Chapter 18

 

Cash and Negan hadn’t been the only ones interested in the deer run along the rivers edge. Bob Mackey had been hunting out of that tree with his bow for many years. He too found the thrill in the hunt and victory in a fresh kill. His honey hole had never served him wrong. He had always pulled a trophy or two in a season from that blind regardless if that tree belonged to him or not and it wasn’t. That tree now belonged to Cash. It was a very long time ago when he had received permission from the previous land owner but that owner had been long dead, gone and forgotten. Since that old cabin sat empty Bob continued to claim that property as his own. It didn’t stop him because after all, he owned most of Canton as it was either directly or indirectly. He knew that Officer Howlett had made it into town but not for one moment had he figured that he had purchased the cabin and all its acreage that came along with it. He hadn’t figured it because for one, Officer Howlett was an implant from the city. What would he want with a hunting cabin and two, he didn’t know it had been purchased anyway. He had bigger fish to fry to concern himself with rather than trivial real-estate. He had let his arrogance get the better part of him. He had been waiting to make his move in introducing himself to the Officer even though he knew that his oldest boy had sold him a brand new Ford pick up. He still laid low regardless if he had been given a substantial head start over Coldwell. Coldwell would without a doubt act first and he’d appear eager. He’d slit his own throat while he’d play it cool. Surprise would  prove to catch him by the tail and that he had been incredibly mistaken. He had heard rustling threw the leaves approaching but it was no buck. Voices had accompanied the snapping of twigs and brush. 

     

Cash drew keen to a presence for a brief moment as he and Negan walked along. He was 1/2 trying to place the presences direction but Negan was a very big distraction that interrupted his instincts. Cash looked threw the trees with sharp eyes without a thought to look up. Why would he and besides, Negan’s distraction continued to override the hunter he was born to be. Cash wasn’t able to smell correctly let alone think. Negan’s sexuality dominated all of his senses. 

Bob sat still in his shallow and careful breaths as a trophy much greater than any 12 point that he had been stalking came into full view. Negan Coldwell. He knew there would come a day that he’d have his moment and that day was that early evening. He wanted to laugh out loud, Negan was finally caught off guard and would sit between his cross hairs. Laughter would come later once he drove that arrow home. This could not have been a better place to end this tug and pull. The middle of the woods like this couldn’t be more perfect. He wouldn’t even have to transport his body to dispose of it. He’d just call up his sons to bring the shovels. Negan Coldwell was going to come up a missing man that no one in Canton would be hard pressed to find. The only hurdle was that he was not alone and his company was none other than the cherry picked Officer Howlett. Bob had a a passing thought that it was unfortunate that the Officer’s number was now up as well. He was however left in confusion for a moment as to why they were where they were and together while he decided who he’d choose to shoot first while drawing an arrow from his quiver. 

Negan hadn’t been able to hold himself back any longer. Maybe it was the smell of the musky, wet forest mixed with Cash’s energy that had him dialed up. Maybe it was the fact that he knew that he was spending the night with him. Maybe it was the memory of the night before of the way it felt locked in his kiss that had him randomly choosing the old oak to throw Cash up against to lay into him. It had indeed took Cash by surprise as his back met the trunk and the split second of Negan’s shit eating, dimpled grin staring back at him before taking him once more. There was no hesitation or coyness in the meeting of their tangle. Cash had been eager for this kiss the moment the last one had ended. If anything, their heat was met in aggression of a deep rooted longing for them both. Their hands found the hems of layered clothing in desire to find skin. 

Bob’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief at the display below him. His eyes felt iced in the wind unable to blink and now he no longer felt remorse for what life he was about to end. Officer Howlett was a fucking faggot. The actions below him were fueled with a whole new hatered for Negan as well. He wouldn’t even give the pleasure of tossing them in the same pit together. They could decompose alone in their shallow graves. Bob’s stomach turned. The only benefit was with them crawling all over each other the way that they were and sandwiched tight to the tree,  he could nail them with just the one shot threw their hearts. 

Cash felt the energy shift with the wind direction despite how his body raced and broke from Negan’s trance. “Take me back to your place.” Negan pleaded threw a breathless pant with his eyes closed and rested his forehead against Cash’s temple. “Not here.” He immediately followed warmly into his ear. Cash’s acute sense of hearing heard the drawing pull of Bob’s string. Without a shadow of a doubt he now knew they were locked in someone’s sites. Cash knew he had only a split second to react and with all his strength he threw Negan off and from him a good three feet to the ground and out of the line of fire. In that very same instant, Bob’s arrow shot threw the air and found Cash in the  shoulder with a sharp and burning blow. 

