Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

“Ouch,” Leandro mocked.

“That was different. The Mad were moving. These targets won’t be.”

“How can you call yourself a gunslinger when you don’t have any guns?”

“I’ve got two,” Carter cackled, kissing his biceps.

Leandro lined up the targets for them to shoot at, which were potatoes. Byrant had already punched bullet holes in everything else around, and Leandro thought it would be hard for Carter to hit the target. He selected the smaller potatoes for Carter, his revenge for Carter being a jerk to him.

Leandro joined the others. From afar it wasn’t clear that Carter’s were a bit smaller, so Leandro didn’t feel too guilty.

“Byrant, you will have five bullets, and Carter will have five stones. The winner is the one who can get a bullet or stone all the way through a potato. That person can call himself the best gunslinger in town,” Massimo explained.

Both men agreed.

They took their positions, aimed, and fired. The gunshots echoed in the valley, and birds took flight. The stones’ whizzing sound wasn’t nearly as impressive.

Once the men were done everyone ran to see the results, as it was too hard to see from far away.

Carter, Leandro, and Ryder ran toward Carter’s potatoes. Leandro got there first, since he was faster by far than anyone. Being a Were helped.

One of Carter’s potatoes was on the ground. Leandro picked it up, and there was a damn smiley face looking back at him. Carter had made a smiley face with the stones!

Carter winked at Leandro when he noticed his expression. “I told you,” Carter said to Ryder and Leandro. He took the potatoes from Leandro and dropped them on the ground by Ryder’s boot. “Please do the honors,” he requested.

Ryder quickly stomped on the potatoes, destroying the evidence.

Carter walked over to Byrant. “Looks like you’re the best gunslinger in town. Nice to have another good-looking fella in the gang.” Carter patted Byrant on his back.

“I feel like Robin Hood with my merry men and girls,” Massimo admitted, smiling at Ryder as he joined them. Ryder didn’t have a clue what Massimo was talking about. As usual, he was speaking in old-world riddles.

“Pops, Ryder doesn’t know what you’re talking about, and it’s not like we’re robbing the rich to give to the poor,” Leandro told his dad.

“Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor? I like the sound of him. Does he live in Pinewood?” Ryder asked.

Massimo smiled, shaking his head. “Unfortunately not, so you will just have to make do with us. Let’s head to the next house and see if we can add him to our merry crew.”

Chapter Thirty

Javier the fighter was outside when they got to his place, and he spotted the gang before they saw him. He had an axe in his hand because he was chopping firewood. His arms were as big as tree trunks, his nose had been flattened, and his ears looked like cauliflower florets. Javier must have been in a lot of fights.

Javier swung the axe over his shoulder and walked toward the group. He wasn’t one bit intimidated by the gang, or if he was, he was very good at hiding it.

“What are you guys doing here?” Javier asked. Close up, his neck was as big as his head. He was huge.

“We’re going on a rescue mission. Are you up for it?” Leandro asked.

“Are you guys all going?” Javier asked as he looked at the group.

“Yeah,” came the general response.

Javier frowned, looking at Willard. Everyone turned to look at Willard.

What was between those two? Ryder wondered.

“Even him?”

“Yes, even me,” Willard stated. You could cut the tension with a knife.

“Is there a chance he’ll die?” Javier asked.

No one was sure how to answer that.

“There’s a chance we will all die,” Carter confided, shrugging like he was answering a question about the weather.

Javier grinned. “Then I’m in.”

Ryder really wanted to ask what was between the two of them, but it was too awkward to ask him now. Also, Ryder didn’t want to give him any reason to say no. Javier looked like he could turn Tank and Knuckles inside out and Ryder liked the idea of that.

Vicky snickered, twisting her black hair around her finger. “Apparently I’m not the only one you annoy.”

Willard scowled at Vicky, and she flashed her pearly whites at him.

“Those are cool scars. How did you get them?” Carter asked Javier. Javier had gouges in his legs and slice marks on his neck. Javier looked at Willard.

Looks like we’re going to find out the beef between them after all. If Carter fucks this up, he’s going to have some new scars, Ryder thought.

“Why don’t you ask Willard? He could tell you. Oh, wait, he can’t, because the fucker was sleeping,” Javier spat.

Here we go.

“I fell asleep once, and if it wasn’t for me that wolf would have finished you off,” Willard shot back.

Ryder instantly looked at Leandro, who frowned back.

“There was no need to slash me in the process.” Javier made a slicing hand motion across his neck where there was a scar.

Ouch! Getting attacked by a wolf and slashed in the same day, that’s one shitty day.

“Was the wolf white, answered to the name Fluffy?” Carter asked.

“Carter!” Leandro and Ryder snapped at the same time.

“What? There’re lots of white wolves out there. I wasn’t talking about one in particular.” Carter smiled, knowing exactly what he’d said.

“Okay, sounds good. Get your stuff. Just Graham left to call on, and we’ll pick up Tightwad on the way home,” Massimo recapped, as if he’d not been listening. Everyone looked at him and wondered. “Are you pussies coming or not?” Massimo asked, shaking his head and walking off.

Ryder followed him with a look of shock on her face. It wasn’t like Massimo to use such crude language. He leaned into Ryder, “Sorry for my bad language. Sometimes it’s the only way to get them to listen.” Massimo clicked his tongue.

The other men followed them as well. Leandro and Carter were squabbling, and so were Javier and