by Angela White
14
“Shoot him!”
The soldiers fired obediently, missing the cloaked figure leaping across the roofs of homes and businesses, even sheds and barns when he had to.
“Again!”
“Fire!”
The shadow leapt in time to avoid the hit behind him, but the explosion in front sent the Ghost between the brick buildings and out of sight.
“Get him!”
Two forward teams ran in that direction.
The team leaders behind them disapproved of the order. Didn’t command understand that those two teams would return with only half their men and even those would be wounded? The Ghost was lethal.
The soldiers listened for more sounds of fighting as they continued their march to Little Rock AFB. Command wanted it secured in short order and the battalion was almost out of time on their deadline. The Ghost had slowed them down, but now, they were shoving through the last five hundred miles to get inside some sort of protection. Being picked off was bad for morale.
Kablamm!
An explosion lit up the south side of the city, confirming the thoughts of the team leaders. No one from those two platoons would come back. If command kept sacrificing fighters like this, there wouldn’t be many alive when the welcoming air strips came into sight.
“Keep marching!”
The order was met with grumbling, but no real resistance. All of the soldiers wanted to be undercover. Not stopping until they got there now sounded good.
“Ahhh!”
More men fell on their flank, screams echoing up, and terror took over. The front half of the battalion began to run. Behind them, the delay of being attacked with firebombs put another small amount of distance between these two groups.
Marc used it to join them as if he were a part of their group. He got the Shadow Riders into their proper places in the rear of the first platoons, aware of the men who swept their stolen clothes and decided they weren’t a threat.
When Marc opened fire, the other riders did the same.
Before the teams ahead could run and help, Marc and his men were already out of sight. They were alone as they stomped down the stairs and vanished into the sewer.
15
“He’s a Ghost. You can’t kill him.”
The General put his gun to the Indian captive’s temple and pulled the trigger.
The body slumped to the bloody dirt and the General tossed an arm around the Major’s shoulders, hot gun hanging over his cheek in a threat.
“I want him brought in, and I don’t care what you have to do to accomplish that.”
Francis laughed despite the danger he was in. “Do it yourself. The bullet is easier.”
The General grimaced at the refusal.
Francis tensed under him. “Do not underestimate me. We will die together.”
The tension and fighting in command was as bad as it was among the ranks. The General was forced to step back, but he didn’t put the 9mm away.
“If you can’t give me the Ghost, why did Command send you out here?”
Major John Francis had arrived late yesterday and been observing silently. Now, he leered toward the forty new bodies the Ghost had given them. “His woman is capable of doing that without firing a single bullet. I didn’t come for the Ghost. I came for the Raven.”
“I have doubts about us making it to Georgia, Francis. Not without more men.”
The Major sneered, “You would need a miracle, but I don’t mean to go to her. She will come to us.”
“And how will that work?”
Francis gestured to the radio they were keeping on the rebel channels. “We’ve heard her. We have the stories from people who were there. She’ll come for her Ghost.”
“But that leaves the same problem!” the General protested. “We can’t catch him.”
Francis spit towards the General’s freshly shined boots. “You clearly can’t.”
The general saw it coming too late.
“Ugg!”
The knife was calmly retrieved from the dying man’s chest, the gun in the dirt and out of reach.
“No vest,” Francis commented, cleaning his blade on the General’s shocked, paling cheek. “Big mistake. I’ll take it from here. You’re now relieved.”
Chapter Twenty
Black Ice and Sink Holes
August 2nd
Walnut Grove, Alabama
1
For the first time in months, they were camped near a town and the feel was ugly.
Walnut grove, Alabama had been average, with a normal population for the area, but it wasn’t anything now. Doors kicked in, frames of charred buildings and trailers, cemeteries looted and bones laying in disrespect. Even the roads the clearing crew had prepared were slimy and dark, like it never stopped raining here long enough to dry. The sky above matched with an ominous shade of green that kept Samantha on edge.
Angela had brought them here intentionally after Theo called it in. Her camp needed to be reminded of how deeply the war had hurt them all and camping out of sight of those horrors wasn’t going to be the norm anymore. The truth would be something they had to stand on from here and it began with what had happened. The camps around hers were uneasy being out in the open, but she knew it would work on them, as well. By the time they left here, anger and the burning desire for revenge would flood every patriot in their convoy.
“We have to talk.”
Angela tried to shut him down, sensing what was coming. “The camp’s fine right now.”
“That’s not what I want.”
Killing time until evening mess, Angela didn’t look up from the schedules she was going over in the lea of her tent. When he waited for her to respond, Angela wondered how far Adrian would go to keep from retaking the reins.
“Have a seat. That hip’s gotta hurt after all the hours you’ve put in on it.”
Adrian joined her with a grimace and waited for her to finish.
Angela dragged it out, not wanting to have this conversation.
“Angela.”
“No.”
“Angela.” More persistent now.
“No, Adrian. I don’t want this. I never have.”
“You’re sure?”
She finally met his eye and gave a bark of bitterness that didn’t surprise him. He knew the range of emotions that leadership brought.
