Tiger by the Tail
1
As the gritty sky settled into full black, Kenn was finishing a shift on guard duty over two tents–Tonya’s pharmacy and Candy’s hairdressing canvas. Both females were getting customers, and as Kenn had predicted, most of the pharmacy orders were for Tonya’s stashes of Advil and Chapstick. In exchange, people were donating time to teach her the things she’d been avoiding. It was earning her small gestures of friendship and giving Kenn an awareness of emotions for her that he hadn’t known existed until his snap. Leaving her behind had been hard, and recognizing that had made Kenn keep their relationship within legal bounds for the last weeks. They were both walking the line.
Life for Kenn was now a confusing mix of new emotions, of being accepted by the camp again, but still being loathed by the Eagles. For those brave men, it was justice. For the camp, life was better and it was mostly because now that Marc and Kenn were no longer fighting, they were working together and making their own magic.
Kenn still didn’t know if Marc and Angela had been together while she was with him, or how they had split up, but there was another suspicion that had become more pressing. Whatever Charlie had said had triggered the shootout with the traders. Had he been hiding his gifts? Was he like Angela?
Kenn wasn’t sure if mattered. He also wasn’t sure that it didn’t. He was making progress, finally growing as a person, but to be fooled for ten years by a child? How was he supposed to react to a crippling blow like that?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kenn spun, hand dropping to his 9mm before he realized it was only the construction crew adding another layer to the sniper shield around camp. They were out of wooden planks and down to using the moldy trees for stakes to attach the ledges. Once they chopped the trees down and cleared the mold there was still usable wood, but in another year, that wouldn’t be the case.
Thud! Thud!
Zack’s boys were the ones cleaning the mold off the trees. It was their punishment for stealing supplies from the trucks while Zack’s team was on duty. The trucker hadn’t known about it, and he had let Adrian handle the boys with a week of hard labor. That had been the lightest punishment given. Mitch had been assigned a buddy in the com truck, so that he was never alone on duty. The first time his buddy reported him drinking and working, he would be finished as Safe Haven’s radioman.
All around Kenn’s post, people were working, digging latrine holes and garbage pits, washing clothes, playing cards and handheld video games, chatting lightly while waiting in lines. It was calm, but Kenn wondered how many of those low conversations were about Angela and the things she could do. Those who had been in the medical tent were refusing to talk, but John’s renewed health said something huge had happened. He was moving without discomfort again, the fog pushed away, and he appeared to be sober, telling the camp she had helped him enough that he didn’t need the painkillers. With his vigor returned, John was busy implementing new procedures for the camp, like monthly disinfecting of all tents and equipment, and restarting vaccinations for those who want them. He had also upped the iodine consumption for the entire camp after his weekly absolute lymphocyte count came back more elevated than usual. The doctor tested random batches of blood from people who came in during the week and Safe Haven members, then compared it previous amounts to tell Adrian how much needed to be added to the drinking water. Today, John had done all of that, and had just finished examining Billy’s broken leg, sending him out of the medical tent on crutches instead of in a wheelchair. That Eagle was ecstatic. And clumsy.
Kenn watched Billy fall twice, wincing each time. If he kept up like that, John would be setting the other leg next, with no sinkhole to blame it on.
“Instructors and testing Eagles to the training tent,” the radios crackled roughly. Some still weren’t functioning at all despite Kenn and Brady working on them.
Angela walked by with a gun on each hip, fast clip implying her recovery was speeding along. John had also cleared her for private lessons with the Senior men. Marc wouldn’t like Adrian’s plans, but to Kenn, there was a strong sense of time running out. Whatever Adrian had been preparing Angela for was closer now.
Kenn stepped over to where Doug was standing. The big man was in charge of making sure the cans were lit, the dogs were put out, the supply trucks were locked up, and the keys were delivered to the next person on Point.
“Is everything set?”
Doug didn’t answer.
Bracing against the lingering ache from his healing rib injury, Kenn raised his voice. “Are we 5-by?”
Doug swung around in surprise, and Kenn ignored the twinge in his side to view what had distracted the big man so thoroughly. Doug wasn’t normally one to miss much. If not for his limp, Kenn would have considered him a serious rival when he’d first joined.
“We’re all set,” Doug answered stiffly.
Kenn narrowed in on the mess. Hilda and Peggy were unpacking the truck and it wasn’t hard to guess which female the giant man was eyeing. The stories were flying through camp.
“You should go talk to her.”
“What?” Doug stared as if Kenn had three heads.
“You’re allowed a personal life,” Kenn reminded him.
You don’t understand, Doug thought. You don’t look like me.
Doug was addicted to the dream of rebuilding as much as the rest of Adrian’s refugees, but the idea of finding a woman among Safe Haven’s hens was terrifying. No one wants a hulk like me.
“Doug?”
“I don’t need a woman.”
Kenn flashed to one of his last moments with Tonya, to the way she’d had him shuddering and groaning. “If you say so.”
