by Fall, Carly
She could very well be overreacting. Hell, she most likely was as she tended to have an overactive imagination anyway. Her mom had always told her so. She remembered when she’d rush in to wake up her mother, convinced that Dracula stood outside her window, a ghost would rush out at her if she opened her closet door, and a man-eating wolf lay under her bed, waiting for her feet to hit the floor.
The farther away she drove, her heartbeat slowed, her fear ebbed, and she relaxed. She also became more certain that she most likely had been overacting.
It wasn’t like someone could just move into that place, right?
Chapter 9
“Do you think she believed us?” Justice asked.
Noah shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know, man. It was hard to tell. She didn’t give much away on what she’d been thinking.”
“No, she didn’t, but I’ve been observing her for almost a year now, and I think she bought it.”
Noah turned to him. “You do? How come?”
Justice stared at the floor for a moment, trying to come up with the right words, but he couldn’t find them. “Just a feeling I have.”
“Gut instinct.”
“Excuse me?”
“When you feel like that, when you just know something, but you don’t have the facts to prove it, it’s called a gut instinct. Always listen to it, Justice. Always.” Noah pointed his finger at Justice’s chest. “Just like I’m trusting my gut that you and your crew are cut from good cloth. If I had listened to it in the past, there’d be a lot of things different in my life right now.”
“Like what?”
“Like Talin being alive, for one. The rest are none of your damn business at this point.”
Noah turned and walked down the hall, and Justice followed, curiosity eating at him on exactly what Noah meant.
When they reached the large room, his crew stood at attention while Blake and Hudson sat at the table. It irritated him a bit, but he reminded himself they weren’t under his leadership. Noah seemed to run a pretty loose squad.
As he approached Chance, Roman, Axel, Kade, and Macy, he met each of their gazes. He could see it in their features they knew that trouble would be descending soon. “Which one of you left the gate open?”
No one spoke, and he could feel Noah, Blake, and Hudson’s stares on him.
If he couldn’t get an answer with that question, he’d try a different approach. “Which one of you was the last one down here?”
His group remained silent, and a second later, Hudson stood.
“I can answer that one. It was me. I was the last in line as I’m moving a little slower than normal after taking that knife to the gut last night.”
Justice glared at him.
“Look, man, I didn’t know it was supposed to be locked. I’m sorry.”
He glanced at Noah, waiting for Noah to punish Hudson in some way, but nothing came.
“Our position has been compromised,” Justice said through gritted teeth.
“You just got done telling me that you thought she bought our song and dance,” Noah said.
He sighed. Yes, he had a feeling that Holly wouldn’t be going to her superiors, but at the same time, he’d felt a lot more comfortable when no one knew of their existence. Only time would tell the outcome—if Holly would tell anyone, or not.
“Listen, Justice,” Noah murmured, placing his hand on Justice’s shoulder. “We’ll get through this, together. Right now, I think it’s best if we let your crew know where things stand. Everything.”
Justice stared into Noah’s dark eyes. He didn’t want to deliver the news—it would be a terrible blow to all of them. Thankfully, none of them had been mated, so there wouldn’t be any SR44 males without their mates, a truly ugly thing to witness. His thoughts immediately turned to Titus, and he made a mental note to discuss the male with Noah at a later time. But for now, they needed to break the news that Earth would now be called home, for forever more.
He turned to his group. “Everyone, please sit down.”
As they all took their chairs, tension filled the air.
“What’s going on, Justice?” Macy asked.
When everyone had settled, Justice looked to Noah. It seemed the words wouldn’t form on his tongue, as if the shock and sadness had paralyzed him.
Noah nodded, the unspoken plea understood. “Listen, everyone. I know you were sent here to get us because you received a message that we had completed our mission. We think we know who sent it. His name was Talin, and he was an honorable male, but he also wanted to go home very badly. Our mission wasn’t complete, and it isn’t complete to this day.”
Worried glances were exchanged around the table.
“Where is Talin now?” Chance asked.
“Talin is dead.”
“How?” Kade asked. “Colonists?”
“No, but I’ll get to that in a moment.”
Noah took another deep breath, and the ache in Justice’s heart amplified, as he knew what Noah would say next.
“I’m not really good at delivering bad news with finesse. I’m pretty much a blunt guy, so I’m just going to tell you outright. SR44 is gone. It was blown up when the Miladrids attacked shortly after you arrived here looking for us. This is home now, guys.”
As the shock, pain, and sadness crossed each face, the ache in the center of Justice’s chest spread. He had been responsible for these people, and part of his duty had been to return them home safely. He’d failed this mission in so many ways.
“You’re kidding, right?” Macy whispered.
Noah shook his head. “No. I wish I was.”
Hudson sat forward and placed his arms on the table, lacing his fingers together. “We know what you’re going through. We’re here to help in any way we can.”
A long beat of silence ensued, then Chance quickly stood up, his chair toppling over. Stomping over to one of the small rooms off to the side, he slammed the door. A moment later, a scream of utter pain met their ears, and Justice closed his eyes.
