Alive (Sundown Series Book 3)

by Courtney Konstantin

  Smith seemed to think about that, looking down at his feet. Max knew she had given him enough to think about. As they were taking him with them, she would continue to press for more information. The boy was easily manipulated by Callahan, and the Major kept him close. Max knew there was more information in his head. She let him finish the water and even fed him the brownie before leaving the truck.

  The sun had almost set when she exited. Griffin was waiting for her, as she knew he would be. Alex stood off to the side, also waiting to see her sister. Max guessed Alex was concerned about her resolve to not kill Smith. Griffin stopped Max first and made her look him in the eyes.

  “I’m fine. Everything is fine,” Max said to reassure him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Are you going to stay out here all night? I was getting used to you sleeping next to me,” Max joked. Her banter had the desired effect, making Griffin smile.

  “I think we can rig the doors from the outside to keep him in. We’ll lock the interior gate between the bed of the truck and cab. Then we’ll rig the doors outside. That way we can let him loose, so he can sleep,” Griffin explained.

  “That’s a good idea. I’m going to talk to Alex. I’ll see you when you’re done.”

  With that, Max kissed him softly and met with her sister. Alex immediately hugged her. Max, though never one for a lot of affection, could always use a hug from her sister. She hugged Alex back just as hard. When they separated, Alex searched Max’s face much like Griffin had. It made Max snort.

  “You and Griffin. You’re both worried I’m going to fall off of some ledge and going on a killing spree. Don’t worry, dear sister, you aren’t on my list,” Max said.

  “I’m not worried about a killing spree, Max. I’m just worried about your emotional health.”

  “Does anyone have emotional health right now, Alex?”

  “I guess not. Help me set up some areas to sleep?”

  It was easy to slide into setting up camp. It felt natural to work side by side with her sister. They needed three beds as Charlie insisted on sleeping in the Bronco with Rafe. She said it was in case he woke up and was in pain. She also wanted to keep waking him often to make sure his concussion didn’t make him never wake up again. Max and Alex shared a smile over Charlie’s bumbled explanation of why she wanted to sleep with their brother. The little blonde’s fair skin turned a nice shade of pink before she just turned away and went back to the truck.

  They had parked the vehicles in a v, leaving one open side. The open side was toward the road, making sure nothing could easily sneak up on them from the forest. As the sun went completely down and the area went pitch black, they used a lantern on a very low setting and hidden under a truck to see to the last of their set up. Everyone had their weapons next to them and flashlights in case. Their early detection system, namely Storm, slept near their feet.

  Max rolled in her sleeping bag, so she was as close to Griffin as she could be. He held out his hand for hers and they entwined their fingers.

  “Thanks for following my lead today,” Max whispered.

  “We are a team, baby. I might not always agree, but we work together.”

  She didn’t expect to sleep well that night. It took time. She heard Griffin’s breathing deepen as he fell off. Even Storm could be heard lightly snoring. Max couldn’t stop thinking of Callahan and the threat he was to their family. When they reached the compound, they would all have a lot to discuss, as they decided the way to move on in their survival.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Sunlight shone into the back of the Bronco, waking Rafe. The pain in his head was still there, but it wasn’t as glaring as before. He had shifted, only to encounter someone sleeping next to him. Blonde hair spilled across a makeshift pillow. There was no mistaking Charlie, her small form curled on her side facing away from Rafe. He laid and watched her a moment before he noticed Alex looking through the window at him.

  He had carefully climbed out of the truck to meet his sister. Alex hugged him again, longer this time.

  “Hey. I’m fine,” Rafe said.

  “I know. I just needed this. I’ve been so worried. Seeing the house damaged, I was afraid...” Alex trailed off as she pulled away.

  “What’s wrong with the house?”

  “You weren’t there when it happened? When I got there the front wall was burned. Luckily, it’s not a load bearing wall, so we have been rebuilding it.”

  “Burned? No. That didn’t happen when I was there. They probably went back looking for us again after the first attack.”

  “Charlie told us about that. She was quite impressed by your fighting skills,” Alex said with a silly grin.

