“I can take you back.”
His tone said he understood, but she shook her head, face reddening. “Please don’t. I need this as much as you.”
“Tell me when it’s too much and we’ll turn around. My word.”
He was warning her it would get ugly. “I will.”
Adrian snorted. “Liar.”
She smiled a bit. “Maybe.”
Angela didn’t ask where they were going or what was happening… content to see it at all. She was very aware that his offer to take her back had calmed her down. Adrian was a comfort to a woman, and against her will, Angela began to accept that Marc wasn’t the only man who could make her feel safe. Safe Haven’s sharp Leader also had that magic power and it was a bit disconcerting to discover after believing for so long that Brady was the only man she would ever trust.
3
“We had no choice.”
His voice was miserable, full of a self-loathing that had her compassion warring with her outrage as they watched the assault. It was a side of him she was sure the camp and his Eagles never saw.
The gang didn’t stand a chance. The two teams of Eagles rushed in from all sides, opening fire on both armed and unarmed alike. Awake, asleep, fleeing, none of the gang was spared.
The gunfire echoed heavily at first, then died down to sporadic shots as the Eagles picked off those faking death or hiding.
“They were gearing up to attack a group of refugees near here. We’ve been keeping tabs on them.”
Angela said nothing as she observed through his binoculars, the entire show lit by the gang’s bonfire. Bodies were everywhere, the flames flickering with armed shadows and in the middle of it all, Kyle. Leading and directing, he was also checking that the dead were indeed gone… by putting a bullet in the head of every corpse with his Glock.
It was gruesome and both Adrian and the Witch hung back, letting her see it for what it was. This part of being an Eagle was uglier than most women would be able to accept.
Angela didn’t look away, absorbing the lesson. When the bodies were thrown on the fire, her face didn’t change expression, but Adrian could feel her mental battle to understand why he had ordered this.
Minutes later, all that remained of the gang was the huge fire. Angela jumped as the radio crackled.
“5-by. Movin’ on.”
Adrian clicked his button in response and when he shifted into drive, she assumed they were headed back to camp. Instead, he turned them toward the glowing brightness that the Eagles were now leaving, and Angela realized the mission, the lesson, wasn’t over.
The closer they got to the fire, the harder her stomach twisted. The bodies were charring, stinking despite the windows being up, and she clamped down on her guts, as well as her heart, as he drove slowly by. It was War, right?
Adrian rolled them back into the cool darkness, seeing she’d noticed they were still headed away from camp. He had to let her deal with it like one of the men, but the urge to comfort her was hard to fight as the Eagles came into sight, and she stiffened, expecting more of the same.
“We’ll observe for a minute.”
The exact words that had begun the gang’s demise made her heart thump and she made herself watch as his top two teams once again rushed from their vehicles.
This time though, Kyle’s men carried boxes, and their guns were holstered as they approached the moldy shed, Neil’s team providing a careful guard. After setting the items near the crooked door, the guards then pulled back.
Confused, Angela waited quietly, glad there hadn’t been any more deaths yet and secretly praying Adrian could justify his actions. If not, this was the end of the path for his plans. She felt the wrongness of the gang, but had only his word about their intended crimes. For someone so against killing, he seemed very fast to be the cause of it, and she had to know why he’d decided those men should be handled that way before she agreed to be his Warrior by day and his Sorceress by night.
The shed was big, faded and slightly decrepit, with a wide crack near the bottom of the doors that revealed only darkness, but clearly there were people inside. The refugees Adrian had said the gang were about to attack? As Angela watched, one of those doors slowly opened to show them the black and white clothes of old world religion.
Three Nuns emerged and quickly carried the supplies inside, each of them darting panicked looks at the darkness around them.
“All women. Some are Black, Mexican, Indian. They tried to stay low, but the gang saw them and came in closer.”
Angela pulled the rest of it without needing to concentrate. “They blame the War on the mixing of races. They hate so much, that they don’t see others as people.”
“We saw them do a dry run last night. They were neat, smooth. It wasn’t their first assault.”
“And you couldn’t let them do it even one more time.”
The blond lit a cigarette. No, he couldn’t. The Eagles were good enough. They’d begun to rescue and dole out justice not that long ago, but each man in his army was already lethal.
“When will you invite them to join Safe Haven?”
“Just did. Waiting for an answer.”
“Notes with the supplies?”
“Yes, but they’ve been hiding so long that it’s begun to feel normal.”
Angela heard his need and rose to it without hesitation. “I might be able to tell you what’s going on in there.”
Adrian saw the mission Eagles fall in behind the two jeeps that were providing his guard. “Can I help?”
She hesitated. “I haven’t… slept well. If I get tired, I may need… energy.”
Adrian laid his big hand on the seat between them and his tone dropped to that intimate draw he sometimes used on the camp’s women when the loneliness became too much.
“Whatever you need, Angie.” He hadn’t planned to encourage anything, but her smell! Inside the closed-up cabin, the scent was winding through him like flames.
