From the Ashes

by Angela White

  Wow. Angela was stunned. She’d never gotten that kind of respect from him.

  “If it were your choice to make?” she questioned.

  Kenn loved it and hated it that she’d asked. He loved the sense of power, but hated the urge to help that usually only Adrian drew from him.

  “It depends on what you need from a right hand,”

  Kenn said, looking away. “Adrian chose me because he knows there isn’t anything he asks of me that I won’t give him or die trying to. If he needed a stronger moral line, he would have picked Neil.”

  “And what if I need both of those, at different times, along with organization and constant communication?” Angela asked, not afraid to reveal these things to Kenn, but very surprised to be taking his opinions seriously. “Who fits that?”

  Kenn snorted. “You won’t like my answer.”

  “I hardly ever did, but tell me anyway.”

  Angela’s tenor was only slightly bitter and Kenn said, “As I’m sure you know, I have a lot of time to observe things now, since most of the Eagles aren’t talking to me.”

  Angela nodded. That would eventually ease.

  “Well, I’ve never seen a more manipulative chick in my life,” Kenn stated ominously. “And that includes you.”

  Angela was instantly intrigued. “Which one?”

  The lowly spoken name was a shock, and Angela immediately left the tent.

  Is he kidding? Is he…right?

  Maybe. Damn.

  Will Adrian be as surprised as I am or did he see this one coming?

  4

  “Will you give your approval?”

  Adrian had been expecting it and asked, “You’ve thought it through? You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” Kyle answered. “She needs someone.”

  “To help or to have?” Adrian needed to know. That would make all the difference to the camp. “Our old world would vote to lock you up.”

  “In the old world, I would have never considered it,” Kyle stated stiffly.

  “And yet, here you are, claiming an underage, pregnant stranger.” Adrian’s tone sharpened. “Can you explain that?”

  “She pulls at me like no one I’ve ever met,” Kyle told him defensively. “She’s brave and strong, and she doesn’t deserve the treatment she’s getting. I promised her she’d be safe here...”

  “And?” Adrian insisted.

  “And, mostly, because I need her,” Kyle muttered softly.

  “The truth, at last.” Adrian sank into the chair he’d first picked out in Vegas, the edges tattered and torn. Like my heart, Adrian thought. They’d just come from the funeral for Lexa, were still in their Eagle gear. The service had been the same for the camp as it had been for the Eagles, only the crowd not as big. Many in the camp were still sleeping off the sinkhole interruption.

  Lexa would have been an Eagle. He had told her that once as she’d writhed beneath him in orgasm. Her quiet strength had drawn Adrian repeatedly to her comfort. Of all his after-war women, she was the one he’d thought might make him a father again. He hadn’t loved her exactly, not like he could Angela if things were different, but he’d honestly wanted her, and that was more than Adrian could say about many of those relief moments. Lexa might even have been carrying his child. John wouldn’t have put it in the report if she were. The doctor had known, had sacrificed the medical tent to him once so that the crippling need could be eased. Lexa had been a safety net that Adrian had taken for granted. Had nature singled her out because of him? The odds were high.

  “It’s a good match.” Adrian let Kyle off the hook, too consumed by grief to continue being a hard-ass. “She’ll have your name and the protection that comes with it. And there won’t be any contact until she’s sixteen.”

  Kyle remembered to breathe, glad he’d controlled himself and remain silent while the boss considered things. Pushing would have been a mistake. Adrian wasn’t in a comfort-giving mood. In fact, he appeared to need some, and the mobster understood why. Losing two females that you were sleeping with was a hard blow for any man to take, let alone one who cared about life the way that Adrian did. That was part of why Kyle had chosen to talk to him now–to provide a distraction.

  Connie’s body had been found further down in the sinkhole, her red top visible once the sun rose. She’d been a distant member of the camp, one who hadn’t really wanted to be a part of it at all with her anti-social views. Kyle had only seen them together once, right after Angela joined, and he wondered now if it had been because of Connie’s long black hair and pale skin.

