by Angela White
Marc would have been thrilled.
4
“Blow it! Blow it!”
Marc kicked his horse harder, feeling the others doing the same as the soldiers opened fire on them. They’d been trapped by a split force and barely been able to fight their way up to the cleared street.
Kablamm!
The road behind the riders disintegrated, taking a few of their own and a large group of the enemy with it.
“Do the reservoirs!” Marc ordered, shielding himself from the showering grit.
“Marc!”
Kendle’s shout went through him in a sharp flare of need. He saw that she had fallen in the mad crush of everyone trying to get down the road before it was blown or overrun. She was perched on the edge of a wooden fence.
Marc wheeled his exhausted mount against the mass of their fighters to get to her.
Kendle dropped heavily behind him, making the horse rear up.
“Easy…easy.” Marc manhandled it into obedience and got them racing for safety.
They made the entry into Little Rock Air Force Base with her clinging to him like a second skin.
The ground shook under the complex and around it, vibrating through the walls and floors in warning.
“Brace, folks,” the sound of Quinn calming people was music to Marc’s ringing ears.
“We might get a bit of recoil…”
Bamm!
The building felt like it had been hit by a bomb blast.
Kendle clutched Marc in confusion. She didn’t know about the two reservoirs rigged to blow and block the soldier’s coming attempt to pin them down.
Blamm!
The second explosion wasn’t as strong and Marc continued to the main office, noting what they’d accomplished while he was away fighting and buying them time.
Crates and barrels of supplies were already being invaded by the small army that had met up with him and Kendle after they’d come from the water. He’d waited until nightfall to move openly and his Shadow Riders had fallen in around them all through the wee hours. These were his hardest men, his closest bonds. He thought it was likely that if they survived, these fighters would be with him when he returned to Safe Haven.
“That’s it! Close us up!”
Quinn’s call was met with a loud echo that told Marc the men they had inside here right now were all they would have for this battle. No other groups were going to get through those soldiers.
Marc keyed his radio, “Perimeter groups move in. I repeat, move in and lock them down!”
Fresh gunshots echoed in the distance around the base from all sides, and Marc’s men yelled in angry delirium. Their hopes of those outer camps crushing the soldiers were unrealistic, but Marc didn’t stop their celebrations. They needed hope and he wouldn’t deny it, but inside, he already knew they would lose. The enemy would take over and use this as a command post to send out horrific attacks across what was left of the country unless he stopped them.
Marc entered the command room under the awed gazes of the second floor guards and leadership. It took him a minute to understand how many men were there. He’d left less than a dozen. There were now hundreds sitting, sleeping, washing, prepping weapons.
Marc heard Quinn’s approach and turned to him with approval thick in his voice. “You didn’t mention how much company you’d gotten in that last call.”
Quinn shook Marc’s hand as if he’d won a prize. “Thought you’d need the boost when you got here.”
Marc took a seat near the cluttered desks they had lined up. “Understatement. Give me a minute to tend her wound and then I want updates.”
Quinn reached for the first aid kit, but stopped when he felt the room hum with power. The light chatter disappeared into stunned respect.
Marc ran his glowing hand over Kendle’s arm, where she’d been grazed by a bullet. The wound healed as a tense silence filled the room.
Thaddeus didn’t understand and Kendle explained as Marc glanced at them, “They didn’t know the Ghost was like me.”
Those words drew concern from the Eagles. Marc had lied about not being like Angela, and who was the woman that clung to him, got his attention first, and acted like their boss?
Marc didn’t want to take the time for explanations. That’s why he’d done it openly. “Updates.”
Quinn gave them without leaving anything out, but the tone of warmth he’d greeted Marc with was gone.
Marc took in the information while repacking his kit from the barrels and pouches they had stored in the rear of the room. He left Kendle to fend for herself intentionally. Once they saw she was like Angela, they’d ask their questions and she would give answers. They wouldn’t care for them, though. Marc was ready to interfere if needed.
“Who the hell are you?”
Kendle’s expression darkened. “A nightmare. Bug off.”
She was surprised when Quinn’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t go away.
“You one of his strays or a threat to be handled later?” Quinn demanded, ready to be hurt to know that answer.
Kendle barked a laugh, impressed despite herself. She’d been expecting all weaklings in the Eagles that Marc spoke of so lovingly. Paul and Jax certainly hadn’t known much.
“I’m Kendle.”
Quinn held out a hand. “You’re the island woman Marc’s son told us about.”
Kendle blinked. “Son?”
Quinn began to suspect right then, but didn’t ask his questions. “Yes. You’re from Pitcairn?”
Kendle’s rage was suddenly gone. “Yes, and I’m anticipating going there again.”
“We’ll be along for that ride, I think” he commented, trying to find out how much she knew.
Kendle didn’t think that was such a bad idea as she saw the way he appraised her scars and reflected respect. Maybe some of these other Safe Haven men really were different.
“You ready for a meal?”
“If I have to.”
Quinn waved Shane over. “Hook her up with grub and gear, like we would Angela.”
