At Any Cost Box Set: Books 1 - 3

by K. M. Fawkes

  He put it out of his mind. There was going to be trouble, and he was going to have to deal with that at some point. But for right now, he needed to focus on getting them back to Trinity Ranch, where they could at least mount a defense.

  “You said you took out all their motorcycles?” he asked quietly.

  “All the ones we could see, yeah,” Greyson answered. “Long as they don’t have any spare tires sitting around, they won’t be coming after us anytime soon.”

  “So what happened?” Garrett asked, eyes on the long, flat road ahead as he hardened his heart against what he was about to hear. “How were you discovered?”

  “I don’t think anyone saw us actually leave the truck, but someone must have come upon it at some point and realized we weren’t in it anymore,” Alice answered. “Must have sent a group out to find us. We were just finishing up when a group of five or so came around the corner and spotted us. They took one look at the knives in our hands and their eyes went right to the motorcycles. They didn’t even pause to ask any questions. Just started shooting. And we started running.

  “Figured you’d hear the gunshots and know something had gone wrong, and that you’d be at the truck when we got there. I even threw one of the grenades, just to warn you. I knew you’d hear it and know…”

  Her voice faded off and she stifled a sudden sob. “I swore that Bart and Riley were right behind me. But when I threw the grenade I caught the street behind me out of the corner of my eye and…”

  “And?” Garrett asked.

  “And they were gone,” she said simply. “I don’t know if they took another turn and just ended up in a different alley or what. Next thing I knew the truck was on fire—Kraken’s crew were hell-bent on not letting us out of there alive.”

  Garrett bit his lip. “So you’re saying the kids could still be there. Still hiding,” he said.

  “They could,” she answered. “I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but it’s possible.”

  “And if that’s true, it means we can’t leave for Mexico tonight like we planned,” he said, turning to look at her.

  Alice just gazed back at him, all of their plans crumbling down on their heads, as Garrett tried madly to figure out how they were going to get out of this mess.

  Hours later, miserable and dehydrated, the four of them at last spotted Trinity Ranch up ahead. As they approached their small town, Garrett’s focus shifted to thinking about how on earth he was going to tell the people of Trinity Ranch about what had happened, and how everything had gone so wrong.

  When he, Alice and the others had left hours before, everyone in town had been counting on leaving for Mexico that night. Hell, they were already packed and ready to go! And now he was going to have to tell them that while the bikers might not have a way to follow them, they weren’t knocked out like they should have been. Even worse, he’d lost two more members of their community, and wasn’t even sure if they were alive or dead.

  He approached the schoolhouse but stopped on the porch, knowing that everyone would still be inside. Then he turned to the others.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked.

  Alice reached out and took his hand. “We’re all to blame for how wrong things went,” she said simply. “Whatever happens in there, the three of us have your back.”

  Greyson and Shane nodded, confirming this, and Garrett took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be pretty. But they would find a way through it. They had to.

  Three steps took him through the door of the schoolhouse, and as he’d hoped, everyone was gathered there.

  “We need a town meeting, right now,” he said.

  “Are we going?” a voice—Julia’s—called out. “Is it time for us to get out of here?”

  Garrett didn’t answer until he got to the front of the room. There he turned and faced the crowd, Greyson, Shane and Alice flanking him.

  “Where the hell are Bart and Riley?” another voice shouted out, an edge of panic apparent.

  Well that had taken even less time than Garrett had anticipated. So here it went.

  “We aren’t sure,” he said. “Things didn’t go according to plan. The short story is that the bikers know what we were trying to do. Greyson, Shane, Alice, Bart and Riley were discovered, and there was a confrontation. Bart and Riley are missing.”

  This was met by the uproar he’d expected, and he let people shout at him for some time before he finally lifted his hands and asked for quiet.

  “You’ve all known me for months,” he said. “You must know how devastated I am to have lost those kids. You must know that my heart is breaking. The good news is that we don’t know for certain that they’re dead. We think they may have taken a wrong turn in Helen Falls and simply be lost. And if that’s true, we can go back and get them.”

  “And how the hell are we supposed to do that?” A voice he recognized shouted out angrily. “Tell us, oh mighty leader, how we’re going to just stroll back into that town and get our kids back, now that you’ve riled up the biker gang and come back without the truck?”

  Steve stepped forward from the crowd, his face both angry and somehow triumphant, and Garrett tried to collect himself. He’d known this was coming, known for weeks that it would come down to this. That didn’t mean he was prepared.

  “What exactly do you suggest we do now?” he continued. “Because we sure as hell can’t run for Mexico. Not if it means leaving some of our kids behind.” He turned to the crowd. “Seems to me that Garrett has led us wrong again. He’s got us all riled up for nothing, got us packing our stuff and ready to set out to places unknown, and now it’s all falling down around his ears.”

