Dead Days

Chapter Fifteen

Pain of Leadership

This chapter mentions violence. People, not Walkers, are killed at the hands of some of our main characters.

It's a little heavy in this chapter but shows the differences Remi is already making and how willing she is to protect the group.

'Victory is in my veins
I know it, I know it
And I will not negotiate
I'll fight it, I'll fight it
I will transform'

-Rise by Katy Perry

Merle watched as Shane paced in front of the RV, glaring down the road, as they waited for a sign of Remington and Jackson. It was now hours after Remi was supposed to be back, and everyone in the camp had been put on edge, but by far Merle, Shane, and Daryl were the most affected. Shane had managed to keep everyone busy, putting them on tasks to end the day, to keep their minds from going overboard, but now, when everyone had started to settle in for the night, they were left to their own devices.

Merle had managed to talk the kids into going with Daryl to Shane's tent, a place they had spent an hour fixing up to fit everyone comfortably in, that was piled high with blankets and pillows. It had been a nice distraction for them, but once the joy over getting to actually stay with everyone was gone, Maisie had fallen back on worrying about her mother, and Landon, who was already experiencing a bad day, had begun to grow emotional about it as well. Merle almost felt bad for leaving his baby brother to comfort and keep the children calm, but Shane, typically the best choice for such matters, was experiencing a meltdown of sorts himself, and Daryl was able to keep his emotions in check, regardless of the worry he was feeling.

The older Dixon had decided that he could manage the two rugrats, and if he wanted a relationship with Remi, would need to start figuring it out anyway. Merle felt he was better fit to deal with the man, who was still pacing like a caged animal, in front of him. It was going to be a long night.

"Where is she?" Shane hissed, the words falling from worried lips. He wasn't angry, no, it may have come off that way, but Shane was beyond worried. If it had been for anything else he was certain she would stroll back to the farm, hours late, or in the early morning, looking a little worse for wear, but safe, except Shane knew better. They had gone out after people, not supplies, or Walkers, but people. People were unpredictable, and Remington had been worried enough by this group that she felt it vital to figure out where they were.

Shane still didn't understand how she even knew about them as it was, but he hadn't questioned her, not when Merle seemed to have an idea, even if he seemed confused. He trusted her to bring it up to them when the time was right. Things had been so crazy recently that getting a moment to breathe and talk about the not-so-important things had been a struggle.

He just wanted her here! Safe in his arms. Where they could all keep an eye on her and know that she was okay.

What if she wasn't all right? What if they had found this group and something had gone wrong?

His stomach twisted dangerously just at the mere thought of it as he tried calming down his racing thoughts, but he was having a hard time of it. His stress, over the Lori situation, how he was going to be a father, wanting to fix his relationship with Rick, and Walkers, and now, finally getting his chance with Remi, only for her to go missing, had knotted him into a mess.

One that Merle seemed to have decided to make his problem.

Shane wasn't breathing properly. He wondered how Merle could stand there, looking composed, as he frowned at him. How did he look so unaffected right now?

"Yah gonna git a handle on those emotions or not?" Merle asked calmly. "She's not 'ere. There's nuttin we can do 'bout it till ta morning. Those are ta rules, but those kids, they need us ta stay calm, and show 'em it's all right."

"How can you be this calm?"

"Sweat cheeks would probably say it's not so healthy, but I'm just ignorin' it. Got no other choice. She's strong, adaptable, and has protected 'erself from worse dangers."

"She went searching for people. I just- I can't stop thinking about what could have gone wrong."

"Jackson is wit her." Merle shrugged, but for a moment, right after Shane had said that the man could see the doubt creep in before Merle squashed it back down. "Those two togetha' are a force ta be reckoned with."

Shane stopped, his head falling back to look up at the stars. He took a deep breathe, letting it out in a whoosh of air, as he struggled to regain control.

"Lori's pregnant," he said, letting it fall out quickly, all of his stress. "I just got a chance with Remington, Rick punched me in the face, and now I'm going to spend the night staring at an empty road until I either see someone on it, or the sun rises, and we go searching."

Merle moved to stand next to Shane.

"Yah deserved the punch," Merle said, not sounding sorry at all. "Ta fuck yah go knockin' Olive Oil up for?" He shook his head, rolling his eyes, as he sent a disapproving glance over at Shane. "Don' yah know how ta wrap it? Awful choice." A small smile cracked at the corner of Merle's lips as he continued, his voice turning teasing, as Shane sighed beginning to look troubled by his past decisions. "Would not have been the woman I'da chosen."