She flushed, slamming her eyes shut, and for a minute there was only the sound of their breathing and the stillness of the night around the truck. Concentrating, she narrowed in on the shed.
Adrian made a motion to Kyle, who had pulled into the bodyguard’s place, and the Mobster relayed the message. Radio silence.
Angela frowned, struggling. The minds of the truly religious were foreign to her, hard to read and she slid her hand onto the wrist still waiting on the seat.
Adrian’s quick intake of air echoed in the silence, and then she was in their thoughts and talking to him with that voice of the dead that his men hadn’t quite been able to describe.
“They don’t want to… but one of them is sick…” Understanding fell into her tone, along with anger. “Their Leader. Your note mentioned a doctor.”
“Can you get them…”
She let go of his hot skin. “Already too late. They see only men.”
She closed her mouth, waiting, and Adrian considered, worried. Would he be doing what he would kill one of his men for?
“Here they come. The answer is no.”
They watched the doors open, seeing the same three women who had carried in the boxes. Their nervous attitudes and awkward movements sent Angela back to her times of abuse. These women had been hurt by men. The insight had her returning to the search, determined to find a way to get them to join the flock.
Adrian waited patiently. Like Mitch, he could also feel when something was coming.
“Raped, not sick.” Her voice was cold. “By some of the gang your Eagles eliminated. They left her for dead.”
She turned to him with determined eyes. “I’ll go in, bring them out.”
Adrian was always amazed at how these plans fell into place with only the barest of setup on his part and she took his silence for hesitation.
“I could just be one of the doctors for this run. You’re The Man.”
He motioned to the jeeps, pleased at how natural those words sounded coming from a female soldier. “If you nee
d anything, Kyle is your right hand.”
“Should I put on my white coat to give that old feeling of comfort?”
Adrian stared, almost speechless this time. Now he was seeing what Kyle had tried so hard to make clear in his report.
“Wear it.”
Angela heard the admiration, but stored it for later as she got ready. The airfield had been a spur of the moment thing. This time, as far as she was concerned, she was going in as an official member of Adrian’s rescue team and it was a moment she knew she would remember forever.
There were a dozen things Adrian thought to tell her, to warn her of, but he kept quiet, wanting to see how she handled herself. Did she know to ask questions? His men hadn’t when they’d first come to him. For her, there was only one that mattered anyway.
They stepped out into the chilly night, flanked by Kyle and his team, and Angela turned to the blond. “On my own?”
He swept the area again, not distracting her with his approval. “Yes. Unless she’s needed, the Witch should stay back. The rest of us are at your disposal.”
A bit nervous, Angela dropped back behind him and the group of eleven moved slowly toward the shed.
Those inside were now casting furious shadows and Angela felt their tension as Adrian held up a finger, signaling the Eagles to stay where they were. Unlike during the tank attack, he wanted her in on this one, needed it.
Within 100 yards of the door, he slowed down to let her fill the place on his right. “Anything jump out at you?”
Angela moved carefully over a large piece of rusted fence buried in the ground. “Graves to the right, oil drums to the left, leaking what might be water. Lined garbage cans…” She paused. “A lot of scat. Too much, and it’s recent.”
“Sometimes you need what the people tell you, but gather your own report as you go too, from what’s not said.”
With Adrian’s gaze to lead her around the area, it was easy to see what he did. The roof was covered in droppings and there was wire over the single front window. There was also a truck up against a side door and a stack of huge rocks blocking what was probably a cellar door.
“They barricaded themselves in. They were under attack.”
“Yes, but by what?”
Angela struggled to identify all the prints and scratch marks on the debris. “Dogs, raccoons, wolves, bear.”
“Also gator.” He motioned to a wide drag mark.
Her eyes widened in concern. “They don’t come this far north.”
“They do now. And they have the exact opposite goal as us. If we leave these people…”
“They won’t survive.”
Adrian’s voice was haunted. “I’d not leave them to this fate!”
Angela snapped her eyes shut at the plea, unable to stand his pain and she listened to the Witch whisper. “Only one of their own might succeed here.”
She drew in a breath, suddenly sure that she could do this. ”You’ll have to surrender control of the mission.”
Adrian keyed the mic, not giving away his sudden flood of triumph. “We are Code Raven.”
“Copy that, Boss.”
There was no worry in that answering tone, Adrian was by her side after all, and Angela drew in a steadying breath. “Stay here.”
It was odd to be telling him what to do, but she didn’t let that distract her as she turned to the nervously watching women with a comforting smile.
“Hi! I’m Angie. I’m a doctor from Safe Haven refugee camp. We’ve come to see if we can help you.”
Adrian moved casually closer as she got further away from the vehicles. He swept the shed and the shadows around it, and listened to her tell the three Nuns exactly what they needed to hear.
“I’d be happy to see to your injured people while we talk.”
“How much?”
“For free.”
“Nothin’s free in After World.”
Angela raised a brow at the mutter from the eldest appearing of the trio. “Is that where we are?”
The Nun’s gray head flopped furiously in the cool wind. “The unworthy have been cast into the Lake of Fire. We’re all burnin’ now.”
