The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  Can I live with that? Between the missions and lessons, she’ll be mine.

  Fighting alongside her today had been awful, but it had also been enlightening. The girl he’d known was gone and if he wanted a life with this Angie, he would have to do it her way.

  Marc didn’t take his attention off her, studying each expression, each gesture. There was a strength in her that he’d denied and the warrior inside was finally able to be heard.

  Of course, you can. Any version of that bloody female will do. She had to be protected before. This is better. Now, you can love her.

  3

  Dozing by the fire three chilly hours before dawn, Angela stiffened suddenly. “There’s something wrong.”

  Heads rotated her way, few of them asleep, and Marc immediately came from his solitary seat in the Blazer at their reactions.

  “What is it?” Kyle asked, moving to her left as Marc came to her right.

  “Something with the camp.”

  The men around her nudged those who were still drowsing.

  “It’s Adrian.”

  Now the men began pulling on gear and following Kenn’s lead as he called for them to get rolling. None of them doubted her after the call they’d taken on the way here, a short, tapped out message that Angela didn’t know about yet.

  “Is he okay?”

  “Is it the slavers?”

  Angela stretched out a cold hand and placed it on Marc’s wrist.

  “Sorry,” she stated lowly and drew, hard.

  Energy flooded her, sweet and warming, and her grip tightened as the images cleared. “Something happened during travel time. They had to stop in the middle of a road.”

  “Where are they?” Kenn’s tone was loud and Marc frowned at him.

  “Brakes went out, I think. He’s down in a ditch…”

  “Tell me where!” Kenn demanded.

  Marc snatched his hand out of her grip and took a step forward, still not satisfied with all the times he had spilled the Marine’s blood. “Why don’t you leave her alone? You think what she does is easy?”

  “Why don’t you kiss my–”

  “He’s okay. They all are. He had Kevin set up the tow rig and Zack roll out camp right there.”

  Kenn groaned in frustration, breath streaming out in a rush. “Where at?”

  Kyle finished unfolding the map from his kit. “Can you show me?”

  The mobster’s calming tone had always sounded like Adrian’s to their ears and it stopped the fight.

  Angela’s next words brought relief and more worry.

  “He felt us. He says everything’s 5-by and to get our asses home.” She searched the map for a fast moment, narrowing it down. “There, near Grant.”

  Kenn snatched the map from Kyle’s grip and stomped to the vehicles he hoped were now dry enough to get them home. “Put her behind the wheel and everyone get in a seat.”

  Expecting worse, there was no complaint from the Eagles, even when Kenn climbed into the passenger side of her Blazer.

  Angela was told more than once not to worry about being too rough behind the wheel as Kyle, Seth, and a mix of the three teams got inside to crowd behind Kenn. She understood the message clearly. Get us home as fast as you can.

  Angela slid into the chilly driver’s seat and fired up the engine. It was time to go home.

  4

  The ride home only took twenty hours this time, with one short break to change drivers and use a tree. They didn’t have time for more. Adrian needed them.

  As Billy got them moving again, Kenn swiveled around to glare at Angela from the front seat. “You’ve had your lead. Now do what you’re told or you’ll be in a tent with a guard.”

  Telling her, telling them all, he knew very well she was supposed to have a shadow. Because he hadn’t said anything, didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed.

  Angela yawned tiredly, not needing to view Marc’s anger. “Whatever you need.”

  Not expecting her to cooperate, Kenn stared.

  Kyle took over. “You’ll be with me and I’ll be busy. Stay on my hip.”

  “I will.’ Angela expected Kenn to have a problem with her being in the middle of things upon their return, but the Marine only gave Billy a hard look that made the Eagle drive faster.

  Seizing the opportunity to settle some things between them, Angela spoke to Marc without censoring her words. “Will you check on Charlie? I’d feel better if it was his dad and not just an Eagle.”

  Waves of ice filled the Blazer and Marc gave her a quick nod, heart jumping. It was the first time she had acknowledged the boy’s true parentage in front of Kenn and the silence thickened as everyone waited for his reaction.

