Timing is Everything
1
Standing by the revolting, blood-splattered barn doors, Angela took her time washing, not listening to the argument going on above her. Her mind was on how it felt to win, to have beaten the Alpha and won her pack. There wouldn’t be a feeling to rival it, unless it was the moment she was finally able to conquer her fear and give herself to Marc.
“Yes, you will! Get them to ease off.”
“It won’t succeed and not just with her. With any female.”
“Where were you now? She’s like him.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
Wrapping a thick strip of gauze around her newest injury, Angela moved away from the doors, as the voices got louder. She was feeling restless and a bit frustrated. She should be hurting and probably feeling guilty, but…aroused? Again, the spilling of blood had her hormones swinging and Angela kept her profile away from the others as much as she could, not sure if the males might be able to read it on her.
Marc kept his ears on the loft and the fight that was about to start, but his attention was on the lone female wandering the battle scene like something was missing. She reminded Marc a bit of his base commander. The big man hadn’t come on missions often, but when he did, they had always ended with that dangerously good leader roaming the scene much like Angela was doing.
Marc’s gut twisted. He’d never been able to discover what caused that reaction in his commander, and he doubted it would be any different with Angela. She had a wall up that he couldn’t get through.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, but I’m telling you right now, so listen,” Kyle demanded. “This is what she wants, what Adrian needs, and you will not let your allies stand in the way!”
Kyle stormed out of the barn a few seconds later and drew the Eagles over to where Angela stood. “We’re not done here. What’s next?”
It took Angela a moment to realize he was talking to her. “Cleaning up, I suppose.”
She scanned them. “Anyone have gloves?”
Half the men raised a pair and she fell into the role more easily this time. “Okay. You guys are carriers. We’ll put it all in the barn and burn it.”
“What about the ones that got away? They’ll come here and breed again,” Kenn asked tonelessly, joining the circle, but only a far edge.
“I could poison a few of the chickens, if you think they’ll eat it.”
Tone perfectly unsure, it eased his singed feathers enough to allow a note of real interest to finally enter his voice.
“You cook ‘em, we’ll scatter ‘em.”
Angela made a crude gesture. “Cookin’s woman’s work.” And was rewarded by scoffs, chuckles.
Kenn flushed. How many times had he said that to her?
Angela was gentler than he had any right to expect. “Leave it in the past.” She gestured at the barn. “Go get your meat ready and we’ll play doctor.”
There was an instant of silence when none of them knew what to say and they waited for Kenn’s reaction with bated breath.
The Marine stared, dumbfounded at the suggestive joke, and Angela rolled her eyes. “Men!”
That pulled an unwilling response from Kenn. “Women!”
Angela didn’t hesitate to give him another humility-delivering blow. “Sometimes, they do mix.”
Kenn hated her for being able to draw it from his lips, but resisting was impossible. He grimaced. “And do it well.”
It was as close to a compliment for her success as she would get and the others recognized the moment for what it was–a peace talk.
“And, next time?”
None of them were sure if Kenn would answer. When he finally did, it was like the end of a war.
“Maybe it will be easier or maybe it’ll be harder, but the job will get done.”
Satisfied, Angela allowed that deliriously addicting tone of command to fill her voice. “It’s time. Get them moving. Eagle Two has point.”
2
Kenn had them reunited with the two vehicles they still had and set up a mile away from the burning barn, an hour later. Everyone was glad to be out of the harsh wind and smells.
Wrist aching louder than the rest of her battered body, Angela let him keep Point. Now that she’d done what she came to, the need to lead was fading. Had Adrian known it would be that way? He’d been reluctant to let her come along, but that wave of anxiety he’d released as they rolled out… Adrian had been hoping she would have another success to help push the goals further, but had he foreseen this tightly knit group of men surrounding her with their protection?
She monitored her fellow survivors. Some were playing cards, letting out the occasional quiet groan or snigger. Two of them had kits open, tending minor wounds. A few were reading, something she found surprising not only for men, but for the times. It was something the camp rarely did. However, most of this crew were sitting quietly in a circle around the nicely crackling fire. Adrian had been certain they would support her or he wouldn’t have let her come.
Her gaze skipped over Kenn, who was dozing against a tree stump, and went to the men on duty. Kyle and Seth were taking the first post and she spent a moment trying to memorize their pattern. It was a light patrol for such a dangerous area, but these two Eagles were lethal. Anyone they met in the shadows wouldn’t stand a chance. Neil was also out there roaming somewhere, saying he needed to walk it all off, and she was comforted. The only thing better than that trio, was Marc.
She glanced at the vehicles, where a lone man smoked and studied her through the Blazer window. Marc hadn’t spoken to her since the battle, but he wanted answers, she could feel that. She would tell him the truth, but he wouldn’t like hearing she had loved it, wanted to go on every run.
Angela sighed. She was officially an Eagle, had helped complete a mission. He wouldn’t be able to take much more before he split or gave in.
He has run out of things to teach, the Witch intoned, slapping her to their trip here.
