by Angela White
He did. Kenn’s heart was thumping as they fell out of sight. Angela had been here less than six hours and it had already begun to damage his place. What was he supposed to do now? He’d never planned on her surviving.
2
“Where to next?” Angela asked as he led them to a corner of the long camp with only a single perimeter guard in sight.
“Your boy should be working outside with the dogs soon. I thought we’d watch.”
Angela’s pleasure lit up her face, and Adrian forced himself to glance away. She had a man. Two of them, actually, and she had won over almost all of his chain of command in a few short hours. If she was a demon-in-disguise, they were in trouble.
“I’m not, and I won’t.”
His brow arched as he glanced at her questioningly. “Won’t what?”
“Play with your men.”
A little embarrassed, a feeling he didn’t experience often, Adrian answered coolly, “You sure? We have a resident whore, but there’d be no competition.”
Stung, the witch surged forward, sending out a sharp wave of need that men had to stop themselves from answering.
Adrian sucked in a breath as vanilla wrapped around his body like an inviting hand.
“Only two men have ever been between my legs and either of them would kill to be there now. A whore, I have never been.”
Adrian fought the desire to take her up on the challenge. “It was a tasteless joke. I ap–”
“Don’t.” Angela stopped him, red haze clearing. Her voice was embarrassed. “I’m the one who should apologize. I haven’t…fed well, and it weakens my control.”
It was hard for her, even letting him have that much information, and she glanced away, unsure. What was it about Adrian that made her want to spill everything?
Adrian lit a cigarette, wanting to offer whatever she needed.
Angela’s voice was distressed. “I hate to do it. It’s…intense.”
Adrian’s thoughts spun. She had to power her gifts too. He would take care of that. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“I didn’t mean to provoke you.”
“My men couldn’t keep up with you anyway.”
Angela blushed at the compliment, and the tension eased, not only for them, but also for those observing.
As they started walking again, the silence was still a bit thick, and Angela stopped suddenly, looking around as the witch whispered.
She swept the tents and nearby showers, the curious groups of people, and then settled on a sexy redhead in calf-high black boots and a short red summer dress that was coming from the mess. The woman was sneering, locked onto Adrian as she sauntered toward them, and Angela felt the man at her side tense.
Angela immediately took a step forward, not questioning the need to do battle for him, and Adrian wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Tonya had been watching them all morning, anger and jealousy growing with each introduction, and she moved in front of them with spite. Tonya knew Kenn’s woman for what she was–a threat to her plans–and she already suspected that Adrian’s interest was more personal than business.
“So, who’s the Barbie?” she questioned snidely, raking Angela.
Adrian blew out a sigh of annoyance that hid his eagerness to witness Angela handle this. First, he had to tell her that it was okay to do so and hope she took the hint.
“This is Angela, our new doctor. Useful. This is Tonya. She’s no one. Useless.”
Tonya’s painted face iced over, and she gave Angela a glare that said meanness was coming.
“So, you’re the timid little mouse he didn’t want enough ta go back for.”
Angela gave her a knowing glance as the witch whispered the accent was faker than the lashes. “You must be the resident whore Adrian spoke of…” Angela’s smirk widened. “And the piece of ass Kenn’s too ashamed to admit to.”
Adrian laughed aloud, couldn’t help himself.
Tonya’s cheeks flushed the color of her dress. “He never said that!”
The accent was gone now.
“Didn’t have to. My Marine likes them with their mouths and legs always open. I added up the clues.” Angela leaned in. “When I’m threatened, I don’t play games. I go for blood…but in this case, he’s not worth the effort. You want him? He’s yours.”
Angela moved away, still smirking.
Adrian followed, sniggering at the unusual flash of fear he picked out in Tonya’s reaction of silence.
“Next time, be nice,” he warned, still smiling as he caught up to Angela.
“Sorry. Some people rub me the wrong way,” Angela explained. “She’s gonna be one of them.”
Adrian chuckled, mood growing better by the minute. “Tonya’s a snake. She has no real friends here.”
“That does not surprise me.”
3
They slipped under the caution tape that wound around the entire perimeter, and as they got out of sight, Angela began to hear male tones rising in excitement. She stiffened, but the witch searched eagerly.
Five long semis were parked bumper-to-bumper, blocking her view, and Adrian turned to her.
There were no words, only thoughts.
After a minute, she agreed, liking it that he would talk with her this way. He was definitely her kind. “You have my word. I won’t discuss it.”
He led her around the trucks, and she understood the need for secrecy right away. It looked like a military base, and the two dozen or so heavily sweating men were decked out as if they were training to go to war. Closed on three sides, the huge grassy area was under an enormous green canopy, with dark canvas walls that flapped in the gusting wind.
The open side was covered by the semis and the perimeter guard. When Angela saw the rolled up tarp on top, she understood that if a warning were called, the tarp would quickly be dropped to hide what was obviously a training area.
“Welcome to Fort Haven.”
