by Angela White
He would have to be more careful here than in the other places he’d helped Cesar gain control of, and there was no way he would be able to contact the Mexican on time. Rick would have to lay low for a while and blend in, try to be forgotten. This was a large, well organized group of people, and judging from the almost constant gunfire, they were learning to defend themselves. He would have to find their weakest point or Cesar and his nasty men might not be enough for these people.
“These people might be good, Rick. We have to warn them about Cesar.”
Samantha had told him that from the passenger seat of the Blazer, saying she knew he’d made a deal with the slavers, but that it wasn't too late to do the right thing. It was, of course. Rick didn’t like fearing for his life because of the color of his skin (Oh my, how the world had changed), but he did like Cesar’s way of life and had no intentions of backing out.
He would give the Mexican this camp, and then he and Samantha would go away for a while. She was never far from his thoughts, body crying out to him from two tents over, and he cautioned himself to be patient. Even if she went back on their deal - and he knew she would - he’d have her in the end.
If he treaded lightly. The leader here had a warden’s eyes, the coolness that watched and waited, knowing his convicts would offend again if given the opportunity. Rick planned to stay out of Adrian’s line of sight for the duration of his stay. He’d received a copy of the rules within his first hour of being here, and understood their warnings clearly. He was already suspected of being the enemy. If caught in the act, he would pay with his life.
9
Adrian began his rounds with the small sea of sleeping tents that surrounded his and frowned when he saw that one hadn’t been put up for Angela. Kenn’s doing? Probably. His unease stayed with him as he went to the perimeter.
His stops were brief, and full of comments about Kenn’s behavior. The only place he lingered was the QZ, where Neil was pulling extra hours to cover the doubled watch. Tomorrow night he would sleep like a baby, but tonight the trooper was their eyes and ears, and Adrian went to him looking for information. He’d seen the cop go into Brady’s tent, and since Neil wasn't one to lightly break his rules, the leader wanted to know what had happened, what he had missed.
Adrian moved through the darkness beyond the perimeter tape and saw that Neil’s post was the one without a second guard. That explained the extra man two stops back, he thought, as he stopped near him. “What happened to your help?”
“He got on my nerves.”
Adrian was almost certain Zack’s words about unfaithful women had almost caused a fight. Zack was a notorious woman-hater, didn’t matter who she was. Makes sense now, Adrian thought. Perfect right hand for his Marine.
“Broadcasting again when he should have been tuning in?”
Neil nodded, grinning as his eyes swept the dark and deadly landscape around their sleeping people. “Been one of those days.”
“Yes, it has. Put a 24-hour on Danny. He’s our thief.”
There was total confidence, and Neil nodded, his mind going straight to Angela. Had she told him that? Did it matter? “I’d love to be the guard on him at the trial.”
Adrian shrugged, thinking there wouldn’t be one if he was caught in the act. Another problem with the clogged legal system, fixed. If there was absolute proof, then why have a trial? Guilty didn’t change just because someone forgot to sign a paper or read them their rights. They were the criminals. They didn’t have any.
The cold wind gusted by, bringing a light drizzle, and Neil carefully swept the dark landscape again before turning back, satisfied for the moment. He drew in a breath and looked his boss in the eye. “What’s the penalty here for hitting a woman?”
Adrian chose his words carefully. This was definitely the trooper’s chance to get rid of Kenn, but it would destroy a whole camp of survivors. “You know. A trial, and then the camp votes on either a second chance with harsh punishments or branding and banishment.”
“And if it’s one of your circle doing the hitting? Do the same rules apply?” Neil asked evenly.
Adrian met his eye. “Yes. Our laws are for all of us, including me.”
The trooper was glad to hear it, but said nothing else.
“Is there something I should know?” Adrian asked, stomach a hard knot. Had the cop seen something? What had Kenn done?
“Just suspicions.”
Clearly he didn’t want to say more, and Adrian relaxed a bit inside, while pinning one of his most trusted men with a hard look. “Your instincts are part of why you’re here. If you know something, especially if it concerns a woman, I expect you to tell me.”
