by Angela White
Becky had paled and didn’t respond right away. Hearing her deepest secret spoken aloud so bluntly was a bit surprising.
“Sorry about that,” Charlie stated. “You want the rest?”
“Yes.”
“She said you need to have justice and to be the one to hand it out. She also said you might go too far into the dark side and that I need to keep an ear on your mind.”
Becky wanted to deny that she might become a problem in the future, but Charlie didn’t let her.
“We know better, Becky. It’s not something to be ashamed of, only a feeling you have to battle.”
Becky understood then. Angela knew she was suicidal. “She’s giving me a way out that everyone can live with!”
“Please, don’t take it,” Charlie begged. “We love you.”
Becky burst into tears.
Charlie left her alone, hoping she would get some more of the poison out of her system. His mom said Becky wouldn’t do it when it came down to it, but after spending only a day with her, listening to the awful voices in her mind, Charlie wasn’t so sure. Becky had a well of pain inside that was deeper than anything Charlie had ever felt. It would take a lot to keep her from drowning in there.
Becky curled up in her bag and tried to get herself under control so that she could sleep. She shoved the rest from her thoughts to find herself drifting off almost immediately. Pretending to be happy was tiring.
Charlie watched her for a moment and then spent some time contacting his mom to deliver an update on all that had happened. When he was finished, he also sent a quick message to his dad, not wanting Marc to be angry with him.
Worried is not angry, Marc sent back. Get some sleep.
Charlie did that as the dawn came, waking Becky to stand watch. It had been a long night and there were more of them to come.
7
“Hello in the camp. I’m here on orders.”
Seth’s call brought a shadow from a ledge above them, who pointed toward their feet.
Before he could move, a hand shot up and grabbed Seth’s ankle. “Hey!”
The men burst out laughing as Cynthia sat up, hands out like a zombie.
Seth sat a large kit by her shallow grave, impressed and horrified. “That’s pretty good.”
“Thanks. Tell the boss it’s ready to go out here.”
“I will. You need anything?”
Cynthia shook her head, not opening the bag. “No. You?”
Seth hesitated. “Yeah. Do you know where she is?”
“Yes. You’ll be with her if you stick to your envelopes.”
It was as if Angela was scolding him. Seth let out a curse before stomping down the ravine. He had two more stops after this one, and then they were breaking for the night. Would Becky’s camp be one of those stops? He hoped so. There was no way he would sleep tonight without knowing where she was. All he would be able to imagine was her lying under leaves and dirt somewhere, as Cynthia had been.
Cynthia waited until the team was out of sight before opening her delivery. In it was gear too heavy for her to carry this far. It would be left when she had to run. By then, the weapon would either be out of ammunition or destroyed in the fight.
Cynthia quickly set up the portable grenade launcher in the spot she’d already cleared, reciting the steps mentally. Once she pulled the tall blind over it and untied the tree branch that she had secured, the handheld, gas plug operated, semi-automatic, revolving action M32 was invisible. She’d only used one a couple of times during her more recent training, but this part of her job wasn’t hard. Aim, fire, reload. It was the dying part that might be rough.
Feeling better than she had when she’d dug this hole, Cynthia carefully recovered herself. If she’d fooled Seth’s team, the soldiers would go for it too. This was the main road into Safe Haven, the most direct path. They were sure the troops would be thickest here. Angela had surprises all along this street, like Marc had suggested during the one female team meeting he’d been asked to join. He hadn’t liked giving them those deadly answers, but he had delivered a number of ways for females to be lethal. Angela was using all of them.
Cynthia’s post was isolated. It would take the soldiers a bit to reach her and the reporter wasn’t happy about being alone on the mountains. She also wasn’t terrified of it anymore. Angela’s orders had mentioned Eagles in the area if she had to have help, and it was a comfort to know that was true, but she was also heavily armed. Even the howling of the wind through the branches didn’t cause panic as it might have before. She’d faced many fears since coming to Safe Haven.