Angela tensed against the pain that always came. Their two months alone together had become vague and blurry. There were times where she struggled to remember what it felt like to have his arms carrying her into the tent after her first kill. How it had felt to draw him close, like she’d done with her attacker…
Only one memory of their two thousand mile trek remained vivid, but even that was tainted. The delicious chill brought from recalling those stolen moments now sent her thoughts straight to Safe Haven’s leader. What was that man doing at this moment? Wishing she’d reach out to him, let him in for a minute? Likely that and more, but she didn’t. With the top men out of camp, Adrian would surround himself with those left. He wasn’t alone.
Unwanted jealousy seared its way down Angela’s throat and her grip in the damp dirt tightened. Clear-headed from the adrenaline letdown, she understood what was about to happen if she didn’t make a change. Marc was going to leave and this bond she had with Adrian would grow. Nothing would stop it.
Give up your new dreams, the Witch stated. That will.
Angela gazed at the fire. Not even for Marc. There had to be a way to get him to accept her choices. Once he did, they could be together and then her loneliness wouldn’t keep trying to strengthen ties with Adrian. It wasn’t what she wanted. He wasn’t Brady.
Filled with sadness, Angela didn’t notice how her mood affected the men around her. The jokes and laughter stopped, conversations trailed off, and the men on duty increased their sweeps. None of them connected it to the only woman among them, though, and the next hour passed slowly as she continued to examine the hard truths that she’d been avoiding.
Marc was able to feel her unrest. She wanted his support, his welcome and encouragement, and she understood that wasn’t going to happen. It was hard not to go to her and give in, but he knew it would only last until the next time she put herself in danger or did something he didn’t agree with. As long as Angie was an Eagle, there would always be a wall between them.
Can I live with that? Between the missions and lessons, she’ll be mine.
Fighting alongside her today had been awful, but it had also been enlightening. The girl he’d known was gone and if he wanted a life with this Angie, he would have to do it her way.
Marc didn’t take his attention off her, studying each expression, each gesture. There was a strength in her that he’d denied and the warrior inside was finally able to be heard.
Of course, you can. Any version of that bloody female will do. She had to be protected before. This is better. Now, you can love her.
3
Dozing by the fire three chilly hours before dawn, Angela stiffened suddenly. “There’s something wrong.”
Heads rotated her way, few of them asleep, and Marc immediately came from his solitary seat in the Blazer at their reactions.
“What is it?” Kyle asked, moving to her left as Marc came to her right.
“Something with the camp.”
The men around her nudged those who were still drowsing.
“It’s Adrian.”
Now the men began pulling on gear and following Kenn’s lead as he called for them to get rolling. None of them doubted her after the call they’d taken on the way here, a short, tapped out message that Angela didn’t know about yet.
“Is he okay?”
“Is it the slavers?”
Angela stretched out a cold hand and placed it on Marc’s wrist.
“Sorry,” she stated lowly and drew, hard.
Energy flooded her, sweet and warming, and her grip tightened as the images cleared. “Something happened during travel time. They had to stop in the middle of a road.”
“Where are they?” Kenn’s tone was loud and Marc frowned at him.
“Brakes went out, I think. He’s down in a ditch…”
“Tell me where!” Kenn demanded.
Marc snatched his hand out of her grip and took a step forward, still not satisfied with all the times he had spilled the Marine’s blood. “Why don’t you leave her alone? You think what she does is easy?”
“Why don’t you kiss my–”
“He’s okay. They all are. He had Kevin set up the tow rig and Zack roll out camp right there.”
Kenn groaned in frustration, breath streaming out in a rush. “Where at?”
Kyle finished unfolding the map from his kit. “Can you show me?”
The mobster’s calming tone had always sounded like Adrian’s to their ears and it stopped the fight.
Angela’s next words brought relief and more worry.
“He felt us. He says everything’s 5-by and to get our asses home.” She searched the map for a fast moment, narrowing it down. “There, near Grant.”
Kenn snatched the map from Kyle’s grip and stomped to the vehicles he hoped were now dry enough to get them home. “Put her behind the wheel and everyone get in a seat.”
Expecting worse, there was no complaint from the Eagles, even when Kenn climbed into the passenger side of her Blazer.
Angela was told more than once not to worry about being too rough behind the wheel as Kyle, Seth, and a mix of the three teams got inside to crowd behind Kenn. She understood the message clearly. Get us home as fast as you can.
Angela slid into the chilly driver’s seat and fired up the engine. It was time to go home.
4
The ride home only took twenty hours this time, with one short break to change drivers and use a tree. They didn’t have time for more. Adrian needed them.
As Billy got them moving again, Kenn swiveled around to glare at Angela from the front seat. “You’ve had your lead. Now do what you’re told or you’ll be in a tent with a guard.”
Telling her, telling them all, he knew very well she was supposed to have a shadow. Because he hadn’t said anything, didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed.
Angela yawned tiredly, not needing to view Marc’s anger. “Whatever you need.”
Not expecting her to cooperate, Kenn stared.
Kyle took over. “You’ll be with me and I’ll be busy. Stay on my hip.”
“I will.’ Angela expected Kenn to have a problem with her being in the middle of things upon their return, but the Marine only gave Billy a hard look that made the Eagle drive faster.
