by Cameo Renae
“Who?” Worry filled his eyes.
“Sergeant Hawkins was leading them. They had Chase and Dr. Simon with them too. The rest of the soldiers were Stevens, Jimenez, Keanu, and Jones. They’d lost a few before I came into contact with them. Do you know them?”
Finn’s eyes focused on the flames. “Sergeant Hawkins? Yeah, I know him. That guy is a real asshole. A play-by-the-book soldier. The only one I remember is the big Hawaiian guy,” he said.
“Keanu?” I asked.
“Yeah. I don’t think there is another person in the bunker with his name or his tattoos.”
“Guess what?” I said, trying to sound energetic, which only came off as pathetic.
“What?” He turned toward me.
“We found a girl, Danielle. She was bitten by an Arvy but didn’t mutate. We’re hopeful they can find a cure.”
“Where is she?”
“She went with the others back to the bunker.”
His eyes narrowed. “And they left you alone?” he snapped.
“I ordered them to leave me behind. I told them they’d have to kill me before I went back to the bunker.”
“And Sergeant Hawkins allowed this?”
“Yes. I guess he felt obligated to let me go because I saved their lives, multiple times. But, he did warn me that if I ever run into him again, he won’t be as accommodating.”
A large smile grew on his lips. “You saved their lives?”
I nodded, closing my eyes. “I’ll show you how when I’m stronger.”
He chuckled, so I opened one eye. “What?”
“Nothing,” he breathed, shaking his head. “You are a mystery, Abigail Park. I don’t know if I’ll ever know everything about you.”
I yawned. “Nah, I’m pretty boring.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughed. “Do you need anything to help you sleep?”
“Do you have anything for pain?”
“I do.” He carefully lifted my head from his lap and scooted out, replacing it with a rolled up blanket. From his pack, he pulled a bottle and shook two pills from it, then returned to my side with the canteen.
“You’re my hero, Finn Armstrong,” I exhaled loudly.
“I’m your fiancé,” he corrected. “And your best friend. But I’ll take hero too.” He shrugged. “And now, I’m your practicing doctor and am ordering you to rest.”
I raised my hand to my forehead and saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
He barked out a laugh, and the sound of laughter filled me with a warmth and happiness I’d almost forgotten existed. Something only he could give me.
He set his pack on the ground next to me, then lay down, wrapping his arm over me. I’d never felt safer or more secure, knowing Finn would never allow anything to hurt me. As much as I wanted to stay awake and talk, I was still too weak.
Pulling his arm tighter around me, I closed my heavy eyes and let his steady breath lull me to sleep.
I AWOKE IN A SMALL room filled with light. It was a shed of sorts and completely hollowed out. Leading me to believe Billy must have ransacked it on his last scavenger hunt.
Finn was standing at the door looking outside. I remained quiet, admiring his tall, muscular frame. His left arm was resting against the doorway, the other holding the door open. The sun streaming in over his dark hair made it look lighter. He was perfection.
I tried to sit up but was still too weak. I immediately noticed a bandage professionally wound around my arm. It didn’t surprise me. Finn was a perfectionist. Everything he did, he did to the best of his ability. He never half-assed anything.
“Hey,” he said, noticing me. A bright smile widened on his lips. “You just wake up?”
I grinned. “I’ve been up for a few minutes, admiring the view.” He rolled his eyes and grinned. “I’m impressed at your bandaging skills. I feel like I should be calling you doctor.”
“You can call me whatever you like.” He winked at me. “I changed your dressing when I woke up a few hours ago. You should be good for a while.”
“We shouldn’t stay here too long. We need to find Grammy.” I finally stood on wobbly legs.
He closed the door and walked over to me, pulling me into a hug. I’d missed the feeling of being wrapped in his arms.
“Billy gave me a can of gasoline. I’m not sure how far it will get us, but I know we’ll still have a long way to walk.”
“It’ll cut miles off our journey though. And…” I looked up and smiled at him. “I have you now.”
“Yeah, unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with me.”
“I’m fine with that,” I replied.
