Resistance

by Jan Springer

  “Brace yourselves for this one, guys. The Unites States dictatorship has fallen.”

  * * * * *

  By the stunned shock on both Will and Cade’s faces, the two men were still reeling from the news Maggie had dropped about half an hour earlier. As the four of them sat at the cabin table nursing coffees, Cade and Will listened intently and with obvious extreme interest to Maggie’s tale.

  “The International Initiative, or the II as they call themselves, walked right in and took over.” Maggie laughed. “A military coup. Just like that. Or so we’ve been told. And I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.”

  Reena wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any more. It was all so overwhelming. They had a new government. Dare she hope this government would be better than the last one that’d taken power in a similar fashion?

  Her tummy did somersaults as she tried to figure out what all this would mean for the Resistance. They’d secretly been studying the government and toying with the idea of overthrowing the dictatorship themselves. The Resistance’s plans had now changed. They had a new enemy to infiltrate and would have to start all over collecting information on them. Maggie had said they were a relatively new group—the II. A group Reena had never heard of.

  “They have sent a formal invitation to the Resistance and other factions who wish to free woman. They want liaisons from all pertinent groups to attend a meeting to discuss the future of women and girls in the United States. They want our input into a global plan. Everything is on the table, including the Claiming Law and women’s rights.”

  Shivers swept through Reena. She should’ve been jumping for joy at this news, but she couldn’t conjure up any excitement or happiness. Perhaps because she’d been fighting for so long and she’d grown cautious. Maybe too cautious?

  All three of them were watching her carefully. The men waited for her reaction and Maggie bubbled with an abundance of joy that surprised Reena.

  “Did it ever occur to you this might be a trap, Maggie?” she asked her friend.

  Shock splashed over her friend’s face and her mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief. Guilt raced through Reena for bursting the woman’s bubble.

  “Been thinking the same thing,” Blade said in a cool, controlled voice.

  “Was hoping someone else would broach the subject, myself,” Cade replied. “Didn’t want to bring anyone down.” He sipped his coffee, averting his eyes from Maggie, who shot both men and then Reena a scalding glare.

  “A trick? You think this is a trick?” she snapped.

  Oops, the bubble had burst.

  “The government could have made up the ruse in order to draw all leaders out into the open,” Blade suggested.

  “Okay so listen, guys. I didn’t fucking well hoof it all the way in here just to get a load of pessimistic bullshit from you three,” Maggie snarled. She turned her attention to Reena. “And you should know the Resistance better than this. We wouldn’t accept anything at face value. Our people confirmed the story. It’s happened. Change is coming whether you like it or not. I realize you came out here to help you get over your burnout.” Maggie let her gaze wander to Cade, then to Will and then back to Reena. “And I would be pissed off, too, having been interrupted with these two men—who, by the way, you haven’t formally introduced. Not that I don’t know of them. But let me get to the point before any introductions and explanations. Either you send someone on your behalf to this initial meeting, Reena, or I’m bloody well going in your place. This is history in the making, damn it! I, for one, don’t want to be left out in the cold. I’ve been there for too damned long. I want to get on with my life.”

  Reena smiled inwardly at Maggie’s spunk. Her feistiness was another reason why she’d picked Maggie as her right-hand woman. Lately Maggie had been understandably sad about her sister’s death and Reena was glad to see a little of the old Maggie shining through.

  “Okay chill, Mag,” Reena said softly. “I want you to debrief me tonight. We leave first thing in the morning.”

  * * * * *

  “Do you think what Maggie said is legit?” Cade asked Will, joining his friend outside on the front porch. Maggie had brought a knapsack full of food and the two women were preparing dinner while catching up on Resistance information and gossip. The gossip part was when both men excused themselves.

  “As legit as anything can be these days.” The frown Will had been toting since they’d been interrupted by this Maggie chick only deepened.

  Yep, Blade was just as pissed about Reena returning to the Resistance as Cade.

  “You’ve heard of this group?” he prodded.

