by Belle Harper
I pumped in and out a few more times, riding out the wave of my orgasm and all but collapsed onto her in a pile of sweat and pleasure.
“Oh, my God.” I muttered as I tried to catch my breath. Nova giggled and kissed my shoulder. She bit her bottom lip with a hint of a smile and looked into my eyes.
“Oh, my God.” She giggled as she embraced me.
I was in love with Nova.
15
Noah
Watching Ez and Nova fuck was hot as hell. I couldn’t believe how exciting it was to watch others having sex, and how close I was to coming. There was no way I could fuck her now. I would explode before I got over there. But Colt seemed to think otherwise.
“That was fucking hot. How do you feel, Nova? You want to go again? Maybe with Noah? Or try something different?”
She kissed Ez and then with a lazy smile, whispered, “Noah. I want Noah.”
Fuck. Everyone is looking at me.
My heart started pounding in my chest. “I…um… Colt can go next,” I quickly blurted out.
Colt laughed. “No, she asked for you, Noah.” I closed my eyes, a lump formed in my throat. I don’t think I can do this… I was all excited and ready for it. But after watching Ez with her, I just didn’t think I would be any good at it. Colton sensed my change in mood.
“Or I can fuck you and let Nova watch?” His hand went to my cock and stroked me.
I nodded, I was too nervous to touch her now.
16
Colton
Man, I’m exhausted. When there was that much fucking going on, you were bound to be. But tonight had been amazing, a night of many firsts. While everyone was sleeping in post orgasmic bliss I was on watch for the first half of tonight. I kept thinking about how we got so lucky with Nova. Yeah, alright I admit I was pretty hard on her for the first couple of days. But that’s my job, it's what keeps us safe. And I will keep her safe, we all will.
I glanced down to see Ezra cuddling Nova on her mattress. He was sleeping deeper than I had ever seen him do. That’s what a great sex session will do to you.
Noah was spread out like a lazy dog on our mattress. He didn’t even bother to get dressed. He just lay down with a lazy smile on his face and instantly fell asleep. I was going to have to talk to him tomorrow, find out where the cocky and confident Noah went when it came to sex with Nova. He was doing great up until the end where he seemed jerky and nervous. Which isn’t like him. I smiled down at him, watching his chest rise and fall. I felt no jealously when he kissed Nova. If anything, it felt right. Like this was how we were supposed to be. Our family. All together.
I rubbed my eyes and glanced outside into the dark again. It was like I was seeing fire flies, dancing in the distance. I looked up to the moon. It was probably around 2:00 a.m. I got up and walked to the front window to have a look there, and I saw the fireflies dancing again. I rubbed my eyes again. I quickly went back to the other window and looked once more.
“What the fuck?” I said out loud, and instantly Ezra was on his feet. I guess he wasn’t sleeping as deeply as I’d thought.
“What the fuck?” Ezra hissed as he peered out through the slats to what we now both realized were not fireflies but flashlights. How could I be so stupid to think they weren’t flashlights. Fuck. My stomach dropped as I saw there was not just a few but many. Sweeping from side to side as they entered the main road to our little town.
“Fuck, Noah, Nova, get up now!” I rushed over and shook Noah awake. “Put your clothes on now. We have visitors and lots of them.”
Nova was visibly shaking as she looked out the front window to the other group of lights headed our way. Her hand went to her mouth as she turned to me, her eyes wide with panic.
“Oh, my God, Colton, what do we do?” The pitch in her voice sent everyone into action.
Ezra ran down the stairs and came back fast with three backpacks. Our emergency “get the hell out of dodge” bags.
“How close?” Noah called over to me. He was now fully dressed and standing at the doorway ready to go.
I heard the smashing of glass as they broke into the house across the street. And some stomping on the porch of our house. A few bangs on the front door as they tried to open it, it was locked. But they would smash their way in. Even with the house all boarded up. Nova gasped from where she was looking.
“They are here for me. They are from Bakersfield.” She stammered.
