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1
“He shouldn’t be here!”
“He saved her life. Again!”
“That doesn’t give him a pass.”
“I agree. He can’t be trusted.”
“Marc let him stay.”
“He was already in the bed with her! One of his guards told me!”
“So? Neil and Jeremy have that set up, as do a few others.”
“It’s wrong!”
“It would solve the drama problem we have, in case you hadn’t thought about it. We can use both men.”
“We don’t need anything from that traitor.”
All three of the loud men glowered at Adrian as he came through the acoustical tunnel and moved toward the mess line, even the one who had been defending him. He was followed by two sullen guards who had just switched shifts for the morning. Neil and Jennifer were both unhappy to have Adrian in their sight and not be able to shoot him. They both knew what Marc and Angela needed.
Adrian got into the mess line; too busy admiring the setup to care about the mutters and whispers or the pointing fingers of surprised members. Angela needed a tray and he needed to be out of the room while Hilda, Peggy, and the doctor performed an exam. They’d mentioned words like scraping and DNC, and he’d gotten out of there, glad that Angela had told him to. He would have stayed if she needed him, but Samantha had shown up and taken Angela’s hand in support.
Li Sing’s face pinched up when Adrian told him he was there for Angela’s tray.
“I did not hear the routine had changed. Only I give her tray or men on my list.” The little man glared. “You no more on my list!”
“Li.”
Adrian only needed to say the man’s name for the spell to break.
“Fine.” Li shoved the plate at him. “You better not hurt her this time. Li put kuso in your pie.”
Adrian was startled into a chuckle, thinking of a movie that had employed that type of warfare.
Li smacked a mug of tea onto the thick counter that he was still marveling over. It had been nine long months since he’d had a true surface to serve people from. “Go away. You bad for business.”
“Very nice,” Adrian approved.
The cook jerked a hand toward the exit.
Li couldn’t allow people to think he was sympathetic, but Adrian knew the man was. He’d always had Li’s loyalty for treating him and his family as equals. In Adrian’s heart, they were. Being a descendant actually gave people a disadvantage, as far as he was concerned. People were forever blaming you, thinking you could control fate.
Adrian went back the way he’d come, being careful not to trigger any of the angrier people who had stopped eating to glower and mutter in shock. He had expected to have to fight his way through some of the herd, but he now had the feeling that those persons were waiting for a chance alone with him so they could spew and swing uncensored.
“I need to make a brief stop,” Adrian informed his sentries.
Assuming he meant the bathroom, the two Eagles didn’t protest.
Adrian followed the signs to the medical bay, but stopped before he reached it. He set Angela’s food on a small rock outcrop and rapped on the billboard by the entrance to the next cavern. He read the names of the men on duty for this level while he waited.
Kenn came out, frowning when he saw who it was. “What?”
“Any news on my men?” Adrian asked, seeing an ingenious high-powered communications center that was using a cell tower battery.
Kenn shook his head, tone uninviting as he said, “We haven’t sent a team yet. The winds got bad again. Even Marc is still waiting to leave.”
Adrian had thought Marc was already gone and he nodded his thanks. He was positive that being around the communications area wouldn’t be accepted.
“Hey, have you heard from Kendle?” Kenn asked suddenly. “Some of the camp’s been asking.”
“They’re halfway to their destination,” Adrian answered. “Conner sent me a message last night.”
Kenn didn’t say more and neither did Adrian, but their expressions spoke volumes. Adrian had missed Kenn being there for him. Kenn was still stinging over the betrayal.
Adrian retrieved Angela’s tray, hoping enough time had passed for her exam to be over.
Samantha came through the tunnel ahead of him, approving when she saw his hands were full. “Good. Now get in there and pull your weight or we’ll toss your ass out as soon as Marc leaves.”
Adrian let it slide. He had disappointed and hurt a lot of people. He deserved every insult or threat they felt like throwing. “I will.”
Samantha gave a hard glare, but Adrian was already by her and didn’t witness it. Samantha stuck out her tongue for lack of a better, legal alternative.
