Marc switched places with the Trooper, grateful his tongue and brain had stayed on the same page.
Neil switched to a 3rd drawing. While Camped - Night
“After listening to the stories, we think it will be a night attack, so we based most of our plans on that. When the sirens go off, the trucks you should go to will light up. Headlights, signals, etc… The highest levels of Eagles will escort the kids; the next two will clear the tent areas. The next will sweep the showers, bathrooms, and parking areas. Rookies will help with livestock.” Neil held up his arm to show a shiny new wrist watch. “You’ll know the Eagles by these. They flash red, white, and blue. For a daylight attack, the plan is the same, except you’ll know the right trucks by the red cross on the back.”
Neil started to take Kyle’s end of the picture, and then stopped, removing a pencil from behind his ear. He carefully erased a smudge from the picture and then replaced it.
Neil looked at Kyle and his face reddened as he realized everyone was staring at him. “Sorry.”
Kyle laughed, trading places. “Perfectionist.”
Neil snorted. “Super-trooper.”
“You know it.”
The crowd laughed at their teasing and Adrian gave a subtle nod to Kyle that Marc wondered about. Was the joking staged too?
“Okay, details. We’re keeping boxes of vests and supplies around the camp at all times. We’re also doubling the number of guards on supply runs, so that means we need more Eagles. We have 9 places open. The signup sheet will be posted. We’re also going to train a little harder, so when you hear all the noise in the tents, you know it’s us.”
Kyle was ready to give back control, but the Boss had other plans.
“Kyle can handle questions now.”
Voices and hands went up as Neil and Marc sat down, leaving the Level Six Eagle to fend for himself.
“So, we’re going to fight?”
“When are they coming?”
“Shouldn’t we run?”
“Maybe we should think about their deal…”
“We do not negotiate with killers!” Kyle snapped back, causing the crowd to fall silent. “We don’t hide and we don’t hand over our people. We’re Americans!”
“Americans have been doing it since this country was formed!”
“Better a few than all of us!”
Kyle’s eyes were hot at their shouts, but he lowered his voice. “It’s better to face them now than during the winter, when we can’t get away if we need to.”
The Mess filled with protests and shouts, but quieted as soon as Adrian stood up.
Kyle was quick to find his seat, heart worried. They were so fast to be cowards with no thought of being heroes instead.
Adrian studied his sheep. “You’re afraid and you have every right to be. They are the worst of the old ways. So, what should we do?”
There was an uneasy silence while Adrian made his point. “There will come a time in every person’s life when they must choose to stand and fight and maybe die for what they believe in, or run and live and lose it all anyway through shame and guilt.”
He gestured, making sure he had each of them included. “You’ve got your lives. That’s a lot now, and you’re stronger, more able to care for yourselves. You might hole-up somewhere and even survive the winter alone, but you’ll have destroyed the future we’re building here. It’s not just one life in this camp, it’s all life… and alone, Safe Haven will die.”
Adrian saw faces that wanted him to fix it, make it go away. “I don’t want another useless war. No more bloodshed! Life matters more than it ever has and I’m so sick of death I could puke, but I’ve made my choice. When that time comes for us, I won’t run with you. I’ll stand.”
“Kick their asses, man!” Mitch shouted in a drunken slur and there was an immediate chorus of agreement that allowed Adrian’s closest men (and women) to breathe easier.
“Kill ‘em all!”
“We’ll show ‘em!”
“We’re with ya!”
Adrian grinned in relief like he’d been worried about losing leadership and those who knew the truth held still, trusting him to find them all a way out.
For the next few minutes, he and his men answered dozens of questions. It was loud and serious, and Angela was encouraged. She thought the blond’s words were flawless.
“So, let’s do some voting and go get some of you started on new classes. I personally can’t wait to see Neil and Hilda in Kai together.”
There was a lot of laughter at that and Adrian let them go for a minute with the remarks. Humor had a way of clearing a person’s heart of fear.
“Kenn and Seth will pass around the slips. Brady and Neil have the pens. Kyle and Jeremy are the counters and as usual, I expect you to watch the totals. Also, there’s a blank space at the end and I read each one, so if there’s something you need to tell me, that’s a good way to do it.”
Marc was impressed with the very official appearing ballot. He made his own choices quickly, but it was clear that Adrian didn’t mind people talking about it. Most of the camp hadn’t even looked at more than the first couple items yet, too busy listening to those around them talk about volunteering to take Neil’s lessons too. It was a wise man who knew you didn’t get anywhere with real Americans by pushing them around. The more they talked and agreed, the more likely it was that the votes would go in Adrian’s favor. Smart, Marc thought, and sneaky.
The Wolfman reread number five, where to check next for authority. Neil had said it wasn’t because they wanted the government, that any organized group could fill that hole. So why were they all military choices? Why not try the city shelters and colleges?
“Because those places and people are long gone, and really, you know that.
Marc wiped his face of emotion as Angela and Sam stepped by on the way to put their votes in the barrel. Hair down and blowing wildly, wearing jeans and a sweat-stained tank top, she was so sexy his breath caught.
