by Angela White
6
Neil’s lips were tight as they climbed the fence. He didn’t offer her a hand over as he might have with the other women here. He could sense her reluctance to touch or be touched. His time in Adrian’s army had made him, all of them, more sensitive. Neil’s scowl grew. Except for Kenn, apparently.
Angela stayed at Neil’s side, able to feel his disapproval. She leaned closer. “He has my medical bag.”
Neil continued, feeling no better. He had respect for Kenn, even though he couldn’t say he liked the arrogant son of a bitch. He wasn’t afraid of him, but he was scared of destroying all Adrian had going, of losing his second chance, his place. They were walking alone now, and Neil did hope no one would stress to Kenn that he had escorted his wife to another man’s tent. He didn’t need that type of drama.
Angela picked up the thought, was unable to stay quiet this time. “We’re not married.”
She said it firmly, but Neil only shrugged, not realizing he hadn’t spoken aloud. “That doesn’t matter. Common Law counts.”
“We weren’t that either.”
“That’s the way it appears.”
“Why? Because he says so? They don’t even know me.”
“We listen and watch. Kenn introduced you as his Angela, and you began talking to Adrian with no denial. Kyle even called you his wife, and you laughed with the rest of us. It’s how we judge ‘lady or tramp’ here.”
“It’s not like that, and I’m already tired of saying it!” she insisted. “I haven’t even been here a full day yet. They know nothing.”
“What Kenn says, his respectability, gives it credit,” Neil explained as he steered them toward the QZ. “If Adrian hadn’t taken you under his wing today, you might have been viewed as a mother trying to get to her son by cheating on her husband.”
She was angry, he could see it, but more than that, he could feel it. Neil was sympathetic. He couldn’t wait to observe her in real sun, and happy, rather than the darkness and fear she was trapped in now. He thought Adrian would handle it faster with this one than with the other women who had joined Safe Haven.
“Sorry, but I never sugarcoat the truth to people I like,” Neil stated. “Things are different now. You got a chance to show that you can be one of us, and you did well, but your Wolfman… It could get ugly for him if people think Kenn’s been reunited with his wife, and she has another man hanging around. Be careful.”
Angela sighed in frustration, clearly not understanding the rules yet.
Neil was stopped from any further explanations by the tent flap opening.
The wolf padded out, studying the trooper, and he crossed under the tape with no signs that it existed to him. Angela wasn’t sure that was the case, but she would never tell on Dog.
The wolf was followed by his master, and Angela dropped to one knee to greet the animal, lingering when she knew she shouldn’t.
After a minute of tense silence, she stood up and took the bag Marc had brought out, being careful not to touch him.
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
There was another awkward silence, and Angela tried hard to sound normal, aware of eyes on them in the dim light of the fires. “Guess you’ll be out in the morning?”
“Yeah.” Marc silently asked what was wrong, but she didn’t respond. He wanted to say something, needed to comfort her, but knew he couldn’t, not with the guard standing alertly behind her. He clamped his lips shut. Just be cool.
“I’ll see ya, Brady.” Angela said sadly, feeling like this was goodbye for some reason that she refused to identify.
The desperation had Marc opening his mouth without knowing what might come out, unable to ignore her need twice.
“I’ll wait until you decide, Angie, and I’ll accept it. If I can’t, I’ll go.”
Neil witnessed her freeze in mid-step and then actually stop herself from responding… From begging him to stay?
Angela forced herself to move, too aware of Neil missing nothing. He and Adrian were right. She would have to be very careful.
Following Adrian’s pattern from the contest, Neil walked a little behind and a bit to her right as she went to her son’s tent, thinking hard about what he had just seen and felt. The pull was strong, undeniable, and it had taken less than a minute to recognize. Did Kenn love her that way?
Like his boss, Neil thought women should be happy and treated well. Everyone was wondering about the angry wound on her mouth, especially since the couple had gone all day without speaking to each other, though, they’d been apart since before the war. Had Kenn really hit her?
