by Leela Ash
“I don’t know how you do it Milo, but I think we would be lost without you.”
The young man didn’t say anything, but he was beaming with pride. Like most people, all Milo wanted was to be of some assistance to them, and he always was. They all followed him out to a small subdivision that had once been considered very upscale. The houses were big and at one point they would have been as immaculate as the manicured lawns. But the heyday of the little housing development was over, and now it was a mass of huge, sprawling houses surrounded by a tangle of vines and bushes.
“This looks like a good place Milo. Thanks.”
Milo nodded enthusiastically at Michael, and the young boy looked happy enough to vibrate. He grabbed Shane’s hand and the two started into the two story house. They were going to pick out their rooms. Though Jessa still worried about everything, she was sure that Milo would have already checked the house before taking her son inside. She was surprised she had come to trust the two men with her son, as well as her own life. Jessa was not naïve to think that she could have been wrong about either one of them. She could be wrong about the newest members of the group as well, but she didn’t think so. As soon as she had met all of them, she had gotten a good vibe.
Carin and her grandson found rooms at the top of the stairs, while the rest found something downstairs. Everyone had learned from the last attack that it was better to be together. They were in different rooms, but everyone was staying in the same hallway.
It wasn’t long before they had made some dinner with what they had collected throughout the day. Shane was tired and went to bed quickly after he had eaten. Michael took him into the small bedroom that had been deemed his own and put him down. Jessa watched him with a soft heart and it made her miss Mike being open with her even more than she had before. She had not felt that way about someone in a long time. Jessa was head over heels in love with Michael and she didn’t know what she would do without him.
“So there were promises made this morning...”
The look in his eyes made her shiver and giggle all at the same time. “Are you sure about that? I don’t think you’re ready for more. You’re getting kind of old Michael. Are you sure it will even work?”
“You mouthy woman. Come over here and I’m sure I will get it to work just fine. Never had a problem before.”
He lunged at her and she ran from him. She was feeling playful and something had come over Michael. He had a look of need in his eyes that she doubted she could quench. He needed her and when he told her he needed her, she knew that what he said was true. It was obvious that he did.
Finally, she allowed herself be caught and pulled in against the hard body she had come to love and know so well. Her body fit against his as if she was made for him and there was an easiness between them that she had wondered if she would ever get back.
“Promise me something, Jessa.”
His tone had changed and he had put a little space between them so that they weren’t driving each other crazy physically, at least for the time being.
“Anything Michael.”
Michael wasn’t expecting that answer and before he could say anything else, he had to kiss her. Her lips were soft and pouty, and looking into her hazel eyes Michael knew then that he would never have enough of her. Every time he had gotten his fill, he was already hungry once more. It was impossible for him.
“You are very easy to please tonight.”
His hands moved down her torso and she shivered as he moved to cover her with his own body. That was where he liked her, underneath him. He moved his hand between them and she gasped as he found her need swollen. Jessa was quickly closing her eyes and moaning, her hips rising to meet his fingers as he touched her ever so gently. She let out another soft hiss as his fingers started to come down on her wet flesh in a smacking motion. Her body jerked with the new feeling. Michael was always ready to give her something fresh. The new action was something that she didn’t remember him doing before, and she wasn’t prepared for the sudden crash of pleasure that took over her body.
Clinging to his neck as hard as she could, she called out his name before he covered her mouth with his free hand. Penetrating her with his digits, Jessa was too lost in her own need to care about how loud she was. His hand tightened to cover her noise as she screamed out again.
“Shhh, Jessa. We have to be quiet. You would wake up the dead.”
Her hand went to his and pulled it away from her body. “Then stop doing that.”
Michael chuckled and looked innocent. “What?”
“You play me like a fiddle and then blame it on me when I make music.”
He chuckled. “You have no idea how much I love your music Jessa.”
Her hand went in between their bodies and moved to grip the hardness pressed against her. He sucked in air through his teeth, groaning as she worked to free him for her touch. She wanted to feel him in her hands, as well as remind him that two could play at that game. Jessa knew him too well and he was already helping her reach him.
She felt the heat of his length against her. Jessa was already wet and hot from his ministrations. Rubbing her before she could stop him, Michael was poised to make her lose herself again, but she stopped him with a grip on the shaft. Holding him in place, she rubbed herself slowly. It was him that was starting to get noisy. She smacked him down on her heat, rubbing the tip against her core. Michael tried once again to press in.
“Stop Michael. It’s my turn.”
“Your control never lasts very long.”
His words made her shiver, but he stopped trying to get more. Jessa was driving herself crazy and moved quicker. Her idea back fired on her and then she was back to the edge of reason. Michael chuckled as his lips moved down to brush softly against hers. “Are you ready for me to take over now?”
Michael’s words were met with pressure where she needed him most. There was nothing else that she could do but nod her agreement with his plans. It was hard to say no to Michael and she did not have the strength to do so anymore.
