“You’ll be all right out there?” Finn sent.
“I’m fine.” Gareth’s reply was terse, curt. He was still seething—not at Mari, Finn knew, but at the world itself. Mari was staying in a clean, well-appointed house, but its only occupant was an elderly woman and her dog. They wouldn’t be much protection for Mari if some junkie broke in, so the Twins had mutually agreed to watch over the house that night.
Gareth had taken Hailey’s death particularly badly. He’d been the one to find their foster-mother’s body, and his grief had been long, dark and deep. When they’d buried her in a grave outside Chicago’s walls, he had left a simple cross behind, engraved with the word Mom.
In a way, his Twin had lost a part of his soul that day—the part of him that trusted. Finn hadn’t seen Gareth truly trust someone since. He tended to hold people at arm’s length, even the other Twins they considered part of their inner circle of friends.
Being privy to his brother’s unguarded thoughts, Finn knew why, of course. Gareth couldn’t be there for everyone, couldn’t guarantee his protection by controlling their every movement. With Finn, that was fine, since they were never apart.
With Mari, however…
“You know you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink, right?”
Gareth’s reply was long in coming. “Yeah. But you can sit there with a water pail and make damn sure they don’t dehydrate.”
Finn pulled back, shielding his thoughts once again. It had been a tense day. He was glad they’d found Mari when they did, because Gareth was spoiling for a fight. The man sleazing over her back in the gaming hall had gotten off lightly.
Besides, they’d run Mari’s name through several of the government databases. They hadn’t found anything—until Gareth suggested they try spelling her name with an i. That had narrowed the list significantly, bringing up one Marisol Aquino, only daughter of Jorge Aquino, the scientist they sought. So that was what she’d been trying to hide.
Not that Finn blamed her for keeping quiet. Likely, she was scared stiff, and her father’s death was recent. Still, they would have to have a little chat at some point, talk the situation over.
“They didn’t bargain for this,” Gareth suddenly sent.
“What? The scientists?” Finn tried to follow his Twin’s thoughts.
“Yeah. When they laid out our DNA, what the fuck were they expecting? That we would be simple machines to go fight their wars?”
“I don’t know. Hailey said the alien ships were spotted from the largest observatories shortly after the turn of the century. That gave them almost forty years to prepare. Creating us was part of that preparation, except nationalism, politics and corporate greed got in the way.”
“As always. Did our creators expect us to need the same woman?” Gareth’s mindvoice was bitter.
“I don’t know. Hailey did mention something about us responding strongly to certain pheromones.” Finn stared into the darkness from his bed, trying to recall the women he’d been attracted to prior to Mari. None of them even remotely compared, and none of them had been attractive to Gareth either. They’d all been quick, short fucks, easy flings that ended on mutually amicable terms.
Hell, Mari probably wasn’t the only woman in the world whose pheromones called to them both. Finding a woman who both turned them on and accepted them hadn’t been easy, and with the human population so whittled down, Finn knew the pool of candidates had shrunk drastically.
They’d both been drawn to Mari the moment she stepped into the train. Finn had immediately wanted to crawl between her legs, bury his nose there and prove that she smelled and tasted as sweet as she looked. To his utter surprise, Gareth had much the same thought. When she’d fallen from her seat, it had provided the perfect excuse to dote upon her, making sure she didn’t take another nasty tumble. Despite her sensible demeanor, Mari possessed a sweet gentleness that he never wanted to see tarnished.
“I don’t want it tarnished either,” Gareth sent. “That means getting her the hell out of here as soon as possible.”
“That means convincing her to come. And finding Dr. Aquino’s device.”
There was a pause. “Gotta break the news to Mari that we know who she is. Why do you think she didn’t trust us?”
“Don’t know. It’s something we ought to take slowly and carefully, though. She has no living family members, she said, so Jorge Aquino is dead. Looks like that was recent enough to cause her serious grief. Maybe that’s why she didn’t mention it.”
Finn closed his eyes. They would need to get cracking on their mission, given their lack of time. Although he doubted Dr. Aquino had discovered anything groundbreaking, apparently the man had contacted the Complex to report that he’d found an interesting alien device, something he deemed important. Then he’d disappeared off the radar.
To Flagstaff City, apparently, where he’d raised his daughter. After they’d found Mari’s name in the database, Finn had sent off for more information, and the idiot powers-that-be had unearthed the fact that Dr. Aquino’s wife, Mari’s mother, had died of cancer in Flagstaff about seven years ago. Why they couldn’t have found that information before sending them away from the Complex, he didn’t know.
In any case, it was a fortuitous coincidence that they’d run into Mari on the train. Their previous visits to Scar City had been utterly fruitless, but maybe they could coax a lead out of Mari.
“Not that much of a coincidence,” Gareth interjected. “I mean, yes, it’s a stroke of luck, but we’ve spent a lot of time going back and forth from the Complex to this City. There aren’t that many trains routed through Flagstaff, and the world’s population isn’t near what it used to be. So if you ran the probabilities—”
“All right, point taken. I’m still glad we ran into her.”
“I don’t disagree with you.”
Finn lapsed into silence, eyes still closed. Train tickets were expensive. How much had it cost the government to send them to this City?
“All that money spent on defense, and we couldn’t fucking find a cure for cancer.”
“Stop reading my thoughts and let me catch some sleep,” Finn sent.
His brother complied, and Finn fell into a fitful doze, waking four hours later. Fully rested and energized, he dressed himself and went to relieve Gareth.
