LAW Box Set: Books 4-6 (Life After War Book 0)

by Angela White

  “He follows my orders.”

  “No. I won’t have both of you awake at the same time until you’re in real cells.”

  Angela belched again, wading up the wrappers. “Fine. Give me the smoke and drink, and then I’ll go to sleep on my own. Sick of smelling you anyway.”

  Angela took the smoke a soldier handed her and used her gift to light it, proving to them that the aftereffects of the drugs were not limiting her power.

  “Amazing,” Donner complimented. “Do you know why you’re so strong?”

  Angela wasn’t alert enough for all details. She shrugged, inhaling. “Later, okay?”

  Donner wasn’t offended. “We’ll have months together, Ms. White. No hurry.”

  “Well then you’d better pick a different name for me. Ms. White doesn’t exist anymore. She died in Versailles.”

  Donner had read that part of her file with interest. In fact, it had been the beginning of his obsession. “Did you know government men were spying on you then? That they have been most of your life?”

  “No.”

  “I’m surprised. Your gifts are impressive.”

  “Mostly new developments,” Angela gave, blowing thick smoke rings over Adrian. She chanted lightly as she did it, offering her protection.

  “Why are you so bonded to Mr. Mitchel?” Donner wanted to know.

  “None of your business, Major.”

  “John, Angela.”

  She didn’t like the sound of her name on his lips. She turned around with the witch bleeding through. “I am the leader of Safe Haven refugee camp. I am a descendant, a coldblooded killer. Do not mistake me for anything less.”

  Donner laughed again at the chill from her words.

  Angela forced the insulted witch back, entertained by the images of him dying that her demon side was currently exploring.

  “That one,” Angela chose, enjoying the irony and the poetic justice.

  Donner, worried she was plotting an escape, started to order her to keep her word when Adrian groaned, waking.

  Angela was at his side before anyone could protest.

  Donner waved his men away, curious.

  Adrian’s lids fluttered, opening to see her pale face. It was enough to calm him.

  Angela didn’t try to communicate with anything other than gentle touches and comforting glances. There was no reason for her to hide anything here among these evil people.

  Donner was listening hard and didn’t hear anything. It annoyed him. He took Angela by the arm and pulled her up. “Time for bed.”

  Donner snatched his hand away as flames burst from her skin.

  Angela went to the couch on her own, letting the fire walk up her arm in warning. Then she drew the heat into herself and lay down, closing her eyes. “I’ll need a pain pill when I wake up. Once the headache quits I won’t be as grouchy.”

  Donner laughed again, delighted by her displays of power. His men had been gifted and able to do some special things, but nothing like this. Donner was now convinced that what he’d risked so much for was indeed possible. He had spent his entire life in pursuit of it and now, the moment of fruition was almost at hand. It tasted like the sweetest ambrosia. All the mysteries of their kind, of their universe, were about to be his.

  Chris was full of rage.

  The vet had been close to Angela’s camp since leaving her gate. He’d spent the time removing threats trying to sneak in. He had killed his share of the enemy, though no one would ever know it. He’d heard the calls on his radio, listened to her agree in disbelief, but deep down, he’d known she would sacrifice herself for the sheep. Angela loved her people and Chris loved her for that.

  The vet stayed down behind the cabin. He couldn’t save her alone and didn’t need any of the rescue party that would arrive tomorrow to know he’d been here. Chris expected Donner to burn the cabin to keep Marc from reading anything here, but it didn’t matter. Chris planned to leave clear signs for the wolfman to follow. Angela wouldn’t be lost. She would be returned to her flock so that Chris could continue to worship her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Keeping Track

  1

  Can you get him to slow down?

  Shawn snorted at Dari’s silent question. Marc hadn’t been able to leave until dawn and he was making up for it, almost running the entire way to the first site. Scouts had come in overnight to inform them of the chopper’s last known location and with afternoon fading, they were almost there. Nothing would slow Marc down at this moment.

