by Angela White
Realizing she was yelling, Kendle dropped the volume, but her tone didn’t change from desperate. “Swear it!”
Angela placed a hand on Kendle’s wrist. “My word, as leader of this camp and as a woman, I’ll help you or kill you.”
“Okay.” Kendle slid her arm free. “But don’t touch me and act like we’re friends or that you care. You be honest, too. You’d like me dead and gone.”
Right at that moment, it wasn’t true. Angela’s sympathy came forward. “No, I pity you for the pain and respect you for surviving whatever you’ve gone through. I also envy you a bit, for being free to pick and choose.” Angela stood up. “There are a lot of good men here. If I was single, I’d be sniffin’ through, see who happens to be my match. There’s a lot of that going on.”
Kendle rolled her eyes. She was tired of hearing fate brought us together or it was love at first bullet wound. “I don’t believe in two soul mates. Mine is gone and he isn’t coming back, so get off me!”
Kendle shoved away from the table and disappeared into the crowd.
Angela, content her words had done the trick, was subtly scanning those around them. Most of the men weren’t interested yet and it wasn’t because of Kendle’s fading scars. The men were waiting to discover if Marc did have any interest and Angela needed them to get over that. Kendle was fair game. Marc was taken.
Marc put her with Adrian, the witch reminded Angela.
Angela didn’t answer.
“I need approval for a driving change,” Marc called as she walked by the parking area.
Angela detoured his way.
The paper only held one sentence. Angela looked at the trio of stony-faced men waiting for her answer. “You three? Alone in one truck to save gas?” Angela choked on a snide remark to ask, “How does that work?”
From the silence, she assumed it wouldn’t. The uneasy calm since Marc’s return hadn’t mattered. Differences would be settled along the way.
“Fine,” Angela approved the vehicle change, noting Candy climbing into Theo’s truck, purple curl declaring her rebellious nature. That might be an interesting mix at some point. “You work it out, but don’t miss a step of this plan or you’ll kill us all for your egos.”
Angela left them to sputtered protests. She knew they’d get the job done. She simply wasn’t anticipating the aftermath.
2
Marc was still chuckling as he opened the rear passenger door of their loaded truck. He couldn’t wait to be alone with the two people he hated most in the world.
Walking behind him, Adrian and Kenn didn’t share Marc’s obvious good mood. He was bound to make the trip rough for them, but leaving the camp, the war, completely in Angela’s hands, was unnerving. Kenn didn’t think she could do it and Adrian now had doubts. This was more chaotic, more complex, than her time during his gunshot absence. It was also exactly what he’d been training her for.
Marc slid into the back seat, dropping his kit into the floorboard.
When he leaned his head against the cold leather and crossed his arms over his chest, Adrian grimaced. Marc was the boss now. He intended to act like one.
Swallowing a chunk of pride, Adrian closed Marc’s door as if he were a rookie and went to the front passenger seat. The next week would be hell, but he would get through them without breaking.
Already scanning thoughts for problems, Marc yawned behind him. “In less than a week, grunt, you’ll know that was never possible. All men break under me. I’ve never lost.”
Adrian said nothing, but Kenn glared in the mirror from his driver’s seat. “Maybe we’ll kill you and dump your body.”
“Be careful,” Marc warned with an icy tone. “That might be my plan.”
Both men in the front grimaced this time. They’d already considered the fact that they might not return from this run.
Kenn waved at Tonya as he drove through the gate, but Adrian and Marc stayed unresponsive as people shouted words of encouragement. The one person they might have lingered for had said goodbye last night. For Marc, it had been magical. For Adrian, it had been torture. She’d come with three guards who had refused to leave the tent even after he’d asked them to. Angela hadn’t insisted. The guards were under orders and no one would disobey them without a direct command to blame. The Eagles would rather suffer an injury than disappoint Marc. It was a reversal of roles that Adrian was struggling to accept.
“Where to?” Kenn asked, listening to Safe Haven’s gate close behind them. The camps around theirs were doing the same thing–sending teams out on missions they might not return from–and the truck didn’t draw much attention until people saw Marc. Then the shouts of support for the Ghost grew into chants that sent fresh salt into Adrian’s mental wounds.