Neil and Jennifer both grinned. They knew exactly how she felt.
Adrian noticed the somber mood as soon as he set the tray and cup by her. Angela was asleep again, but the tears on her cheeks were still glistening. “What is it?”
Peggy still couldn’t speak to Adrian and she stormed from the medical bay. Hilda followed her, whispering lowly. Even the doctor couldn’t bring himself to say it again.
Adrian turned to Theo, whose cot was nearby.
Theo sighed heavily, staring at Angela’s pale profile. “Vlad punched her. It did a lot of damage. She can’t get pregnant again.”
Adrian’s stomach dropped. She had to feel like the world ended again.
“It gets worse,” Theo said quietly, hoping Angela would sleep for a while. Her sobs had been awful to hear. “She’s bleeding, on the inside. She needs surgery.”
Adrian understood Samantha’s hidden meaning now and grunted, “Leave us.”
The doctor didn’t need to be told twice. The others thought Adrian would be able to help her, but the doctor didn’t care at this point. He’d been up for almost 36 hours. He had to have sleep.
Theo closed the divider, letting himself relax. Adrian was a bastard, but he loved Angela. If there were anything that could be done, he and Marc would handle it.
I need you.
Marc appeared in the dim cavern a minute later. He obviously hadn’t been far. His expression was grim, telling Adrian he suspected Angela’s condition.
Marc read it from Adrian’s mind, grunting his agreement as he took the place on the opposite side of her bed. Her pale face and all the bandages sent fresh waves of guilt through Marc. He should have been here when she got the news.
“She needs to stay out for a while,” Marc said, still reading Adrian’s thoughts. Upset and confused, Marc loathed Angela’s misery. He hadn’t realized how badly injured she was.
“Would it have mattered?” Adrian asked evenly, trying to pull energy that he didn’t have yet.
“I don’t know,” Marc answered. He gently took Angela’s hand in his, aware that he was being cold, but unable to help it. The guilt was crushing. He didn’t know any other way to handle it.
Adrian strained, trying to open the doors to zones that were forbidden. “If you can’t accept it, let her go. Don’t make her feel worse with your doubts and silent accusations.”
“I don’t just blame her,” Marc said, shoving into Adrian mind to help pry open the forbidden door that held Adrian’s captured life forces. It contained too many to count, Marc was certain. “I blame you for bringing her into this.”
Used to Marc’s hatred, Adrian didn’t respond to the jab. “She’s an amazing woman. Get over yourself and be here for her.”
Marc yanked on the door angrily in response and it swung open, mentally knocking him to the ground as power swarmed out.
Adrian directed the stream towards Angela, taking her other hand. Her body lit up with brilliant colors of every shade as the men concentrated.
The souls screamed as they were forced into a new holding cell to be used as their host deemed fit. Marc winced, while Adrian rejoiced at their use. Very few of the captured essences had been innocent. He’d only chosen to use one that was for Peggy so that she would understand the horrible favor she’d begged of him.
Adrian let go first, slumping to his knees. His heart thumped wildly in his chest, squeezing. He couldn’t do that again, for any reason, or it would all be over.
Marc sighed as the last of the force rushed through him and into Angela. He staggered backwards and dropped into the nearest chair, watching Adrian clutch his chest. “You gonna die now?”
“Maybe,” Adrian forced out through the odd thumping, the tightening muscles that made it hard to breathe. “You?”
“Good as gold,” Marc retorted, not wanting to feel any sympathy for his rival.
“Yeah, that’s you,” Adrian ground out as the pain receded. He tried to control his ragged breathing. “Last fucking boy scout.”
Marc grinned. The lights were still swarming over and throughout Angela. His smile faded. How do we go on from this?
“Put her first,” Adrian suggested.
“I’ve always done that!” Marc snapped, but it held no heat. He was too tired.
“You’ve tolerated, followed orders, and killed for her. That’s not the same.”
“I’ve given everything I have,” Marc insisted. “Everything she demanded. It’s never been enough.”
