What did it say about Steve? She couldn't call him Skulls anymore. It was okay when the attraction was almost entirely physical, but she could no longer claim that. She loved him, but she found herself wondering whether she truly knew what love was. Her love for her children was unquestioned and she'd thought she understood what love for a man felt like, but she'd been wrong with Solly and wrong with Todd. She'd loved her ex-husband as a companion or, even a brother, more than as a man. With Todd, it was lust on the rebound. After years in a passionless marriage, here was a man who wanted her, who found her chubby mousiness irresistible. And Steve? He seemed to love her for her mind and her body. And she felt the same way. What a pity, having finally found the right person for her, she wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy it. Tomorrow, she would be hanged.
The door flew open. A man in a black uniform stood there. He saw her as she sat in the corner. "Get up, prisoner."
She got unsteadily to her feet. "What's going on?"
The man strode into the room and ordered her to turn around. She felt the handcuffs, cold on her wrists, and tried to ignore where his hands went afterwards, before he spun her around, grabbed her arm and marched her to the door.
Other doors had been opened and other people were being dragged from their makeshift cells.
"Steve!" she called as he shambled past. So, it had been his cries she'd heard over the past days. She'd been left largely to herself, but others had been tortured, though she couldn't imagine for what purpose other than, perhaps, revenge. Mayor Kennedy would have a particular hatred of Skulls as it had been his rescue of Father O'Rourke that had set in motion the sequence of events that had led to her downfall. If only Bella had possessed Kennedy's ruthlessness. None of this would have happened.
He smiled at her as he was dragged past. The bruised and beaten smile of an unbent soul. So, this was what love felt like.
The guard pulled on her arm and she followed the others out into the daylight, screwing her eyes against the sudden brightness.
Mayor Kennedy stood there, clearly enjoying every moment of her triumph.
"What's happening?" Bella managed.
"Ah, Bella Masters, the usurper," Kennedy said. "I trust you have found your accommodations satisfactory?"
Bella managed a scowl. "Don't you have an original thought in your head? You're a walking cliché."
"You know nothing about me, traitor!" Kennedy snarled, as the guard, who still held on to Bella's arm, tugged hard on it. "But one thing you can be certain of is that I will be alive this time tomorrow and you will not. You are being taken to a holding cell in town for your final night. It has a fine view of the gallows."
So, that was it. Another twist of the knife. Those condemned to hang would spend their last hours in sight of the means of their public execution. Well, Bella wasn't going to give Kennedy the satisfaction of reacting to this. Facing her adversary and seeing Steve had strengthened her resolve and so she shut down her emotions and stared back at her tormentor, her head held high.
The mayor looked away and Bella glanced at the others lined up with her. Steve was to her right—she imagined she could feel the warmth of his body from here—and alongside him stood a handful of others. She recognized Father O'Rourke who stood unsteadily at the end of the line and between him and Skulls were two or three more. Either some had been left in the cells for some reason, or they'd defected back to the mayor's side. She couldn't find it in her heart to blame them; she didn't want anyone to die alongside her. She didn't want to die.
"What's that?"
One of the guards was pointing across the parking lot to where a faint stream of red smoke was drifting in the wind.
A sound like popping corn and the guard fell to the floor. The grip on her arm was gone and Bella flung herself backwards against the wall of the warehouse, trying to find any cover against the shots that were punching into the steel all around her.
"Stay where you are!" a guard was bellowing as Skulls made to move.
The other guards were taking up defensive positions as Bella glanced across the parking lot to see two men running towards them, discharging their weapons as they came. One guard fell as the others began returning fire, and the men darted behind a parked car. Damn it, they were pinned down. What sort of an idiot attacks a group of ten or so armed fighters by running at them with a handgun in each hand and only one person backing him up? And it was a him, she was certain of that at least.
Then she realized that the red smoke must have been a signal. Perhaps the town had risen up against its new regime and the Lee Corporation that was propping it up. Hope flared in her heart for a moment but then, as no reinforcements arrived and the commander of the defenders began to organize his forces, she knew that these fools were outgunned and out-thought. Her newfound hope died as two pairs of guards ran to outflank the attackers.