“Due west,” Marc responded finally, enjoying Adrian’s jealousy.
“Where are we going first?” Adrian pressed tonelessly. Angela’s plan was just that, Angela’s, and she was only releasing a small piece of information on it to each group. Everyone assumed that was to keep the plans safe or to flush out other traitors, but Adrian knew she didn’t trust him specifically. Angela hadn’t even told Marc, so that Adrian wouldn’t be able to pull it from his thoughts. He hadn’t told her how to handle any of this, but he was suddenly sure that she could. He’d spent a lot of time on the notes in his books and Angela was incredibly gifted in planning strategy. He had faith.
“Head for the base we destroyed,” Marc told them, ignoring Kenn’s rough driving as he took his anger out on the vehicle. Adrian was the only one it would hurt and Marc was fine with that. “We’re not doing recon like we’ve led the camp to believe.”
“I assumed we’re snipers,” Adrian guessed.
“We’re delivering gear and escorting spies,” Marc corrected. “Once they’re in the enemy camp, we’ll do other things.”
“Spies? Who?” Kenn demanded.
“What are they doing?” Adrian wanted to know.
Marc grinned. This had to be annoying for both men. “We don’t open the next envelope until we pick up our spies.”
“You don’t know who she’s sending in?”
“Nope.” Marc enjoyed Kenn’s incredulous tone. “Didn’t ask.”
Adrian made a mental note to discover what Marc was hiding. The wolfman might not know the entire plan, but he had enough clues to make an educated guess and Adrian wanted to hear it.
“You won’t,” Marc warned. “And no, even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you shit.”
“Why?” Kenn asked, when Adrian didn’t respond.
“Because he’ll do anything he can to make sure we lose.” Loathing dripped from Marc’s words. “Adrian isn’t really one of the good guys. Are you?” Marc insisted, staring at Adrian in his mirror.
It had to end sometime, Adrian thought, almost crippled by fear as he realized what Marc was about to do to him.
“Are you really one of us?” Marc repeated. “Are you good?”
Adrian sighed, gaze going to the gates, to the camp of followers he’d built. “No.”
Kenn gaped at his idol, but Adrian only stared out the window, unable to handle the guilt.
“I never was.”
Marc observed Adrian. “It would be easiest to give up. You can’t stop him from finding out.”
Adrian stiffened at the light prying in his mind.
Marc grinned. “You’ll tell me all your secrets by the time this mission is over. I’ll know everything.”
Confused by Adrian’s silence, Kenn kept his mouth shut. What was going on?
“All in good time,” Marc quoted the overused phrase cheerfully. “I’m sleeping now. Wake me in four hours for a route change.”
When there was no answer, Marc sent a stiff wave of anger through the truck. “I said, wake me in four hours!”
Two snotty “Yes, sirs,” came.
Marc chuckled again. “Yep. Gonna be a short trip into an ugly nightmare. Hang onto your faith, because that’s part of what I came for, Kenn. By the
time this is all over, you’ll be on my side or also out of my way.”
Marc laughed at Adrian. “You’ll probably be dead.”
Kenn and Adrian exchanged glances that said they would fight together. The threating vibes coming from Marc implied it might be needed.
Marc only chuckled.
Adrian leaned his head against the seat. He now suspected sleep would be hard to come by later. The new doctor had pronounced him fine, if he quit smoking, but Adrian knew he hadn’t recovered fully from his mild heart ‘episode’. He certainly didn’t feel as strong as he’d been, but that didn’t mean an old dog didn’t have more tricks up his sleeve. Thoughts defiant, Adrian started to doze.
A short time later, Marc also appeared to be snoozing. His body was slack, moving with the rhythm of the truck, but the muscle in his jaw twitched sporadically, giving him away to their driver. Kenn was sure Marc was working on their mission. It was the same feel as their times together before the war. It comforted Kenn a bit that he wasn’t the main name on Marc’s shit list these days, but he didn’t want that top slot to belong to Adrian either. Adrian clearly had things to answer for, but what would happen afterwards? If Adrian wasn’t in charge of Safe Haven, it wasn’t the same and everyone felt it. Kenn’s goal was to put his boss back in power, by any means, fair or foul.
