“Eve, it’s okay.” Luca rises to his forearms, his forehead creasing.
She slides off of his lap.
“It’s okay. Martin always figures things out. I bet, in less than a week, they’ll be put back.”
She doesn’t speak, just nods.
Goosebumps cover her skin as Luca starts to gently rub her shoulders.
“Come over here, you’re cold.”
Pulling her under the comforter, he hugs her to his chest. Luca’s arms radiate heat as Eve decides to open up.
“But…what if he doesn’t?”
“Who, Martin? He will….”
Hugging her tighter, Eve feels her eyes closing once more.
“He will.”
If Luca believes, then she will too. Together, they fall back under sleep’s spell.
When Eve wakes again at five in the morning without an alarm, she groans. Her body doesn’t seem to realize that today, she will be able to sleep in. Riley has given her one day, and then she will be required back in the cave.
She’s in Luca’s room, but the spot beside her is empty. Locating her top within one of his boxes of records, she slides it on and lays back down. Hearing footsteps, Luca exits his closet having come from the bathroom.
Noticing her awake, he smiles, having already dressed for the day in his training gear.
“Nice hair,” he taunts, pointing out what must be her bed head.
“I styled it just for you,” Eve retorts, causing Luca to laugh.
Luca, laughing, now that is something new. It softens him. And Eve finds herself laughing with him. Leaning down, he gives her a passionate kiss on the mouth and quickly backs away.
“You hungry?”
She can tell that he is. A guy his size doesn’t maintain his physique by dieting. Eve had missed at least three meals in the past twenty-four hours, but she only feels the dull thud of hunger.
“I could eat,” Eve decides, swinging her bare feet to the floor.
“Do you want to go shower, and meet me at the dining hall?” Luca is almost shy as he asks, which is even more endearing.
“Are you sure you want to be seen with me?”
“Actually, yes.”
They share a few more kisses and then part. For some reason, she thinks of Rowan. How will it affect him, seeing Luca and her—together? Will he still want to hang out? Eve doesn’t think she could take it if she lost him too.
If she’s honest with herself, Eve isn’t even sure how she feels about Luca and her dating. He only recently has shown her kindness. Events in her life seem to keep happening at a rapid-fire pace and she is finding it hard, mentally, to catch up. Luca is still very much a stranger, and beyond physical attraction, she doesn’t really know that much about him.
But what she does know sets her soul on fire.
Leaving his room, she turns to find Maggie on the stairwell.
“Well, good morning to you!” Maggie purrs.
“Not now…” Eve flushes, making her way to the stairs.
“What? We’re all adults. Doing adult things. With very attractive adults….”
Maggie is enjoying this.
Rolling her eyes, Eve states, “I’m going to go shower,” as she heads toward the third floor.
“Alone, or…?”
Eve cuts her off before she can finish her sentence.
“I’ll be down in ten.”
“Uh-huh….”
Half an hour later, as she walks into the kitchen freshly bathed, the sizzling potatoes on a large skillet cause Eve’s mouth to water. Grabbing a plate, she piles on buttermilk biscuits, gravy, and sausage. Turning toward the table, she’s surprised to see a full house. Maggie and West are side by side, already finished but chatting, and across the table is Luca. He’s saved her a seat and eating like his life depends on it. Even while stuffing his face, he’s adorable.
Setting down her plate, she receives overly friendly “hellos” and head nods. Everyone is trying to act normal but failing. Riley or Maggie has obviously given everyone the “don’t treat her any differently” spiel. Losing her appetite, Eve pushes the potatoes and eggs around her plate with her limp fork.
Feeling a hand on her neck, she looks over as Luca wipes his delicious-looking mouth with a napkin. The touch makes it plain to everyone at breakfast that he is staking his claim.
Riley seems unsurprised. He’s aware of all that goes on at Evergreen and has probably already read a report that Eve Abbott had spent the night in Luca Quinn’s room. Fraternization isn’t against the rules as long as it doesn’t get in the way. A small gift to these soldiers, especially when most risked their lives on a daily basis.