  Kyle forced his mind back to the issue at hand, thinking Adrian’s ‘tent’ day would be full. “What do I say, when they ask me why?”

  “The truth. You want to be the father of her children–these and future.” Adrian held out his hand. “Congratulations.”

  Kyle shook it, and also his head. “She hasn’t said yes.”

  “When do you plan to talk to her?” Adrian asked.

  Kyle thought of her in his tent, secure with Dog at the flap. He had a quick rookie session to do and then he would spend the rest of his day with her. “Tonight or tomorrow.”

  “And you’ll explain? Expectations should be clear up front.”

  “I expect to marry her.”

  “And do you plan to sleep with her? ‘Cause if so, you need to make that clear during your talk. If not, she’ll assume you’ve made this offer to protect her from all men, including yourself.”

  Kyle frowned, starting to understand.

  “She’s been horribly abused,” Adrian continued. “Right now, she probably thinks she’ll never want another man to touch her. Best tell her up front, give her time to get used to the idea. Otherwise, you’ll be able to say it’s your right as a husband, but she’ll hate you for being tricked again.”

  Kyle got it clearly this time. Adrian was right. He would be honest and tell Jennifer what he expected of their future. There would be a lot of time before, but unless she said no, it would happen, and the real start of it would come tonight, when he followed Charlie’s unknowing advice. The same age, Charlie had given Kyle a glimpse into Jennifer’s thoughts that he hadn’t considered, and a way to be sure she never forgot him. Charlie had said she and Dog got along so well, it was almost as if he was her pup.

  That’s my way in. I’m taking it.

  Adrian saw the glaze of obsession and knew he’d have to make sure the mobster wasn’t a threat. The feeling was ugly. It was a side of Kyle that he, and no one else, had suspected. The other small disturbances in his camp would slowly sort themselves out, but this one was just as dangerous as the Seth and Becky bomb waiting to hit. In fact, they were identical slugs from the same double barrel. Hopefully not to be shot yet, though. His herd was awfully twitchy.

  Kyle left and Adrian barely noticed. He would have to do something about the jumpiness, something to soothe his people. He had the Eagles now including ground-sweeping patterns during their rounds, but Adrian knew that wasn’t nearly enough. He also needed to squash a few of the rumors of magic in camp. These weren’t coming from Angela healing both Jennifer and John. The few who had been in that tent weren’t a problem. Adrian had no idea which of his wild cards was stepping out of line, only that it wasn’t the elder ones.

  Tap Tap Tap.

  Adrian forced his mind to the coming kai lesson. He would worry about all of that after he spent a few minutes feeling male, feeling human. Being responsible for so much death was slowly eroding his soul.

  “Come in.”

  Angela ducked into the tent and Adrian felt his mental confusion clear into one single thought. She’s the key. She’s Safe Haven’s future.

  5

  “These things that I’ve gone through, they’ve changed me in ways that are scary.”

  Adrian studied her thoughtfully. The main lesson was over, but not finished. “You mean for the worse.”

  “Yes. I can be so cold now,” Angela confessed. “Is it supposed to be that way?”

&nbs
p; “It has to be that way,” Adrian confirmed. “How else would you be able to make those hard calls that sometimes hurt everyone in order to help them?”

  Angela was quiet, considering. She’d come up with that much on her own, but there was more to it, and she needed that.

  Adrian knew. “No, it’s not morally correct. Nothing about being a leader is. You’ll lie to one in order to satisfy the other and buy time to make ends meet.”

  She was horrified. “How the hell does that work?”

  Adrian shrugged, sweeping the quiet camp through the open flap. “It helps to have fate on your side.”

  “Do we?” she asked immediately.

  Adrian met her gaze. “You answer that.”

  Angela laughed. “Not me, bubba. Better ask the witch.”

  He chuckled, not telling her that he already had and the answer had been terrifying.