“I don’t need you to spell me.” His brother looked up as he approached. He sat on an overturned bucket across from Mari’s front door, watching and waiting.
“She’s asleep now,” Finn pointed out. “You might as well sleep while she’s sleeping.”
“You’ll wake me when she does, then.” His tone brooked no argument, and he stood only reluctantly. “Goddamn. I don’t think I’ll relax until we’re out of here.”
“Neither will I.” Finn settled in to wait. He’d long since mastered the art of entertaining himself during long stretches of downtime. Concealed in the shadows, he watched the streets of Scar City. Its denizens were mostly asleep, although there were more than a handful of hardcore junkies who called this City home—mainly Turquoise addicts who huffed the blue-green, chemically manufactured powder.
Turquoise was cheap, once you had the facilities to make it, and the stuff was apparently hard to overdose on. Out here, there seemed to be a never-ending supply of it. Turq tended to make people boisterous, active, with an aggressive edge. Not an environment he wanted his woman to stay in.
He frowned into the darkness. My woman? Yet the words felt right, despite their short acquaintance. Even now, so soon after taking her, he wanted her again.
His cock was stirring to life again at the mere thought of sex with Mari. He’d thoroughly enjoyed taking her ass last night, gentling past her initial resistance until she actually screamed with release. Finn sighed, shifting atop his perch so his erection didn’t strain against his jeans quite so much. He wished he could go into the house now, find her room, and kiss her until she woke up.
He gave himself a mental shake, running a hand through his short black hair. He’d accused Gareth of moving quickly—what was he thinking? Hell, they hadn’t even discussed rules. Were there rules in this situation? He’d never considered discussing this with the one pair of Twins they knew with a wife. They would have to have a chat once they got back to Chicago.
As dawn approached, the howls of the aliens dissipated, leaving a brief, eerie silence. Then a pair of roosters began to crow, making Finn smile. As a boy, he’d often wished he could live in the country instead of at the Complex. After the Invasion, the country came to him, in a way.
The Complex, once full of state-of-the-art technology, now boasted a roof garden and greenhouses—once used for experiments—chock-full of crops. The courtyard housed goats, who were built-in lawnmowers and also their source of milk. Chickens roamed freely.
Mari would like it there, he thought. As their openly acknowledged woman—wife, if she wanted it—she would be a trailblazer of sorts, but she could handle that. She was strong, resilient.
“And if the scientists tell us we cannot have her?”
“Gareth, you’ve only been asleep three hours.”
“I’m perfectly rested. Seriously—you know how some of the scientists have frowned upon what Mitch and Jake have going on with Arianna. The way they push birth control on everyone makes me think they want to continue to control us.”
“It’s been two days since we met her. Let’s slow down a little, take things one issue at a time.”
Gareth sent the mental equivalent of a huff, and Finn tried not to smile. In all honesty, he was ecstatic that Gareth was coming out of his shell, showing affection and real interest in something other than pure survival or fighting aliens.
In the back of his mind, he was aware that his brother was on the move. Judging by the uppermost thoughts in his head, he was searching for breakfast. Stretching, Finn rose from his seat and began to pace the alleyway, limbering up his muscles as the sun spilled golden across the decaying City. On his tenth lap, Gareth appeared, clutching a bag of food, and Finn raised his eyebrows at the delectable smell. Freshly baked pastries?
“Who’d you kill to get that?” he asked.
“I found a little bakery of sorts on my way here. Bought every muffin they had. Stupid expensive, but the smell got me just right.” Gareth glanced toward the door of the house they’d been watching over all night.
“Hope she doesn’t like to sleep in,” Finn said.
“I hope she does. Then we’d have an excuse to hand-feed her muffins in bed.”
“Way too messy.” Finn gave his Twin a sidelong look as they approached the door. He’d have to get it through Gareth’s head that Mari needed some freedom, at least.
Finn rapped on the door, and a low growl sounded behind the wood, followed by a bark. He met Gareth’s eyes in wry approval. They’d both been tacitly wondering how the elderly woman, Patrice, had managed to live alone in this City. A good guard dog, however, would put off all but the most desperate junkie.
There was a shuffling behind the door, an eye pressed to the peephole, and a long pause. Then: “If you’re looking to kill Barks, you’re in the wrong place.”
Finn quelled Gareth with a nudge. His brother didn’t do diplomacy, but Finn put on his most charming smile. He held the bag in front of the peephole. “We brought some muffins for Mari.”
“Huh. Muffins?”
“Yeah, I think we got too many. Might need help eating them.”
Chains rattled, and the door cracked open. “How much help?”
“Lots.” Finn increased the wattage of his smile. “You don’t need the gun, lady.”
“I might do, if you don’t behave.”
“Depends on what you mean by that.” Even Gareth smiled now.
Patrice snorted, pushing the door all the way open. She was on the short side, five foot four or so, but she looked as if she’d brook no nonsense. Tightly curled gray hair crowned her head. Her face was wrinkled and dark as a prune.
Setting the butt of her rifle down, she regarded them. “I wouldn’t be allowing you in if I hadn’t seen the expression on her face yesterday. When you were passing by in the road, she wasn’t afraid of you. In fact, she looked wistful, like she kinda wished you’d seen her duckin’ down behind my rocking chair.”
“Wistful?” Finn asked.
“Yep, I’d say so.” She took hold of her dog’s collar and led him to a blanket in the corner. “Down, Tank. Stay.”
The Rottweiler complied but kept his eyes trained on the Twins. Gareth gave him a once-over. “Good guard dog. Barked once but didn’t keep yapping once you knew we were here.”
