Emptying the bag onto the ground, she grabbed the box of ammo. Kyle burst through the trees and was covering the ground between them so fast, she didn’t have time to load the gun. One second she had her hand on the box of bullets and the next she was slammed into the tree trunk. Little spikes of broken branches and rough bark jabbed into the back of her head and her back.
He knocked the gun out of her hand and kicked it while she struggled to get out of his grip.
“Where’s the brat, Megan?” he was seething.
She smiled. “You won’t get her, Kyle.”
He backhanded her across the face making her cheek feel like it exploded. Her eyes filled with tears, but she fought the urge to cry. Instead, she kicked out, but he was ready for her. He smacked her again. The sting from the first blow actually lessened the pain of the second. She could feel blood in her mouth, but smiled anyway.
“If you think they’ll protect her, you’re wrong. My men are already headed that way. They’ll kill them all.”
Megan shook her head. “No, they won’t. You underestimate Wyatt.”
“Whatever. I don’t have time for this.” Kyle let go of her head and stepped back, pulling the gun from his waist.
A gunshot in the distance made Megan cry out. She envisioned her baby being hurt. A scream from the very core of her being erupted from her mouth.
Kyle raised the gun with a sinister smile. “You should’ve kept a better leash on that brat of yours. None of this would’ve happened if she would have minded her own—”
Megan’s eyes widened as she stared over Kyle’s shoulder. He turned to see what she saw but didn’t get the chance to react. Wyatt tackled him with the success of an NFL lineman. A loud oomph exploded from Kyle’s mouth but the blow wasn’t enough to knock the gun from his hand. He managed to roll and get off a shot, hitting Wyatt at point blank range.
Megan screamed again and rushed to pick up her own gun. She quickly loaded it, keeping an eye on the two men rolling around on the ground in front of her. Wyatt had managed to knock the gun from Kyle’s grip, but he was rapidly losing blood and Megan could see him losing strength as well.
She held the gun and waited for the right moment. Wyatt managed to break free of Kyle’s grasp. That split second was the only window Megan needed. She took the shot. It hit Kyle square in the chest, killing him almost instantly. The look of shock in his eyes would’ve been funny if it weren’t such a dire situation.
28
Wyatt lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath. His arm was on fire and he could feel the blood gushing. Megan ran to him, tearing off her jacket.
“Hold on,” she told him wrapping the jacket around his arm. “We need to get some pressure on it.” When he tried to sit up, she told him to lie down.
Wyatt wanted to yell at her and kiss her at the same time. When he saw Kyle holding that gun on her, he nearly lost his mind. Caitlin had come running down the hill, shouting her mom needed help. Everyone but Chase had heard the commotion and come running.
Jack had shot into the air signaling Chase there was trouble. They’d talked about what they would do should something like this happen, but talking and doing were two different things. He hadn’t waited for anyone else. He tore up the path. He knew Megan was going for the gun he’d left for her.
He didn’t get the chance to tell Megan how mad he was and how happy he was to see her. Kyle’s men arrived on the scene and one of the men was going a little crazy. Through the screaming and yelling, Wyatt realized he was Kyle’s brother. This can’t be good.
“What did you do?” A younger version of Kyle was screaming and waving his gun between the two of them.
Wyatt pushed Megan’s hand away and sat up. His head spun, but he couldn’t show weakness. He took a deep breath and got to his feet, with Megan’s help. He pushed her to his side, blocking her from the lunatic waving a gun all over the place.
“You killed him! You killed my brother! Why? Why would you shoot him?” the man screamed.
Wyatt held up his one good hand. His other arm hung limply at his side. Megan was still holding her jacket around his arm and showed no signs of letting go.
“You need to calm down. Your brother attacked her and then shot me.”
“Because you tortured him! You held him as a prisoner and beat him.”
Now Wyatt was the one confused. “What? What are you talking about, man?”
“Drop the guns. Now.” Chase’s voice was low and deadly serious.
The men who’d been with Kyle spun around. Wyatt turned slowly. His head was spinning and he could feel blackness trying to pull him in.
Chase and Albert stood in front of Jack and Ryland who were standing in front of Willow, Rosie and Caitlin. They each held a weapon, including Ryland. Caitlin had a baseball bat. She was so tiny, but she looked mighty ferocious. Even his mom, who truly wouldn’t harm a soul, was holding a .22. He wanted to laugh at the picture his little family made looking all tough, but that would probably detract from the vibe.
“He tried to kill my daughter and then me,” Megan spoke up. “I shot him.”
Wyatt quickly contradicted her. “I shot him. We were wrestling on the ground and the gun went off.” He was not going to let Megan get hurt for doing the right thing.
Megan looked at him as if he was crazy. This guy wanted revenge and he was not about to let Megan be the one he targeted. Not again.
“He would never hurt a child,” the man argued.
“Evan, what do you want us to do here?” One of the men who looked very uncomfortable holding a gun asked the question. Clearly, the guy wanted nothing to do with shooting or being shot.
“Listen,” Megan started. Wyatt could tell she was using the voice a mom used to soothe a toddler who was throwing a tantrum. He knew the voice because his mom still used it on him to this day.