I heard the crash as the front door busted open downstairs. Noah closed the bedroom door and locked it. Everyone turned to me, waiting on orders. Fuck. Nova grabbed onto Ezra’s arm, she was shaking and visibly shaken. I shook my head to clear it. With the bedroom door locked, this gives us a few minutes of time, in which to scale down the side of the house. And hopefully no one would see. Fuck, I should have been paying more attention.
Ezra slung one of the backpacks over his back and handed one to Noah.
“Ezra,” I whispered to get his attention, as I place my hand on Nova’s shoulder and a finger to my lips. I looked to Noah and made the sign to evacuate. With every bang downstairs we heard, we pulled another board off the window. Until someone was trying to get into our room. Opening the window to the cooler night air was harder than I thought. It hadn’t been opened in a long time, and I struggled at first. My hands a little clammy.
Some yelling from outside the bedroom door told us there was now more than one out there. I glanced around below and saw there was no one down this side of the house. I quickly scaled down the side, using a lattice that was here when we found the building. We’d chopped it in half so no one could easily scale up it. But now that meant there was a bit of a drop once you got down. I landed with a small thump on the dirt. I look around and saw no one was here.
Nova was being lowered out the window by Ezra. She struggled to come down the lattice, and she was shaking. She was much slower than I wanted her to be, because the guys didn’t have much time left before the intruders broke into the room. Nova gasped as she stumbled down the side of the house. I caught her before she could hit the ground. Ezra threw my backpack out to me, I caught it and swung it over my back. When I looked up to see who was coming, I heard Ez and Noah yelling.
“Fuck, run, Nova. Hide. At the back of the house. I will come find you,” I told her. I had to get her safe before these men find her, and I needed to help Noah and Ezra.
She got up and stumbled over a few rocks as she started running. Then she froze as she looked into the kitchen window. Her hand flew to her mouth at what she saw there.
“Run,” I whisper-yelled.
I jumped up, trying to reach the lattice, but it was no use. I couldn’t get up to the guys. My heart pounded as I watched on. There was nothing I could do as Noah was being pushed out the window. Fucking hell. How did this happen?
17
Nova
“Run,” Colton told me.
It was hard to hear him over my thundering heartbeat. I started to run when I saw him.
Shit. I froze, recognizing him immediately. He was staring right back at me. The hair on my arms lifted at the sight. That black beanie, those aqua blue eyes. They belonged to the one person I thought I could trust, but now seeing him here, I knew it wasn’t true.
Adam. The boy I’d spent so long giving all my kisses to. I thought he was innocent in all of this. But he must have been the one to tell everyone I was a girl. No. A woman. I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. How could you?
“Run,” yelled Colton again. I quickly turned and saw Noah being shoved out the window just as another man came up around the side of the house and charged toward Colton. My hand flew to my mouth to stop me from screaming. I quickly looked back to Adam, and his eyes were wide in panic. Fuck.
Adam motioned with his hand and mouthed the word “run.” And with that, I did. I ran so fast into the dark that I fell over time after time, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I needed to get away. I could hear men raiding the houses looking for me, but I didn’t stop. I d
id what Colton had said, what Adam had said. I ran and I didn’t stop until I found a small rusted shed and hid behind it. I didn’t want to hide inside; there would be no way to escape if they found me. I kept watch, my eyes strained in the dark to see my guys. Colton, Ezra and Noah. But I didn’t realize I had run so far; the house was so much farther than I thought. I started to worry that Colton wouldn’t find me. He said to hide out behind the house. But I panicked and I kept going. But then the real panic set in… What if they were dead? My knees went weak and I fell down into the red dirt of the desert floor. I kept looking back to the house. Do I go back? My hands shook as I clutched my chest where my heart was racing.
I took a deep breath to steady myself. I need to calm down to think straight.
“No, they are alive.” I told myself. They were alive and coming. They would come for me.