“That’s why you’re here, with me,” Marc stated. “So I can watch you.”
Adrian didn’t stir.
Kenn took the moment to point out something he was hoping that Marc had forgotten about. “The bunker wants him alive. We lose an advantage without Adrian.”
Marc didn’t answer.
Kenn felt it was a bad idea to continue along those lines. He switched to his other curiosity. “What did you mean? When you said he’d do anything to make us lose?”
Both of them heard the slight shift against the leather seat as Adrian tensed, proving his alertness.
Marc settled into a more comfortable position as the truck bounced down the narrow mountain path. “If you answer that, if you confess,” Marc explained. “There won’t be any need for me to break you while he watches.”
Adrian thought about it. He could be free of a lifetime of secrets in a few hours.
Marc didn’t want it to be so easy, but he didn’t goad Adrian into becoming defensive and clamming up. If Adrian laid it all out for them without a fight, Marc would simply take his pound of flesh another way.
“What happens to me afterwards?”
“That’s up to Angie, so I’d say you’ll live,” Marc responded bitterly. “But I wouldn’t count on friends. In fact, she may not be able to save you when the camp finds out who you were and what you’ve done.”
“What the hell are you holding over him?” Kenn demanded, growing frustrated. “Either spit it out or shut up.”
Marc looked at Adrian in the mirror. “Well?”
“I knew it was coming,” Adrian grunted angrily, playing his role. The first envelope he’d opened had only held one order. Tell Marc anything he wants to know. The time has come to face your many sins.
“She gave you an order, grunt,” Marc reminded happily. He’d just pulled it from Adrian’s thoughts. Respect for his mate went up.
Adrian braced, unable to refuse two alpha commands. “I knew about the descendants, the cover-up, the plan to destroy society if the story came out, all of it.”
“What?” Kenn was almost too shocked to drive. The truck slowed as it rolled over the narrow stone path between huge trees and lethal drops.
“I’m on the other team,” Adrian clarified rudely. “Marc put the pieces together right after he started sleeping with your ex.”
“I don’t understand,” Kenn said, turning so he could look at them both.
Marc waited, pushing out that powerful mental order for obedience.
Adrian couldn’t fight it. He’d never felt anything that strong. Even Angela wouldn’t be able to resist.
“I can’t be distracted by thoughts of her like you can,” Marc refuted calmly. “Last chance to do this on your own. I can make you tell the truth.”
“Fine!” Adrian glowered at Kenn, his most loyal man. “I work for the bunker. I’m on their payroll.”
Kenn’s stunned silence filled the truck. His mind flitted from crime, to trial, to judgment, to sentencing. Adrian had helped kill people. The camp wouldn’t forgive him. If this was true, Adrian had committed treason. He was an infiltrator, a liar, a…a traitor!
“He gets it!” Marc remarked happily. “Yes, the man we’ve all looked to for protection of our lives and our future, is actually one of those who want to take it all away from us.”
“How is? That can’t…” Kenn tried to form sentences, questions, hoping Adrian could defend himself. “Why would... When?”
“He’s a sleeper, Kenn. He was supposed to deliver all ‘havens’ he found into government hands. I doubt he’s ever been out of communication with someone in the remaining military.”
“But why would he...you do that?”
“It’s more like why didn’t I hand over this camp or let everyone die.” Adrian’s guts tightened into a knot. “The answer is currently sending the next team out behind us. I can feel her wishing you’d drive faster and get Marc back to her side. It makes me sick.”
Marc laughed at his rival’s pain. It was great to be home.
Kenn wasn’t amused. “I don’t understand.”
Adrian’s anger fled, replaced with misery. “I…changed. I got distracted. I…”
“He fell for that nice ass and those sweet titties, same as we did,” Marc supplied cheerfully. “She screwed up his plans but wouldn’t screw him! Talk about irony.”