Kendle winced at the love and loyalty in his voice, in the name. She’d never be able to compete with that.
Kendle’s heart began accepting right then that she would be Marc’s second choice. Any female who could inspire those feelings in these men would never settle for her man having a whore. Kendle wasn’t sure she could live as one anyway.
I’ll start separating myself from him after we leave here, she thought, giving Quinn a searching look. Maybe this one was lonely and needed a strong woman.
Try being on your own for a while, her demon suggested bravely. You might like it.
Kendle wasn’t sure. She only knew that the thought of being split from her Ghost was terrifying. She wasn’t sure if it was love. She thought maybe it was more like fear of being alone again with no one else inside her mind but this voice. She stayed quiet as the men around her made their plans and updated each other. The only time she broke out of her heavy thoughts was when that already hated name was spoken.
5
“You should call Angie, man. She needs the lift.”
Kendle felt Marc’s gaze swing to her and her heart thumped painfully. She didn’t want to listen to him exchange emotions with his first choice.
“No.”
Quinn tried again, using careful words. “There’s a lot going on in Safe Haven these days. A personal check-in would do good for our people, not just her.”
“You call them,” Marc ordered. “I need a shower.”
No one spoke when he left the room, but Kendle could feel their accusations. She quickly followed Marc from the room.
Marc let her join him in the locker room next to the showers. He took a seat on one of the dusty benches and let out a hard sigh. “We have to talk.”
Kendle perched on the bench across from him, trying to brace to be told to stay away once they reached his camp.
“The opposite, actually.”
Kendle stared in surprise. �
��I don’t understand. You love her. Why have me?”
Marc couldn’t refuse to answer, though it hurt. “She cares for someone else, too. And someday, she’ll leave me for him.”
Kendle took that in with a burning gut and a sickened heart. But she didn’t protest. Marc was her lifeline right now. She needed him.
“And I’ve needed you, as well,” he stated softly. “It will depend on her, when we get there.”
Kendle understood in one quick blast of insight. “You want me in case she’s with him now.”
Marc dropped his head to his hands. “Yes.”
Kendle was crushed by his pain. “She won’t.”
“You don’t know them.”
“I know you,” Kendle answered firmly. “She feels the same. You wouldn’t need someone who would betray you that way. She’ll be waiting.”
Kendle went to the door, more upset than he knew.
“And if not?” he asked reluctantly.
“Then I will be.”
Kendle left and Marc lay back on the bench, miserable in his success. He’d seen her appraise Quinn, but instead of encouraging it, he’d locked down his own claim.
“And I called Kenn a piece of shit,” Marc muttered, lids closing. “Guess we’re even now.”
6
Despite being inside a base, it didn’t change much for the Shadow Riders. The soldiers were still on their heels and the need to fight was prevalent. The feeling of being pinned in was one that few of them could ignore, though everyone joked as if they weren’t worried. The only time that facade broke was when a burst of gunfire or screams was particularly close. The fighting going on outside these barricaded walls was fierce. The enemy had broken through their lines near the northern reservoir, which had failed to kill the soldiers in the explosion. The water rush had gone around and even cleared them a path in. The perimeter men were still working on them all around the base, but it was clear that this shelter wasn’t going to last.
Ten hours after arriving, Marc once again had them working on that understated three attacks a day plan. It kept the soldiers off schedule, drowsy from lack of sleep, and allowed Marc to do damage in small, effective bursts. He estimated that they’d now killed more than five hundred soldiers. That would force them to gather more men from the bunker before going any further than here. It also meant they would send everything they had left this time. When they came, bullets would no longer be enough. Only magic would save Safe Haven at that point, and Marc hoped Adrian had a plan for getting the camp to accept it.
Adrian had been working on that since Angela joined, Marc assumed, but if the timing were wrong, the herd would run. Marc wasn’t sure that was such a bad thing anymore. He didn’t like the idea of losing camp members, but those he was serving with now had accepted the differences and understood the advantages. If Safe Haven’s members couldn’t do that, Angela would always be in danger. Charlie would also and Marc would force a choice on it when he returned.
“A lot of things there have to change,” he muttered, observing the base flank through his glasses.
Considering they’d been attacked two hours ago, Marc expected the troops to be getting sleepy again about now. The rebels had the soldiers at a disadvantage. They needed to keep the base intact, so many of their usual tactics were off limits. There were no incoming rockets up here, only sharp cracks of snipers picking men off by their shadows. There was some heavier caliber weapons being used, but they were aimed at the battalion’s flank and sides to keep the Indians, Mexicans, and Shadow Riders at bay.
“Break time?”
“As soon as I finish my sweep,” Marc stated.
He turned the glasses toward Kendle’s post on the other side of the base and scowled. Where was she?
Kendle lunged from her hiding place, knives and teeth raking the man’s neck together. He jerked away, spewing blood as she cackled in glee at the sight. “More!”
She slashed at his stunned partner and then plunged her teeth into his throat.
