by Angela White
“What the hell is this?” Samantha demanded as soon as she was in range. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Conner held out the slip of paper his dad had said he would need and Samantha snatched it from his fingers. The other females had stopped as soon as they saw who their workers were.
“She’s out of her mind,” Samantha muttered. She gave the note to Cynthia, who read it, let out a curse, and then passed it. By the time the note got to Candy, they all knew who had arranged it.
“I didn’t know you guys were coming!” Conner blared when all their hostile gazes settled on him. “And neither did my dad.”
“Yeah. Right, kid,” Candy grumbled. She glowered at him resentfully. “Just a pocketful of trouble. Entire damn Mitchel family.”
Conner flushed and his arms came up to wrap around his waist. “I’ll leave and you guys can handle it.”
“No,” David spoke up reluctantly. “You heard your dad. He said to stay and do whatever you were told to.”
“They don’t want me here,” Conner protested. “And it’ll get me in trouble. I’m not allowed around her.”
Conner’s concern for the future let the females relax a bit and Samantha gave Candy a lifted brow that asked what she wanted to do.
Candy was tired of the drama. “Let’s get the work done. If he comes near me, I’ll shoot him.”
“Sounds good to me,” Samantha agreed, taking out their envelope of instructions. “Let’s see what the boss has planned for the peeping tom.”
Conner scowled and spun towards their vehicles. He took a seat on the hood and fought to keep his attention on the ground and off his fantasy woman.
Samantha read, “I realize none of you are happy right now, and I understand this won’t be easy for some of you. However, I’m giving you a job that matters even more than the duties being carried out in the cave. You’re clearing our escape route from these mountains and it has to be finished in less than a month. No one can know what you’re doing. Bring supplies on each run to cover your mission. As you clear, recon the towns and surroundings, list items we need to gather, and try to build up some trust with your teammates. There’s always hope–even for those who don’t know how badly they need it.”
Eyes went to Conner and the boy ducked his head. “I’ll do my part. I’m not my father.”
It was a good moment for him, but it wasn’t believed as deeply as he needed it to be for forgiveness. Conner pointed south, to where they could detect the first wreck waiting to be cleared. “I can go find us a tow truck, maybe some fuel to run it.”
Samantha considered and then nodded. “Yes. Take your bodyguard along and try to be back in an hour or two. We’ll be working on the wrecks.”
Conner and David left, and Samantha regarded the remaining soldiers. “You can do guard duty first. When we get tired, we’ll switch out with you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Justin said respectfully, waving his men into place. Laboring for these people would be a way into Safe Haven. When this escape route was finally used, those people would be grateful.
Samantha’s team was thinking the same thing, but they weren’t as pleased by it. Not only did that mean Conner would be allowed in soon, it also meant there were more problems coming. Why else would Angela insist they clear a way out?
“All right. Put ‘em in neutral and push them aside,” Samantha instructed as the soldiers began climbing nearby trees and poles to have the vantage point. “We’ll come through later and collect fuel or anything else we can use, so don’t destroy any of them. We might need the parts.”
“They shouldn’t be doing that,” one of the soldiers grumbled. “Adrian said most of the women in Safe Haven are pregnant.”
“We don’t make the rules,” Justin reminded the others. “Women have been giving birth as long as the world’s been turning. Nothing new now either.”
“But they can’t do…”
The men stopped talking as the sound of a car rolling into the ditch came. Clearly, the women could do it and they were going to.
“These Safe Haven people sure are determined,” the third soldier remarked from his pole position. “We should have joined them sooner.”
“Yeah. Well, then, let’s keep these skirts alive, shall we, gentlemen?” Justin remarked.
It was a reminder to pay attention and each of the men did. Anyone could be lurking out here, hoping for a ticket into safety by grabbing a hostage.
Busy shoving the next vehicle off the road, only one of the females caught the thought and she didn’t feel the need to be upset over the words or the greedy thoughts behind them. People who hadn’t spent time in Safe Haven’s light couldn’t be expected to act as if they had been. Change would come when Angela was ready for them to experience it. Until then, Samantha planned to keep an eye on these hard men, as well as Conner. She considered the boy more of a threat than any of the soldiers. The only one worse was his traitorous father.
2
“She gave me a message with the supplies,” Adrian stated quietly. He stayed out of Marc’s reach as he continued. “I’m the hostage.”
“I assumed it was something like that. You’ll get caught on your own.”
“She wants you guys to go back before dark.”
Marc didn’t have a problem with that part. What he hated was that Adrian and Angela were still communicating. “She used Kenn?”
“And me,” Kendle admitted, not wanting lies between them. “She didn’t tell me to keep it quiet or anything.”
“But you were happy enough to do it,” Marc guessed. “Especially if it might drive a wedge, right?”
Kendle dropped her head without replying.
Marc didn’t let the anger take control. “She’s the boss and you’re both on her shit list. I’d follow her orders to the letter if I were you.”
Adrian was glad Marc had taken it so well. Now that the moment of his capture was closing in, Adrian wasn’t feeling very snarky. Jack and his men had been waiting a long time to get their hands on him.
“Does she want us to hang around and rescue you?” Marc asked, not sure if he would or not.