Eve looks next to Tate, who shrugs, but continues with his breakfast burrito. Silently giving his approval.
But not everyone is on board.
Sophia’s intense gaze is molten lava, and Eve can tell that she’s ready to erupt at any moment. Their little chat in the ladies’ bathroom probably didn’t help. Lucia, grabbing seconds from the cook, doesn’t seem to share her sister’s indignation. Having her sights set on Rowan, Luca and his love life don’t matter to her.
Rowan. Scanning the room, he isn’t here. But neither is Beth. Both must be already hard at work.
Once breakfast is complete, the warriors make their way to the cave, dividing up into conditioning, hand-to-hand combat, and weapons. Eve is allowed to join in Maggie’s weapons training, but only on an observation level.
Today will be Maggie’s first day working with Rowan with her new solar cells, and even though technically Eve has the day off, she doesn’t want to miss it. She’s relieved when she spots him, whirring a long spear as the Abbott sisters jog to the back area of the mats. Spotting them, Rowan sets his spear back in the stand, and engulfs them both in a big hug.
Eve has never been more relieved.
Maggie goes to stretch, giving Rowan a chance to speak to Eve somewhat privately.
“Hey kid, you hanging in there?”
She nods, her smile somewhat strained.
“Cheer up, Martin will—”
Eve cuts him off.
“I know, Martin will come up with something.”
“At least you have Luca to keep you busy in the meantime.” Rowan tries to pass his words off as a joke, but she can tell he is hurt.
She stutters, “Oh—I, um…” and is about to blurt an apology when Rowan pulls Eve into another warm hug.
“I was joking. Relax. I will take you however I can get you.”
Torn. Eve officially feels herself romantically torn between Luca and Rowan. The two Quinn brothers couldn’t be more different—Rowan, so sweet and solid, his personality never wavering. And then Luca—passionate, wild, and exciting, but unpredictable.
Eve already made her choice the moment she kissed Luca in that club. No one forced her to do so, especially not while Rowan was waiting for her at the bar. Rowan may be right for her in different ways, but for right now, she’s made her decision.
And with a sigh, they join Maggie to stretch on the floor.
Watching Maggie interact with Rowan the next couple of hours is pure torture. They run through a few different weapons before settling on the spear that Rowan was wielding earlier. As the munitions expert, he’d already anticipated what might best suit her.
“Do you remember the ax you were carrying, when the level one attacked back in Saintsville?”
Slightly breathless, Rowan is taking Maggie through the ropes, holding a spear of his own.
Per Rowan’s instruction, they are sparring at 10 percent power. Both sets of tattoos are a dark velvet red.
“Ha. Yeah. Why?” Maggie inquires, thrusting the sharp tip toward his skull, which he deflects.
“I knew then that you just needed something hard that you could hit people with!”
Maggie and Rowan start laughing. Crack, crack, crack, the noise of their spears colliding echoes off the walls.
Taking a short break, Maggie skips over to Eve and kneels
down beside her, grabbing her water bottle and drinking.
“This totally sucks, huh?” Maggie mutters, wiping her face with a towel.
Rowan joins them, his own water bottle in hand. Squatting before them, he slaps Eve’s extended legs playfully.
“I’m sorry. You can still learn a lot, even from just watching.”
Eve sighs, and nods.
“And speaking of watching, we have an extra special treat for you guys later.”
Both sisters perk up.
“What kind of treat?” Eve asks, curious.
“You’ll see….”
Rowan waggles his eyebrows, his enthusiasm barely contained.
Whatever the surprise is, it must be good.
Chapter 32
After dinner, they’re issued tactical gear from the armory. Turns out, the armory is one of the “off limits” buildings across from the main house that the girls have never been in before.
For Eve, this just involves a paper-thin vest that, according to Martin, is ten times stronger than Kevlar. With the vest and her usual uniform, she is good to go.
Maggie is issued a vest as well, which can only mean one thing.
They are going on their first ride-along.
