The man’s heartbeat pulsed beneath Hope. He’d be okay.
Thank the Old Gods.
Someone coughed. Someone else threw something off his body and it went clattering along the floor.
“What the fuck just happened?” Gideon stormed into the main room. In his hand, he clutched the robe.
Hope didn’t bother to tell him she didn’t need it. She raised her body off Frank to check on him, dusting some debris off his body. Her world spun. Color was returning to Frank’s cheeks. She smiled. Gideon was the only one watching her. Her smile faded.
He knew.
She gulped and broke the stare to look around at everyone else, rubbing her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. They were all struggling back to their feet, or sitting back up. Nobody was the wiser.
Nobody . . . except Gideon.
Hope glanced down at her body. Frank's blood covered the front of her shirt and pants, white plaster adorned her knees. Frank was already on his way to healing, but she was beyond wiped out. Hope had done such a good job with the stitches that Frank may not end up with noticeable scars once he got better. Her best work to date. Hope was proud of herself.
Sitting back on her heels, she took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, then rubbed them with the heels of her hands. Gideon approached and knelt beside her, handing her the robe. “Where did you learn to do that?”
Hope ignored the possibility of his question being about what happened in the church. That was a chat she hoped to avoid for as long as humanly possible. It could get them both killed.
Wait.
Since when did she care about his safety? She cleared her thoughts and rubbed her arm over her face.
“Live and learn, or die from a scratch.” Hope turned to Gideon and found his face right next to hers. She took in his features before adding, “It’s what happens when people know you’ll help them. They come to you to heal them.”
Unable to bear his stare anymore, Hope took the robe from Gideon, then draped it over Frank. After she was done, she pulled her legs from beneath her and thumped down to the ground, leaning her face into her knees. The fatigue took its toll. It had been a long time since she used so much energy. Like all work, she was out of practice. If she laid down, she would be gone for hours and hours, dead to everything around her.
The weight of Gideon’s gaze bore down on her, but she didn’t turn to face him. There was a chance he was trying to figure out what happened in the church, but for now, she didn't care. She was worn out and didn’t want to argue anymore.
After telling a man nearby to get her water, Gideon left. Hope raised her head and stared at his back. The tone was anything but cold and hateful, it sounded almost compassionate. She shook her head. Why didn’t he ask about what happened? And since when did he care about her well-being?
Men were confusing.
The man ordered to bring her water did so, along with a few pieces of cloth for her to clean her hands. Hope kept her attention on Gideon while he wandered the church. The arrogant demeanor he held grated on her nerves. He got under her skin and made her angry, but there was something magnetic about him. Feeling her gaze on him, he turned her way.
Their eyes met and the world faded away for a breath.
Hope wouldn’t admit it aloud, but there was something between them. If they knew each other in another lifetime and she were chatting with a friend, she would laugh and tell her friends that she felt a heavy attraction to the man, but there was more.
She had seen something in Gideon that made her believe he would protect her if it came down to it. If she were in trouble, he would protect her with his life. Hope didn’t plan to test the theory, but what happened filled her with warmth. A soft smile spread along her lips.
Gideon stood off to the side, chatting with his men, making sure everything was back in order, making sure the prisoners were secured, and that nothing happened to the church. The church was shaken, but nothing permanent took place.
Hope sat there regaining her strength, watching Gideon longer than she should. The way he stood there, commanding obedience from the people around him without a word. His authoritative posture and the way he expressed himself.
Stony detachment was in his gaze often enough, but what would happen were he to have someone care for him? What would he do if he was treated with gentleness instead of anger? People softened around her. Perhaps she would try to see if it were the same with him. See what happened.
The group Gideon chatted with turned, and so did he. Enough to where he faced her. Gideon’s attention shifted to her.
Hope’s breath caught.
It wasn’t hatred she saw, it was attraction, and he wanted to do something about those feelings right now.
Hope started, she hadn’t realized she’d been staring. She swallowed and cleared her throat to erase those thoughts, turned away, fidgeted with things around her, and cleaned them, determined not to look Gideon’s way again. Her cheeks burned and she pressed her lips together.
SEVENTEEN
IF HOPE HAPPENED TO look over, she would have seen a smile creep onto Gideon’s face. He caught her staring at him. Something she hadn’t wanted him to do. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. The woman was trouble. She’d be more trouble for him if allowed. It was hard not to give in to the things his body demanded when it came to her, to listen to those cravings. With her though . . . with her it had to be different.
Gideon approached his men. “We need to patrol. Darrok wanted to make a point. Well, he has. The Hunters know where we are, and the Hunters Darrok employed won’t stop until they get ahold of me, or we stop them.” He glanced around the church.
Kaden piped up first. “I say we lay low.”
Gideon glared at Kaden until the man shifted and dropped his attention. “You would say so. We not only found shelter here, but food and a good supply of water. Thanks to the little helpers.” He cocked his head behind him toward Hope and the rest of the people in the church.
The prisoners were leverage. Leverage he could barter. In exchange for the ones who could work as SlaPets, The Associates would give him more supplies. Darrok may want his head on a stick, but The Associates wanted quality SlaPets. Nobody else found quality SlaPets like Gideon and his men.
