she growled.
When she emerged from the smoke, Anna spotted the ruins of Trey’s tent ahead to her left. The canvas was black and still smoldering from the explosion; an impressive radio lay in pieces on the grass outside. A tiny smile tugged on Anna’s lips at the sight.
The smile faded only moments later when Anna heard something that chilled her blood. To her left, at the northwest side of camp, a boy cried out in fear. Even having never heard that particular sound from that particular boy, Anna knew in an instant.
Matt.
She took off running, feet pounding against the damp grass, eyes desperately scanning her surroundings for her blond friend. Droplets of sweat rolled down her face, evidence of the cold terror that seized her at the sound of that cry in the damp, pre-dawn hours.
When she found him, she also found something else. The explosion at Trey’s tent hadn’t killed the man, as she had fervently hoped. His hair looked singed, and he was bleeding from the forehead, but he was alive.
And pointing a very real gun at a kneeling Matt’s head.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You know what I do to traitors, you little fuck?” Cold words, delivered with pure malice. Trey drew back and kicked Matt in the ribs, then shoved the barrel of his pistol hard against Matt’s forehead.
Anna pulled her unloaded gun from the back of her pants and pointed it at Trey with a panicked scream.
“No! Put the gun down.”
Trey snapped his head up and pinned Anna with cold, dark eyes. If he was surprised at her presence, he hid it well. “Who the fuck are you? And what the fuck do you think you’re pointing at me?”
“Put yours down and I’ll put mine down.” The palm of Anna’s hand was damp with sweat, making it difficult to keep a grip on her empty gun. She concentrated on not letting her hand shake. “Don’t take this out on the boy.”
Bright red blood dripped down the side of Trey’s face. His skin looked red and raw, and his T-shirt was charred and torn. Looking down at Matt, he drew back and kicked him in the stomach again. Matt lurched forward, gasping in pain. “Why? He belongs to you, doesn’t he?”
“It’s over, man.” She didn’t use Trey’s name, not wanting him to realize just how much she knew about him and his men. “Most of your men are dead. The rest will join them soon. And the women are already gone.”
Trey curled his lip into an ugly sneer. “You’d better be lying, you little bitch.”
“I’m not. Put the gun down and let the boy go. I’m not afraid to pull the trigger.”
Trey studied her for long moments, as if evaluating her sincerity, then snorted. “You don’t have any bullets in that gun.” His voice betrayed not even a hint of doubt about that statement.
Anna tilted her head to the side. “Funny,” she remarked in a voice devoid of humor. “That’s almost exactly what your man Brian said to me. Right before I blew his brains out.”
Trey flinched. “You’re lying.” The look of restrained rage in his eyes set Anna’s heart thumping. For long moments they stared one another down, Anna’s gun trained on Trey’s head, the barrel of Trey’s hovering inches from Matt’s forehead. “You’re not going to shoot me. You can’t.”
Matt kept his eyes on the ground. Anna could see him shaking in fear. Goddamn it. I will not let him hurt Matt.
She steeled her nerve. “Want to bet?”
“Sure.” Trey turned to point his gun at her.
Anna was aware of the noise first. Ungodly loud, it made her ears ring in protest, accented by the flash of the muzzle as Trey’s gun fired. Then she felt the impact. The bullet jerked her off her feet and sent her tumbling backwards before she even registered what was happening. She landed hard on her back in the grass with a muffled grunt, as the air was forced from her lungs. Her vision blurred and darkened for long, crazy moments.
The pain was the last thing to register, and when it did, it took Anna’s breath away.
Dimly, through her shock, Anna mourned yet another failure in what felt like a lifetime of them. I couldn’t save Matt. She blinked, wincing at the burning, throbbing pain in her shoulder. And I’m going to break my promise to Elin. And Kael. Tears welled up in her eyes. The emotion stung, so badly that she had no choice but to give it free rein. Holding it inside seemed so much more agonizing.
Somewhere close to Anna, there was a soft thump as a solid body hit the ground near her. Anna battled a moment of confusion and struggled to twist around so that she could see what was happening. She hadn’t heard a second gunshot. When she found Trey’s cold eyes staring back at her, blinking with his own shock, her confusion grew.
