Black Ice and Sink Holes
August 2nd
Walnut Grove, Alabama
1
For the first time in months, they were camped near a town and the feel was ugly.
Walnut grove, Alabama had been average, with a normal population for the area, but it wasn’t anything now. Doors kicked in, frames of charred buildings and trailers, cemeteries looted and bones laying in disrespect. Even the roads the clearing crew had prepared were slimy and dark, like it never stopped raining here long enough to dry. The sky above matched with an ominous shade of green that kept Samantha on edge.
Angela had brought them here intentionally after Theo called it in. Her camp needed to be reminded of how deeply the war had hurt them all and camping out of sight of those horrors wasn’t going to be the norm anymore. The truth would be something they had to stand on from here and it began with what had happened. The camps around hers were uneasy being out in the open, but she knew it would work on them, as well. By the time they left here, anger and the burning desire for revenge would flood every patriot in their convoy.
“We have to talk.”
Angela tried to shut him down, sensing what was coming. “The camp’s fine right now.”
“That’s not what I want.”
Killing time until evening mess, Angela didn’t look up from the schedules she was going over in the lea of her tent. When he waited for her to respond, Angela wondered how far Adrian would go to keep from retaking the reins.
“Have a seat. That hip’s gotta hurt after all the hours you’ve put in on it.”
Adrian joined her with a grimace and waited for her to finish.
Angela dragged it out, not wanting to have this conversation.
“Angela.”
“No.”
“Angela.” More persistent now.
“No, Adrian. I don’t want this. I never have.”
“You’re sure?”
She finally met his eye and gave a bark of bitterness that didn’t surprise him. He knew the range of emotions that leadership brought.
“Yes.”
“But?”
Her gaze went to the schedules. “But I don’t know where I belong now. And you know that. It’s why I didn’t insist while Kenn was at the medical center.”
Adrian’s heart broke at her lost tone and he took the opening without hesitation. “You belong by my side.”
Angela stared, stunned he would say it aloud.
Angela sat back, witch whispering, mind racing. He was letting her in, now, when she had no defense. What did she feel?
When she finally spoke, Adrian wasn’t sure if he should brace or duck.
“I waited my entire life to be able to love Marc, dreamed of how perfect it would be.” She glanced over the, her, peacefully surviving camp. “I still do.”
“But.”
“But I’m drawn to you and it’s easy to understand why. Look at what you’ve given me, given all the people here, how you gave of yourself to build this!”
She refused to lie even as the guilt spoke up. “I could have been blinded by it, if you were bad.”
“I am evil, Angie,” Adrian refuted, sending a small spark with the variation. He had to keep it light, though. It was one of those things that he would only be able to use openly once she was his. When that happened, he would whisper it in her ear every night as she exploded in his arms.
Angela sighed at the tremor of longing that his use of that name produced. “No worse than the rest of us. We may be kindred’s, but I love Marc. I’d never do what Samantha is.”
Adrian lit a smoke with a deceptive casualness that hid his pain. Only his mind said that it mattered, that he would continue to wait. “I’ll take back over soon.”
Adrian studied her for signs of reluctance and found only relief.
“How will you handle it?”
Adrian shrugged. “That’s up to you. Publicly is best, so they don’t think I’m pushing you out.”
“They’ll just be glad you’re in charge again,” she denied.
“Don’t underestimate all you’ve done for them, Angela. When I’m banished, it’s you they’ll vote in as my replacement.”
Adrian grit his teeth in frustration as she moved toward the main camp without responding. What could he say to make her understand that they belonged together? He’d never met someone he respected more, wanted more, felt more for, and it hurt and angered him that she couldn’t accept it. When would she realize that he was the only one who would be able to make her happy?
Adrian sighed. Only after Marc’s death and he wasn’t even allowed to hope for that.
Doors open wide between them, he left her with the ugly thought.
Angela found no comfort in his prediction. She’d have to do this again. When the camp found out, she would be the one to hold Safe Haven together. How did she prepare for that?
“We think you should be leading anyway–the camp females.”
