by Angela White
Really makes a difference when you catch them off guard, Lilly thought, heading for the mess to get a cup of hot chocolate. I’ll remember that.
10
Jennifer and John both grunted in relief when Angela’s healing orbs began swarming over them.
Hidden by a small sheet, those in the tent watched the glowing lights behind the partition and wondered.
The Eagle inside the medical tent wasn’t here for the camp’s protection. He and Adrian had exchanged one brief moment that made it clear what Zack’s job was.
“If she uses magic, no one comes out of this tent until you handle them.”
Lurking in a corner near the flap, Zack was now keeping a hand on his gun and eavesdropping on the quiet conversations to see who might be a problem.
The higher-ranked Eagle in the tent was able to see what Angela was doing, but Kyle couldn’t have told anyone afterward, even if he wanted to. He wasn’t watching the healer. He only cared about Jennifer.
“If I don’t make–”
“Sshhh...” Kyle refused to let her talk that way. He wiped the sweat from her brow. “Save your strength.”
Jennifer felt the cramp easing and let out a tired breath. “Didn’t know it would hurt so much.”
John thought of giving the girl a painkiller and Angela shook her head, red eyes glowing. “Do not interfere.”
John hastily retreated and stopped in stunned shock at the pain-free movement. He felt...good!
John sank into a nearby chair and began to weep. “Thank you! Oh, thank you!”
Angela ignored him, straining to keep the orbs working, though, they’d already repaired what damage they were capable of. She was trying to give Jennifer some of her own reserves.
In the far corner of her mind, the witch watched silently.
Angela knew the demon was waiting to be called, but she didn’t want to admit that there was little more she could do without crossing a line that couldn’t be returned from.
What will you do? the witch questioned as Jennifer’s breathing became a low moan on every exhale. You have one life to save, one more time you can fully heal. Will you use it now?
Angela hated the rules, the limits, on her magic. She received only one life credit for each birth and she had used the first for Marc. If Charlie ever needed help, she wouldn’t be able to give it.
Is there another deal I can make?” Angela asked reluctantly.
The witch came closer slowly, glowing crimson in front of an enormous mental construction project. It was one that they’d worked on all of Angela’s life, but only recently, it had begun to take shape. It was as if being around Adrian and his light had increased their mental workers and supplies. Hammering and grunting was a common sound in her thoughts these days.
You can borrow from the mother’s double luck, but the price is moral responsibility for them, the witch finally answered, coming close enough to fight for control if she wanted.
Angela wasn’t concerned. They were a team now, and she confirmed what mattered most to the future. One good, one bad. And we won’t know which?
The witch raised a hand with long, jagged claws. Yes. Let them both die and spare Safe Haven. That’s the choice He would make.
Angela understood that to be the truth, but she wasn’t Adrian, hadn’t hardened that much yet. I’ll tend to them in whatever way is required.
A vivid bolt of crimson light shot from the demon’s hand and slammed into Jennifer’s contracting stomach.
Kyle jerked back, stung by the heat, and Angela held a hand out. “Stay back. She still wants you.”
Kyle scowled, watching Jennifer’s face heat up to match the burning of her skin. “What are you...she doing?” he demanded, alarmed enough to bring Zack toward the partition.
“Closing, cauterizing–”
“Ahhh!”
Kyle shoved through the heat to take Jennifer’s hand at the scream and in his mind, the witch groaned, Yes. Let them feel your love!
Kyle didn’t resist the drawing and Angela allowed the witch to meddle. With the knowledge of 50/50, it couldn’t hurt. Angela was already planning to have the evil twin removed at the first clear sign and it was heartbreaking. If the witch could stop that future, it was worth whatever mark the demon was currently stitching into their dna. When it came to evil like Cesar and his minions had carried, those kids needed any help they could get.
11
At 4 am, Marc and Kevin were still busy.