These things bothered Neil. He wanted to ask questions, but knew he would get no answers from her. He would have a hard time believing anything she might say, anyway. It would force him to do something, and a mere “sit down” with Kenn wouldn’t be enough. For beating on Angela, Neil wanted Kenn killed.
Neil admitted to himself then that he was attracted to her, might even want her, and made himself think of the expression on the Marc’s face when he’d blurted that he would wait for her. Complete devotion. It was what a woman like Angela needed, and he envied the man a little. Marc Brady… Maybe I can get some honest answers there.
7
Immediately noticing the odor of gun oil, Neil tapped on the tent flap and had to wait for the wolf to move from the doorway before he could step inside. Soft, sad music came from a radio near a threadbare, camouflage sleeping bag, and the broad-shouldered man in the middle of it looked up from a stack of notebooks with a genuine grin.
“Thank God!” Marc gushed. “Company!”
Neil nodded casually, thinking his first impression still held, even when the man was relaxed. It was “old west cowboy” crossed with “modern day soldier,” and Marc wore it comfortably. The long black coat and faded hat were draped neatly over the chair that Adrian had them put in each tent, and everything was folded or stacked neatly at the end of his bed.
His rack, Neil corrected himself, noting that the beautiful guns were off the man’s hips, but within finger’s reach. The new guy was more of a Marine at a moment of ease than Kenn had been when he’d first joined them.
“I was here before it was a rule, but everyone says being in the Quarantine Zone sucks.”
Marc motioned to the empty tent. “Have a seat.”
Handing over one of the two bottles he had talked the cook out of, Neil sat. He crossed his legs to the left of the wolf now viewing him with mistrustful, golden eyes from the shadowy corner.
“What can I do for you?”
Neil stared him in the puffy, purple eye. “I’ve got some free time and thought I’d come meet the man who has Kenn so upset that he didn’t miss a single shot, even though it was only practice. The real contest isn’t ‘til tomorrow.”
Marc grew cold, and set the beer down unopened. “You saw me earlier.”
Neil leaned closer, thinking the discolored jaw and scabbing knuckles added to Marc’s image. Was the man the hard-ass he appeared to be?
“I’ve had time to think.”
“She only came to me to get her doctor’s bag. She hates to be without it,” Marc explained, knowing it was more. Something had upset her, and he had been unable to help.
“Bullshit. She was fine until Kenn looked at her after he won. Then she got scared and asked to be brought to you. The bag was the excuse most convenient to her.”
Marc didn’t answer. Kenn was already testing her new nerves. Lovely.
“What’s going on between you two?” Neil demanded.
“Nothing. Don’t ruin her chances here over a reaction you probably imagined,” Marc advised coolly. “You don’t know them, not really. And Kenn certainly isn’t the saint you all think he is.”
Clearly, he’d spoken to people despite being in quarantine.
“Did he give her that split lip?”
“Ask her,” Marc answered quickly.
Neil frowned. “She won’t talk to me yet. Right now, I’m on his side a
s far as she’s concerned.”
Marc was glad to hear genuine distaste in the guard’s tone. “It’s her business. If she wanted it known, she’d tell you herself.”
“Why are you protecting him? If he put hands on her, Adrian will punish him. He’ll lose his place.”
Marc blew out a frustrated sigh, waving a hand, “So I’ve heard, and like I’ve told the others, it would only make things harder for her. She hasn’t made up her mind about what she wants, and I won’t force her.”
Neil took a moment to think it over, respecting him and glad for Adrian that these two didn’t seem to be eager to cause trouble. In the silence, he gave the orderly tent another scan, searching for clues. Gear stowed, boots at attention, even his sleeping bag was perfectly neat. Marc was a lifer, unlike Kenn, who never talked about his old world, something people here did a lot. Marc was open, honest, in love with a woman that he couldn’t have, and Neil felt a connection to him beyond his own dislike for Kenn.