  They sat at his folding table, sharing a joint as the cool breeze rushed over hot skin, and Angela understood her session wasn’t over when he nodded toward the bubble.

  “Seal us up.”

  She did it awkwardly, bringing the shield over Safe Haven into a solid form. She quickly let go of it, hoping the ever-growing camp hadn’t noticed.

  Angela immediately felt Adrian’s mood improve, and his stress level lower. “Why is that?”

  Adrian handed her the thick joint. “Sometimes I wake up at dawn and its right after the war. Except there’s never any light. Day doesn’t come and I’m alone, trying to keep them all alive. The things you do drives those ghosts back.”

  Angela understood, but she was also convinced that it was more than that. “And maybe because it proves you’re not crazy, that all of this is really happening?”

  Adrian flinched from her astute observation, and Angela smiled coldly. “Don’t ever let them know you have those kinds of doubts. You’ll lose them.”

  Adrian knew her warning to be a valid one, but instead of answering, he leaned back and closed his lids. “What am I thinking?”

  “The ocean is dangerous,” she replied easily. “Again.”

  He looked at her curiously, and she shrugged, almost blushing. “I pick things up.”

  “You had to be searching me to know that.”

  “Listening,” she corrected gently.

  “To me?”

  “Like everyone else here,” she admitted. “I just have an advantage.”

  “Okay.”

  Angela stared in surprise. “You’re not mad? It’s an invasion of privacy.”

  “You’re not Tonya,” Adrian stated. “Trusting you is easy.”

  Unlike myself, he thought. His mind these days was either on her or Arkansas. Both produced excited longing…and dread.

  Angela was picking up many of his thoughts, aware that he would only allow her to be his comfort, his guidance, in matters that were personal. None of the others played this coveted role for him anymore.

  “We could leave sooner instead of staying for a break,” she suggested. “Get there faster.”

  Adrian sighed, sorry she was getting the negative from his thoughts. “I need a reason for the camp.”

  Angela closed her eyes, concentrating on her lessons. What had Doug said about getting a large group of people to agree on something? Oh, yeah. Tell the truth, and if that doesn’t work–lie. “Tell them you saw carcasses with sores.”

  He heard her genuine tone and asked, “Where?”

  She pointed to a small thicket of brambles that they could barely see through the flap. “Rabbit.”

  Adrian stood up. “Come on. You can help with the rearranging on your way to handle Matt. We’ll head out after the level tests are finished, instead of staying the two other days.”

  Angela sensed he wanted her close and got her notebook out as she fell in on his right. “What’s first?”

  “You tell me,” Adrian instructed.

  She concentrated. “We have to get them to want to go.”

  “Write it down. Word for word, Eagle. These people are tired of being on the road. Extra travel has to be their idea. Unless it’s a crisis, don’t order them to do anything.”

  Adrian kept talking, walking her through how to accomplish it, and Angela copied it tirelessly, obeying the instinct that said want it or not, she would have use of this later.

  6

  “My mom wants to see you.”

  Matt paled. Charlie had told him it would happen. The adults wanted details, now that they’d cooled off enough to stand hearing them.

  By daylight, the sinkholes had swallowed their torches and grown to nearly the edge of the perimeter tape. Adrian had gotten people up and moving immediately. As they rolled by, cameras had snapped almost continuously–some from the camp and a few from the Eagles.

  “When?” Matt asked.

  “Now.”

  Matt froze. This was where he found out his future in Safe Haven–if he had one.

  Charlie hated the tension. “Try not to worry so much. She understands you have a drinking problem.”

  “I don’t have a…”

  When Matt stopped, Charlie didn’t push.

  “What’s gonna happen?” Matt asked instead of continuing to deny what he’d known for a while.

  “I hope you’ll be punished and cleared, but I don’t know,” Charlie admitted. “Your dad’s in trouble, too.”

  “Yeah. I’m sleeping in the l-livestock truck again.”