Her confusion was dispelled only a moment later when she dragged her gaze from his singed, bloody face down to the steel shaft of an arrow protruding from the upper right of his chest. Trey seemed to notice it at exactly the same time she did. He reached up and gripped it with a weak hand.
Kael.
Anna lost consciousness with a smile on her lips.
“Anna.”
She heard Kael’s voice, frantic with worry. Then a groan, which might have come from her own mouth. She blinked her eyes open and stared up into Kael’s tense face.
“Anna, hold on for me, baby.”
“Matt—” Anna said, but her mouth was dry and she couldn’t manage more than a pathetic croak. Hazy, she realized that she was cradled in Kael’s arms and her lover was practically jogging through the darkness.
The movement jarred Anna’s body, leaving her aware of pain she was certain would be excruciating if only she could wrap her mind around it.
“I’m right here, Anna.”
Matt’s blond head entered Anna’s peripheral vision. She tried to twist in Kael’s arms to look at his face as she struggled to piece together what had happened, and what was happening now.
“He’s fine, baby,” Kael murmured.
“You saved my life.” Matt was pale and wide-eyed. “I owe you my life.”
Anna’s head swam. But I didn’t save Matt. She gritted her teeth as the pain registered again, taking her by surprise and pushing the tender voices of her lover and her friend to the background. And Elin’s going to be so mad at me.
“Anna-baby…” Orders from Kael. “Hang on.”
She managed a half smile. It was good to hear Kael. And Matt again, especially when she knew he must be dead. She wondered if she would hear Garrett, too. Anna closed her eyes and let herself drift away, imagining a sunny afternoon spent with Kael, Elin, and Matt, all of them happy and alive.
It was a nice dream, anyway.
The next time Anna woke, it was quiet. She could hear the sound of breathing, the subtle ticking of a clock, and the muted chirping of birds. Her foot itched.
And the rest of me doesn’t feel so great, either.
Floating back into awareness, she took a mental inventory. Her throat felt like it was glued shut. Her shoulder throbbed, and she had to pee. A soft warmth pressed up against her side, bringing her unthinking comfort. Sunlight filtered through her eyelids, all red-gold heat and light, lending to her sense of displacement. Her body rested on something yielding, but she couldn’t remember where she was.
With a wounded groan, she opened her eyes and almost immediately recognized the guest bedroom at Kate’s house, as well as the tender hazel eyes that stared back at her. Elin’s face was pale, making her hair look even more vibrant with color. When she saw that Anna was awake, she leaned forward where she sat perched on the edge of the bed.
“Welcome back.” Her eyes sparkled with tears, and she brought a trembling hand to cover her mouth. “Oh, baby, I’ve never been so happy to see those beautiful brown eyes.”
She picked up a tall glass from the nightstand and maneuvered the white drinking straw between Anna’s parched lips. Anna took a grateful sip, then another when she realized how good it felt.
“Go slow,” Elin murmured. “Take it easy, sweetheart.”
“What happened?” Anna asked, propping herself up b
y slipping an arm heavily over Elin’s shoulder, clinging to her soft warmth. She turned her head and noticed for the first time that Kael was lying on the bed beside her. Kael’s mouth hung open slightly, and amazingly, she slept despite Anna’s distress. “Is Kael okay?”
Elin encouraged Anna back against the pillows and tugged the thick comforter up over her chest. “He’s fine. As for what happened…if I understand it correctly, you saved Matt’s life. You got shot in the shoulder doing it.” Elin’s voice faltered, and she looked away from Anna with shining eyes. “Kael carried you back to the house. And then I helped Kate remove the bullet and repair your wound.” Elin’s voice hinted at so much unsaid.
“Some rescue attempt, huh?” Anna could hear the self-recrimination in her voice. “I end up pointing an empty gun at someone who sees right through my bluff. Such a hero.” She lowered her eyes to Kael, who continued to sleep. Anna fought down a niggle of worry that her lover was injured, sure that Elin would tell her if that were the case.