I waited there for hours until the sun started to rise over the horizon. That’s when I saw the first house go up in flames. My chest got tight, as I struggled to breathe. I felt nauseous and I started to shake again. Guilt filled my stomach that I had done this—I ran from Bakersfield. I brought these men here. They were after me and now Colton, Noah, and Ezra were missing. My stomach was in knots.
“I’m not going to cry. They are alive.” I stood up on shaky legs and walked around the rusted metal shed. I was surprised that it was still standing out here with all the storms. I need to go back to them. I should have waited, I could have helped. I looked back to the houses. And is that? Someone coming toward me. It was hard to pick him out, but he stumbled a few times. Oh, my God!
“Hey,” I called out as I ran out from behind the shed toward him. Was it Colton? I couldn’t see well in this light. As I got closer, I could see red blood covering his head.
“Colt?” I warily asked where I was standing. He looked up with a wicked grin. Not Colton. My heart plummeted, and I felt my stomach lurch in disgust. “Got you now, bitch,” he screamed as he lunged for me, grabbing onto my arm as I tried to run.
“Let go. Get off me.” I kicked and hit him, trying to loosen his grip on me, but it was no use. He grabbed my other arm and tightened his grip until I yelped in pain.
“Now you are gonna come with me, little miss. We are gonna have fun you and me.” His breath was rancid as he spit the words in my face.
He half picked me up and half dragged me back to the shed I had just come from. I fought as hard as I could, but it was impossible to get out of his grip from this angle. He opened the shed, the rusty hinges screamed in protest. It was dark in there, but I could make out a few things lying around. A small shovel—the handle looked rotten, though—and a few planks of wood. Red dust covered almost everything. He threw me down on the hard ground, the air whooshing out from my lungs. I took a few deep breaths and turned to find him unbuttoning his pants.
“Fuck off,” I yelled to him as he approached me. No way was I going to let him rape me. He would have to kill me first. I scrambled over to the shovel. The handle wasn’t as bad as I thought, just split and weathered.
I held it out in front of me, and he laughed as he grabbed my foot and dragged me toward him. He tried to grab me, but I swung with everything I had and hit his arm with a loud bang that I didn’t just feel through my arm, but my whole body pained from it.
“Your gonna pay for that, bitch,” he growled out.
On pure adrenaline, I lifted the shovel again, aimed for his throat, and swung as he lunged at me. The sound he made when the tip of the shovel sliced though his skin was something I would never forget. His hands flew straight to where the shovel was embedded in his skin and he pulled it out.
I scrambled back in shock as he held onto the open gash and blood started pouring out between his fingers. He tried to talk but as he did, blood bubbled out and his eyes widened. I dry-retched as I watched him crumble to the floor, gasping for air. I didn’t look away as I watched the life drain out of him.
I just killed a man.
18
Ezra
We had been bunkered down outside, hiding in the bushes at the back of the house, waiting for these assholes to leave. But the fuckers set our place on fire. They raided the other building and took all our shit. There was just too many for us to take on. I counted over fifteen of them. At least Nova was not here, Colt had told her to run and she did. We needed to find her; she was alone and probably scared. I can see why she left Bakersfield.
“Noah, keep your eyes open. Don’t go to sleep.” I looked over to see Colt stroking Noah’s cheek. Colt had a smile on his face, but you could see the cracks there. He was trying to be positive. But Noah was hurt badly. One of those fuckers had pulled a knife on him. He’d deflected the blow to his chest, but it hit his head hard, and he fell from the window and hit the ground. Even with Colt trying to stop him from hitting the ground, Noah was a big guy and there was no way Colton could have caught him. I charged the asshole who stabbed him and threw myself out the window. I landed awkwardly but I didn’t break anything. Just a sprained ankle, if that.
But now we worried that Noah had a concussion, and the bleeding from the gash in his head from the knife did not slow down at all.
“I think we need to go now while they are all going through the last of our shit. I can carry Noah if you can carry our bags.” I told Colton.