Angela couldn’t keep up with everything she saw at first, kept being drawn to the flag over the doorway. She could feel the power of the place. “This is special to you–to your vision of the future.”
“This is the most important part. The sheep think I’m training a police force back here, but it’s really the new world’s first army. My army.”
Angela felt a shiver of connection as he talked. The witch whispered of patriotism and a duty to his country that would rival the Founding Fathers.
“We survived because we’re strong, and I encourage that, but, moreover, I teach them honor and strength of mind. They spend two hours a day here, usually a bit at each area, being assessed, guided, and taught. I’ve made it the only truly respected job for a man again, that of protector, and only those who truly believe in what we’re doing are able to climb the ranks.”
“You stack the deck,” she stated casually.
Adrian didn’t consider lying. “Of course, and I walk a fine line for it, but the good of this camp always comes first. I promised them safety, and the future is part of that. A well-trained group of soldiers is a must-have, especially in a world where the old government could crawl out of their holes any time and demand control over everything again. Most people wouldn’t have a choice, but we will.”
His firm conviction and hope was clear, as was his belief in himself and these men, and she was humbled by how deeply he carried his American spirit. “Show me your army.”
The sun was no longer able to fight its way through the grit as they stepped carefully into the tent. They kept out of the way of the man running full-speed around the edges, a nearby guard holding a clipboard and stopwatch.
There were three office style cubicles set up to the far right that Angela couldn’t view into from where they stood, also being monitored by a sentry. Directly in front of them were four men laboring on big home gyms, and a fifth man trying, with some success, to tread the length of a tightrope tied to two low cinder blocks roughly the size and shape of ten manhole covers stacked together.
To the far left were walls of straw bales that formed a neat barrier all the way up to the roof. What was in there?
“We’ll watch for a minute, and then slip out the back,” Adrian stated quietly, moving to the right.
Angela noticed that not one of the men had even glanced their way. Were they taught to block everything out? How? Was that wise?
They rounded the cubicle corner, and Angela saw TVs and game systems set up, cords all running under the tent to–where? A generator that was so quiet she couldn’t hear it? To a battery system of some sort? Was it solar? That’s what she and Marc had tried to use the most during the trip here.
“Son of a bitch!”
Angela’s hand flew to her gun, startled at the shout.
Adrian put a hand on her arm as men stood up, came their way.
“Stand down,” he said, tone telling them he was pleased by their reactions.
Angela flushed, realizing she was the threat they were responding to. Her cheeks stayed red as she realized how badly she’d underestimated them. They had been aware of her from the second she’d come in.
“Angela is one of us. Resume your sets.”
They all returned to what they had been doing, but when she would have apologized for distracting them, Adrian stopped her.
“Don’t be sorry. It shows me who’s serious and who’s learning. Come on. This is the fun side of the room.”
There was a game on each screen, a different type of training, and the benefit of each was clear to her. The first man was using plastic guns to shoot at ducks and clay pigeons, a classic as far as she was concerned. The second was ambushing the enemy on a strategic game that had been very popular before the war, but it was the last cubicle that grabbed and held her attention.
The man inside was one of the guards who had responded to her flinch. Tall, he wore no shirt over his lean swimmer’s body, hard, sweaty hips disappearing into army fatigues. He was beautiful, and for a moment, the woman inside was frozen.
The redhead stood on a white mat with colored designs, adjusting mirrors and earpieces as the instructions challenged him to hit the arrow on the mat that corresponded to the ones set to flash on the screen. Angela observed eagerly as the round began.
His movements were graceful, sensual arms and back flexing with the rhythm he was hearing, and she wondered what it was as the hunger inside her sniffed eagerly. She’d been denied the company of healthy men before the war.
The man jumped, scoring a bonus, and as he turned, hips thrusting provocatively, their eyes met. He stumbled.
Seth tore his eyes from hers to find his place in the mirrors.
Angela expected him to turn around so he could concentrate, but the sweaty guard only tried not to make eye contact, body moving in unspoken invitation.
Still lost, Angela was unable to keep herself from slipping into his thoughts to discover the haunting strains of Hotel California. It was one of her favorites.
There was a sexy magic in the way the man controlled every muscle in his body, not missing a beat of the dance as the tempo increased, and Angela felt herself swaying along, full of electricity that sparked every time he glanced at her.
Adrian could feel the want rolling off the woman at his side, knew Seth was responding to her silent pull, though, he was trying hard not to. Adrian wondered if the lust in the air came from her or the hunger that she’d spoken of.
Adrian’s thought sank in, and Angela shoved the witch into her cell.
Seth slid the earpiece out so he could hear them. He already felt like he knew her and was suddenly sure he would, intimately.
“You okay?”
Angela nodded at Adrian’s question. “Sorry. Dancing runs in our blood.”
Her tone was rough, sexy, and when Seth tripped again, losing the round, Adrian gave him understanding. “You can do it all again.”
