by Angela White
Before the first war he’d survived, the vet had often found a woman he could obsess over. He would follow her for weeks or even months before making contact and then the romance ended. His pattern had climaxed in the same graveyard many times. It wasn’t only pets buried in the Richardson Animal Cemetery.
When his obsession with Angela had begun, Chris had thought it would end the same way, but since his epiphany, the vet no longer viewed her as a future victim. She was his leader, his master and idol unknown. He would serve her well.
And when she finds out?
Chris slid under cover of the weeds as an Indian patrol came by, thinking when Angela tallied up all the evil he’d removed from her camp, she might just give him the job permanently. Then he wouldn’t have to hide his true nature anymore. He would become her dark sword of justice.
9
Angela saw the two Eagles coming toward her through the dawn fog and waved her guards back, sure this wouldn’t be a quiet conversation. She led them to the mini-mess tent, bringing up this part of the plan and her chosen words. Now that the moment was here, it was harder to be indifferent than she had thought it would be. Their minds were alive with torment.
During the time it had taken to get here, Neil and Jeremy had calmed down some, but both Eagles were angry and scared, wanting answers. They weren’t going to leave until they got them.
Angela sank down at the center table with a groan she was sure they wanted to echo.
They took the bench across from her, ignoring the rookie cook who hurriedly put MREs and hot coffee in front of them.
“Take a break, okay?” Angela suggested to the cook. They were quickly alone in the tent.
“I’m going to fill you in on most of it and you won’t like it, but it’s not over yet, so please follow your orders, gentlemen. If you don’t, it will go every bit as badly as you’ve been envisioning.”
Angela lit a smoke and shut her lids, exhausted. “I had to push Donner here. That was key. Samantha is the best sniper on my team. She’s been flushing him toward Marc and inflicting enough injuries to keep him using his gifts for healing instead of tracking our teams. When he comes tomorrow, all of my team will be here, a line of women with a few skills and worlds of determination.”
“Why females?” Neil had to know. “The men are better trained, more prepared to deal with the abuses and hardships. Why did it have to be women?”
“Because of what will happen tomorrow,” Angela answered cryptically. “And I can’t discuss what hasn’t happened yet, so don’t ask me.”
“Will she die?” Jeremy demanded. “Is she dying for your damn plan?”
Angela wanted to reassure them, but there was only darkness now when she looked. “I hope not, but I think something’s gone wrong somewhere. I’m searching for it, but I need help.”
“How?”
“What?”
“I need everyone accounted for,” Angela said, holding out a paper with hundreds of names on it. “When I know whose missing, I’ll know what’s gone wrong and be able to account for it.”
“When did you lose track?” Neil asked, scanning over the list.
Jeremy handed him a pen and they began to mark off everyone they knew about.
Angela responded, “A little after dark fell. There was chaos yesterday. I knew I wouldn’t be able to monitor everyone, but this feels like a wildcard.”
Both men groaned. They hated wildcards.
“Use the field phones and start contacting each team for an oral check-in. Listen for the tone of voice and missing pieces. Shawn has it ready to go, but he needs two hands ASAP.”
They knew she was keeping them busy, but they also believed her about the wildcard. Too many things had gone in their favor. It was past time for something to go wrong.
10
Tracy moved through the too-still darkness with a cold chill of foreboding. She was supposed to get to Safe Haven now, but these trips through the night were taking a toll on her. Alone, she wanted to be almost anywhere but trudging up a mountain path.
A shadow ahead of her moved and Tracy stopped to study it, hoping for one of her own team almost desperately.
“Who’s there?” a man’s voice called, not familiar, but as he stumbled closer, Tracy discerned the outfit of an Eagle and rushed forward. “Are you all right?”
“Not really,” the man gasped out, nearly falling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Tracy frowned, staring into an unfamiliar face.
Sherman brought the dart up and plunged it into her neck.
“Don’t know which one you are, darlin’,” he crooned, hefting her over his wide shoulder. “But if they don’t want you, I do.”
Tracy went under like a rock, not even given time to call out to a protector.
Chapter Twenty
Before the Storm
1
Angela stepped from Shawn’s jeep and moved confidently into the site that now held more than a hundred of Safe Haven’s top fighters. She’d left a good portion of the leaderless teams with her vulnerable camp members, but concentrated her efforts here.
Angela yawned. This was a part of her last day of freedom and she’d been unable to get enough sleep. She’d insisted her guards do that in shifts, while she’d let the witch dream walk to refill the energy she would miss.
“Updates first?” Greg asked. He’d stayed overnight to make sure it was clear for her return. Shawn hadn’t budged the jeep an inch until Greg had sent the properly colored firework into the air.
“In a minute,” Angela answered, scanning to be sure that things were where she needed them to be. Then she looked down the mountain again, doing the same. It was SOP for a commander, but she didn’t know that. Angela’s instincts were hot. She couldn’t see the exact locations of the enemy teams and assassins who’d snuck closer during the night, but she could feel them holding their breath, waiting to see if she would stay, if they would get a shot at her. Whatever Donner had promised them was big.