“My daughter saw him kill a young man a couple weeks ago. Not here,” she added when Evan started to shake his head. “We were in the forest, maybe ten or fifteen miles from here. Caitlin saw him and he saw her. He fed her deadly nightshade berries and it almost killed her,” Megan’s voice broke.
A collective gasp could be heard behind them. Wyatt didn’t know if it was from Kyle’s men or from his own family. The world had gone very black and he couldn’t seem to focus his eyes.
A little voice broke the silence. “He hurt him. He said the man was sleeping, but I know that isn’t true. He had brown hair,” Caitlin looked around and pointed to Ryland. “Like him. The man kept saying he was sorry, but the bad man hurt him.”
“Jessy.” The man who’d spoken up earlier murmured the name. “It was Jessy McCaulin, Evan. Kyle said he ran off after he caught him stealing, but Jessy’s sister said he saw Kyle,” he stopped. “He saw Kyle take Veronica into his tent. Veronica didn’t want to go in the tent. You know?”
Wyatt knew exactly what the guy was saying. Kyle had raped this Veronica girl and Jessy saw it. He was killed because of what he saw, just as Caitlin was nearly killed for what she witnessed.
Evan shook his head. “No. I don’t believe that for a minute. Veronica is a slut. Kyle didn’t have to rape anyone.”
Wyatt mustered up reserve strength to put Evan in check. “Don’t talk like that in front of the kids. Kyle is dead because of what he did. It’s no one’s fault but his own. He did this,” he said jabbing a finger at the dead man lying on the ground.
“Let’s go, Evan.” The man looked at Megan and apologized. He turned and started to leave. The rest of the men followed except Evan.
“No! I’ll avenge his death. You can’t simply kill my brother and get away with it.”
Chase and Jack put themselves between Wyatt and Evan.
Jack looked at him. “You can leave now or join your brother. Don’t come back and don’t ever threaten our family.”
Evan stared at him for several seconds before walking away. “His death won’t go unpunished,” he shouted before disappearing into the trees.
&n
bsp; There was a moment of complete silence before everyone started talking at once.
Wyatt leaned into Megan who had her arm around his waist. “Megan?”
She looked up at him. “Yeah?”
He wished he could say something sweet and endearing, but it wasn’t going to happen. “I’m going to pass out,” he barely got the words out before he felt his knees start to weaken. His brother was there before he hit the ground. The last thing he remembered was Megan telling him it would be okay.
29
The group managed to get Wyatt back to the cabin. He’d only been out for a few minutes, but it had them all very concerned. He was clearly not in too bad of shape. He complained the whole way back about how embarrassed he was, how he’d suffered worse and never passed out before.
At first, everyone did what they could to reassure him he was still tough and it wasn’t a big deal. By the time, they got him into the bed that had only recently been vacated by Megan and Caitlin, they told him to shut up and let Rosie take care of him. His mom chided him and told him he’d always made the worst patient.
Megan waited until Rosie was finished tending Wyatt’s wound. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed him, and didn’t nick an artery, but there was still quite a bit of blood loss. Despite the wound being relatively minor, Rosie had ordered him to stay in bed while she fixed him something to eat to help restore his strength after losing so much blood.
“Hey,” she said not looking directly at him.
She hated how pale he looked. Although Rosie assured her, the wound was superficial and he would be fine, she felt horrible. Wyatt had nearly lost his life trying to protect her.
“Hey, yourself,” he replied.
She looked around the room with its bare walls. She thought back to a few short hours ago when she’d been cold, wet and a little scared. This room blocked all of that out. It was warm and cozy even if it was a little on the plain side. The people in the home made it feel safe. No, she corrected herself. The man lying in the bed is what made it feel safe.
“Megan,” he started.
She held up a hand to stop him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off in the middle of the night.”
“It’s okay. I’ll admit I was a little mad, but mostly worried.”
Megan looked up and met his eyes. “It was stupid. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was letting the past cloud my judgment and it nearly got me, my daughter, you, and your entire family killed.”
“No, Kyle almost killed us. That had nothing to do with you. That’s just a snake doing what snakes do.”
Megan realized she hadn't had the chance to explain the whole situation.
When she finished her story about what Caitlin witnessed and Kyle’s attempt to kill her, he looked furious. Megan realized that she didn’t want him to kick them out. She wanted to stay and now he was ready to send her packing because she almost got his family killed. Good going, Megan. Another smooth move.
“I can’t believe he tried to kill a little girl. That is one sick man and I’m so glad he’s dead. Imagine all of the people that have been following him. The other little girls and boys he would’ve killed if they saw something that threatened his plans.”
He shook his head. “Unbelievable. I’m so glad you guys came here. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”
Megan was surprised by his declaration. He wasn’t mad that death was delivered to his doorstep because of her?
She stared at him. “You’re amazing. All of you are.”
She wasn’t one to cry, but his generosity and complete acceptance of her and her daughter was so incredibly giving it brought tears to her eyes. She looked away not wanting him to see her cry.