“Hey.” Elin took her hand. “Kael told me that your bluff bought everyone enough time to let him take down Trey before he could kill Matt. And Matt’s told me more than once that you saved his life.” Elin’s mouth twitched, and she squeezed Anna’s hand. “In fact, I think the kid has a little crush on you.”
Anna looked down at their enjoined hands with a sheepish smile. “I already told him I was taken.”
Elin gave her a humorless snort. “Well, if he didn’t know it before, he does now. Kael and I have been frantic over you.”
“I’m sure I must have looked horrible.” Anna gazed down at Kael again, unnerved by her sound sleep.
“Kael’s okay, though, right?”
Elin joined in her study of their lover. “He’s okay. He’s exhausted. I finally got him to agree to have some of Kate’s tea just this morning, and that’s the only reason he’s out like he is. I convinced him that it was for his own good. He…hasn’t been sleeping much since you were shot.”
“When was that?”
“Three nights ago.”
Anna blinked in surprise. I’ve been out for over forty-eight hours? She said the first thing that came to mind.
“The camp. Did all the women make it?”
“Every one. Next to you, the worst injury was a sprained ankle.”
“What about all the bodies?”
“Kael, Jen, and Matt cleaned everything up. Even if they send more men to search for the ones that were killed, they’ll never find anything.”
Chances are they won’t realize anything’s wrong for some time. It could take months for anyone to come looking for them. Another thought occurred to Anna. Except… “The second contingent, did they—”
“We took care of them. Well, Kael took care of most of them. Matt helped, and Jen, and two of the women you helped rescue, Leah and Heidi.”
“How?”
“It’s a lot easier to fight outnumbered when you have the luxury of setting up an ambush. We were waiting for them. There were only twelve men in that group, and Kael didn’t have much of a problem handling most from a distance. We even managed to rescue the girl they had with them. Seventeen years old, poor thing.”
“Nobody was hurt?”
“Kael has a new bruise or two, and Jen took an elbow to the face, but everybody is fine.” Elin traced her fingers over the side of Anna’s face. “I’m very relieved, Anna.”
Tears stung Anna’s eyes. She touched Elin’s cheek, returning the tender caress. “So am I. I missed you, baby. We both did, so much.”
“I know. You can’t even imagine how I missed you two. I knew you would come for me, but after how they left Kael…I tried not to lose faith, but—”
Anna let her fingers linger over the curve of Elin’s jaw. “I won’t lie. Kael was in pretty bad shape. But he was determined. He’s so strong.”
The corner of Elin’s mouth curled. “I know he is.” She lifted her eyes to Anna’s face. “God, Anna, I’ve never seen him so upset as he was carrying you back here to the house. He managed to hold it in until after we dealt with the rest of the Procreationists the next day, but afterwards…with you still unconscious…he fell apart. I’ve never seen him like that before.”
Anna stared at Elin in wonder. “I imagine it was a lot like he reacted when you were taken.”
“I imagine it was.”
Anna exhaled slowly and tried to get more comfortable. Her whole body ached. “My head is pounding. Are you sure I didn’t get shot there?”
“Kate said that you hit your head on the ground when you went down. She said a headache would be perfectly normal with that kind of injury.”
Anna cracked a smile. “Well, as long as I’m normal.”
Snorting, Elin murmured, “Hardly.”
“But you love me, anyway.”
“Forever.” Elin closed the distance between their faces. “Think you feel well enough for a kiss, baby? I’m having a hard time holding back here.”
“I always feel well enough for a kiss.”
Elin pressed her lips to Anna’s and gave her the gentlest, most tender of kisses.
“It’s gonna take a lot more of that to get me well again,” Anna mumbled, her nose in Elin’s hair.
Elin shook with quiet laugher. “Same here.”
Kael released a low snore, drawing their attention down to her slack face.
“We should wake him up,” Anna said.
“I think he’d never forgive me if I didn’t.” Elin stroked the back of her hand over Kael’s cheek. “It might not be that easy, though. He’s really out.”