All but one cherished camp member accounted for, the smaller perimeter had been secured, and the two men had been sent to gather supplies for the kids who were now set up in large tents with the camp women. In the darkness, the sinkholes were visible because of the torches and guards that were posted. Between all that, these two tired men had helped round up the larger animals, moved vehicles away from the still-crumbling edges of the sinkholes, and taken Alexa’s body to Hilda and Peggy for funeral preparations. Everyone wanted leadership, but at moments like this, no one envied the men who’d actually been chosen for it.
Thanks to Adrian’s efficient setup between teams of Eagles, the outer edges of camp life had been reestablished quickly. Once Marc and Kevin delivered the last load of supplies to the waiting women and kids, both men would go to their higher-ups for a new check-in, an update, and a fresh list of duties to be performed. Marc’s hopes of a beer and Angie’s kisses were long gone.
“I guess its Neil or Jeremy you’re usually working with on things like this,” Marc commented.
“Yeah.” Kevin clapped him on the shoulder. “Nice to have your brain here, but I do miss their arrogant attitudes.”
“So do I.” Marc opened the door. “Not being nagged by Neil, while Jeremy makes faces behind his back, just doesn’t feel right.”
Laughter died at the sight of Matt in the supply truck. The teenager was curled up in the corner, a mostly empty bottle of whiskey still clutched in his grip.
“Adrian’s night just got longer,” Kevin commented with a frown.
“Maybe not.” Cynthia joined them and handed Marc the drawing, before climbing into the truck. “Make sure Adrian gets that. Tell him I’ll take the boy on as an apprentice for my newspaper.”
Kevin stared in surprise, mind captured by the sight of the reporter’s ass suddenly being level with his face. It was almost too much to take and Kevin found himself leaning forward for a subtle smell.
Marc turned away with a grin of recognition. It was something guys did, like tasting what they’d just had a finger inside. Women might be disgusted, but they didn’t understand. It was instinct for a man to imprint the female that way, ages old and undeniable.
“I’ll know where he is, and I’ll punish him when he steps out of line.” Cynthia moved forward and delivered a solid slap to Matt’s leg that had the teenager recoiling groggily.
Marc and Kevin exchanged glances. Would Adrian trust her with something like that?
Marc shrugged. “Let her handle it for now, I guess. If he disagrees, he’ll let her know.”
Kevin climbed into the truck to help, and to get another whiff of her scent. “I say we wait until morning and fill him in then. If we can get Matt sobered up, maybe Adrian will go for it.”
“Okay,” Marc agreed. “You got this covered?”
Kevin’s face reddened in the lantern light. “I don’t have a clue man, but I’ll wing it.”
Marc chuckled as the soot-covered reporter continued to try to rouse Matt, missing the remark.
He slid the detailed drawing into his pocket. Why did people with talent have to have such glaring flaws? Why couldn’t human nature just be good? Marc sighed. As he went toward the medical area, he mentally scanned, making sure the guards were covering the camp.
Marc saw the crowd outside the medical tent and the lone man trying to secure the area. With so many of the higher Eagles he depended on not around or flat out not responding to his need, it wasn’t going smoothly for Kenn.
Marc reluctantly took the place on his ri
ght. For the most part, he liked working with Adrian. Kenn would always be a piece of shit. “What’s next?”
Kenn pointed toward the medical tent and then the camp that was slowly being set back up, unable to stop the elation of telling Marc what to do. “No organization, too many rookies.”
“I’m on it.”
Kenn gave Marc a minute to scatter the crowd and then began directing things again. It went better this time, truck and men moving together, and Kenn’s heart eased. This was the way it should have been all along.
12
On the other side of Safe Haven, Adrian winced each time he passed the freshly-dug grave on a round. They would hold Alexa’s funeral right before they left.
Scchrrriipp!
The sound of the sinkhole still growing, getting closer, was keeping him and the Eagles alert. Adrian didn’t want to have the camp fleeing in the dark–they were too jumpy to be sure of a calm bug out–but he was ready to make the call if he needed to.