"Fuck off, Merle," Shane grunted. "Remington wasn't even an option back then."

"Didn' say nuttin 'bout Rem." Merle's smile had widened though. Obviously, it had been implied but Merle was finding humor in this conversation and wasn't going to let it go easily. Not when he had his own stress to get rid of. "Good ta know yah think 'bout knockin' her up though. Gonna rebuild civilization all on yer own, huh?"

Shane hissed, spinning on his heel to glare at Merle, as he looked shocked at what just came out of his mouth.

"For fuck sake, Merle!" Shane looked scandalized as he began to glare at the man but was no longer worrying over what had been eating him up just moments ago. "That's not what I had in mind when going after Remington, I mean- it's not like I hadn't thought about- shit- don't say crap like that." Shane had ended up being a flustered mess as he tried sorting out his emotions and thoughts. The idea of a pregnant Remington with his child was not a bad thought at all, but it also wasn't something he expected out of her. He didn't even know what Remington wanted from them. He didn't want to push her into anything. They hadn't even managed to fully talk about what was going on between the four of them!

"Calm yerself," Merle laughed. "Ain't nuttin wrong with hoping one day it could git there. Remington's a good mom. Those thoughts are natural." Shane almost eased up, thinking that Merle would quit messing with him. "But I'd try ta keep it in yah pants if yer not gonna wrap it till we git a safe place set up. Don' need no more little Shane's running around right now. Not practical yah see."

Shane scowled, shoving at the older man, as he began to guffaw at his own joke.

"I'm glad you think this is funny."

"Oh, come on." He held up his hands placatedly. "All right, yer right."

They stayed silent for a moment before Shane was opening his mouth, wondering why he was allowing this to drag on, and opening himself to more teasing.

"You haven't thought about it?"

Merle shrugged.

"Ain't ever thought of havin' my own. Didn' think it right. Not really ta dad sort."

"You haven't thought about it with Remi? You do great with Maisie, and Landon, I just assumed."

Now it was Merle's turn to grow uncomfortable.

"Sometin' just different wit ta two of 'em. Easy I guess. Mango jus' kind of drags yah along, with or without yer permission." He didn't actually answer Shane's question, but the man decided that it was fine. He didn't owe him anything, and Shane could only assume the reasonings behind this decision.

They had plenty of time to grow bonds which led to talks like that later.

He was certain Remington would draw them together in such a way.

For right now Shane found himself thankful to Merle for managing to get him out of his never-ending thoughts.

"Thanks."

"Don' mention it."

They both stood there, staring down that empty road, waiting to see something.

┈┈┈┈․° °․┈┈┈┈

Daryl was cursing Merle for thinking that he was the right choice for this.

He had managed to carry a sniffling Maisie in his arms back to the tent. Landon had held on tightly to his other hand, and Daryl had thought the boy was fine until the lantern came on, and he spotted the silent tears streaming down his face as well.

There had been a moment of panic, where Daryl had set Maisie down on the pile of blankets and gazed in silent horror at what he was supposed to do. His face had been carefully kept blank, emotionless, as he internally battled with any type of knowledge, he had on what a child needed in times like this.

His childhood had not been insightful, and there was no damn way anything he had been put through qualified as child-raising. He hadn't spent any portion of his life around children before meeting the people in this group.

He was entirely lost on what to do, and as he stood there, hunching over in the tent, trying to figure it out, Maisie broke down in full-blown tears, sniffling, as sobs escaped her mouth, and all he could make out was 'Momma'.

Landon had turned, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders, but then he was breaking, and the tears flowed freely, and Daryl was now ankle-deep in crying children, with no goddamn experience on how to make it stop.

"Hey- c'mon, it's gonna be all right." His voice sounded uncertain, and hesitant, as he floundered for something that could stop this. Tears made him uncomfortable. He was only just learning to be comfortable around kids. Reaching down he began to pat both of their shoulders trying to imagine what Remington would have done at this moment, but he couldn't think of a situation where the kids were crying uncontrollably. "We'll get through this. Yah momma will be back. No need to cry."

