by Angela White
Kenn grabbed her arm, roughly spinning her around and drawing a lot of attention. He kept from hitting her only by sheer willpower. Kenn sucked in air…control.
“Don’t make me kill you!” he growled lowly before letting go, making his feet leave.
Kenn was aware of the displeasure of the sentries. Some of those, he had just shared a meal with. He knew he was causing a lot of unrest. People were openly questioning him about her lip now and all he could say was that he didn’t know. It was an answer the camp never heard from him, but Kenn couldn’t fight the rage of the past. He still had six years to get her love–her power–or break her. Either would do.
2
“Coming in with dinner.”
Charlie carefully ducked inside the dim tent and Marc noted the boy’s first quick glance went to the wolf. He took the opening.
“That’s Dog.” Marc introduced.
Charlie set the tray down and kept his attention on his target, trying to use the techniques he’d witnessed Adrian and Kenn employ on men they weren’t sure about. Silence and a cool stare.
The father waited patiently, impressed that the teenager didn’t fidget. Charlie didn’t resemble the small boy Marc had viewed in the pictures. The male in front of him was approaching maturity.
“Why are you here?”
Marc blinked at the adult tone despite what he’d been thinking, impressed again. The truth was easy to give. “Your mom needs me.”
“You want her,” the boy accused.
When Marc nodded but said nothing else, Charlie’s anger deepened. “Adrian and Kenn will take care of her. You can’t stay here.”
Marc shook his head, thinking the child had his mom’s courage. “Only she can get rid of me.”
“You don’t know these people. If they want you gone, you are,” Charlie insisted. “I’ve seen them do it.”
The teen’s smirk was a good copy of Kenn’s and Marc instantly hated it. He shoved some brutal truth into the moment.
“They’re already trying. I had hoped you would be on my side, but hear me and be clear. Only your mom can get me to go away. Not another person on this planet can do it. They’ll have to kill me.”
Hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but not so sure now that they were here, Marc stood up to get his tray.
Charlie cringed.
Marc stilled, mind slamming that obvious clue into place. It was the same reaction he’d noticed in Angela during the first weeks of their cross-country journey, and sometimes even now, when she was startled.
“He hit you too?”
It was a guilty, horrified whisper, and the boy’s face crumbled with the truth.
Charlie shoved the tray at him and spun out of the tent.
3
Angela flipped the radio off and lit a smoke. She was waiting now, writing in her journal and killing time until Kenn would be on duty. She hated it that Charlie’s tent was next to Kenn’s. She had her gun resting under her thigh, planned to sleep with it in reach in case he came for her during the night.
Hearing voices go by that she identified as Adrian and Doug, Angela mulled over the fast kinship she’d felt and worried over what the leader would want from her later…and what he already wanted.
She sighed. Two questions had been answered, at least. It was only Kenn she still feared, not all men, and it wasn’t just Marc that she could respond to. Both Adrian and Seth had tempted the witch.
Angela let out another sound of frustration. It was good here. She had found things she could help with, but Kenn was high up, with serious responsibilities. He was very different from the man who’d kept her so upset during her pregnancy that she had been having pains long before the war. Even now, he hadn’t cared enough to ask what had happened. She got the feeling it was a side of him these people didn’t often witness, but that would change, was already starting to. Kenn had been normal all day, and then morphed into a nasty SOB while they were in plain view of everyone. Was he fighting old demons, or was he putting on the act of a lifetime?
Marc’s worried words suddenly came to her.
He’s headed your way, and he’s upset. Sorry.
Angela tensed, drawing her gun.
She was relieved when her son came in and not Kenn. She slid the weapon into her holster before Charlie discovered she’d had it out.
“You okay?”
“No! Why did you bring him here? This will get you in big trouble!”
Charlie was crying, and she went to him, held him as much as he would allow.
“I have some things to tell you. A story,” she stated, knowing it would be a censored version of the truth. There couldn’t be more until she made her choice.
