The Cities

by K. A Knight

  There is a dead body on the steps of the building, and I don’t even blink as I step over it and head inside. I spot Nan turning a corner, obviously heading for one of the rooms with a pissed looking Reeves behind her. I hide my smirk. Seems the dirty old bitch likes to ride the scavs, I can’t wait to use it against the old broad. The Summit room is empty when we get there, and I take my seat at the head of the table as we wait for Bern to get back.

  He trudges back in with the man I met at the gate behind him. Bern takes a seat, the wood creaking under his weight, and the guard hovers at the end of the table, clearly unsure.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Ace,” he replies instantly.

  “Good, sit.” I nod and he grabs a seat, spinning it and sitting backwards as he looks around at us.

  “I’ve read Major’s letter, I know I’m in charge. Now, I’m not going to change many of his rules, they mostly still stand. This is a safe place, so no fighting on the grounds or they are killed. The only thing I’m changing is this—no more slaves here. It isn’t welcome. I know I can’t stop everyone from having them in the Wastes, but they aren’t welcome here. Anyone, man or woman, caught with a slave will be killed, and the slave given his possessions and freedom.”

  He whistles then but doesn’t seem angry. “That’s a hella big rule change, might piss some people off.”

  “Good, can you handle it?” I inquire, grinning at him.

  He smirks back. “Fuck yes I can! Ya leaving?”

  I nod. “Hopefully I’ll be back, but if I’m not, I want you to leave a woman named Piper in charge with you helping her.”

  It seems like the best option. Archel won’t let her die and she is strong enough to hold it. I would leave it to Dray, but if I don’t make it back then neither will he or my men, so it needs to be someone outside of my circle. “I will leave her instructions in case it comes to it.”

  “It won’t,” Dray interjects and I roll my eyes.

  “Just in case. Anything else you need? I’ll be leaving in the morning,” I inform him.

  “Nope, we will keep it running in your absence, just make sure you come back. This Piper woman might have your trust, but she doesn’t have ours, you do. You’ve fought with us, drank with us, and lived here, this is your home as much as anywhere.” He nods then stands and leaves, and I gape after him. Well shit.

  The door shuts after him and I lean back in my chair. “Down to business. We are leaving first thing in the morning, and stopping at Reeves’ and The Rim on our way. I expect you to be waiting in position in three days.” I pull out the maps then and show them everything I know. “If I don’t come back, build a fucking check point to give your selves a warning when they come for you, and haul ass to kill those bastards. If we do come back, we will lead them right to you. I want people waiting at The Rim, here and here, then they close in behind the Cities’ people as we lead them to you.”

  “We box tha fuckers in.” Bern nods in respect.

  “We do, and we decimate them, send a message that you never fuck with us again. It will be awhile before they try that again.” I look at Dray. “As for our part, I want you to sneak in using this open system here like Jago explained. I want you to rile up the locals. Thorn said poverty was rife, so I’m betting we drop a match in that and boom. Attack them from all sides, cause riots and chaos, enough that we can escape if my part of the plan doesn’t work. Then meet me back at the gates, but only wait one day. If I’m not back, you leave,” I order, but he narrows his eyes and I laugh. “Joking, I know you won’t. You burn that place to the ground and come save my ass, but only if I can’t save it first.”

  “Sounds like a plan, soulmate.” He nods his agreement, reaching over and kissing the ring before leaning back and smirking at the others in the room, making me roll my eyes.

  “Piper, The Forgotten, and rogues will meet you there, Archel will work with them and get them in position. Erik, you have the rebels, Bern and Henry, you have the Seekers and Berserkers. Reeves has the scavs and roadies, Nan will have…her shotgun,” I tease and they laugh. “We can do this. The next time I see you will be on the battlefield.”

  “We will win this with you leading us,” Erik affirms.

  “Fight well, Ma Queen,” Bern states.

  “Long live our fucking queen!” Henry calls, and I laugh as they all repeat it.

  Long live our fucking clans.