Neil sighed, torn. He too knew what was at stake. “I didn’t see it, can’t trust those who say they did, but I believe it.” He gave Adrian a brief run through of the encounters he’d had today, lingering on the scene between her and Marc.
“He really does love her, and he’ll let her go if that’s what she wants, I’m sure of it. He‘s already following our rules, and he doesn’t even know what they are! Then there’s Kenn, trying to force her back into a relationship she clearly doesn’t want. He didn’t give her a tent, told her boy not to put it up, that she would spend her nights in his bed where she belongs. He plans to put her in all of his classes and activities - so that he can keep an eye on her, is my guess… And he’s been telling people that Charlie is his biological kid.”
That made Adrian frown, remembering the Marine’s words to him when they’d first met. He had asked if that was his son, and Kenn had said... ”Might as well be.”
They had all assumed he was caring for a child that wasn’t his, and it had impressed them. As he had known it would, Adrian realized. More than just the Eagles would be pissed over this. Either he had lied back then to get closer to the camp, or he was lying now to hold onto Angela.
“We’re gonna watch, give them a chance to settle in, but I won’t let either of them force her into anything.”
Neil kept his voice low, glad he had told the blond. “Good, because I don’t think there are many left like her.”
Adrian grinned. “Pretty, isn’t she?”
The cop shook his head, meeting Adrian’s eye. “Beautiful, but it’s more than that,” he stated, thinking of the way she had read his mind to start their conversation. “She’s special, and more than just because she’s a doctor, you know?”
Adrian nodded. He did and wasn’t surprised the trooper had noticed too. Neil wasn’t as quick as Kyle on most things in their training, but about people, he was faster.
“I’m going to look after her when I can, maybe ask a couple of the Eagles to quietly do the same,” the cop said, not needing to see the frown on Adrian’s face to know it was there.
“Got hopes, Neil?” Adrian asked and was relieved when the cop shook his head.
“No. Brady asked me to, but I had already decided I would before I talked with him. She’s got a strong pull, a gift we need, and a lot of men will want her, not just those two.”
Adrian’s face betrayed none of how much those words pleased and bothered him, because they were very true. He was glad Neil was planning to take Brady under his wing. He hadn’t said so, but Adrian had spent months getting to know the Arizona cop, and it was encouraging that at least one of his own was willing to give the man and his wolf a chance. Almost everyone else was talking of making his life rough if he got between Kenn and his wife, and with Marc out of the QZ, though he’d been told not to roam until morning, the changes, the tension, would start.
These people wouldn’t accept him easily. To stay and have a chance at rebuilding his life, Brady would have to prove himself, and Neil could definitely help him with that. The auburn-haired guard was sharp, very popular, and there would have been serious trouble if he had taken a stand against Kenn in the beginning and made the camp choose.
“You’ll let me know how your day with him goes?”
Neil grinned, and it hit him again how
grateful he was for Adrian. Anyone else would be using it all to their advantage, and things would have to be spelled out. With the blond man, he saw it before it was a problem, handled it quickly and quietly, and knew his people well. Considering what they had done to the old world, what others had been allowed to do, Neil still thought Adrian was more than they deserved.
“You know it.”
Adrian nodded, almost smiling as their long day came to an end. “Yes, I do.”
Chapter Forty Three
Day 2
1
You know what to do, Kenn told himself, moving purposefully through the zone.
It was barely 5 a.m., and the Marine was hoping to catch the quarantined man off guard, but Rick had survived in Cesar’s world.
When the lightly crunching boots stopped in front of his flap, his green eyes flew open. Rick’s fingers tightened on the gun he’d gone to sleep with.
“Hello in the tent? Got a minute?”
The voice was hard, as was the tapping on the flap, and Rick grunted, rolling. He slipped on his boots, but waited for a second tap and call to convince whoever it was that they'd woken him up. They would know better as soon as they saw the boots already on, but at least he wouldn’t be caught unprepared for a fight.