Doug quickly pushed Kenn’s words out in favor of the silent worship from afar that he’d been doing for months. She wouldn’t have anything to do with someone like him, not a strong woman like Peggy, but he liked to look at her. The stern bun she always wore was loose from a day of labor, and the sight of all that strawberry silk gone wild had drawn his eye from across the camp. It glistened in the light of the campfires like diamonds.
Doug’s daydreaming was interrupted by a familiar, hated ache, and the big man limped toward the bathrooms. Eventually he would talk to John. After hiding his own illness, surely the doctor would understand and keep quiet. The debt Doug felt he owed Adrian for pulling him free of that collapsed bridge along the Nevada state line hadn’t been paid yet.
There was a lot of that going around in Safe Haven.
2
“How about I teach you to hear differently?”
“Sure. How?”
Becky heard Seth come up behind her. When his big hands settled onto her shoulders, she didn’t flinch. They were just outside her tent, with a small campfire going. With so many of the camp and Eagles at the level tests, it was almost isolated. “The world is full of sounds. Even this dead one.”
He rustled her hair against her jaw. “The wind, the animals, us. Even if it were all gone, there would still be sound. After light, it was the next thing created.”
Or so I understand from my dreams.
Becky heard his thought clearly and tried not to flinch at the newest evidence of her gifts.
“Light and sound,” Seth highlighted. “Without your eyes, there is no light, and without ears that can hear danger, sound no longer matters. For true survival, the ears must work as well as the other senses, and then be better.”
Seth rubbed his fingers together, making a light scratching noise.
“We hear ranges of sound, from high pitches to low, deep to shallow. Our ears process it for us automatically. So much so, that most people don’t realize they can consciously sort those sounds. With the right mindset, a person can make a sound louder or softer, in order to hear what’s around them.”
He made a few low noises, demonstrating, and Becky immediately understood what he meant.
“Controlling it is like anything else–practice and willpower. In time, sounds from multiple sources can be not only identified, but also tracked to a close location and evaluated for the threat.”
The sound of him sliding his knife from his sheath made her tense, and Seth immediately put it away.
“Very good. You’ll use your ears and react accordingly.”
Seth grabbed her arm, forgetting to warn her.
“Don’t!”
Her panicked shout stopped him in his tracks and drew the attention of those on duty–his team. None of them envied the undercover cop this chore, but each of them respected him for living up to it.
“I won’t touch you.”
“I’m okay.” Becky was shaking.” You just moved too fast and I…”
She dropped her head, starting to cry, and Seth slowly put his arm around her shoulders. She rested against him tensely.
“It’ll get better with time.”
Coming to herself for a brief, rare moment, Becky raised her eyes and a hand that went to Seth’s cheek. “It’s good that you’re not like him.”
Seth placed a gentle kiss in her palm. “Thank you for not giving up. There’s always hope.”
Becky’s demeanor snapped into cold desolation, hand dropping. “Don’t be confused, Seth. I’m destroyed. There’s only a gaping hole surrounded with endless rage. Killing him may have let me survive, but I’ll never trust another man as long as I live.”
Her face hardened further and she revealed yet another new level of the adulthood that she’d been forced into, saying, “And that includes you, even after all that you’ve done. He robbed me of something that I can’t ever get back. Even I know that.”
Becky stumbled toward the tent. “I need a few. Go take a test or something.”
Seth headed for the level tents, waving his team closer to her. She did trust him, though, even if she didn’t recognize it. He had to show her that she was wrong. He’d hoped the new friendship between her, Charlie, and Jennifer might help, but he hadn’t seen any signs of it yet.
Studying them from across the camp, Neil couldn’t miss the connection, their spark. Seth was extremely protective. Maybe that’s what Becky needed now.
Neil grimaced, tilting his hat forward to block the glare of the roaring center fire as he headed to the tests. I certainly didn’t put her safety first.
Seth wasn’t among the largest of Adrian’s army, but those thin hips held up a man that was wiry and determined to succeed. Everyone had expected Seth to be a hot head when Adrian had brought him into the Eagles (that bright red hair and those glinting green eyes said he was just as wild as a first glance implied) but he’d settled in and found a place with his team. All of those men adored Seth, and if that meant accepting Becky as his woman, Neil was sure they would agree.
Unlike my team, he thought, trying not to be bitter. He understood they didn’t have as close a bond because he wasn’t an enterprising person like Seth or Kyle, or even Kenn. Neil liked his place where it was and didn’t see the need to fix what wasn’t broken.
After weeks of watching Seth guide Becky into her tent and hold her until she cried herself to sleep, Neil still hadn’t made a final choice. The shadows had confirmed that Seth was mostly only offering comfort, but it implied they’d had at least one intimate moment that had bonded them. And no matter what date he came up with, Neil was pissed. He would keep watching until he was sure Seth’s motives weren’t like Kyle’s.
3
“Welcome to the Cage. Let’s get started.”
The Eagles and camp members who were crowded around the testing area cheered in response to Adrian’s words.
