Blackwing Defender (Kane's Mountains Book 1) by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

her shoulder. Her greatest shame.
    She didn’t have to see him to know his reaction. She could hear it in the snarl that rattled his chest and filled every molecule of air in the cab.
    “You’re claimed.” It wasn’t a question, and when Winter opened her eyes, he was gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled stranglehold.
    “I thought I was. He chose another.”
    Logan frowned and released the wheel. “You didn’t claim him back?”
    “Oh, I did. I had it all. Perfect life. Perfect mate. Perfect future. He married my best friend two days ago. Ex best friend,” she corrected. “They’re going to have a little panther cub in a few months. Lynn will be covering the claiming mark I gave him with one of her own.”
    “You separated from your mate?” he asked, looking utterly baffled.
    “No,” she said, choking on the word. “He got Lynn pregnant while we were together. While I thought we were happy, he was breaking our bond and giving one to her.”
    “But that’s not how it works. You don’t just choose another. You claimed each other, so how the fuck did he even see another woman?” Logan shook his head and looked enraged. The air was too heavy to breathe comfortably, so she rolled down her window for some relief.
    “You want me to kill him?” he asked in a low snarl.
    “What? No!”
    “Then why are you telling me this?”
    “Because you said I stole from you and didn’t give anything in return.” Winter shrugged. “Now we both know each other’s dark secrets.”
    Logan sat there, staring, silver eyes so bright they were hard to look at. Winter clutched her purse closer.
    Logan sighed. “You’re scary,” he muttered as he looked behind him and backed out of a tight space between two cars.
    Winter laughed—just one shocked sound before she asked, “Are you serious? I’m bottom-of-the-Red-Havoc-Crew submissive, can’t even claim a mate right, and I’m about half your weight. You on the other hand…”
    “I told you I’m not a danger to you.”
    “Hmm,” she said noncommittally as he drove down the gravel road and away from the safety of the others.
    Even if she wasn’t one of his assassination targets, she hadn’t been this excited and on-edge around a man…well…ever. That felt dangerous enough. And to top that off, he had no plans of sticking around. He was on a mission to get himself snuffed out of existence by a she-dragon. Just the thought of him dying like that unfurled poignant pain inside of her chest, and she barely knew him.
    She shouldn’t care. It was his life, his choice, but here she was, going weak over the someday-absence of a stranger.
    Logan Furrow was the most terrifying man she’d ever met.

Chapter Six
     
    Logan finished paying for his food along with Beast’s and the dragons’.
    “Money-bags McGee,” Winter muttered coyly, then took a sip of her to-go iced tea. “I guess you won’t have trouble paying for your trailer if you get in the crew.”
    “Nope.” He grabbed his ice water and pressed his fingers gently onto her lower back, leading her to a wall of stools that faced a long bench table in front of the window. The eatery was one of those hole-in-the-wall restaurants called Buff’s Burgers. It was small, but tidy, and a couple groups of locals were laughing heartily on the other side of the room. Dark wood graced the floors, and black ink covered the white walls where people had written their names and drawn pictures all over it. Where she sat, there was a black marker, as though the owner encouraged the artwork. Huh. She liked this place.
    “They’re hiring,” Logan said low as he pointed to the front window with a handwritten sign advertising such.
    “You must have some mighty big confidence in my ability to get past group interviews if you’re already looking at jobs for me.”
    He took the stool next to hers. “Why did they ask who you think would be good for the crew?”
    Winter watched an old copper GMC truck coast by the front