  There wasn’t one. Kenn had himself under tight control. If he snapped now, it would be over Adrian and no one else. That sense of worry had only grown in the last hours and Kenn faced the window as Billy kept them moving steadily through the darkness.

  Full of the need to steal this time with her, Marc shifted into the corner and gestured at the empty space along his side. “There’s room here.”

  He was also testing this sudden truce, trying to figure out how far she meant to go, how far Kenn would let them go, and Angela allowed it. She was worried, but also sore and very tired. Connecting to Safe Haven from this distance was exhausting and with the extra space that would put her almost flush against Marc’s side, she could stretch out. “Thanks.”

  Angela eased into the empty area and lowered herself carefully against his hip without groaning as she wanted to. His heat felt good.

  Marc shifted again, making more room, and she sank against his side as if she belonged there.

  “If Adrian’s okay, what’s the problem?” Marc led the conversation now, not trying to distract the others from her actions, but wanting them to come clean with her. If she were going to be one of them, she had to know the truth and the reason they had kept it from her no longer mattered.

  “The truth.” Marc’s tone dared the mobster to lie.

  “We took a call,” Kyle stated, glad to be revealing their deception before she found out from their thoughts. “Someone left a bag in Adrian’s tent. There was a pissed-off snake inside. He almost got bit.”

  That had Angela sitting up. “Tell me everything.”

  “That’s above her pay grade!” Kenn snapped, but it held little of his previous animosity.

  Marc let out a sigh as she pinned Kyle with those steel-chipped baby-blues. It was too late to go back. He could only hope for the future, one that he still wanted, no matter which Angie it was or how upset she made him with her choices.

  “Tell me. All of it!”

  Kenn swiveled to glare at her, but said nothing.

  “We were told to keep you out of the loop,” Kyle admitted.

  Her voice was tight. “Because I’d be distracted?”

  “Because you would have turned us around.”

  “I don’t have that much authority…” She stopped, realizing that wasn’t true.

  “He wanted this done and for you to handle it. As for the snake, you know as much as we do. No note, no tracks that Zack could pick up.”

  “Rick?”

  More than Kyle shook their heads.

  “No. He was in the kids’ area and under heavy guard, still has multiple shadows,” Kenn added. “There’s no way he wasn’t monitored long enough to do it.”

  Someone else, then. Did they have any other suspects? A snake. The vet came to mind, but there was no grudge there that she knew of. Tonya, maybe, but a snake? They were often dangerous to their handlers. That wouldn’t be her style.

  “This might honestly be an accident,” Marc stated, easing his boots off. “We don’t know what happened yet.”

  “Zack knows,” Daryl informed them bluntly. “And he’ll run his mouth. We have to get there and calm the lower levels down before the herd picks up on it.”

  “It won’t matter if tonight was an accident or another attempt on Adrian’s life,” Kyle said worr
iedly. “The reactions will be the same.”

  Angela was able to pull the images from their minds, and her stomach twisted. Adrian needed them and they were still over a hundred miles away.

  “Any threat to their sense of security will cause big problems. If the Eagles play this wrong and the herd finds out, they’ll stampede. Rioting didn’t end with the war.”

  Billy’s words were resigned and that was where the group conversation stopped, each of them imagining the Safe Haven under those conditions.

  Marc peered at her from under lowered lashes as they rolled by the corn, waiting for the pain pill to take effect and the energy rush to fade. When her lids finally began to droop, he quietly adjusted himself and then tugged on her arm.

  Angela flinched, snapping awake to find Marc grinning.

  “You were snoring.”

  Her chin stiffened. “Was not.”

  His smile widened. “Were too. Rattled the windows like a fart.”

  Angela’s groggy chuckle was interrupted by a yawn and Marc indicated his chest. “I’ve got the bullets if you’ve got the balls.”