As she closed her lids, Cynthia hoped Kevin was in a better place than she was. Angela had him on protection detail for someone. Cynthia had recognized the gear he’d been packing from a checklist. She didn’t know over who or where. She assumed she had a shadow, but didn’t let herself think Angela would have put them together. It would have been risking one of them getting distracted and Angela wouldn’t do that. It was why Seth and Becky couldn’t start out together.
Faced with too much time to think, Cynthia tried to make herself go to sleep instead. If she thought about what she was doing, about the life she carried and the future she’d almost had, she might not be able to do this.
8
“Hold up.”
Seth’s team stopped only a few minutes after leaving Cynthia, going still and quiet. Voices came to them.
“I heard something.”
“One of ours.”
“You sure?”
Seth recognized the voices and cleared his throat. “Good thing we’re friendly.”
Zack and his men appeared through the trees.
The two teams greeted each other, glad to know they weren’t out here wandering the dim wilderness alone.
“What’s next?” Zack asked.
Seth opened his next envelope. “Someone will meet us here and they have the next step. We’re supposed to sit tight.”
“I’m here.”
They peered up to discover Tracy straddling a thick tree branch above them. She tossed Seth a wrinkled envelope.
Seth read it angrily. “You’re kidding, right?” He shoved it into Zack’s waiting hand. “I won’t do it.”
“Then get to camp and be reassigned,” Tracy told him coldly. “Boss’s words.”
Seth grit his teeth as the other men complained.
“No way.”
“Is she nuts?”
“We don’t do that. We’re Eagles!”
Tracy was already tired of hearing it. She dropped from the tree and opened her long coat to reveal an outfit a hooker might have worn. The fighting ceased.
Tracy smoothed the wrinkles from the dress and brushed at her wild hair. “It’ll work, right?”
“Yeah, it’ll work.” Seth, now disgusted with himself as well as Angela, shoved by her. “Let’s go.”
The sight of Tracy standing there looking like she was about to film a porno flick was almost more than he could take. Was Becky out here somewhere doing the same thing?
“Does Charlie know?” Seth asked suddenly.
Tracy nodded, increasing her pace to account for their long strides. “Yes. The teenagers were the only group Angela didn’t have to hide things from. She said it was a relief.”
Shamed, the men fell silent.
The group walked to the first location on their list. They were now a roving patrol on the western side of Lookout Mountain. Their instructions were to eliminate anyone who came toward Safe Haven and to use Tracy as their bait for ambushes and traps. While it was devious, it was also hard, and none of the men were sure they could do it. As a result, they were a somber group that traveled through the thickets of pine and stacks of nature-forged stone without speaking to Tracy or each other.
9
By the time Kyle made it to his last stop for the night, he was nodding off behind the wheel again.
Marc recognized it and waved Adrian into the driver’s seat.
Kyle collapsed gratefully on a h
indmost bench.
“You okay?” Marc asked, moving aside for the next load of supplies to be brought onboard. They were all deliveries for tomorrow. They’d be stopping at so many camps that only a van or truck would hold it all.
“Well, Brady,” Kyle forced out after a yawn. “I’ll tell you something, if you don’t get pissed.”
Marc already knew, but held up a hand. “Word of honor.”
Kyle opened bleary eyes and locked onto Marc’s grinning face. “That woman of yours is a real bitch. You know that? A real, honest-to-god, ball-busting bitch!”
The other men laughed and agreed, but Kyle shook his head in wonder. “I didn’t know how hard she is to please. I thought you were a lucky bastard every night.”
“He is!” Adrian slammed the plastic-wrapped crate down and left the filthy van.
Marc’s laugh followed him into the cold night air.
“Can’t you get off him?” Kenn snarled, able to feel Adrian’s pain.
Marc stopped smiling, becoming the cold, distant leader that Kenn had loathed serving.
“No. He earned this every time he put his hands on her, kissed her against her will. And you earned it because you made sure they had time alone for him to do it.”
