Refugee Road (Freedom Fighters Series Book 1)

by Landis, Nikki

  Alec smiled widely and started talking in a whisper. “Lizzie, everything is going to be fine. I got my leave granted. We are going to get out of here alive. I swear it.” Then his voice became louder. “I don’t want to say goodbye, not ever.”

  I shook my head. “I have to leave. I can’t go with you. He is going to expose you as a traitor and try to have you executed for crimes during war. I’m losing you all over again.”

  My voice broke, and I started crying, tears falling on his impeccable navy uniform. He held me close, a gesture meant to calm and soothe me, but nothing could do that, not with a sniper rifle pointed at his head.

  He whispered to me this time, a softness that belied the anger and concern in his eyes.

  “Everything is settled. I have horses waiting. We are getting away from here when the first bomber arrives. This is no surprise tonight. The refugees will be destroyed.” I gasped but he hurried on. “I warned them Lizzie, securing our position as faithful servants of the militia and the government. You aren’t leaving my side, not tonight, tomorrow, or ever again.”

  “No, Alec! I have to leave. I have to go. They have to be warned. We can’t just let them be killed.” I panicked, forgetting I was supposed to be pretending.

  “We can’t stop it Lizzie.” There was a firm resolution in his voice.

  “What!” I yelled, no longer trying to be convincing.

  I was really in a panic about the refugees now. What would happen to Big Dog, Mal, Diva, and all of the others? Would they survive to fight another day? Oh God, Mal, not Mal. Not my only friends left in this world. Mal! I screamed his name in my head.

  “I love you Lizzie. I always have. I’m not letting you go. The refugees will have a fighting chance. They will know what happened when the bombs start falling.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I can’t lose you. If given the choice of saving your life or theirs, I’m afraid there is no hesitation. It’s always you I’m going to protect, my love.” I heard the catch in his voice and knew it was not a choice he made lightly. “We don’t have long now. Keep it up, just a little longer.”

  My breath was coming in quick gasps. Every second I awaited the bullet that would tear him from me and take his life. How long would Darren let us stand here and hold each other close? How long until he figured out our deception? Surely he was becoming suspicious already.

  “Alec, you have to let me go. I have to return to my people. We have an important job to do. Let me go. Let me go back to Darren.” I begged him, pretending again. I had to make sure Darren didn’t pull that trigger. I had to protect Alec. If he was strong, I could be strong too.

  “Never, over my dead body will you ever return to him.” The venom in his voice surprised me. There was nothing false in his tone. “I’ll die first. He’ll never touch you or force himself on you, or hurt you ever again.”

  Alec’s voice shook with his anger and the truth. I knew he meant it, even if we were acting now to keep him alive. We continued this way for the next five minutes when the sound of planes could be heard overhead, the loud hum and buzz of the bomber engines, just as I remembered. Exactly like my nightmares.

  Alec grabbed me and we fell flat on the ground, just as gunfire entered the abandoned building. He sheltered my body with his; rolling to get away from the sniper shot we heard hit inches above us, close to our heads, shattering the wood and sending splinters flying into the air. Darren.

  As soon as the bullets stopped, we jumped up and out of the building, making a run for the trees and the pair of horses. Bullets grazed passed us, whizzing past our heads and lodging into the ground and trees. Luckily nothing hit. I don’t know how. Bullets should have riddled our bodies but not one ever found its mark.

  Alec helped me up on one horse while he jumped on the other. He kicked his horse into a full run, holding the reins on my mare tightly who followed close. We rode like the hounds of hell were chasing us, fast and unrelenting, until the sounds of buzzing planes, bombs exploding, and gunfire faded into the distance.

  We paused to look back only once. Lighting up the dark night sky, flashing red and orange, climbing higher and blazing like an inferno, fire dominated the horizon. It glowed eerily. With heavy dread sinking my heart I watched for several minutes in silence. What fate led me here? To this moment? What dark path still lay before me? And what of my friends and comrades, did they survive? Or were we all just pawns in a larger game, ruled by death, and led by fear?

