by Angela White
Her fingers flew over the hot metal, replacing the rounds fast in her annoyance, and those in her line of fire quickly cleared it as she got set for round two.
Lids shut this time, she pulled the trigger gently. None of those watching noticed the new arrivals to the tent.
The gun test had three parts; straight shooting, quick-fire shooting, and blindfolded shooting.
Angela removed the expended rounds, gaze going expectantly to the blindfold lying on the gun table and then to Kenn.
Kenn wanted to refuse, but her icy words sank into his humiliation.
“Do your duty or someone else will.”
It got his feet moving and the Eagles crowded around when he stepped behind her with the blindfold held out between both hands like a weapon.
Gun ready, Angela still felt uneasy when he carelessly wrapped it around her.
“On my mark.”
A sullen order, it eased the tension a bit.
“Go.”
Angela opened fire.
“She’s a natural born leader.”
Marc left the tent before the call, but the cheer behind them echoed loud and clear. “I know.”
He and Adrian had come from the trucks, both eager for the shooting tests. Observing was almost as good as participating. Some of these people were amazingly gifted.
Like Angie.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Yeah.”
Adrian felt Marc’s pain. After all those weeks alone, falling for her, the sight of strangers sharing these moments had to be torture. “You could be right there, by her side and welcome. There’s room here for everyone.”
Marc’s anger flared to life. “I’m not everyone. All I want is her.”
“Do you think being the center of your world and no one else’s is enough for a woman like that?” Adrian’s tone sharpened. “Wake up, grunt!”
He rotated toward the loud tent. “She already had a Marine who couldn’t support her wants and needs. I’d stay as far from that as I could get.”
Adrian ducked inside, thinking Marc had better wise up before it was too late. She wasn’t meant to be some guy’s perfect match and she was realizing it now. If Marc pushed too hard, she might let him go.
“Isn’t that what you want?” Adrian shoved aside the voice of inner desire. She wanted Marc, and Adrian planned to provide for her needs–all of them.
Angela couldn’t stop her fumble as she noticed Adrian enter the tent. She snapped her attention back to the test, but knew she’d blown any chance at the break-down record.
“Thirty-five, no record. Next time…”
“I’ll pay attention.”
Kenn was satisfied that she’d shown a weakness. “Pass. Next.”
“White to the cage.”
The loud call sent ice over the tent and Angela’s calm heartbeat into a frenzy of thumps. She went casually, trying not to appear as nervous as she felt. Hearing the words of the men already inside didn’t help.
“He won’t hit her either, bet on it.”
“Should have Kenn take his place.”
“Do that and he’ll be strung up.”
“He should be anyway!”
Angela stepped through the flap and all conversations ceased. They’d been lingering for her match. She’d expected that.
She schooled her face into the impassive mask she’d learned and joined those by the cage-battle that was finishing up. Other than the two men in the ring together, all attention was on her, and even those two were distracted by the sudden quiet. Everything was about to change and all of them felt it.
Red bandana swaying temptingly from his belt, Adrian ducked through the flap a minute later, noting that she stood alone. The leader kept his distance. They were all waiting for him to prove his own words, one way or the other.
He strode toward the ring with a blank face. Never let them know what you’re really feeling, was a rule he’d led by all his life.
“If you just came in, draw a name from the hat,” Doug instructed as another large group of men filed in. Except for the two shifts on duty, all of the Eagles were here now. None of the camp was, but they’d find out. This many mouths wouldn’t all stay shut.
Angela joined her team to get a number. Due to Kyle’s men being so good, their level tests were given by Adrian, Doug, Neil, and Kenn.
Waiting to draw from the hat was nerve-wracking. What if she got Kenn?
It was a common thought and the noise level remained low as they all tried to hear who would fight her.
Angela took a slip of paper quickly, and felt them all waiting for her response.
“Doug.”
Surprised mutters filled the warm canvas and the big man stiffened as everyone stared at him. He hated being the center of attention.
Doug didn’t take his eyes from the two men in the cage as they finished with a pair of brutal hits that sent blood splattering across the mat.
“Pass.”
Billy grinned at his victory as he helped Neil up, and they both stilled as Doug limped toward Adrian.
“Get someone else. I don’t hit women.”
His words rang through the tent, bringing a shocked tension.
The apprehension thickened as Adrian said, “I need a man for FND.”
More awkward quiet, where normally there would have been dozens of responses.
“She is a rookie in my army. Will no man openly support this?”
He was prepared to do it himself and risk the herd viewing her injuries afterwards. There would be no magic allowed in the Cage and no pulling punches, either.
Catching the thought, Angela opened her mouth to issue her own, handpicked challenge.
“I’ll do it.”
Zack’s call brought instant mutters and protests from around the tent and few people noticed when Kenn slipped inside, unwilling to miss her first match. He settled in a far corner, away from Marc. Standing alone in his coat and guns, Marc’s body language suggested he might kill Zack the instant he entered the ring.
Adrian ignored them, considering. Zack was following Kenn’s orders, but the truck driver also had his own agenda. There was no love lost between them; this was as close to a fair fight as her first match could be…and she’d set it up on her own.
