After the War: Military Dystopian Thriller (Friends of my Enemy Book 2)

by Autumn M. Birt

  “Is it that bad?” she asked. Some of the warmth she gave to Byran infused her tone.

  “Oh,not as bad as that. We ride for Kendal to go over reconstruction efforts with continent members.” Derrick paused, trying to ignore she was the Lady Grey. If it were any other woman, he’d have been happy for Byran.“Would you like to ride along?”

  Arinna blinked, her answer coming a fraction slow.“Yes, that would be lovely. Shall I meet you at Payson’s Bridge at seven?”

  Derrick nodded in answer as if it had been a perfectly normal invitation and acceptance. The bridle paths emerged from the woods into the light of a clear day, bringing with it the smell of wet sod. Byran paused his horse in the shade of a tree that lined the lane running between two pastures as if reluctant to part ways despite the promise of seeing her the next day.

  “Why did you come to County Cumbria? Why here?” Byran asked her.

  It was the first time Derrick was grateful for the old friendship between Arinna and Byran. He had wondered the same question, often quite vexed when he did but had never found a polite way to inquire.

  Arinna’s first response was a teasing glance before she asked in return,“What do you see around you?”

  “Trees, Huntsfield Brook, your pastures, the peaks in the distance.” Byran paused, returning his glance to Arinna with a shrug.“Nothing else.”

  She nudged her borrowed horse forward.“Exactly.”

  For what might have been the first time that morning, Byran gave his attention to Derrick, seeking the answer. Derrick remembered the bases during the war and his fiancée’s estate. He knew what was different here, and it left his mouth dry.

  “No guards,” Derrick said.

  “Very good,” Arinna replied.

  Derrick sat back in his saddle, feeling his way through tactics while considering the geography. The FLF was shattered from the reports he had seen, but there was always the chance of resistance reforming. The world was in turmoil, and Europe’s lands and resources made them a target no matter the three years of peace. He heard there were occasional skirmishes beyond Europe’s borders.

  “Any outside attack would have to make it through the continent to reach northern England. Or be direct over Old Ireland or over the remains of the ice cap,” Derrick said.

  “Yes, plenty of opportunity to see it or find it first,” Arinna replied.

  “And something not so obvious? Something more homegrown?” Byran asked, frowning.

  Arinna shrugged.“That is why it is a valley of old families connected to the new parliament. Loyal, even if not fans per se,” she finished with a playful glance at Derrick, which caught him unprepared for the friendly inclusion.

  “Protection by the watchfulness of the populace,” Derrick mused to steady his emotions.“And if that failed?”

  “Well,” she said as they left the soft dirt of the lane,and the horses’ hooves crunched on the gravel of Rhiol’s drive.“I am the last line of defense.”

  Derrick wasn’t sure if her answer was flippant or sincere. And he wasn’t given the time to inquire further. A man who neither looked like a house steward or stable hand met them in the inner courtyard and took Arinna’s bridle. He was older, easily Derrick’s father’s age, but well muscled as if he were of the Guard or a former soldier. But he carried himself with the relaxed ease of a farmer so that Derrick was uncertain how to place him.

  The Lady Grey or not, Arinna was a woman and Derrick expected a comment of some sort about her absence and worry for her. Or in front of himself and Byran, perhaps no comment at all but some silent indication of dis a pproval. Instead, the man met Arinna’s eyes soberly. Whatever silent communication passed between them caused Arinna’s expression to grow serious.

  “There is a message for you, my lady,” the man said, his accent not English. Arinna gave a curt nod as she dismounted.

  “Thank you, Christophe.” She turned to where Derrick and Byran sat their horses still.“And thank you my lord earl and baron for the escort home. Until tomorrow.”

  She didn’t wait for their acknowledgement but walked toward the house with a purposeful gait. Byran sighed before taking the reins to the mare Arinna had ridden from Christophe. They retraced their route, trotting down the dirt lane along the pastures.

