In a moment of sudden clarity, Dela realized what she had been doing. She had been eyeing the men who had taken her captive. Problem was, she wanted to do it some more. Instead, she glanced down at her half-drunk bottle. They had given up their shares for her. A frown pulled on her swollen features. They also hadn’t said one mean thing about her altered looks. Quiq would have. He would have taken great delight in tormenting her over her bruised cheeks and swollen eye.
It was nearly another hour before Gareth found a spot that met his specifications—whatever those were. Dela couldn’t quite understand what the structure had once been before the fall. Enormous cement towers rose in a line for as far as she could see. Stretching from pillar to pillar was more cement—where it hadn’t collapsed, that was. Cars dotted the elevated sections, more littered on the ground. Those on the ground looked smashed up and dented under their layers of rust.
Gareth chose a spot where a section had collapsed. He climbed over a few boulders to inspect his find. “This will work.”
“C’mon, Cap,” Lath said, preparing to lift her; he squeezed under her armpits and she cried out.
All the men turned to glare at Lath, as though he had been the one to hurt her. He released her and stepped back, arms raised as though they might shoot him.
“What’s hurting?” Mason asked, stepping to her side and reaching for her vest buckles.
Dela tried to roll her eyes. “Everything hurts.” She slapped his hands away. “Just let me climb up on my own.”
The men stepped back and she slowly worked her way up onto the pile of rocks. Gareth stood on the other side of the barrier, offering his hand. Dela took it and allowed him to help her down into the hole, where the temperature dropped noticeably. He guided her to the ground, his pack behind her. Lath and Adrian were already halfway over the barrier with Mason keeping watch. Before she knew it, all four men were in the little hideout. They settled down, two on each side of her. Gareth pulled off his old baseball cap and rested it over his eyes. Lath smiled at her while Mason and Adrian took out another package of candy to eat.
Dela felt her stomach roll. She was hungry, but the idea of eating candy made her want to throw up. She shifted, trying to get comfortable in their little hideout. She laid her head back against the cement support. By now, Quiq would be home. He just had to be. There was no hold up that would keep him away for that long. He would be home, wondering where she was.
Or he was dead. Dela banished the thought as quickly as it came to her.
She hoped he didn’t go looking for her. She wasn’t worth him risking his life over. And maybe, without the burden of a secret woman, he would be able to join one of the towns, maybe even get a real wife someday.
The dream suddenly ended. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Quiq would come searching for her. What if he ended up in a gang like Angel’s? Or what if he was already dead—the thought returned on its own. She had gone into the dead zone to find him. Chances were if he hadn’t returned to their home he was long gone… rotting in some dilapidated store or in a street gutter. Even if he had made it back to their home, he likely went out again to find her.
And with only one hand, how could he possibly survive on his own? She had been so stupid to allow him into the dead zone alone. They should have gone together. None of this would have happened if they had just gone together.
And I never would have met them, her rebellious brain added. That’s a good thing, she reminded herself.
Dela stifled a groan. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She liked the men that surrounded her. It had just been her and Quiq for so long, she forgot what it was like to be around multiple personalities. It kept her on her toes. After so many years of only Quiq, she knew what he would say, when he would say it, and how he would respond to whatever she said. The Hunters, though, always surprised her. Though she didn’t want to marry some herd of strange men, she also didn’t want to say goodbye to her new friends.
But you struck a deal. Her path was set. She was going to whatever village, where she would be sold to a Harem House. It was worth it to save the women in Angel’s care. Her life was a small sacrifice to free those desperate souls.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Lath asked from beside her.
There was no way she would tell him what she had really been thinking. She tracked backward through her thought process, picking a safe topic. “My brother.”
Adrian shifted in his spot “You have a brother?”
“Well, adopted brother. We found him as a child and he grew up with me.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” asked Mason.
Dela chuckled, causing another stab of pain in her ribcage. “I wasn’t just spawned from the trash heaps. I had a mom and dad. Grandpa too.”
“What happened?” Gareth asked from beneath his hat.
Dela tried to keep her features neutral and her body still. She simply said, “They died. What else?”
Dela woke having no idea when she had fallen asleep. They had been talking quietly. The last thing she remembered was talking about was her family, or rather the lack of family. She shifted, looking around their little cement cave. Gareth still lounged in the far corner, his baseball cap shielding his eyes. The other men were missing. Dela turned and looked at the entrance. This was her chance. She could escape without any of them the wiser.
“I wouldn’t,” Gareth grumbled from underneath his hat.
Dela’s head snapped to her left to look at him. He hadn’t moved an inch, still hidden under his hat. How does he even know I’m awake? She glanced back at the opening.
“You’re injured. You have no water or food. And we would find you. Not to mention you promised, and if you run we won’t help those girls.”
“I get it. I get it. I’m the damsel in distress.”
“Ha!” Gareth barked, surprising Dela. “I can’t imagine you’d ever be a damsel. In distress, well, maybe.”
Gareth finally removed his cap and sat up. Even with a dent in his nose from where the hat had rested, he was attractive. Dela looked away. She didn’t want to like any of them or find their bodies appealing. Being left at the Harem House was going to be hard enough without missing them.
