Seemingly satisfied by her compliance, Rager turned to the rest of the room. “We will set off first thing in the morning and press to make it back before evening.”
“You’re angry with me.”
Preoccupying her rage by repacking her bag, Scarlett ignored the quiet question by pounding a rolled up T-shirt into the bottom.
“Scarlett.” His boots made only the slightest scuff as Rolf crossed the short distance between her and Hunter’s beds and sat. The frame groaned. “You have to understand why I can’t have you with me. I’m part of a team. My job is to watch the back of the guy next to me. I can’t do that if my one and only thought will be to keep you safe.”
“You wouldn’t have to!” She stuffed the palm-sized medi-kit into the bag. “I can look after myself.” She twisted her head around and glowered at him. “You have no idea how worried I was when you were gone. All I could think was that I would never see you again. I don’t want to go through that again.”
“I won’t be alone.”
She went back to her organizing. “You weren’t alone last time.”
He sighed. He slipped off the cot and knelt down beside her. “If I know you’re here and safe, I will always come back, Scarlett.” He touched her cheek, the caress feather light. “Please don’t be upset anymore. You have to see why I’m doing this.”
Her eyes squeezed closed and she hung her head, partly in shame, partly in guilt. She did know why, that was the thing. She knew he was trying to protect her. What made it worse was that they’d been officially together for a handful of hours and already she was becoming the whiny, clingy girlfriend she hated seeing. The shame was mortifying.
“I do. I’m sorry.” She raised her head and forced herself to meet his gaze. It felt surreal to be able to do that without feeling like she was breaking some rule. “I worry.”
Understanding shone in his eyes as he brushed aside the curls off her cheek. “I know and I’m sorry I can’t change things, but I’m a marshal. Protecting you and protecting the lives on this ship is what I swore to do.”
She nodded. “I know.” She took his hand. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
He leaned in and brushed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll do my best.”
The dream started with her running. It started with the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears and her terror lathering at the back of her throat. She was on the ship, that was clear by the row of vacant quarters zipping past her. But her feet weren’t moving, or rather, the floor wasn’t. Something wasn’t, because she wasn’t moving even as everything around her blurred by. Behind her, shadows stretched and clawed across the ground, reaching towards her like disconnected hands. The chilling groans scraped off the walls, muffling the shambling scuffle of multiple feet. Tears blinded her as her head whipped over her shoulder, looking around. A stitch formed in her side. She reached for it even as her foot caught and she went sprawling. She hit the ground, tasting carpet as she gasped for the air dislodged from her lungs.
“Scarlett.”
Twisting onto her back, she scrambled, crab-crawling several paces as the creatures scuttled closer, a wall of rotted and putrefying flesh. Her sob locked in her throat as she willed her feet to work.
Get up! She willed herself. But terror had paralyzed everything, except the knowledge that she was about to die.
“Scarlett.”
They were on her then, surrounding her, fingers rubbed clean of flesh reaching. Sockets that had once held eyes gaped at her from black pits as teeth stained with blood and choked with bits of torn flesh strained in hungry anticipation. But those were nothing compared to the face hovering inches from hers, a face that had once been too beautiful to look at, a face framed with dark tresses. It was shredded, bloody, and void of the rich, warm eyes it had once possessed. Blood oozed from the hole torn out of his abdomen. His insides trailed behind him as he reached for her.
She came awake with a scream. Hands were there, covering her mouth and making her flail in an attempt to disengage them so she could breathe.
“Scarlett!” a voice whispered into her ear. “It’s me!”
Sobbing and gasping, Scarlett clutched at the wrist. Around her, she was vaguely aware of shuffling, low murmurs, and the quick whine of a baby before it was hushed. Her companion said something to someone she couldn’t see and the rustling of the awakened lessened and the quiet returned.
The hand holding her slipped away once it was sure she wouldn’t cry out again. She greedily sucked in air as another voice spoke from a short distance.
“Red? You okay?”
“Bad dream,” her companion whispered. “I’ve got her.”
“Red?” Hunter clearly didn’t believe Rolf.
“I’m okay,” she whispered. “Go back to sleep.”
The cot creaked. Blankets rustled and she knew Hunter had given her up to the hands stroking her hair and back and he’d gone back to sleep. A water canister was pressed into her hand and she drank from it gratefully before passing it back.
“Want to talk about it?” Rolf murmured into the side of her face.
Still trembling, but awake, Scarlett shook her head. “It was horrible.”
“You’re safe,” he assured her. “I’m right here.”
She made no protest as he gently nudged her back down. She let herself be tucked in and felt him retreat back to his mound of blankets only a foot away from hers. Fabric rustled as he slipped under and made himself comfortable. Scarlett closed her eyes only to have them snap open a second later when something nudged against her hand. Her heart gave a leap before she realized it was Rolf’s fingers reaching across the divide for hers. She turned her hand and threaded her fingers through his. And it was like flicking a switch. All the worries and fears were thrust to the back of the closet, out of sight and mind as her body succumbed to a dreamless slumber.