Those about to enter the dome only grinned as if they couldn’t wait. For the first time, the camp was being allowed to view a complete level test and hundreds of people watched, waiting for them get everything set up. Of those fighting tonight, Marc’s was the team that everyone wanted to see–especially the Eagles. Marc had been working privately with his men for almost two months now, not letting them show what he was teaching, and even Angela was curious.
“Draw a name from the hat.” Adrian pitched his dog tags into the rear of the cage. “Trainer with the number three goes first.”
Billy held up his number three for them to see, grinning.
Some of Marc and Kevin’s team groaned. After Neil and Jeff, Billy was the most ruthless at kai. Seth was now a close number four.
Kevin was nearest to the hat, and he swallowed a complaint when he pulled Billy’s name from it. He would go first.
“Come on, rookie.”
Kevin snorted, unbuckling his gun belt. “Suck my Rookie.”
Loud laughter rang through the crowd as the men faced off. There were easily two hundred people watching.
Marc moved for the hat, and everyone craned to see who he would face.
Marc flashed Greg’s name.
When the groaning and betting began, Marc gave Neil’s new third in command a hard grin. “Ready?”
Greg sent a worried look around. “Oh shit. Who’s got my back?”
More laughs as Adrian started the match.
“Go.”
Marc watched the first minute or so and then found his interest lagging. His team was set to give Adrian what he wanted, but more than that, it was what all his men wanted. They loathed being so far down the Eagle chain.
Marc noticed that there were more females in the front rows than there had been for any of the events he’d been to so far. Those included Samantha, Tracy, Cynthia, Becky, and half a dozen camp women. Those last six were a clique that called themselves sisters.
There were more than a few Eagles eyeing these females as they watched the now bloody match that they themselves would be facing in a few weeks. Most of them were pale, but a few seemed like they might be more interesting to watch than the current match. Kevin was good, but Billy was toying with him. Being levels ahead meant all the difference, and it was another sign of Adrian’s genius. As long as the men continued to pass each level, the teams would be easy to manage, and those on top would keep seniority over the years.
“That’s a pass.”
“4:41,” Shawn stated, recording it.
“Number two, pick someone who drew your name,” Adrian instructed.
Jeremy waved his paper. “Let me have Ray. If he gets by me in a fair fight, I’ll support him and Dale.”
A shocked silence fell over the area and then shouting echoed until Adrian began glaring at people.
Ray, who wasn’t about to miss an opportunity like this, eagerly stepped forward, “Let’s go.”
Jeremy took up a defensive position in front of Adrian’s dog tags. “If you lose, I’ll be with the moral board when they vote it illegal.”
Ray’s face tightened. “I can’t wait to see you bleed. Then the rookies will know that straight blood looks just like ours.”
Jeremy waved a hand. “Come on, then.”
Adrian hit the timer, and everyone crowded closer to watch the surprise matchup.
Marc was about the only one who didn’t. Ray had come to him not long after Angie broke Zack’s nose and asked for private lessons. Jeremy was set to take a dive for the dream, but it wouldn’t be needed. Ray had caught on as fast.
Thud!
Marc grinned as those watching went crazy.
“He’s out!”
“Get the doctor!”
“Did you see that?”
Marc met Adrian’s eye over the mob, brow raised. Happy with that?
Adrian nodded back, Yes.
Ray handed Adrian his tags and then turned to face the surprised Eagles watching the match. He narrowed in on the lower levels and rookies. “I’ll hurt the next man who touches Dale against his will. I mean that.”
Ignoring the shouts and mutters, Ray went to Jeremy. “You okay, man?”
The Eagle was slowly sitting up, blood dripping down his shirt. “No, you asshole. Help me up.”
Ray grinned, getting Jeremy to his feet.
The talking, laughing, muttering crowd quieted as Adrian approached the two men. He held out a small black patch with a gold number three on it. “That’s a pass.”
Ray slid it into his pocket, grinning wider. “Should I take him to the medical tent?”
Jeremy wanted to say no, but his nose was bleeding freely, stomach rolling. “Damn.”
“Yes.” Adrian turned toward the cage after motioning Dale to help them. “Who has number one?”
4
All of Kevin’s team went first, by Adrian’s design, Marc assumed, and except for Logan, passed. Logan went down with a fast hit from Greg and didn’t get back up until John arrived with the smelling salts. He had passed all the other parts of the test, however, and Kevin’s team stood in happy triumph.
Marc’s team was now gathered around him, waiting for their matches to start.
“All set?” Marc asked.
The nervous males only nodded uneasily. Going through the tests in front of a few teams was hard. This? This was a circus, and they were the main act.
“Good.” Marc chose to wind them tighter. “Look at the front row.”
They did, and quickly saw what Marc had. The number of single females watching this test had been unusual before, but that had now doubled. A few of those groomed, perfumed, set-to-cause-doom females were here to see what they would face, but most of them were looking for a man.