Adrian had a hundred insults he could have tossed. Instead, he chose sarcasm.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s rough, being her soul mate, the only man she ever loved. Hard life.” Adrian leaned his head on the mattress as Marc prepared to fire back. “Maybe you’re right. You’re not man enough for her. You can’t keep up and she knows it for certain now.”
Marc lunged from the chair and left the cavern before they were brawling over Angela’s body.
Adrian didn’t move. He wasn’t confident that he could.
“You shouldn’t push so hard.”
Adrian’s hand found hers, clasping it loosely. “I’m sorry.”
“The bleeding stopped,” Angela said groggily. “I can feel it.”
Adrian didn’t ask about the other repairs, content that she would survive. Even dark magic could only do so much. There was a limit to everything.
Angela allowed the darkness to reclaim her, comforted that Marc had been here at all. She needed him so much!
Adrian caught that thought, but he didn’t have the energy to send it to the wolfman. He drifted off still slumped on the rocky floor with his head on the mattress.
2
“I need a complete update,” Marc stated, regarding the cold tent. He’d waited a few hours and then brought leadership topside for this meeting to be sure they had privacy. The lower level men and rookies were currently flexing their muscle below, but carefully. No one wanted to lose the authority so soon.
“She left me her notebooks, so I already know, but you’re going to tell me anyway. No more secrets!”
Relief went through the drafty tent and the two dozen men and women got out their own books.
Marc was a bit surprised by the reaction. They all had something to contribute. How had he missed so much? I thought I was doing well.
“We’ll go from back to front,” Marc chose, taking out a fresh notebook.
The tent flap opened, admitting Adrian. He quickly zipped it up as the meeting exploded in shouts.
“Get lost!”
“Shoot him!”
“You’re not leadership!”
Adrian held out a brown envelope, effectively silencing the noise, but not the hatred. “She sent me. I didn’t want to come.”
“Good!” Zack snarled. “We don’t want you here!”
“Your boss does,” Adrian replied tiredly. “Tell her.”
Adrian’s lack of fight stopped Zack’s next words. He snatched the dreaded envelope that had caused everyone else to fall silent.
When Zack brought it up, Marc quickly ripped it open. He wanted this over. “He’s going to take notes. He won’t speak unless spoken to.”
Marc let the paper fall to the cold table, sitting down as the rest of leadership protested. Adrian’s freshly rotated guards being outside the flap, in the cold, made them all even angrier.
“Send them down,” Kenn ordered. “Someone from this meeting will escort him.”
Adrian nodded in approval.
“Not me, you asshole!” Kenn snapped as he noticed the response. “I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Adrian lowered his head and took a seat in the far corner as Kyle told the two men to take five. He made sure Marc would have a hard time viewing him through the small crowd. He wasn’t trying to hide. he was trying to be considerate.
If you were considerate, you’d blow your brains out in front of MY army! Marc thundered in his mind.
“I told her this was a bad idea,” Adrian stated stiffly, flushing. “She insisted. I’ll gladly go, right now. Just say the word.”
Marc shut his lids, fighting for control of the tiger. He was almost at his limit for all of this. “Doctor, you first.”
“Finally! I do require sleep, you know.” The man stood up, reading from his book. “We have nine patients. I examined all of them myself. They’ll survive. Some of the wounds are serious and they’ll need recovery time, but even Angela’s prognosis is now positive.”
The doctor wasn’t being as hateful toward Angela as usual. He looked at Marc, who shook his head. He didn’t want more details than that.
“Is there anything you need down there? A list of things, maybe?” Marc asked.
“I’m still putting that together,” the man admitted. “It’s been a busy few days, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“You can go,” Marc told him, tone cold.
The doctor stood up. “As soon as I tell you one thing, ‘Mr. I’m the leader’ now. If you go without seeing her first, I’ll call for a leadership vote. The way people are feeling right now, anyone could be elected.”
The doctor stormed out of the chilly tent as attention swung to Adrian.