  Her soft giggle drew attention and Kenn stared through the window as she slid into Brady’s arms and curled close. A deep shiver of hatred flashed, but it couldn’t compare to the need drawing him toward Safe Haven. Kenn turned his head, pretending it was some other couple.

  Marc pulled her up onto his chest and held her, allowing his body to mold to hers. He was lonely and he’d missed her, but more than that, he had to remind her. Theirs was a bond that had lasted through tragic betrayal and even nuclear war. And it would survive her new life, too, he realized. Those few moments they would have between his waves of panic would be enough. Peace suddenly filled that dark space Marc had been nursing for weeks and he tightened his grip on her. Compared to what he’d had before, this would be more than enough.

  Marc slid his hand up her hips. “I’ve missed you!”

  Angela felt her heart clench at his urgent whisper. She’d just given Marc his son, though the ripples on it would be slow. Now, maybe she could give him something else he desired. “I’ve missed you too.”

  Her fingers tightened on his arm and Marc pushed harder. “You know I’m crazy about you, right? Even when you’re risking your life.”

  His low voice still carried and Angela knew what Marc was hoping for. She wanted it too. They were about to find out if this new, controlled Kenn was for real, but more than that, they were about to go public with their feelings.

  “These weeks have sucked without you.”

  The pain in her voice was too genuine to bear and Marc pinned her with his own agony. “Is it over now or do we go back to the lies when we hit camp?”

  Angela took a long minute to consider, the fear finally shouting, but she sensed only bitterness and resignation from Kenn. He would learn to live with things. He’d made his choice and it was the right one.

  And what of you? the Witch questioned. Would you now try to have both sides of the coin?

  It was a long moment for all of them, but it was agony for Marc and a struggle to keep waiting. He had never wanted anything the way he did her. That hadn’t changed.

  “I can’t promise to always react the way you want, Angie, but I can try harder. And I can wait a little longer, if you’re not ready.”

  His willingness to sacrifice was the final swing and she gave him a slow smile. “It’s over now. We can be ourselves.”

  Needing to know she meant it, Marc leaned down.

  Angela let him capture her lips in a gentle kiss that the others glanced away from. She was Brady’s woman now.

  Marc shifted again and Angela settled onto his hard chest with a sigh of pleasure that had him filling with happiness. “Night, honey. See you in a few hours.”

  “Yes, you will,” she sent, snuggling tightly.

  Marc knew she wouldn’t linger once they arrived. Wanting a few more minutes with her, he set the alarm on his wrist and let himself follow her into a light sleep.

  When Seth began to hum lowly, the hotel ballad one of Adrian’s favorites, all but a few of them dozed.

  Kenn braced to be full of the old rage every time he regarded their reflection, but after Angela handling herself with the wolves, the fire wasn’t there anymore. The woman he’d observed today was out of his reach, but his place by Adrian was waiting and it was that member of camp that he let himself obsess over.

  Adrian had suspected someone might try something with so many high levels gone and they’d increased the shadows. With any luck, they would return to discover the traitor already in custody, or even better, dead. There was a small chance this latest mishap really was an accident, but Kyle didn’t think so. Kenn knew that, and it was enough for him. The mobster’s loyalty to Adrian’s safety rivaled his own.

  Seth kept humming until everyone but the driver was asleep and he met Billy’s eyes in the mirror. “Keep it rolling and don’t be afraid to wake one of us.”

  The guard gave a fierce grin. “I’m runnin’ on full right now.”

  Seth shut his exhausted lids. “Good. You go straight to him as soon as you get out and stay with him until I relieve you. Even if someone else comes to take over, you stay until I get there.”

  “You know it. His six’ll be covered.” The Eagle’s tone was firm despite Seth not being his team leader.

  Seth smothered the feelings of desperation and let his soft humming send him into a troubled sleep. Adrian was in danger and he had to be there if anything happened.

  5

  Shortly before they arrived, Marc’s wrist alarm woke everyone with an obnoxious rap song from the past and he swung an arm over to silence it.