No worries, Angela thought. She’d given orders to her front line fighters to trigger this slaughter if the soldiers tried to withdraw. It was an intricate web of pain. The fighters had lured the soldiers into the first ring and done enough damage to cause personal anger and ensure they would be chased. These Safe Haven fighters had then taken the only cleared roads, mining them as they went. When these solders tripped the first rounds of mine, a two-mile stretch of these mountains would shatter into mines, various grenades, claymores, spikes, tree branches, stacks of logs, and a dozen other clever killing methods, all connected to at least one damage zone to keep the chain alive. It would circle the mountain in a spiral that ended at the very gates she was lingering inside.
These soldiers were likely using the last reserves of the bunker. They would have some of the newer items that had been saved for need, such as the Milkor M32s. Cynthia had a matching weapon, but Marc hadn’t been able to find very many of those coveted destruction-deliverers. Angela had planned around that. She’d known they would be facing superior firepower, but she’d counted on that margin being small. The enemy had handguns, rifles and grenade launchers, with night vision equipment. She assumed they would also be wearing body armor. They would be weighed down with extra ammunition and the majority of them would converge where the main roads met, hoping to use pure numbers to breach her final walls. So, she’d denied them targets for that rage and laid the death on thickest at her front door. They had no idea what she was capable of, but they were learning.
Her people should all be clear of the destruction zone by now, but there were a few teams still unaccounted for. She tried not to worry over their safety so much as the time estimate she’d allotted. If they died, that would be where she’d made the awful mistake. It was hard to judge the length of some emotions and as usual, all of Safe Haven’s people were going through something personal. That’s the way life worked. It stole your concentration right when you needed it the most.
“Down!”
Angela and Shawn ducked and spun in perfect time, drawing and firing at the three large mercenaries dropping from the tree near the gate. They’d lain in wait for hours, inching through as the fog slowly lifted.
Shawn rose as they both fired again, already sorry for shooting so close to her.
Angela didn’t even notice the ringing until she verified all three would-be killers were down.
Greg was there to hold out a pair of thick foam earplugs, giving Shawn a light frown. He couldn’t be too upset. He’d almost tackled her to be sure she wasn’t hit and that would have been worse.
Angela didn’t tell them the witch was already healing her eardrum, though the plug would help until she was finished. The demon inside had smothered her in layers of protection, but if a noise had gotten through, what else might?
I’ll strengthen it, the witch stated, fading away.
Angela stifled her protest, knowing that was the best place for her demon right now. Angela had only allowed that spirit to see parts of her plan and didn’t need the inner struggles, but she felt naked without both the witch and Marc.
Angela went through the gates this time without lingering and didn’t wince when they clanged shut. She wasn’t a prisoner here. It was for all their lives and worth it, even if she never felt the sun again.
Already terrified of going mad in captivity, Angela scented the sky, raising her face to the vague sun above them. She’d thought to have three months before the battles reached Safe Haven’s front gates, but it had come in only two.
The sky opened up, pouring down weak acid rain that drew groans and moans of annoyance.
Angela lowered her head, denied even a last fresh breath of free, warm air.
“Let’s all get set.”
Her cold words triggered a flurry of activity as Angela went to the Command center they’d erected overnight. There hadn’t been a need for it until now.
She ducked under the awning, seeing the sides were folded, meaning it was plated to be able to form a safety box for her to work in.
Angela waved at the radios, the lights and alarms that were set to notify them when certain areas had been breached. The Indian and Mexican teams were working on that even now, closing gaps in the paths as they came her way. Angela was grateful for those brave men that Marc had gathered, even Sebastian, who she hadn’t met yet. Marc had flat out refused to have the man anywhere near her and Angela hadn’t argued. There wasn’t any need for it.
Angela heard her top men gathering under the edges of her command tent and turned to face them without flinching at the accusing looks and the fear. “Updates first.”
Angela paid careful attention to each word they spoke as the rain continued to pour and the silence held.
In a canvas behind Angela’s tent, Adrian, Conner, a few of the other prisoners of war were also waiting for the battle to begin. Most of them were dreading the end, no matter how today turned out. A couple were hoping Angela knew what she was doing and wishing they’d made better choices so that they could also be out there fighting for their freedom.
Adrian and Conner were sleeping. Darts at regular intervals had kept the two males under control while Angela left for the safe den that Marc had insisted on each night. Neither of them stirred when Angela arrived and she was glad of it. Adrian had been adding up clues. He was smart enough to put those pieces together if given enough time.
That was a feeling Adrian would have recognized and sympathized with immensely.
2
“I have an envelope for you.”
Becky was supposed to wait until they were alone and she had. They were camped in the high fork of a double tree, the area surprisingly wide.
Seth didn’t want to read it. He wasn’t sure he could agree to whatever they were about to ambush him with. Angela had even sent his team with Marc to make sure he and Becky were alone for this moment, Seth was suddenly sure of it. He thought of the warning she’d given him.
“There’s only one thing that can ruin my plan, Seth. Please don’t be the one to get us killed.”
He glanced at the same words with a stomach tightening into cramps. Like with the others who’d had to make these choices, it was almost hard to believe this was all happening.