Seizing the opportunity to settle some things between them, Angela spoke to Marc without censoring her words. “Will you check on Charlie? I’d feel better if it was his dad and not just an Eagle.”
Waves of ice filled the Blazer and Marc gave her a quick nod, heart jumping. It was the first time she had acknowledged the boy’s true parentage in front of Kenn and the silence thickened as everyone waited for his reaction.
There wasn’t one. Kenn had himself under tight control. If he snapped now, it would be over Adrian and no one else. That sense of worry had only grown in the last hours and Kenn faced the window as Billy kept them moving steadily through the darkness.
Full of the need to steal this time with her, Marc shifted into the corner and gestured at the empty space along his side. “There’s room here.”
He was also testing this sudden truce, trying to figure out how far she meant to go, how far Kenn would let them go, and Angela allowed it. She was worried, but also sore and very tired. Connecting to Safe Haven from this distance was exhausting and with the extra space that would put her almost flush against Marc’s side, she could stretch out. “Thanks.”
Angela eased into the empty area and lowered herself carefully against his hip without groaning as she wanted to. His heat felt good.
Marc shifted again, making more room, and she sank against his side as if she belonged there.
“If Adrian’s okay, what’s the problem?” Marc led the conversation now, not trying to distract the others from her actions, but wanting them to come clean with her. If she were going to be one of them, she had to know the truth and the reason they had kept it from her no longer mattered.
“The truth.” Marc’s tone dared the mobster to lie.
“We took a call,” Kyle stated, glad to be revealing their deception before she found out from their thoughts. “Someone left a bag in Adrian’s tent. There was a pissed-off snake inside. He almost got bit.”
That had Angela sitting up. “Tell me everything.”
“That’s above her pay grade!” Kenn snapped, but it held little of his previous animosity.
Marc let out a sigh as she pinned Kyle with those steel-chipped baby-blues. It was too late to go back. He could only hope for the future, one that he still wanted, no matter which Angie it was or how upset she made him with her choices.
“Tell me. All of it!”
Kenn swiveled to glare at her, but said nothing.
“We were told to keep you out of the loop,” Kyle admitted.
Her voice was tight. “Because I’d be distracted?”
“Because you would have turned us around.”
“I don’t have that much authority…” She stopped, realizing that wasn’t true.
“He wanted this done and for you to handle it. As for the snake, you know as much as we do. No note, no tracks that Zack could pick up.”
“Rick?”
More than Kyle shook their heads.
“No. He was in the kids’ area and under heavy guard, still has multiple shadows,” Kenn added. “There’s no way he wasn’t monitored long enough to do it.”
Someone else, then. Did they have any other suspects? A snake. The vet came to mind, but there was no grudge there that she knew of. Tonya, maybe, but a snake? They were often dangerous to their handlers. That wouldn’t be her style.
“This might honestly be an accident,” Marc stated, easing his boots off. “We don’t know what happened yet.”
“Zack knows,” Daryl informed them bluntly. “And he’ll run his mouth. We have to get there and calm the lower levels down before the herd picks up on it.”
“It won’t matter if tonight was an accident or another attempt on Adrian’s life,” Kyle said worriedly. “The reactions will be the same.”
Angela was able to pull the images from their minds, and her stomach twisted. Adrian needed them and they were still over a hundred miles away.
“Any threat to their sense of security will cause big problems. If the Eagles play this wrong and the herd finds out, they’ll stampede. Rioting didn’t end with the war.”
Billy’s words were resigned and that was where the group conversation stopped, each of them imagining the Safe Haven under those conditions.
Marc peered at her from under lowered lashes as they rolled by the corn, waiting for the pain pill to take effect and the energy rush to fade. When her lids finally began to droop, he quietly adjusted himself and then tugged on her arm.
Angela flinched, snapping awake to find Marc grinning.
“You were snoring.”
Her chin stiffened. “Was not.”
His smile widened. “Were too. Rattled the windows like a fart.”
Angela’s groggy chuckle was interrupted by a yawn and Marc indicated his chest. “I’ve got the bullets if you’ve got the balls.”
Her soft giggle drew attention and Kenn stared through the window as she slid into Brady’s arms and curled close. A deep shiver of hatred flashed, but it couldn’t compare to the need drawing him toward Safe Haven. Kenn turned his head, pretending it was some other couple.
Marc pulled her up onto his chest and held her, allowing his body to mold to hers. He was lonely and he’d missed her, but more than that, he had to remind her. Theirs was a bond that had lasted through tragic betrayal and even nuclear war. And it would survive her new life, too, he realized. Those few moments they would have between his waves of panic would be enough. Peace suddenly filled that dark space Marc had been nursing for weeks and he tightened his grip on her. Compared to what he’d had before, this would be more than enough.
Marc slid his hand up her hips. “I’ve missed you!”
Angela felt her heart clench at his urgent whisper. She’d just given Marc his son, though the ripples on it would be slow. Now, maybe she could give him something else he desired. “I’ve missed you too.”
Her fingers tightened on his arm and Marc pushed harder. “You know I’m crazy about you, right? Even when you’re risking your life.”