Those words rang in Angela’s mind. Had Tonya really felt that way or had she just been trying to make the team? Peggy and Hilda clearly agreed, but what did the camp and Eagles think?
Angela found her shadow in the darkness, met Kyle’s curious gaze. “Ready to go back to being his top Eagle again?”
“It’s what I was promised, what we agreed to.”
The mobster’s tone was emotionless.
Angela glanced at him coolly. “So the last weeks of being my right hand were just a part of your duties?”
Kyle snorted, not about to challenge her over a lie that didn’t matter between them. “I wanted to tell him no, to go against him right then,” Kyle confided lowly. “The same as you did.”
Angela blew out a sigh. “But he didn’t recognize it. He thinks I can’t wait to give it up, when I…”
She changed the words. “I don’t know exactly what happens to us now. I’m not sure where we fit.”
“Yes, you are. It’s ending and you loathe the idea of just being an Eagle or even Marc’s mate. You want more. He’s right. That’s why you’re upset.”
“I want to do more.”
“And you can’t with Marc here?”
“Marc wouldn’t stop me.”
“Unless you choose to stay in command, to share leadership. He’d never accept that, right?”
Angela tossed the smoldering butt to the ground and put it out with her boot. She viewed Kyle, sometimes still amazed by how much had changed since her first day in this refugee camp. Why didn’t the mobster know what was coming, what she’d figured out a long time ago?
Instead of anger or information, she put him to work. “Talk to people quietly and get a consensus, find out how they feel about us. I don’t want to lead, don’t want this burden, but I don’t think I can go back to being on the shelf until needed. I doubt you can, either. We’ve come too far for that.”
Kyle left and Angela finished facing the ugly truth. I want to agree. I want to stand at Adrian’s side and keep learning to lead. There’s only one thing on this planet that I want more than that, and it isn’t my Brady.
Angela’s hand dropped to her stomach.
2
Kenn stayed in the darkest part of the shadows as Adrian left, lingering to observe Angela and Kyle instead. What he saw made him grimace. It didn’t take long for him to understand what Adrian was doing and why.
“Always protecting the herd,” Kenn muttered, following Adrian. “When do you get to be happy?”
Kenn had accepted that Adrian didn’t want to take back over, and stopped openly pushing him on it. He thought he understood why now. Adrian was training her and giving himself a break. So far, it was working out well. Kenn didn’t think things would be much different if Adrian hadn’t been injured, except that he himself might have Marc’s job of slowing down the enemy.
“And what have you seen that makes you lower yourself to these tactics?” Kenn mused, watching Adrian accept an offer of comfort from Nancy, the sailor from Hot Springs. “What’s coming for you, but not this camp?”
“His past.”
Kenn turned to find Samantha had been shadowing him. He scowled.
“Hey, not like that,” she explained quickly. “I’m practicing and you’re better than most of the Eagles.”
Kenn’s chest swelled, but he ducked mentally. Samantha was rarely nice to anyone. “What do you mean, his past?”
Sam pointed out something that she assumed he’d missed. Most people here had. “Did you notice that all of us have been brought down, in one way or another? We’ve been knocked about as low as we can go, then Adrian built us back up. Now, we’re stronger than we’ve ever been.”
Kenn hadn’t realized how many of Safe Haven’s members had gone through it until she said so. “Adrian? His fall came in little Rock, right?”
“No,” Samantha snorted. “It started when Angie came here. Little Rock was a domino in that line. His payment, his punishment, hasn’t come yet.”
Kenn got her point, worrying more than he already had been.
Samantha, full of energy that needed a release, sent her hot gaze down Kenn’s big body. “Yours is probably over...”
Kenn flushed, understanding what her problem was. Neil and Jeremy had been gone on a supply run for days, and they were busy when here, teaching and preparing. “They’ll be home soon.”
“I wasn’t hitting on you,” Sam stated quickly. “I’m mixing energy and the easiest way to draw it from a man is to turn them on.”
Kenn’s face went scarlet this time. His mouth opened. “Did you get anything?”
Samantha shook her head, though she was tasting him. “May I?”