“He’s optimistic,” Adrian muttered. “I’d be hung long before the vote.”
“Yes, you would,” Marc agreed. He moved on. “Jennifer?”
“Our team, along with the help, has been clearing a path out of these mountains. We’ve also done some scavenging. The crates are in Angela’s private semi.”
“How far have you gotten?” Marc asked, noting the route on the map that Angela had included in the notebook.
“Five miles.”
Seven, Adrian sent silently.
Jennifer glared at Adrian. “Make that seven miles. The help kept working during the beginning of the storm.”
“Don’t do that!” Marc shouted. “No more secrets!”
“I have information,” Adrian responded calmly. “I have no idea how you want me to do this.”
Marc violently scratched the next item off his list. “Seven miles. Anything you need to tell me or need from me?”
“I’d like to second the doctor’s parting request,” Jennifer tried to joke. “Don’t go without talking to her. She needs you so much more than she does some outsider.”
“Duly noted,” Marc responded dryly.
Jennifer gave Kyle a warm look as she left. She flashed Adrian a glare of hatred. Jennifer still felt he should have been executed for his betrayal. Escorting him around like a privileged rat was enough to make her blood boil.
Marc skipped Cynthia, who was here to take notes for her next edition. The newspaper was already extremely popular because of her accusing tones. It said she was on the inside and still watching out for them. People liked that.
“Zack?”
Zack cleared his throat. “The front gate is an entire loss. We have guards posted again now that the storm has let up, and the snipers are doubled. I think we should keep telling everyone we’re closed to refugees until we get the gate repaired–at least a week.”
“Anything I need to know? Anything you need to get it done?”
“I think we have everything we need, except for plans. The engineering crew is already working on it. Ozzie has that information. I do need to tell you that the camp is very unhappy you let Adrian in here without a vote. You’ll need to give them something on that to finish calming them down. Otherwise, people are relieved the avalanche took the bad guys this time instead of us.”
“Let me know if that changes,” Marc ordered. “You’re going to take over topside Point now?”
“Yes.”
Marc marked it off his list. “I’ll stop by in a bit.”
Zack left and Marc looked at Dexter. “How are things below?”
Daryl had been assigned to Point in the caves, and Dexter had been doing a good job as his right hand.
“Running smoothly, considering all the action,” Dexter responded. “We have the Keeper in the brig down here, with double patrols, and two sentries are following our traitor. No crime reports during the chaos and all members are accounted for.”
“Consumption numbers yet?” Marc asked, reading from Angela’s notes.
“In the next couple days. She said we have to send out the food crews the second the storm clears.”
“You’ve talked to her?” Neil asked. He didn’t know she was awake. Sam hadn’t mentioned it.
“She told me before she was taken. We assigned people,” Dexter explained. “They’ll need a day to prepare.”
“We’ll handle it,” Marc stated. “Anything else?”
Dexter didn’t want to get involved in more drama, but he had certain loyalties to maintain, like everyone else here. “When is he leaving?”
Marc placed his hands palm down on the table, pinning Dexter with a harsh glower. “Do you think I want him here?”
Dexter shook his head.
“Do you think I’ll have him gone as fast as I can?”
“Yeah, sorry. I had to ask.”
“No, you didn’t,” Marc reprimanded. “Daryl’s jealousy over Cynthia is unfounded. He hasn’t glanced her way in months. Tell him I said that.”
Dexter flushed, leaving the cold tent.
“Who’s next?” Marc asked.
Greg stood up. “I’m sorry.”
“She wasn’t assigned a shadow down there,” Marc stated. “She sent you out to protect the gate. You’re not in trouble.”
“Well, I feel like it!” Greg blurted miserably. “I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t absolve you from something you haven’t done,” Marc stated as kindly as he could. “Go see what she wants you doing now. I don’t have any notes on it.”
Greg’s exit was quick and quiet as the few remaining people waited for Marc to pick the next update.
“Oswald?”
Ozzie stood up, expression hurt. “What did I do to you?”