“All the loss I feel aside,” Kade said. “We need to look at our options. It’s not the time for emotions. Right now, our position has been compromised. I think we need to move.”
“I’m fairly certain that Holly won’t say anything,” Justice murmured.
“I understand that, but I’m still not comfortable here.”
Noah, Hudson, and Blake all exchanged glances as Macy stared at the table, a lone tear tracking down her cheek.
“Come back to the silo with us,” Noah said. “We can set up some cots in the gym. At least, you guys will be safe until we can help you get back on your feet.”
“Silo?” Kade asked.
“Yes. I own it. It’s safe, secure, and there’s lots of SR44ians there to make your feel at home, plus a couple other interesting folks like Blake over here.”
“I’ll cook us up a big meal, and we can all get to know each other better,” Hudson said.
Justice exchanged glances with Kade, Macy, Roman, and Axel, yet didn’t receive any feedback except profound grief.
His initial reaction was to agree, but he couldn’t make this decision without input from the others. The devastating news had left their emotions raw, their critical thinking skewed.
“Could you please give us a few moments to discuss it?” he asked.
Noah stood. “Of course.”
Justice waited until their footsteps faded up the hallway.
“Any thoughts?”
“What is a silo?” Kade asked.
“I only saw a little bit of it, but it’s a very nice place. I slept in the gym last night. It’s much better than staying here and staring at rock walls.”
“How many more of us are there?” Axel asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Where’s Titus?” Roman questioned.
“He’s with the Six Saviors. However, I don’t know all the details, but there is some bad blood between them.”
Macy gla
nced around the table. She’d never enlisted in the SR44 military, but had offered her services as a Healer for the mission when the signal had been received and it was thought the Six Saviors would be coming home.
“I don’t want to stay here, Justice,” she said. “I want to go to Noah’s. I’m very afraid of what will happen if Holly comes back with other humans.”
The soldiers at the table would never admit to fear, but Justice could sense it brewing just below the crushing sorrow they felt at the loss of their home. They glanced at her, and back at him, and the silence stretched on.
“Let’s go with Noah,” Axel murmured. “This place doesn’t feel safe anymore. In fact, it feels more like a tomb.”
Roman nodded. “Agreed.”
He gazed over at Kade.
“My vote is yes.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to Chance. If he refuses to leave, I’ll stay with him, but the rest of you go. I do believe Noah is an honorable male, and I’m certain you’ll be out of danger there. Please gather what you’ll need for the next day or two.”
He stood from the table and knocked on Chance’s door. Taking a deep breath, he prepared for the male’s anger. He tended to run hot, and it never proved to be any fun.
Chance opened the door without a word. Tear tracks traced down his face; yet, his features remained stoic. Justice didn’t acknowledge that his second in command had been crying.
“The others have decided to go stay with the Saviors until we get a plan together on our next move. If you decide to stay here, I’ll stay with you.”
Chance glared at him, his red-rimmed eyes almost looking evil. “I’ll go where the others decide. None of it matters one fucking bit to me.”
He nodded, noting the venom in Chance’s voice, but deciding not to comment on it. “Very well. We’ll leave in just a little while. Get your gear together.”
Chapter 10
Blake whistled softly as they stood in the entryway. He felt bad for Justice and his crew as they all seemed like solid people. His gut told him they didn’t compare in the least bit to those bastards in the Platoon. Micah and the others had shown their true colors at the beginning, and the Saviors had simply tried to change them into what they hoped for, what they needed—an ally.
That hadn’t worked out so well.
“How long do you think they’re going to need to hash it out?” he asked.
Noah shrugged. “Relax, Blake. They just found out their home is gone, and the place they’ve felt safe has been compromised because of us.”
Hudson sighed. “I didn’t know the damn fence was supposed to be locked.”
“No one’s blaming you,” Noah mumbled. “No way you could have known. I had no idea the fence was supposed to be padlocked. What about you, Blake?”
“Nope.”
“See? It’s settled. Not your fault, man.”
The silence stretched on, and then the hall light illuminated. They heard footsteps, and Justice came into view.
“We’ve all decided to go with you.”
“Excellent.” Noah grinned.
Blake sighed and pulled out his phone and called Rayner.
Although he felt pretty confident in his assumption of Justice and his group, he questioned whether he wanted them around Sophia and Megan. His world would crumble if anything happened to those two.
When Rayner answered, he spoke. “Hey, man. Is there a woman in your vicinity?”
“Why?”
“I need to talk to someone who can listen and be responsible.”
“Fuck you, Blake.”
“Back at you.”
“Yeah, here’s Faith.”
He heard Rayner mumbling, the Faith came on the line. “Hi, Blake. Are you accusing Rayner of being childish?”
“Hi, Faith. Pretty much.”
She laughed. “That’s why I love him.”
“And that’s why I needed to talk to someone who’s responsible, like you.”
“What’s up?”
He explained they would be having company. “Four men, one woman. Have Rayner and Jovan set up cots in the gym. Better make that six cots in the gym if Titus is going to stick around.”