“About…my dad?”
“Yes, and about you.”
4
Adrian studied Kenn’s approach through the open tent flap, able to feel the awkwardness invading the cool night air.
He thinks she told me everything, the leader thought, and chose to encourage the idea while staying as neutral as he could. He needed Kenn. Angela didn’t.
Kenn dropped into the empty chair with a grunt and put the envelopes on the table. He didn’t meet Adrian’s eyes and tried to get right to business. “We’re short on–”
“Wait.” Adrian’s voice was like stone. “We have something else to discuss first.”
Kenn wasn’t sure if he would lie when asked if he had put his hands on a woman in anger. He wasn’t sure if he could.
“Are you mine or hers?”
Kenn’s head flew up, mouth opening, hesitating. “Sir?”
“You can’t serve two masters. You were the first one here, the first true member of my command, and you have the most active part in everything I do. You’re my right hand. What happens to a man if you cut that off?”
“He’ll bleed to death,” Kenn muttered.
“He, and all his dreams. Here, that would mean the death of Safe Haven. That alone would be unforgivable, but worse, what else would we lose?”
Kenn’s reason warred with his anger, and he struggled to find the right words. “Our last chance. Our way of life…America.”
There was genuine regret in that last one, and Adrian was satisfied for the moment. He studied Kenn before speaking, no longer staring at his even tempered XO, but at the short-fused, mean-mouthed, second-in-command that people were already starting to avoid–after one day. He needed to get this under control if he could, but Adrian suspected it had already gone too far. Kenn didn’t believe that Angela and Marc were just friends either.
“Because she asked me not to, unless someone comes to me, we won’t discuss this after tonight. So long as it never, ever happens again.”
Kenn was shocked…stunned that Adrian would protect him. It went against everything they were trying to build here. Kenn was filled with guilty gratitude.
Adrian, however, was furious. All the suspicions were confirmed by Kenn’s reaction, and he spelled it out angrily.
“The war changed life for every living thing on this planet, including her. She has the right to pick her own future, and you will back off.”
Kenn was humiliated. Now Adrian knew who he was. There was no longer a reason to lie.
“We were happy. She’ll settle in.”
“No!” Adrian barked. “She doesn’t want that, and the rules here are for everyone. She knows it now.”
“She and that boy are all I’ve got left.” Kenn gestured in frustration. “I can’t let him have them.”
“Give me a yes to this question and you’ll have my support,” Adrian said evenly. “Ready?”
Kenn already knew it was a trap.
“It’s easy to detect that Marc would do about anything for her, maybe even die. Would you? Do you love her enough to give your life for hers?”
Kenn didn’t respond.
“Let her go.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“You have to. We all know you gave her up for dead, while Marc found her and protected her.
That alone, gives her the right to end things. So what? You have a good life, a firm place. You’re admired, treated well, and then there’s a certain redhead sniffing around, giving out samples. That’s always fun.”
Adrian’s words worried Kenn, surprised him. He hadn’t thought the boss knew about his trysts with Tonya.
“Think on it, but understand me, grunt. You can’t make it work. You can try, and you can destroy lives, but you cannot have this position and that woman. I’ve met her. No man could balance the two,” Adrian warned, ignoring the male heart insisting that he could. “Let her go, Marine. I need you so much more than she does.”
“I’ll try to do what’s right,” Kenn said, desperately wanting this conversation to be finished. “I will.”
“Good. Let’s move on to the important stuff. Schedules–put her with John for now and add her to Neil’s class. Can she use that .357 on her hip?”
Kenn nodded reluctantly, humiliated mind flashing to the ride here. “Probably the least of what he taught her.”
Adrian ignored the bitter tone, but responded to the impression that Kenn knew Marc better than he was letting on. It wasn’t a good sign of things to come. “Tell me about him.”
