Read Green Fields (Book 3): Escalation for Free Online Page B

had—Nate had pretty much slammed a no fraternization rule on the compound. Emma and Bert were exempt, of course, being married and all that, and no one would have dared even joke suggestively with Sadie. Pia had a lot of interests but hooking up with anyone wasn’t one of them, and that left me. Nate hadn’t been kidding when he’d teased me about not wanting to, ah, relieve stress in the same room as everyone slept in, but because more often than not I was on perimeter detail with him, we’d found a neat, hypocritical workaround for that. Not that we were fooling anyone, but I thought the guys appreciated that bit of foresight. Not that a few months without sex would drive anyone crazy, but it helped that there usually wasn’t much PDA going on. For Nate to break with that now was definitely a sign.
    The next morning, Bailey and Bert came in from their morning round surprisingly worked up, and were all too happy to share the news with the rest of us.
    “We got an answer.”
    At first, I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, until I realized that someone must have replied to one of the many messages that we’d left all over the region, if well outside of our perimeter.
    “Where? What did they say?” Nate asked, obviously speaking for all of us.
    “Down in Meeteetse, by the cafe. They spray-painted under ours. Said they’d drop by at noon today and would wait for an hour, if we’re up for a chat.”
    Murmurs rose, but the general air was muted. So far we hadn’t had the best of luck with meeting people. Then again, so close to our home turf, things might be different. And if we were really living right next to a bunch of assholes, settling the score before things could escalate might be a good idea.
    “I say we meet them,” Burns proposed. Almost everyone nodded agreement, with Bert the only neutral party.
    “Not all of us, but we go with enough people, weapons, and ammo to show that we’re not to be fucked with,” Nate decided. “Four cars, twelve people. Decide between yourselves who goes and who stays.” Turning to me, he grabbed my shoulder, squeezing softly. “You’re coming with me.”
    “Do I get a say in this?” I questioned, not sure why I even objected.
    Nate gave me a bright grin. “I need someone who looks non-threatening in case they don’t turn out to be a bigger bunch of assholes than us. And while Bates loves to flash his baby-blues at everyone, not sure how that will work with a group of grizzled Wyomingites.”
    The guy in question got a few good-natured slaps on the back, but, really? He so had that coming, and not just because so far he’d labelled himself as the resident manwhore—now out of commission, as he frequently complained. While most of the others kept their hair short—in Nate’s case the dyed black had long disappeared in favor for his blond almost-buzz cut—Bates was growing his golden locks out, most of the time keeping them gathered in a short pony tail. But every so often he would whip off the hairband and shake out his glorious mane—leaving everyone teasing him mercilessly about it. Which he deserved, using more shampoo and conditioner than us three girls—Pia didn’t count with her pixie cut that she miraculously maintained herself. Come to think of it, my hair really was a mess, usually braided up or in a tangled bun, the roots now grown out to my ears. Maybe I should pick up some new dye on our next loot run, if we ever made it close to a drug store. Flaming red might not be wise as camouflage, but considering that Nate had no qualms dumping gallons of mud on my head to also conceal my face, I didn’t think that it would be an issue. And it certainly beat the faded, half-pink ends that I was sporting now.
    The team was assembled quickly, and within the hour Nate sent us scurrying for the cars. It only made sense to arrive early, leaving enough time to clear the area, and maybe even spring a trap or two if need be. We’d been to the small town