“Where are the others?” Dela asked, her stomach pitching a fit as she realized she was alone with him.
“They’re out hunting and searching for water.”
“Hunting? In the Dead Zone.”
“Don’t worry. They don’t eat zombies.”
“You believe in the zombie stories?”
Gareth gave her a grin that failed to reach his eyes. “‘Course not. They’re just stories to make children afraid of the big cities. That doesn’t make the Dead Zones safe, mind you.”
“Because of men like Angel.”
Gareth nodded. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here. They’ll be back soon.”
He groaned as he folded himself up to crawl toward the opening. Dela followed him, trying to ignore her aches and pains. Gareth reached down and helped her up onto the first boulder. Another climb brought them to the highest of the boulders cutting off their little hiding place. From there, Dela could see into the distance. Gareth began to step down when he realized her attention had shifted. Remaining beside her, he examined the distance, too.
“Can you imagine it?” she whispered.
“Imagine what?”
“The city filled with people—with equal numbers of women to men—and people just free to do what they want. Or at least free to marry who they want.” Dela felt him step up behind her.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had that freedom,” Gareth whispered back, his breath tickling her neck.
“At least men get to decide who to marry. That’s a luxury us women will never get.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Dela craned her neck to see his features. “What do you mean?”
“Not all men have the luxury to marry who they want. Even men get manipulated into marriage.”
&nbs
p; Dela couldn’t help but notice the strain in his voice. “Who do you want to marry?”
“No one. I don’t need a wife.”
“But you once wanted to marry someone?” Dela asked, finally turning all the way around.
In her movement, she nearly slipped off the boulder. Gareth grabbed her by the waist, pulling her up against his chest. Flailing, she grabbed his shoulders, welcoming his strong muscles as he snaked both hands around her waist.
“No. I never wanted to be married.”
Dela frowned, the expression pulling on her swollen eye. “Then what is it?”
Gareth released her, stepping as far away from her as the boulder would allow. “Who said there was any story to tell?”
“I never said there was a story. I just wonder why you say ‘men get manipulated into marriage’.”
He shrugged, looking away. “Some men get forced into it. That’s all.”
“Were you forced into a marriage?”
Dela couldn’t even begin to imagine the strong, independent Gareth being manipulated into anything, much less a forced marriage, but his sudden aversion to the topic couldn’t help but suggest he had once been married. Without thinking about it, she stepped into his personal space again, placing her hand on his chest where his shirt stretched tight over his muscles. Despite her effort to remain unaffected by the new men in her life, she couldn’t help but feel a companionship with Gareth. It seemed they were more alike than she had realized.
Gareth’s features flickered through more emotions than Dela could track with, finally resting on a frown. His hazel eyes flickered back and forth between her own eyes as if searching for just the right moment to see into her well of hurts and memories, just as she was doing to him.
Before she could stop herself, she pressed herself against his chest, rising up onto her tip-toes and pressing her lips against his. The pressure caused the split on her bottom lip to burn, but it was worth it. With more gentleness than she would have imagined him capable of, Gareth slid his hand around the back of her neck, tilting her head to the side. His other hand caressed gentle circles around her back as if even in their moment of passion, he remembered her various injuries.
Dela grabbed his hips, using them to leverage herself higher. He groaned against her lips, pausing in his movement as if to assess his own control. Before either of them could initiate a return of their passion, loud cat-calls sent them stumbling backward. Dela only kept from falling off by Gareth’s strong hand catching her wrist and yanking her back from the edge.
They turned to look at their audience. Lath, Mason, and Adrian stood below them, their packs hanging from their shoulders. Dela felt her cheeks flame as Mason winked at her. Lath and Adrian, though, were glaring at their partner.
“Gareth!” called Lath.
“Dammit, Gareth,” Adrian said at the same time. “Wasn’t it you who said we don’t kiss our catches?”
Meanwhile, Mason was chuckling, his hungry eyes still on Dela.
Gareth’s look of nervous confusion turned to triumph. “Eh, couldn’t help myself.”
Dela’s blush reached burning levels. She ducked her head, pretending to examine her climb down. Truth was, her eyes were burning with unshed tears. Embarrassment always made her tear up, as though her cheeks and her eyes were controlled by the same portion of her brain—a portion she wouldn’t mind removing.
Mason stepped forward to help her down as Lath and Adrian continued razz Gareth. “Tell me, Cap, which is the better kisser?”
Another blush followed the tail of the last, bringing her another step toward crying. There was no power on earth strong enough to make her answer that question. Truth was, they both did things she liked better than the other. She liked Gareth’s tenderness, but she also liked Mason’s passion. The more she thought about it, the hotter her face turned. It reached yet new levels of red as she began to wonder how Lath and Adrian kissed.
She heard Mason laughing over the sound of Lath saying something dirty to Gareth. Compared to how she felt after Mason’s kiss, Dela was ready to disappear into the heated pavement. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up at her companions. Here she was, destined to be married off to another group of men, and yet she was making her way through the men who had ruined her life. Was she so pathetic she couldn’t keep her pants on even with the men she was supposed to hate? A tear escaped, followed quickly by many more.