The words fell from his lips without much thought as he noticed it had sort of started to work. There were still tears, but Landon had calmed down enough that he was now cuddling comfortingly into Maisie, and Maisie still had it coming down in torrents but was no longer sobbing. Carefully Daryl eased onto the blanket next to them, not sure what he should do next, or what his own comfort levels were, but needing to do something.

What if Remington came back home and stumbled upon them like this? Two kids a blubbering mess, and a grown-ass man with a look of panic on his face.

That was not how he wanted Remington to see him.

Maisie whimpered, turning to snuggle into Daryl's side, and Daryl for his part, only barely stiffened, before he regained control, and pulled her closer. His arm wrapped around her, and he glanced over at Landon, whose cheeks were still wet, and was looking uncertain. Daryl motioned for him to join, and Landon didn't waste a second before he was snuggled into Daryl's other side and the man became a comfort blanket for the two of them.

They stayed like that. Silent. Only occasionally did Daryl mumble something somewhat comforting, the best that he could for them as they settled in for a long night.

Eventually, each one of them closed their eyes, falling asleep, curled, and cuddled in together.

┈┈┈┈․° °․┈┈┈┈

Remington had placed herself on a solid tree limb, high enough that any Walkers stumbling by wouldn't notice her, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to reach her, even with her leg dangling like it was. Jackson's sniper rifle was in her hands, she was laying on her stomach, looking through the scope as she waited for the sign to begin.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, her pulse racing, as she ignored what was causing her anxiety.

She saw Jackson enter her line of sight, getting into position, and signifying that he was ready for her to start. Raising the gun she put the first man in her sights, taking a deep breath, as she mentally prepared for what was about to happen. Her finger hesitated over the trigger, and for a moment Remi wondered if she could really do this, but then she could hear those woman's screams in her head once again, and her hesitation went out the window.

There was no way Remi could let these people stumble across her group. She wouldn't be able to sleep knowing they were out there, searching for a farm to settle on, and coming across others who were easy prey for them.

Her finger pressed down, the silent shot escaping from the gun, and the man that she had been aiming for went down without a sound. Without thinking, or pausing, knowing Jackson would check and make sure he truly was dead, Remi focused on the second guy on the opposite side of the camp, staring off into the trees and swaying a bit. Within seconds he was falling down, and all that was left was the man walking out of the trees, seemingly having abandoned his post to take a piss, and Remington was quick to deal with him next.

Jackson was up and moving moments after, checking on the first guy she had taken down, not lingering, before moving to the first truck. Remington carefully followed after him, watching his back with her scope, as she swept the area, making sure no one woke up and sounded the alarm. Jackson swiftly moved through the shadows, going from person to person, leaving death in his wake.

From time-to-time Remington would lose sight of him, he blended in seamlessly with his surroundings, becoming a ghost, and only reappearing moments before he struck out silently. He did it with such ease that Remi couldn't help but think her thought from earlier, about what his job entailed, was right. It caused her heart to lurch for her brother, wondering how he could smile so easily, and feel love the way he did, before she shook her head, clearing it from those types of thoughts, and focused back on the task at hand.

Jackson had disappeared from sight once again, but movement had caught her eye, a man exiting his vehicle, stumbling a little, as he made to move toward the woods. Remi trained her gun on him before shooting and watching him drop to the ground. Jackson reappeared moments later, having grabbed at the door of the truck that hadn't quite closed before disappearing inside.

He exited, looking slightly ruffled, but unhurt. This carried on, and with every second that they still had a person left, the more her heart would pound away, and she felt the sweat build at her brow. She just wished it were over already.

Her thoughts kept falling to something going wrong, whoever was left waking up all at the same time, due to some unfortunate mishap, and giving Jackson away. All it took was one mistake for a person to holler out.

Only that never seemed to happen. Jackson was a professional, never lingering, or making a single sound, and soon all that was left was the truck with the girl in it and a car with two men sprawled out on the inside of it.

Remington watched as the men in the car were disposed of, neither ever stirring, even as the car door was opened, due to their poor choice of drinking too much.

She watched as he headed toward the truck, and everything inside her hoped that the girl was all right and that they hadn't been too late.

Remi had already caught sight of the two women whose screams were suddenly cut off after those two shots. These men, no, monsters, had simply left their bodies by the fire, not bothering on even trying to properly dispose of them, and just allowing their half-naked forms to lay on the cold hard ground.

She waited for Jackson to finish what they had come here to do as she kept a watch over the silent night.