“I used to be a trainer. Most of my dogs had Schutzhund titles.” Patrice gestured toward the kitchen table. “Tank is my last. He more than earns his keep, but it’s slim pickings for humans, let alone dogs.”
Finn could see that. Patrice’s arms were bonier than they should be. It hadn’t been easy for the remaining humans to survive once most of the ready sources of food had been looted. Still wasn’t easy, even though people were adapting.
“So you kept your dogs through the Invasion and its aftermath,” Gareth commented. “A fine woman,” he sent. “Clearly she feeds him better than she does herself, though.”
“Yep. Tank was part of my very last litter—my last remaining bitch produced two pups. I kept Tank and sold the other to a friend.”
“Twins,” Gareth mused. “Funny how nature has a mind of its own. The scientists initially tried to breed us in litters. More bang for their buck.”
“I bet that made you feel real good, like a human instead of an animal.”
Gareth laughed. Actually laughed. “I like you, Patrice.”
“Yep, well, I’ll see if I like you after I scarf down one of your muffins.” But she smiled.
Finn breathed out in relief. Gareth could be more than touchy when it came to the topic of how Twins had been created. The scientists who’d created them hadn’t thought twice about screwing with DNA, essentially creating superhumans who were physically superior to normal people. Those scientists tended to totally disregard any emotions the Twins expressed, viewing them as born soldiers who were bred to take commands with nothing more than stoic acceptance.
That attitude was mostly over. Mostly. Vestiges of it persisted, with the Twins still tightly controlled in some areas.
A smell of warm muffins filled the house as Gareth laid them out on the kitchen table. Finn’s mouth watered. They hadn’t eaten much last night since they’d been too busy searching for Mari. Instinctively, he turned to seek her, looking through the small kitchen-diner door toward the steps.
“Maybe we should wake her,” Gareth sent.
“No, I think that’s too much, too soon. She wanted space.”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.”
“I don’t want her to bolt.” Finn met Gareth’s eyes in silent warning. “We need to handle this right.”
His brother sat, albeit reluctantly, and tucked into a muffin studded with dried fruit. Patrice flicked a gaze toward Tank and chose a seeded one.
“Take one for the dog too,” Finn said, and she cast him a grateful gaze, biting into her chosen muffin immediately.
“Good call, otherwise she would have shorted herself again.” Gareth’s comment was tacit apology, one Finn accepted with a slight nod. Finn looked over at his brother as he ate, and caught the instant his Twin stiffened, head coming up like a panther scenting prey.
Finn followed his gaze and saw Mari standing uncertainly on the stairs. Clad in a thin nightgown, barefoot and with tousled hair, she looked like a sleepy angel. His cock immediately twitched to life.
“Now who’s being too hasty?”
Finn ignored his brother, smiling at Mari. “Come down and have a muffin with us, sweet girl.”
“I—I should get dressed.”
“Eat first. Would you like a blueberry or a raisin muffin?”
Mari placed her foot on the next step, as if drawn toward them by a magnet. “There’s blueberries in that muffin?”
“Dehydrated, maybe, but it tastes like sheer heaven,” Patrice said through a mouthful. She patted the chair beside her and that seemed to be all the remaining impetus Mari needed to come forward.
Finn slid her a blueberry muffin and tried not to stare as she nibbled its edges, closing her eyes in bliss. For a few minutes, everybody concentrated solely on eating. A decent breakfast, something he had taken for granted pre-Invasion, was now a luxury. Gone were the days of toast, bacon, sausages and other standard breakfast fare. You ate what you had on hand, or you went hungry.
Occasionally, a looter would uncover a bottle of maple syrup and trade it to the Compound. Then they would cook French toast, a rare treat these days. Finn’s gaze went back to Mari, who was taking the last bite of her muffin with evident satisfaction. She closed her eyes for a few moments, giving him—and Gareth—the opportunity to blatantly stare their fill.
Her red nightgown was modest, covering her to the neck, mid-arm and past the knees. The material, however, was thin, affording them a glimpse of her nipples pressed against the fabric. She was naturally curvy, although she could certainly stand to eat a few more solid meals.
Turnips, Finn thought in disgust, and quickly averted his gaze when Mari opened her eyes. She squirmed, dividing a curious look between him and Gareth.
“She totally caught us staring,” his brother sent. “She’s blushing.”
“Guess we’re not too slick.”
“No, but I hope she is.”
Finn hid a grin, then sobered as Patrice stood. She reached for a cane that hung on a peg behind her chair, leaning on it as she walked toward the Rottweiler. Finn was willing to bet that the cane had a blade hidden inside—there was a subtly placed lever on the side that probably triggered a concealed knife.
Bending to feed the dog his muffin, Patrice straightened and regarded the Twins for a moment. “Would you mind housesitting for an hour? I haven’t been out of here since my last lodger. Didn’t want to leave this place unattended.”
“When did your last lodger leave?” Mari sounded horrified.
“Oh, last week. I only take trustworthy-looking people on, which is why I called out to you when I saw you walking past.” Patrice clipped a leash to Tank’s collar as the dog finished sniffing around for the last crumbs. “I have a friend who lives a few streets over and I stockpile food, so I’m never in any need. But it’s nice to get out and about sometimes.”
“We don’t at all mind sticking around,” Gareth said. To his credit, he didn’t even glance at Mari, but Patrice’s face wrinkled in amusement all the same.
“Have fun,” she said. “Thanks for the muffins.”
