by Angela White
Marc was still unsure what kind of place they had found, but he was willing to give them the chance that most of this camp was already denying him.
“So what’s the plan?” Adrian asked, handing him a soda from the cooler at his feet.
Marc opened it. “Nothing. It’s her choice.”
“And if she chooses him?”
Marc was full of pain that he didn’t bother to hide. “Try to make a life here, I guess. For a while.”
“So you can stay close to her?”
“For a while,” Marc repeated himself. “It’ll be hard to leave either of them.”
“My next question is all about you. What does Marc Brady need to be content?”
“Beyond getting her here, I hadn’t thought much about it, wouldn’t let myself.”
“It’s here, Marine. The life you want is here, but you’ll have to fight for it.”
“You have no idea what I want,” Marc warned coldly.
“Don’t I?”
“You may think so, but you’d be wrong. I’m a loner. I don’t fit.”
“That won’t get you what you want. Neil told you about FND work?”
Marc sighed, annoyed and yet impressed with the ambush. Adrian definitely knew how to accomplish his goals.
“Being a loner won’t get you anything here, but if you have something to prove, I’m offering you my support.”
“Why?”
The tone demanded honesty, and Adrian gave it willingly. “Because she doesn’t want him, she wants you, and that tells me you’re one of us, even if you don’t know it.”
Marc liked the words but only shrugged. “You talk sweet and make a lot of promises, don’t you?”
Adrian nodded seriously. “Yes, and I deliver. Ask any of these people. All you have to do is what you’ve already have been. Be patient, pay attention, and react to each situation as it deserves.”
He paused pointedly. “And be useful to me, of course.”
Marc had expected it. “I can do that.”
“Good. FND is the hardest and most respected way to earn a place here.”
“I don’t understand all of it yet, but after this morning, I’m pretty sure I owe Neil a case of beer.”
Adrian crushed out his smoke, buzzing pleasantly. “Neil is a good guy, with a cement place here. You couldn’t have a better reference.”
Marc knew. “Except yours.”
Adrian leaned down to pick up a manila envelope from his open footlocker. “You’ll have that when you need it, but I have to ask that you stay away from her until she makes the choice. I have great and shitty work for you, though a lot of it will be behind-the-scenes things that you won’t get much credit for.”
For Marc, the decision was an easy one. There had to be something to take the place of his time with Angie. “You mean like being a Marine. Shut up when someone asks a question that they shouldn’t have, and fight until you win or die. Been doing it for a long time. See no reason why that should change here.”
Adrian was pleased. “Good. We’ll start with the FND.”
Marc took the twin of Kenn’s notebook when it was held out to him, reading the word “Eagle” in glossy print on the front. Kenn would be pissed about this too.
“Let me guess. You need someone to shovel dog shit?”
The observant leader snorted. “Close enough. I need a complete inventory and organization system for the supply trucks, and maybe an alarm of some kind.”
“How many trucks, and do I only count supplies?”
“Just the rigs for now. I’ll also need to know what’s being used: a sign-out system or something. Until its ready, Kenn, the cook, and the doctor will give you their lists.”
“Kenn?”
“He’s above you in rank, but on some things you’ll report directly to me. This is one of them.”
“Sounds like fun,” Marc said, not anxious for all the awkward moments.
Adrian shrugged ruefully. “Highly unlikely.”
“Start in the morning?”
“Yes, the earlier the better. Now, the no-credit work. I need a lethal defensive plan.”
Marc heard the tone. “You’re worried about being attacked.”
“Yes. We have food, water, fuel, and women. Someone will eventually try to take them, and I intend to be ready… But I don’t want a battle plan to trigger or escalate a war.”
Images were stirring in Marc’s tactical mind. “You want a plan to end one.”
Marc knew Adrian was thinking of someone specifically. Did Safe Haven have enemies? Was that why there were undercover guards lurking in the shadows?
“I want to catch them by surprise, and then kill as many as I can.”