Kenn, frustrated, stuck his middle finger up.
Marc’s surprised laughter rolled into the night.
Adrian grit his teeth. Those were his bonding moments that Marc was stealing, his men and women to command. The rage began to grow hotter inside Adrian. He hadn’t wanted to be attracted to Angela. He hadn’t planned all of it, despite what Marc thought. The feelings were real. He’d tried to fight them.
“Too damn strong,” he muttered, loading the stack of empty pallets into the small shed behind this tiny campsite. “And she feels it too. Not all my fault.”
They were on the move a couple minutes later and quickly caught up to Tonya, who had orders to walk down the middle of this rocky, bumpy road. All the men assumed she would be met by someone, but there was no way to tell if it would be theirs or the enemy.
During their argument, Tonya had been forced to tell Kenn her role and show her weapons. He hadn’t been able to argue the plan on merits, only his emotions. She’d refused to return to Safe Haven. As a result, Kenn had stopped talking to her. Marc thought Tonya getting a dose of the old Kenn was a good idea. He had little doubt that the redhead would reevaluate her relationship while walking through the darkness, but Kenn wasn’t smart enough to know that’s how a woman worked.
Tonya didn’t raise a hand as the van went by her. Instead of being scared or unhappy with her role, she was extremely grateful to Angela for the chance to prove herself. When it was done, if they survived, Kenn wouldn’t be allowed to treat her like anything except an equal and that was all she wanted. If he still whined and acted like a child about it, she would tell him how it was and he could take it or leave it. After thinking about it, she’d realized Angela was right. Her baby was Kenn’s way in with the camp and the Eagles, but Tonya wasn’t going to let him use their child’s coattails any more than she would use his now. That was the behavior of the old Tonya. She didn’t intend to be that ugly creature ever again.
10
“That’s our ride.”
The large group was happy to hear those words. They’d been walking all day and had only reached their pickup spot a few minutes ago.
The van pulled alongside the resting Eagles. Marc opened the doors with a grin. “Who needs a lift?”
Low cheers echoed and they piled into the crowded van, grinning and laughing as they spotted friends. Zack and Seth’s team were quickly occupied with refilling their supplies, but Seth stayed with Marc, hoping for an update. None of the groups they’d stopped by or come across had word on Becky.
Marc held out a small envelope. “This is where she’ll be at noon. Boss said not to be late.”
Seth snatched the paper and slammed his tired body into the seat behind Marc. “This is bullshit!”
It was a feeling that all of them had experienced today. Marc nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go. Everyone in?”
The van pulled into the darkness with a full load of men and supplies, all of them deadly in their own way.
Marc heard Seth crumble the paper up and shove it into his pocket. The anger was thick, and while Marc wanted to ease the man’s fears by telling him that they’d talked to Becky earlier, he didn’t. Angela had said it was best to let Seth get wound up this time. Marc hadn’t argued. Angela saw further than he did and if she thought Seth needed to be strung out by the time the fighting started, it was no problem to accomplish it.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Marc commented. “Want a juice box? We brought grape.”
“A what?” Seth stared in fury. “You’re kidding, right?”
Marc shrugged. “Sorry.”
Seth fumed in silence as Marc eased on the gas. The sooner that ticking bomb was out of range, the better. If Seth did explode, it would take out an entire block.
Marc surveyed them in the mirror, noting that Tracy was being treated like a member of the group and not a whore. He also saw that she had cuts, scrapes, and a nasty bruise on her cheek, and understood she was another piece of bait. Angela had refused to explain what her female team was doing. Marc had assumed that it was bad, that he would have tried to stop her if he’d known. He trusted Angela to do the right thing though, and it hadn’t been hard to let it go then. Now, he was seeing these women being used in ways that he never would have approved and the concern was growing. How far would Angela go to win?
11
Marc shut the van door, clicked the lock into place. They’d reached their final stop of the night and while he needed rest, he wasn’t eager for the dreams. He’d stayed behind to lock up, stalling the moment when someone would shove him into a tent and insist that he rest.