Kenn lit a smoke, his thoughts chaotic. He couldn’t tell the truth without giving all of it, could he?
“We served together. Same platoon for a few years. He’s a good Marine. I don’t know him personally.”
Adrian raised a brow, waiting for the details he knew were there.
Kenn hated it that he had to give more, but he couldn’t refuse Adrian’s need, couldn’t deny the observations that he had stored over the years. It was part of the job, and he already knew Marc better than he knew any of the people he’d reported on since getting this position.
“He’s quiet, likes to work alone. Stickler for the rules during regular business hours, but I’ve seen him get drunk and beat the hell out of men off base. He wasn’t close to any of us that I know of; usually wanted the corner table alone, but he always supported us in brawls. When we lost two members of our team in Iraq, he retrieved both bodies and helped the widows financially, out of his own pocket.”
Kenn let out a sigh, hating that it was the truth. Damn Boy Scout! “He’s one of the good guys.”
“So are you. The past is dead. Try to leave it there.”
The Marine nodded, but Adrian was sure he had wasted his breath as he handed Kenn a cold beer from the cooler. “You have things for me?”
Grateful, Kenn opened his notebook. By all rights, he should be on the way to pack his shit and get out…or to the side of a dark road with one of Kyle’s happily fired bullets in his brain.
5
When Kenn left Adrian’s tent, he was calmer, but the ball of anger remained, waiting to be ignited. It flared to life once again when he got to his tent and found it empty. Had Angela broken their truce and snuck out to Marc?
No. He could hear the soft murmur of voices nearby. She was in Charlie’s tent, and there was no way he could jerk her out of there by that long black hair like the rage was demanding. What to do?
Find a release.
Tonya moaned, wrapping her arms around Danny’s narrow shoulders as he pushed her against the boxes. Images of her night with Adrian flashed through her mind, increasing the heat.
Danny thrust against her, shoving her anxiously into the corner.
Tonya grimaced, thinking he wasn’t half the man that Adrian was.
“Yeah…ohh…yeah!”
Danny’s bare hips flashed in the dim lantern light, and Tonya arched up to meet his wild thrusts, already knowing he was going to blow before she could. What a waste of time.
The man dipped his mouth to her ample chest, nearing the edge.
Tonya froze as a menacing shadow stepped up into the semi and closed the door.
“What?…uhhh!”
A cold draft hit Danny’s twitching flesh as he was spun around. Milky white splatters sprayed the truck floor, boxes, and Kenn’s boots.
Danny, caught in the moment of climax, didn’t even try to avoid the meaty fist that flew toward him. He hit the metal floor with a loud thud, fading, and Tonya cowered in the corner.
Kenn stepped over Danny’s limp body toward her. The redhead had obviously found something (someone) to do during his short absence.
Tonya wisely kept her mouth shut. When his big hands slid to the buckle of his jeans, heat and relief flooded her.
Kenn grabbed her arm, shoved her down over the boxes she’d been leaning on, and Tonya, unsure about him at this moment, felt a tremor of fear and an earthquake of lust. She had written him off when she’d caught a glimpse of his woman. She knew her limits, but apparently, things weren’t peachy in their world.
The angry Marine kept a hand on her arm, holding her down as he nudged her thighs further open. When he rocked forward, sinking deep, Tonya pushed against him in pleasure, body clenching around his. This was what she’d wanted when she’d discovered Danny alone by the fire.
Needing her to know who was boss, Kenn pulled out of her hot heat and pushed into the next opening, wrapping a hand around her mouth to stop the scream from following the surprised breath she’d sucked in. He slammed in deeper, leaning into it as she struggled against him, and he pulled her by her arm, dog tag swinging against his chest. He thrust hard, filling her, and Tonya moaned softly against his hand, sounding a lot like the man slowly coming to at their feet.
Kenn pushed deeper, her gasp of pain swelling him, and then he pulled out, spinning. He hissed in satisfaction, seed falling on Danny’s bruising cheek.