Angela couldn’t stop a smile as their eyes met and a spark flew at the contact. “Sorry.”
Marc smiled in welcome despite Kenn’s hot gaze already being on them. ”Don’t be. In here it’s like we’re alone again,” he sent back, amazed at how easy it was. The bond was stronger because she’d saved his life, he guessed, but it also showed more, too.
“Does he know for sure those places are empty?” Marc asked when she didn’t respond.
“Yes. His dreams are full of it, but it’s also his back trail. He’s been checking much more than what these people have been told.”
“He keeps a lot of secrets,” Marc sent, mind pulling up Adrian’s words about Tonya.
“That’s another line he’s walking. The camp would be very upset to find out he’s been with her.”
Marc didn’t shrug, feeling more than Kenn watching them now. “It’s his business as far as I’m concerned, but it makes me leery, too.”
“Tonya earned her punishments. She’s lucky he didn’t have her banished.”
Adrian caught bits and pieces of their exchange, and it amused him to see Angela and Brady ignoring everything going on, like they’d known all about the inner details of the meeting. They hadn’t, but they had affected it. The emergency plan and almost all the new defenses had come from Brady and the need to protect Angela. Even Sam had impacted quietly. They’d been here a week, and already, big changes were coming because of it. They were definitely his.
“We’re going to start counting now, so come on up and make sure it’s right.”
Most of the camp moved that way, but Marc waited until Angie and Sam had come back by before taking his own ballot up, and then gravitating toward Neil and the rear of the Mess. “So, why is he checking bases and compounds, if he’s not actually searching for authority?”
Angela met his eye, drawing a frown from Kenn that had Eagles gritting their teeth in frustration.
“Because he knows that’s where average people will go. He’s gathering his s
heep.”
She looked away suddenly, like someone had said something sharp and Marc scowled openly. “Can Kenn hear us?”
“No. The bond I have with Kenn is limited because I’ve always known what he’d do with it. It’s much weaker. Adrian probably could though.”
That told him a lot and Marc observed the blond as he carefully explained something to a large group of single females. “He’s trying very hard to give me reasons to stay… when we’re alone.” Marc could feel her pain.
“You’re still thinking of leaving?”
“I won’t.”
“For how long?”
He did shrug this time, turning toward the beckoning rookies who’d tried to give him team lead despite Kenn’s words at the level test. “When they’ve gotten things down better.”
Angela watched him go with pain in her heart, but she didn’t stop him or make any promises. The line they were walking had thinned.
The vote went Adrian’s way on everything and a light drizzle began to fall as the meeting broke up. The wind was gusting, putting them on edge and no one lingered. When the thick, white mist began to roll in, everyone except the guards took to their tents and closed them up tight.
6
The fog moved in fast, curling around their vehicles and weaving its way through the camp to be waist high in places. The Eagles sat in jeeps and trucks and trees, watching the landscape around them become distant and then submerged in rolling clouds of white.
Angela was in her tent, Charlie spending the night with Matt, and her eyes were on the open window. Stray threads of fog wound through the screen, but her mind was on Brady.
He was so unhappy and all he really wanted was to be around her, talk to her, and laugh the way they had on the trip here. His loneliness was clear and her own needs were hard to keep in line as the camp around her became too muffled to be a distraction anymore. Marc hated the idea of her being an Eagle. Could she change that? Things would be so much easier if she had his support.
Half an hour later, most of the tents around Angela were dark, the noises of camp hushed, and she slowly slipped outside. The fog was over her head, damp and thick, and she stayed still, calming the part of her that would always hate the dark. She pushed away the sour smell and concentrated. Where was he?
Angela found him by his isolated thoughts, and moved slowly. It was almost impossible to see under the layers of swirling white. She was careful not to bump into anything and alert even her shadow to her absence. She wanted a real Brady moment, on her terms, and she moved his way, not sending any thoughts, just tracking his.
Marc sat in Angie’s blazer and smoked, watching the camp disappear. He wasn’t scheduled for duty but he’d come anyway, unable to fight the feeling in his gut that something was about to happen. Subdued sounds of the camp came to him - camper doors, footsteps, dogs - and he wondered if Angela, too, was watching and waiting for dawn.
Marc’s fingers tightened on his smoke as a wolf or coyote sounded in the near distance. He looked around when Dog jumped from the hood, perhaps to give his answer in person. The big animal was gone a second later, the white mist barely disturbed, and Marc hoped none of Kenn’s men would shoot him and claim it had been an accident. The thick fog would be a good excuse and he thought maybe the wolf knew it, would stay away from camp tonight.
Marc smiled when the strange howl came again and Dog answered, clear and sharp even through the fog. A mating call, he thought, getting out of the Blazer to try catching a glimpse of the female.
The fog was damp, unpleasant and Marc sighed deeply, eyes sweeping the moving whiteness. It was so hard to work all day and stay in his tent all night and not seek her out. He used to be very solitary, but his time with Angie had thawed that layer of ice, leaving him lost without a shield. She was so perfect for him. Why hadn’t she called? They’d been so in love! Why had she felt she couldn’t call him?
