“Save them, Mari. They’re starving us. It’s only been a little over a day but the kids are already feeling it.”
Mari gave a firm nod then pushed to her feet. When she passed the subdued drifter, she kicked him in the injured thigh. The man made a muffled yelp and Mari nodded as if satisfied. “He’ll be quiet or you take that hunting knife up there and gut him, won’t you, Cassie?”
“I will.” Cassie’s reply was shaky and doubtful, but it’d have to do.
Head high and gaze steady, unaffected by shooting her enemy, Mari drew close to Jared. “We can’t wait ‘til dark, now. They’ll figure this guy’s missing sooner or later.”
“They will.” He ground his teeth and glanced through the clean window at his back. “Still quiet out there. We’ll ease around the side of the community house and get them as they show their faces.”
It was the best he could do.
The door creaked open. Mari snuck past first and soundlessly made her way into the courtyard. Following, he kept his steps quiet, barely making a sound on the packed ground.
The hair on the back of his neck rose.
They’d been careful, but his gut told him they’d been found.
A shout rang out from across the way and the scuffling of boots came from his right. A drifter raised his rifle and aimed toward Jared.
“Fuck.” Weaponless, Jared launched himself.
Jared plowed into the stranger’s midsection. The ram shocked through his system and jarred his bones.
The crack of the rifle discharging exploded in his ear. Sucking wind, Jared went down hard and on the man beneath him. Jared drew back and punched the invader. The pain in his fists was as welcome as the gash he ripped in his knuckles. Pain for pain.
Strong hands landed on him, gripped his arms and legs, yanked him from the mewling man under him. Jared hit the ground in a nauseating thump and bit his tongue. His vision blurred and he couldn’t quite make out a body lumped on the ground a few feet away.
“Mari?” he whispered. He couldn’t see. He didn’t know. He had to get to her. He lurched to his feet. “Fuckers!”
They jumped him, fists grinding into him, and unable to fight them all off, he collapsed beneath the weight.
Chapter Five
Diving from a full speed sprint, Mari skidded under the community house. She gulped in air as the chill of shadows covered her. Her skin crawled. It was dark under here and there had to be spiders. Ninety percent of the world’s humans had died off two decades ago but somehow the spiders had survived. She shuddered.
A sound she recognized even though she rarely heard it made her shivering turn to a clench of her entire body. A rifle shot.
Before the boom finished echoing in the sky, she fell flat on the ground. The musty smell of damp dirt surrounded her and her mouth dug into the mildew laden soil. She gagged but kept it together. Crouching, she quietly edged around and peered from her hiding spot. In the yard, a pile of men fought, thrashed, and snarled.
From the midst of it, a roar came from the bottom and bodies flew. Jared stood in the middle, his bare chest heaving and his red hair in a tangled mess. With a snarl, he brought his arm back and punched the nearest drifter. The man’s feet left the ground and he landed on his back.
Someone lashed out, his boot landing in the back of Jared’s leg, and that large, gorgeous man went down with two men piling on top of him, beating and kicking him. After several horrifying minutes, they separated and lifted Jared to his knees. A rope quickly wrapped his torso, pinning his arms to his sides, and he was trussed up and on the ground before Mari could find her voice. She pressed her fist against her mouth to keep the protest inside her from spilling out.
They dragged him. They pulled an unconscious Jared through the yard, his head slapping on the ground and the beautiful skin of his back ripping on the grit and rocks. Her eyes stung and she wiped at her nose but nothing fell. There’d be no time for crying. She brought her bow around sideways and notched an arrow. But there were two men and if she had a better position, she could be fast enough. But not like this, with her elbows on the ground, the tight space only inches taller than she and too cramped to bring the next arrow around and flying.
Her breathing was loud and a small sound of frustration left her, but it couldn’t be heard above the bitching coming from outside.
“Motherfucker broke my nose,” groused the one still on the ground. His hand covered said nose and blood ran down his arm.
Good. He deserved that and more.