  “Stop it, Alex,” Rafe warned.

  “Stop what? I didn’t do anything.”

  “What didn’t she do? I probably did it,” Max said as she walked up. She also hugged Rafe again. But her’s was tight and quick. His little sister, never one for overly affectionate moments.

  “Our brother doesn’t want me talking about Charlie,” Alex explained.

  “Leave it be, you two. There’s nothing to tell,” Rafe said. He led them further away from the truck, afraid they would wake Charlie with their conversation.

  “She cares about you, Rafe. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Alex chided.

  “She cares because I’ve been taking care of her. That’s all it is. She feels like she owes me,” Rafe replied.

  Their conversation was cut short when Griffin walked by with Smith at gunpoint. Rafe saw red as soon as the man entered his vision. Smith saw Rafe at the same time and shrank away. Griffin noticed Smith’s movements and he looked around. Rafe began to walk toward Smith, his fists balled at his sides. He wished he had his knives strapped to him. In his mind, all he could think of was hurting Smith the way he was sure they hurt his baby sister.

  Griffin stepped up to Rafe to stop him. He handed his gun to Alex who led Smith the rest of the way to the truck. They stepped up where Rafe could no longer see what was happening. Griffin kept a hand on Rafe’s chest.

  “You need to talk to Max,” Griffin said simply.

  “What is he doing here?” Rafe yelled.

  “Rafe, calm down. Jesus, you have a head wound. Relax,” Max replied, rolling her eyes.

  “Max. I’m going to kill him. Get out of my way,” Rafe said to Griffin as he pushed his arm away.

  “No, Rafe. Stop it. We aren’t going to kill him. We’re going to use him for information. We’ll lock him up back at home. He’s really just a child. Nineteen-years-old. He has done bad things. I know that. But I do not want blood on anyone’s hands,” Max said. She stepped in front of Rafe now. She looked up with her blue eyes, so similar to his.

  “He hurt you,” Rafe replied.

  “Yes. Under orders. I don’t think he would hurt anyone if he wasn’t ordered to. He’s too scared. He’s already told me some things. I know I can get him to tell us everything he knows about Callahan and 'The Suit'.”

  Rafe tried to rein in his fury. His thoughts were running rampant with hurting the man. The sensible part of him said he knew where Max was coming from and she was right. And in the end, it was the choice for her to make. He looked at Griffin and without saying anything he could tell he was also barely restraining himself. Rafe started to calm a bit, deciding that if Smith was imprisoned with them then maybe he would get a little payback.

  “Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t get to ask. What are you doing here?” Rafe asked Griffin.

  Looking between Griffin and Max, he could tell some things had been happening that he wasn’t privy to.

  “Well, I went and got him,” Max said.

  “And?” Rafe prompted.

  “He knows everything. He knows that he’s Jack’s father. I also found all of the letters from him that Dad hid from me eight years ago,” Max explained. Rafe looked at her in surprise. Then his instincts to protect came back.

  “And, what do you think about being a father?” R
afe asked Griffin.

  “I’m quite content with it actually. Jack is wonderful,” Griffin replied, a lopsided grin on his face. He slid an arm around Max then and Rafe raised an eyebrow at them.

  “Yes. Before you say anything, this is also happening,” Max said pointing between herself and Griffin.

  “Oh, well I see. We’ll have to have a conversation later, Griffin. About your intentions and all that fun,” Rafe said. He kept his face very serious while Max’s face colored.

  “Rafe Duncan, why are you up and walking around?”

  Rafe’s wince made Max laugh out loud. She and Griffin walked away, leaving Rafe with a Charlie that wanted to give him a piece of her mind. He turned to find Charlie standing with her arms crossed over her chest. Storm sat next to her feet, his look saying he knew Rafe was in trouble.

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” Rafe said.

  “I don’t know how I didn’t wake when you left the truck. I guess I was tired. You still shouldn’t have gotten up until I was awake. How are you feeling?”

  “Great. Back to normal,” Rafe lied.