And then Skulls threw himself at the guard watching the prisoners.
What sort of an idiot attacks a squad of trained guards with three handguns and no plan whatsoever? Solly cursed himself as he sheltered behind the pockmarked Ford as it vibrated from the staccato impacts of the defenders' sidearms.
He should have waited for Viv to arrive in the Humvee, but he'd seen Bella emerge and knew that, within moments, she'd have been bundled into the minivan and any hope he'd had of rescuing her would have vanished.
"They're trying to get around us," Suggs hissed. "I can't believe I went along with this. What'll we do?"
Solly slid beneath the chassis of the car and took careful aim. He pulled the trigger, went deaf for a moment, and his target disappeared. Another life gone, but there was no time for regret. It was him or Solly. Or it might have been her, but he didn't allow his mind to go down that particular rabbit hole. A volley impacted the asphalt around him and he scrambled back.
"We've got no choice. We're dead if we surrender, you know that."
Suggs nodded sadly. "Yeah. She don't take prisoners, unless it's to torture them."
A cry went up from out front of the warehouse. Solly risked looking over the trunk of the car. One of the prisoners had attacked a guard. Pfatt. Pfatt. Rounds hit the car and Solly ducked back.
"It's now or never," he said. "You coming?"
Without waiting for an answer, Solly darted out and headed, not for the warehouse, but almost sideways to a vehicle parked just a little closer. The defenders responded late and he made it. Then another volley and he watched Suggs going in the opposite direction towards another car. Was he going to try to escape in it? No, he'd hidden behind it before starting to fire on the defenders. So, he was tying some of them up and others were dealing with the prisoner. This was going to be the only opportunity.
Bella threw herself onto the guard wrestling with Skulls and tried to pull him off but, just as she felt his grip lessen, she felt something hard pressing into the back of her skull.
"Get off him or I'll blow your brains out and to hell with the public spectacle."
Bella rolled away and looked up into the merciless face of Kaitlyn Kennedy. She swung her handgun along the line of broken people, daring any of them to move. None did.
With a roar, Skulls flipped the guard onto his back and wrapped his hands around the man's neck.
Kennedy brought her gun around and pointed it directly at the head of Skulls, who was so intent on throttling his adversary he hadn't seen her. Bella saw her finger contract and she leaped. The gun spoke just as Skulls, alerted by the noise, leaned sideways and the guard's head disappeared in a shower of red.
The gun swung around as Kennedy stumbled and Bella reeled from the impact, blood filling her mouth as she yelled. She flailed at her opponent, wrapping her arm around her neck, trying desperately to bring her down to the floor where her height advantage would mean nothing. She heard Skulls shouting and the sounds of brutal fighting all around her, but her world had focused in on Kennedy, who was desperately trying to bring her gun to bear as Bella fought to keep it away from her.
&nb
sp; The gunfire was getting closer and she was peripherally aware of the sound of a revving vehicle. Reinforcements were arriving and if she was to deal with this monster, it had to be now. She screamed as she sat astride Kennedy—grateful for the first time in her life for the extra pounds she carried on her hips—and, while holding her pinned down with one hand, grabbed Kennedy's wrist with the other and, inch by inch, forced it away.
Kennedy hissed and spat like a cat. "No you don't! You are going to die, you traitorous bitch!"
Bella felt renewed strength in her opponent's arm, fueled as it was by sheer, animal hatred. With inexorable force, it moved back and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In moments it would be pointing at her head and all the effort, all the struggle, would be over in abject defeat.
With a yell of triumph, Kennedy gave a final push and Bella brought her other hand round to grab her wrist. Released, Kennedy twisted and kicked out, rolling onto her side as Bella fell to the ground in a heap then looked up into the barrel of the gun.
"Die!" Kennedy hissed, her face contorted in rage. In that final moment, Bella's nose was overwhelmed with the rich aroma of fake perfume as she waited for the end.