“He’s a big one. Better get him inside before he wakes up.”
“Sure, he’s big. Maybe Nancy would like to get a ride on him.”
“You letting him take your place?” The question was quiet and low. No inflection, and she realized she could name this one. It was Gareth. Nancy’s seeming favorite.
That snarled question seemed to pause the conversation as they drew near.
Mari crouched behind the stairs of the community house. She’d only be able to hear them, not see. But their boots didn’t clomp up the steps. Holding her breath, she inched to the side to find them. They slammed the door shut of a nearby hut and wedged a piece of wood against it so it wouldn’t open. It was Nelly’s place and that old man didn’t like all the noise so he’d had his windows boarded up. Nelly hadn’t quite gotten over the riots and didn’t like to sleep unguarded at night. Either way, Jared wasn’t going to find an easy way out of there.
“Now, come on. Fisher got himself killed and you always said we could be a five man gang.” There was the confirmation. There were four men left and one woman.
“You got it wrong, Billy.” Gareth still sounded calm as a murky mud puddle left by a spring storm. She didn’t understand this gang. They seemed pretty laid back but they weren’t exactly letting her people free. And they’d killed.
She squinted out at Gareth, trying to make out his mood. They moved closer. Mari made herself stay perfectly still. The two pairs of boots were only feet away. If she breathed too loudly, the drifters may look under the building and find her.
“My woman asked me for a gang. She wanted protection and she wanted a baby. I gave them to her and she enjoyed the making of the critter inside her. But now I got her a whole village to run and don’t need you, do I? I certainly don’t need a pretty boy troublemaker. Now you shut up or I’ll shut it for you. I’d give Nancy anything and she seems to like you fine. But it might be time to convince her she’s tired of you. Got me?”
“Whoa. Yeah. Sure. No problem. I just like to watch her have a good time. That’s all. She’s sticking with you most of the time anyway.” The last was said with a sullenness that gave Mari confidence. This group was infighting already. It wouldn’t take much to break them.
Mari watched the boots mill about as the two talked about how to repair the gate. Gareth wanted the men to build a new one today but his man, Billy he’d called him, whined and asked if the people inside could do it. Otherwise why were they keeping them?
The last drifter had cleaned his nose on his shirt and joined them. Now, all three remaining gang members were in one spot.
The rush of her blood quieted and she watched the men standing there discussing her friends—her family as much as any blood could be—as if they were nothing. Finally, Billy clomped up the stairs and ordered some of the people from the village to come out. Three men and two women—she couldn’t tell who it was by their feet—climbed down the stairs and waited while Gareth guarded them with his rifle. Billy hobbled the villagers, and then gun in hand, marched the small crew toward the gate.
Mari rested her head on her arm and forced herself to visualize a plan. Two drifters remained. The pregnant woman probably rested in the cabin she’d commandeered. Billy watched over gate repairs and would be too late to get back when the arrows started flying.
She took a deep breath and visualized how it had to be. Quiet, when they faced away, she’d roll from underneath the house, bring up her bow, and let the arrows fly. One.
Two. Then wait for the other man to come running and then, three. The woman wouldn’t get in the way. Not if she’d taken on a gang in order to get pregnant.
Not over-thinking it, Mari grabbed a handful of arrows from her quiver and scooted to the side of the building. The bag of extra arrows would still be in that first row of corn. It’d be the best position to fall back into, if necessary. With that line of retreat in mind, she rolled out into the sun, notched her arrow, and let it fly.
With a cry, one of the men dropped to the dirt and clutched his thigh. Red ran bright in a growing stain on his pants. The next arrow flew from her trembling fingers and skidded across the yard. Ineffective and a waste of needed ammo.
“That girl is back!” The one she’d injured fell and crab walked away. The pale shock on his face and the fear in his words gave her a needed boost of confidence.