His low voice still carried and Angela knew what Marc was hoping for. She wanted it too. They were about to find out if this new, controlled Kenn was for real, but more than that, they were about to go public with their feelings.
“These weeks have sucked without you.”
The pain in her voice was too genuine to bear and Marc pinned her with his own agony. “Is it over now or do we go back to the lies when we hit camp?”
Angela took a long minute to consider, the fear finally shouting, but she sensed only bitterness and resignation from Kenn. He would learn to live with things. He’d made his choice and it was the right one.
And what of you? the Witch questioned. Would you now try to have both sides of the coin?
It was a long moment for all of them, but it was agony for Marc and a struggle to keep waiting. He had never wanted anything the way he did her. That hadn’t changed.
“I can’t promise to always react the way you want, Angie, but I can try harder. And I can wait a little longer, if you’re not ready.”
His willingness to sacrifice was the final swing and she gave him a slow smile. “It’s over now. We can be ourselves.”
Needing to know she meant it, Marc leaned down.
Angela let him capture her lips in a gentle kiss that the others glanced away from. She was Brady’s woman now.
Marc shifted again and Angela settled onto his hard chest with a sigh of pleasure that had him filling with happiness. “Night, honey. See you in a few hours.”
“Yes, you will,” she sent, snuggling tightly.
Marc knew she wouldn’t linger once they arrived. Wanting a few more minutes with her, he set the alarm on his wrist and let himself follow her into a light sleep.
When Seth began to hum lowly, the hotel ballad one of Adrian’s favorites, all but a few of them dozed.
Kenn braced to be full of the old rage every time he regarded their reflection, but after Angela handling herself with the wolves, the fire wasn’t there anymore. The woman he’d observed today was out of his reach, but his place by Adrian was waiting and it was that member of camp that he let himself obsess over.
Adrian had suspected someone might try something with so many high levels gone and they’d increased the shadows. With any luck, they would return to discover the traitor already in custody, or even better, dead. There was a small chance this latest mishap really was an accident, but Kyle didn’t think so. Kenn knew that, and it was enough for him. The mobster’s loyalty to Adrian’s safety rivaled his own.
Seth kept humming until everyone but the driver was asleep and he met Billy’s eyes in the mirror. “Keep it rolling and don’t be afraid to wake one of us.”
The guard gave a fierce grin. “I’m runnin’ on full right now.”
Seth shut his exhausted lids. “Good. You go straight to him as soon as you get out and stay with him until I relieve you. Even if someone else comes to take over, you stay until I get there.”
“You know it. His six’ll be covered.” The Eagle’s tone was firm despite Seth not being his team leader.
Seth smothered the feelings of desperation and let his soft humming send him into a troubled sleep. Adrian was in danger and he had to be there if anything happened.
5
Shortly before they arrived, Marc’s wrist alarm woke everyone with an obnoxious rap song from the past and he swung an arm over to silence it.
Angie hadn’t shifted away during the ride, in fact, one of her legs was now wrapped around his, holding him in place and he hit the reset button. She was his. When they made it to camp, everyone would find out. No more hiding and being careful. Now, they could be what they were–in love.
Angela stretched against him, body stiff, and her small groan had eyes flying toward the cargo area. Her first thought was of the possible problems waiting for them and she ignored how good it felt to be in Marc’s arms, concentrating. What was going on in Safe Haven?
Angela was catching flashes of a fight and other Eagles rushing to break it up. The people blurred by, the herd sounding mostly normal, and her chest eased. There was another glimpse of Adrian standing beside the medical bed of someone she couldn’t identify, and she broke the contact.
“Everything okay?”
Angela glanced up impatiently at Kyle’s question. “It’s calmer now. How long before we’re there?”
“Twenty minutes or so.”
She didn’t smile. “Good!”
The longing in her tone echoed their own need to be there and when she let her head settle onto Marc’s chest, there was an easy quiet broken only by the sound of someone waking enough for a gear check.
It was always like this on overnight missions, but Marc knew in a few short minutes, these men… These Eagles, he amended, shifting beneath her to get a better grip as Billy hit bump after bump in his haste… These Eagles would be alert and moving, and he marveled over it a bit. The ability to doze and snap awake was something he’d learned in the Corps and it came naturally now. It was a survival skill he’d been glad Angie picked up quickly, too.
There wasn’t much she didn’t get, and it was okay for him to be honest with himself now, Marc realized. For the entire trip to Safe Haven, he’d thought of the witch inside her as being mostly in control, and therefore, responsible for her actions. He’d attributed her survival in Versailles to that power as well, and hadn’t fully allowed himself to accept her as a killer. After the wolves, that was impossible. She was his physical equal and in some areas, better than a match. This was the way she might have been, had they been able to stay together.
“I think so, too.” Angela eased carefully up his chest to allow semi-private talking. “And I still want most of what we hoped for then, Brady. Except for the barefoot and pregnant part.”
Marc snickered obediently at her attempted joke. He had stopped viewing her that way when she challenged the Alpha. “We’ll make new dreams. Together.”
