War

by R. S. Broadhead

Threads of emotions rushed over me. I wanted to fall into him. Tell him I had no idea what I was doing and let him tell me everything was okay. He had been there for me when I had no one else. I knew him. The memories hit me like bullets. His voice strong yet sad as he sang to me in my room that night. The way his lips felt on mine before I went into that cave. The way his body moved with mine as we danced.

  I swallowed. “I was um — looking for a way to Devil’s Den.” I held his gaze not wanting to look away. “Guess it wasn’t the smartest thing though.”

  He reached up and cupped my chin. “I think you’re doing perfect. This isn’t easy shit to come back to.” He licked his lips. My heart sped up. No matter my confusion on things between us, I couldn’t deny my feelings for him. “Calm down, Reese. Focus. Be the badass girl that beat the hell out of my boys.” With his other hand, he lifted my wrist and traced the tattoo with his thumb. “You’re ready for this.”

  “Am I interrupting something?” Shayla’s voice called out from behind us.

  I pulled back from Harley but didn’t look away. “Just looking for a way to Devil’s Den.” The corners of his mouth curled up. I followed suit, feeling my skin start to warm.

  “That asshole Hollywood said there was a room full of Jeeps inside,” she said, stopping a few feet away.

  I blinked at her. “Sure.”

  Her brows furrowed. “Sure what?” With a balled fist, she playfully reached out and gently knocked on the top of my head. “Hello? Any thoughts in there that make sense?” Her eyes flicked in Harley’s direction. “Or has he completely melted them into a puddle of horny daydreams?”

  I jerked back, swatting her hand away. “Tell Savannah to bring one out here. We need to get moving,” I said, the coldness of my tone returning.

  She laughed without humor, clearly still on edge around me. Her legs snapped together as one hand went to her forehead to salute me. “Yes, sir.”

  I shook my head.

  She sauntered back inside, leaving us alone once more.

  “I don’t know how we’re going to get anything done,” I said more to myself than to Harley. I stared into the darkness, not wanting to meet the gaze I could feel burning into me.

  “Reese…” he started.

  I squirmed. I was not ready to have this talk. The way he said my name, I knew what was coming. The subject of us was the last thing I could bear to think about right now.

  The roar of an engine drowned the rest of his words. Headlights blinded us. I shielded my eyes with my arm. Never had I been more thankful to see a Jeep. It stopped near us, the engine purring perfectly to match the slick black paint. The window rolled down and Savannah poked her head through the opening.

  She winked. “Need a ride? I like it when hot blondes let me cart them around.” Wagging her brows, she puckered her lips and blew a kiss my way.

  Without answering, I snatched the handle up and flung open the door. “I’m driving.”

  Her mouth dropped. “Huh?”

  I nodded, offering her a fake bright smile. “You heard me. Now get in the back with Lance.” I turned to look at him. “Speaking of which, are you even able to make this trip? Your legs look like shit.”

  His lips pulled into a tight line. “I’ll manage.”

  I didn’t argue. If he thought he could carry his own weight, so be it. But he wouldn’t hold us back, and if needed, I would leave him behind. It was a bitch thing to do, but I couldn’t risk endangering everyone because he was too prideful to admit he needed to sit something out. “Whatever.” I motioned for Savannah to hurry and earned an ugly expression.

  She meagerly hopped out and went to the back door.

  “Don’t think I’m getting in the back for him to ride up here with you,” Shayla said. Her face was stone cold serious. She eyed Harley and pointed to the back by shifting her head in that direction.

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. She did just as I thought she would. I wanted Harley in the back. If he was in the back he couldn’t continue with the conversation he’d tried to start. Although I wasn’t sure he’d do it in front of them, I couldn’t take that chance.

  I climbed in the driver’s seat and wrapped my hands around the smooth leather steering wheel. It felt like forever since I had gotten a chance to drive anything. I had to admit for the enemy, they had good taste in transportation. I shut the door and shifted it into first gear.