“He hit her?” Neil asked in a whisper, almost unable to believe it. If not for her lip and the fear she was incapable of hiding, he wouldn’t have.
“She didn’t fall down or run into anything, no matter what she says later,” Marc muttered.
Neil was instantly full of disappointment for Adrian’s dreams. Deep down, though, he could see the abusive nature Kenn had hidden. It came through in the flashes of arrogance and possessiveness that were almost jealousy when it came to Adrian.
Noises came to them suddenly, and both males responded alertly. When the muffled sounds cleared into laughter and excited voices, Neil relaxed.
Marc’s heart was thumping. She was out there, alone. “Will you help her? Show her how things work?” he asked suddenly, heeding the instinct that was saying Neil was one of the good guys.
“I already have been, she just doesn’t know it. She’s important to Adrian somehow.” Neil now had a much better idea of what that was.
Marc hoped that would be enough. He was an outsider and wouldn’t be able to get close to her again for a while.
“You’ll try to keep your distance?” Neil asked.
Marc’s expression betrayed nothing. “Yes, even if she chooses him. I won’t stand in the way of what she wants.”
Neil carefully got up and held out a hand that Marc was glad to shake. The last three people he had talked to hadn’t cared at all about the truth.
“I’m Todd O’Neil. You’ll be busy for a bit, I imagine, but I might be able to pass an occasional hello. You’ll have a lot to prove if you hope for a chance here with her.”
Marc was relieved that at least one person was offering friendship rather than cleverly worded threats. “Marc Brady. You say there’s a shooting match tomorrow?”
“You’ll be out in time for it.” Neil raised a brow. “You any good?”
Marc ran a throbbing hand over his swollen jaw. “I usually hit what I’m aiming at.”
Neil grinned, thinking he would likely take the man under his wing the way Adrian had done with Angela, only more aggressively. His amusement increased. Doug flirting with Angie hadn’t rattled Kenn, but Marc surprising him, might. Especially if the man was good. For some reason, Neil liked the idea of Marc and Angie together, and it was wrong of Kenn to keep them apart if they loved each other.
“Appearances mean a lot here. You’ll never be accepted if you chase her.”
Marc looked at him with open honesty. “I’ll stay back and follow the rules, but the minute she wants or needs me, I’m going, and I won’t be stopped.”
Neil felt his respect grow. It took courage and self-belief to say something like that to a complete stranger.
“You want someone to hang with tomorrow, to show you around?”
“Absolutely,” Marc accepted gratefully, curious where Neil was in Safe Haven’s chain-of-command. There was no doubt that he was.
The wolf was watching with red-tinted ears perked, and Neil wondered how Marc had earned such loyalty from a wild animal but didn’t ask. Stories like that were shared with friends, and that, they weren’t. They would be, though, Neil was suddenly sure of it, and he was anxious to hear the tale.
“I’ll see ya in the morning.”
“Yes, you will.”
It was an odd response, and Neil could tell from the tone that it meant something, but again, he didn’t question, sensing that, too, would require real friendship to share.
He left Marc alone with his thoughts.
Marc wasn’t bitter that Angela hadn’t been quarantined too. He only wished he were out there, watching over her. Being her protection was something he did automatically again, and it hurt his heart not to be able to do it now, when she was surrounded by strangers and facing old dangers.
Chapter Forty-One
Dark Revelations
Night One
1
When Angela stepped from Charlie’s tent, he was waiting for her. She grabbed him for a quick hug that he tolerated with flushed cheeks.
“Sorry, boy, but I missed you!”
Charlie felt the same way. “Couldn’t tell.”
The mess lines were short, most of the tables empty. Angela was very aware of the twenty or so people still eating and staring at her openly.
“We’re late?”
“Only by twenty minutes. You’ll get used to the schedule.”
She nodded as they got in line, thinking that he sounded older than he was. She wanted to talk to him, to find out how he’d been, but the eyes were constant, persistent. For one brief second, she wished Kenn hadn’t found them yet so she could have one more quiet night alone with Marc.
