Free Unbreakable: A Section 8 Novel (A Section Eight Novel) by Stephanie Tyler Page A

his ass down.”
    The great thing about Jem was he was crazy enough to try what most people wouldn’t. His logic was different from other people’s and he took risks because he could.
    Jem truly lived. And that’s all Avery wanted to learn to do. She’d already learned the lesson that life was too short.
    The bayou was all narrow paths and missteps. Some of the paths were meant to purposely throw strangers off. It was easy to get lost here.
    She and Jem both quieted when they reached the bridge that took them past Grace’s old house and then farther along the old swamps, through roads that didn’t seem as though they should be drivable at all. And they were barely so. It was only Jem’s skill that kept them from rutting out or going into the bayou itself.
    After another half an hour, Jem turned the headlights down. “We’re close.”
    “And you know that how?” she asked.
    “Bayou numbers are hard to find. You’ve got to just count from the start of the road, and sometimes that doesn’t even make sense. But I know this house.” He’d pulled over, cut the engine and pointed now to one they could barely see through the mist and the cypress trees that provided protection and coverage.
    “How?”
    “Old girlfriend used to live there. I snuck into her window more times than I could count, until her daddy caught me.” He pointed. “Window’s still there, but the tree’s been pruned away from it.”
    “What if this guy’s the father of the old girlfriend?”
    “He owes me an ass full of buckshot. Let’s move.” He was out of the car, moving around the back of the house in a wide enough arc to not get spotted. She followed closely, her own weapon drawn. Her adrenaline raced again, although her entire body suffered from the fatigue of the day’s earlier events.
    It was so dark out here. She didn’t dare look away from Jem for fear of losing him. He walked carefully, exaggerating each step. He’d warned her of the possibility of tripwires.
    She was slightly more worried about snakes.
    When she got close enough to be able to see the outline of the porch clearly through the low-lying fog, she paused. Took another couple of steps and realized she’d lost track of Jem. She couldn’t call for him, so instead kept going forward.
    Minutes later, someone wrapped a strong arm around her neck. Her arms were pinned in place before she could do anything. The grip was python-strong. She wanted to call out for Jem, but a rag was stuffed into her mouth. A pinch on her neck and everything went black.
    When she woke, she stared drowsily at the man standing in front of her. He was massive—at least six foot six and broad as a door.
    He didn’t look happy to see her awake in the least.
    She swallowed around the gag and he said, “I’ll give you a sip of water. Don’t make a goddamned sound. We’ve got your friend here, so there’s no one coming to save you.”
    She nodded. Let him take the gag out and took a sip of water and then gulped it while he held the bottle. Whatever he’d shot her up with was wearing off and she hoped there was nothing in the water. But she couldn’t have stopped herself from drinking it.
    After a few minutes and more water, her head cleared considerably. “Who are you?”
    He laughed, but there was no mirth there. “You come sneaking around my house with guns and you want to know who I am? Who the fuck are you?”
    He leaned into her and his military roots were definitely showing. Just being around Key, Dare and Gunner gave her insight into what to look for. “I heard you were looking for me earlier—at Dove’s bar.”
    His brows rose. He muttered something to himself and then stared at the ceiling. When he looked back at her, he said, “You’ve been asking questions you shouldn’t be asking.”
    “So have you. And you hurt one of my friends,” she snapped back.
    “I haven’t hurt anyone. Yet.”
    “You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” Jem said, and she turned to see