  They leave after that, and Dray and I head to my room, needing to get some rest after the long day we had. I open the door and stop in the threshold as memories of my men filling the space bombard me. If I strain hard enough, I can almost still smell them here.

  Dray presses to my back and I lean into him before forcing myself inside. I lay my bag and jacket on the table before stripping down to my bra and panties, and head to the shower. I wait for the water to warm up as I wash my bra and panties, and then hang them to dry before looking up into the mirror. I don’t look as happy as I did last time. I look harder, more confident. Maybe what Dray said was true, I was worried about what people think and now I’m not. Though a weight was lifted from my shoulders, a ton more was added, and you can tell by the jaded and calculated look in my eyes.

  I appear hard, but when Dray stops behind me, framing me in the mirror, he makes me look soft. He’s taller than me, and his muscles upon muscles accentuate my soft curves, showing off my own muscular arms and stomach. We look fierce and like we shouldn’t be messed with, and that makes me smile. I meet his eyes in the mirror and see the icy blue watching me with all the crazy love he has to offer. He wraps his arm around my stomach and pulls me back against him, propping his chin on my shoulder. I reach up and hold his arm, the ring he gave me shining in the light.

  “King and queen,” he murmurs, the steam curling through the bathroom.

  “How about this king shows his queen how much he wants her by helping her relax before it all gets crazy?” I suggest and he grins.

  “As you order, My Queen,” he croons and then spins me, picking me up under my ass and stepping into the shower. He presses me back against the tiles as he covers my mouth with his.

  I tangle my hands in his hair, licking at his mouth as the water hits us from the side. He grunts, pressing between my legs as his chest rubs against my hardened nipples. My body reacts to his instantly like always, craving his brand of crazy, even though I only had him hours ago. What happens next is looming over us, which could explain why I’m so sentimental and needing him so often. I want to be alive, to not miss a thing like Major said, and that includes tonight.

  He holds me against the wall as he moves down my body, biting and licking my nipples. I rest my head back on the tiles, closing my eyes in bliss as I wrap my legs around his waist to hold him to me, then I remember what I haven’t done yet and what I have been wanting to do. An evil smirk crosses my face as I grab his hair and yank his head back. I kiss him hard before pushing him away. He stumbles into the spray, letting me drop to my feet, and I close the distance between us. He watches me, licking at his lower lip, but they widen when I drop to my knees in front of him, his body shielding the spray of water as I grab his hips and tug him to me.

  He grabs my hair to stop from falling as I blow my breath over the tip of his cock, his piercing shining under the light. I bet I can’t swallow him down because of that, but I still want to taste him, to see him weaken for me like Drax did.

  “Soul—” He cuts off with a growl, tangling his hands in my hair as I lick the head of his cock, stroking his hard, velvety length with one hand as I gaze up at him.

  He looks startled, his mouth open in need, and a fire burning away that ice in his eyes as he watches me. Has he never done this either? I ask as much, pulling back slightly so each breath teases his cock.

  He smirks down at me. “Which woman would I let near my cock? They would either try to kill me or I would kill them.”

  The idea of him with other women has me narrowing my eyes in jealousy, but I can’t
really talk, so instead I dart my tongue out and taste the precum on his tip before hollowing my cheeks, and sucking him down slightly. He groans, thrusting deeper as I pull back and then swallow him again, curling my hand around his base for the length I can’t take. He soon finds his pace, his stance widening as he fucks my mouth ruthlessly. I catch my teeth on his length and he groans loudly, almost making me grin around his girth.

  “Soulmate,” he rasps, and I roll my eyes up to meet his as I pull back and suck on his tip, before licking and tugging on his piercing.

  He roars, exploding in my mouth, and I swallow quickly before licking him clean and sitting back, satisfied with myself. His thighs are shaking and he falls to his knees in front of me, cupping my cheeks as he watches me. “How did a bastard like me ever get so lucky?”

  “Why, ‘cause I suck your cock?” I tease, but he turns serious.

