Where We Stand

by Angela White

  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?”

  “Because I can help you get where you need to be.”

  “You honestly think he can help me?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  He’d 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 out.”

  Kendle was angered by his answer and she 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 Brady?”

  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.”

  Those words were Angela’s and Quinn wasn’t sure what to make of them.

  “Meaning?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Kndle asked defensively.

  “Are you’re a threat to Marc and Angie’s happiness?”

  “No.”

  “We’d like to believe that. You’ll make a great Eagle”

  “You think so?”

  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 and 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 in against her will. “Damn arrogant of you to assume if I can’t have him, that I’d want you in his place.” She glared with a challenging sneer. “Are you that good?”

  Quinn’s heartbeat triple in the space of a second and 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 quite sure he trusted her yet, and 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 minion and she already knew that wouldn’t work. She would walk all over a weak-willed person. She was too strong for anything else 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, and it was enough to bring her out of her daze.

  Safe Haven called. There was another attempt on Angela’s life. Adrian says it’s time to come home.

  Quinn returned to find Kendle gone.

  He didn’t notice the paper that was missing.

  8

  “Thank you.”

  Kendle left the bunk room. She felt no guilt about making sure Marc got the message. If Angela needed him, he should be there and these men had no right to keep it from him.

  Marc knew Quinn and the others had only been waiting for the right time, but he was glad Kendle had told him before they could. It would keep him from reacting wrong. If he showed too much concern, his men would realize it had all been an act, that he had longed to be in Safe Haven’s safety the whole time, and he’d lose them.

  Marc could almost hear the reluctance in Adrian’s voice as he delivered the message that Marc was sure Angela didn’t know about. She hadn’t called out to him in a while and he understood she was determined not to come between him and the duty he’d accepted. He also knew it was a struggle for her and she wanted him there more than anything. He didn’t have to connect to her to know how she felt. He’d been carrying it since he left the camp gate and the weight had only grown in the time they’d been apart. She hadn’t wanted to send him, but there hadn’t been anyone else who could handle a job like this.

  Marc was still holding the paper when Quinn came to wake him. The Eagle’s face tightened as he realized how Marc had gotten it.

  Marc crumbled it up and set it next to him. “We’ll talk about that later.”

  Quinn swallowed. “Updates?

  “No,” Marc refused.

  “Pack it up and head for home?”

  “No.”

  “You aren’t going to Safe Haven now?” Quinn asked hesitantly.

  “Not until this job is done.”

  Quinn understood he had underestimated. “I’m sorry.”

  Marc shrugged. “Maybe you are and maybe you aren’t. What matters, is truth. We don’t have that anymore.”

  “Why?” Quinn protested. “Because you want them both? I only pushed to find out what her lines were.”

  “Because you don’t trust me, Quinn, not the other way around. As soon as we rode in here, you assumed the worst.”

  Quinn couldn’t deny it. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “I’ll tell you that you don’t know the full story on either end. Until you do, maybe you should butt out.”

  Quinn flushed angrily, but wisely shut up as Marc stood.

  “I have plans based around her, Eagle. Don’t get in the way of them. Get on board.”

  “I want to,” Quinn confessed. “But I have to know what those plans will lead to.”

  “I’m getting her ready,” Marc confessed. “For someone else.”

  Enlightenment came instantly and the Eagle scowled. “You’ve changed.”

  Marc grunted, laying back down for his last hour. “I’ll be your boss at some point. Make your choice now, Quinn, and save me the time of coming to you when it happens. You’re either mine or his. It can’t be both.”

  Paul and Jax gave Quinn pointed looks indicating they agreed with Marc.

  “How can you support him?” Quinn demanded.

  Both men spoke together.

  “He’s the ghost.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  Marc’s voice came from behind him. “They’ve made the choice that you’ll struggle with over the next few days or weeks.”

  Quinn turned arou
nd “You’re gonna challenge him for leadership!”

  Marc looked over with glowing red orbs. “Can you think of a single reason why I shouldn’t?”

  Quinn wanted to. That desire to serve Adrian hadn’t gone away, but it had faded a lot more than he’d ever thought it would. In its place was a new light of leadership that glowed too brightly from the man in front of him to be ignored.