  “So what exactly is the plan when we get to Devil’s Den?” Shayla asked, shifting from side to side in the seat. “You know, since we didn’t get to discuss it in there with everyone getting so nosey. I mean, I know we’re the cool group, but damn. They had a job to do, and it didn’t involve poking their noses in our business.”

  We jumped a few sand dunes, going airborne before slamming back down on the ground. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. What a rush.

  “Not really sure yet. I guess take a good look around. See if we can find anything out of the ordinary to give us some kind of hint on where that thing took Abby.” My lips pressed together. I was trying to remain positive that we would find her alive and well, but my doubts punched major holes in that hope.

  The Jeep entered the woods, traveling down a beat up path, climbing over fallen trees. It wasn’t long before glowing light from streetlights covered the sky. I tore out onto the main road, the tires sliding across the asphalt sending loose pieces of the earth pinging against the metal framework.

  “You sure you don’t need me to take over?” Savannah asked.

  I glanced in the rearview mirror to find her arms stretched wide, gripping whatever she could to fortify her position.

  “Nope.” I choked back a laugh by pressing my lips together and focusing on the road.

  We sped through traffic, changing lanes and rapidly closing in the distance to our destination. The more miles we covered, the harder it was for me to ignore the unsettled feeling within me. I tried to forget that we were heading back to a place that held horrible memories for every one of us and enjoy the ride. It had been a long time since I got to drive. It felt good. Normal.

  I looked in the mirror once more and caught sight of Harley. His chin rested on the palm of his hand. He stared out the window. I couldn’t help but wonder how he must feel being in the car with people he didn’t know. Well, except for me.

  “Psst,” Shayla hissed. She jerked her thumb in his direction. “What’s the story? You know I’m nosey. I want to know the juice.”

  Hitting the blinker with my finger, I cut the wheel to the right. “There’s no story there.” The fact was I didn’t even know what to tell her if I wanted to. Things had happened, but once my memories came back, I wasn’t sure if I felt the same.

  She settled back. “I call bullshit. I know I’ll get it out of you. You forget that we’ve been friends forever? I have my ways.”

  My brow arched. “Oh yeah? And what ways might that be?”

  “Alcohol.”

  “Don’t think now is the time for a night on the town to drink like we use to.” The nose of the Jeep dipped low as we started to descend the steep drive to Devil’s Den.

  “Who says we have to go out to drink? We could get a little nip-nip late one night when we don’t have anything going on. Just saying.” She fell silent as the rundown building loomed in front of us.

  I slid the Jeep into park, but remained stoic to take in the sight of the place. The roof still had damage from Harley and his guys crashing through to help us fight the Depo Demons. We would have died that day if it wasn’t for them. I looked up, meeting eyes with him in the mirror. He gave me a half-smile before a wink. Heat burned my cheeks.

  “Umhmm. Bullshit,” Shayla hissed, snatching the door handle and then stepping outside.

  I climbed out and walked to the front of the vehicle. I stopped beside Shayla, who had her hands resting on her hips, staring up at the building standing ominously close.

  “Does anyone else hate this place?” she asked.

  “More than
I thought possible to hate anything,” Lance said.

  “I think our scars will always remind us to hate this place,” Savannah chipped in.

  Harley and I exchanged glances.

  “What happened to you guys here?” he asked.

  “Torture. That’s what happened, bro. The worse kind I’ve ever been through. Probably would’ve died if Shayla hadn’t gotten free,” Lance mumbled.

  My skin pebbled on instinct as I stared at the shitty building. Despite not being there during what he was recalling, I could feel the memory’s impurity sinking its venomous claws into my flesh. This place should have been burned to the ground. There was nothing good here. I took a hasty step in the direction of the doorway, careful to avoid glass scattered over the dying grass.

  “Not sure about any of you, but the sooner I can get away from this place the better,” I called over my shoulder.

  Shayla chuckled, appearing at my side to match my stride. “I think you read my mind.”

