by C. M. Owens
She nods. “Did you not hear the double loop sirens last week? That was a call to the Wild Ones. The state troopers come once a year to investigate this place. The town went in for a meeting about it and to make Benson a Vincent.”
“So all the Wild Ones were there? Next time, I want to be in on that,” I tell her.
She starts to speak, when Killian walks back into my house, carrying a large duffel bag.
“Oh! You got it?” Penny asks excitedly.
Killian doesn’t get to answer before someone is knocking at the door.
I quickly go to answer, swinging open the door to…I don’t know her name.
“I brought you my mom’s famous peach cobbler,” she tells me.
At least twice a day, someone brings me something to eat. Yep.
Welcome to Tomahawk.
“Thanks,” I say, but her eyes widen over my shoulder when a Vincent likely comes up behind me.
“Hey, Becky. Want to come in? We’re just about to break out some new toys,” Killian says.
“N-no. Bye!”
She darts away, and I laugh while closing the door. The Vincent brothers come in handy on occasion.
“Now, here’s my problem. Our beards aren’t gnarly anymore, and these girls are bringing eligible, mostly beardless bachelors everywhere something good to eat. But not us,” Hale gripes, as Killian takes the cobbler out of my hands and goes to dump half of it on his plate before running a hand over his newly growing beard stubble.
Penny snorts.
“What?” Hale asks, glaring at her. “We’re just as damn good looking as he is.”
This is where I get pointed at.
“True,” Penny says, grabbing some of the cobbler for herself. “You boys are handsome.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Hale asks.
Penny looks at him like he’s stupid. “No Wild Ones are getting baked goods. You think any local girl around here wants to bed a Wild One?”
We all blink at her, and she taps her chin.
“That didn’t come out right,” she says, shrugging. “But you know what I mean. The local girls know that if you get tangled up with a Wild One, then you suddenly end up in the middle of all your chaos.”
“Mom married Dad,” Killian says, shoveling more cobbler into his mouth.
“Your mother was as bat-shit crazy as your father. I was always worried about what she was going to get me into. Then she met him, and I finally got a reprieve from life-threatening situations,” Penny grumbles.
Hale grins. “So you’re saying we just have to find a crazy chick. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
Hale unzips the duffel as I laugh under my breath, but my laughter dies when he pulls out something that looks like a damn machine gun.
“The hell?”
“Airsoft guns,” Killian pipes up. “Not as painful as a fucking paintball, but more ammo for a quicker attack.”
“For what?” I ask as he tosses one to me.
I catch it, hearing something rattle.
“For the wedding, of course,” Penny says. “Wild Ones always have the best weddings. I may not want crazy in my life daily, but on occasion, it hits the right spot.”
My smile slowly grows as I suddenly remember something.
The Wild Ones can’t all be in one place unless it’s a sanctioned gathering. Such as a Wild One’s wedding.
“Wear a chest plate under your clothes,” Hale adds.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Penny asks me.
Killian smirks. “Because he just realized what my sister’s wedding means.”
“What does it mean?” Penny asks, confused.
Killian shakes his head.
Hale distracts her, talking about their kidnapping plan for Benson and when she’s bringing the tux.
I focus on what this wedding means to me. It means I finally get my face-to-face with Kylie Malone.
Ready or not.
Chapter 9
Wild Ones Tip #321
Sometimes kidnapping is acceptable behavior if you’re friends with a Wild One.
KYLIE
“So what’s up?” Lilah asks as she meets me near the graveyard.
“Thought we’d go for a walk,” I tell her, grinning.
She shrugs as she joins me, but her eyes flit down to my dress.
“Fancy walking gear you have there.”
“Just left a friend’s house,” I lie, looping my arm through hers.
Two women approach us, take one long look at us, and turn to start racing in the other direction.
It happens when we’re together. No, I’m not offended.
I’d probably run too if I saw me and Lilah strolling up.
“Friend? As in a guy?”
I snort derisively. “You finally start getting laid, and now you assume everyone else is too.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Beardless Tomahawk is a whole new world. Never know.”
A happy Lilah is a little more dangerous than a Lilah who isn’t getting laid. I’ve learned this recently…when she blew away half the Malones from the dock with one powerful water cannon she let her brothers use—her soon-to-be husband’s water cannon.
It really was hilarious, but that’s not the point.
Lilah and I are the only two female Wild Ones among the Malones and the Vincents. Our corners are the closest to each other. Obviously, I have to one up her.
I plan to get her back. Just as soon as I find something more awesome.
And yes, this is how we’re best friends.
“I didn’t get laid,” I finally say when she keeps staring at me expectantly.
She lets her shoulders hunch as we continue on the small trail that leads into the woods.
“You’ve been missing a lot these past four months. I’m a little surprised you wanted to take a walk,” she says hesitantly.
Yeah. Yeah.
I’ve been missing a lot in general. It’s only recently that I’ve decided to completely dive into my art and hide from the entire world until I paint him out of my system.
Liam Freaking Harper.
The bane of my existence.