Marc grinned. “Not a damn thing, I’m happy to say. Fill me in.”
Ozzie laughed. “Cool, man. Okay. We got, like, a huge amount of damage, but not in structural places. Give us a week and we’ll have it all running again. The idiot had no idea what he was doing.”
“Good thing,” Neil muttered.
“As for the gate, we do have enough supplies, but Angela told me last week to come up with a better design and like, Jennifer helped. We drew this.”
He held out a paper that Marc gestured for him to keep. “I have a copy here. It’s very good–nice and tight. Two weeks for this one, right?”
“Yes. We’ll try our hardest to have it finished in ten days, but two weeks guarantees we will.”
“She isn’t going to close the gates for two weeks,” Kenn commented. “You saw her, still taking in people even after the attacks.”
“They’re our people, grunt,” Adrian scolded, unable to remain silent. “If you were out there, you’d want in too.”
“You have no authority here,” Kyle reminded Adrian icily. “Don’t speak unless spoken to.”
“I’ll make the design choice today,” Marc interrupted the coming argument. “Anything else? You guys need anything?”
Ozzie shrugged. “Just time, man.”
The former surfer left the tent, forgetting to zip it behind him.
Kyle glared at Adrian.
Adrian got up and zipped it with a face like stone. Angela had known he would be treated this way. She’d told him he owed it to these men to face them, and so he was, but it wasn’t easy.
“You’re up,” Marc stated, studying Kenn.
Kenn winced at the wording. Angela’s voice echoed in his head, reminding he’d sworn to never cross her.
“She had me deliver messages, keep track of plans, encourage people to stay quiet. Cynthia and I handled it for her during her shifts. She used Kendle sometimes during the evenings.”
Marc’s profile darkened. “Kendle was part of this?”
“She carried messages, supplies. She hated it.”
Marc believed that. Even though it had caused trouble, Kendle would still have loathed taking orders from Angela. The boss had been paying Kendle back after all.
“The radio is mostly quiet,” Kenn continued. “We’re waiting for orders there. Until then, we’ve gone to ground.”
Marc motioned for Kenn to leave. He couldn’t stand to hear either of those voices right now.
“Aren’t you going to ask if I need anything?” Kenn demanded suddenly. “Because I served my time and I’m legal again!”
Marc glowered at Kenn, sending the thought none of them needed to hear to know. You shouldn’t be.
Kenn flushed and spun for the flap. “I hope you don’t go down and talk to her before you go. That’ll seal it up for her and then we won’t have to put up with your shit anymore. She’s the power here. It’s certainly not you!”
The words filled the tent with awkward silence as Kenn left.
Adrian zipped them up this time without the glare.
Marc read the last few notes, and then looked at Cynthia. “You should go now. Anything I need to know?”
The reporter had already been gathering her papers. “I want to go with you.”
“For yourself or for the paper?” Marc asked.
“Both,” she answered, but didn’t elaborate.
“I’ll let you know,” Marc answered, marking it off his list. Of course, he would let her come along. She was carrying a child that Angela had deemed too evil to be born. Cynthia had more rage than he did and they both had a perfect target for it.
“I agree with Kenn, by the way,” Cynthia stated, going to the flap. “Angela was much nicer before you two became a legal couple. You’re not good for her. Let her go so we can all have peace again.”
Leaving them shocked, Cynthia exited, zipping the flap.
“What the hell?” Neil swore. “This whole camp has flipped!”
“Stop,” Adrian advised. “He’s hanging onto his control by a thread. Finish this so he can do what he needs to.”
Neil glanced up to find Marc’s eyes burning with a hot fire than even sex couldn’t extinguish. Neil had never seen his friend so furious.
“Do either of you need to tell me anything?” Marc was able to force out passed the fury. He agreed with Neil. Everyone had gone insane.
Neil stood up quickly, swallowing his rant. “The trains have stopped. We assume the storm has slowed them down.”
“How far away?” Kyle asked.