  Blade nodded. “SKULL thought they were irrelevant. Obviously they were wrong.”

  “Red seems intent on going to the meeting on her own, forgoing a liaison. What’s your take on that?”

  “Over my dead body,” Blade growled.

  “Good, then we’re of the same mind.”

  Cade smiled. Having Will work with him was good. The two of them should be able to convince Reena of the dangers. She was more important than ever to the Resistance. She would have to be protected at all costs.

  Fuck. If he didn’t miss his guess, he and Blade had just joined the Resistance.

  * * * * *

  The four of them had a feast of fried steak, boiled potatoes and fresh green salad. Due to the excitement, Reena didn’t get more than four hours of sleep during the night. She’d nestled between Blade and Cade, but out of respect for Maggie they hadn’t had sex. The need to reach out and touch them, to have the two of them make love to her again, made for a restless night at best.

  As the gray light of dawn cracked through the frosted windows, Reena awoke and was the first one out of bed. A moment later, Maggie’s sleepy voice uncurled from beneath the bundle of blankets piled on top of the pull-out couch in the living room.

  “Morning,” she said cheerfully. That was Maggie, always happy first thing in the morning.

  Tyler had mentioned how irritatingly cheerful their brother Mac could be in the mornings. Perhaps Reena should play matchmaker and hook up Maggie and Mac? She shook those thoughts aside. She had more important things to do, such as get ready to attend the meeting the II had set up for the day after tomorrow.

  Last night had been fraught with arguments between her, Maggie, Will and Cade. They had been adamant about her not going in person. But she’d faced dangerous situations before and she would face more in the future. Now was not the time to hide.

  Besides if the II was smart, they wouldn’t take her out. If they did, the Resistance would only turn her into a martyr, and martyrs were harder to fight than a real woman willing to negotiate.

  “Morning,” Reena replied, keeping her voice low so the men wouldn’t be disturbed. She quietly stoked the woodstove with kindling and old newspaper. It took only a few seconds for the hot coals inside the stove to light. Gray smoke curled and then bright orange flames erupted, quickly devouring the paper.

  “It’ll be a few minutes for the coffee. Did you sleep well?” Reena asked. She placed a couple split logs onto the crackling fire and quickly closed the stove door.

  “Like a rock. This fresh country air beat the crap out of me.” Maggie chuckled and stretched her long johns-clad arms out from beneath the blankets. She quickly stuck them back underneath. “Too cold,” she grumbled, keeping her voice low. “No wonder you cuddled up with two hot guys to keep warm.”

  Reena rolled her eyes. Maggie wasn’t about to let her forget she’d shacked up with a couple of hunks.

  “You’re pooped from skiing through all that snow. I only went half a mile last night and my legs are killing me,” Reena complained.

  “But you should be in great shape. Especially your legs, curling them around your lovers’ waists while…”

  Maggie wiggled her eyebrows and, despite the heat flaming her face, Reena maintained firm eye contact with her friend.

  “Which leads me to my question,” Reena said. “Exactly how long
were you lurking out there and why would you think anything was happening in here?”

  Maggie smiled knowingly, sweet dimples popping along her cheekbones.

  Oh damn. She’d been around long enough, that for was sure.

  “You really should pull your curtains,” Maggie suggested. “All I needed was my powerful binoculars, a melted patch in your frosted windows and settling on a perch off a nearby cliff and I could see everything, sweets. You were okay and entertaining a couple of hunks, so I just gave you a little bit of fun time while we kept an eye out for enemies. It wasn’t easy, I might add. With the fall of the government and us getting cold asses out there, I was biting off everyone’s head, just like you’d been doing before you left. God! How do you run everything on a daily basis without going nuts?” Maggie shook her head in frustration. “We waited until we figured you were running low on food before I came in. Anyway, I didn’t know your men were so handy they could use margarine as lube.”

  Shit!

  Reena’s face grew even hotter. She laughed quietly at being caught with her pants down and two men literally thrusting into her.