The shot had immediately sank Cash down to his knees in an injured bellow so loud that it rang threw the tree tops and had flushed out the resting birds in the bare branches in a haunting swoosh of wings. Negan having had the wind knocked from his lungs lay in a bed of wet leaves and Earth in a slump. The wounded cry had rose him from the temporary blackness that had taken him. Bob wasn’t sure that the shot that he had fired had been fatal but the wounded inhumane call that had erupted from Officer Howlett  made the hair on the back of his neck prickle and found himself frozen. 

Negan shook his head of the ringing and spotted Cash buckled down on his knees gripping the arrow that had impaled. Cash’s head heavily bowed to try to redirect his pain knowing that he’d have to free that arrow. Negan unsure of what had happened other then the site of what he knew to be his love shot with an arrow threw his body, let out a gurgling growl of his own and swiped the grounds with his black eyes looking for his kill. Bob wasn’t sure what in the hell was happening. Was he seeing things? Had he seen fangs when Negan’s jaw had dropped like a rattle snake in his growl when he had spotted his wounded lover? What had been that scream? Neither of their calls sounded human or even animal. It was a sound of anything natural that he had ever heard come from either before in his life. 

“Negan.” Cash spoke feeling the heat seep in around his impalement. “I need your help.” He huffed. The sooner that arrow could come out the better and he’d begin to heal. Negan smelt the fresh blood and what he had previously thought would bring him problems hadn’t. He didn’t thirst for him like he thought he would. It must be love. He knew right then that he’d not let Cash go. He’d make him cross over to join him because like hell would he let him parish. 

Bob was stuck in the tree for they were directly below and from what he had both seen and heard he wasn’t about to make a move and that also included taking another shot. Negan had never frightened him till that very moment.shock definitely had the upper hand on Bob. Negan had found his focus from scanning the woods for what would take a shot at them, the shot that he knew was meant for him and quickly came to Cash’s aide. “Beasty.” He rushed and ran his cold hand up along Cash’s jaw line to find his pulse and found it thankfully to be strong. “I need your help, Negan.” Cash repeated as Negan now looked around his torso to see the size of the exist wound that was hidden under his vest. “What’s on the other end of this shaft? Has it gone all the way threw?” He asked unsure if it was lodged or not. “It’s all the way threw.” He confirmed. Cash nodded. “That’s good.” He sighed in a pant. “What’s good about it, Beasty? You need the goddamn hospital.” He said reaching for his phone to call for an ambulance. “No.” Cash refused. “The hospital isn’t a fucking option for me. You and I are going to do this. You got that?” Cash questioned. What the hospital would find of him would have him held. He hadn’t been in Canton long enough to earn the trust of a Dr. He was going to need Negan to do this. “Fine. What do I do?” Negan asked pushing up his sleeves in a hurry. Cash nodded once more. “Tell me what’s on the other end of that arrow. The tip. Is it a broad head or a field tip?” He questioned figuring Negan would know since he had wanted to scout for deer. Negan looked once more around his shoulder at the meat and fabric that was stuck threw its knives. “A broad head.” He answered. “Unthread the tip.” He directed taking a deep breath and held firm pressure on his end. Negan acted without question as Bob watched intently. He knew that Negan would know who had done this. It wasn’t some random hunter. Negan would know better. Cash sat up tall on his knees. “It’s in my muscle. That’s all ok?” He questioned looking for Negan’s eyes to confirm for him that nothing important had been hit. “Oh, that’s fucking all?” Negan hissed. Even in excruciating pain, Cash managed a grin and nodded. “Fuck that smile, Beasty. You don’t need to for my account.” He darkened. “Yes, I do.” Cash winked. “I think pushing me out of the line of fire and taking this arrow intended for me was fucking enough don’t you?” He argued. “Just fucking pull hard and don’t stop.” Cash ignored and furthered in his coaching. “This is not how I wanted our fucking slumber party to kick off, Beasty.” Negan scolded taking hold of the shaft. “Yeah, well, me either.” Cash answered bracing himself taking hold of the ground cover to give Negan the resistance that he’d need. . “Now straight out if you can please.” Cash labored. “On my count of three.” Negan added and got his footing planted. “On the count of three.” Cash repeated and closed his eyes.