Ah, the slavers. Adrian has big ambitions, Marc thought. “Give me a few days.”
“My eyes only.”
“Not even Kenn’s?”
“No, but he did give me the idea to talk to you about it. Said you were good at shit like this.”
“We worked well together, but we were never friends.”
“It’s too bad you both want the same woman. You guys probably would have been great here together.”
“It’s more like ironic,” Marc said, standing. “Can’t wait to see how fate screws with us next.”
“Be careful what you wish for, Sergeant,” Adrian joked and warned as he held out a hand.
Marc didn’t hesitate to shake. “You know it.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Testing…
1
Marc wasn’t surprised to find Neil waiting for him as he came from Adrian’s orderly tent. “What’s next? Roof jumping? A visit to the lion’s den?”
Neil chuckled. “We have time for one more stop before we get a shower and lunch.”
Marc snorted as they passed small clusters of people going to the mess, none of them friendly.
“You must enjoy your days off,” he joked.
“This is it for the week,” Neil answered. “I just can’t sit on my ass when there’s so much to be done.”
“Point taken. So what’s next?”
Neil leered. “My tent for a beer and a joint.”
Marc laughed, relieved. Finally, something he could look forward to!
“Deal. You lead, I’ll follow.”
Neil gave him an odd, searching stare. “Probably will be the other way around before long. Come on. Let’s get stoned.”
When Neil and Marc stepped into the short mess line a while later, they were cleaned up, a little high and talking comfortably, both ignoring the openly cold and curious stares as they got to know each other.
The wind had died down, removing the chill, and Neil noted Marc scanning their surroundings (for escape routes?) subtly sweeping the forty or so people talking quietly while having lunch. Searching for Angie, Neil had no doubt.
They got their trays quickly, and when Neil led them around Adrian’s crowded center table, Marc was aware that the number of people frowning doubled.
“You usually sit with Adrian?”
Neil nodded as they sat down side-by-side, backs to the truck’s wall. “First time I haven’t since the day he changed my life.”
Neil squirted gobs of ketchup onto his fries.
Marc frowned. “Changed your life?”
Neil was aware of how many hostile glares he was getting, not only from Kenn, but also from the camp and the Eagles. “The day he invited me in, asked for the help I’d been waiting all my life to give. For you, that’s today. You just don’t realize it yet.”
Marc acted as if he understood, and he almost did. Adrian had handpicked these men, given them authority and respect. That kind of bond ran deep.
“So shouldn’t you be over there?” Marc groaned as the crispy fish melted in his mouth. “Mmm…haven’t had fish since December. This is great.”
Neil salted his messy fries. “We found a farm in Utah, spent three days cleaning and freezing. We also kept some live tanks for when we settle down.”
Ma
rc was impressed, and not just with Adrian’s leadership skills. He was surrounded by order and efficiency, and like Angela, he was a bit overwhelmed. There were women wearing fake nails and too much perfume, dogs with bright collars walking the trucks, picnic baskets and coolers being filled, voices, barking, dishes rattling, engines revving. But there were other signs too, like the heavy security that said it hadn’t always been this way. There were tables full of men dressed as construction workers and old people sitting at nearly every table, but it was the office types that Marc hadn’t expected. These very different people were not only tolerating each other, but also bonding and finding friendships, and it was amazing. How had Adrian managed it?
“You okay?”
Marc snapped out of his thoughts. “Checking things out. Won’t Adrian be upset you’re not eating over there?”
“I’d be surprised,” Neil answered. “He knows what I hope to accomplish, knows I won’t tell you or the camp anything they shouldn’t hear. But I tell him everything. You should know that now. I’m more Adrian’s than I ever was my mother’s.”
Marc heard the warning, but he was an open book. “What about Kenn? He has a lot of friends here.”