“Whenever she says,” Seth stated intently.
Adrian rolled his eyes and stepped past the cubicles. “Kenn has no idea how full his hands are. Come on.”
Angela followed quickly, embarrassed and disappointed in herself. She could feel Adrian’s disapproval as they moved to the far left side of the spacious tent area. She could also feel Seth still staring at her. It was almost as if she knew him…
Adrian’s frown was drawing notice, and he smoothed out his expression, but knew he would have to talk to her about the men in her life. While he was at it, he would also bring up control of her pull on his army. It would have to be dealt with if she meant to stay and help him.
Adrian heard her sigh.
“That won’t fix it all. It’s drawn to kindred spirits and it’s…famished.”
“We’ll have to find a way to feed it that you can tolerate, won’t we?” Adrian soothed her even while telling her what she didn’t want to hear.
Reluctantly nodding, Angela was willing to leave it at that, and they slipped out through a rear corner of the tent.
Adrian checked his watch. “To your right.”
Angela spotted her son’s thin frame through the spruce trees, and witnessed him leading a beautiful black and white collie around a series of obstacles, followed by two other teenage boys with similar animals.
“He’s a dog handler. Just became the top trainer. He’s very good with them.”
Angela studied her son as he laughed and joked with the other boys as he taught them how to do it. He had been happy here, cared for. She did owe Kenn for that.
The teenagers were working on commands, and it pleased both Angela and Adrian when the collie obeyed without hesitation. It was clear that Charlie had a connection with his dog.
“Do you have all the teens do this or certain ones?”
Adrian leaned closer to talk, and her scent–sweet, thick vanilla–came to him. It was intoxicating, and he let his nose have its fill as he answered, “I try to put everyone to work. There’s so much we need, that I can’t waste even one warm body, but things like this matter more than others do. I picked him personally.”
“Charlie’s trying to listen,” Angela informed him suddenly.
Adrian recognized the moment of true trust for what it was, surprised.
Angela raised a brow, voice cool. “Tell me you didn’t already know what my choice would be.”
“I can’t do that.”
They were silent for a long moment, both subtly observing the teenager and each other.
“He’s upset.”
“I brought along the person he also least expected,” Angela explained. “He’ll adjust, once he understands no one has to die.”
Adrian was still able to recognize how much it bothered her. “I’ll keep him busy.”
“His dad’s good at stuff like this too,” she said quietly.
Adrian understood the hint that Marc would also need something to do until he settled in.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” And he would. She wanted Marc, wouldn’t stay without him, and Adrian would take care of that quietly. “You’ll talk to him, try to explain things?”
“He’s not ready to listen yet. When he is, I will.”
They watched the boys groom the dogs, Charlie easily taking the lead, and to his mother, he appeared much older than he was.
Adrian was thinking of his good fortune to have them both as eventual members of his army. Charlie had the paler skin of his mother, the full lips of his father, and yet, there was Kenn in him, too, in the rounded face and new, quicker temper. The teenager had earned an extra day of shit work last week for fighting with his tent mates, and now he had his own next to Kenn’s. Done to feel more independent?
“I think one of them said something about Kenny,
and he felt bound to defend him. It doesn’t feel like he wanted to.”
“He’s a good kid. You’ve done a great job.”
Angela’s frown wasn’t what he expected and neither were her words.
“He’s got a nasty side, too. He learned it well, and at some point, he’ll push for freedom from all of us,” she stated, searching for her smokes. “Probably sooner than I think. He has a lot of anger under that obedient demeanor. He’ll find an outlet.”
“I suspect we both know who that’ll be.”
“Yeah, his dad.”
They shared a smile of understanding that made her wonder if Adrian had children, if maybe he too, had lost a child to the war.
“Thank you. It helps me to know he’s had these things. I owe you a great deal.”
The ground shook under Adrian’s feet as she slid into his mind.
I’d pay it any way you want.
Adrian was a bit winded from the shiver of lust that had dove deep into his balls. “It’s why I’m here. I expect no payment.”
“Thank you.”
He sensed her gratitude had multiple meanings and didn’t ask her to clarify. He would figure it out in time, but Adrian already assumed that it was connected to his XO. Everything seemed to hinge on Kenn right now and knowing the Marine was indeed his weakest link was not a comfort.
4
Kenn was in charge of all the sentries, the Eagle on Point.
It was usually a post that he loved, but not today. He’d watched Adrian and Angela jealously as they traveled through camp, upset that they were talking so much, when she would share nothing with him.
People had been tripping over themselves to tell of Angela’s exploits, and their stories were fanning the flames. She had flirted, said she wasn’t his wife, turned her back on Adrian while he was talking to her, smoked a joint, had a confrontation with Tonya, and made Adrian bark at her at least twice. One of which had happened in a training tent full of Eagles, but not one of them would tell Kenn why. He had heard some good, too, but the anger was consuming, and it hadn’t been long before the camp began talking about how tense he was now that his woman had arrived.