The Indian camp was spread out, with patrols of braves, on and off horses, constantly roaming the perimeter. In the center, a giant bonfire was roaring and natives in full costume were dancing and singing. In other times, Marc would have been in the front circle, taking in as much goodwill as he could. Tonight, the tom toms were an instant headache.
“We’re all set, boss,” Quinn stated, joining him on the short walk into the Indian camp.
Natoli’s people would be their shelter for a few hours and Marc was glad of the order. The still-decorated hunting cabin was getting on his nerves. If he never saw another tree with dead bulbs, it would be too soon.
Marc spotted an old woman cooking outside a teepee and was drawn there, shunning the rows of tents that his men were using.
The woman was holding out a small wooden bowl before he got to her and Marc took it gratefully. “Thank you, old mother.”
The woman didn’t have any teeth, but her grin was warming. She patted his big arm and pointed toward the teepee waiting behind her. “You stay?”
Marc started to say no, then shrugged. “Why not.”
He left Quinn standing there in surprise and sank down on the fur pallet with a groan.
Marc dug into the food with his fingers. He didn’t stop until it was gone. Then, he licked his fingers. Nothing that came out of a can ever tasted as good as what a little old woman with an ancient pot could accomplish.
Quinn went to let the others know, thinking Marc’s choice was right when the men got loud and had to be quieted. Their jokes and chatter drew disapproving looks from their Indian hosts and Quinn had to threaten to send them to Angela before there was peace again. Some lessons were harder than others. Not making noise, even on down time, wasn’t easy for most of these men.
Quinn found a place behind Kenn and Adrian, wondering why those two were acting as if they’d had a fight. The two Marines hadn’t spoken more than a few words since they were picked up.
Quinn noticed Kyle was absent and assumed that Eagle was still sleeping it off in the rear of the stinky van. He revised his theory when he saw who had guard over the tents behind them. Quinn frowned. Angela
was burning Kyle at both ends. Why?
“She knows he’ll need it,” Adrian commented, regarded Quinn. “Just like you do, like we all will. This won’t be a walk in the park.”
“When does it begin?” Natoli asked. He knew, but his braves wanted it confirmed.
“Any time now.” Adrian sighed, accepting a small bowl of the pungent venison stew. “Surprised the quiet has held this long.”
Natoli’s men passed that around and the Indians surrounding them immediately began to pack and prepare. Each camp had duties to perform. No one wanted theirs to be the cause of failure.
Quinn gave Kenn a subtle nod and got a glower in return that was also surprising. Quinn shrugged. Kenn was often an ass just because he was Marc’s right hand. Why he would pick now to be one, Quinn wasn’t sure.
“You wanna walk and talk?” Adrian asked Kenn.
The Marine thought about it, and refused, “You go on. I’m good right here.”
That drew more attention from both teams. There was an awkward silence where Adrian left, alone.
“What’s up with that?” Seth asked curiously, drawn out of his worry over Becky.
Kenn didn’t want to lie, so he chose his words carefully. “Things may not be right with him. I’m checking it out.”
“Oh, yeah. Look who that’s coming from,” Quinn stated dryly.
Kenn flushed, but didn’t defend himself. It told the men around him that he was serious.
“What are you talking about? Adrian’s the shit,” one of Zack’s team said firmly. “Nothin’ he can’t do.”
“Really?” Kenn watched his idol walk into the shadows and vanish. “He can’t quit chasing Angela. I had to, and even our new alpha asshole was stopped by the camp, but not Adrian.”
There were frowns and furrowed brows, but no denial.
Kenn went on, sounding confused. “He said he isn’t one of us, told Marc and me that during the ride out here.”
“What did he mean?”
Kenn found the choice easier than he’d thought it would be. “I...I think he might be a traitor. Maybe he was one all along and we all overlooked it to save our skins and have some glory along the way.”