Movement from the center of the yard drew her attention away from the scuttling drifter. Gareth drew a pistol from a holster at his side and swung the barrel toward her. Arrows clutched in one hand, she rolled backward and into a crouch. A pop skittered over her nerves. The ground dusted up next to her boot. He’d shot at her. She wheeled about and sprinted around the back of the building. Gulping air she pushed her legs faster, faster. Almost there.
The shaft of the arrow slid in her fingers and she settled it into place. Drawing back the string, she rounded the corner of the building, sprinted toward the front, and swung her aim around the corner. Right in the arrow’s flight path, she found Gareth’s startled expression. In a blink, she directed her aim lower and let go. It went right where she intended, into the meat of Gareth’s thigh. He grunted but didn’t make another sound. His weapon popped again as it fell to the ground. The crunch of wood sounded and for a split second she let herself be relieved he hadn’t shot someone.
Blood dripped from Gareth, but it didn’t slow him down. He dove after his pistol. It spun out and he lunged for it, scrambling in the dirt. She didn’t have time to watch him wrestle with it. Sprinting to the cabin across the way, she threw off the piece of wood stretched over the doorway and ran inside.
A body hurtled at her from the side and she hit the floor with a whoosh and a painful jarring of her leg. Her mouth opened to scream but it came out muffled as she couldn’t get enough air. The door slid shut with a surprisingly soft sound and brought darkness. Trying to crawl, she lurched and reached for escape. She gouged her nails into the wood and tried to drag herself to freedom but the weight was too much.
“Shh.” A whisper in her ear.
“Jared.” She went limp. If they didn’t see her dodge into where they’d stashed Jared, it wouldn’t take them long to find her, but being quiet might give them a few more minutes.
Better than basically screaming, here I am, come get me.
“You got free,” she replied just as quietly.
“They don’t know how to make a knot for shit.” He chuckled and rolled off of her with a groan. She missed his heat and false sense of security. “How many did you take down?”
“Two. In the thigh.” She scrambled to her feet and glanced at the still shut door.
“I knew you could get them.” He grinned in the dark, the light from a crack in the window stretching across his face.
It was like he’d taken her by the shoulders and shaken her at the same time as shoving her out into a sunlit meadow full of flowers and happy dancing—or some other sort of romantic mess her friend Cassie was always dreaming about. Her legs went loose and she could hardly stand. She’d never even seen a sunlit meadow, but that had to be what her chest felt like. She made a disgusted sound and slapped her thighs to remind her legs that they weren’t wet river grass, all weak and bendy.
“What good is it going to do, anyway? They still have guns—”
The door jarred with a thump and she frowned at the hooting and hollering outside.
“—and they’d locked us in. God, how could I have been so stupid?”
“Listen, you bitch!” Gareth thumped on the door. It rattled on the hinges. “I’d as soon strangle you as look at you, but when you’re in there starving to death, every minute your stomach is turning inside out, you’ll regret shooting me.”
It was silent in the cabin for a few minutes. Then Jared glided to the door, his shadow following him across the floor in a sleek and predatory way that sent her heart thumping.
“They bumbled their way in, with some idea of being here to be fed and taken care of. My guess is ‘cause the woman is close to her birth time and they want help, but the followers, they aren’t ruthless enough. They don’t mind others dying but they’re too cowardly to murder in cold blood. The only one reckless enough, angry enough to come in here knowing you have that bow and arrow, is Gareth. And he’s already hurt.”
Jared sat in front of the door. His face was hidden in shadow but she could hear him rub a hand over his jaw in the scrape of bristles.
“Sounds about right.” She made herself keep calm. This was a hunt. It couldn’t be anything more. Maybe the drifters hadn’t completely lost their humanity even if they didn’t care about anything but themselves. They were lazy and wanted the easy way out, but they’d shoot when shot at. That was clear.
“We’ll rescue your people.” He shifted and stretched one of his legs out. “If there’d been a better plan, it’s past us now. I think they’ll follow Gareth’s lead and starve us. Either ‘til we’re too weak to fight or ‘til we’re dead.”