Eve, technically, should be resting, but she is thankful that Riley didn’t take this moment away from her. This mission was no doubt planned days before her body’s rejection of her implants.
Various Zappers—some they know, some unfamiliar—roam around the organized warehouse, packing their artillery of choice.
After months upon months of training, the Abbotts are being thrust into a real-life situation. From the safety of the car, for now, but it’s a start.
Riley thought it best to begin with something easy. They’d discovered a nest via satellite. Three or four smokers, level ones, camped out near a power plant fifty miles away. Apparently, this is a common occurrence. The mutations find the electrical potency irresistible. Their siphoning is a dead giveaway, causing power outages, which the local government then has to cover up, blaming their citizens’ overuse of air conditioning or the unpredictability of the weather.
More of a nuisance than a real threat, the Zappers have orders to exterminate.
Close to six, the sun is setting as Eve and Maggie follow their assigned team to the driveway. Thick cases are being loaded into the Humvees as they divide into separate cars.
Beth’s locks are dyed temporarily pink and rolled into a tight bun on the top of her head. She’s helping Martin pack up the last vehicle, while Tate and Rowan slide various weapons from a rolling cart into custom-built cubbies.
Amongst the small crowd, Eve also spots West, Luca, and unfortunately, Sophia. She is planted firmly in front of Luca, telling him some story about her falling in a hole on their last mutant hunting endeavor and spraining her ankle. His arms are crossed as he listens, but he is polite nonetheless.
Seeing Eve, Luca excuses himself and walks straight toward her.
“Hi,” he utters, a sexy grin parting his lips, before he places those very lips on hers.
Shocked by a second public display of affection, she finally relaxes, but the sound of whistling and clapping causes them to break apart.
The culprits of the heckling are Beth and Tate, the latter of which has been warming up to Eve of late. Long gone are Tate’s death stares and demeaning comments. She and Maggie have somehow earned his respect, and they are no longer his least favorite people on the planet.
Spotting Rowan, Eve’s heart feels a pang.
He smiles at her, but his eyes are strained.
Luca whispers in her ear, “This is going to be fun,” before planting one more quick kiss and motioning for them to get in their respective vehicles.
Assuming they are with Luca, Eve and Maggie climb in first, followed by Sophia and Tate.
The cars start, and they are off.
For their sake, Luca starts to explain the plan, the other Zappers having already been briefed.
They would install a light row—like the one they used back in Saintsville but on a smaller scale—and draw the smokers to them. After they had been blasted, the mutations would be in a weakened state. Then, Luca and the rest would work in pairs to finish them off.
An hour into their drive, the sun had set, leaving them to their task in the darkness. Heading through town and turning off on a rural road near the outskirts, it reminds Eve of the way to their grandmother’s home in Saintsville. Another dirt road, another lake, but this time, they are aware of the danger ahead.
Reaching a tall metal fence with intense barbwire lining the top, the cars halt in front of a gate. Beth hops out of the last car and strolls up to a hanging box mounted on the side. Lifting the lid, she types in a code, inserts a key, and turns.
The gate slides open.
Jogging back, Beth climbs into her Humvee and again they’re off, stirring up copious amounts of dirt on the bumpy road.
“Martin, let me know when,” Luca orders through their cars’ linked intercom. A map is pulled up on a large screen, and Eve can see their three green dots coming closer to one main red circle.
“Another minute. There’s a plateau to the right of the generators,” Martin responds.
Eve feels the frenetic energy. The anticipation of the other hunters. Oddly, she swears that she also feels the power radiating from the industrial buildings that are slowly coming into view.
“Now!” Martin barks, and Luca slams on his brakes. The moment the cars are in park, everyone but Eve and Maggie swarms out, quickly getting to work. Beth and Tate are carrying cases and dropping them ten feet apart. They repeat this until eight are visible on the rubble.
Martin has his tablet in hand, more than likely tracking the movement of the smokers. Making sure they don’t intercept the Zappers before they are ready.