  Alec led us away again, riding hard until dawn. We finally stopped at an inn, exhausted and needing nourishment. He paid the couple who owned it and had the horses stabled for us, led by a young boy in his teens, a scar running the length of his face. One arm was badly mangled and hung limply at his side. I was struck by the absurdity of it, by the sad horror and reality that children in war were just as scarred and maimed as the rest of us.

  We were led to our room, with the promise of a late dinner tray to be sent up within the half hour. I glanced around the interior, a single double bed in the center, and suddenly felt nervous. Shyly I kept my eyes downcast, letting him take the lead.

  Alec locked the door. He pushed a chair against the doorknob and locked the windows, just in case. The likelihood that we were followed was minimal but precautions had to be taken. He turned to me, watching my reaction, and took a step in my direction.

  I stood there, shaking, and so fatigued that I couldn’t move. Everything was converging on me at once. The last few weeks, Darren, my injuries, missing Alec, and I felt cornered. My heart was racing, my breathing accelerated. In a panic I glanced around the room, feeling closed in.

  Alec approached me slowly, cautiously, as someone might approach a deer in the forest, afraid at any moment the animal might bolt and sprint away.

  “There now,” he whispered.

  His hands brushed my cheeks, an infinite tenderness in his fingers, soaking into my skin, sending waves of calming love into my shattered soul. The simple touch of his skin so close to mine was enough to thaw my rigid body. I raised my eyes to his, uncertain, but no longer afraid.

  Alec lowered his head, touching my lips softly, a chaste but loving kiss, a kiss of promise, and took my hand, leading me over to the bed.

  “We are safe now, my love. You are safe. Nothing can harm you. Relax, please.” His voice held an edge, whether it was anxiety or fear, hurt or desperation, or perhaps a combination of it all, I was uncertain. “Your ordeal is over. I won’t let anyone harm you ever again. I swear it,” he promised me. “I love you Lizzie.”

  “I love you too Alec. Hold me, please. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop shaking,” I admitted.

  He pulled me close against his chest, my head resting over his heart, listening to the pounding beat, a consistent thrum that comforted me like a soothing balm, a sound that called me home, never letting go the whole long night. I finally stopped shaking and fell asleep, safe in his loving embrace.

  It was bright outside when we awakened. Alec’s touch was gentle, bringing my consciousness out of sleep and into reality, the light stroking of my arm sending goosebumps along the flesh. He failed to notice, absently moving his hand as if the gesture happened without his knowledge or consent.

  “Good morning my love.”

  “Good morning.” I answered, feeling shy but happy, truly happy.

  “Lizzie, we will be married today.” My eyes met his. “Is that agreeable with you?” He asked me, his palm against my check. A flash of nervousness made him squirm. How adorable!

  Agreeable? I nodded. “Yes, that is…agreeable.”

  He laughed lightly. “I hope you find the experience more than agreeable.”

  I blushed. “What is the date today? Is it far from here?”

  “Oh no, not far from here at all. It’s March ninth,” his fingers brushed along my cheek and then slid to the soft column of my throat, “we shall have our wedding night and then I am taking you on our honeymoon.”

  Wedding night? Honeymoon? I bit my lower lip.
“Ok.”

  He swallowed as his eyes lowered to my mouth. “Would you like to travel? I have money saved,” at my nod he continued, “I want to show you how wonderful this world can be.”

  He said “this world” but his eyes were talking about something altogether different.

  “We have two weeks together before I have to return to my duties. How does that sound?” A husky deep timber lowered his voice.

  I’m almost positive that all of those words rang hollow in my ears because all I could think about, all I could concentrate on, was the hungry look in his eyes and the way he kept staring at my lips.

  “It sounds wonderful. I’m so happy. I didn’t think it would ever be possible. The war…it took everything from me. I thought it took you too,” my voice broke slightly.

  “No, my Lizzie, it could never take you away from me. When the bombing started, I ran for shelter, only one thought on my mind. I had to find you. I had to get to you.” His eyes had met mine briefly but they were now staring at my mouth with an intensity that made me almost weak. I licked my lips and felt his grasp tighten.

