"Well, would you look at that."
A torch, two rifles and a shotgun point at me, and the spot between my eyes is the focal point for all but one. And speaking of eyes, the bloody torch wants to burn holes into my retinas.
"Get the torch out of my eyes," I say, and turn my head the same time the torch light goes out. Instead, an even brighter light focusses on me, and when I stop seeing dark spots, I turn to see a motorbike hiding behind it.
"Charli, my Charli." The words are sing-song, a nickname, and despite myself, my lips curl up slightly. And so do many, many memories.
"Jai." I step off the porch and approach the motorbike, stepping to the side so I'm not blinded by its headlight.
Jai's older than me by a couple of years, and he's a unit to say the least. I think he's about 6'1, 6'2, and he's solidly built. Like, he might've been training to be a bodybuilder before the world went to shit, and he's kept the build despite everything. He's imposing. As an enemy, he's not just a good shot you need to look out for; he's lethal in a fistfight. He's busted a brick wall with his fist. True story.
Two guys stand nearby, rifles at the ready. They're probably twins, with their similar builds and heights and stances. But I pay them no attention.
Jai reaches for me, and when I'm close enough, he grabs my face and kisses me. It's both familiar and unfamiliar. I pull away from him before it can mean something else. "I thought you were coming alone."
"Plans change."
"We had a deal."
"They change as well."
"Not with me." I take a step back. "This–" I gesture between him and me. "Doesn't work unless we're alone. You know that. That's why I agreed to it. You even suggested it."
Jai watches me with narrowed eyes. It slowly dawns on him that he might not get what he wants – that he came all this way for nothing. "As I said: things change."
"You knew how I'd react before you even came here – so why are you here?" I glance over my shoulder at one of the twins, who refuses to make eye contact. Then it dawns on me. "What did you promise them?" I ask as I whirl back around to him. "What did you say?"
"What do you think?"
"If it's what I'm thinking, then you can get the fuck out of here."
Even though I've backed away from him, it's not enough; I've forgotten how far his reach is. He grabs my arm before I can properly get away.
"Ignore those two," Jai says. He lowers his voice. "I'll give you what you want if you give me what I want."
I pull against him but get nowhere. "No, you give me what I want because you haven't upheld your end of the deal."
His fingers dig painfully into my skin. "So you're basically telling me I came all this way for nothing."
Somehow I manage to break free from his hold and take a step back, the night more claustrophobic and humid than cool and mind-numbing. In my haste to put some distance between us, I slip on the grass and my foot slides into a divot. Something in my ankle goes with it, and it takes all my energy not to reveal an injury. So, I right myself and swear, which in itself doesn't help anyone.
"I got your message three days ago and it's taken me that long to get here – and you're telling me that you don't want my help anymore?"
Jai's pissed, which I would be too if I was in his situation. But he put himself there, not me. He knows the terms of our dealings. "You know what I'm like," I say. I right myself and stand with my feet shoulder-width apart. Which isn't good, because my leg just about buckles beneath me. I grit my teeth. "You know the terms," I continue. "So don't get all pissy with me."
And that's exactly what he does. He takes two, maybe three steps towards me, and every instinct in me tells me to flee. But I hold my ground. "Pissy?" he repeats, and just like me, he's trying to conceal something. What, I'm not quite sure. But then, he's always been a terrible liar. His brown eyes always give him away. "Cute."
The back of his hand finds my cheek with a thunderous clap. He puts so much force behind the movement that I'm knocked sideways, my injured ankle buckling and sending me to the ground.
The grass is cool to touch, but I'd rather feel it under my feet, not against my face. So I push myself up onto hands and knees, then very slowly get to my feet, favouring my injured ankle. I refuse to show Jai that I'm injured, and I refuse to let him have the upper hand, if any.
"Don't get all pissy with me, Jai," I say, and to continue with my façade, I smirk at him and ignore my screaming ankle. He just looks at me, like he can't decide if I'm stupid or if I'm bluffing.
But the odd standoff ends as the front door to the farmhouse slams shut. It's not just me and Jai who turn towards the sound; the twins raise their rifles, and we all watch as Nate steps off the porch, pack over his shoulders, mine as well. I have his rifle, so essentially, he's unarmed.
Nate doesn't say anything as he saunters forward. He moves in such a way that you would think he's undeterred by the rifles aimed at him, and the fact that we're outnumbered. He doesn't even blink against the light of the motorbike, or that he's walked smack bang into the middle of something. Though his presence has only made the situation more dangerous, his demeanour is casual, calm, relaxed.
Now's definitely a good time for me to step away; I do so, right as Jai whirls on me. "You lying bitch," he says. He reaches for me, but his fingertips just graze my arm. "And here I was almost second-guessing myself." He turns to Nate now and offers him a grin. "I'm Jai by the way. These two with the rifles–" He gestures to the twins, who both look more like stone than human. "We refer to as the twins – B1 and B2. And you might be?"