  I entered the building, and the unwanted feelings of being inside hit me with a vengeance. The room was silent. I found some solace in that. At least we were the only ones here. Or at least it appeared to be that way. “So where were you when she disappeared? And where was the spike in the impulses?”

  A frown creased her forehead as she took a quick look around. “She disappeared downstairs. The spike was found upstairs though.” Squeezing her eyes shut briefly, she mumbled something under her breath, too low for me to hear. “Don’t say we’re splitting up. That was a bad idea last time, and I’m not doing it again.” She cast a sideways glance at me.

  I pressed my lips together and gave her a curt nod. I knew I was doing good to get them to come back to this place, so any request they had I would honor. “Where should we start? Top or bottom?”

  “Bottom. Both are important, but getting Abby back tops my list at the moment.”

  “Agreed. Are you okay to lead the way?”

  She didn’t look at me. Her gaze was fixed on an opening near the back of the room. I took a step toward her, thinking it was going to be too hard for her to go back down there.

  “I’m okay.”

  I followed behind as she carefully maneuvered over the debris and reached a ladder going below us. With a deep breath, she looked over to Lance and Savannah. The three of them shared some sort of moment for a second before she lowered herself into the opening.

  I gripped the cool metal and slowly climbed down. The air was pungent, the smell of blood making my stomach queasy. Shayla found a place by the wall and huddled there. I pressed forward, peering into what appeared to be holding cells. Each room was covered in crimson. It stained the floors, the walls, and the utensils. I discovered decaying chunks of flesh, teeth, and clots of hair in my search for any type of lead. But there was nothing, only the remnants of an awful torture scene.

  “Guess we’ll head upstairs,” I said once I was done looking everything over twice. My jaw locked as I wracked my brain for any other thing I could do to find Abby. I was really hoping I would find something here.

  We made it to the top floor and stopped dead in our tracks at what we saw before us. Several feelings hit me at once. Fear, wonder, and anger all competed over which would take precedent. I was staring at a visible, opened portal. It was no longer hidden. It was before us, for anyone or anything to find.

  “This wasn’t here before!” Shayla screamed. She studied it for a moment with her mouth hung wide. One hand touched her forehead and then went to her heaving chest. “They fucking did it. It’s open, and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

  Nervousness ate away at my insides. She’d voiced what I already knew. There was no telling how many Valk they had already brought over. “The entire fight at Rad Cliff was a distraction.” I felt sick. We were all at the place where Dermetheus wanted us. He was willing to sacrifice a few to get thousands. We played right into his game. This entire time he was always one step ahead of us.

  “What are we going to do?” Lance asked, coming forward for a closer look.

  I stared at the black circle. “Kill what comes out.”

  5

  Harley

  Reese didn’t say anything to me when we pulled back up at what I assumed they were now referring to as the training facility. She merely jumped out the driver’s side, slammed the door, and darted inside the building without looking back. A soft movement to my left made me keenly aware that someone had stopped near me.

  “She’s always been a hard one to tame. Her and Steele beat around the damn bush for months before anything happened.” Shayla walked closer and tucked her chin to her chest as a chilly breeze swept sand in our direction. “Both of them were idiots, though, fighting something they both knew they wanted.”

  The conversation stirred something ugly within me. Jealousy. My stomach lurched. There was another feeling there too. Guilt. I was jealous of what a dead guy’d had with the girl I was in love with, and I felt guilty for hating someone who had obviously died to save her. I was some kind of dick.

  “At least you know.”

  I stared at her, struck mute. I swore silently and leaned against the Jeep. Blinking rapidly, I took in the starry night. It had to be near midnight by now, yet sleep was the last thing I wanted to do. There was no way I would be able to get her and the way she was acting out of my mind. “Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t seem to be doing me any good,” I finally said, swallowing the bitter truth.

  Her lips turned downward and her brows furrowed. “Reese hasn’t had the best luck when it comes to relationships. The first guy decided he was madly in love with a fucking bitch and the second, well, you know. If all that happened to you, wouldn’t you be a little on edge about taking the leap again?”