The guy I see every time I break out my vibrator. His silky smooth face, devastating grin, and panty-melting body. Not to mention his voice, his words, his easy, laid-back attitude. And the fact he was a huge piece of my life in just a short period of time.
Yep. It’s bad.
“Been busy,” I say instead of spilling all that drivel.
“You only paint like that when you’re trying to escape something, so what gives?” Lilah asks, being more observant than usual.
“Nothing,” I lie with a shrug. “I also went to Seattle last month for two weeks for a showing there, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’ve been hiding.”
“Sure it does,” I say, smiling.
She gives me an I-don’t-believe-you-one-bit look.
“Fine. Fine,” I groan. I’ve avoided this conversation for a year. I think it’s time to talk about it and just move on.
So, with a long sigh, I start explaining. “There was a guy back in LA last year, and for some reason, I can’t seem to stop thinking about him. I mean, it’s been an entire year. I’m fairly positive I only think about him more with each passing day.”
I mutter something about being stupid, and she grins. “What happened?”
“His girlfriend showed up.”
“Ouch,” she says, wincing.
“Oh, no worries. They had an open relationship, so she informed me it wasn’t awkward for me to be there while she was. And that it was okay if I fucked him. And then he told her he forgot about her.”
Lilah’s eyes are beguiled even as her mouth is twisted in shock. The more I say, the more stupid I feel about the entire situation.
Why was I so naïve?
To her stunned expression, I say, “Yeah. Tell me about it. I never had sex with him—at least not in the traditional sense. He and I were so different th
at it was laughable. I knew this. I left before I invested any more of myself in him. Yet he’s still in my head, because for three weeks, I got to have a guy no one else in the world ever saw. I was going to stay a fourth week just to be with him. Even lied and told him I had a showcase that I didn’t have—since it was canceled—knowing he’d never know the truth.”
“What if he’d gone to that showcase?” she points out.
“He couldn’t. He was bedded down with his entire leg in a cast. His ribs were jacked up, and it was hard for him to use the crutches. He was in a lot of pain those first few weeks. I always had to be the nine to his six because of that.”
“What? I’m usually hard to confuse, Kylie,” Lilah says incredulously.
“Maybe it’s the six to his nine now that I think about—”
“That’s not the confusing part,” she states dryly.
I laugh under my breath. “We went skydiving, and his chute malfunctioned. He’s lucky he got it deployed long enough to break his fall and land in water. But he still hit hard enough to break his leg in a several places and had to have emergency surgery, and he also messed up some ribs. I had to pull him out before he drowned, and when I realized no one else was helping him through it, I stayed at his house until…the girlfriend. Yeah.”
She stops walking, and I turn to see her gawking at me.
“I know, right? Crazy town stuff,” I grumble.
She shakes her head slowly as a bright, wondrous smile comes over her lips.
“Son of a bitch. I should have known,” she says randomly.
“Should have known what?” I ask, worried. Does she know why I’ve led her out here on this trail? We still have at least half a mile to go before the ambush.
Damn it!
I told them she’d never walk through the thick woods with me. Lilah Vincent is too suspicious.
She laughs. “I just realized something. Never mind.”
She loops her arm back through mine, smiling wickedly. That, admittedly, has me worried. My cousins would never hit her. So obviously she’d kick their asses if they can’t get the drop on her.
Unless she and I fought. We’ve fought before. It never works out so well for me.
In my defense, she’s always fighting with her hellion brothers. My cousins run from me, never letting me practice on them because they’re massive and worried I’ll hurt myself if I hit them too hard.
It’s really not fair. My size leaves everyone underestimating me all the time.
“I should introduce you to my neighbor. He’s been living here for over a month, but he’s mostly stuck to our corner,” she says with a secretive smile on her lips.
I wiggle my eyebrows. “The freakishly gorgeous neighbor?” I muse. “The one your aunt tried to set you up with, but you thought he was just too pretty?”
She nods, her smile growing ever so steadily.
“I heard he gets a lot of visitors to his cabin. Half the singles are taking him food daily. He’s probably gained fifty pounds,” I go on, laughing quietly to myself. “You can tell we don’t get too many new ones out here.”
“You’ve never heard his name?” she asks curiously.
I turn my head, looking at her with a raised brow. “Why would I care what his name is? If he was too pretty for you, then I doubt he’d be my type. I go for understated sexy, remember? Like me.”
I tug one of my springy curls, letting it bounce into place, then shake my very small ladies. Yes, I know I’m not a vixen like Lilah. Still doesn’t mean I don’t know how to work what I have.
“Right,” she drawls. “Guess it wouldn’t matter anyway. He moved all the way out here for some girl he barely knew.”
My eyebrows knit together.
“What?”
She toys with the ends of her hair, keeping her arm looped through mine.
“Says he sold his place in the city and moved out here because some girl got in his head. He came here to find her, even though he barely knew her or anything about her, as it turns out. He’s waiting for the right moment to let her know he stalked her all the way to Tomahawk.”
My lips purse. “I’m not sure if that’s creepy or romantic.”
“Can’t be one without running the risk of being the other,” she says matter-of-factly. “Perception is key.”