“Then move your hand.”
She quickly did as he asked, and found herself rewarded with an instant surge of pleasure and fulfillment that she wasn’t prepared for. She cried out and his mouth covered hers, pressing her down into the bed while his hips pinned her down as well. Jessa was lost in a wave of pleasure as she came underneath him. It was how it always was; neither one of them seemed to be able to hold control for too long at all.
***
“What did you want me to promise you Michael?”
He sighed and just shrugged. “You already have.”
Jessa was too exhausted to think of anything more. Her eyes were already closing and she was ready to pass out. Michael had a way of making her body explode, almost painfully at times, and now all she could think to do was sleep. There was going to be another long day of walking and whether she was sore or not, she had places that she had to go.
“Love you, baby.”
Michael looked over at the sleeping woman, her breathing already slowing down to indicate that she was already falling asleep. He knew then that leaving her was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done, even if she was the one that he had to leave for. If people like that gang were roaming around, people like Jessa were going to get hurt. There was no means that Michael wouldn’t use to keep her safe and he knew that it could cause destruction. But Michael didn’t care. All he cared about was getting revenge for his family and finally being able to come back to the woman he loved with a level head.
6
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Jessa asked, her voice frantic.
She tore through the house and out the front door, looking everywhere for him, but she knew that Michael was gone. There was no note, no trace that he had ever been there. He had taken his pack and everything he owned with him. A little part of her already knew that he was gone, but the rest of her was still hoping that it was some kind of mistake. He wouldn’t leave her like th
at, would he?
Milo had been the last one to speak to him the night before. He had wondered the same thing, what was going on, when he had seen Michael walking away with his bag on his back. Milo had been sitting on the porch enjoying the quiet scenery and keeping an eye out to make sure that they were not seen coming in.
He had asked him where he was going and Michael just said that he had to go for a while. Milo tried to get more information from him, but he was not giving anything up. There was a sadness in Mike that Milo couldn’t forget.
“Just take care of them while I’m gone,” Michael had told him.
“Are you going to come back?”
Michael nodded that he would. The last thing he wanted to do was leave them, but he had to. “Yes, I will be back. You guys just go on towards the coast and I will track you to wherever you are. I have to take care of something.”
Milo didn’t want to have to be the one to tell Jessa. While she was nice most of the time, he had seen her upset and the truth was that she scared the living shit out of him. “You can’t leave like this. Jessa is going to be devastated.”
Michael knew that it was bad form, but he couldn’t be the one to tell her. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he knew that he couldn’t be there when her eyes welled up and she would look at him like he was leaving her for good. He didn’t want to have to explain himself. Michael wasn’t sure how to explain it, anyway. All he knew was that he had to get revenge for his family before he could be whole again. Jessa had gone a long way at helping him see that there was life after all of it, but there was still the need for him to fix that one last piece of him that just wasn’t right.
“Just tell her that I will be back as soon as I can and that I love her.”
Milo had shaken his head. “It should be you to tell her those kinds of things, Michael.”
“I know, but I can’t. Will you do that for me Milo?”
He nodded reluctantly, indicating that he would, but he didn’t want to agree to it. Milo didn’t want to be the one to break her heart and Michael hoped in the back of his mind that he would actually do as he said he would.
“Yes, Mike, but I wish you would tell her yourself.”
He just shook his head. “If I could I would, but if I do, I will never leave. It is impossible to leave a woman like her. She has ways of making a man forget everything.”
“I’ve heard.” Milo got red-faced when he realized what he had let slip. He looked embarrassed and barely able to hold it together.
Mike slapped the boy on the shoulder and told him again to keep them safe. “I will be back soon Milo, just keep them safe and going east. I will be back before you know it.”
The memory was not serving Milo well at all. As Jessa looked at him with anger and that look that he dreaded to see, there was no way that he wanted to tell her what he had to. He had to tell her about it all and he just couldn’t find the words. The way that she kept asking wasn’t helping and Milo wanted to just run away. It was the first time that he had felt that way in his new group, but there was no way that he wanted to be in the middle of it.
Jessa could see his stress and tried to tell him that it was going to be okay. It didn’t feel like it was going to be okay, Milo and Jessa were both stressed out and the rest of the house was getting up from the commotion.
“What’s going on, mom?”
Jessa looked back at her little boy and she was as speechless as Milo was. “I’m not sure, baby. I think that Mike had some things that he had to do. I was just asking Milo if he was going to be back or not.”
Milo nodded that he would be. He had even more eyes on him and the young man was afraid that he was going to be back to stuttering again.
“He is coming …back. Just had to go.”
Jessa was not satisfied with the answer, but she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to get much more from Milo as upset as he seemed to be. It was clear that he didn’t want to be the messenger of bad news, but he really didn’t have a choice. It was a chore given to him and one that he had promised to take care of.