The door closed behind her, leaving an expectant silence. Across the table from them, Mari moistened her lips, carefully keeping her eyes on the table. “I should get dressed.”
“We pushed you a little hard last night, baby. Do you need us to slow down?”
Gareth was being diplomatic for once? Finn nearly goggled at his brother. “You’re really falling for her.”
“Double penetration the second time we had sex was moving kind of fast. Even I can admit that. Although it was glorious.”
“I don’t know what I need…not from a relationship, I mean. I thought I had my life figured out, but…”
“Then you ran into us,” Finn supplied. “Now what?”
She raised her chin to meet his gaze, her dark brown eyes apprehensive. “I need to tell you something. The man you’re looking for, Jorge Aquino, is—was—my father.”
Finn sat up straighter, pleased she’d come clean with them. He hadn’t been looking forward to telling her they’d run her name through their databases, prying into her background.
“Yeah, we found that out,” Gareth said. “Explains why you were pretty shifty when we mentioned our mission. Why didn’t you tell us Dr. Aquino was your father?”
“The device could be valuable,” she said, looking down. “I…was hoping it would bring me enough money to live on until I found a suitable job. I’m not cut out for scavenging. Since I couldn’t make the rent in Flagstaff any longer, coming here was my last resort.”
Finn and Gareth stayed silent, waiting her out. Both of them sensed she had more to say, and neither wanted to give her an easy out. After a solid minute of silence, she placed her hands on the table, tapping her fingers lightly, anxiously. She opened her mouth, closed it, then finally spoke.
“I think searching for Dad’s device might involve leaving the City walls.”
“Then we’ll go with you,” Gareth said instantly.
Her shudder of relief was profound, leaving Finn no choice but to go to her. He lifted her, placing her in his lap. “Hey. What’s the matter?”
Mari grasped his shirt as if she couldn’t help herself. Her gaze was fixed in the near distance, as if she were seeing something terrible.
“Mari.” Gareth knelt in front of her, taking her face in his hands.
“Carter,” she blurted. “Carter went into the barn. He—he didn’t come out. They were in there.”
Ah, so she had witnessed—or near enough—her friend’s death? Finn stroked her back, running his fingers along the smooth, slightly worn material of her gown. “Is that why you’re so nervous?”
She nodded, a quick jerk of her head as Gareth released her chin. “I heard them. Killing Carter.”
Finn took a breath, inhaling the scent of her clean hair. “Wherever it’s dark, they’ll lurk. We’ve lost some good friends to those fucking aliens.”
Mari didn’t flinch at his language, merely nodded again. “After Carter died, I was too afraid to take another job outside the walls. I… I’m a coward.”
“You’re not a coward,” Gareth said instantly. He reached for her again, raising her chin with one large hand. “Look at me, Mari. Didn’t you board the train to Scar City?”
“Yes, but that was out of desperation.”
“I don’t think so. I think it was duty.” Finn felt her body tense as Gareth spoke, and smoothed another caress across the thin gown.
“You knew your father left something here,” Gareth continued. “You thought it might be important, and you came to find it. That’s not what a coward would do.”
“If he left the device inside a house outside the walls, I won’t have the courage to go in. I’ll have a hard enough time walking through the gates. I-I’m scared to leave the City.”
“We’ll be with you the entire time,” Finn promised.
Gareth backed that up with a nod. “But first, I want to hear you say it. Say you’re not a coward. Because from where I’m standing, you’re coming across as a brave woman, and damn sexy to boot. Takes a hell of a woman to deal with both of us too.”
“I guess I’m not a coward, in that case,” she whispered, and Gareth’s expression softened. He leaned forward, pressed a kiss to her lips. Mari immediately deepened it, lacing her hand in his short black hair for a moment before she pulled away.
“Like that, do you?” Kneeling between her spread legs, Gareth tugged her back for more, and she made a little sound of agreement against his lips. Already half-hard, Finn’s cock jumped to attention, and he shifted a little in the chair, settling Mari in a more comfortable position.
Underneath the nightgown, she wore no bra, no underwear. Finn slid the material up, parting her legs farther as Gareth continued to kiss her. He skimmed an exploratory caress up her inner thighs—her skin was so unbelievably smooth there—and briefly lingered at her pussy, long enough to test how wet she was.
Not that he or Gareth planned to fuck her right away. Both of them were in a playful mood, wanting to tease Mari, get to know her likes and dislikes. They hadn’t done near enough playing with her, save for those few superb hours aboard the train before it had broken down. Finn could feel her stiffness, born of self-consciousness, and resolved to soothe it away.
He savored her shudder as he began to toy with one of her breasts, enjoying the way it filled his palm, her nipple peaked with desire. Between her legs, Gareth got his own share of caresses in, until Mari’s breathing was ragged, her hips bucking. Suddenly, she pulled away.
“Not here…please.”
“Upstairs, then.” Gareth’s green eyes were intense, focused. “Just so you know, though, we can hear Patrice’s cane thumping from a fair distance away. We would never have let you be seen naked.”
“Oh.” She let out a little eek as Finn got to his feet, sweeping her up with him. Half-naked, she pressed deliciously against him. “I can walk.”
“But I don’t want you to.” What Finn wanted was to place her against the wall and ram into her. Yet anticipation would heighten his eventual pleasure, and besides, he wanted to seduce her slowly this time. Slower than last night at least, he amended.
“In there,” she whispered, pointing to a closed door at the top of the stairs. Gareth followed, his boots thumping on naked floorboards. The bedroom Mari occupied was simple, but thankfully the bed was queen-sized. He placed Mari in it, taking the opportunity to slip her nightgown completely off.