The other two women were rolling their eyes, telling Angela the older woman had suffered too much.
“Don’t mind Harriet. The Last Days have been hard on her.”
Angela let out a sigh laced with tight pain. “On all of us sinners.”
Three faces cracked with the tiniest glimpse of hope. “You’re Believers?”
Angela shrugged. “Of many things. Those who don’t will not cast stones. Not after all that’s happened.”
The youngest of the trio had stayed partially behind the doors and she moved forward now. “And yet, the Devil lurks everywhere. How can we be sure you mean no harm?”
Angela swallowed her nerves and motioned two of the nearest Eagles forward with a quick gesture she hoped was right. “In this new world, in our world, women command as much respect as the men. They do what I tell them and that should be proof enough.”
The two younger women were reluctant, but the older nun seemed shocked by the immediate presence of the two darkly dressed men Angela had called forward to flank her.
“Making them move around is hardly proof they follow your lead.” A fourth voice called.
This female was so young that Angela winced, but she was able to fire right back.
“And if I ordered them to storm this shed and drag you all back to my camp, would that be proof they do what I say?”
The three women recoiled in fear, pushing to get back inside the door, but that fourth voice cracked out like a whip.
“Still yourselves, Sisters!”
The door swung open slowly to reveal a heavily pregnant teenager in all black, pointing a shotgun. “State your business!”
“I already have,” Angela stated, waving the advancing Eagles back. None of them liked a weapon being pointed at her, even Neil.
“Get lost! We don’t need you.” Clearly in charge, the others moved behind the pregnant girl. A very fast evaluation of those blazing violet eyes revealed Angela’s next course of action. Blunt-force honesty.
“True. You need an undertaker. The Slavers are headed this way.”
She turned toward Adrian, ignoring the Eagles watching for her to disappoint him so they could go back to the way things had been before she came. “From the tracks, I’d say you’ll experience all kinds of hell before you die.”
Angela spun a finger in the air, voice brutal. “They said they don’t need us. Draft a burial crew, mark the spot on the map, and let’s go.”
To their credit, each of the surprised Eagles responded immediately, Kyle even taking his notebook out to record her orders as they moved.
Angela headed toward the vehicles, delivering the final blow. “Keep the supplies. The burial crew will pick up what’s left when they see to your remains.”
“Wait, please.”
Angela casually held up a hand and the men stopped, Adrian staying close and alert. The moment of truth was nearing. Around them, shadowy forms began to move closer.
“We’ll let you look at Sister Sarah.” The teenager lowered the gun, shoulders slumping. “She needs help.”
Still tuning out everything else, Angela started the bonds of honesty. “If it’s bad, there’s not much I can do here. Once I determine what she needs, we’ll take her, even without your say so.” She waited for the teenager to choose, the entire team still poised to leave.
The weary girl nodded once. “You can’t be as bad as what she’s already been through.”
“We’re the future, Beth; yours and theirs.”
Not responding to the instant mistrust at the personal knowledge, Angela moved into the sweltering barn with Adrian and Kyle on her heels. Adrian’s herd, when it was trained, would be incomparable to even the armed forces of ancient history. Refugees had been straggling into Safe Haven since she’d joined, but these mental map pickups he’d chosen were special.
“In the corner, by the heater.”
The seven Nuns living in the barn shrank back from them, but didn’t run, and Adrian was encouraged as he swept the very warm living quarters. Safe Haven needed what these strong women had to offer. There was a single bed for warmth, a small stove close by, oddly shaped with vents that ran underground to hide the smoke, and a homemade distillery. The last pickup she’d done blood work on, was three airline stewardesses who’d survived the crash by squeezing themselves in-between the stacks of luggage, creating a rubber-like shield. These females were inventors. The mental map locations he’d memorized had been the right ones.
As soon as Angela spotted the woman wrapped in blankets in the corner, she headed that way with a grimace. “She needs John. I’m no surgeon.”
Ignoring the nervous mutters coming from the six nuns and the shotgun-wielding teenager, Adrian turned to Kyle. “Get us a litter.”
Kyle moved back outside but before Adrian could move to her unprotected back, Angela knelt down and opened her bag. “No threat to me. Assist.”
Trusting her judgment, Adrian did as he was told. Holding, handing, following her simple instructions, they both felt the tension in the hot room ease a bit at another sign she was genuine.
“What’s her name?”
“Missa.”
“Missa? Missa, can you hear me?”
Angela gave the feverish Indian woman an injection, but didn’t even try to peel back the blood-crusted blankets. She wasn’t surprised when there was no response to her voice or the needle.
“How long has she been like this?”
Angela demanded curtly and Adrian could feel her anger, her need to stop it from happening to the rest of them. It matched his.
It was the old woman who answered. “Been two days now. They caught us gatherin’ wood and chased me off. When I snuck back, they’d all been at her.”
Angela used her penlight to check the dark-skinned woman’s pupils. “Any fresh blood?”
Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) Page 20