  Behind the main rescue party, a small group of new descendants was trailing, offering supplies and guidance, but staying in the rear. Shawn was glad. They had enough problems right. They didn’t need another one.

  On Marc’s heels, Becky and Kendle kept pace and scanned for anything he might have missed. The two females had insisted this morning, refusing to stay in the truck.

  Marc hadn’t argued very long. That had given many of them leave to come and it wasn’t a quiet group that was stalking these woods, but a large, spread out team of vengeance-seeking fighters. Angela would have been proud.

  Marc stopped suddenly, head swiveling. Those nearest also halted, waiting.

  Jennifer stepped from the bushes and weeds alone, still coated in her last battles.

  Marc was on the go again as she fell in on his right.

  Kendle backed off.

  Marc had three strong trackers with him now, but he still couldn’t get a read on where Angela was. That only meant one thing and he wasn’t happy about it. If Donner knew to go underground to avoid their mental radar, then Angie could be in more trouble than she’d planned for.

  Jennifer nodded to people, but didn’t bother with explanations. She had sent Kyle to Safe Haven with her daughter, then come here to do her duty. Despite her personal choices, Jennifer wasn’t going anywhere until Angela was where she belonged.

  Marc held up a hand to stop the others as they came through the trees and found the wreckage of the chopper. He only spent a few minutes examining the scene for clues, then led them southeast, following clear tracks of soldiers carrying double weight. Over his arm, Angela’s charred kit swung rebelliously.

  As they moved away from the chopper, Marc became aware of ants on his left and instinctively chose to follow their path. As long as it ran with the grid in his head and the tracks in the mud, he would stay with their trail. He had little doubt that the insects were also hunting for their benefactor.

  “Hey, Marc!”

  Shawn’s shout drew an angry Marc to the middle of the rescue party that was five times the size of what he had wanted. “What?!”

  “A group of soldiers sent signals to the rear group. One of them is named Ivan. Says you promised him a place.”

  Marc scrolled his memory and came up with the soldier he’d spared when the boy caught him right after killing General Francis in his tent. “Tell him to wait at Safe Haven.”

  “I did, but he says he has news for you on Angie.”

  Marc stalked to the waiting group of five soldiers who had guns in hands that were pointed downward. “Where?!”

  Ivan swallowed nervously. “He likes to use underground trails. That’s where he’ll take her.”

  “I know that already!” Marc snarled.

  “But we know which ones are still open,” Ivan explained. “We were part of the fire team for the battalion. Your…wife missed us in her demented schemes.”

  Marc swallowed his rage to let Ivan show him on the map that was quickly unrolled. They marked the places and then Marc immediately went back to tracking. He knew where Donner was going. There was only one government facility near here that might still be operational.

  “Put a can on that weapon!” Marc ordered, noting Ivan had joined Kendle.

  That angry woman bared her teeth and the soldier quickly retreated.

  Marc didn’t care. He had one focus and that was it.

  2

  They reached the cabin a half hour later, though m
uch of the group took longer to catch up. Marc didn’t wait for them. He could feel that he was gaining ground on Donner. He wanted every mile he could get before dark.

  The cabin had been left in filth.

  It took only a second to find a marker outside. Someone had drawn arrows in paint (or blood, Marc wasn’t sure) on the trees. He followed them, happy with all the help. Donner hadn’t counted on so many people hunting him.

  “Marc.”

  He knew what they wanted, but Marc wasn’t able to give it to them. He didn’t care how cold it got. He wasn’t stopping until exhaustion forced him to.

  Quinn didn’t try again. The group huddled in their clothes as they hiked, all wishing for a vehicle that would fit between these molded trees. After the week they’d all had, walking for ten miles was the last thing they felt like doing.

  If it had been anyone other than Angela, Marc wasn’t sure they would have. She’d earned their loyalty, that much was clear, but for Marc, the cost was too high. He wouldn’t let her place herself into government hands as a punishment and he wouldn’t let her take her own life. Whatever her mental state was, he would help her straighten it out so that they could have that happily ever after they’d been promised.