Jax was the first to react the way Marc had hoped.
“Dibs on Leslie!”
Paul didn’t like that. “I already talked with her. Too late.”
“So have I,” Quinn informed them with a grin.
Marc waited, hoping she’d gotten her interview’s worth from his team. She should have, since he’d arranged it.
“Uh, guys.”
They all turned to look at Shane.
“Not you too?”
Shane chuckled. Unlike the others, he was a brawler from birth and wasn’t the least bit scared. With nine brothers, he’d had to be able to fight. “Yeah. I think she’s more of a relief source than a mate,” Shane pointed out.
Jax frowned, but the other two gave low laughs.
“Is this a problem?” Marc asked with a hard tone. He knew Jax had a thing for Leslie, had set it up this way to draw out the rage he needed everyone to know his XO was hiding.
Jax shook his head, glaring. “No.”
“Maybe she’ll narrow it down to the one who does the best here.” Marc stepped by, leaving them with that thought.
Marc gave Leslie a small nod as he neared the cage, and watched her deliver a generous smile to Shane. And then a second leer to Paul.
Jax nearly growled, and Marc was satisfied. He could now concentrate on his own match. He was set to face Greg, but Angela had warned him that she thought Adrian had a surprise planned.
“Okay, let’s get the next sets started. Greg and unlucky victim number one, come on down!”
Adrian loved to make his herd laugh, and he was in rare form today. Few heard the forced cheer.
On his right, Angela ignored it.
Paul had the first match, and he followed orders, making eye contact with Leslie as he entered the cage. “Busy later?”
Leslie blushed furiously at the open attention, shaking her head.
Paul chuckled, getting set as Greg glowered at him. “You could be.”
Jax and the others shouted insults at that, and the crowd continued to enjoy the show.
Marc had taught each of his team a special move, one that would disarm an off-guard opponent in less than a minute. They’d learned fast.
Paul used his leaping chest kick to daze Greg and then a vicious roundhouse to land the Eagle on his back. He grabbed the tags and easily gave them to Adrian while Greg tried to recover. Being a test overseer had some disadvantages.
“Pass. Next!”
Quinn jumped down from the stands and sauntered into the cage, not bothering to play his part in Marc’s game. Jax was already hot enough to injure whoever he faced, and Quinn had his eye on Cynthia. The reporter was incredibly sexy with a gun on her hip. If only she wasn’t so aloof. Didn’t she understand that she’d been forgiven?
Crone, the top fighter on Kyle’s team, growled, “Ready, boy?”
Quinn didn’t answer, busy getting set.
“Go!”
Marc watched Quinn run and heft Crone into the air for a quick slam against the bars and head butt that sent the bigger man to his knees. A fast knee to the chest, and Crone sagged, still trying to swing back.
The crowd roared for Quinn to finish him off, but when Marc shook his head, Quinn finished the test without delivering the expected final blow. He dropped the tags into Adrian’s satisfied hand.
“Pass. Who’s next?” Adrian asked.
Marc’s men stepped forward eagerly, and the overseeing Eagles began to eye them as if they had the plague.
Marc laughed, enjoying himself.
“I’ll go,” Daryl offered. The XO took up his position with a hard face.
Everyone thought Kyle’s team was unbeatable. Rumor had it they had taken a dive in every cage match that anyone had passed. Marc was determined to prove that popular belief wrong. Kyle’s team were the best overall–they’d had more experience than Marc’s men–but when it came to teaching men to fight, Brady was worlds better.
Shane got to the steps before Jax could and stripped his guns with a taunt. “Watch this, kid.”
Shane had ten years on the rest of Marc’s team, years that he liked to rub in when they were facing a challenge that he knew how to handle. It made for an awkward group some days.
Marc gave Adrian a subtle confirmation, telling him this one needed a lesson.
Adrian caught Daryl’s eye. Put him in his place.
Despite liking Shane, Daryl shrugged. What the boss wanted, he got.
“Go!”
Shane lunged forward and Daryl kicked, catching the cocky man just inside the knee.
It was a brutal first blow and Shane instantly fell to the mat, clutching his leg and groaning.
Daryl delivered a fast heel kick to the other knee and leaned down to grab Shane’s hair as he tried to roll away.
Daryl loved to set up the hits before he gave them, but it backfired, giving Shane time to recover. He slammed one fist into Daryl’s ribs and the other into his cheek.
Thud!
Daryl landed on the mat, blood running from his jaw.
When he pushed himself up, Shane had the dog tags and was set to dart by.
Daryl spun into an extended punch and knocked Shane back into the far corner of the cage. The dog tags flew from his hand, sliding under the bars.
As Daryl moved determinedly toward the dazed man, all of those watching began to understand this wasn’t about the pass or fail of a test. It was personal.
“Do you know everything?” Daryl growled.
Shane shook his head, trying to stand up. “No, I–”
“But you act like it.” Daryl accused, delaying the physical blows for emotional ones. “Safe Haven has enough leaders. You’re one of the crew. You got that?”