Noah shook his head. “Just go find her now,” he whispered.
I couldn’t leave him to go find Nova alone. We all needed to go together. I quickly passed the bags over to Colt. He strapped one to his front, the other to his back, and held the last one in his hand. He got up and did a quick sweep of the area.
I got up and watched Colton go around the outside of the house. To check if it was all clear from those Bakersfield men. The heat from the fire was powerful; I could feel the dry air as the wind blew toward us. He waved to me and I carefully pulled Noah over my shoulders in a fireman’s carry and jogged over to Colton. I followed him as he dashed out of the yard and away from the house we’d spent so much time in—our home that was now burning to the ground. And out into the desert where hopefully our Nova waited for us to return.
After what felt like an hour, we saw a small metal shed in the middle of nowhere. It was amazing it had held up after all this time. The rusted tin gave it a red look, which was very suiting out here, where everything was red. The one thing I noticed was it was big enough to hide in there, and if Nova was anywhere, that was where I would bet my last ration bar.
“Nova,” Colt called out as he entered through an open door. As I caught up to him, I heard him hiss “fuck” under his breath. “Nova, baby, sweetheart?” Colt murmured gently.
When I entered the dark space, the first thing I saw a man covered in blood on the floor and a little human ball crouched in the far corner of the dark shed. I quickly moved around the body and gently placed Noah on the floor as far away as I could. “Noah, wake up,” I tapped his cheeks, and shook his shoulders. He didn’t open his eyes. Shit I should have talked to him more. I should have tried to keep him awake. I could see his head wound had finally stopped bleeding, and all the blood on his face had dried and was flaking off.
“Nova,” I called over to her, and Colton turned to see that Noah was now unconscious. Nova looked like she was in a comatose state. Fuck this shit. Hadn’t we suffered enough? We finally found this incredible woman, and now we were homeless, Noah was injured, and now our beautiful Nova…
“Fuck,” Colt yelled. And it shocked both Nova and me. Her head swung up and she looked over to us with those big browns. Thank fuck she was still alive, but those eyes had fear in them. What did that fucker do to her?
I moved to her, pulling her into my arms. Once she was standing, I looked over her and ran my hands up and down over her body, looking for any injuries she may have gotten. She was fully dressed but had blood splatter on her face and clothes.
“Is it your blood?” I asked. She shook her head and pointed to the body on the floor. I kicked the dead body until it rolled over,
revealing a massive gash in his throat.
“Holy shit, did you do this?” I asked her in shock. She blinked away tears and nodded again. Her hands trembled as she clasped onto my top. Not wanting to let me go. I held her tightly in my arms, not wanting to let her go either.
“You did good. Don’t cry. You were protecting yourself. You need to stay strong. Noah needs us now. He hit his head and… I let him fall asleep.”
19
Nova
I looked over to where Colton was hovering over Noah. Ezra was right; I needed to stay strong. I pulled myself up and wiped my shaking hands down the front of my top. I needed to snap out of this haze I was in. My men were safe, they were here with me. I had to do what was needed to survive. I had to kill that man. I had no other choice.
“Noah,” I called out as I wiped my eyes dry, I rushed over to where he lay. Colton was trying to wake him, but Noah wasn’t responding.
No. I only just got these guys. I cannot lose any of them right now. They were mine and we were a family. We had only just become a family.
“Let me see,” I told Colton as I pushed him aside. I pulled Noah’s hair apart at the top and found a big clean slice around three inches long. I could see from here it was to the skull, but there didn’t look to be any breaks. But the force of the knife might be why he was unconscious right now.
“What happened?” I asked. As they filled me in on what happened, I held Noah’s hand and stroked his face with my other. I don’t know if it was to comfort Noah or to reassure me that he was still here, alive.
“Head wounds are always the best bleeders. But it looks like it hasn’t broken anything. We need to clean it and stitch it up fast before he gets an infection,” I told them, and I ran my hands down Noah’s face.