“Yes.”
“But?”
Her gaze went to the schedules. “But I don’t know where I belong now. And you know that. It’s why I didn’t insist while Kenn was at the medical center.”
Adrian’s heart broke at her lost tone and he took the opening without hesitation. “You belong by my side.”
Angela stared, stunned he would say it aloud.
Angela sat back, witch whispering, mind racing. He was letting her in, now, when she had no defense. What did she feel?
When she finally spoke, Adrian wasn’t sure if he should brace or duck.
“I waited my entire life to be able to love Marc, dreamed of how perfect it would be.” She glanced over the, her, peacefully surviving camp. “I still do.”
“But.”
“But I’m drawn to you and it’s easy to understand why. Look at what you’ve given me, given all the people here, how you gave of yourself to build this!”
She refused to lie even as the guilt spoke up. “I could have been blinded by it, if you were bad.”
“I am evil, Angie,” Adrian refuted, sending a small spark with the variation. He had to keep it light, though. It was one of those things that he would only be able to use openly once she was his. When that happened, he would whisper it in her ear every night as she exploded in his arms.
Angela sighed at the tremor of longing that his use of that name produced. “No worse than the rest of us. We may be kindred’s, but I love Marc. I’d never do what Samantha is.”
Adrian lit a smoke with a deceptive casualness that hid his pain. Only his mind said that it mattered, that he would c
ontinue to wait. “I’ll take back over soon.”
Adrian studied her for signs of reluctance and found only relief.
“How will you handle it?”
Adrian shrugged. “That’s up to you. Publicly is best, so they don’t think I’m pushing you out.”
“They’ll just be glad you’re in charge again,” she denied.
“Don’t underestimate all you’ve done for them, Angela. When I’m banished, it’s you they’ll vote in as my replacement.”
Adrian grit his teeth in frustration as she moved toward the main camp without responding. What could he say to make her understand that they belonged together? He’d never met someone he respected more, wanted more, felt more for, and it hurt and angered him that she couldn’t accept it. When would she realize that he was the only one who would be able to make her happy?
Adrian sighed. Only after Marc’s death and he wasn’t even allowed to hope for that.
Doors open wide between them, he left her with the ugly thought.
Angela found no comfort in his prediction. She’d have to do this again. When the camp found out, she would be the one to hold Safe Haven together. How did she prepare for that?
“We think you should be leading anyway–the camp females.”
Those words rang in Angela’s mind. Had Tonya really felt that way or had she just been trying to make the team? Peggy and Hilda clearly agreed, but what did the camp and Eagles think?
Angela found her shadow in the darkness, met Kyle’s curious gaze. “Ready to go back to being his top Eagle again?”
“It’s what I was promised, what we agreed to.”
The mobster’s tone was emotionless.
Angela glanced at him coolly. “So the last weeks of being my right hand were just a part of your duties?”
Kyle snorted, not about to challenge her over a lie that didn’t matter between them. “I wanted to tell him no, to go against him right then,” Kyle confided lowly. “The same as you did.”
Angela blew out a sigh. “But he didn’t recognize it. He thinks I can’t wait to give it up, when I…”
She changed the words. “I don’t know exactly what happens to us now. I’m not sure where we fit.”
“Yes, you are. It’s ending and you loathe the idea of just being an Eagle or even Marc’s mate. You want more. He’s right. That’s why you’re upset.”
“I want to do more.”
“And you can’t with Marc here?”
“Marc wouldn’t stop me.”
“Unless you choose to stay in command, to share leadership. He’d never accept that, right?”
Angela tossed the smoldering butt to the ground and put it out with her boot. She viewed Kyle, sometimes still amazed by how much had changed since her first day in this refugee camp. Why didn’t the mobster know what was coming, what she’d figured out a long time ago?
Instead of anger or information, she put him to work. “Talk to people quietly and get a consensus, find out how they feel about us. I don’t want to lead, don’t want this burden, but I don’t think I can go back to being on the shelf until needed. I doubt you can, either. We’ve come too far for that.”
Kyle left and Angela finished facing the ugly truth. I want to agree. I want to stand at Adrian’s side and keep learning to lead. There’s only one thing on this planet that I want more than that, and it isn’t my Brady.
Angela’s hand dropped to her stomach.
2
Kenn stayed in the darkest part of the shadows as Adrian left, lingering to observe Angela and Kyle instead. What he saw made him grimace. It didn’t take long for him to understand what Adrian was doing and why.
“Always protecting the herd,” Kenn muttered, following Adrian. “When do you get to be happy?”
Kenn had accepted that Adrian didn’t want to take back over, and stopped openly pushing him on it. He thought he understood why now. Adrian was training her and giving himself a break. So far, it was working out well. Kenn didn’t think things would be much different if Adrian hadn’t been injured, except that he himself might have Marc’s job of slowing down the enemy.
“And what have you seen that makes you lower yourself to these tactics?” Kenn mused, watching Adrian accept an offer of comfort from Nancy, the sailor from Hot Springs. “What’s coming for you, but not this camp?”
