The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  Cynthia: I will.

  Reporter’s final thought

  As you can see, safety is a matter of perception and, in my opinion, not to be counted on. We were led here under false pretenses by Adrian, and now we have to blindly follow his powerful, secretive successor. That’s a lot of trust for these times.”

  “You okay?” Marc asked, taking the seat next to her. He swept the mess with a hard expression, but found simple sullenness.

  “Yes.” She admired his full Eagle gear. He was sexy and most of the time, he didn’t even seem to know it. He also looked tired, but he would get to sleep while Billy drove. Daryl would cover Point tonight.

  “They’re taking it well,” Marc commented, nodding his thanks to Li Sing as the man came out with a plate.

  “Better than I expected,” she agreed, enjoying his heat. Soon, they would use the rolled up flaps to enclose their main areas for warmth.

  “Have you read it?” Angela asked.

  “From thoughts.”

  Aware that he was having his crew eat before they left, Angela passed him the paper. “Here. I have a couple meetings.”

  “Thanks.” Marc glanced up from the headline to locate Jennifer, baby in her arms, threading her way toward them through the crowded mess. “Good meetings?”

  “Mostly.”

  Marc didn’t care for the sound of that and he skimmed the paper instead of allowing it to pull him into a place where he might miss trouble.

  “How’s that beautiful little girl?” Angela cooed, unable to help it. Babies were so sweet.

  “Grouchy,” Jennifer replied, sliding the baby into Angela’s surprised arms. “Can you hold her while I get a tray?”

  “Sure,” Angela answered distractedly, staring down at the nine-week-old baby. It was an instant reminder of her unborn child and the danger that surrounded her. It was also a painful flash of the child that she’d lost.

  Autumn’s lids opened gradually, brought out of her nap by different arms holding her, and Angela tried to force those bad thoughts away. Autumn didn’t need to know about death yet.

  I already do, the child answered mentally. People think of another baby when they hold me. Can you tell me why?

  Angela blanched. When you’re older.

  It felt surreal to send that to a newborn, but Autumn was typical of all descendants. Their minds weren’t hampered by age, only their bodies.

  That’s what mommy said. Then she cried.

  Angela held the baby to her for a hug-type clutch, and refused to think of anything except sleeping. After a long moment, Autumn’s young body relaxed in sleep and Angela was grateful.

  “Now we know why Jennifer needed a break,” Marc stated. He’d caught the quick conversation and also hated the truth that Autumn would have to be told one day.

  Angela stared at Marc in horror.

  He placed a hand on hers. “We’ll all be here for her. And, for ours.”

  Angela nodded shakily. The newest vision of the future had been frightening. In it, there were babies who could think and adults who couldn’t.

  “We won’t let that happen.”

  “No, we won’t,” Angela agreed, gently placing the baby back into her mother’s arms after Jennifer sat the tray on the table and took a seat. “They only get one life and we’ll make sure it’s full and happy.”

  Angela glanced over at a small group of soldiers entering the mess. “Watch this.”

  Marc did, wondering why the men were marching eagerly toward the table where Kenn and Tonya were sitting all snuggled together. The couple was clearly on a dating meal and it was sweet.

  “Hey, there, Red!”

  “Good to see you again.”

  Tonya smiled uneasily at the four men, suddenly realizing she should have told Kenn about that part of her mission. “You guys settling in?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Captain Boothe stated, as all of the men sat down. “Safe Haven is great.”

  “Yeah, man,” Corporal James agreed, spearing a potato wedge to dip in ketchup. “Steady food, hot water, and even enough females for sex! Great place.”

  Tonya grimaced and Kenn flashed a scowl at the loud words. People across the mess were twisting to stare at their table.

  “Well, we’re glad you like it here,” Tonya tried to cut off the coming disaster. “Kenn, let’s go and have that–”

  “Oh, yeah, Red. We didn’t expect things to be so, well, free. I mean, most places wouldn’t be okay with one chick for two guys, but the Ghost doesn’t have trouble with it.”

  Kenn froze, replaying the man’s words.