“No,” Adrian answered. “She said if I die, I deserve to.”
Instantly soothed, Marc also stopped, taking the reins of Adrian’s mount as he realized they were splitting up now. “Good luck.”
Adrian grunted as he went by, but he didn’t say anything else. Angela’s messages were hard and cruel, and he did deserve it, but the pain wasn’t taken lightly.
Marc told Kendle, “Let’s make it obvious that we’re leaving. Give them the red eye.”
Kendle snickered, letting her rage bleed through, and she immediately felt the shield around Jack grow stronger.
She waited for Marc’s cue and when he rotated, presenting his back, she did the same. It would appear as though they were headed home now that they’d escorted the bad men away.
“Are we going straight home?” she asked, suddenly not confident that was a good idea.
“Yes, but we’ll make stops along the way,” Marc answered. “We’ll set up some disks and alarms. The next time they come through here, I want advance warning.”
Kendle was already anticipating being alone with him and she managed,” Okay” instead of gushing.
Walking by her, Adrian leaned in and whispered, “You haven’t got a shot in hell. Best stick with me.”
Angered, Kendle stuck a foot out and heard a satisfying thump as Adrian hit the ground.
“Asshole,” she spat, before following Marc.
Adrian grinned, picking himself up. “That’s me, sweetheart. And one day, you’ll be glad of it.”
Kendle kept going and Adrian headed for Jack’s camp. Jack’s crew was getting set to spend the night out in the open and Adrian had recognized a good opportunity to sneak in. He was hoping to overhear a few tidbits before allowing himself to be taken hostage.
Adrian eased into the trees around where tents were going up and found the edge of a
personal shield covering the area. He took a seat among the weeds and quietly sank down to wait for the right moment to act.
“Now!”
Adrian felt Alpha power slide over him in a slimy flash and began resisting. He struggled for a moment, panting. Jack’s power had grown stronger than he had expected and Adrian shuffled those thoughts to the rear of his mind, where they would be safer.
“Ah, who do we have?” Jack asked happily, sucking at the person’s power until the shield flickered and the man was revealed.
“Kneeling already,” Jack joked, leaning down to get a better view. “A good start. Maybe you’ll–”
Jack leapt away as he recognized his captive and then hard laughter rang out. “This is a day for gifts. Gentlemen, we now hold Adrian Mitchel. Let’s have that meal and drink.”
“Do you want him darted” Vlad asked, jerking Adrian to his feet.
“No,” Jack answered, waving to a spot across their small fire. “I want information first. He can fill us in on the two hard-asses that were following.”
Adrian yanked his arm from Vlad’s harsh grip and sank down where he was told. “If you’ll kill someone for me, I’ll join your crew.”
Jack cackled in surprise and Adrian waited patiently for it to pass. Once Jack realized he was serious, he would make the deal, though Adrian expected to be killed when everything was over. Jack wasn’t a forgiving master. Neither was Angela, and a deal with this lunatic wasn’t in her orders.
3
“Where are we stopping?”
Marc pointed toward the distant light. “The lumberyard. After that, we’ll check on the other crews who are still out. Then we’ll go back for our evening shift.”
“She’ll be happy that you checked in,” Kendle commented.
“Not doing it to make her happy,” Marc replied, kicking his horse faster. “I care about these people, too.”
“Wish I could,” Kendle muttered under her breath. “It would make adjusting easier.”
Kendle opened her mouth again. “She also gave him a ghillie suit and there was a big red question mark on the map.”
“Figures,” Marc grumbled.
Kendle couldn’t stop another peek over her shoulder and Marc caught it.
“You can go and babysit him if you’re that worried.”
Kendle twisted around, reddening. She didn’t want to be worried about Adrian. It was just hard not to be.
Marc sighed, taking pity. “Lead the way and try to spot anything that will be of use.”
Grateful for the distraction, Kendle took the lead and tried to keep her mind on her new mission. Adrian was a traitor. Marc was the light. She needed to remember that or she’d never have peace.
4
“Everything’s calm and quiet.”
Angela took the sheet of paper from Greg and gestured toward the filling line. “Go get fed. I’ll still be here when you’re through.”
Angela planned to be sitting here, resting, when Marc arrived. He would have questions and updates before she could go to bed and Angela was looking forward to leaning against his heat the entire time. The chill in the wind said flurries again tonight weren’t out of the question.
Greg headed for the food line and Angela opened her notebook as others approached her. The rest of her evening would be spent this way, but her mind wasn’t in it at all. Her thoughts were with the lone man in quarantine Zone A. The sentries thought Darian might be an assassin. The other descendants couldn’t get a read on his thoughts, and Angela knew that wasn’t good, but she couldn’t help the guilt. She had executed his sister. He had every right to demand a trial. He wasn’t going to get one, but he had the right to it.
“Everyone is accounted for,” Shawn stated, joining her at the table. “Work goes on in all the places it should be and there’s nothing new to report other than all the zones have people in them again.”
Angela took his sheet and put it with the others. “You eat yet?”
“Went back for seconds. That Li Sing can cook.”