  Byran broke the silence between them as they reentered Rhiol’s woods.“I appreciate it, but you do not have to put yourself in her company just for me. But I do appreciate it.”

  Derrick snorted quietly at the thank you. He’d made the invitation because Byran was his oldest friend. But the acknowledgement was a small balm for the troubling revelations over the last day.

  “As dear as you are to me, old friend, it is not just for your benefit,” Derrick replied.

  Byran stiffened, glancing at Derrick with veiled eyes.“What else then?” There was crispness to his Spanish accent. Words and accusations unspoken fell between them again.

  “It is good for people to see us together ... that we are not opposed to each other. Even adversaries can be congenial, can they not?” Derrick replied, attempting to break the impasse in their friendship with honesty.

  Byran held Derrick’s gaze for a long moment, then looked away with his mouth set in a firm line.

  Chapter 6

  CAPTAIN JARED VRIES

  BATTLE IN THE WASTELAND

  “I don’t care if you’ve lost count. You owe me for that one.”

  Jared looked over at his commander, taking in the blood-soaked bandage that wrapped Arinna’s left palm to her elbow. His eyes flicked back to the crack through which he could see the rubble-strewn alley.

  “By the looks of it,I’ll be paying you with a blood transfusion.”

  Arinna snorted, her gaze flicking to Jared and then back out to her vantage point.

  “And whose fault is that? I can’t believe you managed to get yourself pinned down.”

  “Hah, I can’t believe you were wandering around the countryside without your communicator. Where were you anyway, my lady?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Arinna looked over at him again, her expression serious. Jared shifted so that he could see out and her at the same time. He waited, knowing that she would tell him without the need to ask. He glanced at the clock on his communicator and then down the quiet street and frowned.

  “Parliament is thinking of arresting me.”

  Jared’s gaze swung back to his commander.

  “What? I haven’t heard anything from our contacts.”

  “I know.” Arinna looked out the window again.“Minister Gerschtein seems to have left out some papers on the Guards’ funding.”

  “On purpose?” Jared asked.

  “That I’m not certain of yet. But it was seen by staffers,and now they think I’m planning a coup.” Arinna’s eyes danced in amusement when she looked over at him.

  “Oh,if only we were so bored,” he drawled.“How did you hear of it?”

  “An old friend.”

  Jared glanced at her.“I know all your friends, my lady.”

  She smiled, one that was a little more tenderthan he was used to seeing.“From before the war. You don’t know everything, Captain.”

  His brows pulled together.“Really? I’m starting to wonder exactly where you were last night, my lady.”

  To his surprise, Arinna blushed lightly. Jared was stunned enough to rock back on his heels. He slowly grinned.“Well, well. I did not think that of you.”

  “That is none of your concern, nor what you are thinking, I might add.” She tossed him a stern look that was marred by the laughter on her lips and a light in her eye he had not seen ... he wasn’t sure. Certainly not since Michael’s death. His smile took on a bit of fondness.

  “Yes, but now I’m curious. That is quite a piece of information to have gathered.”

  Arinna relented.“It was from Baron Vasquez.”

  The warmth went right out of Jared.“Vasquez? You weren’t in Old Spain, so you were in Rhiol ... with him? God
s have mercy,” Jared couldn’t believe it.“You and Baron Vasquez?”

  Arinna’s expression was a cross between amusement and anger. His commander was not often angry with him, but Jared knew when he had crossed the line. He didn’t think this was it.

  “If you so need to know, I was at Kesmere,and it was Lady le Marc’s bed I was in ... and she was not,” Arinna added, shooting Jared a look to be sure he kept his tongue and mind in check.“Byran was there visiting. He’d come to the Lakes to warn me. Give him that at least. We have known each other a very long time.”

  Her voice was weary on the last. Jared pinched the bridge of his nose, sorting through the riot Arinna’s information started in him: relief, surprise, an odd stirring of hope.

  “Kesmere,” he whispered, looking once more down the street without seeing it for a moment. A flicker of movement brought him back round.“They are nearly in place.”

