by Faulks, Kim
My damn fingers trembled, hand shaking like I’d injected a vial of adrenaline as I fumbled for the door and closed it behind me.
Stupid…goddamnit…you’re acting like a damn kid…I leaned against the doorframe as the hiss of the water came from inside.
Heat lashed my chest and spilled through my body. I gripped the doorframe as the image of her filled my mind.
I’d never given myself to anyone. It just never felt right. Like I’d be cheating, not just Oleander, but to the woman I took to my bed. They deserved more…but now that she was here…
Now she was right there…desire raised its head and demanded to be heard. I shoved away from the door and made for the bedroom. Throwing the blanket aside, until the shower ended, and minutes later the door opened.
Dark circles made her look hollow and pasty. I motioned to the bed, and she shook her head. “I feel like I’ve slept for a damn week.”
Her belly gave a tiny snarl as she looked toward the kitchen. “Is there still food or did you guys inhale it all?”
I smiled at her snark. “You’d be damn lucky if there was. I know why Texas has the biggest production of cattle in the US. It’s all because of Tex. That man would eat a horse and chase the rider.”
Pale lips flattened, and curled at the edges. She tried to smother the smile, but the damn thing couldn’t be contained. She was awkward, the way we were all awkward. Rejected and hurt at every damn opportunity.
“Don’t do that,” I murmured and took a step closer. She never flinched as I reached out and ran a finger along her jaw, lifting her face toward me. “Don’t hide yourself, not from us…”
Sparks danced in her gaze, igniting and exploding like fireworks on the fourth of July. She turned her head, lips grazing my palm.
Glass shattered inside me. I took a step, drawn by this woman and lowered my head. Soft lips met mine, brushing, pressing. She opened her mouth just a little as I kissed her gently. I slid my hand around her neck and let her take the lead.
She lifted her head, and pulled me closer. She tasted of toothpaste, and fragility. Her hands skirted my arm, then my shoulder and pressed against my chest, right over my wound.
I closed my eyes and gave in, spilling all the way over, and when she broke away I opened my eyes to stare into hers. I’d fought my entire life. Fought the nightmares, fought my family…fought insurgents.
But I couldn’t fight her…not even if I wanted to, and I knew she felt the same.
Someone cleared their throat, drawing our gaze. Tex stepped closer, followed by Shadow. “I guess this a good time for proper introductions. I’m Tex.” He lifted his hand toward her.
“Fire,” she murmured and moved closer, bypassing his hand to reach for him.
He curled his spine, bowing down until she wound her arms around his neck. The kiss was soft, and chaste. I watched her with him, watched her hand run down his arm and grasp his palm. She broke away from his lips to kiss his palm. Marking with desire alone.
“Shadow,” came the soft voice behind the towering red-head.
She dropped Tex’s hand and he stepped aside, leaving Shadow to move closer. “The car,” she murmured and reached for him.
His breath caught, eyes flared wide for a second before she wound her arms around him. He was the perfect height for her, a little taller, sliding his arms around her waist as she lifted her head.
He kissed her harder, spreading his hand against the curve of her back as she clung to him. There was no awkwardness, and no fear. We’d known each other our entire lives, and somewhere inside I knew we’d be together for rest as well.
She broke away and stared up at him. “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
A smile broke out on his face, stretching wider as he cocked his head. “Of course, it is.”
“You’re so full of yourself,” Tex muttered and then made for the kitchen. “I heard you say food, and it just so happens I can cook the best damn eggs you’ve ever tasted.”
“Shell and all,” Shadow muttered and lunged sideways as Tex gave a playful swipe.
She made for the fridge and grabbed an open bottle of electrolytes before watching the show we put on for her. She’d breathed life into us. There was laughter, chatter, bad jokes and lots of smiles as Tex cooked and scraped a pile of fluffy eggs onto a plate. “There you go, better than the finest diner.”
Her smile wavered with the word…and a darkness slipped into her eyes before she shoved it down, and that energy inside me pushed to the surface.
Peeling paint, dirty windows of a diner that stood on the side of an empty highway. The wind roared across the flats just like it had in Afghanistan. But this was a cold and bitter wind, stealing my warmth and burning my skin.
I turned my head to a dirty white van parked outside. The side door open, darkness inside. It waited in there…the beast…
Hungry…
Always hungry…
Tick…tick…tick…
I jerked, and tore free from the image. Tex stood in the kitchen, the plate of piled eggs in his hands as he held them toward her.
I could see it now…what waited in the darkness…what waited in memories trapped in her mind.
Bloated face…blood filled eyes, bits of scrambled egg glistening all over him as a little girl whimpered and heaved. The body lay inside a van…I could hear her sobbing, see her clutching her belly, fists digging deep into the hollow of her middle. It was a memory…a memory of what’d she’d done.
Just reach inside, the voice of a man came to life. Fuck you’re pretty…I looked at him then, knew what he wanted, what he’d done, and what she’d done to him to survive.
The eggs…all the eggs burning in my belly…burning because of the beast. I did that…just a beast…a monster…ugly…ugly…UGLY…
“No eggs,” I murmured and lifted my gaze to Tex. “No eggs ever.”