  He paused dramatically and turned to look right at Garrett.

  “So what I want to know,” he said, without dropping Garrett’s gaze, “is who is still going to follow this failure. And who wants to vote on a new leader.”

  A number of voices called out that they wanted a new vote, and Garrett turned to them, shocked and surprised. No, he’d never asked for this position. Never even wanted it. But he’d always had the townspeople’s support. He’d never heard a word of complaint from them.

  But it seemed that Steve had been busy while Garrett and the others were in Helen Falls. He’d been recruiting. And he’d found at least a few people who were starting to agree with him. The “why” didn’t matter, not really. At the end of the day, this sort of thing always came down to mob rule.

  “Can I remind you,” Steve continued, “that because of Garrett’s rules and programs, we’re short on food. Now, thanks to his refusal to return the gasoline to the bikers, we’re also short on water. Yes, we’ve got plenty of fuel, but we can’t drink that. We’ve got a biker gang who is now even more angry at us, and we’ve got limited defenses.” He turned on Garrett, his eyes burning with fury. “Thanks to this so-called leader, we’ve all got a good chance of dying in this little town.”

  Garrett opened his mouth and closed it again, at a loss for how to respond. Everyone was shouting in the background, screaming at him, and though this was where he’d normally calm them all down, talk them into seeing sense, it seemed all his words had left him. No one had to die here, he knew that much. The plan would still work. They could still get out of town, could still make a run for the border.

  It would still work.

  But it would mean leaving Riley and Bart behind, to the mercies of the biker gang. And he wasn’t sure he could do that.

  It also didn’t look like it would be his choice. Greyson, Shane, and Alice were all shouting down the crowd, defending Garrett’s actions, and he saw Elisa come to stand with them, along with Julia and Manny. But that was only six people in a group of twenty-five. It wasn’t a winning number.

  In the end, when silence fell, it was for Steve to turn to him, smirking.

  “Looks like you’ve been voted out, old man,” he said, his tone gloating. “You won’t be making the decisions around here anymore. It’s my job, now.”

  And then i
t was done. Everyone turned to him, some faces apologetic and some angry, and watched him as he walked slowly through the schoolhouse, his mind numb, his heart heavy. He walked through the door and turned left, heading for his house. As he passed by the house where Elisa and Fawn had lived, he let out a quiet sob. Where had it all gone so wrong? How had this happened? By the time he got to his own house, he’d moved on, though.

  How was he going to fix this? How was he going to make it all right again? Because no matter what those people thought of him, he knew in his heart that he’d never be able to take this lying down. He’d never be easy until he’d found a way to make this right. A way to get his people to Mexico—and to safety.

  He trudged through the gate into the backyard, past the memorial he’d build for his family, and through the cacti until he came to the edge of the yard. There he stopped, staring out into the prairie, where night was just beginning to fall, the shadows stretching long and starting to merge with each other. Somewhere out there, Bart and Riley might need him. Somewhere out there, he hoped, was a town in Mexico where they could all find safety and start to live their lives again.

  And he was damned if he was going to let Steve take that away from him. Away from any of them.

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, Alice was standing on his left, with Elisa on her other side. Turning, he saw Shane and Greyson to his right. Greyson gave him a quick nod.

  “We know you’re planning something,” he said quietly. “And whatever it is, we want in. You’re the real leader, here. You’re the one we follow.”

  Garrett turned back to the prairie, a small fire starting to grow in his heart. No, he wasn’t going to allow Steve to ruin it for all them. And now he knew that he had people who were going to stand with him.

  And that, he thought, was enough. For tonight.

  TO BE CONTINUED

  Bleak Horizons

  Copyright 2019 by K. M. Fawkes

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.

  All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.

  Prologue

  Garrett looked out across the faces of the townspeople, trying to get his feet under him before he started talking. Never in his entire history had he thought he’d be doing something like this—trying so desperately to get people to accept him as their leader again. It wasn’t something he’d ever wanted for himself, and he certainly hadn’t set out with this on his list of goals.

  But they’d come to this town and found it lawless and in need of guidance, and he’d quickly stepped up to the plate. It had helped that the people of Trinity Ranch seemed to be intent on him stepping into the role, and it had been even easier when he’d realized that they were actually going to listen to him, join in on his discussions, and carry through on some of his ideas—or at least tell him why they thought those ideas were wrong, and what they could do better.

  Since they’d returned from Helen Falls and found Steve shouting about how defective Garrett was as a leader the day before, though, he’d been fighting a battle with himself about whether this was the right role for him or not. The night before, he’d been sure that his time as leader was over. He’d been standing in his backyard with his few allies, positive that he was going to be displaced.

