by Angela White
Adrian rolled his eyes and stepped past the cubicles. “Kenn has no idea how full his hands really are. Come on.”
Angela followed quickly, embarrassed and disappointed, and she could feel Adrian’s disapproval as they moved to the far left side of the spacious tent area. She could also feel the redhead’s hot eyes still on her, and forced herself not to look back. It was almost like she knew him…
Adrian knew his frown was drawing eyes and smoothed out his forehead, but knew he would have to talk to her in the next couple of days 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 soon if she really 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.”
There was an edge of hungry need to her voice, and Adrian soothed her even while telling her what she didn’t want to hear. “Then we’ll have to find a way to feed it that you can tolerate, won’t we?”
Reluctantly nodding, she was willing to leave it at that, and they slipped out a back corner of the tent. Adrian checking his watch. “Over to your right.”
Angela spotted her son’s thin frame through the spruce trees, and watched him lead a beautiful black-and-white collie around a series of obstacles, followed by two other teenage boys with similar looking animals.
“He’s a dog handler. Just became the top trainer. He’s very good with them.”
Angela watched her son laugh and joke with the other boys even as he taught them to do it right. He had been happy here, cared for. She did owe Kenn a thank you for this.
The teenagers were working on commands now, and it pleased them both when the collie obeyed without hesitation. It was clear Charlie had a connection to his dog.
Angela lowered her voice, not wanting to let the boy know she was there. “Do you have all the teens do this or just 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 her question. “I try to put everyone to work. There’s so much we need, I can’t waste even one warm body, but things like this matter and I handpick them personally.”
Angela turned her back suddenly. “He’s trying to listen.”
Adrian recognized the moment of true trust for what it was, surprised, and Angela raised a brow, voice cool, “Tell me you didn’t already know.”
“I can’t do that.”
They were silent for a long moment, both subtly watching the teenager and each other.
“He’s mad.”
“I brought along the person he also least expected. He’ll adjust once he that sees no one has to die.”
She acknowledged Adrian’s observation, voice even, but he saw in her eyes how much it bothered her.
Adrian frowned, “I’ll keep him busy.”
“His dad’s good at stuff like this too,” she said quietly, and Adrian understood the unspoken hint that Brady would also need something to do until he adjusted.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” And he would. She wanted Brady, wouldn’t stay without him, and Adrian would see to that quietly. “You’ll talk to him, try to explain things?”
Angela shook her head. “He’s not ready to listen yet. When he is, I will.”
They watched the boys groom the dogs, Charlie easily taking the lead, guiding, and to his mom, he looked 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 really wanted to.”
Adrian met her eye. “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 start pushing for freedom from all of us,” she sighed, 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.”
Angela nodded, grinning wryly. “Yeah, his dad.”
They shared a smile of understanding that made her wonder if he 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 to hold on to. I owe you a great deal.”
The ground was shaking under his feet as she slid into his mind. “And, I’d pay it any way you want.”
Adrian shook his head, voice a bit winded from the shiver of lust that dove deep. “It’s why I’m here. I expect no payment. I’m the Guardian.”
Angela gave a short nod, very surprised to find out that the thought of sleeping with him wasn’t totally terrifying. “I’m in your debt just the same.”
4
Kenn was in charge of all the guards, the Eagle on Point, and it was usually a job he loved. Not today. He’d watched Adrian and Angela jealously as they moved through camp. Kenn was upset that they were talking so much, when she would share nothing with him and more than fearful over what she might have told.
Camp members 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 could tell him what it had been over. Kenn had heard some good, too, but the anger was consuming, and it hadn’t been long before the camp was talking about how tense he was… now that his woman was here.
The questions were blunt - some of them outright provocative - and it only toned down when he grabbed an offender (Danny) and shoved him into the side of a truck. He had walked away by picturing Adrian’s face, and word had really spread then. By late afternoon, there wasn’t a camp member who wasn’t watching them and growing more curious at the lack of answers.
The next few hours were a dusty blur for Angela as they walked the camp and talked to people whose names she quickly forgot. She was astounded by everything he had going on here. There were driving and sewing classes, kids and adults in circles teaching, groups of women changing tires, karate and archery near the livestock area, kickball where the football had been earlier. Everywhere she looked, she saw healthy, nearly normal people coming and going, talking and laughing… living.
It was almost overwhelming to someone who had been alone with just one man for eight weeks. The longer she and Adrian walked and talked, the further the trip here began to seem. She was overjoyed to have her son back, but all the noise and new faces made her nervous, uncomfortable.