You still can! Charlie shoved the words angrily at her.
Angela said nothing. Later, when they were alone, they had a lot to discuss.
The sullen boy took two trays, handed her one, and grabbed a pair of green cans from the icy cooler. “Come on. Adrian saved you a seat.”
The whispers followed their progress, and increased in volume when Adrian slid over to clear the place to his right. Again.
Kenn’s good mood vanished.
Angela quickly sat, feeling like a fish in a glass bowl. Don’t they have anyone else to gape at?
“I have to deliver trays.”
Charlie’s tone was agitated, and they all sensed it was directed at her.
Angela only said, “See you in a while.”
“Yes, you will.”
The men heard the boy sigh, felt some of his anger go with her response. Neil and Adrian both recognized the words, understood it was a bond.
“He’s a good kid. He does a lot here.”
Angela smiled at Adrian’s words, thinking Charlie, too, would have to adjust. She opened her pop. “He’s so grown up, so responsible.”
Angela gave Kenn a warm glance that most of them were surprised to see. “Thank you. I meant to say that right away. I’d be lost without him.”
“He’s my boy, too.” Kenn managed to sound uncomfortable and arrogant at the same time.
Fire flashed, and Angela took a long drink to keep from asking when that sentiment had started.
Neil and Adrian noticed her reaction, and both thought it was too bad that she had passed up the perfect opportunity to get free. They respected her for not wanting to cause Kenn embarrassment, but a public breakup was the only kind that would free her. “He said, she said,” didn’t exist here.
“Have you checked in with the perimeter?”
As the men talked, Angela ate and wondered if Marc had been fed yet, if he was okay, if he missed her as much as she did him. It hurt to be away, and Angela forced herself to pay attention. The sooner she figured out how things worked here, the sooner she would know how to handle things.
“Jeremy found everything on his list and says he has pictures of an entire town that’s undamaged. Cherry Creek. Says it’s completely deserted, but the stores and malls are still intact. Figures the whole town just evacuated in a neat, orderly fashion.”
Adrian grinn
ed ruefully. “Be the first one of those we’ve run across. Okay, that’s it.” He closed his notebook. “You’ll put the dogs out?”
“Yeah. Chris says Star’s gonna have a litter come May.”
“That’s great. We need all the babies we can get,” Kyle stated. He glanced at Kenn, speaking before he thought about it. “Didn’t you tell us that you had one on the way?”
Angela froze, heart ripping open, and every man at the table scowled when Kenn flushed and turned questioning, embarrassed eyes her way. He hadn’t asked that yet? They’d been alone in his truck for hours!
Angela couldn’t hide the hate as the awful pain dug into her chest. My baby!
“I lost my other son.”
Her voice was like broken glass, and no one was surprised when she stood up.
“Excuse me.”
The entire mess was full of condemning murmurs, and Kenn knew they were all thinking he’d been too busy giving her a fat lip to ask about their baby.
His cheeks were scarlet, and he got up without a word. That was it. The first actual blow to his ship, and she hadn’t even fired it. A few more of those, and he would quickly go under.
Angela knew Kenn would follow. He’d been waiting all day for the chance to be nasty to her, and she chose a public place. There was only one woman in line for the restrooms, though, and the tall brunette went in as Kenn stopped at her side.
Angela braced herself.
“I’m sorry. I should have asked.”
She was almost shocked, and Kenn shrugged bitterly. “Things have changed. I’m not the same man here. It’s not allowed.”
Angela said nothing, but her eyes screamed vile profanities at him.
He reddened further, embarrassed gaze on her split lip. “We can work it out. I’d never do that here.”
Silence.
Kenn blew out a sigh, shoving down on his anger. “We’ll make a new deal.”
Angela raised a brow, thinking she’d won the second battle before it had even started. She chose her answer carefully. “No more deals. If we stay together, it will be because I want to build a future with you.”