Understanding, and then embarrassment, fell into Shane’s face. “Go to hell!”
Daryl rushed in and punched him in the mouth.
Shane clutched the wire to stay on his feet. As he gained his balance and looked up, Daryl swung again.
Wham!
Shane fell, hands missing the bars, and he dropped heavily to his ass.
“You get it now?” Daryl grunted.
“No!” Shane didn’t try to stand up. “You can’t break me!”
The XO moved forward.
Thud!
The crowd didn’t like it, not the camp or the Eagles, but no one interfered. Shane really was an insufferable know-it-all.
“Please! Stop now.”
Daryl stepped back as Shane’s hand came up in defense, glad to be able to. If he had to go much further, it might hurt his own place. “Do you know everything, rookie?”
“I didn’t know this was coming.” Shane glowered through the bruises and blood.
He glared in Marc’s direction and got a look in return that said he should have.
“You have a team. Act like it or lose it,” Daryl warned. He stepped out of the cage and moved to Adrian.
“Fail. Who’s next?” Adrian was clearly supporting Marc’s choice to have Shane handled this way.
Now Marc’s team moved forward slower, not sure if they were in for what Shane had just gotten. All of them had flaws–they were men.
It would have surprised these nervous Eagles to know that the females in the front row were thinking the same thing. It wasn’t only the men who knew and feared their shortcomings.
“I’m up,” Marc called in satisfaction.
Silence fell as Greg moved into the cage.
Adrian waited until the two men were set and then said, “I have an adjustment to this test.”
Marc waited calmly. The only one in camp who might be able to give him a hard fight was Adrian himself.
“Some people in my army have backgrounds that give them the advantage here. That ends now.”
Adrian motioned Kenn toward the cage, and the crowd chattered eagerly. Eagles began to place bets.
When Adrian also motioned Neil that way, the crowd slowly quieted. He was kidding, right?
Standing nearby, Angela turned to glare at Adrian. He didn’t look at her.
“Ready?”
Marc had gone into kill-mode the second Kenn moved toward the cage. Seeing the best kai man in camp join Kenn made the wolfman disappear and the Marine emerge for the camp’s view for the first time. He could lose this one, but it wouldn’t be a quick beating. He wouldn’t stand for that.
Marc grinned. “That all you got?”
Adrian obligingly motioned a third man forward.
Marc cursed his mouth as Seth came through the surprised, uneasy crowd. Shit!
“What the hell are you doing?” Angela hissed angrily. Someone could get hurt.
“I’m putting his back against the wall so that he’ll give me what I need,” Adrian answered curtly. “Exactly what he just had me to do Shane.”
Angela already knew that Marc’s pride wouldn’t let him back down, and she clamped her lips shut to keep from protesting further. Adrian had better be careful. Once that tiger was out of the cage, it might be awfully hard to get him back inside of it.
Adrian tossed his tags into the corner and the defenders took up shoulder-to-shoulder places in front of them. Marc would have to disable all four men to pass.
Marc turned to look at Adrian, starting to understand what the blond wanted. He didn’t have time to figure out why as Adrian hit the stopwatch.
“Seven minute limit. Go!”
Marc ran straight at them.
The four men drew back to swing, but Marc jumped at the last second, throwing himself to the right in a leaping lunge that gained him the side of the cage.
He quickly scrambled along the bars and leapt into the back corner over Seth’s reacting shoulder. The swipe missed, sending the redhead sprawling.
Marc had the tags in hand in the first ten seconds, without a single blow taken. He slid them over his neck without a grin, though. He’d lost the advantage and the four men trapping him weren’t just playing defense.
Marc took out the most dangerous first. He lunged forward to hit Kenn in the jaw so hard that his arm clenched in a spasm from the recoil.
Kenn dropped like a bag of bricks, and then the other three were moving in and Marc had no choice but to react as the situation deserved.
A sidekick to the ribs took Greg to his knees.
A fast kidney punch sent Neil stumbling back to trip over Kenn’s big body.
Seth knocked Marc against the side of the cage.
Marc ducked the next swing and caught the undercover cop in a bear hug, forcing him back. He dropped the man and did a half-spin, sending his balled up knee into Seth’s stomach.
The man gasped for air, sliding down.
Marc felt a blow coming and threw up a hand to deflect Greg’s temple shot.
It glanced off, unbalancing them both.
Marc sprawled against the cage, an open target for Neil’s hit. Blood flew again.
Fists rained down, the grunts and groans echoing across an unhappy crowd. No one like seeing the wolfman treated this way.
They didn’t understand, but Adrian was confident in his plan. Marc wouldn’t take much more before he got mean. Once that happened, another part of the dream would be safe. Marc was a strong hand for any leader to have, one that would be followed if his strength were known. After this, it would be.
Marc felt that dangerous side of him fighting to come out and tried to prevent it. He didn’t want to hurt–
Thud!
Greg’s blow rocked Marc’s head against the cage. Blood splattered.
