At Any Cost Box Set: Books 1 - 3

by K. M. Fawkes

  And there was absolutely no mistaking the sound of those voices in the alley—or the fact that he now heard a woman as well, pleading with them.

  He stopped before rounding the corner, his heart racing, his eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher what was going on. Many of the town members had been at the shooting practice with him, and he’d seen the majority of them heading for the schoolhouse to get water and a snack, laughing as they walked and sharing tips and congratulations, as well as guesses for who might be the best shot. Whoever was here, he didn’t think they could have been at that practice. They wouldn’t have had time to get here far enough ahead of him to have set themselves up in the alley.

  And there were only a certain number of people who hadn’t taken part in the practice.

  When another man spoke from inside the alley, Garrett already had a list of suspects, and it made recognizing the voice much easier.

  “Saw you out there shooting, little lady. Sure looks like you know what you’re doing,” Steve was saying, the oil practically dripping off each syllable.

  Garrett’s fists clenched. So they did have a woman in there. He started filing through the women who had been present at the shooting practice, making a list. He wanted to know exactly who he was going to be dealing with when he came around that corner.

  “And that’s absolutely none of your business, Steve Thomason,” a female voice answered sharply. Elisa, Garrett realized, his jaw clenching. “And I’ll thank you to kindly step away from me and leave me the hell alone. I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but if Garrett catches you fooling—”

  “Garrett,” Steve snarled. “That man wouldn’t know what to do about it even if he did know what I was doing. Walking around with his idealistic sayings, pretending like he’s got a handle on things. Why, if I was in charge, none of this would be happening. Then again, you’ve always had a sweet spot for him, haven’t you?”

  There was a squeal from Elisa and some low male laughter, and at that, Garrett had had enough. He strolled casually around the corner as if he’d happened upon them by mistake and came to a surprised stop at the mouth of the alley.

  It wasn’t just Steve. He was there with his faithful sidekicks, Alan and Scott. And the three of them had Elisa backed up against the wall. Her face was flushed and her eyes wet, but Garrett could see that she was doing her best to hold her own. She wasn’t panicking.

  Though she would have had every right to.

  “Why Steve,” Garrett said in false shock. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at the schoolhouse cataloging the supplies and giving us an idea of what we had left, and how long it would last.”

  He moved casually toward the threesome, taking in the fact that Alan and Scott now had their eyes averted and were slowly edging away from Elisa. No doubt trying to pretend that they hadn’t had anything to do with it.

  Steve bared his teeth in something that was probably meant to be a smile. “Already finished,” he muttered. “Left the list in the schoolhouse. Guess I’m faster at that sort of work than you must expect people to be. As it happens, I went out to the little shooting range you built. Figured I’d see what you lot were up to.” He placed a hand on the wall behind Elisa and leaned on it, drawing closer to the woman and leering back at Garrett. “Looked like you and this one were getting awfully close.”

  And there it was, Garrett realized. It wasn’t that Steve had anything against Elisa. After all, they’d been living in the same town for some time—had probably even known each other before they knew Garrett. It wasn’t about her at all.

  It was about Garrett having paid special attention to her. And Steve taking that personally. Or seeing a way to try to get under Garrett’s skin.

  “Just teaching her to shoot, Steve,” he said, keeping his voice even. Trying to keep the anger out of his tone. In his pockets, his hands were curling into fists, and he could feel the tension running through his shoulders already.

  His body knew what was coming. His mind had been expecting it for some time.

  “I suggest you move away from her now,” Garrett continued. “The way you’re standing over her is making me think you mean her harm. We haven’t had any trouble in this town, and I’m not aiming to start now.”

  Steve reached out with his other hand and ran his fingers down Elisa’s arm.

  “Maybe that ain’t your choice,” he said snidely. “You don’t always get a say in what happens in this town, Garrett. I know you think you do. But I also know that there are quite a few who disagree with you being leader. Quite a few who would be happy to see me taking over.”

  Garrett, at the end of his patience, didn’t care to hear anything more from the man. He was already moving forward, his hands reaching out to grab Steve and get him away from Elisa, when Elisa, in a lightning-quick move, grabbed something out of the pocket of her pants and held it up in front of her.

  The gun, Garrett saw, surprised. The one she’d been practicing with. She’d still been carrying it—and its nose was now pressed against Steve’s chest.

  “And I say that no one is actually in favor of you taking over, Steve, and you’d better just shut your mouth before you say anything else to make yourself look stupid,” she hissed. “And while you’re at it, I would also recommend taking three steps back.” She cast her gaze at Scott and Alan, who had frozen at the sight of the gun. “You lot as well. I know you do whatever he tells you, but I’ve just had quite a lesson in shooting and I’m not afraid to put my new skill to the test. Don’t tempt me.”

  Her gaze moved back to Steve’s face—as did Garrett’s—and he could see the man’s complexion draining of color, his eyes shifting quickly back and forth. Whatever he’d been expecting in this alley, it certainly hadn’t included Elisa drawing a weapon on him.