  3

  “Donner said for you to get settled in the bedroom,” Trey ordered, using superglue on one of his many wounds that didn’t want to stop bleeding. He’d been trimmed twice during the fight at Safe Haven.

  Donner was outside dealing with the newest group of surviving soldiers to join his cause and Angela was taking advantage of his absence.

  “You don’t understand what’s going to happen when my Brady shows up here tonight. I’d better be the first person he sees.”

  Donner had taken them through caves that had once been tourist attractions with trolley cars that he’d forced her to spot in the darkness. The jeeps almost hadn’t fit through in places, but after some rock removing, they’d gotten through.

  Angela was sure it was driving Marc crazy. He would know where she wasn’t and that she had to be underground. It was one of the places his mental grid couldn’t yet penetrate.

  “Brady?” Trey asked. “We were told the Ghost was killed.”

  Angela grinned, hiding her pain. “You believed it. Excellent.”

  The guards exchanged worried glances, but Angela didn’t take pity on them. “He’ll have Donner to take his anger out on. You boys be still when he gets here and you’ll be okay.”

  “You sure?” one of her sentries wanted a promise. “Cause he was pissed before.”

  Angela loved the protected feeling she got from knowing her man’s name alone could cause such caution. “I’ll handle him, but he’ll watch you, talk to you, feel you out in every way, so be ready for that. If you’re a traitor in disguise, he’ll know it.”

  “But, uh…he doesn’t like soldiers very much.”

  “He’ll adjust,” Angela promised. “I went to a lot of trouble to add a few hundred of you wonderful men to our ranks. Once he understands it was intentional, he’ll let some of you live and even join my Eagles.”

  “And those he doesn’t care for?” Trey asked.

  Angela shrugged, not feeling much of anything beyond cold satisfaction and a deep ache. “I don’t ask those kinds of questions when it comes to my Brady. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

  Angela intended to continue Marc’s legend as deeply and as ruthlessly as she could. When they were all crammed onto one boat together, he would be the man who could keep the peace.

  Donner came into the room to discover five twitchy men who immediately began to protest about the Ghost.

  Donner argued the ghost was dead and that Angela was playing mind games.

  Angela didn’t mind being called a liar, because she knew the five men believed her. They would tell the others and the five dozen men Donner had here would drop to four or even three.

  Adrian groaned, waking.

  When Donner would have shot him again, Angela glowered at him. “If he dies, I can’t do what you want.”

  Donner didn’t trust her, knew by now that she had something up her sleeve, but he did need Adrian clear of the drugs for the tests. He put the dart gun away. “I’ll kill all of us if you push me.”

  Angela already knew that and didn’t comment. Donner’s mental stability hadn’t been good before, she was sure, but now, he was two steps away from leaping off the wire. Angela intended to help him with that.

  Angela stared out the window, at the light flakes with dread, and spotted a movement that wasn’t from Donner’s men. She recognized the odd feel of the person in surprise. If the vet had stumbled upon her, then Marc wasn’t far behind with his grid. She needed more time and to get it, Angela opened her mouth. “I saw some of my people in the woods around us. You should flush them.”

  Donner didn’t have an explanation for her help, but he still sent a team to check it out, unable to take any chances.

  “We’re leaving in three hours,” Donner shouted out the front door, amused by the groans of tired men. He could run rings around these soldiers and still get there first. But, there was a nagging feeling that her rescuers were indeed closer than he’d estimated. The changes reflected that. He didn’t want another shoot-out with her people. He wanted these two locked in cells and working.

  Angela sighed in relief, obediently going into the dusty bedroom and to rest while Adrian was awake. Marc couldn’t come and blow the doors off everything yet. It wasn’t time.

  4

  Safe Haven had won.