Kenn delivered a nasty kick to the moaning man’s side. “Find your own whore!”
He glowered at Tonya and fastened his jeans. “Get this shit cleaned up and get to your tent. We’re not done.”
6
Before ten, most people were inside their tents and Safe Haven was quiet.
Angela slipped out, eager to get a shower without standing in line and being stared at. She shivered at a gust of wind sweeping by and traveled faster, finding Adrian and a group of guards at the center mess table. His words of knowing everything that went on rolled through her mind. He was a man to take at face value for sure, but there were wells in him deep enough to get lost in.
Gun in reach, Angela let the hot water beat down on her. She hadn’t had a real shower with water she could adjust the temperature on since December, and it hadn’t felt nearly this good. She took a few extra minutes to groom, delighted that the water was actually hot. She soaped her hair twice, humming the whole time as some of the stink from her journey washed off and went down the drain. She’d made it. She was here.
Angela was frowning by the time she flipped off the water, wondering if Marc had gotten a shower yet. She hated being away from him, hated how empty her heart felt, but she didn’t call out like she wanted to. She was afraid people would feel it, but more than that, she knew it was wrong to encourage him. They would have to be careful or leave, but every time Angela thought of that, of being alone with Marc and their son, the witch whispered of death and unhappiness. She knew better than to ignore the warnings. She had Charlie back and some of her freedom, and there was a sense of being in the right place at the right time that made her want to stay. She was sure she would unless Kenn forced her hand.
Angela lingered on the dusty camper’s top step, the gentle breeze cooling her skin, and swept the camp. Safe Haven. Is it really?
“Show me,” she commanded softly.
The flickering lights from the can-fires began to form movies, revealing dangerous rescues, defenses, and…secrets, lies. It made her frown as she swept the mostly darkened tents. Black-clad shadows patrolled the well-lit group of weary travelers, but they were surrounded by a violent, unknown world nonetheless.
He’ll protect them with all he has, the witch informed her as doors rattled in her mind–forbidden, locked doors to the future. We could open them with his help. The future waits.
As if cal
led, she turned around to find the object of her thoughts nearby.
Adrian slowly went to her, trying not to stare. He gave her a polite glance, the scent of vanilla thickening in his nose. “You have everything you need?”
Her heart screamed, went straight to spending the night without Marc.
Adrian stored that wild need. “I’ll rephrase. Do you have everything you need that I can give you?”
“Everything’s fine,” Angela answered quickly, sorry she wasn’t hiding it better.
Adrian grunted, knowing it wasn’t true. “Good. So, have you chosen to stay and help us? Me?”
“Kenn will get in the way of anything I try to build here. My dreams don’t mean shit to him,” she stated bitterly.
Adrian responded, “But, he does believe in mine. He’ll realize the benefits of having you here.”
“Only if you send away my protection.”
There was a desperate plea in that last word, a cry for reassurance, and Adrian gave it firmly. “Never. Marc belongs here too. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Neither do I.”
“You will. Give it time, give me time.”
Angela sighed, looking over the peacefully settled people. “I’ll need to keep busy.”
“I have work for you.”
Angela felt her heart leap at the offer, needing something to replace her time with Marc. If she waited, if she thought about all the trouble it would cause, she’d never do it. But right now, with Adrian’s patient attention on her, she felt this was her chance, her place in time, and she wouldn’t get another.
“Yes, I’ll stay, but give me real work, something that matters,” she said, unknowingly echoing her son’s words to him. “Make me feel needed, wanted, and then maybe I can also follow where you lead.”
7
“I’d like to talk, if you have a minute.”
Samantha jumped and spun to find Adrian standing by the camper she’d come from. She had been hoping the intimidating leader would have other fish to fry right now.
“Sorry. Busy?”
Flinching again at a trio of loud, curious members moving by, Samantha quickly shook her head.