“Yeah! Hang on!” He didn’t bother buttoning his shirt, just shoved the gun into his waistband and fished for his smokes. “Come on.”
Kenn moved quickly, letting in a blast of chilly wind that only cleared a little of the nervous sweat-reek that hit him in the face. The Marine immediately sent shrewd eyes over the messy floor and even messier man, then flashed a sympathetic smile that he didn't care if the slaver saw through. The man had only been here one day, and he'd already filled a tent with trash. It said a lot.
“I know it’s early, but I’ll be busy later.”
Rick shrugged, lit a smoke. He dropped down in the only chair and raised a brow as he adjusted the dirty black bandana around his throat. “Thought someone would be by sooner with all the security you guys got here...” he said, forcing himself to act normal. He was glad the leader wasn’t coming, but was sure if the Marine suspected something, the boss man would be by shortly.
“Big camp, lots of shit to handle.”
Rick blew a disrespectful stream of smoke in the enemy’s direction. If this dog-tag-wearing putz was all he had to face, he'd gotten lucky.
“Is this the part where I get warned to follow the rules or hit the road?” he questioned in a bored tone that he didn’t even remotely feel.
Kenn nodded, not liking him - from his dirty hair and even grimier clothes, to his shifty green eyes. “Something like that. We always check out the new people, but you came from a known group of killers, so yes, there are questions and things to be said.”
Rick picked up a half-full can of pop from the dirty floor. “Samantha told you everything we know.”
Kenn’s eyes narrowed at the tone, and Rick cautioned himself to back off a bit. There was a reason this man was second-in-command here, and it wasn’t because he liked to hit women. Though in Cesar’s camp, that might earn him a high place, too.
“We need other things, like where you hail from, what your career was, and also why not one white male has been spared by that group. Except for you.”
Rick tensed even though he was expecting it and chose his words carefully, not meeting Kenn’s eye for more than a second or two.
“I was a janitor at a minimum security jail in southern Arizona,” Rick began, trying to make Cesar look like less of a threat. “When the power went off, the backup generators didn’t come on, and there was a riot. The guards were outnumbered. It was during exercise time, and most of the men were out of their cells.”
Kenn believed that. It had been the same across the country. Almost none of America’s prisons had held. “Where were you?”
“Hiding in the basement at first, then I realized I could sneak out if I could get the generators going.”
Kenn's words were sharp. “Yeah, you could go, after setting all the murderers loose.”
Rick didn’t flinch at the accusing tone; he’d heard that one too many times before. “Their crimes were minor. I wasn't going to die for them. I had to get out, and I did.”
“You were caught?”
The wolf in sheep's clothing nodded. “They let me live because I set them free. They owed me that.”
Kenn tried to pierce him with the hard look Adrian used, and Rick casually emptied his soda can, not meeting his eye.
“I was the leader’s slave from there. If I had insisted on leaving, he would have killed me.”
Kenn was able to see the truth of that in those bloodshot green eyes. “So, how did you two get away?”
Rick dropped his butt into the soda can and set it on the filthy canvas floor, controlling the nervous tremor. Instinct said they already knew. Why not use it?
“His men think we escaped, but Cesar let us go, knows where we are. I gave him this camp for our freedom.”
Kenn’s gun was halfway out of its holster as he stepped forward, eyes blazing.
Rick fell backwards in his haste to get away. He landed with a loud thump, hitting his head hard. He held up a hand as the angry Marine moved toward him again.
“That's just what I told him to get away!"
Kenn hesitated, and Rick let fear bleed through his voice, knowing it was expected. “Come on man! I’m an American too! I said what I had to so we could go.”
Kenn took a minute to pick the right response, but didn’t relax or put away his gun. When he spoke, Adrian’s words flew out of his mouth. “A real American would have died before turning them loose. Every life they’ve taken is on your hands!”
Rick flinched. That he hadn’t heard before, and it echoed in his head, even though deep down he already knew he was damned.
“Will they follow you? What was the plan?”