Kenn gave a tense nod and had to clench his fists to stay still while she drew.
Samantha let go all at once, unable to stand any more of that strong flavor.
Kenn took deep breaths to keep from saying anything stupid. All the men were helping the descendants stay refilled so that they could heal the wounded who were coming in every few days, but this was the first time one of them had come to him for it. His own gifts were minor in comparison and didn’t need refilling.
Samantha gave Kenn a leer, one friendlier than he’d ever gotten from her.
“You’re not all dark and confused anymore. It makes your energy stronger. Try doing something with your gifts, instead of waiting for them to come to you.”
Samantha turned away while he was shocked into speculative silence. She probably shouldn’t have told him that, but he was another weapon they could use for the fight.
“Hey.”
Samantha turned around, not sure what to expect. “Yes?”
“What’s the easiest way to take it from a woman?”
Sam knew what he meant, and flashed a healthy leer. “Piss us off, of course. We live on anger and love. Those are often the only two things that exist for a female.”
Kenn suddenly didn’t envy Neil and Jeremy any of the three-way fantasies he’d had. If they were able to please this woman for long, he was Superman.
Kenn quickly caught up with her, waiting to see if she glared or accepted him along for wherever she was going.
“I was hoping you’d ask,” Samantha admitted. “I need Level Five in Kai. Neither of my men will punch.”
Kenn tensed, but didn’t deny the request. She’d come to him because she knew he was capable of that and more. “The training tent is empty right now. It’s packed up for tomorrow.”
Samantha changed directions and flashed a pointed glare to Jeff, her protection. “I asked for this. Make sure Angela knows.”
Jeff wasn’t exactly okay with it (he’d also refused), but he didn’t interfere. Adrian and Angela insisted that none of their females would ask for more than they could handle and Jeff had to believe that. After the nights he’d been spending with Crista, the thought of losing her was paralyzing.
They went into the tent to find Kyle and Jennifer doing much what they’d come to do. Both pairs stared at each other in uneasy concern.
Samantha started to go out, but Kenn put a hand on her arm, which he withdrew as she stopped.
“This is better,” he explained. “She’ll be able to tell Angela that I’m not hurting you any more than I have to. It will keep the men from hunting me. Your Eagles, you’ll still have to handle.”
Samantha went toward the curious pair. Neil and Jeremy wouldn’t like this, but a large part of Angela’s plan for the women depended on her and she wouldn’t be able to do it if she couldn’t take a real hit. The soldiers who were coming would follow orders and they wouldn’t go easy because she was female. To do her duty, she had to know what to expect when the battle came to Safe Haven’s gates.
Kenn stripped his shirt and boots, using Neil’s level five training instructions for the females, and watched Samantha’s expression flood with restless need. Neil had noted, like the males, women were easy to take down when they were distracted by a sexual spark.
“Control that shit and pay attention!” Kenn snapped, moving toward her.
Samantha’s anger flared to life and she met him in the middle of the tent, set to work off the ugly feeling of bad days being just over the horizon for all of them.
3
“I’ve noticed that you show a lot of attention to some women here–more than you do other females, even those you sleep with.”
Adrian didn’t pause from shoveling out the livestock trailer, but inside, he cringed. He hadn’t expected this conversation yet. Time to be careful or tell the truth?
“Some people deserve more attention.”
“Like my mom?”
Adrian understood the boy had planned it all. He’d been ambushed. “Yes.”
Adrian heard Charlie’s silent frustration when he gave nothing more. The impatience of youth. I barely remember my own.
“Why can’t you leave her alone?”
Adrian stopped, wiping his brow with a sweaty sleeve before pinning the teenager with a cool look. “You don’t know?”
Charlie flushed under the light scold, but held his ground. “I know the truth, no matter what the camp is told.”
Adrian scowled at him. “The truth is only an illusion in any group of people, son. You’ll figure that out. In the meantime, swallow the snot that can’t wait to fly out of your mouth and ask what you want to know.”
It was the roughest he’d ever been with Charlie. Most grown men would have withered beneath his tones.