Angela flushed, voice lowering to a nearly indecipherable mutter. “I didn’t say never.”
Her tone deepened. “Somewhere down the road, being a mother again might come up and we’ll handle it.”
Marc tightened his grip, thinking he’d be ready. “Whatever makes you happy, Angie. I’ve tried hard to give you that, even here.”
“I haven’t made it easy, I know, but–”
“It’s your life to give.”
“Yes.”
There was a note of warning and he let out a resigned sigh. “I’ll handle it as best I can and when it’s too much–”
“You’ll split.”
This sigh was deeper, full of misery and joy. “It would take a lot to get me to do that now.”
“What if I get hurt again and use it for lessons?” she joked, motioning to her arm. Animal bites would be the next lesson and her injury would be the prop.
Knowing he had to be honest, Marc raised up on his forearms. “I’ll be pissed and worried, and you’ll remind me of this moment and I’ll ease up. Eventually, it’ll be easier.”
Angela let her bandaged hand gently brush the hair from his roughened cheek. A couple days stubble was so sexy on him. “For both of us.”
“And what about our son? Am I allowed to openly be his dad?”
Angela didn’t need to read minds to know how important her answer was to these men. “Soon.”
She felt his happiness dim and Angela leaned in, hand still on his cheek. “Will you be able to live with all the times I’ll hurt you? This won’t be easy.”
Vanilla floated over him in a thick wave and Marc steeled his heart against it, needing to make this choice, without any more influence than feeling her against him was already producing.
“I think so. I don’t like it, but I understand the herd…Adrian,” he amended with a bitter sneer. “They’re your priority now, but your worries over how the sheep will react won’t hold me back for long. That boy is me at that age and I can help him avoid our mistakes and have a happiness we’re missing.”
“I want that, Marc. As quick as we can clean up our mess, you’ll have your son openly.”
Not satisfied, but unable to fight what she was offering, he shifted suddenly, making her fall against him. He was full of a new anger, this one bitter, and he made her prove it all by rolling them against the seat and claiming her lips.
Caught off guard and still full of the wolf battle, Angela moaned lowly at the feel of him, letting her worries go. They were together now. The rest would fall in line as it was meant to.
Billy snapped on the radio without covering his satisfaction. That conversation had sealed her place with these men. It was a close copy of the one each of them had anytime they began a relationship they were serious about. If the other person couldn’t accept the structure, they wouldn’t date them again. And after getting to know her for the last month, Billy was sure she would have done the same. Adrian would be pleased.
6
Before the beaten Blazer was in park, Kenn was out the door.
Zack gestured toward the training tent and the Marine quickly hurried that way. He was making sure that Adrian was okay before he did anything else.
Angela let Marc help her out, grunting at her cramping legs. “I’ll be busy for a while. Catch you in the mess later?”
“Yes. Will you have John check that arm before you hit the rack?”
She grinned. “Yep.”
Marc ran his thumb along her cheek, thinking he had expected to be considering which direction to go when they arrived, not trying to find the best way to tell his son that he and Angie were now a legal couple. “Thank you.”
Angela gave him what he needed first, suspecting this was one of the few times she would be able to.
Marc lit up when she leaned toward him, and he swept her against his chest for a quick, passionate kiss that had those around them staring in surprised longing. It was official now and word spread immediately.
Angela drew back slowly, fighting the urge to hurry as Kyle and the rest of the team got their things from the cargo area. “I’ll see you later.”
Marc pressed another fast kiss to her lips, not wanting her to see how jealous he already was. “Yes, you will.”
Angela moved to Kyle’s side and Marc went to check on their son. After that, he would join his team and get his own report about what had been going on here while they were away.
It was rare for any complete team to be gone. One member almost always stayed behind so that they would know what had happened during their absence. When the mission team hit Safe Haven, the leaders hurried to get their updates.
Neil and Jeremy were the exceptions to this normal returning home pattern. They both thought the other would check in with their man and it was a surprise for them to split up at the parking area and then meet again in front of Samantha’s tent two minutes later.
Neil stared at his right-hand man for a long moment and Jeremy looked back evenly. After listening to Marc and Angie, their own needs had risen up to fill them with the urge to make a claim. Finally accepting that there was real competition for Samantha brought those happy flashes to an ugly halt.
“Neil.”
“Jeremy.”
Inside the tent, Samantha froze.
“It seems we’re about to have a problem.”
“Our first fight.” Jeremy clenched his fists, tone only half-joking. “How cute.”
Neil wasn’t about to keep playing these games. “I want her.”
“Publicly?” Jeremy questioned with a curl of his lips.
“Yes.”
“And what about Becky?”
Neil didn’t flinch. “That’s over. She knows.”
Jeremy regarded his team leader with pain. “So, that’s it. You’ve made your choice.”
Neil grimaced. “They made it for me tonight, the same as they obviously did you. How could anyone listen to that and not hurt to be whole?”
“Loneliness is not love,” Jeremy accused, already certain it didn’t matter anyway. They didn’t get to pick, she did.
“What about your little trysts with Cynthia?” Neil fired back. “You spent last night in her tent. And, you think what you’re doing is better!”
