Knight Awakening

by Zanetti, Rebecca

  “Yes,” Jax said from the back seat, his window rolled down and his gun on his lap. “He set Mercenary territory on fire, and the whole thing spread. It looks like we’re out of it, though.”

  “Isn’t that interesting?” Lynne leaned out her window to look up at the trees. “Redding has huge trees, and the fire stopped before here.”

  Marcus drove around an upside down Volkswagen, keeping the truck steadily on what used to be a jam-packed Interstate. “We’re gonna need to stop, too. The cloud cover is too strong for the moon to help, and I don’t want to use headlights. We’d be sitting ducks.”

  “Agreed.” Jax pointed to an exit only partially blocked by rusting cars. “I told Raze to scout for us to stay in Redding. There has to be a small motel on the outskirts that we can fortify for a night.”

  Marcus looked at Jax in the rearview mirror, and some weird look passed between them.

  “What?” Penelope asked, stretching her legs out.

  “We should’ve been attacked by now,” Marcus said, his hands easy on the steering wheel. “The president’s headquarters is in Lake Tahoe still, and all gangs, especially Twenty, have joined the Elite Force or are working for them. They run California and keep an eye on all the Interstates. We should’ve definitely been engaged by now.”

  Jax planted his hand on his gun. “That leaves two options. Either they’ve all drawn back to prepare for something big, or they’re letting us pass.”

  Penny double-checked that her gun was in reach. “Why would they let us pass?”

  “They wouldn’t,” Jax said. “There’s no way for them to know we found out about the Portland Bunker, if there is a Portland Bunker. We didn’t even tell the team with us where we were going, except for Raze and Sami, who are in the lead.”

  Penelope looked at Jax and then up at Marcus. “That’s a little paranoid, don’t you think?”

  “Not if it keeps us alive,” Marcus said grimly. “There was no need for anybody but Raze and Sami to know, so why tell them? The soldiers flanking us can keep pace, and the ones following can do just that.”

  Penelope shook her head. “They’re your soldiers and your people. You don’t trust even them?”

  “No,” Jax said, reaching out to hold Lynne’s hand. “The people I trust can be counted on with one hand. Well, maybe two hands now, but that’s enough.”

  What a difficult way to live. “I’m glad I became a doctor and not a soldier,” Penelope murmured.

  “Amen to that, sister,” Lynne said sleepily. “All we’ve done is sit in the truck most of the day, and I’m exhausted. How crazy is that?”

  They had stopped a couple of times for gas, since there was plenty left at the stations along the way. Well, at the ones that hadn’t burned up in the fires. Penelope watched the trees and abandoned cars fly by outside. “If the president doesn’t know where we are, then they’re planning something?”

  “Probably,” Marcus said, yanking the wheel to the left to avoid several stacks of old bricks in the middle of the road. “It has been quiet for too long. He’s planning a move or making a move.”

  “Or gathering his forces,” Jax said. “We took down their helicopter before, and chances are, he’s searching for more crafts and more pilots. Probably a new vice president as well, considering we keep killing them.”

  Penelope bit her lip. She hadn’t known that fact. “So the president really is as crazy as everyone says?”

  “More so,” Lynne said, turning to look out the window again.

  The first motel they came to had a full parking lot with rusted and abandoned cars. Marcus pulled right up front as Raze exited the main entrance, shaking his head. Penelope rolled down her window. “Not good?” she asked.

  “Too many bodies in this one. It looks like the sick congregated here and then died.” He looked down the quiet roadway. “Sami is up ahead looking for another place. If you see her bike, stop.” His black hair was matted from the rain, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  “Got it.” Marcus slowly pulled back onto the road, leaning out the window and giving the two other trucks and two motorcycles some sort of hand signal. He drove another mile before turning off at a smaller motel with blue shutters and an empty parking lot. Sami’s motorcycle was in front, and she came out the door with several keys in her hands. The old fashioned kind.