His arms were wrapped tightly around her before she knew he was there. “You’re not leaving me again, Megan. Don’t even think about it. We will fight together. Me, you, all of us. We really are better off together.”
“Got it. Thank you. Thank you so much.” He pulled her back down onto the pillows with him and held her tight. She relished the feel of his bare chest under her cheek. The steady heartbeat soothed her soul. She wanted to stay right where she was.
Megan jerked awake. She’d fallen asleep on his chest. The sleepless night and the activity of the day had caught up to her. She raised her head and looked up at him. He was smiling.
“Have a good nap?”
“Oops. I guess I was a little more tired than I thought.”
“You had a pretty rough day. You deserved a nap.”
Epilogue
That night they all sat around the dinner table, talking, laughing, and making plans for the future. Megan was still tired from her ordeal, but exhilarated at the same time. It’d been a crazy twenty-four hours.
Chase and Jack had yet to stop teasing Wyatt for passing out. “The big bad Navy SEAL,” Chase chanted laughing.
“Hey now, I’d run up that hill, tackled the man, and had been physically fighting with him after he shot me,” Wyatt defended.
Jack patted him on the back. “Whatever you say, bro. We still respect you. Mostly.”
Megan watched the guys tease Wyatt and he’d happily dished it back. Every so often, he’d look at her and when he caught her eye, he’d smile. The kind of smile that told her everything really would be okay.
Rosie had managed to redirect the conversation toward the list of projects she was hoping the guys would tackle tomorrow and Megan quickly offered to help dig the trenches for the garden. Megan was now looking at a future where she could make plans and stick to them.
Next to her, Wyatt had bumped his leg against hers and when he didn’t move it, she leaned against his side.
When things had gone dark with no real idea of if or when the world would ever return to normal, Megan had been resigned to a life of hardship. She’d hoped she could find somewhere safe for her daughter, but wasn’t sure, if anything like that even existed. It did. She’d found it.
In such a short time, these people had become her friends and her family.
Once dinner was over, Megan helped Rosie and Willow with the cleanup. Ryland and Caitlin were upstairs playing Battleship. Each of the men had gone out to take care of the various chores. Rosie had told Wyatt to take it easy, but he scoffed at the idea going outside to help bring in more wood for the stove.
Although Megan hated Kyle for what he did to Caitlin, she was so thankful his actions led her right to Wyatt. It was kismet. Before dinner, Rosie had taken Megan aside and given her blessing to have a relationship with Wyatt.
Megan was a little hesitant and thought Rosie would be angry or disappointed after Megan had put them through so much, but she wasn’t. She was thrilled to have Caitlin in the home and said she could use another daughter-in-law.
The EMP was the worst and best thing that could have ever happened to her. While the world had been turned upside down, it had also made Megan realize that depending on others didn’t mean the end of the world. Under the right circumstances, it was only the beginning.
Wyatt walked in the back door to find Megan leaning against one of the massive wooden posts at the foot of the stairs. She looked exhausted. There were dark, heavy bags under her eyes and her shoulders were slouched forward. She was beautiful. And she was here. Twelve hours ago, he’d thought he would never see her again and here she was.
He walked closer to her, blowing out the candles that were still flickering on the long dining table.
“You look tired. You should probably get to bed,” he told her holding a hand out.
She smiled. “I’m absolutely beat.” She took his hand. “You should get to bed, too. Your mom says you need to rest after that whole fainting bit.” He jabbed a finger in her side, causing her to laugh. “I’m teasing. It was kind of funny, though.”
“Ha. Ha. Make fun of the guy who saved the day.”
She giggled again. “If I remember right, I saved you.”
He pulled her close. She’d clearly gotten over her initial re
action to shooting and killing a man. He was afraid it would destroy her, but he was wrong. This woman was made of some strong stuff and when it came to defending her daughter, she would walk through fire. Or kill a man. What was even better, she was his. She may not know it yet, but it was going to happen.
“So, uh, Caitlin and Ryland are having a little slumber party upstairs. Ryland is going to point out the stars. Your mom made them some hot chocolate and busted into her Oreo stash.”
Wyatt’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t say a word afraid he would either say something stupid and ruin the moment or offend her. Not saying anything was his best choice.
She started walking towards what used to be his room, but was now considered her room. She tugged on his hand. It was an invitation to follow. He grinned, but quickly stopped when she looked back at him.
“I saw that.”
This time he grinned and didn’t care who saw. “Good.”
He had to stop himself from running to the bedroom. This woman had fallen into his lap and, from this moment on, she was going to be at his side. They were going to kick this apocalypse’s ass!
End of ‘Dark Retreat’
EMP Lodge Series Book One
Blurb
In the post-apocalyptic aftermath, Megan Wolford is settling in with her makeshift family at the safe haven of their lodge, but she remains wary of trusting others. Despite her growing feelings for Wyatt Morris, the leader of the group, she still feels most secure on her own. But when she becomes separated from her beloved daughter Caitlin in a storm, Megan is in danger of losing the one thing keeping her fighting to stay alive. Injured and desperate, she must fight every instinct within her to rely on the others for help when they find evidence that Caitlin has been kidnapped.
EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 20