  Maggie’s voice turned serious. “Anyone could have been watching, Red. You should have been more careful. We came across a camp littered with frozen dead bodies. The only reason we saw them was because an arm had frozen poking right up out of the snow. Scared the daylights out of me. A little digging around and we found more bodies. I’m assuming you had something to do with that?”

  “We did. Those men caught me. Cade and Will saved my life. I figured I was safe with them here,” Reena admitted. A sweet warmth raced through her at bragging to Maggie about her two men.

  “Well hell, girl, as long as you had some fun. That’s really all that counts, right? A little R & R—”

  “Maggie,” Reena warned. The last thing she wanted was for Maggie to compare R & R with what she’d experienced with Cade and Will. R & R had been forced on her. What she had with Cade and Will was special and to be treasured.

  Maggie shoved her blankets aside and began dressing. “Okay, okay. Sorry. We were all just so worried about you when you didn’t check in at the predetermined times…”

  “Like I said last night, the phone was busted. Blade’s been trying to fix it. He hasn’t been successful.”

  “There was nothing wrong with it when I tried it outside. I got a signal right away,” Maggie said.

  Reena blinked in surprise.

  “You guys had gone to sleep and I snuck out for a pee. Took the phone with me to see if I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. But it works fine. Didn’t you ever try it?”

  No, she’d trusted Will when he said he hadn’t fixed it. Reena froze as Cade and Will’s soft snores grew louder…along with the beating of her heart.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, of course I’m sure. I was able to make contact with HQ and let them know you’re okay. Will did a good job of putting it together.”

  An icy coldness swept through Reena. She mentally backtracked to when she’d last seen Will working on the phone. Actually, he hadn’t been near it since a couple of days ago. Blade had fixed it and never told her?

  “By the weird look on your face I take it you didn’t know?” Maggie asked, suspicion lacing her voice. She stood beside Reena, her eyebrows scrunched in a severe frown.

  Reena shook her head as the cold sank deeper into her body. Did Cade also know the phone was working? Maybe he’d forgotten about the phone, just like she had. They had been kind of busy. She’d never noticed whether or not he had questioned Blade about it. Maybe they were in cahoots together?

  Had Blade called in her whereabouts? Was SKULL sending another assassin because Blade couldn’t kill her?

  Reena stared at the two men on the bed. If Blade or Cade was expecting company, they wouldn’t be sleeping so soundly, would they? Unless they thought they had her in the bag, so to speak?

  Beside her, Maggie produced a gun and Reena’s blood ran cold as Maggie aimed the barrel at Cade.

  “I can take them both out right now. Just give me the word,” she said quietly.

  There was an icy calm to her voice. Maggie wouldn’t hesitate to kill the two men Reena had so quickly grown to care for. Maybe their connection even went beyond caring and gratitude? Maybe love?

  Oh get over it, Reena!

  Caring and gratitude only. That was it. How could she not care for two men who’d saved her life?

  Reena reached out and placed her hand on the barrel of the gun, pushing until it pointed at the floor.

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I have another idea.”

  * * * * *

  It was really hard to pretend nothing was wrong as they packed. All Reena wanted to do was ask Will about the satellite phone. Or Cade. She almost did several times, but she held back, hoping Will or Cade would tell her.

  God, why was she being so childish? A simple question would solve the issue. But if she asked Cade and he said no, Will hadn’t said anything to him, he could be lying. If he said yes, Will had told him, then she’d be hurt they hadn’t told her.

  Another reason for remaining silent—she didn’t want to tip them off that she knew. She preferred the element of surprise. The best defense was a good offense. She should be angry. Instead sadness clung to her to the point of wanting to cry.

  Stupid woman. Be strong. Be tough. Let the plan play out as you’ve laid it. Action first. Questions later.