  She reached the truck and handed two keys to Penelope. “This place is decent with no bodies in the rooms. Found two in the manager’s apartment, both looked old and like they settled in with Scorpius and just didn’t make it. There are still sheets on the beds, and they look clean. Or they look like they were clean when they had been put on.”

  The key chains were blue plastic with numbers on them. Penelope handed back the key to room five to Lynne. “We’ll take room seven,” she said.

  It had to be around nine at night, and darkness was making it hard to see.

  Lynne reached in her pack. “Does anybody want another granola bar?”

  “No,” Marcus said, reaching for Penelope’s hand. “Let’s check out the rooms, set a perimeter, and get some sleep. We need to be back on the road at first light.”

  Man, life had changed.

  Penelope looked into the darkness around them. “Was today too easy?”

  “Definitely,” Marcus and Jax said in unison.

  Well. That wasn’t good.

  MARCUS FINISHED his turn at patrol and slid into the room quietly, noting Penny’s small form beneath the surprisingly nice pink comforter with a lantern set to half strength on the bedside table. They couldn’t waste batteries like that, but he couldn’t find it in himself to scold her. She should be scared.

  She partially sat up. “Everything okay?”

  “As far as I can tell.” He locked the door, kicked off his boots, and then removed the rest of his clothing except the boxer-briefs that he was starting to like. “It’s after midnight. Why aren’t you asleep?”

  “I was worried about you.” She flipped back the covers in invitation.

  The moment struck him harder than a baseball bat to the head. They were together. She was rapidly becoming a home he wasn’t sure he’d ever had. He swallowed. “I’m uneasy.” That was an understatement. The day had been all wrong, because it had been fine. That didn’t make sense. He’d just scouted out for a couple of miles, and nobody was near. It didn’t make sense, unless Jax was right and the president was gathering his forces and preparing to strike.

  Marcus needed to get his plan in order to take all the Vanguard-Merc people north to safety. They were sitting ducks in the middle of the city, and it was time to go.

  Setting a knee on the bed, he reached down and grasped her thigh, tugging her toward him.

  She fell to the side and chuckled. “What are you doing?”

  He got her close enough to clasp her other leg and draw her closer. “Tomorrow might be a really bad one, so I wanted to end this one perfectly.” Without waiting for her response, he slid his fingers beneath the tiny straps of her panties and drew them down her legs.

  She let herself fall back on the bed and reached for him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be too tired.”

  “I’m not.” He dropped to his knees, grasped her calves, and yanked her near. Then he took her with his mouth. She tasted like sunshine and honey and raspberries and everything good in the entire fucking world.

  “Marcus,” she moaned, her hand landing on top of his head. “Come up here. You and me.”

  “No,” he said against her, flicking his tongue against her clit.

  She arched against him, a gasp taking her entire body. “I don’t, I mean, you don’t...”

  He liked her incoherent. It was so damn rare. He smiled and hummed, enjoying the undulations of her abdomen. “I’ve wanted to taste you forever.”

  Her little gasps were sounds he hoped to remember for as long as he lived. He nestled in, forcing her legs wider apart with his shoulders. Then he slipped one finger inside her, zeroing in on her g-spot like s
he’d been made just for him.

  She gasped, her head thrown back. “I’m not sure about this,” she gasped. “Too intimate.”

  He smiled and sucked her clit into his mouth. Intimacy with her sounded like a good idea, and he couldn’t let her hold a part of her away. It wasn’t who she was, and he’d learn emotions if she wanted. If she needed him to be Mr. Emo, he’d be it. Or try, anyway.

  He sucked harder.

  The sound she made defied description but prodded him on. He slid another finger inside her and she moaned, her thighs trembling on either side of his shoulders. God, she was perfect.

  He slowed himself, grounding the moment in his head forever. Sweet Penny Kim, his one and only, open for him right now.

  “Please, Marcus,” she whispered, her body one line of tension.

