MAIZE

After exhibiting the extent of their situation, it didn't take that much more convincing before she got the agreement out of Ryder, though he didn't bother to hide his reluctance to the idea, he agreed not to kick all enforcement officers from his house immediately.

Granted that Maize was not spared by the rant that took place shortly after, disclosing how Ryder couldn't believe she was forcing him to help cops to begin with.

He was not at all thrilled by the idea and he made sure to let her know it.

However, all things considered, it was a mild reaction on his part compared to what she had been prepared to deal with—which she supposed that might have been because he felt a small twinge of guilt that he hadn't been able to help her back then. Though if the look in his eyes said anything, it was that he would do whatever he could to help her now.

She just wasn't sure if his sense of hospitality extended to the law enforcement officers still waiting within his house.

Either way, she would find out. Sooner rather than later. Because as the sun lowered and the dark brought forth a colder chill, they made the wordless agreement to head back inside.

Not that the colder temperature would have really bothered Ryder, despite the thin black shirt he wore, he was unaffected. Seasoned, conditioned, bred for this kind of survival. In fact, the man thrived in this kind of environment. Sure his type of work took him everywhere, and while he was good at what he did in a city, if you were to ever find yourself being hunted by him in these woods—the place he no doubt scoped until he knew every inch like the back of his hand—then he was a force of nature to be reckoned with. Maize doubted even she would be able to evade him if it came down to it, he was just that good.

Luckily it had never come to that, though quite honestly, she wondered how long she could last before he found her.

How long would a bounty Hunter be able to evade a seasoned tracker?

She always mused the thought that Ryder would make a terrific bounty hunter, he had the tracking skills and the mental capability for it—if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't have the patience, tolerance, or self-control the moment someone did anything to piss him off. He was a chaotic character underneath the steel demeanour he wore, it just took the right aggravating person or situation for him to slip up and show it.

Also, Ryder wasn't a people person. He wouldn't have the inclination to drag some poor scumbag all the way back to whoever contracted him, he would much rather just teach them a lesson and be done with it.

That was just Ryder.

He was better at taking names and breaking down doors with that canine of his than anything else.

He could find anyone if he had enough conviction for it, and again Maize wondered if the thought that she was dead had stopped him from ever trying to locate her—after all, if anyone on the planet could have done it, it would have been him.

Nevertheless, he didn't complain about returning back inside despite his indifference, his excuse was that he claimed he needed to head in either way to meet the other 'trespassers'.

"I need to see their faces so that if I happen to walk into them in the middle of the night or something I don't end up shooting them by accident..." he had told her, without a hint that he was being anything other than one-hundred percent serious.

Maize had only rolled her eyes in response to that statement.

Ryder may have been one of the most steely guys she knew, but he also had the hidden maturity level of a five-year-old.

Just so long as no one mentioned that to him, they would all remain without bullet holes in their bodies.

Furthermore, Maize was not surprised to see that the others had gathered in the living room and were waiting for them. They must have known they were going to come in sooner or later.

Kishan and Maria were seated on the same sofa they were when she had left them, only now the two of them—or maybe it really was just Maria—were sitting up more respectively on the furniture with an apprehensive tension as Maize walked in with Ryder in tow.

It didn't take long for her eyes to seek out Alec, who was standing off to the side with his arms crossed and that usual look of austere every time he was tense about something.

At first Maize assumed that he was just being his usual moody self, until she realized that he was standing off to the side on purpose. Noticeably, the furthest from the large pointy-eared canine that was laying on the floor in front of the unlit fireplace.

Kota had his head down and his front legs stretched out before him calmly, though the pair of big black eyes did seem to be keeping watch over the three unfamiliar figures in his master's home. Though it was clear, Alec could not stop his eyes from darting over every time the animal so much as shifted. Maize would have allowed herself to be highly amused by the action, if not, at least offer a teasing jab or two. But with the first encounter he and Ryder had already made by accident, she guessed it was probably better to wait before she began testing his patience levels any more than she was sure she already had.

All eyes fell past her directly onto Ryder the minute he came into view, which was not surprising given he was the unknown in the room. If the stares bothered him, the steely glare he sent in return was an obvious indication.

As he relaxed into his typical stance; shoulders lax, head dipped forward slightly and hand resting loosely in his pockets, he passed his gaze over the others in the room—mainly the two he had not encountered yet—studying them intensely.

Ryder didn't make a move to speak right away, but if the look in his eyes was anything, it expressed in volumes that he was clearly thinking about how much he resented each one of them being here.

The three were, so far, allowed to stay.

But she knew they were the absolute farthest from being welcome—with her as the exception.

Not the best as far as welcoming committees go.

Ryder did not stop with the bitter looks, throwing a particularly foul glare at Alec as their eyes met for a moment in a challenge of who could glare daggers at the other the best.

It was a tough call.

Until Alec dropped his attention from Ryder to throw a curious and questioning look at Maize as he eyed the two of them standing side by side. His jaw seemed to tighten, but other than that he showed no reaction.

Maize wondered just what was going on in his head at that point.

The tense silence was nearly suffocating at that point, that Kishan, as figured, was the first one to try and break it.

"So you're the crazy mountain guy who lives in the middle of nowhere?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a blunt statement.

Ryder narrowed his eyes further and shot a look at Maize. "Did you call me crazy when you told them about me?" he hissed under his breath with an accusing tone. Maize shook her head.

"Nah, I figured I'd let them find that out on their own," she muttered in quiet response, which earned her a steel glare through the side of her head that she paid absolutely no mind to.

"Alec told us you were here so we waited so we could properly introduce ourselves," Maria spoke up, her voice trying to be polite though it seemed to make no difference to Ryder at all. "Though Alec didn't say, what do we address you by—if you don't mind my asking?"