  He immediately knew Charlie didn’t believe him. She gave him a squinted look before stepping forward to reach behind him and touch the sizable knot that was on his head. Her movement brought her close to his face and he looked down at her. She wasn’t being nice, pushing on the wound, to make her point. Rafe hissed and tried to move away. He didn’t want to admit to Charlie that he still felt lightheaded and had trouble focusing.

  “I know when you’re lying. Get back in the truck and lay down please,” Charlie ordered.

  “We need to get moving. I can’t be on my back the whole time,” Rafe replied.

  “Yes, you can. There are three other adults that can drive the vehicles if need be. You will be laying down with me until I’m sure you are ok to be up and around.”

  “You get real bossy when you go into doctor mode, ya know?” Rafe said.

  Despite wanting to argue with her a little more, he followed her orders and climbed back into the Bronco. Charlie climbed in after him situating him comfortably on a pillow. She fussed over him with her doctor tasks. She cleaned his wound again, checking for any sign of infection. Once he was patched up again she climbed out of the truck to talk to Alex about leaving.

  Rafe heard Charlie give Storm an order. The next thing he saw was the dog jumping on the tailgate and coming into the truck. He carefully laid down next to Rafe, his muzzle pushed against his shoulder.

  “She tell you to watch me?” Rafe asked the dog.

  Storm lifted his head to look at him. He then licked Rafe’s face before laying back down. Rafe put his arm around the dog, running his fingers through his soft fur. Storm rolled slightly so his body was pushed against Rafe and he could receive belly rubs. Rafe had to laugh a little at the dog’s actions. They laid like that until the truck started.

  “Storm, I told you to watch him. Not go soft because he gave you attention,” Charlie chided as she climbed into the back of the truck too. Storm just let his tongue hang out of his mouth and Charlie laughed.

  “We’re headed home,” Max called from the driver’s seat.

  “Who’s driving Smith?” Rafe asked.

  “Alex. Griffin is with her to keep an eye on him. But he’s tied up well. They didn’t think it was good for me to be in there. I’m stronger than you all think,” Max said, the last bit under her breath. Rafe still heard her and knew his strong sister couldn’t handle so many people trying to baby her.

  “Everyone knows you’re strong, Max. Whether you like it or not, we love you. And when someone you love gets hurt, you want to protect them,” Rafe called back to her.

  Max didn’t answer as they pulled away from their makeshift camp. Her silence gave Rafe time to think about what they would do with Smith when they got back to the compound. His plans were derailed by Charlie sitting close to his side. She gazed out of the window, lost in her own thoughts. Rafe studied her profile and he knew he needed to handle the feelings he had for her.

  As if she could hear his thoughts, Charlie turned abruptly and met his gaze. He fought the need to look away and she stared into his eyes. A soft smile showed on her face and she crawled to be sitting closer to him.

  “What’s on your mind?” She asked.

  “Are you going to stay with us, Charlie?” Rafe blurted out.

  “What? Of course, I am. Where would I be going?”

  “I didn’t want you to feel obligated to stay or something.”

  In his head, Rafe knew he sounded awkward. But he wasn’t used to dealing with women in relationship type situations. He had shied away from anything serious. Now here he was in the apocalypse, with the first woman he ever really fell for.

  “Why would I feel obligated to stay? You’re the one that has been protecting and providing for me. Do you want me to go?” She asked quietly.

  “No. God no. I want you to stay. With me. Charlie, I want you,” Rafe said.

  He felt like he was waiting on pins and needles as her eyes widened for a moment. She looked over the seat at Max and then back to Rafe. Without warning, Charlie leaned down and pressed her lips to Rafe’s. The kiss was soft and tentative at first. But Rafe didn’t hesitate to take advantage of her advance. He threaded his hand through her hair at her neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. When she pulled away, she had a blush spilled across her cheeks.

  “What took you so long?” Charlie asked in a husky whisper.

  Later that afternoon they pulled into town. Alex and Max had agreed when Rafe suggested they go back into town to check on Issac. The old man didn’t need to stay in town alone anymore. Now that they were going home, Rafe wanted to bring the man with them. He had been helpful to Rafe and protected them from the soldiers that came into town.