They patrolled for weeks, running surveillance on the people in this church when they gathered supplies. One day Gideon followed one of the groups, found this church, and everything worked out for him. Then he had to find a chink in his chain.
Hope.
If it wasn’t for that woman, he would’ve been able to get the people to cooperate, hide out until Darrok’s Hunters passed through this area, and then get in touch with The Associates who bartered with him.
Seemed that wasn’t to be.
Hope fought him the entire while and cost him time. Those people may want to throw her under the bus, but damn if they didn’t respond to her, and show more resistance. She seemed to empower them, which added to his frustration. There were still too many of them for Gideon and his men to so easily hand them over to the Associates. His plan had been to coerce the people into going with him. Willingly.
It was something he was good at, when he wanted to use the ability. Yet with Hope constantly standing up to him, they seemed reluctant. The prisoners couldn’t see him as mister perfect, here to save them, like most. The woman frustrated him on more than one level.
Everything went as planned. They found a nice church with a steady supply of food and water—something rare these days . . . and now this. He was surprised more people hadn’t found this church. The prisoners in the church were adept at finding quality food. They must scavenge for a zone or two away (formerly the size of a large city or more) and then end up back here time after time.
They were good at scavenging, but figuring out people followed them? Good for Gideon, not for them. Why Hope didn’t leave the church as much as the rest of them was beyond him. Something more powerful held that woman here.
Gi
deon studied the old man lying in the corner. Or someone.
“True, but I’m sure the Hunters won’t come here,” Kaden pointed out.
You are not only transparent, but an idiot. “And they could walk in, shoot all the prisoners, and then where would we be? We being the proper word here. If I go down, where do you think you’ll end up, Kaden?”
Getting the point, Kaden finally shut the hell up, but not without looking unhappy as hell about it. Kaden wanted those men to arrive so he could take Gideon’s place. The man lacked the intelligence to realize they helped each other. Gideon wondered sometimes why he didn’t kill Kaden. The man was useful, but enough?
“Grab your gear, Kaden. You’re sticking with me. Jason, Robard, take Greg, Snape, Kidd, and Dan. You take the West Zone, Kaden and I will take the East. Circle back, then to the church.”
Jason nodded. He called the others and circled a hand in the air. “You heard him.”
Before Kaden was back with his gear, the others had left the church. Gideon headed over to James, keeping an eye on the church as he did. “You stay here. Keep things in order.” He tipped his head toward Hope. “Most of all.”
James smirked. “Check.”
Gideon left the church with Kaden and a few others after one last glance at Hope.
They found nothing on the first day so Gideon pushed his patrols further out. A gut feeling told him he would find what he sought if he reached ever so further. And he did. The Hunters hadn’t yet traveled close to the Zone that the church was located in, which was a good sign. As long as they were further out, Gideon remained unseen.
The prisoners were valuable to him. He couldn’t move them . . . yet. And yet he was starting to believe the prisoners in this round weren’t worth the cost. He would hold out a while longer. Never know.
The second day found him face-to-face with the one person he never imagined he would see up close.
Gideon slunk down the alleyway, keeping his back to the wall. A voice came from behind him that froze him to the core, stopping his advancement.
“What luck have I, that I find the man I seek.”
Gideon flipped the safety, then curled his finger around the trigger on his electrical weapon. He slowly turned to face Darrok. Time stood still.
Gideon narrowed his eyes and adjusted his stance to aim and steady the weapon. Darrok merely smiled. The weapon would incapacitate Darrok for a few seconds, but it wouldn’t kill him. That little time was all Gideon needed to disappear.
“You have no reason to seek me out. As mentioned the last time,” Gideon muttered.
Darrok took a step forward. Gideon tightened his finger on the trigger. Darrok held his place. A slight breeze stirred the back of Gideon’s clothes, slipping along the alleyway, sending a scrap of paper to float along the dingy cement. The paper hit Darrok’s boot and slipped past. Darrok tipped his nose into the air.
“That scent . . . I know that scent.” Darrok’s voice slithered out and the smile grew, “She is with you.”
Gideon’s muscles tightened. Any second he would trigger his weapon and blast the man. She. Who the hell was the man thinking about? Gideon hadn’t been around any woman in the past few days except . . . Hope. His muscles contracted further, his body instilled fight or flight. His heart raced.
The idea that this man sought out Hope added to the tense situation.
“Who the hell are you talking about?” Gideon lowered his voice. He wasn’t afraid of this man. He hated him, but he wasn’t afraid. Gideon feared no one. He wanted Darrok’s head on a platter. This was the man who wouldn’t leave him alone. Who wouldn’t stop sending Hunters after Gideon. If Darrok was here, the Hunters were close.
Shots rang out in answer. “Got ‘em!” whispered along the wind. Them. Hunters were in the area. “Shit, it’s an Amarathine Guard!”
Gideon kept his attention aimed at Darrok. Oh, this man pulled out all the stops this time.