  “Look, Elisa, we didn’t mean any harm,” he said, stepping backward. “We just wanted to talk, see? I know you’re one of Garrett’s special friends and I thought you could talk some sense into him. That’s all it was. You believe me, don’t you? You’ve known me a long time. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. Or anyone else.” He kept backing up until he came to the wall on the other side of the alley, where he came to an abrupt stop, and quit talking.

  She looked him coolly up and down. “You’re right, Steve. I have known you for a long time. And that means I know you well enough to know that you’re exactly the sort of person who would hurt others if you thought you would get something out of the deal. Stay away from me. And stay away from my friends.”

  She clicked the safety on the gun, slid it back into her pocket, and walked quickly to Garrett’s beckoning hand. Once she was safely ensconced up against him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, he turned her and hustled her out of the alleyway, thinking the entire way that she probably hadn’t needed his help after all.

  As soon as they rounded the bend and were out of sight of Steve and his friends, though, her knees gave out and he had to catch her, her breathless laugh rushing into his ear.

  “I never even shot a gun before today,” she said, shaking from either laughter or adrenaline in his arms. “And now I’m pulling a gun on someone trying to attack me?”

  Garrett laughed with her and set her back on her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders until he was sure she was steady enough to stand on her own. “I told you you were a natural. Look at you, taking to guns like a fish to water.”

  “Only because of you,” she told him solemnly. “Garrett, be careful of that man. Like he says, we’ve known each other for some time, and he’s never taken well to coming in second place. Definitely hasn’t taken well to anything that looked like law. I don’t trust him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came after you just because he’s decided he doesn’t like you. He certainly has visions of grandeur in regards to running this town himself, rather than leaving it to you.”

  Garrett nodded once. She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.

  “I agree
with you, and I’ve been warned about him before. But rest assured that I won’t let him take me by surprise. I’ve known people like him. And they very rarely have the guts to actually do anything more than talk.”

  Keeping his arm wrapped around her shoulder, he directed them toward the schoolhouse and started to walk quickly toward the people he could hear up there. He wanted to get Elisa into the hands of someone who could keep her steady until she was over her adrenaline rush.

  As for Steve, he’d deal with him in another time, and another place. Right now he had other things on his mind—like making sure the people of Trinity Ranch were prepared for whatever might come their way.

  Chapter 8

  Three days later, they were all starting to feel restless. None of them had seen any further sign of the Helen Falls gang, and they’d gone through their barricades and traps and explosives again and again—enough that there were no more improvements to be made. No more tweaking to do.

  In short, they were out of busywork. They hadn’t been able to go out scouting for any further supplies, either, which meant that their supplies were now dwindling, starting to reach dangerous levels. And without the bikers attacking them and giving them access to Helen Falls, per his plan, Garrett wasn’t sure how they were going to get more. The towns in this area were picked clean, courtesy of the people from Helen Falls and Trinity Ranch, so they weren’t going to find anything else—even if they could get to the other towns, which they couldn’t, given the lack of transportation. Sure, they might have walked, but it would have taken them too long to reach any of the other cities, and none of them would have taken that sort of risk. They still weren’t sure how many bikers might be around Trinity Ranch, or whether they were under surveillance.

  His plan had been to stick it out until the bikers attacked, defeat the bikers, and then get to Helen Falls to take advantage of whatever supplies the bikers might have had there. Then come up with something further after that. The lack of any attack was pulling the rug right out from under his feet, though, and Garrett was starting to feel… well, desperate.

  Even worse, he seemed to be the only one really taking anything that seriously. Of course Alice was concerned, and Manny and Ben were smart enough to know that things weren’t going the way they were supposed to. Julia was on Garrett’s team, as was Greyson, but that didn’t mean the rest of the town really were. And the rest of the people… were treating this as if it was some sort of holiday. It felt as if they’d forgotten their plans to escape, and the drama of Cora and John’s betrayal, and had gone back to life as usual.

  There, right in front of him, Bubba and Kristy were discussing their plans for the day. A birthday picnic and a party for Ben, evidently.

  “How do you even know it’s his birthday?” Garrett asked, trying to involve himself in the conversation.

  Kristy shrugged. “He said he’s a Scorpio, and we just celebrated Halloween,” she said, making it seem like the simplest thing in the world.

  Garrett shook his head. He hadn’t known what day it actually was for months, and he was sure that no one else did, either. But the people were so intent on celebrating something that they were just grabbing at anything they could think of, now.

  He knew that Ben wasn’t involved in this, either. Hell, the man had told Garrett just that morning that he was thinking of taking a hunting party out into the desert to see if they could shore up the rapidly dwindling supply room. Garrett felt anxious to get out of town, and Ben was right there with him. Celebrating his birthday hadn’t seemed like it was anywhere on the list of things he wanted to do that week.

  It was the people, though. They had grown complacent. Comfortable.