Adrian swept the sheet-clad body of Lexa again and flinched. No matter how careful he was, people died.
Neil and Jeremy had chosen a thick grove of trees for the camp relocation, and Samantha had approved it. Neil, along with half his team, was packing a few essentials and heading back to secure the new site–much to Neil’s pleasure.
Adrian knew Neil was having a hard time staying away from Sam, who was now holed up in the vet area to quietly listen for more trouble. The trooper had been by there a number of times in the last half hour, but hadn’t gotten the nerve to speak to her.
Adrian moved that way in case he was needed. Neil was leaving camp and Jeremy wasn’t. Let the games begin...again.
“We’re all set,” Greg stated.
“Good,” Neil praised. “We leave in ten minutes.”
“We’ll be ready,” Greg promised. He hated not being on any of the mission teams going out, but Neil’s constant need to leave camp was helping with their restlessness.
Chosen to be the teammate left in camp this time, Jeremy waited at the truck door for the others to file out, full of thoughts and plans. He wanted to talk to Samantha, but he couldn’t do it without telling Neil first.
Neil was expecting it. He shrugged in dawn’s grudging light. “If you think you can get through that hard-ass shell around her heart, go on. I won’t stand in the way.”
Jeremy was caught off guard and gaped. “You mean that?”
“Yes, I do,” Neil grunted unhappily. If he was wrong, there were a lot of miserable nights waiting. “It’s not good enough to have what I want. For me to live with myself, I have to know she has what she needs. If that’s you, so be it. My wants no longer matter above hers.”
Jeremy flushed. “You don’t think I can put her first?”
“I know you can.” Neil did not intend to leave with any misunderstandings between them. “And now you know that I can, too. What matters, is her.”
Neil opened up, let his XO into his mind for the first time in months. “I want her in ways that I never expected, and her happiness is one of those. It ranks above my loneliness.”
“Are you going to see her before you leave?” Jeremy asked.
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No.”
There was a tense pause and then Neil boke it. “Are you ready to jump back into his war yet?” he asked lowly.
Jeremy thought of Frank dying beside him, of the blood on his hands. “No, and neither is our team.”
Lingering at the semi door, Adrian listened to them working it out, thinking Neil could make the offer because he knew what Samantha was hiding. She loved it that he was dangerous, and while Jeremy was too, in his own way, he didn’t throw it around the way Neil did. Samantha liked the excitement, the attention, and Neil was confident enough of it to give his blessing for Jeremy to try. It was almost wise. This way, all of them would know for sure.
If Samantha agrees to play their game again, Adrian added tiredly, continuing to the parking area. She might have her own drama written this time.
13
“I’d like to ask you something, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Damn it!” Samantha swallowed the startled shriek as Neil stepped from the foggy shadows behind the vet area. Hadn’t he just been in the parking zone?
“Please?”
Samantha’s pulse increased at the tone. “Uh...okay. What?”
Neil didn’t get upset at the defensive response, understanding she was scared of what he might say. It was in her wild eyes and twitching fingers.
“I know you want Angie’s XO slot, and to help Adrian build the dream. I think you fit right in, but what about personally? If your past didn’t stand in the way, what would make you happy?”
Unprepared for the telltale query, Samantha flushed. “What if I said I have it already?”
It was obvious that she didn’t. Neil waited.
Sam sighed, staring at his clean-shaven jaw. “The things that haunt me would get in the way of anything I try to build.”
“You need time now,” he guessed.
Sam shrugged. “Surviving was all I thought about for so long that I’m not sure what I need, only that my place here has to come first.”
Neil thought of his words to Marc. “I’m an Eagle first. My woman would have to know that.”
“I’m leaving now,” Neil stated ominously.
Samantha stiffened. “It’s only for a few hours, right?”
He moved a step closer, wanting to grab her and needing to run at the same time. “I’ll still feel it.”
Neil pushed his hat back, letting her see how much he meant it. “I miss you.”