“Two days at the speed they were going, but they could reach the station right down the mountain in a few hours if they roll faster. Train is a very point A to point B type of travel.”
“Anything else?” Marc needed to know.
“Not from me.” Neil headed for the flap.
“Stay,” Marc ordered.
“Sure.” Neil obediently sat back down, expression curious.
Marc looked at Kyle.
“We killed roughly three dozen refugees that survived the avalanche. The bodies were put outside the gate, but the ants didn’t come out of their cave for them. At last sighting, the majority of the colony was wiped out in the tunnel collapse. We’re considering them threats again.”
“They are,” Marc stated firmly. It had been a big surprise when she’d adopted them, but he now realized that too had been a ruse. Angela had used the big animals to keep smaller predators away from them, and once here, she’d used them to dispose of corpses and scare the first waves of refugees to buy time. She’d planned it all.
“Not everything,” Adrian denied. “She wouldn’t have made that choice.”
Marc stood up, ignoring Adrian. “I’m taking two teams with me to handle the rest of Tara’s people. I can pick or you two can volunteer.”
Neil and Kyle exchanged grins.
“We were hoping you’d say that,” Kyle stated. “We’ve been working on some ideas since we found out.”
“I’ll listen to them on the way,” Marc said. “I’d like to go soon. How long?”
Neil and Kyle compared. “An hour or two?”
“I’ll meet you at the rear gate. Her notes said you two have been in charge of loading what’s in her private semi. I’d like to know the inventory.”
“Presents,” Adrian stated when neither of the Eagles could answer. They’d been told not to look and they hadn’t. “Gifts for her people for the Christmas she isn’t sure we’ll get to enjoy. She has hope for everyone.”
Adrian knew the meeting was over for him with those words and left without being told. Angela had taken over his place and done a better job than he’d predicted. The men in that tent owed her more than they would ever admit.
Adrian stopped as he noticed Zack running toward the canvas shelter he’d left. He stayed by the flap as Zack went to Marc, certain Angela would want to know whatever it was that had Zack so excited.
“We have company at the rear gate,” Zack wheezed out. He’d run all the way through the cold and snow. “Indians. Natoli.”
Marc and Kyle exchanged dismayed looks. If Natoli had returned so soon, it only meant one thing.
“The Mexicans,” Neil also realized in horror. “Cesar and Sebastian’s people!”
“I hate to add bad news,” Jeremy stated, coming into the tent behind Zack. “But I have movement on the radar and it’s not the trains. There’s a swarm of heat coming from the northeast. I have no idea what it is, but it’ll be here in a few days at the rate its traveling.”
“Seth and Becky are back with a truck of crates and bags,” Tonya’s voice came over the radio.
Marc held up the notebook for the men to view, heart thumping as the prediction he’d read fifteen minutes ago was proven.
It comes in threes, but with Seth, is salvation. Get to those crates.
All of them fled toward the rear of the snow-covered camp. Except Adrian.
3
Do you need me? Marc asked for the final time.
For a long moment, there was only her pain.
Do you still feel the same?
Marc didn’t know what he felt. It was too much to process all at once.
I didn’t trade the baby. I didn’t know.
Marc winced, wanting to believe her. He felt Angela’s misery increase, hurting emotions reaching out for comfort that he couldn’t give.
Fine! she spat. As long as you believe that, no. I don’t need you.
Marc now had his excuse to walk through the gate without facing her. He knew it to be the coward’s way, even without all the opinion’s he’d heard on the subject, but those people had no idea how this felt. He hadn’t respected Angela’s evil side. After the battle with the government, he should have, but in the back of his mind, it was still the witch and Adrian controlling things.
Marc spotted Adrian going toward the destroyed front gate, a kit over his shoulder, and then the sound of clapping and cheering came. Angela had sent him away, back to his banishment. Does that matter to me?
Marc studied the fully loaded vehicles and the snowplow they hoped would clear the road. Two dozen men glowered at him as he came their way. “I need a minute. Save the fuel.”