Anna shifted closer to her sleeping lover and rested her cheek against the pillow, watching Elin’s knuckles caress Kael’s pale skin. “Kiss him,” she suggested in a quiet voice and grinned. “That’d make everyone feel better, too.”
Elin chuckled and leaned over Anna, careful not to put any weight on her body. She brought her face close to Kael’s and gave Anna a brief sidelong glance. “If you insist.”
“I do.” Anna settled back and watched with satisfied eyes as Elin let her lips just barely touch Kael’s. She increased the contact so slowly that Anna held her breath in anticipation, exhaling only when her sore body required it. As she gazed at her lovers, Kael murmured sleepily and returned the kiss, caressing Elin’s lips with a lazy tongue.
“You’re right, Anna. I think that worked,” Elin murmured.
Kael’s eyes flew open. When she turned her head to find Anna smiling back at her, her jaw dropped, and momentarily, she was speechless.
“Hi,” Anna said.
“Hi.” Kael’s lower lip trembled, and she moved to bury her face in Anna’s neck, against her uninjured shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
Kael wrapped a careful arm around Anna’s middle and hugged her as though she were almost too delicate to touch. She said nothing, but Anna felt every word.
“I told you we missed you,” Elin said, joining their embrace.
Careful not to jostle Anna’s wound, she wrapped an arm around Kael’s shoulders. Though she appreciated the caution with which her lovers handled her, Anna was beyond caring. She closed her eyes and savored their touch.
She felt completed.
A quiet knock distracted them from their reunion, and Anna and Kael wiped at their damp eyes with the backs of their hands. Elin turned toward the bedroom door with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Look who’s awake,” she said, gesturing for Matt to come in.
He managed a shy grin as he approached the bed. “Hey, Anna.”
Inexplicably, Anna blushed. “Hey. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Matt grinned even harder. “I’m very okay.”
Anna ran her eyes over the boy’s face and body, taking note of the bruise below his eye, the cut above his lip, the stiffness with which he held himself. He looked battered, but alive. “I’ve been having some really bad dreams the last couple of days,” she said. “I admit, at times I wasn’t s
ure you made it.”
“I almost didn’t. If you hadn’t come along at just the right moment—”
“Kael saved your life. Not me.”
“Don’t even,” Kael protested. “You were a goddamn action hero out there. Not many people would have been brave enough to step up in that situation, but you did. For your friend.”
Anna met Matt’s eyes, humbled by the deep love she saw in them. “I’m just glad it worked out.”
Matt leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on Anna’s mouth. “Anyway…thanks. I’ll never be able to tell you…I don’t know how to say—”
“I love you, too,” Anna said. “I’m proud to call you friend. And besides, it was the least I could do to repay you for all your help.”
Blushing, Matt cast his gaze down to the ground.
“Yeah, man,” Kael piped up. “Thank you.”
Elin stood and wrapped her arms around Matt in a warm hug. “Thank you.”
Matt shrugged, but returned Elin’s hug. “It wasn’t a big deal.” He looked at Kael, eyebrow upraised. “Is this a good time for the surprise?”
Anna’s heart warmed at the way Kael’s face was suddenly aglow with the same excitement as Matt’s. “Oh, yeah,” Kael said. “Definitely, yes. Get the surprise.” She sat up and gave Anna an eager grin.
Matt jogged over to the bedroom door and poked his head into the hallway. “Hey, Isabella. Come on in.”
When a pretty teenage girl with short blonde hair walked into the room with a squirming golden puppy in her arms, Anna beamed.
“Oh my…Is that a puppy? A golden retriever?” Elin stepped forward as the girl placed the puppy down on the bed.
Anna grinned so hard her cheeks hurt. A golden retriever, huh? Elin and her books. She turned to Kael to find glittering indigo eyes staring back at her. “You didn’t show her yet?”
Kael shook her head. “I wanted to wait for you.”
Anna bit her lip in an effort not to start crying then and there. “I love you, Kael.”
Kael leaned close and gave her a sweet, lingering kiss. “I love you, too.”
“He’s so tiny.” Elin patted his bottom with her hand, smiling after him as he bounded across the comforter to cover Anna’s face with wet kisses.
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