“Now that’s a gorgeous sight,” he murmured, raking her with his gaze. “Don’t try to hide yourself, baby.”
He tugged her arms down when they went to shield her breasts. “Plump the pillows,” Finn sent. “I want her propped up, but at my mercy.”
“I’d rather be the pillow.” Gareth climbed behind Mari, cradling her upper body as she reclined against him.
“That works.” Finn parted her legs. Anticipation had whetted his senses to a keen edge. How long had it been since his last woman?
Long. Too long.
“And never like this, with both of us taking part,” Gareth agreed.
Finn only smiled as he bent forward.
Mari writhed as Finn pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. She might have felt afraid, self-conscious, had Gareth not been supporting her, his large, warm hands roving over her body with a possessiveness that surprised her. A little jolt ran through her at the thought of being his.
What would it be like to live with these two men as their wife? Would they always be so attentive, or would their affection dim…or worse, be diverted elsewhere?
She was aware of Gareth’s cock pressed against the small of her back as he acted as the most comfortable pillow she’d ever known. Lazily, he traced his way to her breasts, his breath warm against her neck as he supported her. She was aching at this point, begging to be touched. Finn breathed out against sensitive skin, prompting a little moan from her.
“Our girl wants more,” Gareth said.
Mari wasn’t quite at the point of begging, but she gave an agreeable wriggle. Who knew sex could be this fun? She’d thought it was yet another perk destroyed by the Invasion, since a whole lot of sex these days resulted in procreation. Birth control simply wasn’t available on the mass market anymore.
But this was guilt-free sex, no strings. She didn’t have to jump into a relationship with them, let alone marriage. She’d just have to harden her heart so as not to get used to having them around. That way, when they ultimately left, she wouldn’t be so heartbroken.
At least, she hoped she wouldn’t.
Finn pressed his tongue to her clit at the same moment Gareth took her breasts in his hands, causing a spike of pleasure that arced her off the bed. She emitted a little yelp of surprise, but with lazy confidence, Finn pinned her thighs down. What he was doing with his mouth was nothing short of glorious.
Sex Ed had never covered this. If Mrs. Jenkins even knew it was possible with two men, she’d probably have expired on the spot.
Hell, she was going to expire if Finn kept doing that. Her giggle was overridden by a moan, and she gripped the blankets, tilting her head back until it rested against Gareth’s shoulder.
“Relax, baby,” he murmured. “Come for us. Let it happen.”
She couldn’t resist his voice. It catapulted her into orgasm, wiping away all thoughts of Sex Ed and birth control and relationships, and leaving her breathless and limp. For a few moments she couldn’t even distinguish one body part from another. She was simply floating, eyes closed, anchored by two sets of arms.
When they lifted her, arranging her on her belly, she complied eagerly, opening her eyes to find Gareth’s cock in front of her. He made no demands, watching her face with vigilant, careful eyes. But Mari wasn’t willing to wait. Since she was braced on her arms, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the tip of his erection.
He muttered an oath and edged closer until she was able to part her lips and slide them across his thick, smooth head. She let her tongue swirl down his shaft…and nearly bit down as Finn entered her. She was wet enough that it was done in one fell swoop, rocking her forward almost onto Gareth’s lap.
Recovering, she took Gareth’s cock deeper, until he let out a guttural groan that brought her desire roaring back to full flame. When Finn pulled back and thrust again, she was prepared, bracing herself against the mattress. She used his thrusts to time her own movements, until Gareth touched her head in warning.
“Gonna come. Ah God. Now.”
Hot semen splashed across her tongue, and she quickly closed her throat to keep from choking. Somehow she managed to swallow it all, dropping her forehead to Gareth’s knee as Finn began to take her more roughly, his rhythm no longer so controlled.
She was nearing the edge again, making little, helpless cries with her face buried in the blankets. White-hot pleasure rushed through her as Gareth thumbed caresses across her breasts, kneading them with his big hands. Then he reached farther down, fingers circling her clit as Finn pounded into her.
The blankets dissolved as she seemed to free-fall through space and time. Her throat vibrated, but she had no idea how loudly she’d cried out. Gareth’s hands gentled and withdrew, and Finn tensed, giving one last hard thrust before pumping deep within her.
Mari lacked the energy to raise her head. All she could do was lie there and breathe. Finn withdrew from her and she heard him getting up, the floorboards creaking under his feet.
“No,” she murmured. Don’t leave me. Not yet.
“We’re still here, sweetheart.” Gareth rested a hand on her head, stroking her hair. “He’ll be back in a minute.”
And he was, returning with a washcloth which he pressed between her legs. He chuckled when she jerked, holding her still. “Wouldn’t want you sleeping in a wet spot, would we?”
“I don’t think sleeping is in the cards until much later,” she muttered, and turned over. Her instinct to shield her body was stymied by Finn’s raised eyebrow, and she moved her arms away. “But thanks for the wet-spot-prevention technique. Do you practice it often?”
Oops, her mouth had run away from her. She was becoming cocky again, having wilted so long under Tim’s glare. But Finn didn’t seem to mind. “Not often at all. Want a shower?”
“Wouldn’t mind, but I’m not sure I can get up.”
Both of them chuckled, getting her to her feet within moments. She drew the line, however, at them escorting her into the bathroom, climbing into the shower by herself and quickly washing. She had vague memories of being able to spend half an hour under a spray of hot water back when she was a teenager, but those days were over. Now the spray was little more than a lukewarm trickle, and the soap and shampoo were homemade.