“Already on the way, I would think. He told me how to get here and to report back to him in two weeks. When I don’t, he’ll know I told you everything. That I betrayed him.”
Kenn's eyes were cold. “Don’t leave this tent for anything but the bathroom. You already know to use the ones here. If you need something, tell one of the guards, not the doctor or the people who bring your food. They won’t talk to you. Leave the Quarantine Zone for any reason, and I’ll shoot you myself!”
Kenn ducked outside before Rick could respond and headed straight through the sleeping refugee camp to Adrian. This guy was no good - from his pack of lies, to his insolent, smug eyes - and Kenn would make it clear to not only the Boss, but to the guards as well. When Rick left that tent, he would have a guard on him at all times.
2
As the very dim and distant sun began to rise behind the gritty sky, Angela was headed to the livestock area, nodding friendly hellos to the surprising number of people also out and about so early. Inside, she was fighting the urge to hide in her tent. Being around so many people was making her very uncomfortable, and she stiffened her chin. Intimidated or not, these people wouldn't see it. Not when there was so much at stake.
Angela had woken to a note on Charlie’s pillow saying he had to deliver trays, and then get to work. She understood he was giving her a teenager’s coldness because she had refused to make Marc leave. He was afraid of what Kenny might do, and so was she, but she couldn’t back down now, not when she was already making real progress. One day, they might both be free of him.
The rift between her and her son so soon after being reunited bothered Angela, but she knew it would take time for him to come around, wasn’t going to push. And she wasn’t going to hide. She and Marc had done very little wrong. Kenn was the problem, and from this moment on, she would start building a new life. That meant showing she could do the dirty work, and that she didn’t wait to be asked. Her plan was to help the vet today, and be close to her boy too. Hopefully, they would be too busy to talk (and avoid those harder questions he hadn’t drawn up the nerve to ask yet) and
she would be asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, instead of all the tossing and turning she’d done last night. She didn’t look at the QZ or Marc’s tent as she went by, but she knew he was there and was comforted by it.
Angela entered the dark animal area with a small smile of surprise. With the curling fog and tall green trees sharing space with sporadic clumps of lush grass, it looked like their old world. Pretty. Safe. But she knew better, didn’t she? The croupy chirping of a lark nearby was the only reminder she needed. The fact that this area only seemed like a badly run mountain farm didn't change it. War had come, and nothing was the same.
“So I guess I’m all yours today.”
The vet looked up from his lantern-lit papers and saw her sexy grin, slender hips encased in tight jeans, hard blue, argumentative eyes, and grunted, dropping his gaze. So, the new girl had gotten in trouble already. Didn’t surprise him.
“I brought you a cup of…”
“Don’t drink coffee,” Chris snapped.
Angela slammed the mug onto the metal table with a bang that made him flinch and glare up at her.
“Good. I brought tea.”
She dropped down onto the damp ground nearby and lit a cigarette without saying anything else, aware of his eyes on her long black braid now resting in the dirt. She smoked and sipped her coffee, satisfied she had his attention, and hid a grin when he put the paper down, anchoring it with his glasses.
“You just gonna sit there? You’re supposed to work.”
Angela sent him another sexy grin, thinking her time with Marc had been everything she needed to handle being around people, no matter how uncomfortable she really felt. Whether this cool shield held all day, was another story.
“You gonna give me something to do? You’re supposed to teach.”
Chris blinked, stood up with a scowl. “Come on,” he ordered, stomping into the shadows of the small zoo.
Angela noticed he took the mug.
They worked mostly in silence, watering and then moving the animals to different pens so those could be cleaned, and she didn’t hesitate to get dirty, eager to lose herself in the labor. The wind gusted occasionally, blowing her braid around, and she was glad to be sort of isolated as she listened to the sounds of the sprawling camp around them. Pots banging, dogs barking, tents flapping and being zipped. All sounds she'd missed, needed, and they were a comfort as she did what the sullen vet told her to, but they were a source of tension too. Marc was out there somewhere, and so was Kenn.