Engines were happily shut off as Marc put his gear inside the lead truck and headed for the cave. Adrian being evicted from her side worried him. He only felt okay about leaving her alone because he’d assumed Adrian would be there.
The cold air he’d been treated with vanished as Marc came into the cave, going to the medical bay. He passed Charlie and Tracy, arm-n-arm and smiling.
“Wise choice,” Tracy whispered. She let Charlie lead her to the living quarters, happy with the days in the cave due to the storm. She’d had a little time to think things through and she was feeling better now. Not good and certainly not safe, but better was a step in the right direction.
“…for that filthy whore? You’re kidding, right?”
Candy’s voice echoed throughout this level of the cave and Marc hurried in, growling.
Candy backed up against the rocky wall as Marc marched over to her. “Sorry!”
Marc waved her out, and then everyone else. The bay was crowded with people who wanted to speak with the boss now that she was mostly out of danger.
Marc didn’t look at her until they were alone.
Angela was still numb. It was terrifying to be this cold and have no one to lean on. She’d sent Adrian away and faked calmness for those who visited, but inside, she was icy. He thought she’d traded their daughter. She’d lost the baby and Marc. Her head dropped as tears slipped out. Even while crying, she felt nothing but cold.
The medical team that wasn’t needed also exited the area, leaving the couple alone.
Marc sat down in the chair by her bed, studying her bandages and bruises, the frostbitten fingers and cheeks. She was forever being hurt for these people or for one of her goals. He would never be okay with that, but this time, her choices had cost them a child.
“Yes,” Angela admitted, trying to stop crying in front of him. She didn’t want him to think she was on a guilt trip and she forced herself to swallow the pain and be strong. He didn’t deserve this. She did.
Marc couldn’t deny the truth as he read her thoughts, her agony at overlooking the small details that would have told her she’d calculated the time wrong. What he didn’t find, was regret for not telling him.
“I have one question,” Marc said slowly.
“Shoot,” Angela muttered, knowing what it was. If he asked, then everything would change.
“Would you have traded her? Our daughter for your country? Or Charlie?”
Her heart broke. He honestly thought she was brutal enough now to trade kids off as if they didn’t meant anything to her. Nothing would ever be the same between them again.
“Angie?”
Angela knew he expected her to say that one child was a small price to pay for the future of their country, but it hadn’t been one life and she loved her children. How can he not know that?
“No. That’s why she was taken. Fate knows if I ever have to make that choice, they’ll come first. My kids will always be a target. I’ve sentenced them to this.”
Marc felt his anger finally fading. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
Angela didn’t answer.
“Why did you do all this alone?” Marc forced himself to ask. “Was it because of me?”
“Yes. It would have been a betrayal of my promise to you. I couldn’t ask him to help.”
“There were Eagles…and me.”
“Not like us,” Angela stated, fresh tears running unchecked over her cheeks. “Even Jennifer was affected by Tara’s gifts.”
“But not Adrian?”
“I couldn’t be found with Adrian, at the scene of a slaughter!” Angela tried to explain, feeling her coldness grow as Marc interrogated her without showing any compassion for her wounds–mental or physical. “Neither you, nor the camp would have forgiven that.”
“We still won’t forgive him,” Marc stated hotly. “He’s a traitor.”
“I’m going to bring him back in,” Angela told him tonelessly. “You’ll need to accept it.”
“Even when we work this out, I still won’t share you!” Marc declared hotly.
Angela slowly lifted her head, revealing a face that Marc had never seen. She was beyond bleak or desolate.
“I’m corrupt,” she sneered, shuddering. “I’ll have what I want now, including the traitor. Be certain you can accept me all the way when you get back. My days of respecting your limits are over!”
Marc recognized the hatred staring at him. She thought Adrian was right.
“Right and wrong no longer mean anything to me, Marc. Only survival does.” Angela turned away as the tears suddenly dried up and exhaustion swarmed. “There isn’t a line I won’t cross now.”