On the upside, there were no more commercials of slyly smiling female models tossing their perfect hair in those annoyingly ubiquitous shampoo advertisements.
Once dry, Mari brushed her hair, then pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. The shirt had patches on its elbows but it was hard-wearing and would keep the sun off. The outside sun. God, how was she going to manage to get herself through the gate? She was already petrified.
The men watched her dress. They made no comment, but neither did they take their eyes off her. When she was done, they stood and followed her from the room.
She was a little shaky going down the stairs, but the Twins remained so close that she knew one of them would catch her should she fall. It really was a massive relief to her that they’d agreed to accompany her outside the walls.
Still, it didn’t quite quell the deep-seated panic of being in the open. Carter’s screams still echoed in the recesses of her mind, especially his last, cut-off shriek. She shivered.
“Here.” Finn pressed a glass of water into her hands. “You should stay hydrated.”
“Especially after what we just did.” A chair screeched as Gareth sat down beside her. Since she was looking straight at Finn, Mari didn’t miss the faint flicker of surprise in his expression as he glanced at Gareth. The corners of his lips twitched upward, and when he turned back to Mari he seemed…looser, somehow.
Hell, she felt looser. Happy, even. Although she’d be a lot happier when this jaunt outside the City was over and done with.
She sipped her water, drumming her fingers on the table with an excess of nervous energy. “Maybe we can put this off until tomorrow. It’s getting later, and Patrice isn’t back yet.”
“It’s only nine,” Gareth said. “We’ll go as soon as Patrice is here, and you’ll be safe with us.”
“Yeah. We’ll carry you back if need be.” Finn reached for the bag of muffins, cutting one of the remaining ones in half. He slid one of the halves over to her.
The Twins had almost certainly done many out-of-City expeditions, she reminded herself. They’d hardly been fazed when the train had broken down, and they’d fought like tenth dan black belts crossed with Superman. So she forced herself to relax and nibble at the muffin.
As she ate, they formulated a plan, the men quizzing her about her father’s habits and out-of-City trips. She was relieved they hadn’t been angry about her not telling them about her father. She tried to make up for it, telling them everything she remembered, but it was difficult to recall what life had been like here, especially since she’d only been fourteen when they’d fled.
Even so, she easily recalled the stress her father had been under. He’d led them from the Oregon wilds to Seattle, back down to Portland. Then they’d traveled to Scar City and finally, to Flagstaff and relative safety. For much of that time, he’d muttered about aliens following them. He and her mother had fought about it, generally in furious whispers after they thought Mari had fallen asleep.
“He was scared,” she told the Twins. “Ever since we left our cabin for Seattle, he’d been convinced the aliens were after him—and him in particular. Mom thought he was being paranoid, that it was coincidental that the aliens mass-attacked Seattle shortly after we got there. Then when we reached Portland, it was a similar story—mass attack a week after our arrival. Then Scar City…”
“You lived here for about two years?” Finn asked.
Mari nodded. “Yes, and the attacks never let up. Every week the Barks tried something, and we’d been hearing on the radio that they’d generally been leaving Cities alone.”
“Did they attack Flagstaff after you went there?” Gareth regarded her over his own glass of water.
“No. I mean, there were random attacks, but nothing on the scale we were used to.”
“Tell us more about Dr. Aquino being scared, please,” Finn requested. “Did he confide in you at all?”
She shook her head. “I remember one day he went outside the City walls in the morning. When he came back, he’d found something that made him absolutely terrified.”
Dad hadn’t admitted as much, of course, but she’d seen it in the way he carried himself, his eyes darting from side to side as if expecting an attack at any minute. He’d bolted his meager dinner and immediately left to pace the walls, not coming back until the middle of the night. The next day, her parents had fought, a loud one this time, with her mother protesting over and over that she wasn’t willing to pack up and start from scratch again.
Yet within the week, they had taken the train to Flagstaff and done just that.
“Where did your father go when he went outside the walls? Which direction?”
She cast about in memory. “There was a ship he talked about… One of the wrecks near the mothership that caused the scars.”
“Was it shot down by us?” Gareth asked.
“No, I think this one was more or less intact. That’s why he wanted to go check it out. Some people wanted to try to move it, or break it apart, but in the end, people left it alone. Guess they were too busy focusing on survival to go mess with alien stuff.”
“That’s a good starting point,” Finn said. He pulled out a map, pushing the muffin debris aside to unroll it across the table. “Yeah, it’s marked here. There’s another wreck nearby, one that was shot down by antiaircraft missiles, so we’ll be looking for the wreck to the north.”
The Twins went into what she could only term as soldier mode, chatting rapid-fire to each other about longitude, latitude, sunset times, weapons, provisions. She listened with half an ear, gazing around the kitchen from her seat. There were a few little knickknacks decorating the room—a pink-haired miniature troll, seashells on the windowsill. A framed picture of three smiling people hung near the cupboard.
How long had it been since she’d sat in an actual kitchen? Her shipping-container dwelling had possessed only the basics—certainly not anything like this. It brought back memories of her childhood that were almost uncomfortable to think about.
Undoubtedly, Mari would never again sit in a kitchen eating chocolate ice cream. Her family’s house in Portland was probably long gone, burned down or worse. And it was stupid to get all emotional about stuff she’d never do again.
Gareth mercifully interrupted that train of thought by rising and striding to the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where’s he going?” she asked Finn.
Finn gave her an appraising look. “Back to our place to get supplies. Are you okay?”