“Gareth seems to be the only one eager to use his gun,” she added and glanced around. All it’d take is a solid kick and the boarded windows would give. Gareth would hear them, but if they timed it right, he’d be too late to catch them. “Where would we go if we ran?”
“My boat.”
“I can’t just leave everybody like that. And Cassie is stuck in that cabin with one of them.”
“Didn’t say we’d leave them like that. But you’re injured and now they’re on alert. I could take care of them all if I had time and the cover of night.”
“You’re going to kill them?”
She didn’t see as much as hear Jared’s shrug. “We kill them, or we walk away.”
“If we kill them, we’d be just like them.”
“There is no we in this. It’s just me.” An ugly laugh came from Jared. “And, I am just like them.”
“You were right to begin with. We need to take them down to Memphis City. They can lock them up.”
“They’re murderers. They were going to hurt your Cassie. They don’t deserve the cost of the food to feed them.”
“It’s not up to you. That’s not how we do things here.”
“It’s how everyone does things. You can’t afford prisoners. You can’t afford to be soft.”
“It’s not being soft. It’s being human, which you’ve apparently forgotten how to be.”
“You don’t know me.” Jared spit to the side and a growling sound came from his chest.
“I do know you.” Mari moved closer to Jared. “You’re always quiet. Never say much. Just show up, apart from whoever’s on your boat with you, and leave again. Something tells me that if you didn’t need help getting that boat up and down the river, you wouldn’t have brought anybody. You don’t need anybody. Maybe you’ve forgotten how to be a human. Or maybe you’re too closed off to know better.”
“You’re wrong. I do know when it’s time to get help. My family was stuck on a fucking piece of a bridge for years, nowhere to hide except in cars and trucks. You don’t know what it’s like to live in a fucking car. No protection from the gangs except too high in the air to bother with, but when we found the chance to join with a stronger group of people, we took it. It’s what the strong do to survive, they get the right help at the right time.”
“We’re not your family.” She shoved her braids over her shoulder with an angry flick of her hand.
Jared’s breathing went ragged, but he didn’t reply. The silence stretched until she couldn’t help but gas
p as it seemed to expand in her lungs. Knowing she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but push at him. “This is where we live. It’s our home—even if sometimes it wants to suffocate me for being so small, so closed off. But if we don’t stop the violence, even in retaliation, how are we better than them? They’ve killed. Attempted rape. You’re just going to slice throats in retaliation and disappear as if nothing happened?”
“Yes,” he yelled, right in her face. Hot breath with a hint of mint leaves washed over her. “I’m going to take it out of their hides and walk away from it.”
His anger seethed all over her and she wanted to step back but she couldn’t. The last several hours had taken something from her and damned if she’d back down now.
He kept going, the words like scraps of skin coming off her back.
“But you’re right about one thing, Marigold.” He said her full name with an inflection that made her whimper. She didn’t even remember the parents who’d given her that name. Nobody had used it since, except the elders when they wanted to scold her. Jared didn’t sound like he was scolding her. He sounded like he was opening her soul and digging her out. “I don’t need anybody here. I don’t need to help you. I don’t need friends. I don’t need you deciding when I risk my life. And I don’t need you.”
His mouth came down on hers and as if making himself a liar, he yanked her against his body to feel his need, hot and hard between his legs. His too short and angry kiss broke away and he whispered into her mouth. “Tell me you want me, Mari. You don’t need it. I don’t need it. But I want. I want you. Hot and aching and begging. Tell me.”
“I want you.” Her voice quivered.
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he whispered. “But I wish you hadn’t said it, cause we can’t be together, can we?”
He pulled back, leaving her tingling body vibrating, wordlessly begging for the missing contact, but she didn’t know what to say and before she could figure out what had changed in him, he continued.
“Let’s get out of here. Let’s tie these assholes up and put them on the river to Memphis City. I’ll take them. You won’t. You’ll stay here and away from me. Because I will only say this once. If you step foot on my boat, I’m going to fuck you. And I’m not letting you go.”
Taming the Alpha Page 59
