Chapter 2

Unfortunately, the general’s head stayed on his neck.

“If you want a place to live in comfort and continue to skate through life, you don’t have a choice.”

That pissed me off. I worked from sunup until long after it went down. Some days my fingers were raw from scrubbing and my back ached so bad standing straight was nearly impossible. My sleeping cot barely stayed upright and my tent had holes in it. He should try a few weeks getting off his fat ass and working kitchen detail before going home to a substandard tent.

I reined in my anger because it wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“You want me to find the rangers?” I clarified.

“No, just information on their whereabouts,” he said. “We’ll give you something to take into the city and sell on the black market. That’s where their last transmission came from. People are more likely to speak with you. Someone knows what happened to the rangers. Gather as much intelligence as possible. That’s all we need you to do.”

It was a big ALL. When I’d left the city, the black market was run by a single street gang with a very bad reputation. My father dealt with them often but that was my father.

“When do I leave?”

He relaxed slightly, his shoulders dropping.

“In two days, Ms. Layton.”

I walked to the tent’s flap and pulled it back. The captain was on my heels and bumped into me when I stopped. I glanced around him to the general.

“I know they’re hard to come by but consider my tweezers yours after I leave, General.”

Davies hustled me from the tent with a small push between my shoulder blades.

“You have a smart mouth,” the captain said with twitching lips.

I kept walking. It was my day off—the only one I had each week—and I needed a drink. The canteen offered free booze and a place to gather, play cards, or shoot pool during downtime. I turned and faced him.

“This is a suicide mission,” I said angrily. “I can’t defend myself,” I lied. “How could I be the best person for this assignment?” I held up my hand when he tried to answer. “Stop pulling my tits. Forget the bullshit and tell me what’s going on.” Hanging with rangers taught me to always be direct.

Davies gave me a long look and then did something that shocked me. He made an about-face and marched off to wherever captains went to hide their shame.

I had to face facts. The military didn’t care if I lived or died. As a grunt, I wasn’t just expendable, I was fodder. They had no idea I was capable of protecting myself. They didn’t know about my magic, and they damn sure didn’t know that staying hidden was all that kept me safe.

I threw aside the flap of the canteen and strode inside. I held up my hand when the bartender checked to see who entered.

“Tequila,” I shouted over the noise. “Two.” I held up two fingers and kept walking toward the table in the back. Said table was filled with my ranger pals. They watched me come in hot. Mutt pushed out a chair with his foot. He was the shortest of my friends at five-eleven, with red hair, green eyes, and heart-stopping muscles. His smile was killer along with his handling of a M16 rifle. I had no idea how he got his nickname, but they all had one. Mine was stupid but no matter what I did, they wouldn’t stop using it.

“Bad news?” Wiggs asked. He was a large Black man who didn’t smile often. He had a bald cue stick head that made him look meaner. His angry disposition attracted women without even trying. I was immune but a girl could look and I’d looked my fair share with these guys.

“I had a meeting with the general. What do you think the news was?” I asked testily.

“It’s bad,” said Mutt.

I rolled my eyes and resisted sticking out my tongue.

“I’m being reassigned for the foreseeable future,” I told them. “I have two nights to drink you shits under the table, and then I’m out of here.”

The guys looked quickly between themselves. I almost asked what the hell was going on in their small minds, but Dog spoke before I could.

“Have you been moved to latrine duty?” he asked. His nickname fit because he looked like a rangy dog. His hair was always a tad longer than military short, his clothing slightly askew, and face stubble that appeared to be permanent. He was sexy as shit but again, I tried not to notice.

It never made sense that the hottest rangers were the ones to adopt me into their group.

“That’s one way to put it,” I said, replying to his question about latrine duty. I was being asked to do shit duty; Dog had just put it in a nicer light.

I stood up to retrieve my drinks. I grabbed them off the bar and headed back to the table. I downed the first shot and put the empty to the side. I held on to the second, waiting for the burn to go away.

“You weren’t joking,” said Wiggs.

My eyebrows went up.

“Drinking us under the table,” he reminded me. “I’m game. I’ll go grab another round. You want one or two?”

“Two.”

The others gave him their drink orders and he went to the bar.

“Are they sending you to another camp?” Mutt asked.

“Yep, and don’t ask me which one; I’m not allowed to give details.”

He reached over and rubbed my head.

“It’s okay, kid. Can’t be that bad.”

There it was. The nickname they wouldn’t stop using. Kid. Even if I did fall passionately in love with one of them, as the kid sister, they would tease me endlessly and not take it seriously. I’d had to come to terms with the fact they would never see me as an adult woman with needs.

“You make it sound like there’s a top secret destination on the other end,” Dog said. He looked at Mutt and rolled his eyes. “She probably got demoted for the crap job she does.”

“Is this a permanent assignment?” Mutt asked, ignoring Dog.

“No. Couple of weeks at most.” If not, I would be dead but I would never tell them that.

Wiggs came back with the drinks and I had my third. Things got fuzzy after that. I vaguely remembered shooting pool at one point. Dancing at another. Hopefully, I kept my clothes on.

“Come on, kid. You need sleep,” Mutt finally insisted.

I opened my eyes and I was curled up on the pool table. Mutt kept me upright and left me at my tent before I threw up on his boots.

I collapsed on the wobbly cot and watched the silver rods holding up the canvas do a dance. I tried to replay everything the general said but I was too drunk. A picture of my father swelled in my brain.

“The only chance you have is to stay hidden,” he’d said before he died.

Up until now, I’d managed it. Going into the city was a suicide mission. I would be discovered and humans would kill me if the vampires or werewolves didn’t do it first.

I barely made it outside before vomiting. I was too sick to brush my teeth and fell back in bed with a foul taste in my mouth.

My last thought was that I must have succeeded in drinking the guys under the table because I ended up on top of it.