“Just daydreaming.” She shrugged, tracing a pattern on the table.
“About what?”
It was strange to have someone so interested in her. Mari’s best friend, Sara, hadn’t had much time to chat after her marriage, and Dad’s sickness stole the keen edge of his mind. So Mari floundered for a few minutes, during which Finn remained patient, watching her steadily.
“I—was remembering the days before. I don’t do that a whole lot because it seems self-defeating.”
“Hard to forget certain comforts, though.”
“Did you have many of those at your…Complex?”
“We weren’t pampered.” It was her turn to wait him out. He broke eye contact, shrugged after thirty seconds of silence. “Some of the scientists felt we ought to be toughened up, kept in deliberately poor conditions as training.”
“Assholes.”
“Yeah. Fortunately, their views tended to be counterbalanced. Our DNA is primarily human, with some modifications, so the psychiatrists involved insisted on a more normalized childhood experience. So there was a foster-mother and father for each set of Twins.”
Primarily human, with some modifications? She recalled hearing some fuss about that when she was very young, but most of the furor had died down by the time she was old enough to understand, overshadowed by the approaching alien ships.
“And now?” she asked. “Who runs the Complex?”
He gave her a tight smile. “Depends who you ask.”
For a moment, she entertained the crazy notion of going there with the Twins, living there for a while and seeing for herself. Then she startled out of that fantasy as Patrice walked through the door. Tank bounded in with a wide Rottweiler smile and curled up in his bed after a perfunctory sniff at them.
“Let’s get going.” Gareth strode in on the old woman’s heels, a large pack strapped to his back. Sunlight glinted off the hilt of a knife at his belt.
“Now?” Mari squeaked.
“If not now, when?” Gareth held out his arm and she took it by reflex, grateful for his strength as he assisted her up.
“Next week would do,” she muttered.
“Do you think you’re not physically capable of the journey?” Gareth asked.
No, you’ve screwed me silly, she wanted to say. I can’t even walk straight now.
But she drew herself up, shook her head. “I can make it.”
“You won’t have to walk far, actually. I requisitioned a vehicle before I bought the muffins. Perks of being government-employed.” Gareth led her to the door, Finn following. Patrice waved a good-bye, chuckling when Finn pointed to the muffin he’d saved for her.
“Thanks. You three be safe now, hear?”
“We will.” Finn shut the door behind them and turned. Immediately, a frown creased his face, and Mari followed his gaze. Two junkies crouched in an alleyway across from Patrice’s house, one perched on a bucket. One of them looked intently at the door, nudging his comrade and muttering something.
Finn took a step forward, but Gareth was quicker. He crossed the street in two strides, scooping up the junkie and slamming him against the wall. “What were you saying about that house?” he snarled.
“N-nothing, man!”
“Hey, let go of him.” The other junkie stood up, swaying as he stuffed a fraying plastic bag into his pocket. He puffed himself up, but his bravado died when Gareth looked at him, and he backed away. “All right, we’re going now, we’ll go. No need for trouble.”
“Good, because if anyone even so much as jiggles the lock on that house, I’ll be coming after you. Both of you.” Gareth dropped the junkie he was holding and the man staggered backward, breathing heavily. As they watched, the men hustled out of sight, casting furtive looks over their shoulders.
“Do you think they’ll come back?” Mari asked. She stared at Gareth with new respect. God, he’d been scary. Too bad he couldn’t do that to Tim.
“They won’t be back until tonight, if then. Tank is probably all bite and very little bark.” Gareth took her arm again, and they set off down the street, Mari sandwiched between them. Although it was midmorning, the sun was bright and hot, which was a fine thing for all the solar panels dotted around the place, but not so great for their expedition.
In fact, as they neared the walls, Mari had to beat back panic. If her arms weren’t linked with the Twins’, she would have grasped the handle of her Glock, which she wore at her waist. They walked through what had once been downtown. A few years ago, the authorities had cordoned off the upper parts of the large buildings since they had become unsafe, but she caught sight of someone disappearing through a broken glass door. At least the roads were clear, even if they were mostly potholes by now.
A woman riding a bicycle past them flicked a shrewd gaze up and down Mari, then the Twins, as if assessing them. A few streets over, two male voices rose in slurred argument. Mari kept walking, glad that she had Finn and Gareth to keep her company.
To keep her safe, she amended. God, she would never have survived out here alone. For that matter, she wouldn’t have survived the initial train journey.
Even so, her entire spirit bucked like a green-broke horse when they came into sight of the gate. The men didn’t break stride, sweeping her toward the high wall as if they were on their way to a picnic. Then, just as she thought they were about to walk right through the huge, metal-reinforced gates, they halted and Gareth split off.
“Where’s he going now?” Her voice came out shaky, and Finn immediately drew her closer, his strong embrace providing comfort.
“He’s getting our motorcycle.”
“What, am I going to ride on your shoulders or something?” Nervousness made the sarcasm bite deeper than she meant it to, and she flinched.
“Nah, there’s a sidecar.” He glanced down at her. “You’re really worried, aren’t you?”
Her nod was short and sharp. “Sorry.”
“You think you’ll cope?”
Carter hadn’t. But it wasn’t like she was going to go rooting around in any houses. So she nodded again. And any further questions were precluded by the throaty roar of a motorcycle. Gareth rolled to a stop next to them, handing out helmets.
Mari pulled the black helmet over her head, and the world became muffled. The visor was slightly tinted to help keep out the glare of the sun. Maybe if she closed her eyes and tried hard enough, she could pretend she was at home in bed instead of outside the safety of the walls.