Adrian stared at the graying man. Zack’s countenance was more eager than he liked, but there was no abandoning his plans now. “You will be exempt from our rules for this.”
“It’s a Level Test, nothing more or less,” Zack answered calmly. He was prepared to accept the anger of the other Eagles when he broke her nose and sealed his place with Kenn once and for all. He was tired of sharing that place with Lee and Allan.
Adrian removed his dog tags and tossed them into the far corner of the 8x8 cage. He spoke to Angela as Zack took his place in front of the shiny metal. “Get my property and return it for a pass. Time starts now. You have ten minutes.”
Angela unbuckled her gun belt and let it gently drop to the floor. She’d been swallowing butterflies all day, but now that the moment was here, she only felt cold all over.
“I’ll try not to hurt him too badly. I know he has a shift later…babysitting.”
Surprised chuckles floated through the crowded area. It was a punishment for the trucker refusing to do the gun class with her.
Angela kept her focus on Zack as she entered the bloody cage, noting the leer that was meant to frighten.
“I’ll try not to mess up that pretty face too much.”
Adrian had no doubt that Kenn’s man was trying to give the Marine what he wanted, (Angela out of the Eagles) but after their lesson last night, he wasn’t as worried as he might have been. Zack was an easy mark for someone who knew how to work him over mentally.
Angela ignored the insult-slinging men around the cage, moving in a circle to judge her opponent. “I’ll still be cuter than you, even with another fat lip.”
Zack scowled as the laughter rang out and Angela spotted his weakne
ss because of it. He was easy to goad. She was female. Knowing how to use that to her advantage came naturally.
“So how does it feel to be right-hand man to someone with no power anymore?”
Angela’s words had the desired effect and Zack strode toward her angrily. His first wife had been like her, before the training years.
Understanding Zack had no intentions of taking a dive, Angela got set with the first sloppy stance she had learned from Marc, (the decoy) with her hands balled up and hips twisted.
Sneering, Zack made one mistake, discounting her, and it was enough. “Eagle, my ass!”
Angela let his fist get in the air and then slid into the second stance she’d learned from Marc; the nose-breaker.
Ducking under his swing, Angela brought her hand up with her ass behind it, remembering to brace her wrist like Neil had shown her and it cracked against Zack’s face.
Thud!
The impact made her wrist scream in misery and then Zack was the one howling as he hit his knees. Blood rained down his shirt in ripples.
Angela fought the urge to help him as she darted by and retrieved the tags. She took her time returning. The trucker certainly wasn’t about to challenge her progress. He was too busy bleeding and moaning.
All around the cage, there was silence as she faced them. “Want me or not, I belong here.”
She dropped the tags into Adrian’s hand.
“That’s a pass.” Adrian let his full pleasure flow into the surprised canvas. “You are now a Level One Eagle.”
Angela felt relief enter her heart at the slow cheer that grew into a roar. It echoed through the tent.
Angela grinned wildly, high on her success. I did it on my own!
“I won’t be there long,” she warned, calming her breathing like she’d been shown. “Kyle’s job keeps calling me and hanging up. I think it likes me.”
The Eagles laughed, even Kenn unable to stop a snicker, and Angela wiped her bloody hand down her jeans.
She found Marc’s indifferent countenance in the rear of the tent as Lee and Allan helped Zack to the medical tent, and she moved that way, cutting a path by Adrian. Hoping he was distracted by whatever Doug was saying, she reached out to snag the coveted bandana from his belt.
Adrian wanted to give it to her, but he’d promised to be fair and he took her wrist in an iron grip before she could get to it.
To be certain his men understood he would show no differences, he twisted Angela’s hand a bit, enough to bring her to her knees. “Keep trying.”
Angela laughed as he let go, very happy to be treated that way now. Damn, I’ve changed!
“You know it.”
Jeremy made his way through the men, stopping at her side as she stood up. “I believe this is yours.”
She slid the jacket on, missing Marc’s quiet exit from the tent. “I would have missed this the most.”
2
“He says you’re to help me or I’m to kill you.”
Maria paled. “No. Please. I can’t.”
Rick sighed in mock resignation, climbing into the dark semi while the Eagles were busy. “That’s what I told him, but you’ll find out how wrong you are. I did.”
The traitor shut the door and slid the lock home, eyes glittering. “There is no escape from Cesar. You knew that when he sent you here.”
Maria understood then why he’d come and tried to run, but he was right. It was much too late. The guard on the area wouldn’t be enough.
Rick grabbed the cook’s arm, pulled her up against him, and his words stopped her call for help.
“You scream, I’ll snap your neck,” he growled, body hot and hard against her hip. His fingers wrapped around her throat and she stilled.
“Good girl.”
Rick ground his mouth against hers and his harsh breathing filled her ears as he unsnapped his jeans and pushed her against the counter.
3
Hours after the camp had settled for the night, Angela met Adrian in the rear of the training tent. A large bonfire showed her the top Eagle teams celebrating their graduation. Like them, she had aced all of her tests, even scoring a record on the game she’d drawn, and had been invited to the private party.
“How does it feel?”