  The thought had even crossed his mind that once Steve was in control, Garrett and his friends would be lucky if they were allowed to stay in town at all. Steve had made no secret of how he felt about Garrett, and it wouldn’t have surprised him to find an eviction notice nailed to his door. Even worse, he’d felt as though the townspeople had agreed with him.

  Which was why he’d been so surprised when he woke up this morning to find the entire town—less Steve and some of his friends—at his door, having pushed Greyson forward as their spokesperson.

  Garrett’s gaze went to Greyson’s, and he knew his face held a number of questions. Greyson, one of his closest allies in the town, could have come bearing many different messages. The fact that the people of the town had pushed him forward could have meant anything, as far as Garrett was concerned. It could have been that this was the man they thought Garrett would listen to best when it came to stepping down. Could have been this was the man who could deliver the news about having to leave town the gentlest.

  He certainly hadn’t expected the words that came out of Greyson’s mouth then.

  “Cap, you know I’m on your team,” Greyson said. “You know I’ve got your back. Anything happens, I’m with you. Have been since the first day you arrived. The people thought it might be best if I was the one to speak to you because of that.”

  “Okay…” Garrett said, drawing out the last syllable. He glanced around for Alice, wondering if she knew what was going on, but couldn’t see her in the crowd. Hadn’t she been invited? “What’s your point, Greyson?” he asked bluntly. “Neither one of us is the sort of man who enjoys beating around the bush. How about you get to the point?”

  Greyson gave him a quick grin and then nodded. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to start with a bunch of flowery language. Just wanted to make sure you knew where I stood.”

  “I know where you stand,” Garrett muttered. “You know you’re on my list of people to go to if I need anything. I suppose I’m glad to know that you feel the same. Or something.” He lifted a brow, acknowledging the joke, and grew quiet, silently suggesting that Greyson continue with whatever it was that he—and the townspeople—had come here to say.

  Greyson reached out and grabbed onto Garrett’s shoulder, squeezing sharply.

  “Came to tell you that the town’s not behind what Steve said to you last night,” he said. “That was him blowing smoke and nothing more. You might have heard cheering from the crowd, might have seemed like some of the people were riled up, but that doesn’t mean anything. Certainly doesn’t mean anyone wants you to step down. There’s not a person here who thinks Steve should actually be the leader. Don’t think there’s anyone here who would trust him managing the local library, much less the entire town.”

  There was laughter from the crowd, and Garrett glanced out at them, too surprised to come up with an answer right away. He’d gone to bed the night before with a number of possibilities in his mind, and none of them had included him maintaining leadership of the town.

  No, he hadn’t wanted to step down. He still thought he was the best man for the job, and that these people deserved a responsible, smart leader. But he also didn’t want to stay if they didn’t want him. The scene the night before had certainly made him think that the majority of the town had been in agreement with Steve about Garrett stepping down.

  Hearing otherwise was definitely a surprise. And now as he looked out at the crowd, he finally saw Alice at the back, her mouth twisted to the side in a smirk of pleasure—and her eyes telling him very clearly that she’d expected this, and that she would be rubbing it in later. She had believed in him as a leader long before he’d believed in it himself.

  “What exactly are you saying?” Garrett asked, looking back at Greyson.

  “That we’re hoping you’ll still be leader here,” Julia spoke up from right behind him. “Since Greyson is doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t do and beating around the bush.” The young woman, whom Garrett had first met in General Green’s military-base-turned-prison, sent an arch-browed look in Greyson’s direction, her head tipped in disapproval. “Maybe we should have chosen someone else.”

  She turned back to Garrett and gave him a charming grin. “We talked about it last night after Steve and his friends left, and a
fter you were back at your house, and we came to the conclusion that we just can’t do without you, Garrett. We need you. And we’re hoping you’ll agree to need us back.”

  Garrett took a total of about three seconds to think about it.

  “Nothing would make me happier,” he said firmly. “You know how I feel about all of you. You know I would never willingly desert you. If you want me to stay, then I’ll be staying, and that’s all there is.”

  A cheer went up from the crowd, and Garrett cheered with them, unable to stop himself.

  Chapter 1

  Garrett stepped carefully into the cave, holding his breath. The place was dark, dank, and more than a little creepy. Then again, he’d always been the sort of person who didn’t like enclosed spaces. They made him jumpy. Nervous.

  But if it came down to it, this particular enclosed space just might be the way his people made it out of a bad situation alive. And for that, he was willing to look past the squeamishness in his belly.

  The cave was quite small compared to some of the greater underground caverns in New Mexico. Definitely not something there would have ever been tours for. He hadn’t even known it was here. When one of the kids had come to him saying that they’d discovered something while out hunting, he’d almost written it off as too good to be true. Something they’d imagined. Now, he was definitely thinking otherwise.

  “What do you think?” Greyson muttered, appearing suddenly at Garrett’s side, lantern in hand.