  “I guess so. I just wish she’d talk to me about it and tell me where we stand.” I turned my head a fraction to look down at the girl next to me. She merely shrugged and trekked toward the door Reese had disappeared through moments before. After she left me alone, I kicked the ground becoming more aware of how agitated about this I had grown.

  The wolves stirred, begging for release. Before departing for Devil’s Den, they had reattached themselves to my skin. Having them in case we needed back up was crucial in my opinion. They hated when I felt this way. It made them want to run. I didn’t blame them. Anything was better than having to share this with me.

  Closing my lids, I granted them the escape they craved. Within seconds, without seeing them, I could feel their large dominating presence around me. Gamick leaned down, his snout grazing my arm, before he whimpered. I threaded my fingers through his rough mane. “I’ll be okay, boy. No need to worry about me. Now go have some fun under the moon.”

  The three beasts didn’t need to be told twice. As a group, they tore off toward the woods. Howls pierced the silent night until they were out of sight. I took a deep breath and clasped my hands together. Somehow, even though they felt like lead, I forced my feet to carry me into the building. The hallway was empty like I wanted it to be. Conversing was the last thing I wanted to do right now. Rounding the corner, I wandered down the corridor, only stopping a second at each door long enough to assess if it was a free bedroom. I finally found one after a thirty-minute hunt.

  Without bothering to turn on the light, I crossed the room and sprawled over the surprisingly comfortable mattress, leaving my feet dangling on the floor. A hint of light seeped into the room from the hall, dimly lighting the tiles across the ceiling, which I started to count.

  One. Two. Three.

  A flash of Reese twirling in front of me appeared. Blond hair flew through the air before clinging against her sweaty skin. Her lips parted, and one side disappeared as she dragged her teeth across it, staring back at me.

  Wincing, I shook the memory from my mind.

  Four. Five. Six.

  She leaned over the bed, coming so close that I could smell her sweet scent. Intently, she watched my fingers dance over the strings of the guitar as I sang
to her. Her face looked at peace. All of the worry, pressure, and fear were gone.

  Seven. Eight. Nine.

  She looked up at me through strands of hair that had fallen over her perfect bone structure. Her eyes were filled with a hunger that only I could fill. Licking my lips, I relished in the way she tasted on them. My palms itched to press against her skin once more, to feel the warmth at my fingertips.

  I bolted upright, becoming aware that I had now earned an unwanted visitor from those memories. “Fuck.” I shifted my pants that were becoming increasingly tight in the crotch. This was no use. I was obviously shitty at keeping myself from thinking about her. A distraction was what I needed. I leaped off the bed, crossed the room, and went back out into the hallway. After walking around the building what felt like at least five times and avoiding dozens of new faces that appeared to be reconstructing the area, I finally ventured outside.

  “Come on, Zeke. You’ve done this a thousand times before. Why you having such a hard time now?” Freeman asked. He sat crossed legged on the ground with a beer between his large fingers. He put the can to his mouth and drained the remaining contents, then tossed it over his shoulder.

  “Guess because it’s been so long since I’ve had to do it. Shit. How could I forget how to raise the dead?” Zeke swiped a band of sweat from his forehead using his forearm. He stared down at the dead Valk in front of him.

  The closer I got, some of the tension leaked out of my neck and shoulders. This was exactly what I needed. These two doing something dumb as hell to make me laugh.

  Freeman looked in my direction as he pulled out another beer from a backpack lying beside him. I knew it well. He called it his booze pack. Most times he never left home without it. “Harley! Didn’t know you guys had made it back.” He tossed me a can, which I caught easily. “Did you check out the packed house in there? Fuzz has recruited a shit ton of people to redo this place. Even as a medical crew on hand in case we need it.”

  “I was wondering who all those guys were.” I dropped down beside him and cracked the can open. “So what’s the deal here?” I asked, using my thumb to point in Zeke’s direction.