She thought about telling Adrian that she wanted to go to her tent, and forced herself to hang on instead, knowing these hours were an evaluation. Why his opinion should matter to her, was everywhere she looked. He truly cared if people lived or died, and she already had great respect for him and the parts of the dream he had shared with her. The open nosiness was difficult compared to the quiet and privacy she’d had on the way here though, and some of the questions were outright nasty. It was hard to keep the old Angela from saying the wrong thing as the day wore on, but she held herself and the Witch in check, needing once again to prove that she could.
Adrian was pleased. She was polite and interested, easily side-stepping questions about Kenn and the Wolfman, as Brady was being called. She was very adept at distracting even the most persistent, drawing them into discussions of things closest to their hearts. The leader was certain she would win them ove
r if given time, but Kenn was going to have a lot of problems.
Angela wasn’t even close to the weak, inept little woman that he had recently hinted couldn’t possibly have survived, thus his reason for not undertaking the hazardous trip back to Ohio. The Marine had left her to survive on her own, rather than going back for her. People would recognize that quickly. At the very least, it would cost him respect and leave unanswered questions, like why wouldn’t he want her here? She was smart, useful. What hadn’t he wanted the camp (Adrian) to know? From there, the clues would fill in the blanks if they looked hard enough. The Eagles were already becoming aware that the Marine had lied to all of them. After watching her all day, it was hard to miss and Adrian felt their anger at Kenn growing.
The Angela they were meeting was also more alert-minded than any of the other females here. The only time Adrian had seen her hesitate (except when close to Kenn) was when they headed to the shooting area.
Dusk came on suddenly around 6 p.m., heavy rainclouds rolling over the dusty South Dakota landscape like a solid wall. The center pool had been lit and was blazing, along with eight charred garbage cans around the corners of the long camp. It drove back some of the darkness, but not enough. Angela stopped as a feeling of cold danger swept over her, hand dropping to the butt of the deadly gun on her hip.
Adrian’s heart thumped at the intense look she shared with a nearby guard. He wasn’t surprised when the radio lit up a second later.
“Permission to double the watch, and roll in the camp, Boss?”
Adrian pushed a button on his belt. “Roger, ten and two.”
Angela gave him a curious look, once again feeling grateful to Marc. “Channel switch?”
The leader nodded, changing his belt dial. “Very good. What did you tell him?”
Angela lit a Marlboro, worried eyes still on the darkening shadows. “There’s someone watching you from one of the houses up on that hill.”
Those houses were at least five miles away, and Adrian relaxed visibly. He still sent a quickly tapped out message to Kyle, not needing to ask if they were bad. He knew from the way she’d reacted and got them moving again, wondering if it was just a coincidence that Seth was the one she had alerted. Had she known the redheaded guard was his secret protection, or had they formed a bond just from this afternoon?
“Both. Why aren’t you keeping me out?” Angela asked suddenly, bluntly.
Adrian retuned her frank stare. “I don’t feel like I need to. Couldn’t if you really wanted in anyway, right?”
“There are ways,” she muttered, eyes on the ground.
He shook his head. “I won’t use them. It’s all or nothing with me. I believe in what I’m doing, and I believe you will too in time. There will be more hardship and sacrifices, I have no doubt of that. Our journey has really just begun, but we’ll hold them together with our belief.”
“You’ve seen these things.”
It wasn’t a question and he smiled, sure she would settle into it quickly once he had her under his wing. Why hadn’t Kenn done it?
“Every night shows me more. Will you come by my tent in the morning, around 11?”
Adrian felt her tense as a large group of people walked by, laughing, staring, and whispering. “Just give it time. That feeling will go away.”
She looked at him with a frightened girl’s sad, alluring eyes, “You promise?”
Adrian felt the plea for trust in the question and nodded without hesitation, male heart eager to lend comfort. “Yes. I’ll see to it personally.”
A volley of gunshots rang out from the training area, and Adrian saw the way she controlled her flinch, thinking that too would go away. How quickly can I settle her place here? Depending on her restlessness, her need… less time than it had taken with Kenn.
They continued toward the loud noise, one that Angela was dreading, knowing the sound was that of many people. Adrian said when the fires were lit, all but one activity was ended, and that it usually drew a crowd to the final entertainment of the evening. There was laughter, voices raised in conversation and support, dogs yapping excitedly in the background, all things she’d been longing for the whole time they were on the way here, and now that she had it, she suddenly wanted to be alone again.
The breeze was cooling off, but Angela forced herself to leave her sweater around her hips despite the slight chill, sure it would be seen as a sign of weakness by those watching if she put it back on.
Huge spotlights sat on the roofs of long trucks and lit the baseball field. Gunshots echoed almost continuously, amid the cheers and moans of the watching crowd that parted to let them through.
Adrian grinned at Tonya’s unhappy face as he stepped by, but didn’t talk to her or any of the others. It had been a good day.