  Fair enough. He went at her, mouth, tongue and fingers, driving her higher until the sounds she gasped nearly made his head explode. Finally, he nipped her clit, and she went over. She shook with her orgasm, smashing her hands against her mouth to keep the sounds at bay.

  She didn’t succeed.

  He chuckled against her, sending her into another orgasm that had her thighs clamping with an impressive strength on his head. Both of his ears rang.

  She went limp on the bed, her thighs falling open. He rubbed one ear, kissed her clit, and gently scooted her farther up the bed. “You’ve killed me,” she mumbled. “Just gone. Too much.”

  Damn if he didn’t like that. Then she held out her arms for him. “Marcus.”

  Yeah, he liked that even more. Keeping his weight on his elbows, he moved up her, finding her heat instantly. His eyes almost rolled back in his head, and he pushed inside her, forcing himself to go slow.

  She reached up and moved a lock of hair off his forehead, her touch light.

  He kept working inside her, and her internal walls caressed him with the aftermath of her orgasm. He didn’t deserve her, and he knew it.

  “Penelope Kim,” he murmured, fulling embedding himself in her. Then he rested his forehead on hers. The sweet scent of raspberries filled him in a way he wouldn’t have thought possible. “What’s your middle name?”

  She blinked, running her hands down his arms. Then she smiled. “I don’t have one. What’s yours?”

  “I don’t have one, either.” He liked that they had that in common. Yeah, he was turning into a sap already. “Jax doesn’t, either.” How did he even remember that fact?

  Penny scratched her nails down his back and dug them into his ass.

  That fast, he forgot all about middle names. There was only right here and right now with the perfect woman. He powered into her, taking this night, taking her. He leaned down and kissed her, wanting even more connection.

  She kissed him back, so open and giving. And sweet.

  Raspberries surrounded him, holding him tight. He hammered harder, angling his body the way she liked, sending her over the edge again.

  Then and only then did he follow her. Tomorrow might be a disaster, but they had this night.

  It was enough for him.

  29

  I know that we agreed there would be no emotions, but I can’t help it. I’m falling in love with Marcus Knight.

  —-Doctor Penelope Kim, Journal

  Portland was a shiny wasteland with bodies in the street. A lot of bodies in the street and on the sidewalks. With the back roads and problems on the Interstate, it took them nearly eleven hours to reach the city. Penelope sat in the back seat of the truck, trying not to see the remains on the sidewalks. “I’d forgotten Portland had such a sad homeless situation,” she murmured.

  “You should see Seattle,” Jax said from the driver’s seat. “Los Angeles cleared out pretty quickly because of that crazy winter we had with the impossible rain. I think the homeless moved up the coast as the pandemic took hold.”

  “Head toward the Columbia River,” Lynne said, a map unfolded on her lap. She waved to Sami on her motorcycle. “There are several golf courses along the same long strip that goes by the river. Let’s just start north and work our way down.”

  Raze drove on the other side of them, keeping pace as Lynne directed the movement.

  Marcus remained silent, his gaze at the wasteland outside.

  Penelope reached for his hand, trying to give him comfort. While he said he didn’t worry about anything, his jaw was tight and his lips pressed together. He was worrying that his memory had been faulty. She held tighter and settled herself on the seat, a little sore from the night before. Not that she was complaining. Sex with Marcus was well worth the missed sleep.

  Besides, she’d caught a few hours during another boring day.

  The longer they’d gone without being attacked, the grumpier both Marcus and Jax had become. It was like they wanted somebody to make a move, just so the wait would be over. What if the president had moved on? What if he’d found bigger problems than Vanguard-Merc? It was possible Canada had attacked. Well, maybe not. But maybe an enemy had survived the pandemic better than the States and was making a move. Who knew?

  They drove for a while, and the rain finally stopped, but the afternoon remained cloudy. Soon the Columbia came into view, and Penelope perked up, watching the water flow. “It’s beautiful.”