  “Because you are incredible, sexy, smart, and so fucking good with knives and swords it makes me almost bust in my jeans when I watch you,” he replies, rubbing his thumb over my bottom lip. “All of this fucked up, burnt world and I found you.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I kiss his thumb before laying a kiss on his lips. “Let’s wash, we don’t want to use all the water.”

  We clean up, and he helps wash my hair and get the tangles out before bathing me. I help wash him, it’s become our routine of sorts, and it does relax me. By the time we dry off, I don’t bother slipping back into my wet things. I just pad through the room naked and slip into bed, with Dray following behind me. I recline back onto his chest and stare at the darkened room, lost in my thoughts.

  “Dray, do you think we will get them back?” I ask, voicing my fears out loud— fear that I will never see them again, never hold them, never kiss them, or hear them talk.

  He pulls me back tighter, kissing my hair. “I think you can do whatever you set your mind to. You love them, they love you, so nothing will stop you from getting to them.”

  “But what if I’m too late?” I inquire softly, the night grabbing my fears and holding them secret for me.

  “Then we kill them all,” he offers straight away, but I tense, the idea of them no longer being in this world hurting my heart. “Worth, look at me.”

  I turn and he cups my face, staring into my eyes, his face in shadow. “They wouldn’t dare die on you. You said it yourself, the Cities want something, they have been up here, and they wouldn’t risk killing them. Plus, they haven’t come back for Paradise yet, so I bet they are trying to break your men to get them to lead them to it. That means they are alive, in pain, yes, I won’t sugarcoat it, but alive. Pain can be forgotten, but death is final.”

  I nod, leaning into his touch. “They are strong and smart, they will be okay.”

  “They will, and you will make sure anyone who hurts them pays for it. You will be with them soon enough,” he says, and then I feel bad.

  “Dray—” I start but he covers my mouth.

  “I’m not mad or jealous, I know you need them too. I can’t deny I’ve enjoyed having you to myself this time, but you can’t be fully happy or relaxed without them. Don’t worry, I know you still love me and I still love you. Love is big enough to love more than one person, Tazanna, and you have the biggest heart of all. Now get some sleep, I promise you before the week is through, you will see your men again.”

  I let his words soothe me as I close my eyes and fall asleep in his arms. In that moment, before sleep and wake, I hear Maxen’s voice.

  We are waiting for you, Mi Alma.

  Mad Max, Baby

  The next morning I am up, dressed, and covered in weapons before the sun even rises. Dray and I fucked early this morning. I took all my worries and frustrations out on him so I could lock it back up after and pretend to be as confident as I act. It works, and when I reach my bike, I feel more like myself. Nan and Reeves stumble after us, and I smirk at the messed up quality of her hair but she narrows her eyes, warning me to fuck off with just a look. She gets into a car with a scav driving, while Reeves climbs onto his bike. Dray and I mount up and I cover my mouth with my bandana, looking out at the Wastes stretched before me.

  It’s like Mad Max, baby, and I’m the fucking hero in this book riding off to get my men. Does that make them damsels? I smirk then, reminding myself to tell them that when I see them.

  I lead the ride, setting a breakneck speed through the sand and dust as the sun crawls through the sky, lighting our way. We should reach Reeves’ by nightfall, where we will stop for a few hours before carrying on to The Rim, then we should be at the Cities in under two days if we time it right.

  Two days until I see them again.

  I speed up, wanting to see them sooner as Dray chases after me. I told them no stops, so I don’t bother slowing at all, just pushing my bike to its limit as we race through the rapidly heating dust. Ferals chase us for a while before giving up, and I spot some bodies at the side of the road, but I don’t check for life. I do stop when I see a blockade of cars across the main road we were taking up head. Reeves stops next to me and looks at me in confusion.

  “Wasn’t here when we came up,” he informs me.

  “They don’t look like scavs or roadies,” I mutter, squinting hard to see what and who they are. The trucks are too clean, too well looked after. They don’t look like anything I’ve seen in the Wastes before. “I think they are from the Cities.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Let’s go see, shall we? Maybe they can help…introduce us.” I grin and Dray smirks as I pull up my bandana and crank my engine.