Jessa and the rest of the group waited for more, but there was no more forthcoming. Milo didn’t even know why he had taken off, no one really did.
Jason wondered about what the two had talked about before. Michael was very interested in the emblem that he had drawn for him and he wondered, even hoped, that it was those people that he was going to see. There was a capability about Mike that he did not possess and he too wanted some kind of revenge for what had happened to the rest of his family. He didn’t say anything out loud to ease anyone’s fears. Jason didn’t want anyone to try and stop Michael. He wasn’t able to take care of it, but maybe Mike could.
“Well if he says he is going to catch up, then I think we should keep on going,” Jason piped up.
Milo sighed with relief, thankful that someone had taken his side. Jessa was still not convinced, but she didn’t want to make her son upset any more than he had to be. There was something that she wasn’t being told and she was bound and determined to find out what it was. When she looked at Milo in such a way, he knew that he was going to have to tell her more. Neither one of them knew what Jason knew though.
The group got started a little later than the day before. Jessa looked back one last time at the place where she had last seen Michael. It was impossible to not feel abandoned. She couldn’t believe that he had left her. She had a few choice words to say to him when she saw him again. She sighed deeply. She was going to be lonely without him. In fact, she was already aching deep inside, feeling more heartsick than she had since her husband died. She hadn’t cared so much about another man since then, and now she felt like it was all falling apart again.
“It will be okay, mom.”
She nodded at her son with a smile that she hoped reached her eyes. “It will have to be.”
7
“So what are we going to do with him?”
Caston ran his hand through his white hair, studying the man on the ground. They had found him tracking them not long ago, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen him before. Still, none of his men recognized him. He was the leader though, and if he didn’t know him then how could it matter? Still, he had an uneasy feeling about the man. Where had he seen him before?
Caston wasn’t sure. Under normal circumstances, he would just slit the guy’s throat and leave him behind. But there was a quality about this guy that intrigued him. Even passed out on the ground he could tell that he was well-groomed. He didn’t want for anything, unlike most of the other people they stumbled across. It was clear that the man had somewhere that he was calling home and Caston wanted to know where it was. The Rough Riders were getting low on supplies, but if this guy had what they needed, then it was his responsibility to make sure that they took every last bit of it. The land was becoming less giving and Caston knew that he would have to find something soon to provide for his crew. The only thing keeping his men loyal was a full belly and enough adventure to keep them busy. Without those, his men would surely turn against him like jackals.
“Why don’t we wait till he wakes up and see where it is that he is camping out? I’m sure that there will be something there.”
Caston went through the man’s bag and noticed a pink scarf tucked delicately inside. It was clear that the scarf wasn’t something that belonged to the rugged man who had been tracking them. Caston gave it a smell and the strong scent of lilac filled his nose. He was filled with excitement as he realized that the scarf belonged to a woman. It was something that they hadn’t run into in a while. Caston was more than willing to be patient if it meant that he would get one of his baser needs taken care of. He would have preferred a woman over food and he was sure that the six men with him would feel the same way. Only problem was that once they got their hands on one, they never made it very long.
“Do you want me to wake him up?”
He shook his head. “No Lee. We don’t have too much else to do b
ut wait. The weather is looking like a storm anyways.”
Lee nodded, but wasn’t too happy about the order. He wanted to be the one that found out what was going on. He, like many of the other men, was getting restless. They were ready for something to make their hearts beat a little faster. They were long due for some excitement, and torturing the strange man would be enough for Lee.
Caston could see the way his men were starting to get restless. He didn’t show them the scarf, but stuck it in his pocket and had a couple of them help the man up. “Let’s get in for the night so we don’t get caught in the rain. I’m sure the guy will be up by then.”
“What do you think he was doing boss?”
Caston shrugged, not sure what to make of it. It had been years since anyone had gotten so close to him. The man was clearly searching them out, not something that the Rough Riders were used to. Most smart people stayed away from the motorcycle gang. They ran the turf around there and it made Caston sure that the dark-haired man was there for some kind of vengeance. Vengeance was something that he could understand. It was only when he considered the possibility that Caston started to relax. He could understand pride and ego, but he could also understand revenge. Caston was sure that he was owed some many times over, but not just yet.
“I think he’s here to get information, or maybe even take me out. I don’t know, but I want him tied up well so that when he does come around, there is no way for him to get a chance to do any of that.”
Lee nodded his head and started to smile. There was a chance that he was going to be able to hurt someone that day. It had been too long for all of them. It had been weeks since anyone had been stupid enough to fall into their path. Now that there was a chance of something happening, Lee was starting to feel like his old self.
They dragged him into the house that they were going to be staying in for the night. Even though Caston wasn’t sure what to do with him, he knew that he didn’t want him able to get free. He didn’t wake up as they moved him around, and that made Caston worried that they had hit him too hard from behind. He may never wake up, but if he did, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.