Angela was tense, to say the least, and tried to handle it as Marc would have. Cool, calm, and observant. Drawing in a breath, Angela straightened her shoulders and looked around. She and Adrian were in the thick of over a hundred laughing, talking, whispering, pointing, yelling, staring people, and it was almost too much …
“Easy. In time, they’ll be family.”
Angela was drawn along, his silent words helping, and pushed the fear back.
More shots rang out as they neared the shoulder-high, chain-link fence. Angela saw three tall men step back from a small row of bales, feeling almost everyone stealing looks at her as she stood on Adrian’s right.
One of the men was Doug. He and Neil were both chuckling at something Kenn had just said, and it came to her strongly that when he’d called them his men, her Marine hadn’t lied. How would she ever convince them to give Brady a chance?
She couldn’t. They would have to judge for themselves. It wouldn’t be hard if they looked closely.
“Maybe you should really look at your Marine,” the Witch coaxed. “Be sure.”
She did, searching hard, and the things that came to her were surprising, disconcerting. He appears more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, she thought first. Also, more attractive despite the anger she could still feel. Concentrating on the targets, Kenny was tall, dark, and handsome, beer belly gone. Angela felt a stray curl of lust that was an unwelcome reminder of her naivety. She had been physically attracted to him when they met and had assumed that because it had been magical with Brady, it would be that way with any man. It was a reminder of when she’d been young and dumb, easily fooled.
Her thoughts were interrupted by more gunfire, and it occurred to her that she felt safe enough with Adrian next to her that she had gotten lost in her own mind with a huge crowd of people around. Eager to be distracted from the choices she knew were coming, Angela stepped closer to the fence, missing the surprise of his men when Adrian followed, assumed the bodyguard’s place behind and to her right.
“Bulls-eye!”
The crowd cheered, and Neil groaned, eliminated. As the targets were replaced, he joined Adrian and Angela.
“You remember Neil?”
She nodded, noticing the leader hadn’t reminded her of anyone else’s name. She caught the hint that Neil was someone important here, but didn’t really need it. It was clear by all the attention he got from the camp and how he was everywhere, like Kenn, doing a little of everything.
“Now it gets good,” Neil said, subtly watching the pretty woman with the split lip. He hadn’t heard all the stories when he’d seen her earlier, and while he wanted to believe Kenn wouldn’t, there were witnesses. Not camp members yet, their word wouldn’t matter publicly, but it would to the Eagles.
“No fair! Kenn’s got his wife here!” Kyle complained jokingly. “No good luck charms!”
Angela blushed at the mobster’s joking protest, but before she could respond with a joke of her own or deny the title, guns crashed again, Kenn unloading his clip.
“Eight bulls-eyes! We have a tie!”
A loud cheer went up, and Adrian gave Neil a look before quickly climbing the fence.
He dropping lightly to the ground wit
h an easy grace that made Angela’s stomach tighten. Sexy!
“Too late for another shooter?”
Kenn and Doug groaned as the camp cheered in approval, and Angela could feel them behind her, whispering, staring. She couldn’t help resting her hand on her gun, hating having so many strangers at her back. She could hear too much of the conversations, most of it about her. Marc and Kenn were being mentioned, but there were also words about the quarantine rule Adrian had broken… and her carrying a gun. Apparently, none of the other females had passed the class yet. Angela also understood that she was also the first woman he had shown this much interest in and some of them were wondering if it was personal. After a minute of consideration, she decided those few were idiots. Their leader only wanted her gifts. And she wanted Brady.
“Those three outshoot everyone here. Adrian schedules these contests every few weeks, and the camp loves it.”
Neil had moved a little closer so she could hear him through the fence, and Angela smiled, glad to have someone to talk to.
The three men lined up, first, second, and fifth in command (as far as the camp knew), checking their weapons. As everyone fell silent, she wondered how many reasons Adrian had for doing things like this, and was curious if even his army knew half of them.
Doug was first, and as he stepped forward, hoping to rattle Kenn, he smiled and waved to Angela, thinking the Marine had better try to patch things up with her before his replacement was made official.
Angela returned his wave with a nod, face red, and the crowd roared at the big man’s tactics.
Kenn wasn’t laughing though, was suddenly determined not to miss a single shot. Right now, he knew where to put his anger.
“Bulls-eye!”
Doug grinned as Kenn moved forward. Before he could tease, the Marine pulled the trigger again, and then emptied the clip.
The crowd muttered in surprise and then quieted, everyone waiting for Adrian’s reaction.
“Put Doug’s targets back up after the call,” was all Adrian said. The leader grinned at the big man who was now the one rattled. “You started it.”