  They were camped at the bottom of the mountain, once again surrounded by Indian camps on all sides. A few Mexican camps were also in the vicinity, but Marc had insisted on them keeping their distance as soon as he’d seen Sebastian’s bullet-ridden corpse. He hadn’t asked what had happened there yet, but he would.

  With Marc gone, the Eagles were doubled and the gates were back up, but few of them felt safe. All three of their strongest leaders were missing, causing Cynthia and Samantha a long night keeping things calm. There were fights to be stopped, meals to be handled, kids to be cared for, and wounded to be tended. Those were still coming in steadily, keeping the doctor and his students busy.

  Peggy and Hilda had organized the three tent areas and the mess, while Tracy and Charlie had gotten the bathrooms and showers going. Angela had only left the barest of instructions for how to deal with the camp after it was all over, but these things were common sense. Charlie was sure that’s why she hadn’t left more details. She wanted to find out if they had learned enough to help her run this camp. Charlie thought she would be pleased, but it didn’t really matter to him. He wanted her brought back so he could scream at her over Tracy’s injuries.

  Taking a short break at the mess, Charlie scanned those around them. The majority of people here were Eagles and camp fighters. It wasn’t possible for them to sleep yet, not being this wound up, so they passed the time together, recalling their battles and scary moments. Now that it was all over, they were allowed to talk about everything. The note comparing had begun. Details of Angela’s plan came out that shocked and amazed them, but filled all of the men and women here with the same need for Angela to be returned to Safe Haven. Come dawn, a group of them would head out to lend Marc support, even if he didn’t need it. Sitting here waiting was too hard.

  5

  Angela stared in dismay at what would be her home for almost a year if Donner had his way. The tall building had once housed a company that claimed to make additives for drinking water. As they entered the doors that buzzed open to admit them, Angela caught a glimpse of a biohazard symbol on the elevator and knew it was a cover for whatever lay below.

  She and Adrian were herded down three long flights of stairs with only Donner’s pen light to show the way. Drugged and weakening with the callous treatment, Adrian swayed, stumbling.

  Angela used her body to steady him. Her bound hands wouldn’t let her do much else.

  They reached the bottom floor
of the dark stairwell, where Donner held a hand to the scanner that beeped and whirled before clicking the door open. They went inside another dark room as the door slammed shut behind them, making Angela’s witch mutter about being inside the earth. The witch didn’t care for any type of confinement. In this case, Angela found herself agreeing. No one above them would know they were here and even a descendant’s strongest grid wouldn’t be able to penetrate. Angela began to worry about Marc finding them.

  Adrian snorted, still shuffling along in front of her. “Stop it.”

  Angela rolled her eyes at her own mind. Of course, Marc would find her! He would tear these concrete walls down to do it if that’s what it took. All she had to do was call out to him once. He would lock onto her and then Satan would arrive at Donner’s weakened doorstep.

  But she didn’t.

  Donner directed them through a series of long, dark tunnels before stopping at a large intersection that was flanked by three cells with glass windows and secure doors. The cells themselves were black, impossible to view into.

  “Get in!” Donner told Adrian, shoving him toward the cell on the right as he hit a button on the wall.

  Adrian did what he was told as Angela marked which buttons triggered the door.

  Donner opened the cell across from Adrian and Angela went inside. She moved to the small cot and lay down on it, pretending not to notice the layers of dust and dirt, nor the pictures taped to the walls. These cells were well used.

  Donner locked them both in and then hit the master button on the computer. Lights came on, flickering to brightness as machines spun to alertness, waiting for orders.

  Donner dropped down into the single chair behind the desk that had a perfect view of both cells, and began typing on the keyboard. He didn’t look up for a long time.

  Trey, aware of what was expected from him, went to instruct the men waiting topside. They would all come down, bringing gear and food, and remain here under cover until Donner was ready to go. That meant disassembling some of their larger equipment, hauling it all down and then scavenging the surrounding areas for their immediate needs. They would also have to get this facility on a paying basis and that meant long hours of switching, sorting, hooking up, and improvising. It was the easiest part of what these men did.