  Lynne nodded from ahead of her.

  Jax wound along the road. “Am I close?”

  “A few more miles,” Lynne said, studying the map.

  Soon, a golf course came into view. Well, what used to be a golf course. The grass had grown out and then had died to brush as no doubt the sprinkler systems had shut off. Pins with faded yellow flags still stuck in several of the holes.

  “If there’s time on the way out, we should check some of the high-end homes for provisions,” Marcus said, all business again. He released her hand and reached for a black gun to perch on his leg.

  Penelope swallowed and made sure her gun was within reach.

  Jax looked back. “Anything familiar?”

  “No,” Marcus said shortly. “Although the golf course was nice and green with people playing on it.” He frowned. “There were kids by a small fountain, drinking milkshakes.”

  So look for a place where a fountain might’ve been. Penelope squinted, trying to make out anything in the thick brush.

  They drove past several overturned golf carts, and one looked like a Mercedes. Penelope studied it and then shrugged. She’d played golf a little bit in medical school, but it hadn’t been her thing. The drink cart was a good invention, however. Maybe this place would have some liquor they could take back to headquarters, if it hadn’t all been picked over already.

  Jax drove beneath eaves to a wide log surrounded entrance. “Marcus?”

  Marcus leaned over Penelope to study the door. “Doesn’t look familiar.” He retreated and jumped out of the truck. “Let me look inside and scout the place.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Penelope said, reaching for her doorknob.

  “No.” Marcus shut his door and strode around to her side, where her window was still down. “You stay here with Jax and Lynne. Raze will provide backup, just in case somebody is in there.” His gaze didn’t meet hers.

  What was going on? The old Penelope, the one before the pandemic, would’ve waited quietly to talk to him alone. The new Penny, the woman she’d become, grabbed his ear and tugged.

  He yelped and jumped back, rubbing his ear. “What the hell?”

  She shoved her door open and jumped down, realizing her disadvantage when she had to tilt her head to look up at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you regret last night?”

  “No.” He frowned and continued rubbing his ear. “Of course not.”

  “Then what’s going on?” She put her hands on her hips and leaned up closer to his face. “You’re acting all weird and distant and I don’t like it.”

  He took a step back. The big, bad, deadly Marcus Knight actually stepped back. “Sorry.”

  “For what?” she demanded, choosing to ignor
e Jax’s laughter from the front seat or the fact that Raze was hiding around the other side of the truck.

  “Um.” Marcus looked around for help, but none of the men appeared. He focused back on her. “For being cranky and distant? I’m sorry. There’s an itch at the back of my neck, and I don’t like it. I really don’t like that you’re here, because I think we’re in trouble, but I can’t get a sense of which direction it’s coming from.”

  “Me too,” Jax piped up.

  Marcus cut him a look. “Now you help?”

  Penelope leaned against the truck. “I understand all of that.” Maybe she’d overreacted and should’ve let him work through it on his own. Here she was, pressuring him, when she’d promised not to do so. But the previous night had rocked her. “Okay. Check out this place, and I’ll wait here.” She really needed to get those blood samples to a lab, if there was a lab. Although it might already be too late.

  “Thanks.” He leaned down and kissed her nose.

  Then he went through the doors of what used to be a country club.

  Marcus eyed the bottle of Scotch he’d found at the last country club, sitting in the back seat next to Penny again. They’d searched three already, along with a couple of courses set away from the river a little bit. So far, they’d found booze and a few emergency kits with extra bandages. “Maybe my mind got screwed up.” Night was arriving again, and the rain had started to plant big, fat drops on the front window.

  “Let’s check out one more,” Lynne said from the front seat, bending over to see the map better. “It’s a big one and it’s right by the river. Well, across from the river.”

  Marcus lay his head back and closed his eyes, trying to see the yellow doors or the golf course. Nothing. Just a blip of an image and then it was gone. The river rushed by, and he straightened, his senses awakening.