Kick!
Neil’s spin sent pain flaring into Marc’s arm as he blocked it. If they didn’t back off, he wouldn’t be able to–
Wham!
Seth delivered the line-crossing hit with a brutal chest shot.
Marc struggled to find air, fists clenching… But he’d been pushed too hard. Ice flooded his veins, and his heart thumped in that familiar, nauseating rhythm of death.
The inner Marine stepped forward. May I?
Marc grunted at the next blow, no longer bothering to block. Yes. Give him what he wants and then some.
One of Marc’s long-hidden demons snapped a mental salute and took full control.
“You have to stop it now!” Angela whispered frantically. “He’ll kill them!”
Adrian wasn’t about to interfere. “He still has three minutes.”
Marc didn’t need them.
They watched him lunge forward and deliver a nasty hit to Seth’s windpipe. As the cop fell, face reddening, going darker from lack of air, Marc swung again.
Thud!
Neil slid to his knees at the forehead blow, not knocked out, but on the edge of it. His vision warbled sickeningly as he fought to stay alert.
Greg tripped over Kenn’s body as Marc turned toward him, hoping to avoid it, but Marc was there to help him with an uppercut swung from the hip.
Greg joined the others–groaning, trying to recover, and clearly out of the match.
Three hits, three men down.
Marc stalked toward the cage door.
Except for breathing, silence echoed eerily across the crowd.
Behind Marc, Seth’s gasps came in choked whispers, but at least he was getting air. He didn’t care that his eyes were streaming tears or that his throat felt like it had been caught in a pepper-grinder. It was just good to breathe at all.
John waited until Marc was clear of the cage before hurrying inside with Anne on his heels.
The crowd wasn’t sure how to react as Marc moved toward Adrian with bloody fist and furious eyes. The Eagles were, though. Those closest rushed toward the two men.
Marc stopped with plenty of distance between them. “Are you satisfied now?”
“Yes.” Adrian’s tone was neutral. “Are you?”
“Not even close.”
“Good.” Adrian had expected it. “You’ll oversee the rest of the cage matches. Who’s next?”
Angela didn’t think it would work. That was her Brady, and his need to see Adrian bleeding was strong.
“Fine,” Marc agreed, turning back toward the cage. “But you’ll have to send in tomorrow’s men, too. The few left on my team won’t be enough to cool me down.”
“Agreed. Pass. Who’s next?”
Tension broken, the crowd began to cheer, and the Eagles joined them–those who weren’t busy helping their fallen men or comforting suddenly terrified rookie females.
Now, Marc’s team absolutely dragged their feet, shooting each other worried glances. There were four of them left and no one was surprised when they all went together. Marc’s reputation had just grown.
5
Angela waited until the tests were finished and the camp had gone. Only a few of the Eagles were left, the training tent now back up around them. Marc was filling out paperwork, collecting old patches, setting up the next duty shifts, and all the while, his eyes flamed. He’d won the remaining matches. It made for slightly upset teammates who could now miss the next level with even one mistake during tomorrow night’s shooting test, but it also made for a calm camp that was secure in their defenders. Jax had been the only one to even get a hit on Marc, and Angela frowned at the injuries. She wasn’t allowed to heal him, but she wanted to.
Angela saw the last Eagle duck out of the tent and moved toward Marc, feeling his tension, his anger and triumph. Both were on his mind, but the need to kill hadn’t been satisfied.
“I’m fine.”
His coldness stopped her from touching him, the fear she still held of men rearing up. It would be nothing for Marc to hurt her, she knew that now. All the shots she’d ever gotten in on him were nothing compared to a single blow from his fist.
“I would never do that.”
Angela relaxed her stiff body language in guilty surprise. He was so much more observant this way. Not that he’d slacked off before, but now, without even looking at her, he knew she was scared.
“It takes a little time to cool down,” Marc tried to explain, still fighting the occasional shudder of rage.
Angela wanted to comfort, but seeing him tonight had sent her into places she’d hoped not to visit again.
“Angie?”
It was odd, to be so full of courage one minute and lacking a spine the next. She found her tongue. “I’ll be in the...our tent.”
Angela forgot the golden rule, spinning for the flap.
Instinct triggered by the movement, Marc lunged and Angela found herself in his big arms before she could suck in the air to shout with.
Marc held her tightly against him, scenting her. He’d never wanted anything more.
The fear in her face and those beautiful eyes brought him back, and Marc slowly lowered her feet to the ground. He gently adjusted her sweater over her rigid shoulder. “Give me a few.”
Angela was having a battle of her own. She could fight, shoot, think, run, but when it came to men... “I’ll wait with you.”
Marc wasn’t back in control yet and shook his head. “We’ll end up doing a repeat of Nebraska, baby cakes.”
Those flaming eyes dropped to her chest. “Or more.”
Angela swallowed. Was she ready for it?
“No.”
Marc’s tone forbade a moment like that out of sympathy or duty, and she understood. That wouldn’t be enough for her, either, if the situation were reversed.