Chapter Twenty
Every hard inch of him was melded into the full length of her back when Scarlett opened her eyes. His arm was wrapped around her, still holding her hand, locked around her so there was no chance to even breathe past where their knotted fingers were clasped across her chest. His face was buried in the back of her neck, his warm breaths ruffling the little hairs. The smooth, bare skin of his arms and chest burned through the thin material of her shirt and she suddenly felt suffocated, swaddled in the blankets draped over them.
Around them, the rest of the chamber slept soundly, indicating that it was not yet morning. The fact that Rolf was even still there was proof that the hour was pre-dawn. Scarlett had begun to wonder what had awakened her when she felt it, a low, warm stirring in the pit of her stomach that made every vulnerable nerve tingle. Fear of awakening him and embarrassing herself kept her perfectly still. She struggled not to so much as breath as every unsteady breath brushed his hand over her chest in a way that was making it impossible to follow through with the no moving plan. She bit her lip and wondered how she was going to get herself out of this one.
“Morning.” His low, gruff purr was unadulterated sin when thickened with sleep.
Scarlett swallowed hard past the dry patch in her throat before speaking. “Morning.”
His body shifted against hers as he repositioned himself. The arm around her ribs shifted down to press into the strip of flesh exposed where her shirt had ridden up over her abdomen. The other stayed tucked beneath her head, doubling as her pillow.
“How’d you sleep?”
She gave a jerky nod. “Good.”
“No more nightmares?”
How could she have nightmares when he was wrapped around her like a cocoon of protection?
“No.”
His nose nuzzled the curve of her neck. The soft bristles on his cheeks tickled the sensitive flesh and elicited a weak moan from her that was followed by a shiver. It was uncertain, but she could have sworn she felt the hard kick of his heart between her shoulder blades.
“Are you cold?” he murmured, his voice taking on a differe
nt tone she didn’t recognize, but felt all the way down to her toes.
“No.” The single word tumbled out, breathy and unsteady.
The cords of his arms seemed to tense around her. The pattering of his heart became hard, fast knocks against her shoulder. Fingers still entwined with hers opened and splayed across the trembling flesh of her stomach. His fingertips burned at every point that touched her. It was completely decent, except she felt as though that single touch had been run down the length of her body and touched her in places that had ached for him since the beginning.
She tried to ignore the slow glide of his fingers roaming up and down her side or the way it seemed to draw her top higher up until her waist and stomach were exposed. She tried not to fidget, not to flush or let her voice waver when she spoke. But there was no helping the fumble when his fingers danced over fabric and onto skin. Her heart tumbled over itself. Her voice hitched. She moistened her lips, hoping it would help, but her throat was dry.
“What is it?” he murmured into her ear.
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Sure?” he asked. His fingers moved inward towards her belly button. His lips ventured along her cheek to her jaw.
“Yes.” She’d meant only to answer his question, instead the sound was breathy and desperate. She would have flushed if she wasn’t already burning, if she didn’t ache in places she couldn’t even think about without blushing.
“I should get ready. Starting with a cold shower.”
He drew away, taking his heat with him. Scarlett reluctantly let him and listened as he moved in the impenetrable darkness. His feet made the slightest rustle as he grabbed his pack and ambled in the direction of the washroom.
Scarlett dropped back against her pillow and closed her eyes, while her body hummed as though an electric current ran beneath her skin.
She didn’t stir until the piercing wail of an infant broke through her cozy cocoon. All the lights were on and people were moving around. It surprised her that the clamor and raised voices hadn’t awakened her sooner. Better yet, that Hunter hadn’t awakened her. He hated people being asleep when he wasn’t. It was the one selfish thing about him.
Back stiff from being on the floor, Scarlett rolled onto her side and squinted at all the movement happening around her. She pushed upright and rubbed a hand over her eyes. The cots on her right were empty, except for the blankets piled on top of them. But there were people everywhere, bustling around a whole lot more than they usually would have. The level had been reasonably somber since her arrival, people mainly sitting around or on their bedding, waiting for something to happen. It was odd seeing so much hurried movement.
Intrigued, she shoved back the blankets and rose to her feet. She swung on her pack and grabbed the first person to pass her. It was a man, tall and thin with unkempt black hair and intense blue eyes. He observed her with curiosity when she hauled him to a standstill, like he couldn’t fathom what she was or why she was there.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The man frowned in amused confusion. “We’re just outside the new planet’s orbit.”
Scarlett released him. “What?”
The man chuckled. “Where have you been?”
He took off before she could push him for more information. She let him go and set off to find Hunter or Rolf. She found Kiera instead, standing by the makeshift bar. She had a data link in front of her and was doodling idly across the screen.
“Kiera.” Scarlett went up to her. “Where are the others?”
Bored, blue eyes settled on her. “Where have you been?”
Getting tired of hearing that, Scarlett pinched her lips. “Where?”
“Like I’m going to help you,” the girl spat. “You ruined my life.”
“Oh, never mind,” Scarlett muttered, in no mood for games.
Leaving the blonde, she set out in search of Hunter, determined to find him in all the excitement.