There was a flare inside his eyes, a connection that raged between him and me, between all three of us. Both Tex and Shadow gave a nod and the Texan turned and shoved the plate of eggs aside. “I gotta be honest, the eggs are pretty crappy actually. But I make the best pancakes God ever put breath into, especially if they come in those little shaker bottles…”
He grabbed the pan, and ran out under the tap in the sink. A quick wipe and it was back on the stove.
“I just so happen to have one of those,” Shadow chimed in, stealing the conversation as he gave her a wink and opened a cupboard door. “Maybe I’m the one with the sixth sense.”
Oleander fought the past, forcing a little smile at his words. A war erupted in this tiny kitchen as Tex caught the curl of her lips. One warrior was pitted against the other, and the prize was her smile.
“You,” Tex growled and pointed the flip at Shadow. “Are getting all the burned bits on the side.”
Shadow gave a shrug, muttering something that made her bark hard with laughter. I slipped away from them. I was here, but not here, lost in my thoughts. Lost in trying to make the next tactical move.
We couldn’t go after Pryor, not like this—so we had to run…
But run where?
A tremor raced, heart sped. My body knew when she neared before my head caught up. It was just so damn automatic with her…so damn good. She lifted her hand, palm turned toward me, fingers caressing my cheek. I let her touch me.
“You don’t have to take it all on, you know,” she murmured. “I’m getting stronger now. I can run, I can fight.”
But that was the point, we were here because she didn’t need to run, not anymore. “We need a plan first.”
Tex was busy, flipping, and sliding pancakes onto a plate as Shadow watched, but we were all thinking, trying to come up with a plan that didn’t have us running from one city to another.
The field called me, hovering somewhere in my dreams. That was where we were destined…in that perfect field of tall grass.
“I have a plan.” Oleander dropped her hand from my cheek. “I need to go somewhere…alon
e.”
I flinched at the word, head shaking as Shadow muttered, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I remembered someone, when I was in there, when I was…when they injected me. It was a doctor, someone I think can give us the information we need.”
“What doctor?” Shadow growled. “I saw lots of those bastards. They wouldn’t help us then, why would they help us now?”
“No, there was…” Her words trailed off as she thought. “One doctor I remembered, Chris Bishop. I saw him, before they locked me in that place. I saw him a lot. He was kind to me. I think he even liked me. I think he’s the one that can help us.”
And the more she talked the more convinced she sounded.
“Pryor will be coming. You didn’t see him…not like I saw him. He won’t stop, not until he gets what he wants.”
What he wanted was her. Bloody, bleeding, drugged.
Power is power…especially with someone like her.
“I know someone who can help us find him,” she answered. “But he’s gonna freak the fuck out if we all go charging in there. He’s already been threatened by Maddox, and if he sees anyone other than me, he’s gonna run.”
“Then we don’t let him see,” Shadow answered her and lifted his gaze to mine. I knew what he was thinking before he said the words. “No one’s going to see me at all.”
I glanced to the morning sun streaming through the front windows. We had time. Time to plan, time to rest. Time to make sure she was okay before we had to run. I had a feeling that once we started, we’d not be stopping.
Not for a long time.
“Where?” I murmured. “You tell me who, where and when and we’ll make a plan.”
“His name is Harvey,” she answered, giving us all the details about this guy. A hacker who worked for Maddox, and Pryor.
And the more she talked about how this guy tried to warn her, the more I realized he’d probably been the only true friend she’d ever had…except for us.
I could see her mind ticking over as she finished with, “So, if he can find this doctor, then we’d get the answers we needed. He’s an asset, a real asset.”
I thought of Gready, his father and now Pryor, and glanced to Tex who raised one brow.
It’s the damn government, I’m tellin’ you, his words echoed back to me. They want us dead, or damaged, and far away from the girl with the purple hair…now, ask yourself why.
“So I’m going,” she growled. “With or without you.”
“Not alone.” I met her gaze. “Not anymore. Shadow will go with you, and we’ll be close. If they know Harvey is a friend they’ll be all over him.”
Purple strands fluttered as she shook her head. “He works for them, so why would they hurt him?”
It was simple…because they would do anything to get her back.
She lifted a hand and smothered a yawn.
“Eat, and then sleep,” Tex ordered and lifted the plate of pancakes.
She grabbed one, tore it into pieces and slipped it into her mouth. “Tonight,” she muttered, covering her mouth as she chewed and talked. “He’ll be there until late, and no one will see us.”
“Damn right they won’t.” Shadow reached out, grabbed a pancake and piled a heap of eggs into the middle.
“That’s just gross,” Tex muttered and winced as Shadow took a bite of the mess and grinned.
“Okay,” I answered. “We stay here until tonight. But by morning we’re gone.”
“By the morning.” She swallowed and then fought a yawn.
“These are going into the fridge for later.” Tex lifted the plate and made for the fridge. “Right now, you need to sleep.”
She shook her head. “I’m good.”
“I’m going to,” I murmured. “If you wanted to lay beside me.”
She stilled, and then slowly turned her head. “Okay.”
I made for the bedroom, stepped around the far side, and pulled down the comforter and the sheet, then went around to the side closest to the door.