“Give me the phone,” Hudson murmured.
He handed it over.
“Hey, Faith. Yeah, I’m good, thanks, honey. Here’s the grocery list for tonight.”
As Hudson began with thirty potatoes, nine heads of lettuce, and debated whether he needed four or five beef roasts, Blake tuned him out.
He became fidgety, moving his weight from one foot to the other, his hands clenching into fists, then releasing. His heart pounded a little bit faster, and a light sweat broke out on his brow. He wanted heroin.
As his inner demon chatted at him, telling him that one hit wouldn’t hurt, that the stress he felt at the situation would be relieved, that he could control his cravings after that one, relaxing bump, perspiration poured down his face despite the mild temperature in the room.
“I’m going to step outside,” he murmured, and didn’t wait for an answer.
As the sun hit his face, he inhaled deeply and jammed his fists into the front pockets of his jeans. He found that movement helped get him over these humps that happened every now and then, especially as they became less frequent.
Hudson came out a few moments later and handed him his phone back. “You okay, man?”
Oddly enough, Hudson probably understood Blake’s addiction better than anyone, given how his mate, Beverly, had been through rehab before she ever met Hudson and had clued him on what Blake experienced in times like these.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You need anything?”
“No.”
“If you’ve got all your marbles in a row, maybe you can figure out how all of us are going to fit in the Escalade in one trip.”
Blake mentally counted the available seats, timed it by the approximate amount of duffel bags they would bring, and came up with nothing but two trips.
“Not going to happen, Hudson.”
“That’s kind of what I was thinking.”
Hudson’s little distraction had calmed him, and his craving had passed. His heartbeat returned to normal; the sweat dried on his skin. Beverly had talked about preoccupying his mind with something similar, but he’d always just fought his way through the hunger for heroin. He’d have to file away this trick for future use.
As he kicked the light brown sand with his boots, he considered other things that needed to be taken care of. Food. Beds. He couldn’t think of anything else. He hit number two on the speed dial and Jovan picked up on the second ring.
“I need you to come out here with the other Escalade.”
“Rayner just told me what’s going on. What happened?”
“Their position may have been compromised, and it’s our fault. I think they’re pretty good people, so I’m not too worried about bringing them to the silo. We won’t fit in one car, though.”
“Got it. So you called Jovan’s taxi service.”
“Yup.”
“I thought Justice seemed okay.”
“Me, too.”
“Where you at?”
“Do you remember when we broke out Micah and Annis? Where you were captured?”
He chuckled. “How could I forget?”
“Head there, and call me when you’re close.”
“Jesus, I hope that doesn’t give me some PTSD shit.”
Blake rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up. You can go down memory later.”
He hung up and shut his eyes, raising his face to the sun, and wondered what would become of Justice and his group.
He wouldn’t even take a guess. He’d have a say in it, but that decision would ultimately be left up to Noah.
His gut churned, and he had the feeling things would significantly change in the very near future.
He just hoped it would be for the best.
Chapter 11
It had taken a few hours to work out the logistics of
transporting everyone. His crew had also taken their time packing, but finally, they arrived at the silo in the late afternoon, just in time for an early dinner.
“Everyone, this is Justice. Justice, I’m not even going to try to introduce you to everyone.”
Shock rolled through his system as Noah’s voice droned on while introducing him and his crew of Rescue One. He counted eight males, eight females, and two children. Apparently, the last time he’d been here, everyone had been hidden away in the ‘lockdown.’
Envy and anger consumed him. Envy at the fact that each of the Saviors seemed to be happily mated, and anger that they hadn’t devoted all their time to completing their mission. Maybe if they hadn’t been enjoying the finer things that Earth offered, such as human females, shiny appliances, and lush accommodations, they would have destroyed the Colonists by now.
He smiled as people approached him to introduce themselves, and he tried to keep track of the face belonging to the name. Beverly. Abby. Sophia. Rayner. Alaina. He graciously accepted their hands to shake, and he arched his eyebrow in surprise as some of the females wrapped their arms around him.
“Welcome,” Abby said. “We’re very happy to have you.”
“Thank you for inviting us into your home,” Macy said from his left to Rayner as she extended a large basket of fresh strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage. “Please accept our gift into your hearts and bodies.”
He rolled his eyes. Such was the way of the Forest Dwellers, always so polite and willing to offer their crops to others. He appreciated the idea, but they’d lived off the food she offered for a couple of years now, and he didn’t like that she handed it over so freely as a gift to buy their gratitude.
“Thank you so much,” Rayner said in his native tongue. “I wish you many blessings.”
Macy beamed and bowed her head.
“Well, let’s clear out of the kitchen and allow Hudson to finish off the magic Beverly, Abby, and Alaina have started.”
Noah kissed Abby before walking down the hall and into the room with the bar.
“Can I get you a little whiskey?” he asked Justice.
The rest of his crew—everyone except Macy—had followed them. Most of the Saviors brought up the rear.