  Across the mess, conversations ceased.

  “Seems like one chick for two guys is a common setup,” Boothe commented, holding his bread around the loaded hamburger. “That’s great, considering there ain’t enough women to go around.”

  Tonya nearly choked as Kenn’s fork clattered to the tray.

  “No, it’s okay, man,” Boothe soothed. “We know you and Ghost got this one. No worries.”

  Kenn was turning red and Tonya tried to slide under the table so she could vanish. This was bad.

  Kenn’s hand on her arm stopped her exit. “Whoa there, big momma.”

  Tonya froze.

  “So, how does it work, man?” James asked, not realizing there was a problem.

  “Yeah, can we pick one or do they pick us?” Boothe questioned. “How did you and the Ghost handle things?”

  Angela’s snickers were floating toward them, but not fast enough and Kenn glowered at Tonya as he let go of her arm. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

  Finally realizing something was wrong, the four soldiers fell silent and the entire mess got to listen to Tonya.

  She cleared her throat. “I, uh, had orders. I followed them.”

  Kenn’s head swiveled to where Angela and Marc were sitting, both snickering. “What kind of orders, woman?”

  “She said she was there to negotiate with the base commander. Told us she was the Ghost’s mistress,” James blurted. “Man, did we help her then!”

  “Yeah, I’ll bet you did,” Kenn drawled in an icy tone that spoke of violence coming.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Tonya said awkwardly. “Marc has always been nice to me and sure, he’s fantastic to look at, but I…” Flustered, Tonya realized she was making it worse.

  “Son of a bitch!” Kenn glared at Marc. “Angie and Kendle weren’t enough–you had to have Tonya! Where the hell do you even find the time for all these women?”

  Marc, feeling fantastic after making Angie moan his name twice, grinned widely and shrugged. “I’m the Ghost, dude. I’m everywhere.”

  6

  “What do you think about her?”

  Jennifer stopped to scan the mess, where Tara and Shawn had joined the food line and created fresh gossip.

  Kyle waited patiently, feeling quite happy with her arm linked through his as they did rounds. While Marc was gone and Angela was sleeping, Jennifer was Daryl’s XO as he covered Point.

  “She’s very closed,” Jennifer said finally. “And the boss told me directly to–” Jennifer snapped her mouth shut, realizing she’d made a mistake.

  “To leave her alone?” Kyle guessed. He’d had that same order from Adrian, many times.

  “Yes,” Jennifer admitted. She could trust Kyle. “Angela has something planned with her, I think.”

  “Matching her up with Shawn?” Kyle asked, thinking the couple looked very tense and not at all interested in each other.

  “That’s certainly what she thinks,” Jennifer observed quietly. “But I’m not positive he likes her very much.”

  Kyle wasn’t sure why. Tara was attractive, and obviously able to have kids. She had a job here and she’d been cleared by the boss. She had all the basics of a good Eagle mate.

  “Do I?” Jennifer asked suddenly.

  Kyle chuckled. “No. You’re top grade. She’ll have to work her way up.”

  Pleased. Jennifer beamed at him.

 
Kyle refused to let her dazing ability freeze him and he pushed through the fog to tell her, “You’re beautiful.”

  Jennifer blushed. “Thanks.”

  Kyle kept them moving, aware of the sparks running up his arm from the innocent contact of her hand on his skin. Their intimate moments were burnt into his brain and they reared up at any provocation to sear him with need.

  Jennifer tightened her grip on his hand. “We can sleep together.”

  Kyle knew she meant actual sleep, but that didn’t stop his pulse from increasing. Despite wanting her desperately, Kyle planned to take his time claiming her and sleeping together meant an entire shift of feeling her warm, young body pressed tightly to his.

  “Whatever you want,” he answered eagerly.

  “I want you to work on your promise,” she blurted in a low mutter.

  Shocked, Jennifer spun toward the gate to do a check in there before she got completely distracted. She knew Daryl and the Eagles had things covered, but she’d been given an important role today and she wasn’t going to mess it up.