  “By the time I reached your home it was too late. I saw your sister and Angela’s graves. I knew you survived. It gave me hope. A longing in my heart that one day I would hold you close and call you mine. I haven’t stopped looking for you the last three years because we are meant to be, my darling.” He started to breathe faster. “Oh God, how I love you.”

  He kissed me then, his lips descending on mine with heated passion, a warmth flooding my body and filling me with the same scorching heat. The muscles of his arms bulged, pulling me closer. In that moment I knew a hunger that had never risen inside me before. I gasped as his lips left my mouth and traced the line of my jaw over to the delicate flesh of my ear.

  He whispered “I love you” and made his way down my neck, pressing a kiss to my throbbing artery, and then to the top of my shoulder, right where bone raises slightly above the skin. Little shivers of delight ran along my spine.

  I started to breathe faster, matching the increased pace of his chest, enjoying his touch, the feather light caresses of his lips. The way his mouth left my skin trembling in anticipation. The way the moisture left me tingling. Melting away, drifting on a current of desire, crossing new unchartered waters, experiencing new and thrilling sensations, leaving me breathless. Gasping. Yearning. I wanted more, please more.

  “Lizzie, I want you. I can’t help it. I want to make love to the woman who has stolen my heart and captured my soul. You own me Lizzie. Kiss me, my love.” He demanded, as lost as I was.

  I rolled over on top of him and kissed him with abandon and all of the love I felt for him. I put everything I felt in that moment into the kiss. He moaned low in his throat and grabbed me, his hands pulling on my shirt, yanking it up over my head.

  “My God, what perfect breasts.” He murmured.

  His lips lowered to my chest, then the hot thick flick of his tongue as he sucked through the thin silky material of my bra, the heat of his saliva burning one moment and then cooling the next as he moved to the other breast.

  “Oh!” I moaned, my head falling back, lost in his perfect touch.

  His hands reached for my hips and brought me against his, pelvis to pelvis, the bulge of his trousers leaving no mystery as to his attraction or desire. His eyes remained locked on mine, the soft pads of his fingers lingering on my panties. Then they were lower, inside, sliding over the rounded curve of my backside.

  I was completely lost in that moment. My panting chest and heaving breaths seemed to match his own. I would have done anything. I would have let him do anything. A burning need, throbbing in my core, rushing lower into my loins, made me ache for something I did not know existed. I turned to him in confusion, watching as his eyes softened and the hunger diminished, if only a little.

  “Your innocence is beguiling.” He pressed his lips to mine, biting my lip slightly and then running his tongue over it to lessen the sting. “I shall enjoy teaching you the art of love.”

  He grinned so big that I laughed, blushing crimson. Alec was a wolf, disguised as a man, prowling and hungry, insatiable, he would swallow me whole…if I let him. I found that I liked the comparison. He could devour me if he wanted, I was left in little doubt that I would enjoy every brutal and thrilling second.

  “We are going to have a very loving and passionate marriage. You and I are meant for each other. I’m happy Lizzie. Delighted. Thank you,” he admitted, kissing me with a little more restraint.

  He left the bed and started the shower, steam escaping the bathroom and trickling into the room in tufts of mist. I waited while he took one first and then, wrapped in a towel, his body glistening in the morning light, he handed me a long white box. For a few seconds my eyes could not leave that broad expanse of chest, rippling with strong muscle, with dark hair running across his chest, becoming sparse across his abdominal muscles and lower, plunging into the towel. Heat spread through me like a wildfire. Dear God, he was a beautiful man.

  I opened the box curiously and found a wedding dress inside, wrapped in tissue paper, all of the necessities included, even a small veil.

  “When did you get this?” I asked in surprise.

  “I bought it after that first time I saw you. I knew you would come with me when I asked. I’ve been planning these last few months. Everything is ready for our new life together.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered, placing a kiss on his naked chest and nipping at his nipple.