The men were still teasing Gareth and Mason, oblivious to her shame.
Chapter Ten
Gareth caught sight of the streaks forming in the dust on Dela’s cheeks. She was crying. His kiss had made her cry. Schmuk, he growled at himself. You complain about manipulating then you go and do it to this innocent child.
“You little softy,” continued Adrian. “A girl bats her eyes at you and you cave, giving her whatever she wants…”
“Especially if it’s your sweet, sweet lovin’!” added Lath, mimicking a man thrusting.
“Look, guys,” replied Gareth, trying to keep their attention away from Dela. “Just 'cause you don’t have moves like me, doesn’t mean you should complain. Remember that girl in Crystal City?”
Lath laughed. “You mean the one with only one arm? You can hardly call that a victory!”
“I didn’t see her admiring you.”
“Only ‘cause I wouldn’t give her a second look. But you… Mr. Easy-To-Please went straight for it.”
Gareth shrugged. “Go home early. I’ve always said it.”
Mason cut in. “Ah, Adrian’s gone home with worse.”
“Oh do tell?” demanded Lath.
Gareth glanced down at Dela, who walked a few steps behind him as they began to make their way toward the southwestern edge of the city. The streaks were beginning to dry on her cheeks, but her head still hung low enough to look painful. Gareth didn’t say anything to her. He wasn’t exactly sure why she was crying. He hoped she was just hurting. He hated the idea that his kiss had made her cry. She’s just a catch, he reminded himself. You shouldn’t have kissed her in the first place.
Gareth drew his attention back to the men just in time to hear something about a woman with half her teeth missing and a growing bald spot. They walked for miles as the men told war stories. Dela stayed in the back, shuffling along. Slowly, the sweat streaks mixed in with the tear streaks. Gareth was about to call for a rest when he noticed the sun nearing the horizon. If she can push on for a few more minutes, we can just stop for the night.
“What about you, Cap?” Adrian finally asked, glancing back at her sullen face. “Got any war stories?”
“I wasn’t born during the war. My parents weren’t even born.”
The men burst out laughing, and Gareth caught sight of another blush coloring her cheeks, half hidden under her bruises.
Gareth leaned toward her. “They mean, have you ever been with someone really ugly, or maybe someone really strange.” He adjusted his voice to be heard over the laughter of the others. “But they have forgotten that our dear Cap is a virgin.”
Gareth felt the words escape before he could stop them. He glanced at Dela and spotted the fresh blush. Her eyes were huge, moisture forming around her lids. Whatever was bothering her, it related to romantic relationships or the general concept of romance. Considering she had traded her freedom for their efforts against Angel, it wasn’t surprising she was considering her future husbands. And thus far, Gareth and his men hadn’t exactly been acting like gentlemen. But, if they did act like gentlemen, she might get the wrong idea. Then again, two of them had kissed her. Talk about a wrong impression.
His head spun as one thought led to another, and then another.
Gareth worked to bring his thoughts back to the needs of his group. He had three horny men, one injured woman, and a setting sun disappearing behind the buildings of the Dead Zone. Now was not the time to be thinking about feelings and love interests. Gareth opened his mouth to suggest a stop in the little housing neighborhood they were crossing when a lo
ud shout erupted from the buildings around them.
Their entire group gave a little jump as a few dozen children burst from the overgrown bushes and the ruins of the houses. The older children held jagged spears, longer than they were tall. The smaller children held sharpened rocks. Most of them wore masks made of animal skin, with bits of bone or past technology stitched to the skin, giving them a frightening visage. At first, Gareth had thought they were a horde of little girls, but he quickly realized they were simply boys with untamed hair.
“Give us your go-ods,” their spokesman demanded, his voice cracking on the last word.
Gareth and his three men all looked at the children, amazed to think the ragged bunch considered themselves the more powerful army. As he considered the odds, he realized that the children very likely would overpower them by sheer numbers. Even if they didn’t know what to do with their sharp rocks, they could easily take him to the ground and stab blindly.
“Where are your parents?” Dela asked, taking a step toward the spokesman.
The oldest boy adjusted his spear, pointing it at her chest and giving it a little warning thrust. Dela raised her hand, holding still for a moment. The spokesman eyed her bruises, disgust visible even with his mask hiding his features.
“Are you children alone?”
“What’s it to you?” the kid demanded.
“How did you end up on your own?” Dela asked.
Gareth and the others stayed back, suspecting Dela had a better chance of getting information out of the boy.
The boy used his spear to gesture at her face. “What happened to you?”
“We were taken by Angel. I got a little banged up escaping.”
The spokesman appeared to relax a little, though he still kept his spear pointed at Dela. “We know Angel.”
“Are you part of his group?”
The children let out a loud shout. Dela didn’t recognize the word they growled, but she guessed it was some sort of made-up curse. After a few chants of the word, the spokesman motioned for them to stop.
“No. We escaped from Angel, too.”
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