“His past.”
Kenn turned to find Samantha had been shadowing him. He scowled.
“Hey, not like that,” she explained quickly. “I’m practicing and you’re better than most of the Eagles.”
Kenn’s chest swelled, but he ducked mentally. Samantha was rarely nice to anyone. “What do you mean, his past?”
Sam pointed out something that she assumed he’d missed. Most people here had. “Did you notice that all of us have been brought down, in one way or another? We’ve been knocked about as low as we can go, then Adrian built us back up. Now, we’re stronger than we’ve ever been.”
Kenn hadn’t realized how many of Safe Haven’s members had gone through it until she said so. “Adrian? His fall came in little Rock, right?”
“No,” Samantha snorted. “It started when Angie came here. Little Rock was a domino in that line. His payment, his punishment, hasn’t come yet.”
Kenn got her point, worrying more than he already had been.
Samantha, full of energy that needed a release, sent her hot gaze down Kenn’s big body. “Yours is probably over...”
Kenn flushed, understanding what her problem was. Neil and Jeremy had been gone on a supply run for days, and they were busy when here, teaching and preparing. “They’ll be home soon.”
“I wasn’t hitting on you,” Sam stated quickly. “I’m mixing energy and the easiest way to draw it from a man is to turn them on.”
Kenn’s face went scarlet this time. His mouth opened. “Did you get anything?”
Samantha shook her head, though she was tasting him. “May I?”
Kenn gave a tense nod and had to clench his fists to stay still while she drew.
Samantha let go all at once, unable to stand any more of that strong flavor.
Kenn took deep breaths to keep from saying anything stupid. All the men were helping the descendants stay refilled so that they could heal the wounded who were coming in every few days, but this was the first time one of them had come to him for it. His own gifts were minor in comparison and didn’t need refilling.
Samantha gave Kenn a leer, one friendlier than he’d ever gotten from her.
“You’re not all dark and confused anymore. It makes your energy stronger. Try doing something with your gifts, instead of waiting for them to come to you.”
Samantha turned away while he was shocked into speculative silence. She probably shouldn’t have told him that, but he was another weapon they could use for the fight.
“Hey.”
Samantha turned around, not sure what to expect. “Yes?”
“What’s the easiest way to take it from a woman?”
Sam knew what he meant, and flashed a healthy leer. “Piss us off, of course. We live on anger and love. Those are often the only two things that exist for a female.”
Kenn suddenly didn’t envy Neil and Jeremy any of the three-way fantasies he’d had. If they were able to please this woman for long, he was Superman.
Kenn quickly caught up with her, waiting to see if she glared or accepted him along for wherever she was going.
“I was hoping you’d ask,” Samantha admitted. “I need Level Five in Kai. Neither of my men will punch.”
Kenn tensed, but didn’t deny the request. She’d come to him because she knew he was capable of that and more. “The training tent is empty right now. It’s packed up for tomorrow.”
Samantha changed directions and flashed a pointed glare to Jeff, her protection. “I asked for this. Make sure Angela knows.”
Jeff wasn’t exactly okay with it (he’d also refused), but he didn’t interfere. Adrian and Angela insisted that none of thei
r females would ask for more than they could handle and Jeff had to believe that. After the nights he’d been spending with Crista, the thought of losing her was paralyzing.
They went into the tent to find Kyle and Jennifer doing much what they’d come to do. Both pairs stared at each other in uneasy concern.
Samantha started to go out, but Kenn put a hand on her arm, which he withdrew as she stopped.
“This is better,” he explained. “She’ll be able to tell Angela that I’m not hurting you any more than I have to. It will keep the men from hunting me. Your Eagles, you’ll still have to handle.”
Samantha went toward the curious pair. Neil and Jeremy wouldn’t like this, but a large part of Angela’s plan for the women depended on her and she wouldn’t be able to do it if she couldn’t take a real hit. The soldiers who were coming would follow orders and they wouldn’t go easy because she was female. To do her duty, she had to know what to expect when the battle came to Safe Haven’s gates.
Kenn stripped his shirt and boots, using Neil’s level five training instructions for the females, and watched Samantha’s expression flood with restless need. Neil had noted, like the males, women were easy to take down when they were distracted by a sexual spark.
“Control that shit and pay attention!” Kenn snapped, moving toward her.
Samantha’s anger flared to life and she met him in the middle of the tent, set to work off the ugly feeling of bad days being just over the horizon for all of them.
3
“I’ve noticed that you show a lot of attention to some women here–more than you do other females, even those you sleep with.”
Adrian didn’t pause from shoveling out the livestock trailer, but inside, he cringed. He hadn’t expected this conversation yet. Time to be careful or tell the truth?
“Some people deserve more attention.”
“Like my mom?”
Adrian understood the boy had planned it all. He’d been ambushed. “Yes.”
Adrian heard Charlie’s silent frustration when he gave nothing more. The impatience of youth. I barely remember my own.