Jeremy flushed. “That’s none of your business!”
“But, it is Samantha’s,” Neil responded sharply. “You think she’ll put up with that?”
“No, I won’t.”
Samantha came from her tent, cheeks an alarming shade of red. “And I won’t put up with this either.”
She faded angrily into the shadows, walking by the lower level men guarding the tent area. “When you two get done deciding who my new owner is, come by the vet area and let me know. I’ll be waiting with my gun.”
The two men exchanged rueful grins and Jeremy patted the vest he hadn’t taken off yet. “I’m covered.”
“We forgot to factor that in,” Neil remarked.
“Yeah. I guess she’ll let us know?”
“Not before we do some begging.”
Jeremy raised a brow. “Want to do it together?”
Neil started to say no, it would be too awkward, and then shrugged. “Might as well. It can’t get much worse than this.”
Jeremy winced, spinning around to give the camp his back. “Really? ‘Cause Becky just saw us and I think that’s Cynthia moving my way from the showers.”
Neil tensed. “Can we go back and hunt more wolves?”
7
“I’m telling you it was cut! We checked.”
“What was cut?”
The arguing sentries hadn’t heard Kyle’s team arrive and there were guns out in the next breath.
“Stand down.” Kyle’s arrival had them calming and holstering.
“Sorry. We’re …”
“Jumpy,” the mobster finished.
“Someone’s trying to kill Adrian!” Kevin snarled in raw worry. “Zack may not have found any proof, but he’s an ass!”
At those words, Kyle moved closer, ignoring the frowns from Zack and his team. “Tell me.”
The unrest grew when Angela stayed on his right.
“The line we use to secure the vehicles when we shove them off the road was cut. We always make sure that rope is sturdy, but it snapped as we were hauling and almost took Adrian over the edge! Would have, if not for Ray. He pushed Adrian out of the way and got hit instead.”
Kyle filed the information, vaguely wondering if his public denial of the gay man could now be reversed. He would have to talk to Adrian. They’d been hoping for something like this. “That it?”
“Herd’s fine,’ Kevin said, evening out his tone. He wasn’t sure why the high-level man was taking the report from him when Zack was only feet away. “They don’t know. Yet.”
Kevin stressed the last word, shooting a quick glare at the truck driver.
“You’ve done fine,” Kyle stated. “We’ll cover it.”
Kyle spoke to Daryl and Chris, “Put fresh men out and take up a post on the perimeter. Continuous rounds. I’ll send some relief as soon as I can.”
“We can’t figure out how someone got into that area. I know we’re green, but damn it, there are almost twenty of us there at any given time!” Kevin complained, frustrated. He let out an angry sigh. “I’m gonna go talk to people again. I’ll be around.”
And that’s why Adrian has us monitoring you, Kyle thought. Kevin would be another determined shepherd to swell the ranks of leadership.
“It’s gonna be a long night, boys,” Kyle stated resignedly. “Someone tell the cook to roll out the coffee and make it strong.”
Angela followed his tense form into the shadows. What was it about that statement that made her so uneasy?
Despite wanting almost desperately to see for herself that Adrian was okay, Angela stayed by Kyle as he finished rounds of the perimeter guards. He had the habit of talking to the men before the boss–to be sure he had both sides before offering advice to the leader–and she respected him for it. It made it easier to follow Kyle when he walked by the training tent without a glance.
“If you can scan the ground from your army’s point of view, you’re on top of things,” Kyle said. “And he can’t do it himself. We have to be his sight.”
Angela swept the unwelcoming darkness. “I’ll be listening, too.”
“Watch for the tones, the nervousness, and twitching hands. Adrian trusts us. We all have access to his tent. The traitor might be an Eagle.”
“Why not just ask her to look?” Lee’s voice was a low sneer of fear and anger. “If fact, why not ask her why she hasn’t already?”
Kyle let out an impatient sigh, noticing how Lee kept scanning her bandage, her scars. He might be one of Zack’s minions, but he didn’t like it that she’d been hurt. “Why don’t you get it over with instead of torturing yourself?”
Angela sensed what was coming and said, “No one’s on us right now. I’ve got the bullets if you’ve got the balls.”
It drew the same reaction from Zack’s teammate that it had from her.
Lee came closer, but only a single step. “I... I want to know if you can find my wife. Adrian said I could ask.”
“Yeah, a week ago, you coward,” Kyle accused lightly and Angela realized he and Lee had come to terms, weren’t enemies anymore.
“I... She was busy.”
Angela grinned. “I’ll have to touch you.”
Lee’s jaw twitched and he braced himself. “Okay.”
Angela snorted. “Damn, for Eagles, you guys are squeamish, like this is PMS or something.”
“I’m not a girl, I don’t get that!” Lee retorted nervously. “Can you tell me or not?”
Angela’s eyes took on that smoky, rolling blue they all associated with her magic now.
“Let’s find out.”
Lee was full of dread. He was snapping at her in his anxiety, blaming her, but it was the words he thought he would hear, and not loyalty to Zack and Kenn, that was causing it.
“And if I can give you none of what you need? Will it go back to the way it was?”