Marc’s hot eyes never left her face. What he wouldn’t give to be allowed to take her!
Catching the thought, Angela trembled, but not all from fear. If she knew that their moment in Nebraska was all that they would repeat, she wasn’t against it. The revelation was enough to make her smile.
Marc stared at the mouth he craved, dreamed about. Some night he would kiss those lips as he slid into her warm, willing body.
Marc shuddered. “You. Go. Now.”
Angela chuckled at the wording, but Marc wasn’t kidding. “Angie.”
She looked up, face a mix of courage and terror. “Some fears should be conquered head-on.”
Marc hadn’t expected that, but realized he should have. Hadn’t she handled every challenge that way? Marc’s eyes went over her lips again, wanting to kiss her, to go on and give her what she was asking for. “It’s too soon.”
He watched his hand go out to touch her anyway. She kept that long hair up now, usually in a thick ponytail, and she had no idea how sexy she looked with it that way. It exposed a nape that he longed to stroke, to taste.
Desire, thick and welcome, flooded Angela as he traced her cheek and slid his warm hand along her jaw.
Angela tried to relax. “Why not tell me what you had in mind, and I’ll make the choice?”
Lust–to feel her in the throes of a pleasure he’d delivered–swept through Marc. “Better to show you.”
“Clothes?” she asked nervously.
Marc tightened his control at the images that sent flipping through his mind. “On.”
Scared, Angela started to shake her head, and Marc’s heart protested. He leaned in and kissed her.
Angela was immediately caught in flashes of the past, of their stolen moments together. Things hadn’t begun crossing the line until she was older, but this heat, this magic between them, had always been there.
Heavy with need, Marc deepened the kiss, and felt her arms go around his neck. His body responded instantly, thrusting against her.
Angela was helpless to keep from arching back.
Marc paused for an instant. He hadn’t thought she was ready for more, but that one little reaction said differently. The Marine inside wouldn’t let him stop after that realization.
Marc kissed her again, softer, but more intently this time as he searched for her pleasure triggers. Some men rushed through these moments for that quick, fleeting satisfaction, but not Marc. He enjoyed a woman–all of her–and learning what she liked always increased his own satisfaction. Women’s libbers might have called it pride, or an ego-fix, but Marc was determined that what his woman got out of it would always be good enough to keep her coming back.
“Okay.” Marc’s timbre lowered into that deep rumble that stunned the camp’s women when he used it against them. “I want to do what we did the first night we snuck out to the clubhouse.”
Angela was a bit dazed by how much desire he was pulling with only a few words and a kiss. Was it intentional?
“Yes.” Marc stared at her in blatant want. “Lean against the wall, close your eyes.”
Liquid heat and nervous tension flooded Angela as Marc eased her back without waiting for a response.
“Let me make you feel good, baby.”
Angela couldn’t fight that desire-laden request. It said these chills running along her skin would become shudders of pleasure if she let him do what he wanted.
She leaned against the tent wall, trapped between it and him. She slammed her lids shut. He won’t hurt me.
Marc slipped out of his coat, understanding she was on the edge of calling it off.
Angela didn’t want to be tense, but it wasn’t something she could help. At moments like this, she’d always been scared.
Marc was in his own mind and missed the reluctant surrender for the feel of rubbing against her. He knew she wasn’t relaxed, but he wasn’t sure if he could stop without at least touching her.
Marc slid a finger between her legs.
Angela stiffened as lust, fiery and strong, shot through her stomach. “Mmm!”
Marc throbbed. “Yeah, me too,” he agreed, pushing slightly.
Angela forgot to be tense as desire reminded her that it had been months since she’d done this for herself–long before the final slaver battle.
Starting to sweat, Marc carefully repeated the exact movement, making her hips arch.
Angela shivered as he stroked her through the jeans, breasts tingling, scalding heat flowing.
Marc rubbed against her heat, sliding into that hazy place where satisfaction was what mattered. He felt her breathing roughen, hips shifting restlessly. He slid his lips along her jaw, moving closer to rock gently against her thigh. As he did, he thrust inward again with his finger, harder than before.
“Oooo…”
Need, thick and demanding, shoved into Marc’s mind. Take her!
Marc locked down on his lust, free hand coming up to slide along her hip. He gently lifted the edge of her shirt and stroked his thumb across that satin skin as he slowly withdrew his finger.
Angela arched, lost.
Marc let his hand settle over her breast as he thrust forward and they both groaned.
He leaned back to look at her. “I want to touch.”
Angela knew what that meant, but with him thrusting his finger against her like that, it was hard to stand, let alone think.
When she didn’t answer, Marc drew in a breath and lightly rubbed her nipple as he tugged her zipper down.
Beautiful bare skin flashed in the lantern light, and Marc felt a bit of his control snap off. He wanted to be naked, rutting and spewing inside that body.