Kenn grunted. Angela was definitely a distraction, but it didn’t explain enough. “You mean you weren’t on the other team?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Kenn scowled. “Which is it?”
Marc waited again and Adrian was forced to answer, “Because I love her, you idiot! I couldn’t have her if I handed this camp over. I knew that as soon as she signed up for my army.”
“And César?” Marc prompted, temper waking. He didn’t know the details. He’d only been sure that Adrian wasn’t a good guy.
“He was on the bunker’s list for destroying NORAD.” Adrian shrugged. “It worked out well for both sides.”
Marc leaned forward and growled in Adrian’s ear, “She almost died!”
Adrian shrugged again. “That’s the price we pay for defying those who want authority over us. She knew what she signed up for. I carry no guilt for bringing her into my Eagles.”
Marc leaned back. “No, you shouldn’t. It’s the one honestly good thing you’ve done for her.”
“I’ve done a lot for her and the rest of the camp,” Adrian reminded him angrily. “Don’t get too high on that soapbox. You’d all be dead without me.”
“No,” Marc refuted. “We’d be dead without the people who’ve worked under you. Samantha’s warnings, Hilda’s influence, Kyle’s recons. You’ve had everyone else doing the work, but now, that’s over. You’ll bleed and sweat like the rest of us.”
“I always bleed and sweat with my men!” Adrian retorted sharply.
Marc was delighted to have already gotten under Adrian’s skin. “Settle in. It’s gonna be a fun ride.”
Kenn scowled when Adrian stopped defending himself, but didn’t argue. Kenn had already heard enough of the story to need the rest of it.
Marc was ecstatic at Kenn’s mental choice. “I thought it would take you longer.”
“I’m an asshole,” Kenn grunted. “I’m not stupid.”
“Honestly,” Marc snickered. “I’ve always thought you were a bit of both.”
Silence fell again.
Marc returned to dozing, mood growing steadily better despite the miles once again coming between him and Angela. He’d waited months to expose Adrian. Now that the time was here, doing it in front of Kenn made it perfect.
3
Angela went to Kyle next on her rounds. He was busy guiding his first load of assigned gear into the truck and she waited for him to finish. While she did, she scanned his fares. These females knew their roles, so much that they were ready half an hour early. They wouldn’t let her or the camp down.
“We’re set,” Kyle called out to the small group of people lingering near his dark colored van. “We leave in thirty.”
Some people began climbing onboard as the former mobster joined his boss.
Angela held out the instruction packet. “Make sure it’s too late to turn around before you handle it.”
“I will,” Kyle promised, observing Jennifer as she and three other shadows vanished into the fog outside the gate. She wasn’t going with him. The worry burning in Kyle’s gut was constant.
“The first time I think about a traitor they’ll know, if they’re descendants.”
“I’m going to give you an advantage over that little girl and all the others, Reece. Are you ready to appreciate it?”
Kyle gave a curt nod, not sure if he should brace for more pain. He’d chosen to pay that moment back when all of their lives weren’t at stake.
“Distraction, denial and defiance. The three Ds are how you handle us, like with the camp. And when that doesn’t work, you block.”
Kyle’s brows drew together. “She can get through any of my walls.”
“Why does everyone always try a wall and nothing else?” Angela wondered. “Hum an annoying song she would know or an old commercial. Say poems or tell yourself jokes. As long as it blocks her, it works.”
“That’ll make thinking hard,” he observed, sliding his gloves on tighter.
Angela stared at his scars, his badges. She lingered on the teeth marks. I put those there, when death almost took me. “Do you really need to think about this one, Reece?”
Kyle tensed for an instant, and then his shoulders drooped. “No. It’s what has to happen now.”
“I agree,” Angela stated, swinging around to stop a rookie hand from grabbing the bandana on her belt.
Kip grinned up at her, hoping for a pass since he’d gotten close enough to touch the red cloth. He wanted to shout in victory, but his throat was still stinging despite the pain pill.