Angela’s demanding tone had Lee’s head snapping up. “You’re about to crush me and you worry for yourself!”
He revealed his fear without meaning to. “Just do it.”
“There are prices to deals like this, Eagle. Even you must know that,” Angela retorted. “You don’t get this service for free.”
Lee stiffened. “What do you want?”
“Protection.”
He waved an insulting hand. “You have a whole camp of men willing to die for that.”
“I want you.”
The words had a ring that Lee felt sink deep into his heart and echo. “What?”
“You, on my side.” Angela darted a fast hand out to capture his wrist in a tight grip. “Even if I tell you what you fear the most.”
Lee tried to resist, but it was the thought of his own agony that stopped him. He’d give anything to know for sure.
He gave a short nod, breath rushing out in hateful acceptance. “Just don’t you lie to me! I want…need the truth.”
Angela already had the witch searching and she jerked suddenly, grip tightening. Doors flew open and she spoke, “Omaha, after the war...”
“Her mom lives…lived there. She was visiting for the holiday.”
“She was moving there because you slapped her.” Angela’s voice was merciless. “She also filed for divorce when she left.”
Caught in his evasion, Lee tensed for her to act as anyone would and was surprised.
“She was guilty.”
He heard the question in her voice–Do you want her still?–and answered, “More than my life.”
“Lincoln,” Angela muttered, fighting to get an exact location. “She made it to Lincoln… Shot! She was shot!”
Kyle waved the others off as she gave Lee what he needed and pulled him into her corner.
“She’s on the Westside, where it’s flooding.”
Her lids popped open and Lee found himself talking with the witch directly.
Bring only your wife. The others she’s with will not be allowed inside Safe Haven for their crimes against each other.
Lee nodded, unable to speak and Angela pulled the witch gently from view. She let go of Lee’s wrist, fighting the wave of weariness. “Don’t take Zack. He’ll bring the others to spite me and they really don’t belong here.”
Lee wanted to argue, to say Adrian would want those people, and agreed instead. Those red orbs had been sure. Who was he to question such a power?
“Permission to grab a team and go?” Lee asked.
“Get it set and you guys can roll as soon as we return from McCook,” Kyle replied.
Lee didn’t like the idea of waiting, but knew going into a city like Lincoln would take gear and planning. He left with a last searching glance at Angela. It could be a trick to get him out of camp and make them look like fools, but he went to gather a team anyway. If there were a chance his Candy had survived, he would take it.
8
Kenn had headed straight for Adrian when they hit camp, along with Billy, who took over shadowing the leader. Once satisfied of Adrian’s well-being, Kenn went next to the one person he was worried might have tried something like this.
“No, I didn’t.”
Tonya’s voice was indignant, telling him she wasn’t lying.
“How would I know what to do? I barely drive.”
Kenn thought differently, but was still too pissed over the attempt on Adrian’s life to be sidetracked. “Swear it!”
Tonya’s voice rose a bit. “I’ve told you. If you can’t accept it, that’s your problem.”
Kenn’s profile tightened as if he wasn’t convinced “We’ll be through if you’re lying.”
“I didn’t do it and I don’t deserve this.” She raked him with a sharp glance. “Maybe we should change our plans for later.”
“Why? Guilty conscience?”
Fed up, Tonya delivered a nasty sneer. “Sure. I spend a lot of time biting the hand that feeds me. I’m that stupid. Jackass.”
Kenn let her leave in relief. He’d been hard on her, jerking her into the garden truck to interrogate her, but he had to be certain she didn’t do it. He couldn’t be sleeping with the enemy, especially not when he was trying so hard to earn back his place.
It would be rough, adjusting to Marc and Angela being together so soon after he’d threatened her death, but the old rage had left him the instant he pulled the trigger on Dean. He didn’t like their relationship and never would, not to mention there was still a wall of bitterness about the whole Charlie affair, but he had his place as a top level man in Adrian’s chain of command and that mattered more.
Tonya stormed through camp, making people shift out of her way long before she got to them and the guards tensed when someone finally stepped into her path.
“Let’s have a drink.”
Tonya started to say yes, but veered around the reporter instead. “Catch me in the shower. He’s got people on us now.”
Cynthia acted as if the redhead had been rude and entered the mess, causing interest to switch back to the better story–Marc and Angie.
They would be stopping near McCook, Nebraska for supplies and she and Tonya had signed up for the supply run. While Tonya provided a distraction, Cynthia planned to slip off for an hour and do some digging.
McCook was large enough to have records, maybe even old photos. The Eagles had already scouted the area and declared it abandoned, but more importantly, they’d said it was undamaged. Adrian and his men would clean out the basic supplies they needed and then members would be allowed in on personal runs. Maybe she would find what she had been digging for in every town they passed close enough for her to search. Busy getting set to take her shift, Cynthia didn’t see the extra shadow moving by or register Maria’s absence.
Rick had slipped into the dark supply truck behind the mess while the Eagles were occupied with updating the returning teams.
Maria cringed into the corner, a mask of fear as his hands went to his…pocket?
Rick pulled out a small vial and slid it under a nearby potholder. “Top team of Eagles. Put it in their popcorn bags the next time he calls a two-day break.”