“Wait. We’re in the training tent. What if someone–”
Marc’s answer was to drop his mouth back to hers and send his hand to her other breast, rubbing that rocky tip in hard circles.
“Mmmm…”
Her moan against his lips was enough to make Marc have to count to ten in his mind. His hands didn’t pause, though. He would have a little of what he’d been denying himself.
Angela shivered at the cool air as the buttons on her shirt began to pop open.
Marc sensed the withdraw coming. To counter it, he sent both hands to her nipples and pinched lightly as he moved between her legs. Hard enough to hammer nails, he thrust forward as she arched, giving them both an incredible spark of lust.
In the clubhouse that night, he’d done much the same, though, the inside of his jeans had been coated more than once by the time they were finished. This time, Marc put his hand inside her pants and let himself touch that slick pussy.
Angela cried out, grip on him tightening.
Marc throbbed at the feel of her hands in his hair, lips moving against his neck in hot lust. He dipped his head and brought his finger up, tasting her.
Sweet! Marc shuddered. His hand went back to her body, swirling his finger over that sticky nub and Angela stiffened, muscles clamping down.
“That’s so good!” she groaned against his cheek, hands tangled in the silken hair she’d dreamed of for so long. When he used his knee to nudge her legs open further, she trembled, no longer caring about who might see them.
Marc’s rough breathing sent chills over her as he thrust, pinched, and continued to use that amazing timbre on her. “Next time, I want to kiss you…here.”
He squeezed as he tugged and Angela exploded, nails ripping into his shoulder.
“Oh, Brady!”
Marc ripped his jeans open and positioned them, eager to steal a few seconds for himself. He thrust against her slick heat, drawing another arch and moan when he hit that pulsing nub. She was so wet!
One tilt and thrust, buddy-boy, the Marine inside reminded him ruthlessly. A shift into heaven.
But only once, his heart protested. She’ll never let us get this close again.
She wasn’t a camp whore. He couldn’t make the mistake of treating her like one. And that wasn’t nearly enough for Marc, anyway. He reluctantly stepped back. Need time alone–now!
Angela’s hands slowly left his shoulders, surprising him when they kept going down to his tense forearms.
“Do it while I’m here to watch.”
Marc forgot how to breathe. If he didn’t get a release right now, she was in danger or his vow of fidelity was. A man could only take so much.
The thought of Marc using a camp whore to keep from scaring her or being a little rough had Angela’s womanly instincts protesting. She would rather he threw her down and had his way than to send him into someone else’s arms, for any length of time.
“Come on.”
Damn. He’d been counting on her leaving now. Didn’t she understand that he was–
Angela took his wrist and moved it to where it was needed, meaning to let go.
Marc watched his big paw wrap around himself as if he was alone, trapping her hand. Flames shot into his groin.
Angela observed in fascination as Marc began to stroke, seeing how his glowing blue eyes traveled over her lips, her hair, the skin he could see. Still pulsing, she slowly opened her shirt with her free hand.
It was what she’d done to end their first night together at the clubhouse, and Marc shattered. He yanked her against him, one big hand going to the small of her back to keep her in place, the other jerking furiously between them until he was grunting in thick satisfaction with every stroke.
Angela felt his pleasure. His lust was fierce, shooting through her in dizzying waves, and she knew instinctively not to let him take her to the ground, or make any move to escape. She helped things along instead. She shifted the fingers under his.
The iron bar in their grip swelled, jumping eagerly at her attention.
“Again,” Marc begged against her mouth, breathing coming in short bursts.
Angela squeezed as he jerked and Marc groaned hoarsely, “Yeah, baby!”
Angela repeated the movement, delighting in the power she held over his body. She wanted to play a bit, but the witch sent a quick warning. “If you stop, he won’t.”
Able to feel how much he needed the release, Angela pressed a slow kiss to Marc’s sweaty jaw and shifted her fingers again. “Love you, Brady.”
“Uh! I...ggrrrrr!”
His grip tightened and he shoved forward, sliding between her damp thighs. When his hand moved, going to her hip, Angela spread her legs. If this was what he needed... She braced.
Marc grabbed her thighs, forcing them closed as he exploded.
Angela held him as he shuddered, absorbing the energy. Even at the most out-of-control moment for a man, Marc had kept her safe, but more than that, she’d been braced to take whatever he needed. She hadn’t frozen or even flinched. Though there hadn’t been a lot of time, she thought with a small smile. It broke another barrier around her heart. She was healing–sexually–and she had Marc to thank for it.
Breathing mostly back to normal, Angela leaned her head against the canvas, grinning. “When can we do this again?”
Winded and amazed that she wasn’t filled with his seed, Marc let go of her legs and slid to his knees. “Two...minutes. Need fluids.”
Angela giggled. Being his woman was wonderful.
Outside, most of those who saw the entwined shadows went on about their business or sought comfort where they could find it, but not all of them.
Adrian moved through the darkness toward the firing range instead of the shadows where relief lurked. Jack Daniels and jealousy would be his companions tonight.