure? His vision was beginning to be affected, surely his cousin could sacrifice a tiny amount?

  Before Carl had secured the strap on his saddle bag, Kade eased his mount alongside him and kept his voice too low for Hadley to hear. “I need a favour.”

  Carl looked sidelong at him, his eyes roaming his face before he nodded. “Ben gave me a little extra.”

  A wave of relief flooded over him. Before Carl’s expression changed from sympathy to his usual smirk. “He said you needed babysitting; good thing I’m here.”

  A blanket of cool awareness replaced the short spell of relief. His voice was tight with irritation as he slowed his horse with a too sharp pull to the reins. “That’s why you’re here?”

  Carl cocked an eyebrow as their horses narrowly avoided collision. “Partially.”

  His eyes drifted to where Hadley was eyeing them, her own mount reined to a halt just a few metres away.

  Kade’s cheeks flared as he swung his attention back to Carl. Stars danced in front of his eyes as he refocussed on Carl, anger burning through him.

  Not only was Carl here because he wanted to be with Hadley, but he was here because he didn’t think Kade would manage without him.

  “I don’t need someone keeping an eye on me,” Kade growled.

  Carl bristled and sat a little taller in his saddle, his voice barely above a murmur. “You want the drug or not? Because you really don’t look good, and you want to be able to keep your promise to her, right?”

  Kade sucked in a breath through his teeth. Before he could form an adequate retort, Carl’s face began to blur. The sunlight seemed even brighter, forcing him to squint to dull the pain. Kade’s shoulders sagged in resignation, and he nodded weakly. “How long till it works?”

  Carl dug his hand back in the saddle bag and hauled out the pouch again. “Twenty, then you’ll be floating on air for a few hours.”

  Kade nodded and extended his hand, alarmed to find there was a slight tremor. Carl’s smirk only grew as he gave him a pinch of the dried poppy Ben harvested.

  He pushed it in his mouth and accepted the canteen Carl handed him. “No worse than aloe, eh?” he managed.

  Carl chuckled and grasped his shoulder. “You’ve survived worse. Take the rear so you can ease off the pace a little, and my shadow blocks the sun a bit, huh?”

  Kade winced but nodded as he drew his mount away, doing as Carl suggested even though it meant his cousin was riding close to Hadley. He avoided her look of concern and settled in behind them.

  In too much pain to even consider anything else other than how best to stay on his saddle, he gritted his teeth and waited till the drug took hold. Everything else could wait. Everything else had to wait.

  For a spilt-second, as the pain tore through him, Kade almost wished he could ask the gods to help him. Because Carl was right. On his own, he wasn’t nearly strong enough to keep his promises.

  To Meg, to Cester, or to Hadley.

  As much as it pained him to admit, he was going to need his cousin’s help to pull this off.

  Hadley eased off her mount, stretching her back out as she took in the spot Carl and Kade had decided to stop for the night.

  The single-story wooden dwelling was large, rectangular, surrounded by dense trees behind; a stream babbled in the distance, a splattering of bluebells and wild roses spread around, with a stable and a lean-to adjoining the sturdy building.

  According to Carl, it was owned by the Hamlin family and was where Meg and Cester would probably spend their honeymoon.

  If she weren’t so anxious about both of her escorts’ health, she’d probably have appreciated the beauty more. But it was difficult when Carl’s eyelids were drooping as he leaned heavily on the wall, and Kade, though he was upright as he wrapped his mount’s reins around the hitching post, looked like he’d be lucky to stay awake the hour.

  Hadley released a slow sigh. The sun was just setting on the first day, and already they both looked worn out. How were they supposed to make it the full three-week journey? Carl would recover, but as she watched Kade’s stooped posture as he gestured for her to follow, her doubt blossomed.

  Why had he needed the opium meant for Carl? She’d
ask him the moment she got a chance, though how she could with Carl around, supposedly keeping a buffer between them, was difficult.

  It seemed ridiculous that Cester would allow Carl of all people to be the one to make sure they adhered to the rules.

  Luna sat beside her as she waited on the doorstep, the shadows growing longer, cold edging in as Carl moved away from the wall and waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Kade listed a little to the left, then placed all his weight against the entrance to the building, his voice carrying the slight slur Carl had warned her of. “You got the keys?”

  Hadley hung back as Carl sauntered towards them. “Uh huh.”

  Carl jangled the keys; after a muttering fight with the lock, the door swung open, and her nose was filled with musty smells.

  She crossed the threshold in Carl’s wake and was pleasantly surprised to find the accommodation for the night was tidy, clean, and held a rustic charm similar to the homey cabins of the Retreat.

  A long couch was in the middle of the open area. Comfortable chairs scattered around a large table that looked able to seat a dozen filled the majority of the space, leaving little room for any other furniture.

  To the left of the front entrance was a single door, and to the right, another door which she assumed led to the bedrooms.

  Luna crept inside, her ears back as though unsure if allowed inside, Hadley patted her thigh. “Come, Luna, good girl.”

  Luna’s ears relaxed, and she padded in, her nails clicking on the wooden floorboards.

  Kade dropped his saddlebags and smothered a yawn as he closed the door. “Carl, can you get the fires going? I just need to sit for a second.”

  He plonked into the nearest chair. Before she could ask him what she could do, his eyes closed, and his neck relaxed back into the plump green lounging chair.

  Her lips twitched in a half smile, half frown as she took a seat beside him. Carl tutted her from where he crouched beside the large stone fireplace. “Don’t get too comfortable; since his majesty flaked, I’ll need a hand untacking the horses, not to mention getting some grub together.”