“Ugg…”
Marc ran through the base, staying low, but not enough to avoid drawing fire. Slugs peppered the wall above him as he flew through the halls and his fighters ducked.
Marc emerged in the small courtyard behind the water tankers and found her sitting between two bodies. Blood dripped from her chin and hands.
Marc stared in horror as she tried to smile at him.
“I’m getting worse.”
Marc heard the witnesses, but didn’t let them instill their fear or approval in her mind. He scooped her into his arms and went to the shower.
“I’ll find a way.”
He’d already tried to heal her, with no luck. Adrian was the only one of their kind who had the skill to bring someone back from insanity or desolation. The man was good at putting people together, but Marc wasn’t sure he would be able to get her to Safe Haven’s light before she flipped completely.
“They call me zombie…the Indians and the Mexicans.”
Marc felt her shudder and let her hide against his chest. “You are a killer, Kendle, one who knows right from wrong. Hold onto that part of you.”
Kendle wasn’t sure she could. Right and wrong were secondary to spilling the blood, and she wasn’t sure now that she could live among normal, peaceful people again without becoming the threat.
Marc helped her change her clothes, gaze never straying anywhere it shouldn’t.
For Kendle, it wasn’t as if he was revolted by her and couldn’t stand the thought. It was as if she was just any other body to be taken care of. He had no attraction for her.
Marc cleaned her up and helped her dress, aware of her distracted, slightly disoriented thoughts. What could he do that would help?
“LJ…” Kendle forced it out. “He rocked me, at night.”
Marc changed his shirt for a dry one from the stack. “I already do that.”
“While he kissed me.”
Marc forgot to breathe. If Kendle wanted a physical relationship now, was he ready for that?
No.
“I’m not him. I won’t give you that comfort, not now.”
Kendle didn’t stifle the tears, but she did turn away from him. “What can you give me?”
Marc heard the rest of the plea.
Why am I wasting what little time I have left?
“I can help you get where you need to be.”
“You honestly think your Adrian can help me?”
“Yes, I do.”
Marc had confided in her upon waking. She’d been asleep outside the door, guarding him.
“And you don’t want me unless…things are bad with her.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
His tone wasn’t insulting, but it still hurt. Kendle inhaled, struggling to hide it. “Then I’ll find my comfort somewhere else until I’m called.”
Marc didn’t feel even a tiny urge to protest. “You can. I won’t interfere.”
“And if I find a mate instead of a friend?” she challenged.
“Then I will have lost.”
Kendle was angered by his answer and moved by him to resume her post without being told. They were clear now on where things stood. She would adjust.
7
“What’s the deal with you and Marc?”
Quinn hadn’t meant to ask, but now, while they were alone in the tower, he couldn’t stop himself.
“He’s a good friend,” Kendle responded.
Those words mirrored Angela’s when she’d first joined Safe Haven. Quinn wasn’t sure what to make of them.
“Meaning?”
“Why do you want to know?” Kendle asked defensively.
“Are you’re a threat to Marc and Angie?”
“No.”
“We’d like to believe that. You’ll make a great Eagle.”
“You think so?”
“Sure.” Quinn surprised her by grinning. “Good mate, too, probably. Kinda cute under all those scars. What happened to you?”
Kendle drew back and punched him in the mouth for an answer.
Quinn stumbled and tripped over the chair. He went sprawling at her feet.
“What? What did I do?” he asked in confusion.
“Never ask about my scars!” Kendle growled.
Quinn slowly stood up. “You hit me for that?”
Kendle swallowed as he towered over her. “Screw you.”
Quinn laughed, impressed. “Marc always goes for the best!”
Kendle moaned at the thoughtless words.
Quinn’s cheer vanished. “You’ll never make him happy, not with her around.”
“I’ve already figured that out for myself!” she sent back.
Quinn leaned closer. “Does that mean you’ll consider other offers?”
Kendle hated the blush on her cheeks. “No.”
“Okay. Thank you for not hitting me again.”
Kendle snickered, drawn against her will. “Damn arrogant of you to assume that if I can’t have him, I’d want you in his place.” She glared with a challenging sneer. “Are you that good?”
Quinn’s heartbeat tripled in the space of a second. He slowly nodded, drowning in her light. “Yes, I am. Would you like a demonstration?”
Kendle was painfully aware of the heat between them. “Some other time, maybe.”
Quinn took that and carefully stored it. “Works for me. You eat yet?”
“Later,” she said distractedly.
“I’m going there now. I’ll bring something for you.”
“Thanks.”
Quinn left the door open, not sure if he trusted her.
Kendle sank into the office chair with a groan of depression and frustration. She didn’t really want any of them, but at least Quinn held a spark of fight. The others would only be her willing minions and she already knew that wouldn’t work. She would walk all over a weak-willed person. She was too strong now.
Kendle read the paper on top of the notebook absently, lost in her own thoughts. It was a note on their plans, added after Marc left the briefing.
Safe Haven called. There was another attempt on Angela’s life. Adrian says it’s time to come home.
Quinn returned with the plates to find Kendle gone. He didn’t notice the missing paper.