┈┈┈┈․° °․┈┈┈┈

Jackson had slipped into a state of mind that required him to focus only on the mission in front of him and nothing else. It forced his normal persona back, removing him from the situation, as he worked on pure instinct and little else. He moved, following the lines of the shadows, sticking near them, as he copied their movements. It allowed him to blend in, and on occasion, when he would hear a loud snore or movement, he would freeze, his body stiffening, not moving even a centimeter, as he waited for any of his targets to move before carrying on with his mission.

He didn't stop to think about the knife that he used to take the lives of each person he came across. Jackson was disconnected from that motion. His feelings didn't exist, and there was only the fluid movement of his limbs that connected him to the moment.

Instinct had him freezing when the door of a truck opened, and out stumbled a mess of a man, cursing under his breath, as he muttered about needing to take a piss. Jackson didn't move as the man's eyes glided right over him, not noticing him in the shadows, as he turned to move toward the trees. He waited until his back was completely turned away from him before Jackson made to move toward him, only stopping as he felt the air shift and a bullet pierced the back of the man's skull. Jackson darted forward, catching his body before it fell to the ground, and alerted the other still sleeping man to anything being wrong. The man was heavy, and even outside, would have made a thump loud enough to disturb whoever was inside.

Climbing into the truck he felt it shift under his weight, and the man in the back seat muttered, turning as he began to lift his head.

"Tony, that you? Close the fucking door."

Jackson didn't utter a word as he leaned forward, his blade already making contact before the guy had ever even opened his eyes to curse some more at who he thought was Tony. A whisper of a sound escaped from his lips before it turned to gurgling. He was dead within seconds.

Then, all he had was the would-be military personnel and the girl.

Jackson took care walking up to this truck. He circled it, searching for where the man would have placed himself, knowing he would need to be taken care of immediately. He was a threat to Jackson. It put him on high alert, his muscles taunt, ready to react at a moment's notice, as his mind drifted into a further part of himself that was a well-oiled machine.

The knife was held firmly in his hand, placed in such a way that it could immediately be used to attack with little effort, as he reached out with his free hand to open the door. It swung open, not even a creak to give him away, as he was met with the sprawled-out sight of the man. He was fully clothed, not bothering to change out of what he was wearing before, and Jackson found himself instinctively moving to search for the other occupant of the vehicle.

She may have been his goal to protect, but his gut told him that anyone could be dangerous, and nothing was more dangerous than a person who felt like they were backed up against a wall. She could end up being just as dangerous to him if she decided he was a threat.

He didn't react outwardly when his eyes made contact with a pair of dark brown ones, her pupils blown with fear, as she watched him hover in the doorway of the truck. Jackson's body did, however, tense, automatically moving back toward the threat of the other man, who had been faking being asleep as he was suddenly sitting up. A boot came flying toward his chest, but Jackson was faster, more experienced, as he grabbed at the limb, pining it with his arm, before he was suddenly yanking, dragging the man from the car.

They both fell back, toward the ground, but Jackson was calculative, and he rolled as he hit the ground, his knife still in hand, as he launched himself forward seconds after regaining his footing. The other man barely missed the swipe of his knife, deflecting it at the last moment with the butt of his hand, as he made to punch Jackson. Only that didn't work out for him as Jackson suddenly raised his foot, making contact with his knee, as he forced him down into the ground.

The younger man jerked to the side, the only thing keeping the bullet that suddenly pierced the ground next to his head from making contact, and they both froze at the near miss. Jackson recovered first, knowing that Remington was out there, protecting him, as he made to finish the man, who didn't have a chance of winning, not against Jackson, whose experience, and perfection went above and beyond the normal recruit.

'It was a shame,' Jackson idly thought, 'the man was quite good, it was a waste of potential'.

A sharp yell came from behind him as suddenly the girl flung herself from the truck, and toward Jackson, and the man aborted his motion of going for the kill, to direct the sudden attack from behind away from him. She was flung to the ground, Jackson fluidly having her off her feet, as he grabbed her by the arm, and the back of her neck, before shoving her into the dirt, face first.

"Please, don't hurt him!" she yelled out, spitting out the grass that had made its way into her mouth. "He's not like them! He was protecting me!"

Jackson froze as her words began to break him from the haze, he had put himself into. A frown tugged at his lips, as his gaze locked onto the man who had begun to pick himself up from the ground, using the vehicle next to him for cover from any more possible bullets aiming for him.