The sullen boy only turned a darker shade of red, face saying he didn’t want to keep going, but he was.
“Why did you train her to take your place?” The child’s tone lowered, became pain-filled. “Is it really what was best for the camp…or is it personal?”
It was demanded with so much genuine pain that Adrian didn’t hesitate. “Why does it have to be one or the other? Why not both?”
There was a stunned silence where even the Eagles on duty around them forgot to breathe.
The noises of the camp rolled on the wind as the two males stared at each other, one in shock and the other in complete control.
Adrian waited until the boy was about to speak, expression saying it was ugly, and cut him off. “As her blood, it’s natural to question my personal interest in her, but as for your version of the truth, it doesn’t exist. She’s not betraying your dad.”
Adrian stripped his gloves to fish for a smoke. “Though I wouldn’t fault her if she did and neither would most of the Eagles.”
Charlie waited silently, stunned to have been given honesty.
“We have rough roads ahead and not enough warriors,” Adrian stated, never doubting what came next or what his response should be. “You still see the timid mouse that my right hand man beat on. She no longer exists. Your mother is now a leader of men.”
“And the personal?” Charlie forced out.
Adrian tossed his butt into one of the empty cans and met the teenager’s wary gaze. “She’ll need someone to care for her if your dad doesn’t make it back.”
Adrian’s blue eyes lit up with a deep hunger that the hormone-filled teenager recognized instantly.
“And I want that job like I’ve never wanted another. I’ve searched for her my whole life and I have the ability to make her happier than any of the men who’ve had her light.”
Adrian went back to shoveling; aware that he’d sped his plans up, but wasn’t overly concerned. It was about time everyone knew he wanted her. More changes were coming.
“If your dad does return, I’ll step aside, like I’ve been doing since she got here.”
Charlie took it all in as evenly as he could. He hadn’t considered what would happen if Marc died. His mom would fall apart.
“Does…does she want you?”
Adrian snorted in bitter amusement. “That, is another matter entirely. I am the wrong one to ask.”
“She won’t give me an answer.”
Adrian sighed miserably. “Because it’s hard for her to accept. Yes, she might eventually take my comfort, but she’d never forgive me or herself. If your dad dies, I’ll be there for her, but she’ll pretend I’m him.”
Charlie opened his mouth to blast out the awful heaviness that thought brought. And went back to shoveling instead. If he’d lost Tracy to the water snake, he might have done the same thing. He already couldn’t imagine being without her.
“How do you hold on when that’s all you have to look forward to?”
Adrian couldn’t refuse to answer now and he found himself giving all of the truth, something he rarely did. “I love her. She’ll need me to put her back together. My life means nothing compared to hers.”
That type of selflessness was something Charlie respected, but didn’t understand except in the smallest terms. He hadn’t been through Adrian’s decades of pain and hell. Hopefully, he never would.
Adrian waited for the next rounds of questions.
“Tracy isn’t going to service the Eagles anymore.”
Adrian smirked at the quick topic change and the new warning. “Have you cleared that with her?”
Charlie flushed.
Adrian pushed, “Her choice, right?”
“Our choice.”
“You’d better clear that one with your mom, then. It’s still a couple months shy of your birthday.”
Charlie waved a frustrated hand at the preparations going on around the camp. “We may not have months!”
Adrian found it harder to pretend than he usually did. “Still, rules are important, even when it seems grim.” He glanced up. “If you do it, she has to let the others here who’ve been waiting to be legal couples. You’ll throw off all the balance we’ve made. You’re her son. If she makes an exception for just you, she loses respect. Be sure your choices won’t hurt the camp.”
Charlie took the advice to heart and then continued on to his next issue. He’d asked to be put with Adrian.
Kyle hadn’t argued. He’d known what was coming. The Eagles didn’t have a right to that series of conversations. As her son, Charlie did and they were eager to know the results.
“Conner’s hiding something.”
“Yeah,” Adrian grunted. “But what?”
Charlie was glad Adrian had also noticed. “He blocks too well. You’ll have to have my mom do it.”
“Why not tell her yourself?”