“Are we going to land?” an excited little voice demanded. The boy was about nine with the biggest green eyes Scarlett had ever seen made wider still by his barely contained elation.
The woman, his mother Scarlett assumed, laughed indulgently and mussed his cap of blond curls. “Not yet.”
“What are we waiting for?” the boy demanded.
The mother looked hesitant as she rubbed his arms. Her smile was tense around the corners and she couldn’t seem to look him in the face. “Lots of things, but don’t worry. We’ll be down there in no time.”
Frowning, Scarlett made her way back towards the kitchen, ignoring the shouts to get back in line from the people waiting for food.
The kitchen was a mess. It wasn’t equipped to handle this level of occupation. The woman that had served her the stew the day before stood at the food dispenser, but even that wasn’t built to handle so many orders at once. The level they were on was meant for a handful of people at a time, the odd person relaxing with a data link and whatever else. It wasn’t meant to be used as a shelter.
“Back off!” the woman was shouting. “Children first!”
The man trying to force his way between her and the machine bared his teeth until one of the marshals stepped forward, one hand on his enforcer.
“Back of the line,” he said calmly, but with an authority that demanded nothing less than absolute submission. He turned to the rest of the line once he moved away. “All children to the front!”
It was stew again. The succulent scent of it filled the air, hot and rich. Scarlett almost whined as she rubbed her empty belly. Her gaze shifted away from the children sitting around the table before she could give into the temptation to snatch one of their bowls.
“Red!” Hunter forced his way through the crowd to stand before her. “I was beginning to wonder when you would wake up.”
She ignored the remark and said instead, “What’s going on?”
“This?” Hunter waved at the line. “This is normal. It’ll calm down once everyone’s been fed.”
She shook her head. “I mean out there.”
“Ah!” he said. “We’ve reached the planet.”
Scarlett frowned. “How do you know that?” She waved around the room. “There are no windows.”
Hunter shrugged. “I guess mere calculations? Silos said so before he left with the group.”
Her frown deepened. “Silos left?”
“Yeah, they need an operator up there to undo whatever’s been happening.”
“Did I miss anything else while I was sleeping?”
He shrugged. “Not really. Gray told me to tell you he’d see you soon, but that’s it.”
At the mention of Rolf, Scarlett’s body warmed and all the places he’d touched only hours before clenched.
“What’s that blush for?”
The heat warming her cheeks sizzled. “I’m not blushing,” she muttered, turning her head away.
“Right.” Snickering, he shook his head. “Well, we better get into line or we’ll never get food.”
In agreement, she followed him back to the front of the sector and the end of the line. She studied the people she passed, trying to determine how many were still alive on a ship of seven thousand. It was impossible, but there were not nearly enough. Not even by half.
“How many people survived?” she asked Hunter.
He took a look around before answering, “A little over a hundred. Rager wanted to take troops out and find more, but Alois wouldn’t let him. He was too important here, he kept saying. I’m surprised he let Silos leave with the numbers he did. I think if it were up to Alois, we’d all just die in here.”
“So who’s in charge?” she wondered.
Hunter shrugged. “So far, I think Silos. He’s the one keeping this place together. Alois doesn’t seem to like that very much and usually goes against everything Silos says. In the end, the rest of the mentors vote against him and … well, Silos wins.”
“Alois is a mentor, isn’t he?”
&
nbsp; He nodded. “I’ve worked with him a few times. No patience.”
“And Silos?”
“Good guy, but I’ve never worked with him. He’s a commanding operator so we didn’t run in the same circles.”
“So what exactly is his plan then?” she asked. “I mean any plan. What are we doing? We can’t stay here and we certainly can’t leave.” She paused, brows furrowing. “Did the others make it out?”
Hunter shrugged. “I think so. We won’t know until they return. Silos said he’d reinitiate the com system so we can communicate again once he gets to the control room.”
She glanced down at her useless wrist unit. “That’s something I guess. How long have they been gone?”
“An hour, maybe two. It hasn’t been very long.”
The line shuffled forward and they moved along with it. Scarlett craned her neck to look over heads and mentally calculate how much longer before she got food.
“I swear, this line gets slower every day,” Hunter muttered.
A thought occurred to her at his words.
“Hunter?” she waited until she had his attention. “How often do they restock the dispensers?”
Creases formed between Hunter’s brows as he contemplated her question. “I know we upgraded the system every week after harvesting.” He looked at her. “You would know more than I would.”
A low, gnawing sensation wrenched the pit of her stomach. In her head, she calculated the last time they’d stocked the vegetation and her mind came up blank. It wasn’t her job to keep track of those records. Her job was to plant, grow, maintain, and then pack. Everything was put into the shipment containers and moved to storage where it was divvied, cleaned, and prepared for the dispensary. There was someone that watched the levels and refilled as was required. She had no idea when the last time someone did that.
“What?” Hunter asked when she nibbled on her bottom lip and cast an anxious glance towards the front of the line.
When Night Falls (Regeneration Series Book 1) Page 18
