Chapter Ninety-Two
The next afternoon, the sun hit the compound in pale, cold slants, doing little to chase away the bite in the air.
Jake was away at a supply handoff near the valley border with Bear and Stone, leaving the main clubhouse unusually quiet. I was down in the small kitchen pantry, stacking heavy tins of canned coffee and dry beans on the wooden shelves. It was simple, mindless work, but it kept my hands busy and my mind off the sudden, dark shift Gideon’s arrival had brought to the yard.
I reached for the last crate of metal soup cans, pulling it off the floor, when a shadow blocked the narrow doorframe.
"Working hard, little girl?"
I froze, the heavy wooden crate resting against my thighs.
Gideon was leaning casually against the doorframe, his broad shoulders blocking