Before Ryder could make a move to answer Maize threw a look at Alec. "You told them he was here but you didn't tell them his name?"

"I forgot it," he stated bluntly.

"It's Ryder," Ryder muttered out through gritted teeth, aiming another angered glare at the laid-back detective.

Yeah, Maize thought, those two probably won't be getting along anytime soon...

Kishan, unbothered by the spike in tension, continued the conversation on like nothing had happened. "Cool. By the way, this is a sick place you've got here. We're—" he began to say before he was cut off by a dismissive wave of Ryder's gloved hand.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll get to learning names later when I have the patience for it," he muttered with unhindered disinterest before he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed tiredly. When he opened them again, his gaze held a hard and authoritative look as he focused in on all of them as a whole. "Alright, time to listen up because if you people are going to prance around and use my house as a hideout, then I have rules."

"Oh fantastic," came Alec's immediate short sarcastic reply.

Ryder paused just enough to growl something under his breath as he shot a murderous look at Alec.

"Rule one; don't break, steal, or generally touch anything that looks like it shouldn't be touched," Ryder said with absolute authority before he narrowed his eyes again. "Which, honestly, should be everything because none of you live here."

This time Maize shot him a look but he pretended not to see it.

"Two; under no circumstances are any of you nosy perpetrators to venture to the basement. I don't need stupid cops messing with things they shouldn't." He turned a pointed glare directly on Alec as he said that last part. "Rule three is don't go into my room. If you do, I'll probably end up shooting you—possibly on purpose, but mostly by accident, though I will not have any regrets because I did warn you..."

Maize wanted to slap her hand into her forehead.

Ryder remained unbothered by the two incredulous, and lastly suspicious, looks that cling to him—each probably wondering if he was being as serious as his tone implied.

Absolutely. One-hundred percent.

"Rule four is don't bother Kota—because I won't be responsible if he bites you. And five, follow the rules," he finished pointedly. "Alright, you got all that?"

He did not wait for an answer.

"Great, goodnight." Ryder turned his back to the states following him and made a quick signal with a whistle that caught Kota's attention and beckoned him to follow at his heels.

"It's only 8:20," Maize said, trying to disguise her growing sense of exasperation.

She should have known it would have been too much to expect for Ryder to be civil.

"I was working early his morning," Ryder returned with a glance at her over his shoulder. He did not bother to enlighten that statement with a follow up before he simply turned and walked out with his canine following behind.

"So much for getting to know our names..." Kishan muttered dejectedly following the moment of silence that passed after they watched him leave.

Maize released a breath and sighed to herself.

Something instinctively told her that she would soon come to regret ever coming here as a last resort—and that somewhere back in Mexico a sinuous casino owner was tittering with amusement.

"He's just bad-tempered and irritated at the moment," Maize reconciled in Ryder's defence.

"Yeah, cause he definitely comes off as the kind of guy who's usually full of joy and friendliness," Alec commented dryly.

Maize shot him a quick look. "Well when he was greeted after a long day with a gun to his face, can you blame him?"

Alec bit down on his jaw but didn't say anything, probably for lack of better response.

"Anyway," Kishan said, interrupting the dying back and forth between the two. He hooked his hands behind his head and leaned back against the sofa cushions, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm starving."

"I didn't notice until you mentioned it, but so am I. We haven't exactly had the time to eat a sufficient meal since this morning's quick motel stop-off," Maria murmured in thought.

Kishan nodded in agreement."Do you think raiding the fridge counts as a breach of rule one?" He looked at Maize for an answer.

"Is it going to stop you either way?" she asked.

"Probably not," he admitted.

"Then to ease whatever conscience you may have, I'll go ahead and say no. Have at it."

Kishan didn't hesitate. With a grin on his face, he jumped up from the couch and went straight for the fridge, peering inside to look at his options before a slight frown made its way onto his face and his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Well I wasn't expecting the fridge to be this packed, all this stuff is fresh. How the hell does this guy even get groceries living all the way out here?" He exclaimed, pulling out assorted greens and fruits as waving them at the others as if demanding some sort of explanation. "Maize?"

"I really couldn't tell you," she answered truthfully, though she had a sneaking suspicion she had somewhat of an idea...

"Whatever then, I'm making eggs and toast. That good for everyone?" Kishan asked, putting back the vegetables and pulling out the egg carton as he was met by a chorus of nods and agreements.

Maize soon learned that Kishan was not a quiet cooker in the slightest. He had no problem whatsoever slamming open cupboards and having pans clang together as he searched for supplies her needed in the unfamiliar space—or maybe he was just oblivious to it.

She just really hoped the excessive noise wouldn't make it to Ryder.

He already didn't like the idea of having cops in his house. She wasn't sure how he would handle them going through and messing with his kitchen.

"Once we're done, I'll show you guys where you can sleep for the night. Ryder has more than a few spare guest rooms with beds and such so each of you will be able to have your own," she said.

"How does a guy who lives all the way up here and clearly doesn't take kindly to visitors have guest rooms?" Alec wondered sceptically, casting another look around the place he spoke of.

Maize smiled. "It wasn't his idea. You don't think he built this whole place with his own hands do you?" She watched as Alec frowned. "Cassandra actually played a big part helping with the design as a favour."

"Oh...that's interesting," Maria commented thoughtfully.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Cassandra? And she forced the guy to have guest rooms?"

"Pretty much," Maize shrugged. "Guess she knew she'd be sending people here eventually."

"Lucky us," Alec muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah...lucky us," she responded.

The was a sudden crash and shatter that alerted them in the kitchen.

Kishan's voice sounded nervously. "Hey guys..."

"What was that?" Alec questioned.

"I broke a dish."

Alec cursed and Maize sighed.

So much for rule one.