Chapter Eleven
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Blade
Hannah lies besideme, a slight smile playing on her lips, radiating contentment and beauty that tugs at my resolve to be a better man.She drifted off into a deep sleep hours ago.A sharp whistle pierces the air, signaling Scout’s presence outside.Carefully slipping out of bed, I retrieve my jeans from the floor and silently close the bedroom door behind me.I quickly pull on my jeans and head for the front porch.
Scout stands on the porch, his fingers tracing the fairy lights with a faint smirk.“Scout,” I acknowledge, my voice low.
He halts, meeting my gaze.“Prez, sorry to interrupt your night.”
“Problem?”I inquire, sensing urgency in his demeanor.
“Yeah,” he sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair.“Another homesteader, one of the usuals, but he turned up with five friends, and things got messy.”
“Any casualties?”I press, already bracing for the worst.
“No deaths...”he assures me, “...but there’s a witness.”
“And?”I prompt.
“And a townie hiding in the woods saw it happen.”
I furrow my brow, absorbing the implications.“Who was with you?”
“Ranger and Kyler,” Scout replies, his voice tinged with frustration.
Stepping closer, I lower my voice, my tone edged with a hint of threat.“Youmissedsomeone?”
Scout nods solemnly, meeting my gaze with a mix of apology and determination.
“Who?”I ask, my patience thinning.
“Tessa from the diner,” Scout responds, his gaze shifting slightly as if he’s unsure how I’ll take the news.
“The one Vex is sweet on?”I ask, trying to keep my tone steady, though the mention of Vex and Tessa catches him off-guard.
“What?”Scout looks at me, confusion in his eyes.“Vex is sweet on her?”
I nod slowly, my mind working through the implications.“Yeah, you haven’t noticed?Vex is into her, has been for a while.”
Scout blinks, then shakes his head as if the whole thing hadn’t clicked for him until now.“Guess I missed that.”He shifts on his feet, clearly eager to get back to the matter at hand.
“Where is she?”I ask, my voice low but urgent, as the weight of the situation settles in.
“Clubhouse,” Scout answers, his eyes tracking mine as I stand there, the night around us heavy with tension.