Muffled voices came from the kitchen before she followed and slipped between the sheets. Her eyes were already closing as I eased down on top of the covers and lifted my arm.
She turned, lifted her head for me to slip my arm underneath. A heartbeat was all it took for her breaths to turn slow and rhythmic.
I dropped my other hand down beside me, to the butt of my rifle.
No one was coming for her…not today…not anyway.
I glanced at the doorway listening to Shadow and Tex move around—whoever did come, the three of us would meet them first—head on, and to the very end.
Chapter Fifteen
Oleander
An ocean of grass taunted me, hovering just out of reach.
I could see it so clearly now. Seeded tips whipped back and forth in the wind and the entire field swayed.
A wind that had bite and carried the bitter scent of ozone.
Dark clouds moved from the edge of the horizon, sweeping in fast to choke the warm rays of the sun with a moody fist.
Thunder rumbled, sending vibrations through the air.
From the black and blue came a slash of lightning. The first glare barely stabbing through the sullen cloud…before it disappeared.
But the storm wasn’t finished.
Another bolt followed, bold and strong, severing the sky. Blue melted into the strike, carving along the jagged edge as it hit the ground at the far edge of the field.
The hairs on my arms rose as that whisper of other, swept through me. I blinked into the glare before it ebbed, and for a second the dark outline of a woman stood in the glow.
A woman who lifted her hand…
A woman who called to me…
Then the glare was gone again, melting away into nothing.
But she stayed with me, that darkened woman in the glow of the strike—haunting…
My heart thundered, the sound filling my head as I cracked open my eyes. Soft snores came from a male beside me. I flinched and jerked my hand from across his chest, before the past settled deep.
Sixth.
Shadow.
Tex…
Swollen red lines around my wrists covered the bruising.
Deep purple seeped out from the edges…the rest would come…all over my body. I hurt. Wounded and scarred, some would never heal.
I turned my arm to stare at the mess in the crook of my elbow. I knew what would be left behind after the scars healed. Need drove me, sending a shudder through my bones.
I held on to him. Fingers unfurled as I drew my hand along the hard muscles of his belly. He opened his eyes and turned his head, sleep gone in an instant like a trigger had been switched inside him.
“You need something?” he murmured and lifted his hand from the floor on the other side of the bed.
“No,” I answered, heart pounding. “Just a headache.”
He reached over, grasped the skin on my arm, gently pinched and then let go. “You’re dehydrated.”
And in a rush the room was filled as Tex strode in with a bottle of electrolytes in his hand and sat on the end of the bed. “This will make you feel better.”
Shadow haunted the doorway, watching me intently as I grasped the big bottle and lifted the rim to my lips.
Sixth tucked his arm under his pillow and crossed his feet. He watched me while I drank—they all watched me.
But instead of being terrified at the attention, that hollow ache of loneliness inside me eased.
They fussed, cared, never once pushed me, or looked away. Even when I bathed in filthy underwear.
“Now that you’ve rested we need to make a plan, Ese.” Shadow shoved off the doorway. “Don’t want to be walking in there with my damn dick in my hand.”
“It’s okay, no one would notice anyway,” Tex mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
There was a hint of a smile from Shadow before he lifted his middle finger. “Not what your Momma said last night.”
Six
th swung his feet off the bed and then rose in a heartbeat. “If you ladies are gonna start again, I’m gonna have to assign you duties.”
I took another swallow from the drink and watched the Marine as he pushed past Shadow. He was the serious one, the one always thinking…and the one I felt the most. His energy rushed, sweeping me away…desire, conflict…
The others followed…concern…fear…and as Tex turned to me…need.
Heat rushed to my cheeks as Tex reached toward me and brushed his thumb along my lower lip to catch a drop.
My pulse sped as he slid the remnant between his lips. I waited for Shadow to say something snarky—but there was no joke. I glanced to the doorway meeting Shadow’s gaze. There was nothing but the pounding in my chest, and this hypnotic and powerful connection between us.
Tex gave a little smile, and then rose from the bed. “There’s food, and plenty more of that. You need your strength, babe, and you might wanna write a list of all the things you need.”
He left then, left me wondering. Things I need…I flinched with the words and scanned the room. That aching tension was swept away, and in its place was blinding desperation.
Liquid sloshed against the sides of the bottle as I lunged forward and scanned the floor. “My pack…my damn pack. Did you see it? Did anyone find it?”
“I didn’t see any pack.” Shadow took a step closer, and sat in the indent Sixth had left behind. “We can get you another one, get anything you need.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. Mom…Christmas…Dad before he…before he left me. “I had pictures in there. Pictures of mom before she…”
“Oh Jesus, Ol.” Shadow skimmed his hand along my arm, testing, before he pulled me close. “Come here. I’m so sorry…so very sorry….”
The darkness swallowed me, opening up wide to take one more damn bite. I tried to hold on, tried to stop the tremble in my hands and gripped Shadow’s arm as his warmth closed around me.
They were all I had…all I’d ever had.
“I’m so sorry.” Shadow dipped his head and murmured.
They took everything from me…my past, my present…tearing me open with needles and pain.