Charlie shrugged. “I don’t want her to think I’m jealous or anything. I like Conner and it worries me. He’s not happy here.”
“No, he’s not,” Adrian agreed. He didn’t tell Charlie that Conner wanted the same as what he had when his mom had first come–to be alone with his parents and for everyone else to go away. Conner also didn’t like it that his father wasn’t in charge of the herd. It wasn’t how he remembered things.
“I got all that, but there’s something else,” Charlie pointed out lowly. “He has a dark spot.”
Adrian knew. “I’ll handle it.”
“Good.”
Adrian looked over. “What else?”
Charlie laughed, feeling better now. “I know what Becky’s gift is.”
“What?”
“She’s a tracker. She has a mental grid like my dad. She can tell us where the enemy is, if he’s close.”
New plans began spinning, new threads twining around the complex ball that already existed. Adrian leaned the shovel against the truck. “Guess I’ll be talkin’ to your mom now, after all.”
Charlie watched him go, noting the proud look around the camp, and realized Adrian’s good mood swing had come from knowing that he would spend a few minutes around Angela.
“I won’t go through this with you, Tracy. Please don’t try to put me through the same shit,” Charlie muttered in annoyed resignation. “I’ll walk.”
4
Angela had listened to Samantha’s weather report without any change in expression, but in her heart, she’d placed the warning with the sense of doom that had been haunting her. That was why Adrian had them planning to leave the country, instead of going to ground here. He knew Yellowstone was going to blow, had probably seen it in his dreams. It was yet another foresight on his part that might save them all.
As it was, the steady temperature drop was already making both of Safe Haven’s leaders nervous. How soon would winter be on them at this rate? With the trips and extra stops Angela had planned, water and fuel wouldn’t be a problem. They were almost full. The camp had voted for Lookout Mountain and she would take them, but not before gathering what they would need to live on and fight with. Adrian had taught her well.
Angela forced her thoughts from that man’s actions, instead considering how happy it had to make him that they now had so many children. There were more than any of them had found in one place since the war, and it was impossible not to like them. Thanks to the den mothers and Eagles, these children filled areas of camp with laughter that was sorely needed to remind these people of what they were about to be fighting for. More than thirty kids now called Safe Haven home, leading to longer, more luxurious RVs to hold them all. There were now five of these shiny, old world reminders and double the security. Not that it mattered. Daryl’s team was always near them now, though not only to protect the kids from outsiders. The new age limit had given these men insights that the other males here didn’t have, plus, Daryl still had them observing one of their own for a possible violation. After handing out punishments to Seth and Kyle, Daryl’s team had become the camp enforcers. One of them–Billy–had found a girl he liked too much while they’d been doing duty over the kids in camp. His team had noticed.
Angela didn’t think there was anything to worry about, unlike when they’d been watching Crone. In fact, she thought it was proof of what Adrian had told her after the last camp meeting. The Eagles would become protectors of their females and age wouldn’t make a difference. Their little girls would have happy childhoods and then be eased into breeding by caring, strong men who could love and protect them. Billy was likely to be the first one to fall that way. Others would follow, but all of them would be monitored. It had to be handled carefully, case-by-case, but it had to happen. They needed babies more than even bullets. Jennifer’s birth had resulted in a child, one of two, but another woman had lost hers since then. They were down to four coming births, with no new pregnancies that they were aware of. It was forcing the camp to accept that every little girl born now would help them continue to exist later.
Angela looked to where Jennifer was enjoying a few minutes of peace. The other college kids from her first pickup were helping with weapons and classes where they could, as were many of the people who’d had the time to settle in. Even the Nuns were assisting, learning how to load weapons. They’d refused to take the defense or gun classes, though. Cesar’s former slaves, on the other hand, were excelling in those two areas. They were also causing trouble.
Lilly and Grace hadn’t forgiven Jennifer anything. Having them in a tent together made for a tense class. There was more to come between those three, Angela was sure. To counter the danger, she’d placed Beth, the pregnant nun, under Jennifer’s care. That meant all of the pregnant females came around, because Beth had made friends. It wasn’t uncommon for the breeders in camp to do everything together, even eat. It gave Jennifer friends and protection when the Eagles couldn’t stay close to her, and allowed the mothers-to-be to get a view of what they were in for as she learned to care for little Autumn.
