I laughed. “Have you girls seen Eagle, I need to chat with him about something.”
“Is that something how you’ve got a thing for him?” Chelsea teased, and I shook my head with a smile. “Oh, come on now, you guys ain’t fooling anyone.”
Hadley chuckled softly before pointing to the patio. “He’s out there with Jake, Leo, and Blizzard.”
“Thank you!” I chimed. Chelsea pouting at her ruined fun as I headed for the patio doors. It was still reasonably warm out, but there was a light breeze that gave a chill to the air, and I shuddered, rubbing at my arms to keep them warm as I stepped outside.
The boys had a large drum set up just off the patio and a couple of air rifles in their hands, taking turns at trying to shoot beer bottles off the top of it. Eagle lined one up, his muscles flexing and his body solid as he held the sight to his eye. His breathing was steady, I really expected nothing less considering his army background, and I knew between him, Jake and Leo, this could really be a competition.
I was entranced by the way he held himself, I always had been that way about Eagle. He’s always seemed something of a mystery to me, quiet, yet carried around this air of confidence. I never would have guessed he had this past that haunted him almost every day.
With a resounding ping, the bottle flew off the drum and disappeared into the darkness.
I took a step forward, gasping loudly when a figure appeared, popping up behind the drum to add another beer bottle. “Holy shit,” I cursed, the boys all turned to me.
Blizzard laughed, seeing my no doubt ghostly white face. “It’s just Levi, don’t worry,” he said through the laughter.
I forced myself to keep walking forward, my pulse racing from fright. “You guys might hit him!”
Eagle snorted. “Nah, he’s fine. He lays flat on the grass until the shot goes off, then puts a new bottle up.”
The things these guys did to mess with the prospects. While an air rifle wasn’t as dangerous as a standard rifle, it could still do some damage if it hit him in the wrong place. I huffed, not liking the idea, but knowing that this kind of shit was exactly what every single one of these boys had to endure to join the club. Kind of like hazing at a fraternity. I knew in my head that they wouldn’t purposely put any of the prospects in danger, but it still made me nervous when they tested them like that.
“Eagle, can I talk to you for a second,” I asked politely, and he instantly nodded, placing his beer on the table beside him and handing off the gun to Jake who was the only one sitting down because of the injury to his leg. It took Jake a second to grab hold of the gun because his eyes were focused on me, and not in a good way. His gaze was scrutinizing and made me stand a little taller when what I saw seemed like judgment in his eyes.
We didn’t move far, just to the edge of the patio. The boys would still be able to hear us, but they were making out like they couldn’t, returning to their joking and jesting about who had the best aim.
“What’s up?” Eagle asked, placing his hand on my back and dipping his head so he could see my eyes. He smelt really damn good, and for a second I just wanted to say fuck it and drag him back to my bedroom. I missed his touch, I could tell by the way his hand on my skin seemed to instantly warm my body, the cold chill of the air suddenly gone. “Sky,” he tried again, fighting against a grin.
“Sorry,” I whispered before clearing my throat and shaking my head. “How come you had Wrench do a background check on Brock Obrien?” I asked, not beating around the bush.
His soft features soon turned hard. “How do you know that name?”
“It was the man who my sister was given to. The one she was to marry. She said he was kind of scary, and really weird. He’s why she ran,” I explained. “How do you know that name?”
He lifted one hand, running it through his hair which seemed to be growing increasingly longer. “There’s some shit that Rivet told us, some pretty serious shit that makes me want to hunt the guy down and murder him.”
I shuffled nervously, picking at the ripped threads of my jean’s pocket. “About the Colony?”
He nodded. “Look, can we sit down and talk this through later? It’s not simple. The guy is dirty, and the story we heard was…” He pursed his lips, his brow pulling in and his eyes darkening. “It was fucked up, Sky.”
I grabbed his cut in my hand and stepped closer so that our bodies were touching. “Eagle, come on. He did something to Emerald, I’m positive he hurt her, I need to know if she’s in more danger than we originally thought.”
“Bro, come on,” Jake interrupted. “I got a hundred bucks saying that I beat your ass on this shot, I don’t want you to miss it because you’re chatting with the help.”
We both turned to look at Jake. Blizzard and Leo seemed just as surprised by his comment as we did.
“Jake,” Eagle warned sharply, hoping to keep his brother from running his mouth. Leo was already glaring at him like he wished he had lasers shooting out his eyes.
Was he drunk? Was that where the hostility came from. I was so shocked in that moment that my mouth just hung open.
When I finally found my voice, I stepped forward. Eagle’s fingers wrapped around my arm, but I didn’t care. “There a reason you don’t like me?” I challenged, and his eyes flashed. For a second I thought I might have seen regret, that the drunk him had just run his mouth like an asshole, and he was going to apologize.
Wrong.
“I like you just fine, babe,” he said, brushing me off like I was unimportant, not even bothering to turn his body completely to look at me. “My brother just has enough shit going on in his head without you and your daddy issues added to the mix.”
Eagle still didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if it was because he was in shock at Jake’s ignorance or what the hell was happening. Or maybe it was because he just didn’t give a shit, that he thought his brother was right, that I was just a club girl.