  Kyle followed slowly, mind spinning. She kept pushing him, saying she wanted another baby, and he had no problem believing that. However, he also knew Autumn was young enough that Jennifer didn’t need to get pregnant again right away. Would she settle for the pleasure side of that, without the pregnancy attempts? He wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with her and had chosen not to. He would stick to his plans of slowly bringing them together to ensure her good feelings for him didn’t change. When he took her all the way to being his woman, he would make the final choice then. As far as he knew, that was still a long time off and there was no sense in worrying over it.

  Jennifer spun around to glower at him with crimson sight.

  Kyle sighed. “Okay, baby. Okay.”

  Mollified, Jennifer returned to her rounds and Kyle headed for the mess, suddenly wishing Neil or Marc was here for him to talk to.

  Jennifer gave a short wave to the three Indian men who were escorting the ants toward the mess. Three times a day the insects came to the mess for the scraps, and Angela had assigned Marc’s Indian buddies to the chore of making certain there were no problems between ants and people. There hadn’t been any so far, and Jennifer didn’t expect any. The ants were very useful and the people here knew that now.

  The trio of new men nodded to her respectfully and the tallest man sent her a tiny, hopeful smile that said he was interested in her.

  Jennifer’s stomach twisted and the clammy feel of fear came over her skin.

  She hurried toward the gate. Kyle was the only man who didn’t draw that reaction from her. The males here were mostly kind and patient, and even handsome, but Kyle was the only one she could trust.

  Safe Haven’s engines echoed as Neil’s crew rolled through the gates. They were headed north–a direction that hadn’t gone well for their teams. “Good luck, gentlemen,” she wished. The rock salt was already needed, but in a few weeks, it would be the difference between getting off this mountain for runs and being stuck here until a thaw came. Winter in places like this came months before the rest of the country saw it, though, Jennifer was certain that had also changed. Between the war and then Yellowstone blowing, there was little doubt about what type of winter they could expect. The unknown was how long it would last and Jennifer hadn’t worked up the courage to survey that far ahead. She was positive, however, that Angela had. That woman was a walking crystal ball.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Everything You Expect

  1

  “Did you talk to the doctor?” Neil asked as the gates clanged shut behind their truck. They’d chosen to leave at an odd hour in order to arrive in near dawn, and their watches glowed the 2am hour brightly in the dark cab.

  “Yes,” Jeremy answered. “If you want to call it that. He told me to mind my own business.”

  “Same here,” Neil complained. “And we didn’t get to talk to Cynthia alone.”

  “We’ll handle it as soon as we get home,” Jeremy comforted. “For now, let’s get ready for the north. You know what Angela said about these runs.”

  “Yeah, and none of them have exactly gone smooth,” Neil agreed. “You got the map?”

  “Right here,” Jeremy stated, holding it up.

  They were both distracted from further talk by the sight of a pathetic shadow wearily trudging up the road toward them. In the darkness, all they could see was a thin man who couldn’t stop coughing.

  “You wanna?”

  “Yeah.”

  Neil pulled over to the man and rolled his window down. “You okay?”

  The man coughed harshly and spat, before nodding. “Almost there, I think.”

  “Headed to Safe Haven?” Jeremy asked, picking out runny eyes and a red nose.

  “Yes,” the man forced out and then coughed again.

  “Another Yellowstone refugee coming to the gate,” Neil called over the radio. “Can you send someone?” They had a full load of men, with no room to run the man to the top of the road themselves.

  “Copy that,” Daryl responded.

  Neil gave the man a sympathetic look. “They’ll come get you and the doctor will check you out.”

  “Thank you,” the man wheezed, pulling a thin jacket tighter around his thin frame.

  “Been on the road a long time?” Neil asked.

  “Weeks,” the man answered, glancing up at them with a weak smile. “Names Jayson.”

  “Neil and Jeremy,” Neil introduced distractedly. “We’ve got to go now, but it won’t be long before someone rolls down for you.”

  “No problem,” Jayson stated, stepping back.

