Page 4 of Bred By the Beast

“Not all the time, and you can’t argue with me that they are, we both know that is not the case.”

She wanted to tell him to put her down, but in the distance, she heard the unmistakable sound of the men getting closer, and she couldn’t help but tighten herself around Wilder. This was dangerous. She didn’t know if Wilder would be a match for the three men. She could throw a mean punch, but she couldn’t exactly evade a bullet. Poppy assumed they were coming with bullets.

She had a bad attitude. She could certainly strip them down with a few choice words. Not that it would do any good. Men like that did not listen to reason. They were assholes.

“I’ll be surprised if anything comes from your camera.”

“The police have WANTED posters up. The news reports on poachers, and it’s illegal.”

“And if those men sell those parts on the dark web, make a profit, and give the cops part of the proceeds, do you think they’re going to turn them in?” Wilder asked.

“You’re ... not very nice,” she said.

“Do you want me to drop you on your ass and let you talk to them?” Wilder asked.

Again, she tightened her arms around his neck. They had already shot at her. She was hopeful the cops were not dirty, but she was also a realist. This wasn’t good.

“Look, I have to be hopeful and believe in the justice system, otherwise, everything is for nothing, and I can’t live with that. I don’t want to live with that.” She hated how desperate she sounded.

“We’ll see.”

Poppy groaned. Something told her he would know better than anyone. “What do you know?” she asked.

“I know I’ve seen those men hunting these parts several times. I also know they’ve had run-ins with the local police. I’ve seen them handing over brown envelopes, and I can guess there is cash in them.”

“Shit!” Poppy said, and she was not one to curse. She actually hated it. “I’m sorry. Why did you help me?”

“Because you might be able to find another way of bringing those men to justice.”

“How?”

“Why not send it in to the news?” Wilder asked.

“The news!” Why hadn’t she thought of that? If Wilder could get her to the network, and she had proven images, then it didn’t matter if the cops were dirty. All that mattered was the evidence of those men and what they had done. There would be outrage. She had to believe other people felt the same way she did.

Wilder suddenly took a turn that removed them from the main dirty path. She tightened her grip around him, and it shocked her that he wasn’t even breaking into a sweat, nor did he seem out of breath.

“Where are we going?”

“They’re gaining on us, but they won’t venture out far from the main path. It’s too dangerous, even for poachers. They’re not stupid.”

It was already getting dark, and Poppy could scarcely see around her. It was moments like this that she wished she ate more carrots, although that was pretty stupid. Clearly, carrots didn’t help you see in the dark. She was starting to feel a little stupid now, and afraid.

“Do you talk this much all the time?” Wilder asked.

Now she wanted the ground to completely open up, swallow her, and hope she never had to look at Wilder again. She’d been speaking this whole time about carrots and thought it had been in her head.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s cute, but carrots do have beta-carotene that we all know converts into Vitamin A, which is supposed to be really good for the eyes,” Wilder said.

“Well, aren’t you smart?”

“You don’t get much to do in these mountains other than read, and I happen to enjoy reading.”

He seemed to have a smart answer for everything. This was starting to piss her off. She didn’t know why she was getting agitated. Maybe it was the dark or the fear, or the anger, all combined together.

“This will do for tonight,” Wilder said, and she looked straight ahead only to see a narrow opening in the rock face.