  I hear them laugh as we ride up on the trucks, I circle my finger and I know Dray is headed around the other side to angle them between us. If they are from the Cities, they aren’t prepared for being out here. Just like I thought, their words drift to me, music covering our approach.

  “It’s too fucking hot out here,” a man complains from somewhere in the truck, and I spot two men lounging in the back, their eyes closed and the music blaring. Fucking morons. I search for anyone else, but don’t see them as I cut my bike and stroll up to the truck, the bass almost vibrating the clean metal. One of them has a hat over his sweaty face, his body encased in black trousers, and a white tank top, showing through an open grey shirt. The man next to him has the trousers but no shirt, and he’s covered in sweat and clean. It’s obvious they don’t belong here. Their clothes are brand new looking and way too dirt free, and their boots nearly have me salivating. They are shiny and big lace up ones. Shit, I wonder if I could get my feet in them? I look down at mine, realising they are wearing out. Fuck, I love these boots.

  Pulling my sword from my back, I lean it against the bare chested one’s neck. “Sorry, boys, didn’t mean to interrupt your afternoon nap,” I tease as I spot Dray leaning against the other open door, playing with his knife as he watches the hat covered man.

  They react, but slowly. The bare chested man’s eyes fly wide open and he freezes when he spots the lustre of my blade—smart man. The other isn’t as smart. He sits upright, dropping his hat into his lap as he tries for the gun at his side. “Fuck!” he yells, as Dray leaps forward and smashes a knife into the man’s scrambling hand. He screams, the sound loud and pain filled as he falls back to his seat, clutching his bleeding hand as he darts a look between us.

  “Now that I see we have your attention, how about we have a little talk, hmm?” I grin slowly as the man at the end of my sword narrows his eyes.

  “We don’t fucking talk to savages,” he spits, his eyes glaring at me defiantly as his sweat covered chest heaves.

  I laugh, I can’t help it, and Dray joins in. “Then this is going to be a painful time for you. You see, your people took something of mine and I want it back, and you are going to help me. Aren’t you?” I purr, pressing the sword harder against his flesh, drawing blood, and he grits his teeth, his eyes wide in pain. What a pussy.

  “Fuck you,” he snarls.

  Why is that always their response? You would thi
nk they would wise up. I sigh, pull back the sword, and sheathe it. “I was really hoping to do this quickly. Oh well, your choice.” I shrug and my arm darts out before he can spit another insult at me, smashing into his face and sending him sprawling back into the seat. Dray is hauling his man—still screaming—from the car, so I tap mine. “Out,” I order.

  “Fuck you!” he yells, turning to face me to show me his split lip.

  “I thought we just discussed this?” I reply with a grin.

  “Would do as she says boyo, she has an awful temper on her, ya know?” Nan calls, and I wink over at her where she is standing with Reeves, watching us.

  I look back at the man and shrug. “She’s right, I also have a tendency to kill first and ask later. I only need one of you so...your choice.”

  Stepping back, I wave over to the sand next to us. “Come on, sleeping beauty,”

  His gaze darts to everyone behind us, his mind spinning so fast I can nearly see it. “I wouldn’t try it. In fact, I would, so please fucking try it. I have a terrible temper recently and it needs to come out, otherwise that guy is going to get the brunt of it later,” I say, jerking my head at Dray.

  “I fucking love it, soulmate,” Dray retorts.

  “He’s not joking, he’s crazy,” I comment like the man asked.

  “Fuck,” he mutters, and he slides from the car, keeping his distance from me as he steps up next to his friend. Dray kicks out his legs and they both kneel in the sand, watching us as I prowl around them.

  Crouching in front of them, I let my face go blank and cold, and my eyes go dead. “Now, to business. You answer every question or I will let crazy here have his fun.”

  “What do you want?” the man Dray stabbed whines. I spot sewn on name tags declaring him as “Yates.”

  “Information, of course.” Everyone but them laugh then. I look to the man I cut to see him glaring at me again.