“New arrivals in the QZ,” the radio blared.
“Copy.” Angela pushed up from the table. It was her day to sweep the new people. Tomorrow, Jennifer and Charlie would cover it.
Wincing slightly as she curled her newest ingrown toenail into flesh, Angela glanced over the smoke detectors on the fences, then the patches on the guards walking those areas–making sure they didn’t have any wolves in sheep’s clothing again. It’s clear, the witch reported.
Angela went back to her thoughts and observations. She was keeping them camped close to water for the fire safety, but also because so far they hadn’t found a sinkhole near a water mass. It also allowed her to keep up with the sanitary conditions despite the new influx of people. When Adrian had said the call would bring new fighters to them, he’d been right. The ranks were slowly filling out and giving them hope. They now had one hundred Eagles, though a third were rookies. It would be a while before she felt like they had enough protection.
“Good evening, Safe Haven.” Kevin’s calm tones over the radio started the official settling of the camp for the night.
Angela listened to him for a minute, pausing on her way to the QZ gate. She wasn’t picking up anything bad about the new arrivals. She hadn’t told anyone yet that she didn’t have to be around or even talk to the people anymore. All she had to do was tell the witch to show her their secrets. Right now, she could do it from across half the camp. It was a defense she was working on expanding every day.
“We’ve gotten news that Marc’s team has engaged the enemy. They took out a full platoon and two tanks!” the radio blared.
A loud cheer rose across the camp, but not from those who knew what that battle must have been like.
Angela steeled her emotions and was glad when Kevin got soothing music rolling through the tents and campers. She was having them keep the camp updated about the good news, but sometimes the bad slipped in and she had to spend hours getting them under control again. Kevin was better now about letting the herd hear what she needed, but whenever new people made it out of the QZ, not all of them kept quiet.
Angela didn’t think it would matter for much longer. Once the fighting reached the base, it would sink in for everyone that the soldiers were really coming. She planned to have Safe Haven in the mountains by then, or as close to it as she could get.
Kenn and Kyle had indeed become her point men in battle plans, but they had also become her go-to guys for supply runs and planning traps. Once she tossed an idea out, those two ran with it and came up with deadly results. Once the camp got to Lookout Mountain, they would start setting up and assembling those weapons and defenses.
Across the camp, laughter spilled out. Angela was fairly sure she knew where it was coming from. The campfire group now had more than thirty members who could be found around the flames at any time from dusk to dawn. Sometimes the group was quiet, reminiscing or planning, but mostly, they were laughing and living, and Angela was grateful. It was another sound that Safe Haven was low on now.
As she walked by the animal area, Angela spotted Adrian and paused, unable to look away. Beautiful muscles rippled with renewed health and strength, reminding her of how lonely she was.
Angela tore her gaze from the man and forced her feet to move. She drew in calming air and tried to relax as a wave of nausea flew through her. Where was that cast iron stomach now?
Before Angela could make it to the chair, a small group of new men met her and began blowing her world apart.
“You must be the Ghost’s other woman. Wow. Lucky man.”
Angela paused at the words, too slow to brace herself. “Other woman?”
“Should have known one wasn’t enough for a man like that,” Atolius said in awe.
He shook her hand vigorously.
Angela’s face filled with a fury that drove him backward, where he tripped and scrambled away with the knowledge of death coming into his face.
“Angela.”
Seth’s voice brought her around.
She quickly turned away. “Welcome to Safe Haven. May it become your home.”
She cleared the group of tired fighters with that, and vanished into the shadows.
5
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.
Adrian’s denial would have been the end of it if he had been talking to anyone else.
Angela was already pissed. She wasn’t going to permit more interference. “I’m taking three men and my snipers go where I do. I have three alarms, two guns, my K-bar, a wrist blade, and three speed loaders on my belt. I also have my mini-kit around my waist, an extra radio inside my shirt, and enough fucking rage to light this camp’s fuse.”