“Better than I’d hoped.”
“But…”
Sensing now wasn’t the time for doubts, she squared her shoulders. She was a Level One Eagle. She would act like it. “But nothing. What’s first?”
Adrian led them to the waiting men and waved Jeremy forward. “First, is the real jacket.”
The Eagle handed her a heavier replica of the one she was wearing over her jeans and red tank top, giving her a nod of respect. “Congratulations and thanks. You did what we’ve all wanted to since Zack rolled in.”
Angela laughed as she examined her new coat. The differences between it and the other one quickly became clear. Made of sturdier materials, it had her initials and a US flag ironed on the inside pocket. On the back, was a fading Eagle.
“Next, the old one gets burned.”
Adrian gestured at the fire and she quickly checked the pockets of her rookie jacket and went to the toasty flames. Feeling a bit sad, she tossed it into the fire. “Goodbye, old world.”
The flames shot up around the cloth, turning green and they burned fast and furious until the jacket was gone.
Angela met Adrian’s eye, aware of the surprised talk of the men around them. “That happen often?”
“Only Seth and Kyle.”
“At least I’m in good company, right?”
“Yes. Now, we celebrate. Get a drink and relax.”
Angela headed for the coolers, already feeling how welcome she was. Breaking Zack’s nose had created a bond. They hadn’t liked the truck driver even before they discovered he and Kenn were both on the opposite team.
Angela twisted the cap on the beer and scanned the small gathering. There were only three levels here. No Zack or Kenn, only the men who were closest to Adrian. Also, no Marc. Even though he’d passed his own test, he and Dog had Point over the small group of survivors that had been settled into the QZ not long after evening mess.
Angela joined Kyle in his place under the tree that the others were gathered around. Even during off-times, he was high speed, low drag.
“So, I hear you’re the best. Will you be the…entertainment?”
Kyle understood she had heard stories about the parties after each level test. “Seth has that honor tonight.”
He handed her the blunt that Jeremy tossed their way and Angela noticed that Neil and his XO were trying very hard to avoid looking at each other. That’s what happens when two wolves scent the same female, Angela thought. First, they circle and monitor, and then they try to stake a claim.
She circled the tent, listening, mingling. Taking her own hit, she tossed the blunt to Daryl, nodding at his gesture of recognition of a good match-up. He was perched on the fence that ran the length of this farm, half a dozen Eagles around, and she lingered near his group for the joke.
“I didn’t know how many it was gonna take to whip my ass, but I knew how many they was gonna use.”
The circle of men burst out laughing and Angela smiled. “Blue Collar Tour?”
Chris held the smoke in, making his voice sound harsh. “Here’s my sign.”
“Hey, I’m a redneck, too!” she snickered.
There was more laughter and Kyle’s XO raised a brow. “Your turn.”
She could feel them expecting something weak and predictable. They didn’t know her yet.
“Okay. There’s a 96 year old woman on the witness stand and the judge asks her if she has anything to say in her defense.”
Angela switched to an old woman’s shaky voice.
“I’d like to explain, your Honor.”
“What explanation could you possibly have for throwing your 94-year-old husband out of a 12th story window?”
A stern, very judgelike voice coming from her mouth, it
was already pulling grins.
She switched back to that innocent old woman’s tone. “Well, you see I had come home from my church social and there was my Henry, in bed, making love to another woman! So, I just picked him up, and threw him out the window.”
Angela paused, sniffing innocently. “’Cause I figured, at 94, if he could fuck, he could fly.”
They exploded, Chris sliding from the fence to hit the dirt at her feet, and Angela made her way to the next group. There was no limit to the help these men would give her when she was through creating these bonds.
4
Even though it was so late, the happiness of the celebrating teams was loud. Kenn grimaced as it echoed again. He had just gotten off Point and–
“Got a minute there, Mr. Second in Command?”
Kenn grimaced at the voice. “Not really.”
Despite the feelings he had found for Tonya, Kenn had avoided her for most of the last week and he wasn’t in the mood for the jealousy-ridden tirade she was sure to deliver. He had yet to figure out if Tonya fit into his plans to earn back Adrian’s respect.
Instantly hurt and then mad, Tonya put out a black boot to trip him and Kenn fell awkwardly.
“To hell with you, then!”
She spun around and Kenn sat up, gawking. There was another pain in his ass. Too stubborn, too sexy, too determined…
Kenn stilled as his mind showed him a possible way out of his mess. Maybe he could honestly try again, instead of pretending.
“Wait up, Tonya! I’ll walk you to your tent.”
It was the first time he’d ever shown a public interest in her and she stopped, surprised. “Okay.”
Kenn came to her side and shocked everyone in sight by placing a courteous hand on her arm. “Let’s take our time. We have some things to talk about.”
“That’s a match made in hell, right there.”
Samantha’s comment had Adrian waving at the mess table he had covered in papers. “I agree. Sit?”
Samantha did, her cup refilled and steaming. “I hear Angie’s test went well. The camp can’t believe she did that to Zack.”
“What about you, Samantha?” Adrian asked suddenly, eager to settle another of his leaders into place. “Any secret desires lurking?”