Before I can get more info, three bodies leap up from the bushes, throwing back their camouflage coverings, and they grapple Lilah even as she struggles and spews threats.
I might grin when Jason gets kicked really hard in the mouth by her combat boot.
“I’m so going to kick all your asses!” she shouts, then levels me with a glare. “Well played, Malone. Well played.”
I grin at her as they start tying her up, holding her down as they struggle with that task. Lilah is a hellcat when cornered, so she’s writhing and thrashing around, causing them to curse every time they almost get pegged with an elbow or foot.
“Oh, this isn’t my revenge, Lilah Vincent. This is my present,” I explain.
The confusion on her face is adorable, but it’s replaced with fury again when Jason starts manhandling her, tossing her over his shoulder and walking toward the lake.
“Someone let me on their back. These are my suedes, and I’m not stepping off the trail in them,” I call out.
Heath kneels, and I hop on his back. He carries me all the way to the boat, where Jason deposits Lilah carefully to the seat.
I turn the radio up to drown out her questions and threats as I drive us toward her aunt’s house. She finally gives up…
Until we dock and there’s no more music to tune her out with.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lilah demands as Jason lifts her out of the boat, her hands and feet tied together as we step onto Penny’s dock.
“I told you. This is my present.”
“Oh, Kylie Malone, don’t make me kick your petite little ass.”
I just grin.
“Your boots may suffer,” she adds viciously.
I turn a glare on her, and she smirks.
“Too far?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows as she gives me a taunting grin.
Jason puts her in front of him like she’s a shield, but I finally smile, knowing Lilah would never be stupid enough to touch my boots. After all, these are a pair of tan suedes. The blue in the flowers matches my blue dress. And my suedes are always my precious.
“Why are there four flags flying?” Lilah asks suddenly, and I turn back to look at her as Jason starts carrying her toward the yard.
She pales as her eyes widen, and her head snaps to me. “She didn’t!”
“Oh, she did,” I say, smiling bigger.
She starts struggling again, but Jason is three times her size and carries her effortlessly toward the cabin, where Penny walks out, beaming.
“Let’s get our girl ready! People will be here at any moment!” Penny announces.
“Aunt Penny, you can’t be serious!” Lilah snaps.
“You can’t possibly be surprised,” I drawl, grinning when she cuts that death glare toward me.
“Really? You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“I am your friend. That’s why I stood in and let her alter the dress on me to make sure it fit you. After I tried on your clothes to see the exact difference. And got stabbed by a needle five different times when your brothers were out shooting and distracted her.”
Pausing my little monologue for dramatic effect, I pat my chest right over my heart.
“That’s love, Lilah Vincent. I love you.” I grin at her, even as she mutters a threat to pay me back.
“Let’s get that dress on her. And you,” Penny says, pointing at Lilah, “will behave. Otherwise, I’ll bring in the Wilders to help hold you down while I put your dress on you and fix your hair.”
Lilah pales. I’d be a little queasy too.
There are four families of Wild Ones. All of us have our own brand of crazy. But there’s only one wildcard. That’s the Wilders.
/> Ironically enough. Or is it coincidentally enough? Irony versus coincidence always gets me.
Lilah goes still, but I can see it in her eyes that she’s not done fighting it just yet. Why bother? She knows too many people will wrangle her down that aisle if she tries to escape.
“Grab the tux and take it to the boys,” Penny says to me.
Damn it. Vincent boys? Really?
Cursing internally, since I know better than to argue with Penny, I go grab the tux from inside, toss a rifle on my back, and then walk forever through the woods, adjusting the rifle on my shoulder as I go.
The door to their house is never locked—because what suicidal dumbass would break in on them?—and I walk in…then stumble to a halt.
“What the actual fuck?” Benson roars, a burlap sack on his head as he struggles against the ropes confining him to a chair.
I roll my eyes before looking over at Hale and Killian, who are both smirking at me.
“Hi, Kylie,” Hale says far too sweetly, a secretive grin on his lips.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Killian goes on, his lips also curving in a grin.
“You weirdos are acting weirder than usual.”
“Kylie! Damn it, get this fucking bag off my head and untie me,” Benson growls.
“Can’t do that until it’s closer to time,” I say, then decide I can tear the bag off his head.
Hale makes a sound of protest, but I whip the sack off before he can stop me, and Benson turns a cold, somewhat scary look toward his two brothers-to-be.
“This time, I won’t let Lilah stop me from killing both of you,” he bites out.
They just grin at him.
I hold the tux up. “You have to get this on him,” I say, wiggling the bag.
“We can manage that,” Hale says.
Benson looks at me, confused, then to the bag, and back at them. Slowly, his lips tilt up in a smile.
“I’m getting married, aren’t I?” he asks.
I cock my head, grinning. “Yep. Lilah is being wrangled into her dress as we speak.”
All of the sudden, his arms come around the front of his body, his ropes falling off his hands.
“What the hell?” Killian barks, looking at Benson as he bends and starts untying his feet.
“You really think Lilah hasn’t tied me up and tried to leave me on the bed all day a few times now? I learned a long time ago how to get free from ropes, even before I started dating her, because I knew one day I would be dating her.”