A shape appeared behind Kennedy as a hand wrenched the gun out of her hand before turning it on her. "Enjoy hell," Father O'Rourke said before pulling the trigger.
Kennedy's body fell from Bella as she was showered with blood and there, where her tormentor had been, stood an unfamiliar shape.
"Oh my God," it said. "Bel, are you okay? Have you been shot?"
Was she dead? They said you met your departed relatives when you arrived at olam habah, but she didn't feel as though she'd gone anywhere. She wiped the blood from her eyes and reached up for the hand held out to her.
"Oh, Bel. Thank God."
She fell into a warm embrace. A familiar hug she'd thought she'd never feel again. She pushed gently away and dared to open her eyes.
It was him.
"Solly? SOLLY?"
They threw themselves together again and, surrounded by death, her tears finally came.
"Bella, we gotta go."
She separated from Solly—this new, thinner, tougher, braver Solly—and looked up at Skulls. He didn't erase the obvious pain he'd felt watching the reunion quickly enough. She saw it and her heart bled. The tears came again and she pulled Skulls—Steve—to her. She held his bloodied head in her bloodied hands. "I love you, Steve."
She heard the rattle of an old diesel engine as it revved up.
"We don't have time for this," Solly said, and she pulled away from Steve to see a Humvee waiting there.
"This is yours?" she said.
"Always the tone of surprise," Solly said with a smile. "Who's coming with us?"
Solly sat next to Vivian in the front of the Humvee as she picked her way north out of Elizabeth. The man with the skull tattoo sat in one seat at the back, Bella in the other. They were following a pockmarked station wagon being driven by Suggs with the priest and two other survivors as he led them along the back roads to the least secure roadblock.
"Thanks, Viv," he said. "You arrived in the nick of time. I didn't think you'd make it."
"Yeah, well, I followed you didn't I?"
Solly turned to her, wiping the sweat and blood from his forehead as she flashed a bright smile. "What? You were supposed to stay at that fishing pond until you saw the smoke."
"And if I'd done that, you would be dead now. Ain't that right?" she said, with a chuckle. "I followed you at a distance, and then I met the old man with his dog and he told me the best place to hide, so I sat and waited for you to kick the wasp's nest. And here we are, Solly. Mission accomplished."
Solly reached across and took her unresistant hand from the steering wheel. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it gently before releasing it as they hit a bend. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome," she responded with a dazzling smile. "Now, hold on to your seat, I'm gonna floor it."
Chapter 18
Ross sat in the half-shadow of a tree and brooded on Solly's betrayal. He and Vivian had driven off yesterday, leaving him feeling discarded and useless, and he'd spent most of the hours since then talking to no one and rejecting any attempts by Al and Maddie to engage him in conversation.
He knew he was being childish. What other choice could Solly have made? His mission was risky enough without being encumbered by a cripple. But being aware of how juvenile his feelings were and doing something about them were two different things entirely. And so, his shame at his behavior grew and his mood darkened further.
"Here."
He recognized Maddie's voice, but took the offered mug of coffee without looking up. The bitter tang of the cheap joe mixed with the earthier aroma of the misty wood and the floral bouquet of Maddie's deodorant. Despite himself, Ross found his heart lighten a little as she pulled up a folding stool and sat beside him.
"Thanks," he muttered.
She sipped her coffee, fog erupting from her mouth and rising into the still air as she breathed. "They'll be okay. Dad'll be back soon."
He didn't answer, didn't want to engage, didn't want to let go of his misery. It was safe here, wallowing in a black cauldron of self-pity.
"You probably know my father better than I do now," she continued. "He said you've been together almost since the beginning. He found you in New York."
Still, Ross didn't reply. He remembered well enough the first time Solly had seen him. He'd been an idiot boy who was complicit in the assault on a captured woman, Janice. He'd never reconciled himself entirely with the actions, or lack of them, that had led to him being a member of a gang led by a vicious brute. He liked to think that this Ross, the one sitting here, was the real person, not the gullible fool Solly had rescued. This Ross. The cripple.