Angela shoved by the men. “Excuse me.”
Nursing a headache, Kenn joined the grumbling men around the QZ and saw Angela striding determinedly for the gate.
“Where’s she going?”
“Out to visit the camps on our perimeter,” Adrian growled, unable to stop her by his own rules.
Kenn, who hadn’t lost much of his scheming mind, took advantage. “If she won’t be stopped, she should be protected.”
Adrian snorted. “You heard her. She thinks she has it covered.”
Kenn waved at the kits in the rear of his truck. He kept several bags around camp, packed and ready. “Go with her.”
Angela turned to argue and Kenn raised his voice a bit, to be sure she understood he meant to fight her on this. “Take him or stay here. We’ll hold a vote while you’re gone. Safe Haven’s leader won’t be allowed to leave camp again until after this threat is over, no matter who has control. It’s a security risk.”
Angela’s temper flared, but she spun toward the gate without refusing.
Adrian gave Kenn a curious look as he handed him the kit and an extra bandolier.
“You’re welcome.”
Guessing, Adrian kept his head down, voice even lower. “You shouldn’t do this. The Eagles won’t like it.”
Kenn snorted. “They liked it when you were happy. If this is what it takes, they’ll support it.”
“Not if he comes back alive,” Adrian stated lowly. “They’ll view it as a failed conspiracy.”
Kenn didn’t agree with the assumption that it was a lost cause. “That only becomes a problem if either of them insist on it and they won’t.”
Adrian didn’t have time to argue further as the gates slid open. “Thank you.”
He hurried to catch up as their snipers rushed to keep them covered.
Kenn waited for the gate to close, then gestured to Kyle. “You’re in charge. I’ll be around if you need me.”
Kyle was dumbfounded by the gesture of respect. He’d been preparing to deny Kenn lead of the herd for even half an hour. It would have distracted him from Adrian and Angela being alone in the dark together with only half a dozen men for protection. If he’d known how the men in the camps around them felt about her, Kyle might have been able to relax.
Kenn walked away, calming nearby men with jokes and light chatting.
Kyle realized the Marine had changed again while they weren’t looking. Maybe it was the pranks, he thought. We should try it on other assholes.
6
Angela stormed into the woods around them, but stopped as soon as she was out of sight of the camp. She slowly pulled in the rage. She was careful to only let the camp get as much information as they needed to have, but the pressure! Angela tried to calm down, but she missed Marc more than she’d thought was possible.
He was off dying for them and had to live with the knowledge that she’d sent him there and would eventually end up in Adrian’s arms for the comfort. The dreams were hard on her and they refused to leave Marc’s face the same in her mind. They kept merging until it was a different pair of stunning, blue eyes that she was begging for release.
“I don’t want this!” she whispered furiously, holding in tears. She wanted to be with Marc, fighting and bleeding alongside him, not caring for sheep that had to be eased into the truth.
Those days have ended, the witch attempted to soothe. They know the truth. They come to you more every day, observe the lessons and practicing. Those who are here, will stay.
“And it’s not enough,” Angela moaned. “We need more fighters.”
“Send out your call,” Adrian instructed, aware of their curious audience. The first camp on their doorstep was now gathered a respectful distance away, gazing at them in awe and making the Eagles nervous.
Angela’s voice was harsh. “Too emotional right now. I’ll call the killers, too.”
Adrian stepped in front of her. “We need them.”
Angela glowered mistrustfully.
Adrian recognized the determination to keep their people safe. He brought her to his point of view gently. “We’re all killers, Angie. We’ll control them, direct them toward the enemy, and use them to win.”
“And after?!” she snapped. “What about after?”
Adrian winced, voice lowering. “They’ll be given new rules to live by.”
Angela knew what that definition was and swallowed the next layer of guilt to come with the job. “And what of the evil that will hear me?”
Adrian sighed. “I’m not sure it matters now. The battles along 40 aren’t slowing them down enough. Our other help has to have time to get here.”