  It wasn’t that they didn’t know, either; all of them had access to the schoolhouse and the supply room. They’d all seen how little water was left, and how sparse the food offerings were becoming. They all knew the situation. Or at least they had the information there if they wanted to consider it. The thing was, Garrett was starting to think that they didn’t. It was human nature to want to avoid unpleasant circumstances, situations, and conversations, and maybe that made this logical—this need to pretend that everything was fine. That even in the midst of this incredibly screwed-up, hopeless situation, they should take some time out and hold a birthday party.

  Maybe it was them just trying to keep their chins up, keep a little positivity in their world. But Garrett didn’t think so.

  No, he thought it was probably the very definition of denial. Either that or they were just burned out on all the anxiety and danger, and couldn’t maintain that sort of focus anymore.

  Regardless of which of those it was, it confirmed one idea in his head: that he had to maintain his own focus, so that he could protect them when and if it was necessary. They could take time off from reality; he didn’t have that freedom.

  But he needed to do something, or he was going to go crazy. He’d never been good at standing around doing nothing. And though he was having trouble maintaining the intensity he thought the situation called for, he thought it would be a whole lot easier if he actually had something to do.

  Turning, he started walking toward Alice’s house, his mind roving through the possibilities. Going to another town was out. Trying to find another vehicle was a no-go, too, as they’d combed through all the towns in the area when he and his group first arrived, looking for cars and trucks that were old enough to have survived the EMP. Going out into the desert for Ben’s hunting party was an option, but Garrett had never been much of a hunter.

  And that left… What?

  “More defenses,” he said to himself. It was the only option available to him. And though it was a passive action, and therefore rubbed him the wrong way, he didn’t see that he really had much choice.

  Besides, Garrett hadn’t changed his mind about one thing: the Helen Falls gang was going to attack. It was only a matter of time. And the readier the town of Trinity Ranch was when it happened, the better their chances of success in that fight. If they succeeded there, they’d have access to whatever supplies the bikers had gathered, and their problems would be solved. For at least a short time.

  If nothing else, it would give them some time to figure out their next move.

  Turning at the corner, he increased his pace, his eyes already set on the small two-story that Alice had chosen for herself.

  “More fences?” Alice asked, surprised and not bothering to hide it. “You want more defenses than what we’ve already got?”

  Garrett nodded. “We can never be too protected. We know they’re coming. We have to make sure we can defeat them when they get here.”

  She gave him a long, searching look, her lips pursed. “What’s this really about, Garrett?” she finally asked. “Is it that the people are upset that you let that prisoner go? You think they’re starting to question you again?”

  He held out for a moment, but then breathed out, letting himself unwind a bit. “The waiting is driving me crazy, and I want something to do,” he admitted. “I figure a fence is as good as anything.”

  “You know no one’s going to want to do any more building, right?” Alice said. “They were excited about it at first, but now they’re bored and they’re doing other things.”

  “Which is a mistake,” he observed. “That attack is going to come. And if we let it take us by surprise—”

  “You know that,” she interrupted. “And I know that. Ben knows it, and Greyson, and Manny. Elisa and Julia would probably even admit to it. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the townspeople want to hear anything about it. You know…” She gave him a quick, sly grin. “Short attention spans and all that.”

  She reached out and took his hand. “That’s why they need you. Why they need us. To think of the things they don’t want to think about. Now come on.” She started walking toward the door, dragging him after her. “I hear there’s a party tonight, and it won’t go down well if you don’t show up. You might not be the guest of honor, but you’re st
ill one of the more important guys in town.”

  Laughing, though not feeling much better, Garrett allowed himself to be dragged along, his mind still going through the list of things he wanted to see done to their defenses the next day.

  Though Ben hadn’t been keen on the idea of a party, he had given the rest of the crowd permission to have it at his house, and by the time Alice and Garrett arrived the festivities were in full swing. Someone had dragged an old piano into the main room and Kristy was playing what sounded like ragtime tunes, while several people were dancing in the cleared-out area. A long table held an assortment of alcoholic beverages—the one thing the town had in spades, since it didn’t count as an everyday supply, and was only useful in certain situations. The only party food seemed to be apples, which were sitting in bowls around the room. Garrett appreciated that, realizing that whoever had done the planning here had actually thought about the fact that supplies were running low while the apple trees in the orchard suddenly seemed to be overproducing fruit.

  The entire room was lit with candle after candle, giving the place a wavering, romantic sort of light, and someone had even found a piñata to hang in the corner. Garrett wondered if that was decoration, or if they had actually found something to put inside it.

  The conversation dropped when Garrett and Alice walked in, as everyone turned to look at them. Garrett paused in the doorway, self-conscious and wondering why everyone was staring at him, but a moment later the sound picked up again and people went back to their partying.

  “Drink?” Julia asked, coming up to them with a cup in her hand.

  Garrett shook his head. “Nothing for me, thanks. Maybe Alice wants something.”

  Alice pressed her lips together, then nodded once. “Scotch, neat,” she said. “Two fingers.” When she noticed Garrett’s look, she shrugged. “In my life before, I loved Scotch. Had a favorite sort and everything.”