  Arinna nodded, wincing as she flexed her wrist. There was blood dripping from the bandage now. Under the dirt, Arinna was waxen pale.

  “At least this time you brought enough bullets. I hate using a sword right-handed.”

  Jared gritted his teeth and didn’t reply for a moment.“I told you not to come after me,” he finally rasped.

  Arinna didn’t change her focus from the view through her vantage point. She leaned against the crumbled plaster of the wall with her right shoulder, looking for a better view. Jared’s pulse was picking up.

  “I think it is a set up, nonetheless. It is too perfect. Files left accidentally out and shared between members that we have no contact with.”

  It took Jared a moment to remember what they had been talking about.“They still need you. Why would they try something like this now?”

  “You don’t know what it is like on the continent now. It is easy for even them to forget about this. I don’t think they remember they need me.”

  It was a disquieting thought. Gunfire erupted in the streets outside the small building Arinna had managed to win them at the cost of her blood and six FLF fighters. The remaining enemy soldiers had set up snipers and a blockade knowing he and Arinna would have to leave at some point. But the Guard had come. Arinna’s whereabouts, in the field at least, were always known. No matter that Jared had felt himself pinned down and ordered no rescue. His commander would not leave her captain short of her having died attempting to achieve it. He was fiercely fond and vexed with her both.

  Not that he would not, or had not, done any less. Counting the number of times they had saved each other’s lives had been a game until they had topped twenty. After that, they had gotten so busy they lost count.

  Arinna tossed a feral grin at him over her shoulder.“I think we should help.” She was out the door with her words, he on her heels.

  The street was a confusion of shouting and bullets, dust filling the air as an explosion shattered the building behind them. The same house they had just been in. Arinna had a sixth sense for staying alive. The men and women of the Guard would have followed her just for that.

  Arinna did use her gun right handed, Jared covering her weaker side. She fought ruthlessly to ensure he made the gamut while he did the same for her. A bullet struck the cinders between them, Arinna firing back without pausing. Hugging the relative safety of an overhang, she led the way while he watched their back. They both made it to the rest of the Guard at the mouth of the alley with only a few more scratches.

  Rejoined as one force, Arinna was quick to sort out a plan, injured or not.“How the hell did they make it this far into the Russian wasteland without us noticing?”

  The Lady Grey was furious, and Jared didn’t blame her. They had been blindsided. But it could have ended up much worse.

  The movement had been spotted two days before. They’d only just returned from a battle along the dry north shore of Africa. The Freedom Liberation Front had thought a few boats wouldn’t be noticed, even if they were filled with explosives. Of course, they had been seen, but destroying an enemy in the midst of ferrying weapons had proven tricky. The battle and mop up as the Guard chased scattered and well armed FLF troops had taken a few weeks. Arinna had just left command to return to Rhiol when the sighting of a force in old Russia came in.

  Jared had sent eyes to sneak in and tell him what was afoot. It was serious, arms and men enough to cause havoc so that he chose to take a contingent and snuff out the incursion. Which was when the edges of the trap had sprung up around him.

  The scouts he had sent had looked at the movement as he’d asked. They’d seen what the FLF had wanted them to see and not the men and weapons beyond. After all the time in the war, he still had not learned. When he’d radioed back that help was needed, Arinna had not answered. Other Guard had come under First Lieutenant Gabriella Faronelli. But the lack of Arinna, her lack of response, had left Jared feeling hollow all night.

  When Arinna had arrived that afternoon, the fight had been at a stalemate: Jared pinned down in the thick of it while most of the Guard was on the far side of the city. Arinna had ignored the order Jared had given Gabriella and dropped in on top of him and sent the reinforcements with her to break up the line between them and the Guard. Now Arinna meant to turn the FLF line like a giant blade, spinning the split forces until they were against Guard reinforced positions. She was very angry.

  “It is a wasteland on the outskirts of old Russia, and they screened their movements,” came the answer to Arinna’s question. Only Jared dared speak it.

  “Poor excuse,” she snapped.