  Arriving at the dry cleaner’s, Issac was already coming out the front door. He was holding his gun at the ready, clearly not sure who was sitting in the military vehicle. Rafe started to climb from the back of the Bronco with Charlie’s help. The two of them went to Issac, who was sporting darkening bruises on his face. But his wounds were still cleanly dressed.

  “Boy, it is good to see you alive,” Issac said to Rafe. When Rafe put his hand out to shake, Issac grabbed it and pulled him in for a half hug.

  “Issac, I’m sorry this happened to you. If you hadn’t been lying for us...” Rafe started to say, but Issac cut him off.

  “You can stop that right now. What those men are doing, by hunting you down, is wrong. It’s not the country we live in.”

  “We are going home. With my sisters home, we are safer together,” Rafe said, motioning to Alex and Max behind him.

  “Hello, again ladies. It’s good to see you all healthy and walking. Where is the boy?” Issac asked.

  “He’s already home. You should come with us, Issac. There’s nothing left in town for you. We have plenty of room,” Rafe said.

  “Please, Issac?” Charlie asked.

  Issac seemed to think about it for a moment. He looked at Rafe with his arm around Charlie and he smiled at the couple.

  “Ok. I think I’d like that. Should we load all of the supplies you’ve been bringing here?”

  Rafe was surprised that Issac agreed so easily. But he was thankful. He knew he would worry about Issac in town on his own. If anything happened to the man, when he could have been safer at the compound, Rafe wouldn’t forgive himself. Griffin and Smith under the watchful eye of Issac started loading cases of water and boxes of food. Rafe watched as Smith pulled his weight. The man never tried to disobey an order that was given to him and he worked hard moving supplies to the vehicles.

  Issac also packed up all of the bedding items he had in the business. Alex agreed with him that they could never have too much. As they worked, Rafe could hear Alex telling Issac about the compound and about how they had plenty of room for everyone. Rafe thought about the bunkhouse their father had built for this exact moment. They could use the bedding from Issac and m
ake sure everyone had a comfortable place to sleep.

  The ride back home to the compound was uneventful. There were a few close calls of infected wandering in the road, but Alex didn’t hesitate to use the military truck to her benefit by running them down. The bodies would bounce from the front, leaving a clear path for the Bronco to pass as well. When they pulled up to the gate of the compound, Charlie gave Rafe permission to sit up. He was so anxious to be home.

  The trucks pulled into the compound and Griffin closed the gate behind them. When they pulled up the gravel drive, Rafe first noticed the large RV that was parked next to the house. He next noticed the new wall that was being created for the burned section. He had to admit it looked good. There were people milling around that he didn’t know, but he wasn’t surprised that his sisters found other survivors to join their fight.

  As everyone spilled from the vehicles, Rafe heard screaming from the kids as they ran to their parents. When Rafe rounded the Bronco, his nieces and nephew all flew in his direction. They all asked questions and hugged him. Rafe had to go to his knees to hug each of them. He was so happy to see them all behind the walls of the compound, safe.

  Looking around, he found Aiden coming from the house holding an older woman’s hand. When he saw Charlie and Rafe, he cried out and tried to run down the stairs. Charlie ran toward him first and swept the little boy up in her arms. He squeezed her neck and told her he had missed her. Then he looked over her shoulder to Rafe who was slowly making his way to them. Aiden’s arms reached out behind Charlie so Rafe circled them both in a hug.

  They stood like this for a long moment. Rafe leaned down to breathe in Aiden’s little boy scent, a mixture of dirt, food, and shampoo. His calm was broken by Max who yelled out loudly behind them.

  “Alex! I told you!” Max yelled.

  “Max, stop it. Leave them alone,” Alex called back.

  “I don’t want to. I want to know what her intentions are with our brother,” Max said.

  “Stop being a brat. Get over here and help me,” Alex replied.

  Rafe refused to acknowledge them. He smiled against Charlie’s hair. He could feel her giggling at the exchange. Rafe knew it was just starting. And he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy the teasing. It reminded him that his sisters were with him. It reminded him they were family and that they knew him better than anyone else.