  “No, I can’t.”

  Marc closed his lids, satisfied. “When the time comes, take my left. You’ve earned it for your service here. And her, if she wants you. I’ll find someone else for him.”

  Hearing Marc openly planning their lives the same way Adrian had was proof for Quinn. Adrian had been sent to lead them through the aftermath. Marc would carry them into the future. He was more open, more honorable, than Adrian ever had been.

  “I’ll be there when you need me.”

  Paul and Jax clapped him on the shoulder, brought him into the light, and Quinn went gratefully. Marc was stronger than Adrian. They could put their faith in him and it wouldn’t be abused. Adrian was still important, but Marc would lead them. If Adrian refused to step down, Marc’s Eagles would have him removed.

  9

  “The Mexicans have pulled out.”

  Marc glanced over from his post at the dusty window as Paul went on with the report.

  “Red Stone said he can’t be away from his people anymore with the soldiers so close. He’s worried they may have sent another force south.”

  “Tell him it was our honor to fight alongside him,” Marc ordered.

  Paul relayed the message, and Marc sighed in resignation. With the Mexicans leaving, it was likely that the Indian groups would, as well. Which meant those inside this base were now on their own.

  Marc spotted several soldiers doing recon on the base, and waved at one of them as he disappeared from the window. It was time to get ugly and there were few men better at it than him.

  The sounds of fighting picked up outside, and Marc went straight to their command room.

  “It’s time. Get them ready.”

  Jax went to the radio to make the announcement.

  Kendle fell in behind Marc as he went to let other parts of the base know. This was the inside of Marc’s plan and it was complicated. Kendle was worried about it, too. She had little faith in these men keeping him safe and she stayed close as the preparations began.

  “Wider,” Marc instructed to those working on the sealed doors of the mini-bunker. “We have to be able to get in there on the run. Prop it open.”

  Marc waved at the stacks of supplies. “Get those inside, along with radio. When we start making calls from down here, the static will make it hard to decipher. Don’t forget the antenna.”

  The men began working on the last levels of Marc’s plans and he stayed close, being sure it was right. Making a mistake now was likely to get them all killed.

  “Are you sure?”

  “They’ll think we’re trapped,” Marc stated. “Make it look that way.”

  Outside the base, the enemy was moving into position. No longer forced to defend their flank from the Indians and Mexicans, the soldiers could now concentrate on a frontal assault. These troops were tired, cold, and bloody. They wanted to be in the base and little would stop them.

  Marc was counting on it.

  “Now!”

  The ground in front of the base shook as the charges went off, rattling items and knocking over haphazardly stacked boxes.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  It was a horrific sound that continued until all the explosives around the base had been blown.

  Through their windows and peepholes, there was only dust and dirt flying through the air and they all waited for it to settle down to determine how much protective damage they’d done.

  In the uneasy silence, they could hear the soldiers outside.

  “Move in! Move in!”

  “Hit the deck!” Marc ordered.

  The building rumbled as the tank came closer, and Marc waved Paul and Jax to the other window. “Just like we practiced.”

  Paul handed Jax the box, gaze glued to the tank. “Ten.”

  Jax took his place proudly. “Copy, ten.”

  The Eagles adjusted the aim as Marc as the others drew fire away from them with peppering shots that pissed men off with nicks and cuts. Their body amour was hard to get through, but Marc’s rifle was doing damage and keeping the men on Paul’s side pinned down.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Grinnddd!

  The tank rolled over a concreted truck meant to slow it down and Marc made the call. “Now.”

  Jax hit the button and they all waited eagerly as the magnet descended on the tank.

  “It’s got them!” Paul shouted. “We’ve got...”

  Paul slid to the floor, caught by a sniper’s luck, and Jax caught him in shock.

  Marc shoved them both under the window line as that side of the wall exploded.

  “Get the other one!” Marc ordered, yanking Jax away from the incoming fire.

  He shoved the stunned Eagle toward Kendle’s flank and went back to firing. Paul’s body would have to stay where it fell.

  “We have a breach! Breach in command!”

  Marc grabbed the radio from Quinn. “Stand your posts! That’s an order!”