Darrok’s eyes had grown darker than normal in the dim light of the alley, yet lighter in the center, , almost red, like they glowed from the inside out. “You were drawn to her for a reason. A reason that tells me you are who I seek. The one I’ve sought all this—”
The sizzle of a weapon cut off Darrok’s words. The weapon punched Darrok in the gut and sent him hurtling back into a dumpster, bending the metal in half with the impact, sending the dumpster scuttling backward.
“This way!” Jason shouted.
Jason stood behind him. He cocked his head toward an open doorway. The others had lined up behind where Gideon stood, fixing to fire on Darrok. Gideon’s men would give their life to protect him. They knew the cost of working with Gideon and didn’t hesitate.
Gideon’s group of men hated being under Darrok’s rule as much as Gideon did. And they too, refused to ever become Amaranthine Guards. So they followed Gideon, knowing the risks, but enjoying the rewards. There was nothing like trading SlaPets for supplies that only The Associates provided, like the best weapons.
The problem with this situation was that Gideon still didn’t have the answer to why Darrok sought him out so fiercely. Gideon wasn’t stupid enough to believe all this was just to get Gideon to be a Guard for him. Darrok wanted something more from him alone.
He hesitated, wanting that answer, but Darrok rising back to his feet gave Gideon no time. Not after the mention of Hope. Gideon had to protect her too, to find out why Darrok was interested in her.
Gideon rushed through the doorway behind Jason. Kaden stood at the end of a long hallway, lifted a finger to his lips and led Gideon through a maze of hallways and alleys. Kaden remained behind, while Gideon dove through the alleyways, away from the church.
Until he was positive nobody pursued him, Gideon wouldn’t go back to the church. He had no supplies and would have to go without eating for the next day or two. That occurred to him as he ran past an abandoned restaurant with a broken and dingy large M hanging off the top. One of millions. The darkened windows beckoned him in, but the hazards weren’t worth the risk.
Gideon ducked through another darkened alley by himself, more cautious than before. He’d been on the move for hours. A hand touched his shoulder. He spun and went to plant his fist through the face of his attacker. Kaden raised his hands and stumbled backward.
Keeping his voice low, he said, “Easy.” Kaden drifted through a doorway, and entered the abandoned and dreary hotel that Gideon was headed into. “Homey,” he muttered in disgust.
Gideon followed him and in barely a whisper said, “Shut up.” They didn’t need to enter a building and let the residents—if there were any—know they came. Idiot.
Gideon brushed past Kaden in the dark, thrusting him out of the way. They kept under cover, and scanned the area as best as possible under the growing darkness. Neither of them had brought infrared. Those were with Jason. Until the others came, Kaden and he had to make do.
Early the next morning, the others arrived, minus Robard. Bad luck. Robard was one of the better soldiers Gideon had. Before Gideon and the men took over the church, they had scouted the Zones surrounding the building for days.
This hotel was one place which was marked as safety should something come up and they either had to hide out away from the church for a few days, or move from the church into a new building. The walls were in decent condition, and it could house prisoners. No food, or water, but that was to be expected in this day and age.
Gideon was positive that this place was one of the many buildings Hope’s group had ransacked, searching for food. It wouldn’t have had much, but it would have provided something, which was better than nothing.
In a few Zones over, there was a warehouse that may be worth holing up in as well, but that would be too far for this round, so that was a last case scenario. Only Gideon knew about that place. He hadn’t had time to scout it and make sure everything was in good order, but it was one warehouse among a few he’d found that was decent enough.
He stared out of the window that faced
the church. A hint of a rooftop from this distance. Gideon hoped James kept things under control. His stomach growled. “Did you find anything out there to eat, Jason?”
Jason looked up from where he sat, doing a run though of his supplies, and weapon, to make sure everything was good to go. He shook his head. “Nothing. As much as we could check.” He pointed at the window, indicating the church beyond. “They did a decent job. No wonder there is so much food and water in that place.”
Gideon nodded and stared out at the rising light of day. “Yes, they did. She commands people a little too well, even without saying a word. Making the job that much harder.”
It sounded like someone shifting their position behind him, but Gideon knew Jason’s light sound of amusement anywhere.
“We will patrol in a few hours, check the area, make our way back to the church,” Gideon instructed. Nobody said a word, they would do as told.
He thought through what Darrok had said. None of it made sense, or answered the question of why Darrok always sought Gideon out. But that time Darrok’s reply seemed . . . different. Gideon owed that beast nothing on this planet.
One of these days I will kill you. Maybe not in this lifetime, but I swear, I will never be a Guard to you, or anyone else. Pray that we don’t see each other’s face again, Darrok.
His thoughts drifted to the thorn in his side.
Who was Hope? The woman had saved Frank’s life with something that wasn’t of this earth, at least nothing he had ever come across. And he had seen and experienced some crazy things that Amaranthine’s could do. She caused the ruckus in the church. He was sure of it. The way she healed was too fast for an Amaranthine.
Yet what was Hope to Darrok. Why was she so important to him?
That was the million dollar question.
EIGHTEEN
HOPE’S PLAN OF BEING kind to Gideon was short-lived. A few days after she saved Frank’s life, Gideon and a few of his men devoured food in front of everyone. A few cans for each man. She fumed.
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