Angela felt the hopelessness, the crushing pain of all the losses they were about to suffer, and a bloody tear ran down her cheek. “Come to me.”
Angela’s call was quiet, but powerful, and each time she repeated it, the force rebounded stronger, slamming into minds with the force of a gun.
“Come to me.”
Angela screamed as the power built, sending ants away and men to her side.
“Come to me!”
Adrian caught her as she stumbled, mind ringing from the power. He could have been across the country and he would have felt that.
“Your…turn,” she gasped, struggling to get her balance. She’d never sent out a blast like that. It had come from the depths of her soul.
Adrian kept her hand when she would have pulled away. “I’ll need help. I’m not as strong as you.”
Angela stilled as Adrian closed his lids, using the moment. He’d needed an opening and fate had provided him with one.
Adrian opened the doors, all of them this time, and locked their minds as he began sending out those compelling mental pleas for aid.
Angela saw all the truths he’d been hiding from her, but the things she’d suspected were also confirmed. It was an honest look into his heart, into who he was inside. Angela struggled at the feel of it.
Adrian didn’t let her break the contact yet, using the images to distract her from moving. He showed her that beach again, shamelessly manipulating her, and felt the pause in her protests at this mental bond.
Adrian came through the fog of his mind and held out a hand. I can show you what you seek.
Angela didn’t want to, she knew something painful was coming, but the need to give Adrian what he was silently demanding was too strong. Fine! she sent hatefully. Show me and then get out!
Adrian linked the last door between them and Angela watched the world collapse again.
Adrian stopped her from hitting the ground, landing with her in his lap. He shook off the arms that tried to take her away.
“Angie?”
Angela groaned. “We can’t win…help us!”
Adrian carefully picked her up and headed for the deeper shadows. Instead of going to their camp, it drew instant unease from the Eagles.
“What did you do to her?” Shawn accused. He hadn’t killed Adrian yet only because of Marc’s orders to let the bastard have Angela if he died.
Adrian put her in the grass and began tapping her wrist. “She fainted. Stand down. Angie?”
Angela came to slowly, and it was clear she remembered everything. She grabbed Adrian’s wrist. “Your life for him? You swore!”
“You know it,” Adrian swore again.
Angela cleared her throat, breathing deeper. “I’m okay. Help me up.”
They got her on her feet. After a minute or so, Angela insisted she was fine and continued to her visit of their outer camps. The powerful new information she had, she buried in the vault. There was no way she could continue to pretend that nothing was wrong if she left the sight of that slaughter in the front of her mind. She’d send them all fleeing to the corners of the earth.
“And we’ll still lose,” Adrian commented. “But it buys time. You understand now why I’ve acted this way?’
“So they won’t hold on, so they’ll survive.”
“Yes. If they can only take one of us, they’ve been instructed to grab you. They think the rest of us will follow.”
“They’re right.”
“Yes.”
“It has to be you that they take,” Angela agreed. “And you’ll be ready for that.”
Adrian raised a hand toward her cheek, and forced himself to drop it. “To leave my son, my herd, you, no. But I will do it.”
Angela glared at him, tone sharpening. “Since I know now, you can stop pushing me into sacrificing you. I’ll do it if I know I have to.”
“You weren’t ready to face it. Now that you know Marc has accepted what’s coming, you can as well.”
Angela glared at him for the reminder. If Marc had someone by him in the night, it meant he knew, too. Angela refused to accept that, though she would take him back the second he said it’s what he wanted. She wasn’t sure about his…relief source yet. She might have to kill that bitch.
Adrian grinned sadly. “I admire your belief in him. It makes me love you even more.”
Eagles gasped and muttered as Angela scowled.
“I said you can stop pushing that act now!”
Adrian leaned closer, breathing in her sweet smell. “It wasn’t an act, Angela, and deep down, you know I mean every single word.”
He went by before she could react. “Come on. We’ve kept these fighters waiting long enough.”
Angry and unable to express it, Angela clenched her fists and plastered on a welcoming expression as she turned. “Hi. I’m Angela, the leader of Safe Haven. Thank you for coming...”