Sam sucked in a sharp breath at the emotional blow. “Damn it!”
Neil smiled bitterly. “Had to know you feel it, too.”
Samantha couldn’t resist the panic. She advanced with a low growl. “I hate you for this, O’Neil. I really do.”
Neil met her kiss with a blast of his own anxiety. They were about to be apart. He’d given Jeremy permission to try. Was he crazy?
Sam’s grip tightened. She didn’t want to need him this way. She just did.
Neil deepened the kiss, taking the taste to memorize in case he didn’t get to do it again.
Samantha’s arms tightened around him, need thrumming through her skin, raising the hairs with the electricity.
Neil pulled back, heart suddenly ripping open without him knowing why. “After this is done, I’m going to ask you out.”
Samantha clutched at his shirt, trying to control her breathing. “No promises.”
Despair returned, and Neil took a double hit as he remembered saying almost the same thing to Becky. And then he’d developed this attraction for someone else. Neil went cold inside with dread. “Okay.”
Samantha slid back into his surprised arms with a low groan. “Kiss me once more. Hard and quick.”
Neil did and then headed for the waiting team without glancing back.
Samantha didn’t look away until the taillights faded into the landscape. When she finally turned, it was to find Jeremy’s wounded face staring at her from the foggy dawn shadows. Waves of guilt tried to crush her, and Samantha joined him with a blank expression.
“How about a kai lesson?” Samantha asked.
“You know that means I’d have to be around you, right?” Jeremy couldn’t stop the jealousy that spewed. “And touch you.”
Not in the mood for it, Sam’s tone cooled. “Yes, I do.”
Jeremy’s hands shoved into his pockets. “Why me? You’ve got enough admirers to fill that slot.”
Instead of another barb or even the shove of frustration she wanted to give, Samantha walked away.
Jeremy quickly caught up. “Wait. When?”
Sam’s feet were already leading them there, and Jeremy groaned silently but didn’t protest. After an hour of beating on him, she might agree to have a cup of coffee and spend some time together.
Samantha eyed Jeremy warily. “So, you two aren�
��t fighting anymore?”
“No. The Eagles come first,” he stated. “Even before you.”
To his shock, she grinned.
“Good. Maybe we could all start having mess together?”
Jeremy instantly fell back into competition mode and Samantha sighed. “Guess not.”
“Why don’t you just pick one of us?” Jeremy prompted. “We’ll work it out.”
Samantha shook her head, leading them to the crowded training tent. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to try sleeping right now. “That might ease the two of you, but it wouldn’t make me happy.”
“What would?”
Sam sighed, nerves about shot. She couldn’t wait to start swinging. “Being able to spend time with who I want, without people acting like children over it.”
Jeremy felt the sting, but it was still attention and he responded, “Thanks.”
Samantha opened the flap, held it for him. “Anytime.”
Jeremy wanted to be pissed, but found himself grinning. He just couldn’t figure her out.
14
Becky snapped awake with a startled gasp, not sure where she was or what had happened. Her hand groped out to find Seth’s tense body at her side. They were in the parking area, in the back seat of his big truck.
“What is it?”
Becky sat up, sweating and shivering. “Dream.”
“Nightmare, you mean.” Seth placed a gentle arm around her trembling shoulders. “He’s dead, Becca. You saw it.”
The girl nodded and let Seth guide her down to his lap where he could wrap her up tight against him.
Becky felt the tears coming and let them.
Gonna have that mouth next, Becky baby!
She shuddered, lost in her mental prison.
“Rebecca?”
The different name helped pull her from the past, and she bit down on her lip in an effort to stop crying. Rick was in her head so often! Seeing him die hadn’t been enough. Ashamed, Becky buried her head against Seth’s chest to hide the tears she was unable to stop. She didn’t want to die anymore, but living looked hard, too.
Seth held her close, forgetting about the sinkhole, the possible witnesses, and everything else but her anguish. “You were betrayed. That’s not your fault. You didn’t cause this.”