Neil tried not to frown, almost succeeded. “He didn’t at first. It was mostly what Adrian saw in him. He’s been in the thick of things since we found him, and he got as close to Adrian as fast as he could. Some of us grumbled when he became the boss man’s shadow, but when we understood how much Adrian needs him, we settled down, learned to get along.” Neil sighed. He and Kyle had to pin their hopes on somebody. “To be fair, Kenn’s earned his place here. He worked hard, and as soon as people benefited from it, he had plenty of pals. Though I doubt he knows why. Probably thinks he’s popular because of his winning personality.”
“It’s because he’s so helpful to Adrian?” Marc guessed.
“Yes. He frees Adrian’s time, keeps him from being overloaded and keeps him content with the progress we’re making. Anything that keeps Adrian in charge, this camp will agree to. He’s our strength, and no one, except Tonya, wants him to leave.”
“Would he? This is a great setup.”
Neil shrugged, constantly watching for problems the way Adrian did. “Kenn might be able to answer that, but not me. He threatened to once, in the beginning. Said if we didn’t pull ourselves together and do things his way, he’d go, and no one wants to take the chance.”
Marc leaned in, kept his voice very low despite the roar of the dozens of conversations going on around them. “Sounds a bit like a dictatorship.”
Neil wasn’t offended. “With any other man it would be, and we wouldn’t care if he left, but Adrian’s a true patriot. He loves this country, and as long as he keeps giving back what was taken from us, we’ll follow him anywhere.”
Neil paused, gaze going to where Kenn sat on Adrian’s right. “That’s Adrian. Kenn, well, some of us have always suspected there’s something wrong with him. You’ll have allies here simply because of your rivalry, and when you can tell right off who they are–the allies, not the friends–talk to me again about Kenn and his secure place here.”
Marc was already able to guess where this was leading. “I don’t want it.”
Neil didn’t believe that, but didn’t call Marc’s bluff. “You’ll have more friends that way, but never what you really want.”
Marc was heartened to think he would even make friends, and he was able to give a cheerful welcome to Seth when the man sat down across from them, mug in hand.
“Ain’t that fish great?” Seth asked playfully.
Neil shook his head at the mischievousness as the murmur of the voices raised another notch at his actions. “You’re going to piss Kenn off. He’s sure you’re his.”
“Guess it’s time he knew better.” Seth’s disgust was clear.
“He’ll make you pay.”
Seth snorted at Neil’s warning. “Kinda hopin’ he will. Take some of the heat off our friend here. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve stung his pride.”
Neil shrugged. “No, but being sent to babysitting class had to suck.”
Seth leaned forward, leering. “Not the teacher, though, I did try. Yummy, yummy, Miss Peggy!”
They all burst out laughing, drawing attention to how well the new man was fitting in, and it took the trio a moment to realize there was total silence from the tables around them.
Unaware of the connection that had already been made, but responding to it instinctively, Marc found their leader in the tense crowd. He followed Adrian’s line of sight.
Dog was padding steadily through the tables, following the same route that he and Neil had taken.
“Is he hungry?”
Marc nodded at Adrian’s question, shoving the fighter inside back to his place. “Probably. I have what he likes in the Blazer.”
Adrian was impressed when the beautiful wolf passed fingers holding scraps without even sniffing.
Dog sat down at Marc’s feet and stared at him with nervous, golden eyes.
“We feed them at night so they gain more weight. Stop by the vet today and pick up a collar so he doesn’t get shot,” Adrian instructed.
“We’ll do that as soon as we leave here,” Neil quickly answered.
Adrian stood and moved their way, much to Kenn’s displeasure. The center table had gotten tense when Seth revealed what most of them had already known, and Adrian was almost glad to be away from the simmering man.
“Okay to touch?”
Marc shrugged, not lighting the smoke he wanted in case he needed his hands free. “Dog loves Angie. She could ride him like a horse, but he tried to eat some of your guys earlier.”
“Our guys,” Adrian corrected and didn’t need to look to know that Kenn had gotten up, was storming away from the mess. “You’re one of us now.”
