Page 35 of Caged Hunger

Marcus stood and turned to his crew. “Grab the truck, and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Caden grabbed Blade’s… blades, wiping the blood on the leg of his jeans before passing them back to his buddy.

Apparently, those were his favorite blades, and the man always made a habit of retrieving them from whichever bleeding body they were currently occupying.

Whatever. The guy was weird.

Basher slung Arlene over his shoulder and sauntered back to their van. It was time for them to go grab a beer.

Hopefully.

Looking down at his shirt, Basher grimaced.

Perhaps they should shower and change out of their bloody clothes first. Might make things less awkward when ordering a drink.

13

CAMERON

Carefully, Cameron made his way across the living room and gently set down his hot bowl of stew.

Next, he grabbed his can of soda from the counter and his cell phone from its charger. With everything set, he sat his ass down on the sofa and turned on the television.

After scrolling for what felt like an eternity, he decided to flick off the TV and began eating his dinner in silence.

He ate a few spoonfuls, staring at the dark screen in front of him.

Shit. This wasn’t helping.

All day long, he’d been worried about Basher. This was the part of his life he didn’t like—watching the guys he had come to care about drive off to do some dangerous shit.

Would they get injured? Killed? Perhaps arrested?

He knew better than to ask details of where they were going or what they were doing. That was crew business, and he wasn’t a member of the Shadow Vipers. He just worked as a bartender in the bar that they happened to own.

Now, sitting here, all alone in his quiet apartment, his mind began to race, filling it with all sorts of horrible scenarios.

Basher lying dead in a ditch.

Marcus clutching his chest as he slowly bled out.

Blade being taken away in handcuffs.

All of them, one bad scenario after another.

He dropped his spoon back into his bowl, letting out a heavy breath as he tried his best to push those thoughts out of his mind.

Cameron hated feeling like this, sitting around all antsy and stressed.

Even cooking didn’t help to calm his nerves.

Staring at his bowl of hearty goodness, he was reminded of his mom.

Growing up, his mom worked three jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. His father had been killed in a horrible on-the-job construction accident. He'd been securing a crossbeam high above the ground when part of the structure gave way beneath him, sending him plummeting five stories to his death. Cameron was only five at the time.

Following that tragic accident, Cameron’s mother became his whole world. Despite having to work multiple jobs, she always made sure that Monday nights were their nights.

Once his mother finished her shift at the grocery store, she would come home around six. The two of them would cook dinner together and then eat it while watching a movie on TV.