Enthralled, Maggie and Eve watch while Sophia and Tate open each case and remove four-foot-long light panels, with a rototiller-type base attached on the bottom. One at a time, when the lights are lined up, they press a button and the rototiller spins, digging until the panel is firmly ingrained in the dirt.
After all eight are in place, Martin taps his tablet, and the panels rise into the air, turning to face the direction of the power plant generators.
A quick test, a tiny flash, and a thumbs-up from Martin.
“I want to be out there!” Maggie pouts, spotting West assembling a nasty-looking gun. Eve can tell Maggie’s also concerned. Her little sister knows that West does this sort of thing all the time, but it’s one thing to hear about it from him, and another to have a front-row seat.
“I would be no use out there. But you’re kind of terrifying with that spear….”
“I know, right?!” Maggie agrees. “It’s a shame.”
The Zappers are ready to move in.
Heading stealthily away from the Humvees, Luca is in the lead. He starts to jog, and the others closely follow, fanning out. Only Martin stays behind, as he unhurriedly walks over to Eve and Maggie.
Throwing open the driver’s side, he enters a code into the keypad, and the map switches to a live view from Luca’s bodycam. Eve and Maggie lean forward in unison, neither of them breathing as they see his unit slowing to a walk, and then to a stop.
“Thought you might want to watch,” Martin states as he climbs back down, shuts the door, and moves to stand near the light panels.
Luca makes some sort of hand signal, and Rowan fires off a blazing arrow into a dark space between two buildings. It embeds in the tin siding, and unearthly shrieks ring out in response.
“Oh, this is not good.”
Maggie grabs Eve’s leg, squeezing hard. Luca motions, and Rowan fires one more arrow, this time directly into a utility pole above. The sky is briefly illuminated as they see two dark masses attached to the cables. Flash. The smokers drop to the ground. Flash. They charge directly at the waiting Zappers.
“Run! Oh my god, run!” Eve shrieks. She feels the thrum of power surroundi
ng her as her skin starts to heat. The interior of the car seems to be closing in. Eve feels like she is suffocating, but she can’t look away.
And run they do. Luca, stopping to let the others pass, swiftly pulls up his rifle and fires off several rounds, striking a level one in the front. Now, five smokers in total—the three in back that were starting to lose interest shriek at Luca in anger, joining their fellow mutations in their chase.
“Get out of there!” Eve bellows, slapping the front seat in agitation, perspiration pooling on her skin and soaking her bangs.
“Eve…are you okay?” Maggie asks, alarmed by Eve’s current state. Even more so than her “kind of, but not official” boyfriend currently running for his life.
She doesn’t respond as Luca and the rest round the corner. The sisters no longer need to watch the screen to see what’s happening. The Zappers are full-out sprinting, occasionally firing a gun, shooting an arrow, further angering the already-enraged monsters. Their fog-like tentacles dart out, attempting to grab their prey, until one catches Beth around the ankle and pulls.
Eve and Maggie gasp in horror as Beth flies backwards, being engulfed by one of the monsters.
“Martin, now!” Luca roars, and Eve and Maggie duck, shielding their eyes. They count to five, per their training, and look back to their comrades, needing to see how this ends.
Chaos. All hell has broken loose.
They see Beth still alive, but her skin is covered in burns. Her red tattoos gleam as she flings a kind of rope with a hook on the end, wrapping it several times around the mutant that had attacked her, rendering it immobile. Pulling hard, the rope flashes and the smoker screams, while Tate moves in with his saws and finishes it.
At the same time, Sophia and another Zapper dart in and out, inflicting several cuts with their flaming blades, taking out another smoker.
With his rifle, Luca must have taken out another—but the sisters missed it, only spotting him running away from a smoking pile of ash.
Three down, and two to go.
And the last two are no match for West. Eve hadn’t previously seen the weapon strapped to his back, with a sort of hose attached to his right arm. The nozzle extends well beyond his hand, and electrified flames rip outwards, lighting the two level ones on fire.
Saintsville Page 16