  Marc pointed at the last stick of dynamite. “Close the gap.”

  Quinn wasn’t sure where to aim and Marc pointed up, where ropes were being shot for the invasion. “Bring it down on them.”

  Quinn saw what he meant and tossed the lit stick with a harsh sneer. “Get out of our base!”

  Kablammm!

  Marc was thrown to the floor and showered with sharp, hot debris. Behind him, the wall began to collapse.

  “That’s it! Get out!” Marc shouted, yanking Kendle toward the door.

  As they fled, Marc hit the switch taped to the wall and took off running.

  Boom!

  The concussion from the blast knocked Marc down the hall and sent him into the other bodies who had dropped at the sound, not sure where to go.

  “Get in the stairwell!”

  Marc kept them moving, only glancing back to confirm that their command center was now a pile of smoldering rubble.

  He’d expected them to try punching through where ever the command room was and he’d prepared for it, but now, they were down to the last tricks that Marc had up his sleeve. They would hold out in the bottom floors for a few days more if luck was with them, but after that, this base would once again become government property.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Near Borden Springs, Alabama

  8/11

  1

  “Please…”

  Tracy closed her eyes as Charlie’s lips brushed her ear. Flames scorched her skin.

  “Please.”

  Charlie paused, not sure what she meant. “Should I stop?”

  A deep, painful sigh. “No.”

  Charlie went back to the massage. She’d made herself sore again and he’d offered a massage before she hit the showers. Fully clothed, but protected by the camper door, they were both enjoying the contact.

  The urge to do more was strong, but the teenager resisted, sticking to his plans. “You smell good.”

  Tracy shivered at the tone, at the feel of him touching her. She couldn’t stop the thoughts, but she did keep her hands at her sides. We’re not doing anything wrong, she told herself. We’re not doing…

  Charlie’s warm hand slipped to her neck in a telling caress and sent a chill of need down her spine.

  “Please.”

  Charlie paused again, more sure of her tone this time. “Please stop tempting you?”

  Tracy agreed shakily. “You know you do. It’s intentional, to determine what works and what doesn’t, right?”

  Charlie didn’t deny it. Instead, he moved away from her, to their mutual disappointment.

  Tracy regretted pushing him away, but wouldn’t let herself ask
him to continue.

  Charlie perched on the bench, staring at her. “Why did you tell Billy no last night, when he came to your tent?”

  Tracy flushed. She’d thought Charlie was close, but hadn’t been sure. Which meant he’d heard what she did afterwards, too.

  Charlie’s cheeks flushed. “I left after the first moan. I didn’t watch your shadow, either.”

  Surprised, Tracy leaned against the camper wall. Would this young man always be able to give her this feeling of respect?

  “Yes. My word on it.”

  Tracy’s heart melted a bit more and she turned away to keep from caving. He was still waiting on an answer from her and she was tired of trying to hide what she wanted.

  “Then don’t. No one will stand in our way.”

  “It isn’t about us, anymore, though,” she refuted quietly. “I’ll lose my place on her team.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  Tracy didn’t turn around. “I don’t like it when you threaten your mom. She doesn’t need that right now.”

  Charlie snorted. “She gave me permission a while ago, Tracy. I’ve waited because of you.”

  Tracy spun around to catch his face with the lie on it, and found only the truth.

  “She didn’t...”

  “She knows I’m sure or I wouldn’t have brought it to her.”

  Tracy still hesitated. “October isn’t so far away…”

  Charlie took the steps that brought them face to face.

  “If we lose the battle, October won’t ever come.”

  That hurt, stunned her with the sense of need and urgent regret, and Tracy didn’t have the strength to fight him anymore.

  “Why me? The truth.”

  Charlie’s hand went behind her neck to gently pull her closer. “I saw us, in the future. We make pretty babies.”

  Charlie caught her gasp with his mouth.

  2

  Bridget waited until Neil and Jeremy came around the edge of the last garden truck and slid in front of them with a sunny disposition.

  “Good morning!”

  Both men sent the same to her and continued on their way.

  Bridget then slid neatly into Neil’s personal space and planted a soft kiss on his mouth.

  “Mmm... Thank you for last night.”