  He coughed again, bringing up phlegm that he quickly spat toward the trees. “Sorry.”

  “We understand,” Jeremy answered, feeling bad for all the refugees who’d breathed in the ash. Most of them would die, according to their doctors, and Jeremy thought it might be true of Jayson.

  As they pulled away, Jeremy hit the mike. “Looks sick, base. Someone wake up the doctor.”

  “Copy.”

  Neil and Jeremy both studied the man in their mirrors as they rolled down the hill, neither speaking until he faded from their view.

  Neil could feel Jeremy stewing on it, and said, “Let it go.”

  Jeremy sighed. “I can’t, man. I’ve been trying, but each time we have people like that come in, the truth comes out.”

  “That he got us out of that zone so we didn’t die?” Neil questioned angrily. “I don’t buy it. He didn’t know, and even if he did, it doesn’t excuse his betrayals.”

  “No,” Jeremy agreed. “It doesn’t.” But we wouldn’t be alive if he hadn’t.

  Neither man spoke the thought, but it stayed on their minds as they rolled away.

  2

  Daryl helped to open the gate and he didn’t bat a lash when an extra person exited and headed in the opposite direction of the jeep Neil had called for.

  Daryl didn’t watch the person disappear into the tree line by Adrian’s camp, and he didn’t put it in the report after securing the gate. Samantha had a pass from the boss, though neither of the women wanted anyone to know about it. Daryl didn’t care. That was a problem belonging to Neil and Jeremy. Daryl’s issue was currently asleep since he’d had to take Point for Marc and miss their planned meal together. He’d spent the evening worrying over what he needed to know and whatever Angela and Samantha had going on with Adrian might even be a blessing. Daryl was scared that at some time, Adrian would remember who had gotten the reporter pregnant and want to be a father. It was something he wouldn’t be able to handle. He wasn’t Neil or Jeremy. He was a one-woman man and he needed his mate to be the same.

  “Off duty soon, big boy?”

  Daryl grimaced as his flesh responded to the usual mating call. He’d been servicing the older women almost since arriving. They liked his pleasing nature and he liked pussy–of any size and shape. It had worked out well. Until now.

  Daryl turned a
round to view the large woman in the shadows of the gate, her eyes wide and shining with need. His body, as always, was willing, but his heart flat-out refused and he sighed unhappily. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  The woman shrugged calmly. “I wasn’t sure. Had to try.”

  Daryl gave Hilda a soft smile. “Would you like a recommendation?”

  Hilda gave a curt nod. She wasn’t in love with Daryl by any means, but she had enjoyed their moments together.

  “Billy.”

  Her expression revived and the twinkle returned. “Would he? Not his usual type.”

  Daryl thought of the private conversations he’d had with the driver. “He loves the female body–all shapes and sizes.”

  “Like you?”

  Daryl blushed a bit. “Sounds like it.”

  Hilda stared at him as she slowly retreated. “Thank you.”

  “It was my honor,” Daryl stated, voice dropping into the low growl that she enjoyed. “And yours, I believe.”

  Hilda giggled like a schoolgirl, hand over her mouth as she vanished, and the respect of the moment left them both in peace, instead of in pieces.

  3

  “If I’m going to do this now, you have to let me take it from here,” Kyle stated as he and Jennifer entered the tent at the end of their shift. Her unease was nearly palatable. “We go at my speed.”

  “Just so long as we’re going, Mr. Reece.”

  Kyle grinned, kneeling down to untie his boots. “No worries.”

  Jennifer followed her normal routine for the end of a shift, removing the dirty clothes down to her bra and underwear. She didn’t pause in the stripping, but she heard Kyle gasp and saw his shadow on the wall freeze.

  Glad their tent was out of sight behind the new wall dividing the guard station; Kyle drew in air and forced his fingers to untie the second boot.

  Jennifer slid into a long robe and sank down gratefully in the folding chair. She picked up the mug she’d brought from the mess and her lids shut as she sipped.

  Kyle stared at her in longing, wanting her so bad he ached. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her until she felt like that from contact with him.