“It was my pride at first. I thought you’d sold me out.”
There was a pause and Marc swung around eagerly. “Where are you?”
His question was ignored by the shadow tracking his location. “By the time I had Charlie, I realized they’d tricked you, too, but it was too late by then.”
“You could have run, after a while.”
It was finally time for the truths he’d avoided on the trip here and she didn’t hold back. “You’ve seen first-hand how determined he is to own me. Is there any place I could have gone, that he wouldn’t have followed?”
“No. He’s obsessed. If we left now, he and a dozen or so would come after us. Even Adrian wouldn’t be able to stop them.”
Marc watched the fog, hating the ugly place they were in. Here, where she was already starting to outgrow him, she was safe. Out there, where she’d love him and only him, her life would always be in danger.
“We walk a thin line. Our son on one side…” The voice fell silent and Marc finished the thought. “And my love on the other.”
There was a silence where he could feel her pausing to let people go by before moving closer.
“A feeling I’ll return openly if you can wait for me.”
He saw the fog part near the rear of the blazer. Angie!
Her hair was loose, floating on the mist, and her glowing blue eyes beckoned. He moved toward her feeling like they were surrounded by his dreams. He needed to hold her. Would she let him?
“Yes, Brady. I need that too.”
Magic flowed between them. Sharp and sweet, the hunger and need rose up together to steal her breath. She’d missed being with him!
Marc could almost feel her need. There were small flecks of desire in her face, but it was the greedy hunger lurking beneath the surface he responded to. They’d hidden these feelings for so long!
Angela still flinched when his arms slid around her and Marc pulled her up tight against his hard, warm body. He rested his head against hers and waited, knowing she’d relax when she reminded herself who he was.
“I have.”
Her arms went around his neck, sliding deliciously up his chest to get there, and she nestled closer at his small intake of air. “I haven’t given up hope for us, Brady.”
He leaned back to look at her. “I’d understand if you had. The things you’re being offered are… I wouldn’t turn him down either.”
“It’s not one or the other, only one at a time,” she stated lightly, and didn’t feel awful at her next lie. “You’re only second because we’re stuck waiting on Kenn. For the rest, if I wait, we miss people. I can’t live with that.”
Marc wanted to believe her and he let a small smile reach his face. “I’m sorry.”
She leaned close. “Wait for me, Brady?”
“My whole life if that’s what it takes,” he answered passionately, drawn in, and his eyes slipped to her lips. Would she…
Angela sealed their mouths with a hunger that took her by surprise, and felt him tense, before he was crushing her close, taking control. No more holding back or being careful, he kissed her like he used to, until she was trembling and melting against him.
Their breath mingled, harsh and fierce in the charged air, and the tension caught fire as he slid a hand to her hip and deepened the kiss.
“Angela?”
They broke apart fast, faces flushed guiltily, and she hoped her guard would think it was the fog making her sound so winded. That had been the old Brady, the one she loved without reservation, and it was hard to think through the memories.
“Over here.”
Seth found them quickly, Angela sitting on the hood of the blazer and Marc standing alertly (in more ways than one) nearby.
“Good, you weren’t alone.”
Seth started to take up a post in the shadows, but she shook her head. “I might be able to sleep now.”
Angela didn’t look at Marc as she walked by, but he saw the small smile of satisfaction, and grinned, ego soothed. In those few seconds, she’d wanted him every bit as much as he’d wanted her, and there
hadn’t been a Witch anywhere in the background. Like in the old days!
7
“Eagle One to the livestock truck. No rush.”
Adrian keyed the mic, nerves already on edge without the code that said just the opposite. “Copy. When is Eagle Two due?”
“One hour.”
“Copy, out.”
If Sam was calling, she’d seen something. This was it, the Slavers and the weather at the same time. Hadn’t he known it would be that way?
The wind was pushing against him as the front rolled in, the drizzle icy compared to the muggy fog. Tornado weather, he thought, gut tightening. Another of those he’d needed was about to be proven.
Samantha was leaning against the grill of a nearby semi, head back, and Adrian called out softly so as not to startle her. “You wanted me?”
She motioned at the angry sky, sitting up. “It’s closer now. Should all be over after dawn.” She stated, fighting the attraction. She had no intentions of becoming camp Whore number two.
She sighed. It was easy to understand why her body called out to his, though. He was proud. Anyone could see that. It blared from him like an alarm some days, almost blinding in its intensity and lethal in its power. Because when Adrian was proud, he was happy, and that golden light was enough to lift the 200 people here off their feet. He flashed straight, white teeth through full, sexy lips, and women nearby felt their pulse speed up. When his scent blew over them, the urge to run rough, feverish fingers through his golden spikes was nearly overwhelming.
“We’ve picked a place close by that meets your requirements. You’re sure about the safety zone?”
Sam shrugged. “As sure as anyone can be. There are some places that don’t get tornadoes or even bad flooding. Not whole states of course, but small areas in them. We’re on the edge of one now.”
Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) Page 16