Finn mounted the bike behind his brother, gesturing for Mari to climb into the sidecar. She did so, having a brief flashback to when she’d ridden a roller coaster as a pre-teen. Her nervous giggle was swallowed by the helmet—at least there would be no loop-de-loops to endure. Gripping the metal bar, she eased into the seat, noting that the pack was stowed there as well.
As soon as she was in, Gareth revved the engine and eased through the gates. The guards watched them with vague interest, perhaps thinking they were scavengers chancing the lean pickings of the former suburbs. They were the only ones on the road. Even partially solar-powered bikes needed a little fuel, and fuel wasn’t cheap these days.
Still, the government’s authority carried weight, even here in a failing City. Perhaps especially in a failing City, where they were eager to clutch at any straws they could—including government money.
To keep her mind off the fact that they were now out in the open, Mari took deep breaths, forcing herself to recall the interior of her family’s old car. An electric-powered vehicle, it had been top of its range. Her parents had loved taking it out on road trips.
They’d sold it in Seattle to get money for food and lodging. Her father hadn’t found much in the way of work, so the car money had been their bread and butter for quite some time.
Gareth picked up speed, dodging the larger potholes. The bike had good suspension, so the smaller bumps didn’t rattle it too much, but Mari held on all the same. The sidecar had a windshield on it, so the double protection of that plus her visor made her feel a touch more confident.
Even so, the road grew rougher as the miles stretched out behind them. Mari didn’t look back. She knew what she would see: the wall, too far away to run to. Although motley and heavily repaired with patches of concrete, dirt and barbed wire, it still represented protection and safety. She breathed in, out, counting to five with each breath. It was the best she could manage.
Once upon a time, Mari had loved being in the middle of the wilderness, backpacking miles from civilization with her father. Dad had loved talking about natural science with her as they hiked. Back then, the only things to worry about were wild animals and bug bites.
Now… Mari shuddered, recalling the unnatural way the predator aliens had moved, had hunted them on the train, howling for reinforcements. How her bullet had taken the leader in its mouth, blowing a hole through its nearly translucent skin, yet it had loped away like it was no big deal.
She looked over her shoulder then, unable to help herself. The helmet swallowed her terrified moan. Ravaged land—far too much of it—lay between them and the wall, which was now the size of a child’s set of building blocks, with its concrete turrets jabbing almost absurdly against the blue sky.
I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. The words became a litany as they roared onward. The Twins had obviously noted her distress, looking sidelong at her and being extra careful around potholes, but to her relief, they didn’t stop the motorcycle. That would have been mortifying—and she would have been far too tempted to throw herself on their mercy and beg to return to the City.
I’ll be okay.
The buildings—mainly houses, with some casinos and supermarkets—nearest the City had all been torn down, demolished to prevent the Barks from hiding there during daylight hours. Over time, debris had been carted off to reinforce the wall or had simply rotted. People cultivated the land now, growing crops out here in small plots they tended themselves. The yield was probably low given the climate, but even a handful of potatoes could mean the difference between starvation and survival.
When they reached the first mostly intact houses, Mari knew they were really far out. In the distance, one of the scars sliced across the land, sending a faint hint of smoke into the air. Still burning in places, even after eleven years—what kind of crazy technology did these aliens have?
And what inroads had her father made into discovering them? What had he discovered that made him want to run?
Mari squinted through her visor, a measure of relief blossoming through formless panic. There it was. The spaceship, in all its glory, resting atop a scorched patch of earth. Its landing had blown nearby houses down, thank all that was holy, so there were no nearby dark places for the Barks to lurk, watching them.
She half expected to see a burned-out hulk. But the ship was in remarkably good shape, its body gleaming in the sunlight. The thing was surprisingly high, longer and wider than it was tall. It was a sort of mottled gray, a color she’d never encountered, and one which seemed to change as her gaze flicked from one point to the other, turning darker, then lighter.
Why had her father been so interested in their spaceships? Mari frowned. He’d insisted upon visiting the one near their cabin in Oregon, a tiny one in good shape. In retrospect, it had been perfectly safe, since the aliens had all bounded off to hunt humans in major metropolises where they could kill more. Yet Mari had resented his curiosity, wishing she could ignore the stupid aliens and go back to life as normal.
“You have to know your enemy,” her father had explained when she’d voiced her resentment. That had been the only explanation he’d provided, although he did eventually concede to her mother and flee behind the safety of Seattle’s hastily built walls.
When the motorcycle came to a halt beside the towering ship, Mari removed her helmet and got out of the sidecar, stretching slightly stiff legs. The panic attack had receded, but it still lurked, ready to pounce any time. The Twins remained silent as she walked alongside the grounded ship. It was big—easily a third of a mile long—and by all accounts, the motherships were even larger. The one that had been shot down nearby, leaving the scars, had left a mile-wide crater.
This ship was smaller but still capable of carrying a good amount of Barks. She began to circle it, occasionally running a hand along its shiny surface. Nearby, Finn took some photos with a small device, shooting close-ups at several points.
At one end of the ship, there were some paler marks. She placed her hand atop them, frowning. How was this ship powered? There were no external rockets or thrusters that she could see.
Mari continued to explore the paler marks. They were flat, and a series of them ran straight up the ship’s spine. Had her father seen them? Impulsively, she began to climb them. The material of the ship was strangely giving under her weight, almost molding itself to her feet as if actively trying to support her. Although it was unnerving, she kept going until she reached the top.
Only then did she realize the Twins hadn’t followed her.