  She bit her bottom lip and hoisted her knapsack onto her back and buckled the belt. The others were standing out on the veranda waiting for her. She suspected Maggie had arranged their departure to give Reena a few moments alone to say goodbye to her grandparents’ cabin. She didn’t know when she would be back. Or even if she would come back.

  She gazed at the pull-out sofa, neatly tucked in again. The cots had been put away and the kitchen had been cleaned to perfection. It appeared as if they’d never been there. As if this part of her past had been erased.

  The woodstove continued to pump out heat, but the fire would be dead in a few hours. The cabin would once again freeze over. Just as cold as she felt regarding her men.

  Her men.

  Yeah, she’d been in total dreamland about them. She smiled wistfully. Maybe it had been a dream, but it had been wonderful while it lasted.

  She turned and, without glancing back, walked out the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Something’s up with Red,” Will said in a low voice as Cade snowshoed beside him. Up ahead, the two women disappeared behind a clump of snow-draped balsam trees.

  “She was too quiet while we packed,” Cade replied. “She tried to act normal, but I could see right through it. Maybe she’s just mulling over what we argued about last night.”

  Hope tinged Cade’s voice and it whispered through Blade as well. Maybe Cade was right. Maybe she was rethinking her stance on personally going to this meeting the II had set up. Or maybe something else was going on…

  “But I think there’s more to it.” Cade echoed Will’s thoughts.

  “Maggie probably knows. When I get the chance to talk to her, I’ll pump her for information,” Will said.

  He reached into his pocket and grabbed a bottle of water. He gulped the ice-cold liquid, enjoying the way it slid down his parched throat. They’d been snowshoeing along the back road for a couple hours and his wounds were aching, but it was a good ache. It meant he was alive.

  “Pretty nice out here, isn’t it?” Cade asked as he produced his own bottle of water and took a few swallows.

  Blade nodded. “A far cry from the heat and sand we encountered during the Terrorist Wars.”

  He enjoyed the white-blanketed trees and the spectacular way the sunshine sparkled off the snow drifts. The silence was deafening except for the soft hiss and crackle of snow melting beneath the hot glare of sunshine.

  The gentle whisper was much better than the report of gunshots as bullets left the barrel of his rifle and splattered som
eone’s brains. Yep, he could get used to this peace and quiet.

  The crunch of snow broke the silence as Cade began to snowshoe ahead, following the trail the women had carved. The four of them had been taking turns with the lead.

  Every half hour the first person in line—who had the hardest job of stomping down the snow—would go to the end of the line. This gave everyone an equal opportunity for a small rest.

  Right now Maggie was in the lead. When she dropped back to the end of the line, he’d talk to her about Red. But the instant he and Cade rounded the sharp curve where Red and Maggie had disappeared moments earlier, several men and women came out of the nearby trees and completely surrounded them.

  He didn’t know who was more surprised, him or Cade. Several guns were pointed at them and a sharp slap of anger twisted through Blade.

  “Hands off the weapons!” A man dressed in white-and-gray camouflage fatigues shouted.

  Immediately Blade loosened his hand from the handle of his gun. Hell, he didn’t even remember reaching for it.

  Two women he’d never seen before—also dressed in head-to-toe camouflage white—moved toward them. Quickly, they frisked both him and Cade, alleviating them of all weapons.

  “The Resistance, I presume,” Blade muttered. He sought out Reena and Maggie, who were watching from behind the group.

  He caught Red’s gaze and saw her anger was aimed directly at him. What the hell was she so pissed about?

  Maggie was saying something to Red and she nodded. She turned her back to them and started snowshoeing down the road. Farther ahead several more people, heavily armed, dressed in camouflage, waited for her.

  “Reena! Don’t do it!” Cade shouted from beside him.

  Her shoulders stiffened momentarily and hope raced through him as she hesitated.

  Come on, Red. Talk to us.

  His hopes plummeted as she continued walking.

  Dammit!

  “She’s going to that fucking meeting,” Cade said. Anger twisted his voice.

  Blade cursed violently and the people surrounding them released the safety catches on their weapons.