He rested his forehead against mine. “No more running.”
“No. No more running,” I repeated, pressing my lips against his.
His hand clasped around the back of my neck, his lips covering mine. The kiss grew desperate and deepened. When we finally separated my world was spinning, but I remained stable in his arms.
“How are you feeling?” he whispered, placing soft kisses on my cheek.
“Still weak, but my arm feels a lot better. Not as throbby as it was last night.”
“That’s good,” he breathed. “And it wasn’t last night. It was a couple nights ago.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been asleep for two days.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Yep, and you needed it,” he replied. His big brown eyes locked onto mine. “When I found you, you barely had a pulse, and I thought I was going to lose you.” His emotions got the best of him. He tried to turn away, but I held on, locking my arms around his waist. His eyes closed. He couldn’t look at me. “I don’t know what I would have done if you were gone. Just the thought scares the hell out of me. I don’t ever want to feel that again.”
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed. “Now you know how I felt when I found you in that building, laying on the ground, on the brink of death.”
He shook his head, and a crooked grin rose on his lips. “You saved me.”
“And now, you saved me,” I said, pulling his lips back to mine.
“Let’s not put each other in that position again. From now on, we stick together.”
“Longer than forever,” I said. He laughed, and it filled my heart.
“We make one hell of a team,” he said, holding his hand up to me.
“An unstoppable team.” I high-fived him, and he held on. “We should be leaving. The sun is starting to set.”
“If you’re up for it, I’ve already packed our things.”
“I’ve never been more ready,” I said, slowly getting up.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“When I found you on the ground, covered in blood, I couldn’t help but notice the hundreds of Arvies scattered about.” He lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “Did you kill them?”
“Not all of them,” I answered. “The soldiers shot some on their way back to the bunker.”
“But there were at least a few hundred closer to you.” There was a gleam in his eye, like he was proud and wanted to hear it from my own lips that I’d killed them. “Was it like what you did in the bunker?”
I nodded, quickly overwhelmed with emotion.
“There is a power inside of me I can’t control, and it terrifies me.”
He pulled me into his space, enclosing me back into his arms.
“It almost killed me, Finn.”
“I won’t let it kill you,” he promised.
“You don’t understand,” I sobbed. “Once it’s released, it can’t be restrained. Every time I use it, it gets stronger, feeding off me. I don’t think I’ll survive the next time.”
“Then we won’t use it,” he said. “We’ll find a way to survive without it, and make sure the government doesn’t find you.” I nodded, a sobbing mess in his arms. “We’ll do this together. All right?”
“All right,” I exhaled. He offered me his arm and escorted me out the door. I paused, l
ooking out at the vast desert ahead of us.
He laced his fingers with mine and squeezed my hand. “We didn’t come this far to die. We left our families behind to find a better place. A safe place where they can live in peace.”
“Do you think there’s such a place?” I asked.
“I do. And I believe that if anyone can find it, we can.”
He whisked me into his arms, kissed me quick, and carried me to the bike.
I couldn’t believe he was here. That this wasn’t a dream. Destiny had brought him back to me, righting my wrong. It was Finn and me, as it should have been from the very beginning.
I didn’t know what waited for us beyond the seemingly endless barren desert, but at this moment, I didn’t care.
He took hold of my hand and squeezed. “You ready?”
“With you? Always,” I said.
He smiled and started up the bike. We rode off into the sunset, toward a place beyond where our eyes could see; a place we could maybe one day, call home.
To all these amazing people who made this book happen:
Publisher: Sarah Davis of CHBB Publishing
Editor: Victoria Rae Schmitz of Crimson Tide Editorial
Cover designer: Regina Wamba of Mae I Design
Book designer: Nadege Richards of Inkstain Interior Book Designing
Beta readers: Kimberly Belden, Jennifer Jimmerson, Karla Bostic, Candis Harris, Lacey LaMountain
My awesome PA: Amber Garcia
Danielle Rose Fordor: A member of my Street Team and winner of a giveaway to have her name in this book.
She inspired me to write a crazy, yet beautiful character for this part of the After Light adventure.