"None of your fucking business," I say, and it only gets a smirk from Jai. He doesn't look my way now, his gaze riveted on Nate who only walks closer and closer. Which is good for me, because I try to subtly move away, to get closer to him.
"So how do you know Charlotte?" Jai asks Nate. "Last I heard she was keeping to herself." He casts me a sidelong glance then, and I know he knows I'm inching away from him. He doesn't say anything, only watches. I don't know which is worse.
Nate finally stops moving. He's maybe a few metres away from the motorbike, give or take. Which means I'm even further away, more like twenty metres away. Too much.
He oozes arrogance, and I don't know whether it's a ploy to make sure all the attention is on him. He crosses his arms over his chest. "Considering I don't know you," he says, "I don't think I'm inclined to tell."
Jai watches me, but his body is turned to Nate. His smirk falters slightly at Nate's words, like he's disappointed Nate didn't divulge him with useful information. "Saved my life more times than I can count," Jai says, and I hate him so much for being a manipulative bastard. "And she's even better in the sack."
"What, haven't screwed her yet?" Jai sneers when Nate doesn't say anything. "Haven't had her flat on her back, begging you to make her cum?" He turns to me, like he's just shared the funniest joke in the world. I'm not smiling. I'm not laughing.
Nate looks at me like there's no one else in the world but us. "If I ever do," he says, and he lowers his voice an octave, "it will be so good she won't even remember you."
I don't appreciate either of them talking about me like that, but damn, I would high-five Nate if I could, because his words have wiped the smirk right off Jai's face.
I'm almost at my destination – which is Nate – and I no longer care how obvious it is. My ankle aches, my cheek throbs, and I'm over this situation, over the way we all seem to be sitting on a precipice just waiting for someone to topple over the edge. And to top it all off, one of those stupid twins steps in front of me, ready to blow my face off with his rifle. "Make my day," I snarl at him. "Seriously. Blow my fucking head off."
I'm at the point now where I would throw a punch and wouldn't care if I got shot in the process.
"Let her pass, Ethan," Jai says from behind me, and as he steps out of my way like a dutiful soldier, I all but want to shove his rifle so far up his ass that it comes out through his nose.
Nate watches me as I move towards him, and his gaze takes in my injured ankle, no matter how much I try to conceal it. "So you came all this way to gloat about how good Charlotte was in bed?" he asks before finally turning his attention away from me. "I appreciate the gesture but I'd rather experience it firsthand."
Jai moves his shotgun into a comfortable position and starts loading it. He makes a point of it, turning his gaze to the weapon, his movements exaggerated to emphasise his control, of the power he has over the situation. "She came to me," he says, and though this is true, I know his choice of words are carefully chosen. "But I'll cut to the chase–"
"Only interested in the climax," I mutter.
"She needs to come with us."
Now I know what he was trying to hide. I reach Nate, my ankle now a stabbing pain through my boot. He grabs my wrist; I grab his. He helps to balance me, his fingers strong like an iron band.
"And to think you came here only for sex," I say to Jai, who only smirks.
"I'm a guy, what do you expect?" he says. He sounds amused. "Now, Charli, come with me, and I promise I won't blow Nate's head off."
"I'm not going anywhere," I say. I take Nate's appearance in through my peripheral vision, how he stands, how he's dressed, his impassive expression. The only thing I'm a hundred percent sure of is his grip around my wrist. "Especially not with you."
That stupid smirk remains on his lips as he faces me and takes a couple of steps forward. He raises his shotgun. "I told you your mouth would get you in trouble someday," he says. He points his gun at Nate instead of me. "Come on Charli, surely you don't want this to end badly."
No, I don't. Only a dickhead would want that. But I tempt fate anyway. With his focus on Nate, I pry my own handgun from my waistband and aim it at the twin standing closest to me. He raises his rifle in response.
Jai actually laughs – but it has no amusement in it at all. "Charli, don't be stupid. Put the gun away."
"You do it first."
"It's three onto two – or I guess onto one considering Nate here doesn't have a weapon," Jai says. "I want you to come back alive, not in a body bag."
"And where would you be taking me?"
"Home."
"It's not my home," I say, and even just thinking about it makes my arm shake. I take a deep breath and hold the gun higher. I block out all the memories, the images. "Never was."
Nate glances at me, no doubt feeling me shaking as he holds me and I hold him. He doesn't say anything. He only grips my wrist harder, his fingers flexing against my skin.
Jai huffs. "Home is home," he says. "You just like to make things difficult."
"Did Clint put you up to this?" I ask suddenly. "Did he tell you to bring me back?"
Jai ignores me – well, not really, considering he now points his gun at me instead of Nate. Good. "I'm not going to ask again," he says, and when his voice drops an octave, I know he's reaching the end of his patience.
"You didn't ask in the first place," I retort.
"Don't make me do something stupid," Jai growls, and he takes another step forward, his gun inching closer and closer, step by step.
Russian roulette. Cat and mouse.
"Don't worry," I say. "I can do that for you."
I squeeze the trigger.