Jackson held up his hand, still using the other to pin the girl, as he used the sign to cease fire, as he tried figuring out what exactly was going on.

He planned on getting the whole story, not wanting to kill if it wasn't needed, but wouldn't stand for any bullshitting. He would still take care of the guy, knowing he could take him in hand-to-hand combat, with, or without weapons.

Jackson was a weapon.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let me up, I'll explain," the girl whined. The man didn't try to attack, he stuck near his cover, his eyes locked on where Jackson was, as his gaze announced the worry, he felt at the situation they found themselves in.

"We saw what you were doing," he said. "I could have acted then, but I didn't. They were scum, and we were only sticking around for as long as we needed to. They weren't exactly the type to just let us walk away. I had to pretend to be one of them."

"He's telling the truth!" The girl wiggled a bit, grunting in pain before Jackson released her. She immediately scrambled to her feet, panting, as she took several steps away from Jackson, and toward the other man.

"Stop," Jackson commanded.

"Do as he says," the man ordered. He was carefully taking in Jackson's movements, could see what he was, or whom he used to be, could read it in the way he held himself, and the way he had fought earlier. This was not a man you crossed, his instincts were screaming at him, and he knew better than to trigger a man like that.

The girl froze.

"You expect me to believe you were just with these guys cause it was convenient?"

"Not convenient," the girl snarked, as her eyes narrowed. "They came across us. Wanted to take me. But Oliver wouldn't let them, and he decided it would be safer to join them and lay claim on me. They didn't usually try to mess with me, and when they did, Oliver would step in, take me away, and all I had to do was pretend when we were around them like I was afraid of him. I don't know what you were doing here, and I don't care, just let the two of us go."

"You did us a solid," the guy, Oliver said. "I couldn't have taken them all like that, even in their sleep. We were going to try to slip away in the middle of the night, but they made it hard to do. Tonight, was the first night they celebrated like this." Oliver spit out the word celebrated like it was something foul in his mouth. "The whole reason we were still up to see you go all Rambo on them was that we planned on ditching tonight."

Jackson lifted his hand, motioning for Remington to join them, as he decided it was her decision on what to do.

Neither had acted like they were lying, and the girl seemed demanding in the way that he believes her about the man. If she had been harmed Jackson doubted that she would be fighting on his behalf so hard, especially after seeing what Jackson was capable of.

"Someone else is here with me," Jackson said. "You'll talk to her, and if she believes you, then you'll be allowed to go with the girl. We came to deal with the threat here, but she was the one that wanted to save you in the process."

Jackson was nearly scowling now, not in the mood for a guessing game, but he was good at reading people, and neither gave off the vibe that they were lying. The girl didn't seem afraid of the man at all as she was still trying to unnoticeably inch toward Oliver. Jackson ignored it.

Suddenly Remington appeared from out of the woods, the gun slung over her back, as she frowned at what she saw.

"What's going on?"

"We've got ourselves a situation. Turns out she may not have been in as much danger as we were expecting."

The girl was quick to recount her story to Remington, throwing in more details about how they had been a part of a bigger group, how she and her parents were separated from the others, and they had been taken down by Walkers. She recounted how she had watched them being eaten alive and would have had the same thing happen if it wasn't for Oliver saving her at the last moment. They had been tracking their old group for weeks after that, always a couple of days behind them, before they ran across this group back on the state line and were forced to join them. They had been looking for a way to disappear for the past two weeks. They had only been in the area for a week.

Remington took in this new information, seeing the truth in the way the girl spoke, and how she cowered into Oliver's side, searching for comfort, as true anguish spilled from her as she talked about her parents. The entire time Remington was frowning, trying to place her face, and when her story had ended, she couldn't help but ask.

"What's your name?"

"Enid."

Closing her eyes Remington could now clearly place who this girl was in front of her. She was two years younger than what she had remembered her to be, her face still clinging to the childish roundness, but would get rid of that soon.

"Enid," Remington repeated, her voice telling Jackson that she knew the girl. Remington didn't remember Oliver being with her. She had been alone in the show, but that could be a change that Remington herself accidentally made happen with her existence in the world. Somehow, Remi, wouldn't be surprised by the knowledge. She seemed to be making changes like that without even meaning to.

"What do you want to do?" Jackson asked.