Adrian let that ring and sat on the bench across from Marc, slowly extending his hand.
Marc slid his own toward his gun, knowing he would have to shoot his friend if Dog bit Safe Haven’s much-loved leader. The camp would demand it, and he tried to tell Dog that silently, but wasn’t sure it had gotten through without Angie nearby to direct things.
Adrian also understood the risk, but he had to show the people that he approved of both man and beast, and that they, too, would fall in line where they belonged.
Dog flinched as Adrian tried to touch him, the skin around his teeth drawn back, and Adrian understood. Like its owner, the wolf wanted things on his own terms.
Adrian put his hands on his knees, palms up, and almost immediately, Dog advanced to nudge his fingers with a cold nose.
The witnesses were able to breathe again, and Adrian glanced up as his hands caressed the softest fur he’d ever felt. “Tell Chris at least purple.”
Marc knew Neil would fill him in.
Adrian’s next words were sharp and clear in the watchful silence of the mess. “Do you plan to let him roam free? Not worried he won’t return?”
The double meaning was obvious.
Marc chose his words carefully, aware of the wolf placing himself between Adrian and the rest of the camp. What was with this feeling, this need to serve Adrian that everyone else felt?
“You’re the boss,” Marc conceded evenly. “So his roaming free is up to you, but no, I don’t worry. I’ve never chained him. Who am I to keep him if he doesn’t want to be with me?”
Adrian liked the answer and so did everyone else who heard it. Kenn was right about this one. Marc was definitely fast on his feet.
Adrian stood slowly, sweeping the curious mess as the wolf stayed by him. At least he’d converted one of the two today. The man would take more effort.
“Level tests tonight and then the poker tournament.” Earning scowls from Kenn’s allies, Adrian included Marc by jerking a thumb toward Dog. “Bring the wolf. We’ll see if we can get him drunk.”
Marc laughed with everyone else, but noticed that the minute Adrian was out of sight, the mood of the quic
kly emptying mess became cold again.
“They’ll come around,” Neil comforted, drawing his attention. “What you should worry about is that collar. Red is the most dangerous, with purple right below that. Only four dogs here have made it that far. If the wolf doesn’t pass, you’ll have to chain him up when you’re not with him.”
Marc blew out a sigh as he patted Dog’s chest comfortingly. “Sorry boy, looks like I’m not the only one doing tricks.”
Marc noticed Seth was scanning the shadows of the camp. And checking in with an undercover guard? Yes. Marc stored it, raised a brow. “Wanna come along?”
Seth nodded eagerly as he stood up. “Yes, but I have a shift right now.”
He stared at Neil for a brief second where Marc read an agreement on something.
“I’ll hear about it, heard a lot already,” Seth commented.
He faded into the shadows near the path Adrian had taken.
Marc was relieved. He’d made two friends here, and that could be all the difference between sticking it out for a while and running in two weeks or a month.
Marc sighed, cleaning up his place like Neil was doing. If he wanted to settle in with these people, he would need to earn a place by Adrian. That was clear. Marc didn’t actually want it, just longed to be alone with Angie and their son–who was avoiding him so far–but he already knew she wasn’t leaving. This was a good place with good people, strong survivors who needed what she had to offer, and she would be stupid to go now that she knew there was a place for her.
What about you? his selfish, male mind asked, and Marc pushed it away. He wasn’t Kenn. His needs and wants didn’t come before hers. Never would.
2
“Damn. I have to go.”
Angela pulled off her gloves as the surly vet glared up from his tray.
“Shift’s done anyway. Whatever you did wrong, it’s okay now.”
Angela wiped at the sweat rolling down her neck as Charlie gathered their trash. “I didn’t get sent here. I’m on my own time, and I’ll be back.”
Angela enjoyed the surprise on the vet’s face. For some reason, she had found herself determined to show him that all females weren’t useless.