  Arinna’s attention was focused on logistics. When Gabriella spoke as she stood frowning next to him, Jared did not think Arinna heard her comment,“We are splitting our forces into four to fight a battle on two fronts. It is a mistake. We’ll be lucky to get out with our lives.”

  It took another moment, but Arinna’s eyes flicked up to Jared’s, holding his a moment. He knew the command when he saw it. Arinna had heard, but she was leaving it up to him to explain.

  “We’ve already split their forces,and main supplies are with the southern group. The northern contingent is nearly out of bullets,” Jared said to Gabriella.

  Gabriella shook her head, her ponytail of black hair emphasizing the movement.“They could spin behind our line and overwhelm us.”

  Jared cut her off with a look.“The old city wall will keep them penned in on the north and the river to the south. Most of our forces will be pushing the FLF into our entrenched line.”

  Jared waited until Gabriella mulled over the maneuver. He could command her to do it but knew it would go better with her voluntary support. Plus, if she understood the plan, she’d be better prepared if something changed in the course of battle.

  Gabriella nodded, the tight line across her forehead gone. It was a small argument done, but he was glad of that. Gabriella was smart as well as highly calculated. Before the war swept her into the Guard, Gabriella had been in Italian intelligence. She just didn’t always see the leaps in planning Arinna made, at least not at first.

  The strategy played out at dusk to overspreading clouds and a cold rain. It worked better than even he had hoped. The FLF forces cracked. Those in the northern section of the deserted city surrendered as soon as they ran out of bullets and found themselves pinned by the old city wall. The few grenades they launched at it only made it crumble further without opening any escape routes.

  With the northern group disposed off, the Guard swept in on the remaining FLF from both sides like a giant pincher. Near midnight with the FLF’s backs to the spring-swollen river, the last enemy soldiers laid down their weapons.

  Jared stood for a moment with his face tilted to the sky. Cold drops or not, they felt good. Twelve hours before,he thought he’d be dead by now and had seen the faces of his two boys and daughter for the last time. Arinna sat a few feet away when he opened his eyes. She watched the Guard sort out the combatants, claiming weapons before moving them for transport. The bandage wrapped around her left arm was muddy now, the darkness
and wet making the blood indistinguishable from the dirt.

  “Have you had that seen to?”

  “Yes, before we initiated the plan in case things didn’t go well, and it fell to hand to hand. It was barely a nick in the blood vessel I’ll have you know.”

  “Good, then I don’t owe you one.”

  Laughter burst from her as she cast him a sidelong glance. He chuckled as well, gathering up a rifle and a waylaid pack.

  “Will you come back to headquarters to sort this lot out?”

  Arinna ran mud slick fingers through her short hair, pushing it out of her face.

  “No, I have a date later this morning.” She chuckled at the look on his face.“I do have other duties you know. The Earl of Kesmere asked me to join him and Byran over at the Kendal conference.”

  “Truly? Well,it would be a shame to stand them up. It isn’t often he is sending invitations your way.”

  “Hah, normally it is wished for daggers. I don’t know what he is up to, but would sincerely like to find out.” She glanced over at her captain.“So it will be up to you to see to these and find out just what the FLF thought they were doing trying to sneak through the wasteland of old Russia. I’ll check in with MOTHER to find out why they’d like me removed.”

  Chapter 7

  THE EARL OF KESMERE

  LADY ROSINGALE’S

  It was a garden party like any of dozens he’d attended over the years. Usually, Derrick did not fret. He’d been born into a political family, doted on by his uncle who’d left him the title of earl as well as Kesmere. But tonight, Derrick was rattled.

  Byran had barely spoken to him all day. At first, after seeing the doubt in Byran’s eyes, Derrick had avoided his friend, choosing instead to deal with the matters of owning an estate. It was easy to lose himself in the needs of ensuring crops were planted, flocks tended, and buildings in good repair. He’d done so for four years. When he’d finally put aside his annoyance and gone looking to find Byran, it was to watch him pacing the stone patio situated a few steps below the house and above the garden.