Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(41)

She inhaled deeply, then blew out the breath. She was pretty sure she hated him.

Finn went back to throwing rocks at the tree with more oomph this time.

The sun was setting behind Damon’s mountains, and Alison was struck, as she was a hundred times a day, with the beauty of this place. At least it would’ve been beautiful if Finn wasn’t muttering about her unattractive qualities loud enough to drown out the crickets and the birds.

An old, shiny black Jeep with fat tires and the top lowered blasted down the road from the mountains and skidded to a stop in the gravel right beside Finn, covering him in a cloud of chalky travel dust so thick he disappeared. Alison snorted as he launched into a cussing fit.

Audrey was behind the wheel, and Emerson was riding shotgun.

Harrison’s mate shoved her sunglasses over her straight, dark hair and asked, “Do you want a girls’ night with us?”

Emerson’s strange gold-flecked eyes were bright with excitement as she leaned out the open window. “Say yes. Trust me. You want to go on this adventure.”

“Where are we going?”

Audrey twitched a suspicious glare at Finn and said in a careful tone, “Saratoga. Maybe leave that at home.” She pointed a painted red nail at the badge clipped on Alison’s jeans.

Okay, so maybe they were looking for trouble tonight.

“Kirk will be there,” Emerson said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Great, then she should totally go and get gorilla-f*cked in Saratoga,” Finn griped.

“You sound like a jealous ex-boyfriend,” Audrey said, her dark eyebrows arched high.

“Ha!” Alison laughed as she bolted for the cabin. “Give me two minutes.” Inside, she unclipped her badge and set it on the bed. She was officially off-duty now and excited about the prospect of having some fun in Saratoga with Kirk and the Boarlanders. Plus, if she was honest, she was flattered as hell that Audrey and Emerson had invited her to hang out with them. They didn’t have to do that, but over the last week, they’d all become friends. Those two were easy, non-judgmental, and they laughed all the time. It was good for her soul to be around people like them. She couldn’t wait to escape the cloud of melancholy Finn cast over the post.

She peeled off her hoodie and changed into a fitted black T-shirt to cover her healing mark. She slathered on some lip gloss and smoked up her eyes in the mirror real quick, then bolted out the front door, feeling like a teenager sneaking out after curfew.

“Don’t wait up, lover,” she muttered through an empty smile as she jogged past Finn.

“Ooooh, Finn and Ally sitting in a tree,” Emerson called out as Alison scrambled up the fat tire and into the back of the Jeep. “Kirk’s gonna rip you in half for crushin’ on his lady.”

Audrey hit the gas and shouted over her shoulder, “Later Phlegm!”

He waved his hands to clear the dusty air and screamed, “It’s Finn!”

Alison clutched her stomach and giggled as they blasted down the road toward Saratoga. In the front seat, Emerson was holding onto the top of the open frame, her wild curls whipping in the wind. “I don’t know how you put up with him,” she said over her shoulder.

“Girl, me either. I want to kick him in the sack ten times a day. He just told me he would only f*ck me if he was blindfolded.”

“Asshole,” Audrey said with a disbelieving shake of her head. “Guess where we’re going.”

“Moosey’s?”

“No, it’s my day off!”

“Uhhh,” Alison drawled. “I’ve only been to Saratoga to get groceries. I don’t know what there is to do there.”

“Your man has made a decision,” Emerson called over the sound of the wind.

Alison gripped the two seats in front of her and pulled herself forward. “He’s picked a crew?”

“Sure did.”

Hurt, she relaxed against the back seat and watched the piney woods blurring by. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Probably because he didn’t want you to worry,” Audrey said with a glance in the rearview mirror at her.

Sure, she wanted him to pick the Boarlanders for selfish reasons, but even if he picked the Lowlanders, she wouldn’t be angry with him. “Why would I worry?”

“Because,” Emerson said, twisting around in her seat. “To pledge to Harrison, Kirk has to fight his way out from under Kong.”

****

By the time they reached a giant barn that Audrey terrifyingly called the “fight house,” it was full dark.

They parked in a field that doubled as a parking lot, then wove through rows of cars and knee-high grass until they reached a massive, dilapidated barn. Light shone from every crack between the wooden planks of the walls, and from inside came the sounds of rock music, cheering, booing, and whistling.

When Alison followed Audrey and Emerson through the open set of double doors, the noise level reached a deafening volume.

“I’m going to get us some beers,” Audrey yelled by Alison’s ear. She held up a couple of ten dollar bills and grinned. “I made a lot of tips today. Emerson, I’ll see if they have water.”

“Okay!” Alison and Emerson both said in unison, then giggled as Audrey disappeared into the crowed toward a hand-painted sign on the back wall that read Booze.