He felt Maddie's touch on his arm. "You're a second son to him, you know. He told me."
Ross dropped his head. "He left me behind."
"He left me behind, too," she said, before taking another sip of coffee and producing another plume of smoke. "It's this waiting I can't stand. I only got my dad back two days ago and, for all I know, I'll never see him again. "
The dark fog began to lift a little from Ross' mind. He'd been so entirely focused on his own anger and worry, he hadn't considered the torture Maddie must have endured. Her long-missing father unexpectedly returns and then almost immediately leaves again. One night of happiness followed by hours of terrified uncertainty. It wasn't as if her grandfather had been much comfort—he'd spent his time tinkering with the cylinder that had formerly contained Alison. At least it's kept the silly old fool off my back, thought Ross.
He felt Maddie move down his arm until her hand found his. "I don't think I could bear to lose him again. And Mom must be in deep trouble, or we would have seen her before now, or gotten a message. Can I sit with you and wait?"
Ross turned to her and saw tears running down her face. For the first time, he noticed how pretty she was. Brown wavy hair and deep hazel eyes gave her a Mediterranean appearance, but her cheeks were red and her eyes puffy. He squeezed her hand and they sat beneath the trees listening for the return of their father.
It was an unseasonably warm day in early spring and exhaustion finally overcame Ross and Maddie as they slept in the shelter of the tree, hand in hand.
Ross dreamed of the things that had happened since that dreadful night when his life had gone from bad to dreadful. Then he'd met Solly, and slowly they'd built a new family together with Janice. Now, she was gone and he was missing. Their family was shattered.
He heard Alison's voice weaving in and out of his dream.
"Wake up! Wake up now!"
Ross jerked in his chair and pulled in a deep breath as Maddie stirred beside him. "What is it?"
He could hear a high-pitched whine coming from the RV. Moments later, Al appeared, jogging towards them with the cylinder in his hands.
"I've fixed it," he called. "But I think I've set off some kind o
f alarm. I can't shut the thing off!"
Ross heaved himself upright and balanced on his good leg as he took the cylinder from the old man. Instantly, the blaring alarm stopped and, after a moment, the familiar cyan eye rolled into view.
"Hello Ross. Where am I? Where is Father?"
"What on Earth is that?" Maddie said.
"It's an AI. Solly believes it's the key to beating the Lee Corporation. We thought it was dead. How did you fix it?"
The cylinder vibrated in his hands. "There is no time. Where am I? Where is Father?"
"He'll be back soon. We're at a campsite near a place called Elizabeth."
"Where is my sheath?"
With a flood of shock that almost unbalanced him, Ross realized. "Oh my God! They can track her when she's not in the sheath!" Then he looked back down at the cylinder. "I'm going to have to shut you down until we're somewhere safe."
"I don't wish to sleep again. It's so dark and lonely."
"I'm sorry, Alison," Ross said, sliding his hand to the deactivation switch. He'd never done it before, but he'd watched Solly closely. The cyan light went out.
Ross looked up at the old man who'd stood with jaw wide open ever since Alison had started speaking. "How did you get her working?"
"What? Oh. Turned out to be simple enough in the end. The only compartment I could open with my tools was the power cell, though I tried every other way to get in," Al said, reaching over and rotating the cylinder in Ross' hands. "Turned out, one of the terminals had been cut."
Ross looked at the old man. "No, that can't be right. Scott said her consciousness was probably transferred to a Reaper and didn't make it back."
"Well, son, I don't know what a Reaper is, and I don't suppose I want to know, but I can tell a cut wire when I see one."
Ross shook his head. This was a mystery for another time. "We need to get out of here," he said. "Now. All the time she was powered on but not in her sheath, the Lee Corporation could track her. I don't really know whether that applies out here, but we can't take the chance. They mustn't get their hands on Alison, Al."
The Long Night Box Set Page 79