"You could leave," Remington said, having already decided on her offer as soon as she knew who the kid was. Enid had been a part of the show. She had been someone of importance to her people in the future. She didn't know who this Oliver was, but her gut instinct was telling her that he wasn't someone to worry about, and before she knew it, the words were falling from her lips. "Or you could come back with us. Stay with our group."

"W-what?" Enid asked, surprised, and baffled.

"What?" Oliver said, his less of a question, more of a statement, as his eyes narrowed. "You'd just offer that? Are you an idiot?"

"Sometimes I wonder," Jackson said, narrowing his eyes as well, as he tried to feel surprised but just couldn't muster it up. He knew what his sister would do as soon as she made it clear that Enid was from the show.

It would seem that she planned on collecting all of the wayward characters and shoving them under her protection.

"I'm good at reading people, and she's just a kid. It's not exactly safe to be wandering around, and she'll only have you for protection out there. Doesn't seem like the two of you'd make it very long on your own."

"We're searching for our group," Oliver countered, not at all happy with going along with this woman.

"Cool," Remington shrugged. "You can do that while in the safety of our group. I'm not going to keep you prisoner, you'd be allowed to do whatever, I just think it would be smarter to do it with a group."

"We could be lying about all of this. Why the fuck would you just take our word for it."

"I just tend to know things. Got good instincts. And luck. Are you going to take the deal or not?"

"Not!" Oliver argued. "You could be just as messed up as this group. Look what you did. How can we just trust that you're not bad business? Just cause your female?"

"We had our reasons for doing what we did." Remington snarled, feeling sore at the subject, but justified in her actions.

"Well, thanks for the help, but we're just going to leave."

"Sure, whatever," Remington muttered, no longer caring to be around the redhead. She sent a sad glance toward Enid, wondering if they would meet again, and hoping that the change in the girl's path wouldn't change her future. She wanted her to live. To meet them again in the future, and wondered if that was something fate would keep the same, and silently hoped so as she watched the man push her toward the truck, and she went willingly, clinging to him the entire time. "We'll split their supplies."

Remington hadn't meant to call out to them again, could see how uncomfortable the man had become, but he hesitated, freezing at this, before nodding at them.

For the next hour, they painstakingly rummaged through the supplies that the men had managed to find, Remington, ignored the dead bodies, before her eyes landed on the women from before. She ended up giving Oliver and Enid more than half of what was there, worried about the girl, and after watching them drive off, Remington had turned to Jackson, asking for one more request before they would leave.

It took another two hours to dig the graves and put to rest the two women who had gone through hell before they died. Remington felt better after, upset that she hadn't been able to save them, and had listened as they were tortured, but knew that for the sake of her group, for her kids, they hadn't been able to step in and do something at the moment.

It was in the early hours of the morning when Remington and Jackson made it back to the farm. Her heart settled, her pulse calming, when she was met with the familiar sight.

Now if only this heaviness in her chest would disappear.

Remington didn't see it disappearing in the near future. Her actions tonight were something new, bringing on emotions that she wasn't sure how to handle, and suddenly she felt weary, heavy, and burdened.

"Don't be alone tonight," Jackson said in warning as he turned the truck off. "It'll make it worse, dealing with this on your own, allowing it to settle in your mind. Find one of them or all of them, I don't care, but confide in them. I promise it'll help. Let them take care of you."

"What about you?" she asked, worried about how he knew this feeling, and concerned that he wouldn't have anyone there for him.

"Doesn't really affect me anymore, kid," he said shrugging as he tried to smile but it came off as a grimace. "It's nothing new to me."

Remington found herself saddened at the confirmation, but nodded, would do as he suggested before she was leaning over, hugging him.

"Yah got someone waiting for you," he muttered softly as he gently pulled away from her embrace after several long moments. He had noticed the man right away but didn't feel the need to rush the hug, as he took in the comfort only family could give.

"I'm here for you," she said. "Always. Anytime."

"Get over to him before he breaks and drags you from the car." Jackson scoffed, shaking his head, as he watched Shane begin to shift, his body language reading that he was close to doing that exact thing.

"Goodnight."

Remi slipped from the car, leaving Jackson on his own, as he took the time to mentally file away the memories from tonight into a special place, he kept all missions such as this one.

Then, and only then, did he escape from the truck, and toward his tent.

Next chapter there will be smut. I will place a warning at the beginning of the chapter, but I want you guys to be prepared!