Maria shook her head, but stopped the protest when he fingered the knife on his belt.
“No one will know.”
“Ww-why?”
“So I can have some alone time with the boss,” he said.
Sneaking out was getting harder and harder. He might only have one or two more night-time ventures left before he’d have to figure out a way to get his tent replaced. The ends were too frayed to keep lining up evenly enough to avoid notice.
He picked up the coffee mug she’d been filling for Adrian’s tray and moved toward the door. He took a small sip of the hot pain. “The next time we take a two day break, Maria, or I’ll tell Cesar you’re a convert and he’ll kill those two little boys. Slowly.”
9
“So, was it an accident?”
Now lurking in the shadows of the tents, Rick leaned in. The sex was over and it was this conversation, that he’d stayed for.
“No. Someone’s trying to take him out.”
The female snorted. “Like I’d know how to rig that up.”
“Yeah. Sorry, I was pissed.”
“But you remembered me suggesting we cut his brakes and send him over a cliff.”
“Yes.”
Tonya giggled patiently. “I think you need to be punished for that.”
Kenn’s shadow grabbed hers. “You know it.”
Rick grimaced in distaste, moving away. He wasn’t the only one plotting against Safe Haven’s fearless leader. Wouldn’t it be great if he could kill Adrian and frame his second in command for it? The camp would lynch the Marine without a second thought. It would be a two-fer!
Rick’s stride lengthened into a steady stalk as he prowled, dressed like an Eagle thanks to Mitch’s boy, Matt, needing a bottle that he couldn’t get on his own. Rick grinned wildly. Maybe he could find a way to involve Neil and make it a threesome.
10
“You can go now, if you want.”
Angela ignored the soreness invading her shoulders. “I’m good. Go about your business.”
Kyle snickered, moving toward the new Com truck. They’d been on rounds for hours, going over the wreck, securing things and getting updates. They had no idea who the traitor was, but they were sure they had one. Kevin had been right about the brake line being cut.
“I’ve got two more stops and then we’ll call it good.”
Angela followed without comment, still mentally searching the people walking around them. The camp was uneasy and the Eagles being so alert wasn’t helping. If they had returned earlier, when more people were awake, there could have been trouble.
“What do you want?” Mitch growled at Kyle.
It caused Angela to stop and stare in surprise.
“You already know.”
The slurring radioman let out a frustrated bellow. “Damn! He ain’t been around here. Waved hello to me once from across the camp, though. Quick, arrest him.”
Angela realized Kyle must have been the one to reprimand Mitch for having Rick in the Com truck when the quake hit.
“Stop it!” Kyle ordered sternly. “If you keep acting like you’re on the other team, Mitch, you’ll end up there.”
Kyle left the drunk sputtering indignantly and Angela followed, frowning. Not at the cool treatment, but at the way Rick had been able to con the people here. They didn’t have any real proof, but who else could it be? The man had admitted he was a spy. Where else would they look when things went wrong?
At him and no one else, she realized. He could have someone else doing his dirty work. “Have there been any reports of him spending time with anyone? Does he have friends here?”
Kyle’s thoughts were along the same lines. “No one that we’re aware of, other than Becky. He does his shifts, eats and showers, and stays quiet.”
“Too quiet. And that’s suspicious.”
“Intentionally done to draw us away from his accomplice?”
“That feels right,” she stated angrily. “And it’s smart. He has to know we’re onto him. That’s why we can’t catch him. He isn’t the one doing it!”
Kyle’s pace quickened. “Let’s grab a cup of coffee and go over the duty sheets for the days we were gone. Maybe we’ll come up with something.”
An hour later, they were both tired of the background noise of emerging cicadas and of searching through the papers. Angela stood up with a groan. “I’m done. Dawn’s over the hill. I plan to be asleep before it gets here.”
Kyle swept the papers together. They weren’t any closer to an answer, but he was hopeful about the morning, when he would check the accident scene again in the dim light of day. Maybe he would find something the others had missed. “Goodnight.”
“Good morning, you mean.”
“That’s one of our rules. If we haven’t been asleep yet, the day doesn’t change.”
Angela snorted, thinking it might come in handy if she ever wanted to steal some personal time. “I’ll remember that.”
“You did real good,” Kyle handed out a bit of praise, feeling it was well deserved.
“So did Kenn.”
“He’ll adjust. I believe that now.”
“Me, too.”
Angela went toward her tent, feeling Marc’s eyes on her. It was unmistakable, especially now that his anger had been converted into happiness. “You coming, Brady?”
“What?” Marc hadn’t thought she’d known he was her shadow until dawn.
“I’m tired. Aren’t you?” Implying they would share a bed.
He hadn’t expected her to be this open and was relieved when she laughed. He wasn’t prepared for that yet. Hell, he wasn’t prepared for the gift she had given.
“Night, Marc.”
“Night, honey.”
Angela ducked into her own tent, leaving him to chuckle.
One day, it wouldn’t be a joke. They would share a life together and those images were the ones he fell asleep with a short time later. His happily-ever-after was waiting.