  He shivered. “We really need to get to that church.” His hand lightly smacked my bottom on the way to the shower and he laughed. “Yes, indeed. Tonight is entirely too far away.”

  I took a leisurely shower, toweling off quickly and putting on my undergarments. I brushed and curled my hair, thankful for the blow dryer and curling iron included in the room, and twisted it on top of my head, adding flowers from the vase in the room. I walked out of the bathroom and his eyes widened in pleasure.

  “You look beautiful. I am the luckiest man on earth.” He placed a kiss on my forehead. “Would you like help with the dress?”

  I nodded and he helped me step into it. It was simple with a cinched waist and a sweetheart neckline. It had little seed pearls and lace all over the bodice and skirt. It was an A-line inspired dress but fit close to the body. I slipped on the matching heels and added the short veil, covering my face as was the custom. He handed me a floral bouquet, completing the look.

  Alec stared at me lovingly, tears in his eyes, overcome with emotion. “I’ll never forget this moment as long as I live. You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. It reminds me of the night we met.” He sighed softly. “I love you Lizzie.”

  “I love you too.” My throat was tight.

  He packed all of our belongings and put them away. I touched the cross around my neck and suddenly remembered my father’s pocket watch. He should have something special, something that belonged with him, a part of my life joining his. I crossed the room and pulled it from my pack, handing him my father’s pocket watch. His face lit up when he saw it.

  “It belonged to my father. I want you to have it. It’s my gift to you today. Wear it for me, please.” My fingers trembled when I placed it in his palm and he squeezed them, his own just as unsteady.

  He added the watch to his suit and smiled, taking my hand. “Come, my beloved, follow me for eternity.”

  Chapter Twelve

  We walked to the little chapel down the road about a mile. Alec had our identification and papers, marriage license, and other documents. Everything was legit. I don’t know how he managed it since I didn’t have papers but I didn’t say a word. Some mysteries were not necessary to solve and understand.

  The minister married us in front of his little wife and the dog. We said traditional vows of love and promise, pledging ourselves to one another, in health and in illness, to honor and cherish, dedicating our souls, our hearts, and our devotion, for the rest of our lives. Alec slipped a
gorgeous diamond and gold ring on my finger. Then he winked and handed me his ring, a simple gold band, which I pushed onto his finger with a shaky hand.

  The minister declared us husband and wife as Alec kissed me with unrestrained passion. The minister actually had to clear his throat since Alec was so enthusiastic. His gray eyes sparkled at me, perfect and glinting like steel in the sun, filling my heart with joy.

  Our license was signed and finalized along with our marriage certificate. A copy would be mailed in to the records office in Columbus, the capital. His confident signature was added to the documents and then my swirling name was added below his, sealing the contract.

  We were now legally wed. I smiled in delight, blushing as the minister’s wife embraced me in a quick hug. I felt surreal, as if in a dream, like I was watching myself from far away, a spectator, instead of an active participant.

  The minister and his wife insisted on a wedding photo they developed on site and gave us two copies. We toasted champagne to our marriage and our health. And before we left they said a beautiful prayer and asked God’s protection and blessing on our union. It was perfect, in every way. The only absence was our families here to celebrate with us.

  Back at the inn, Alec helped me change out of my wedding dress. His fingers carefully undid every button, brushing along my skin, before he placed a kiss on the back of my neck. I carefully packed it away, taking time to fold it and run my fingers across the silky material, wanting to preserve it forever.

  Alec was watching me, already stripped down to his pants. He took my hand and pulled me close, chest to chest, pressing a kiss on the top of my head. He started dancing with me, swaying softly, to a slow song he hummed into my ear. I suddenly remembered.

  “We danced to this song the night we met.” I told him, surprised.

  “Yes, we did. I hum it often and think of you. I told you, I’ve loved you since that night. Angela…she had told me so much about you already, I felt like I knew you.” He let out a slow breath, slightly unsteady. “It was a natural feeling. When I told her that I liked you, she smiled and told me to treat you well. She knew we would end up together.”