“I can’t support it, if it’s not right,” Marc reminded her, worry increasing.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t bother.” Her head swiveled toward him, revealing that endless sorrow again. “That’s what you’re thinking about anyway, right?”
Marc slowly nodded. “For a little while.”
Angela laughed bitterly. “Good.”
“What?”
“Good!” she blasted with loathing. “I can’t have another child. I lost my baby and all you can think of is how you weren’t included on things or what it all means for you down the road! Adrian told me a childhood obsession isn’t love, but I refused to believe him. It turns out he was right.” Her harsh laughter quickly switched to thick tears.
Marc realized his own feelings should have at least been put on hold until he knew her prognosis. He hadn’t even waited for the doctor to finish checking her over before he began handing out coldness.
Angela glanced down at the thumb she would probably lose the tip of due to frostbite. “I’m going to recover. I’ll lead most of these people from our homeland and settle them in some foreign place. I’ll do my duty to the dream until I’m dead. That’s my line. You need to figure out yours, because everything just changed.”
“For us or for the camp?” Marc asked, now getting nervous. She sounded like she was ending things. He’d thought space was a good idea, but the pain said it wasn’t what he honestly wanted.
“Both,” Angela answered, hitting the button on the morphine drip as pain sank deep into her abdomen. “You’re either with me or you’re not. When you get back, I’ll need an answer on that.”
Marc stood up, heart thumping. “I can give it to you now.”
Angela nodded, tears coursing again as she braced for his exit. “Go ahead.”
Marc slowly took off his Eagle jacket and placed it over her exposed feet. He took his gun belt off and placed it on the small utility table. “I’m resigning from your army.”
“Resignation accepted,” Angela choked out. She hadn’t predicted any of this. They were both running on pure emotions.
Marc sighed heavily, not needing to listen to his demon or his brain. There was only one thing he could do here.
Marc carefully climbed into the bed with her, wrapping her up gently when her tears became harsh sobs of regret. Corrupt or not, he would always want her. As she calmed enough to hear him, Marc leaned his head against hers. “I’m not giving you up that easy, you cruel bitch!”
Angela couldn’t pick between crying or laughing and chose to do both, face buried against his chest.
“Obsession or love, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Marc asked quietly a few minutes later.
Angela shook her head, voice muffled. “Not to me. I’ve always wanted you too, in any way I can have you. That won’t ever change.”
Marc held her as she drifted off, the morphine making the choice for her. He was still as upset as he had been, but now, he also felt like he could sort it out while he was gone. She was worth the effort. Adrian was right about that. She was amazing. She was also incredibly cruel. But is he right about the rest of it? Marc asked himself. If he is, how do I change that part of me without becoming corrupt?
You can’t, his demon stated, enjoying the physical contact. You have to be the knight in shining armor who continues to slay the dragons. Without your light, she’ll fall and take everyone down with her.
Why?
Because fate is a fickle bitch who delights in tormenting humanity. That also, will never change.
And Adrian?
Will get what he deserves, the demon forecasted. This was his plan. Do you think she’ll let him off after the death of her child? He’ll pay more at her hands than you can ever dream.
Guess I’d better be around for that, Marc decided, shifting slightly but not getting up. He’d missed her in his arms over the last weeks.
Her heart is a bitter void that will lead these people through the second half of the journey. Stay close. She has enemies everywhere.
Marc tightened his hold on her instinctively. Mad or not, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her safe. After all she’d been through, he didn’t think he could stand to witness her hurt even one more time.
Then don’t leave her alone too long, the demon stated ominously. Fate has already flipped a new wildcard and she’s terrified of it. She can’t handle this alone anymore.
“She won’t be alone,” Marc muttered, sweeping her profile. Even in sleep, the tears were still oozing out. “We’ll help her. That’s what Safe Haven does for people. It knocks them down as low as they can go and rebuilds them. I think it was just her turn, like the Keeper said.”
In the brig above them, Chauncey laughed silently. Your day will come, Marcus Brady. And so will your son’s. I can’t wait to record it.
End of Book 6
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