“This is yours too. Kenn said wear it while you can.”
The outfit had clearly been taken from a dead soldier. There was blood splattered over the legs of the Private’s uniform.
“And you know about this? What I’m supposed to do?”
“Yes,” Becky said, waiting for the outburst. “There’s a setup like this with every member of her team.”
“Why?” Seth asked incredulously. “Why would she send in untrained women who are pregnant?”
“To win, of course,” Becky answered coldly. “And save our men in the process. We’re tired of burying you!”
“And you think I can live if you’re gone?” he demanded.
“No,” she tried to calm them both down. “And neither does Angela. We have to trust her. You have to. A lot rides on our part in this.”
Seth knew he didn’t have a choice and gave a curt nod, but his thoughts were a tornado of conflicting emotions and solutions. In the end, he couldn’t be sure which way he would go.
3
“Who isn’t accounted for yet?”
Quinn handed him a list and went toward the mini-mess for coffee now that his overnight shift was finished.
She’s in danger.
Marc knew it without Dog’s warning. He could feel fate shifting Angela’s way, determining her future.
“She lied to me. Again.”
Yes, Dog confirmed. To keep you alive. May I go?
Marc’s nod wasn’t finished before the wolf took off down the cliff in front of them and vanished into the predawn fog. The wolf hadn’t found Charlie the first time through. Marc was sure Dog would find Charlie along the way this time and keep the teenager safe, though Marc also thought Charlie could handle whatever might come flying out of the darkness to challenge him. His gifts were powerful and he wouldn’t hesitate to use them right now.
Feeling dammed either way he went, Marc decided to take the hour and care for the herd, then go to Angela’s side for the final showdown with Donner. It was still hours away. He would have time to reach her and not have to view the condemnation in her eyes if he told her the camp was safe and sound.
Marc scanned the small sea of tents on the narrow outcropping, then the two cave entrances. If they had…
An ugly growl split the peaceful silence.
Marc whirled around to discover Dog leaping through the air. The wolf landed on the chest of a man wearing all black and the sentries realized they were under attack.
“Get in the cave!” Marc shouted, sending out the order mentally as well.
The camp members who heard him ran for cover.
These infiltrators had to climb for hours to reach this spot, telling Marc they had indeed had another traitor, as Angela suspected. This attack couldn’t have come from Heather. She hadn’t known where the second den would be. Dog leaving had spooked the soldiers as they waited for Safe Haven to go to sleep. They’d come over the edge early.
Marc saw Doug and Peggy come from the mini-mess tent and start grabbing people, shoving them toward the second cave they hadn’t used yet, then he was forced to bring out the Marine as the enemy reached the edges of the cliff.
Quinn joined Marc as he rushed toward the invaders, and other Eagles fell in with them. The two violent groups met each other with hoarse shouts and angry shots.
4
Seth stopped on the rise and knelt down to survey the small enemy camp below. During the walk here, he still hadn’t come to terms with the horrible chore that Angela had given him. Becky had helped by telling him the rest of Angela’s plan that she knew.
“Angela will need you there, Seth,” Becky stated. “If you’re not, she’ll die. She has everything pinned on you.”
As he considered all the t
hings that could wrong, Seth didn’t think this was a mental game to get him agree. Becky had sworn that she would be protected, that Angela was the one in danger.
“You ready?”
Seth glanced over to see Becky wearing an outfit that brought his male side to alertness and a huge scowl to his face.
Before he could argue, Becky reminded him, “They’re already looking for me. I’m the dancing girl. It’s sure to get you in.”
Seth wasn’t worried about blending with the men getting set to attack Safe Haven. All he had to do there was let the asshole out. Becky’s safety terrified him.
“I’ll be fine,” she lied, hoping he couldn’t hear the tremor in her tones. She actually had no idea if Angela had her covered or not. Adrian hadn’t before. She was scared.
Seth felt her waver and gently put his arms around her. “We could–”
“Don’t.”
Seth met her eyes. “Why do you have to do this? Tell me or I can’t help her.”
“It will give me my life back,” Becky state slowly, realizing she had to trust someone. “I have to do it. I want to.”
“For the power she’s offered,” Seth argued quietly. He understood the allure.
“For my soul.” Becky sent him the image of her flirting with Rick, accepting the vial of drugs to hurt Neil. She ran through the mistakes she’d made, tears pricking her lids. “I have to atone,” she forced out through lurking sobs. “Then his voice in my brain will go away.”
Seth did the only thing he knew to. He held her close and cursed Adrian. Over the last month, he’d come to understand how many of their lives Adrian had put in danger during their time with the slavers.
Becky didn’t let many of her tears fall. As she grew stronger, the need for justice and retribution had been replaced with the longing for her mental control back. She didn’t like being unstable. Her addition to Angela’s plan had been to suggest using a chain reaction and she was extremely happy with being proven right. She was also extremely worried about Seth. He had a dangerous job, more so than she had. Seth could be hit in the crossfire even if his role wasn’t discovered. The line they were walking was too thin for comfort.