“Yes,” Angela agreed. “Would you make a round of the QZ, please? See how all our guests are doing.”
“You got it,” Shawn stated, rising. “You letting any of them in here?”
“Not from Zone C. Keep the patrols heavy on them.”
That was all Shawn needed to hear and he waved a few men with him as he left. The group in Zone C was loud, crude, and armed. None of the guards cared for that, but Angela hadn’t ordered them disarmed yet. If she didn’t plan to let them in, it made sense that she would let them keep their weapons for when they were out in the wilderness again. They would need those guns then.
Shawn wanted to feel sorry for them, but it was hard to when the men screamed obscenities at the females they saw and threatened the weaker sentries around the area. A few of the Eagles were already talking about removing a few of those problems, and Shawn had it on his list of updates for Marc. At some point, those people would become a problem that had to be handled.
As Shawn neared the gate, he could hear the drunken shouts of Zone C and he motioned a few more men to take a place along the gate. If Marc heard that, but didn’t find a doubled watch, there would be hell to pay.
“Let us in there, you bastards!”
Shawn climbed the gate ladder to the top partition, joining the gate sentries. He peered down at the troublemakers, at the broken bottles and trash littering the area. Small fires burned moodily and drunken shadows fought and ran among the smoke.
“Not good,” Shawn muttered. “Not good at all.”
“Yeah, the boss needs a plan for this area,” Zack agreed, rifle in hand. “If they storm our gate, we’ll kill them all.”
“Good,” Shawn said firmly. “She already passed sentence on this group. They’re not coming in.”
“Glad to hear it,” Zack stated angrily. The leader of Zone C was lurking in the shadows to study the Eagles on the gate, getting set to bite the hand that was feeding him. “That one has to go first or he’ll rile the others into attacking.”
“I’ll make sure she knows,” Shawn promised, lingering to observe. “I’ll also talk to Marc.”
“If she wants Marc to know, she’ll tell him,” Zack said pointedly. “Don’t forget who the boss is.”
Shawn scowled, but didn’t respond. If Angela didn’t get to rest soon, she would lose the baby and then nothing would be the same. Marc needed to be running Safe Haven until after she gave birth, and Shawn planned to mention it to him at some point. Then, they had to get Angie to agree.
5
“I’m sorry about Beth.”
Jennifer ignored Theo’s concern and handed him the blueprint she’d finished. “This is the last one.”
Theo understood she didn’t want to talk about it, but he also knew Kyle would have forced her to confront the emotions. “Jenny, you can talk to me.”
Jennifer didn’t like the pity and tried again to get them onto business. “Do you need anything else?”
Theo sighed. “No. Thank you. These are great.”
Jennifer picked up the baby seat, aware of Autumn drooling in her sleep. If not for the feeling of doom, it would have been a good moment.
“I’ll walk you,” Theo stated, set tone marking it an order and not an offer. He wasn’t giving her the chance to refuse. He had also instructed his men to escort the women and kids all the way to the gate.
Jennifer appreciated his concern and immediately understood it when they neared the QZs. The people in that top area were shouting, drunken, some fighting, and the ground was littered with trash. As they went by, Theo automatically placed himself between them and Jennifer, and his hand rested on his gun.
“That’s a problem waiting to happen,” he commented, not liking how the men leered at Jennifer and the baby.
“She has it covered,” Jennifer answered firmly. But she didn’t like it either. From now on, she would take the longer route that wound through the rear of camp.
Theo waited until
Jennifer was safely inside the gate and then returned to the tent outside the cave entrance. He needed to go over the blueprints and numbers on the supplies for the day, but all he could think of for the moment was Jennifer’s prediction. He needed to talk to Candy and make sure she knew where they stood. It was a conversation he wasn’t anticipating and when he heard the gates open again to admit the female team that had left earlier, Theo stayed in his tent. It would keep.
6
Jennifer went to the crowded mess, forcing nods and the correct replies. She left the baby with Peggy and Hilda, noting Tonya sitting between the den mothers, and then headed for the showers. She looked and sounded normal, but the glaze over her expressions would have worried Kyle, who was gone on the run to the north.
As she entered the camper, she found it empty, and Jennifer broke. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she stumbled into the farthest stall and sank to the floor to let her grief flow. Out there, she had to be strong or she could lose all the progress she’d made in gaining control of her life. In here, she could let her pain out so it didn’t fester inside like an open wound. She’d missed Beth’s pain, her depression over the death of her child. It was awful.
Angela lingered outside, giving the teenager a minute of privacy. When she thought the sobs had gone on long enough, Angela climbed into the camper and slowly joined Jennifer on the floor. When the teenager peered at her with abject misery, Angela held her arms out and Jennifer crawled into them like a baby needing the comfort of a parent.
“It’s not your fault,” Angela crooned. “You know that. And you know whose fault it is, don’t you?”
“Yours!” Jennifer cried, sobbing harder. “You didn’t warn anyone.”
“No, I didn’t. I hoped she wouldn’t make that choice, but it was hers to make. I’m sorry.”
“Sometimes, I hate you,” Jennifer confessed, still clutching Angela tightly.
“I know, sweetheart,” Angela replied, rocking her. “So do I.”
