Page 133 of Rogue & Her Hunters
My heels barely lift from the mat, while the rope kisses it.
Single jumps. Double-unders. Then I cross the rope.
I find myself smiling. I never have before in the gym.
When I finish, I drop the rope to find Joker has stopped running and is leaning on the treadmill to watch me.
“Looking good, baby.” Joker claps.
I arch my brow. “You too. Is this your usual routine?”
“Every morning. Phantom is more of a night owl. He hits the weights in the evenings. I love running. Hey, does you being here mean that I’ll finally have someone to keep me company? When the weather is good, I run long distance. Are you up for daily ten miles?”
I baulk. “Masochist.”
He winks. “You know me so well.”
“How about we start with five miles?”
Joker jumps off the treadmill, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his forearm. “Should I start calling you Kitten? You look adorable in those pajamas, Alpha.”
“You really are a masochist, since you’re begging for a spanking.”
“Always. But it’s still the truth.”
Joker laughs, when I dive toward him and smack his ass.
He twirls away from me elegantly, as if with a dance move, but I know that his skills come from combat.
He’s fast.
He’s high on adrenaline, gesturing for me to attack again. “Come on then. I’m just here.”
I bare my teeth. “There isn’t room in here. Just wait until it’s not raining, however, and I will hunt you down. Then you’d better watch out, Jokes.”
“Oh, I’m scared, baby,” he taunts.
I tilt my head. “You’re scared of something, or we’d be scheming our attack on the Facility and not still hiding out in your cabin.”
Joker’s expression blanks. “I told you, we’re not hiding.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“This cabin isn’t only a safehouse. It’s the most defensible place we own.”
I cross my arms. “Again, why are you so terrified of the other bounty hunters that you feel this is necessary?”
When Joker doesn’t reply, I notice that his hands have tightened into fists.
“The ones who shot at us in Sanctum,” I say, slowly. “It’s that pack you’re worried about, right? You’re acting how I would. After all, your Alpha was shot. You didn’t expect them to be there that night. You thought that you had everything figured out. You had tricked us. But then, they showed up. Is it these Krakens that you mentioned? The ones who are the best?”
“The best killers.” Joker’s voice is disturbingly flat. I miss the unhinged wildness in it. “They’re bullies and psychos. If they have found us, then every single one of us is in danger. Yet we have been hunting the Krakens for two years. If they’re the ones who are closing in now, then they’re walking into a trap.”
“Who are they? This sounds personal. Why?”
“It is personal.”
Joker meets my gaze unflinchingly.