  Angie hadn’t shifted away during the ride, in fact, one of her legs was now wrapped around his, holding him in place and he hit the reset button. She was his. When they made it to camp, everyone would find out. No more hiding and being careful. Now, they could be what they were–in love.

  Angela stretched against him, body stiff, and her small groan had eyes flying toward the cargo area. Her first thought was of the possible problems waiting for them and she ignored how good it felt to be in Marc’s arms, concentrating. What was going on in Safe Haven?

  Angela was catching flashes of a fight and other Eagles rushing to break it up. The people blurred by, the herd sounding mostly normal, and her chest eased. There was another glimpse of Adrian standing beside the medical bed of someone she couldn’t identify, and she broke the contact.

  “Everything okay?”

  Angela glanced up impatiently at Kyle’s question. “It’s calmer now. How long before we’re there?”

  “Twenty minutes or so.”

  She didn’t smile. “Good!”

  The longing in her tone echoed their own need to be there and when she let her head settle onto Marc’s chest, there was an easy quiet broken only by the sound of someone waking enough for a gear check.

  It was always like this on overnight missions, but Marc knew in a few short minutes, these men… These Eagles, he amended, shifting beneath her to get a better grip as Billy hit bump after bump in his haste… These Eagles would be alert and moving, and he marveled over it a bit. The ability to doze and snap awake was something he’d learned in the Corps and it came naturally now. It was a survival skill he’d been glad Angie picked up quickly, too.

  There wasn’t much she didn’t get, and it was okay for him to be honest with himself now, Marc realized. For the entire trip to Safe Haven, he’d thought of the witch inside her as being mostly in control, and therefore, responsible for her actions. He’d attributed her survival in Versailles to that power as well, and hadn’t fully allowed himself to accept her as a killer. After the wolves, that was impossible. She was his physical equal and in some areas, better than a match. This was the way she might have been, had they been able to stay together.

  “I think so, too.” Angela eased carefully up his chest to allow semi-private talking. “And I still want most of what we hoped f
or then, Brady. Except for the barefoot and pregnant part.”

  Marc snickered obediently at her attempted joke. He had stopped viewing her that way when she challenged the Alpha. “We’ll make new dreams. Together.”

  Angela flushed, voice lowering to a nearly indecipherable mutter. “I didn’t say never.”

  Her tone deepened. “Somewhere down the road, being a mother again might come up and we’ll handle it.”

  Marc tightened his grip, thinking he’d be ready. “Whatever makes you happy, Angie. I’ve tried hard to give you that, even here.”

  “I haven’t made it easy, I know, but–”

  “It’s your life to give.”

  “Yes.”

  There was a note of warning and he let out a resigned sigh. “I’ll handle it as best I can and when it’s too much–”

  “You’ll split.”

  This sigh was deeper, full of misery and joy. “It would take a lot to get me to do that now.”

  “What if I get hurt again and use it for lessons?” she joked, motioning to her arm. Animal bites would be the next lesson and her injury would be the prop.

  Knowing he had to be honest, Marc raised up on his forearms. “I’ll be pissed and worried, and you’ll remind me of this moment and I’ll ease up. Eventually, it’ll be easier.”

  Angela let her bandaged hand gently brush the hair from his roughened cheek. A couple days stubble was so sexy on him. “For both of us.”

  “And what about our son? Am I allowed to openly be his dad?”

  Angela didn’t need to read minds to know how important her answer was to these men. “Soon.”

  She felt his happiness dim and Angela leaned in, hand still on his cheek. “Will you be able to live with all the times I’ll hurt you? This won’t be easy.”

  Vanilla floated over him in a thick wave and Marc steeled his heart against it, needing to make this choice, without any more influence than feeling her against him was already producing.

  “I think so. I don’t like it, but I understand the herd…Adrian,” he amended with a bitter sneer. “They’re your priority now, but your worries over how the sheep will react won’t hold me back for long. That boy is me at that age and I can help him avoid our mistakes and have a happiness we’re missing.”