  “Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay?” Charlie suggested. “Just tell her everything, and this will be over before you know it.”

  Matt planned to do exactly that. There wasn’t anything else he could do.

  “What’s it like, to have a mom and d-dad again?”

  Charlie swiped at hovering insects. “Different. I’ve never had both.”

  “But, Kenn–”

  “Was never my dad.”

  Matt shrugged. He would take either of the men in Charlie’s life in place of his own. “What’s it like to have both?”

  Charlie realized that was another thing Matt envied about him, and tried not to get upset. He didn’t want to fight now that they were talking again, but he had also been on the other end enough to understand that it was hard not to be jealous when you had so little hope for your own future. Adrian and the Eagles would change that for Matt, but he had to prove himself worthy first, otherwise they would never give him the chance to atone.

  “It’s cool. My dad trains me on the things she can’t do, and she covers my...gun classes.”

  “Sucks about her getting hurt.”

  “Yeah…”

  Matt frowned. “I thought you were pissed.”

  “I was. I still am a little, but a lot of things are better now.”

  Matt wished he could say the same. “What type of training are you getting?”

  “Self-defense from my dad. Common sense stuff from my mom.”

  “Like what?”

  “Where’s the hidden object, figure out the right path. Stuff where I have to add up the clues for an answer.”

  “Is she easy on you?”

  “No,” Charlie snorted, holding the flap open. “My dad’s nicer than she is when it comes to lessons. She’s a lot like Doug.”

  Just coming out of the tent that they were headed into, Doug smirked at the teenagers. “Got a rep, do I? Good. You’ll know what to expect when it’s your turn.”

  He went out, and the two boys stared after him with uneasy glances that had guards hiding smiles.

  Matt was a ball of nerves as he followed Charlie inside. He would know his fate in a few minutes. He didn’t have much hope.

  7

  “Damn it!”

  Samantha slammed Cynthia to the mat, grunting at the effort. The reporter was scrappy.

  Cynthia growled as she stood, triggering Samantha’s rage, and the storm tracker swung a nasty hit that knocked the woman on her ass again.

  “Match!”

  Sam pulled in the anger and swiped a hand across her bloody
nose as Cynthia struggled to her feet.

  Angry at losing, Cynthia used the sleeve of her shirt to clear her vision and then flung the blood toward Sam’s boots. “Again!”

  Sam advanced obligingly, and the observing males braced, expecting it to be ugly. The two women had already passed their evaluations in this area and others (It helped to have female vs. female.) but the battle for Angela’s right hand was growing. It wouldn’t be long before that slot was officially filled. So far, no one even knew who was in the lead, only that Adrian had given Angela the choice, as he had with his other team leaders and their crew.

  “No. That’s enough.” Adrian’s pleased words stopped the women.

  He clearly liked it that they were showing their willingness to bleed and fight for the slot they wanted. It was enlightening for the males to watch these determined women go through the same emotions and discoveries that they had. Adrian sensed that bond might become incredibly strong once Angela was back full time. Right now, there was a lot of fighting between the new and the old as the sexes merged, but once XO was assigned, things would settle down.

  Cynthia and Sam could both do the job, but the two Eagles near the flap knew which one it should be. After less than a month, Samantha was brutal. She was only two levels behind Angela in kai. Cynthia, on the other hand, was just starting her workout sessions. Samantha spent hours a day in the ring with Doug and Billy, and sometimes, even Adrian. Cynthia had only recently passed the first defense lesson. Neil and Jeremy didn’t like the idea of Samantha in danger any more than Marc had Angela, but there was no denying the truth. Sam deserved the position.

  For Jeremy, it was another attraction, another sign that she was the woman of his dreams. For Neil, it was pride and pain. Pride that his chosen mate (Even if she hadn’t chosen him.) was doing so well, but also pain to be around her and not try to convince her that he that deserved another chance. Her reply when he’d told her that he planned to ask her out (“No promises.”) had stopped him from actually doing it.

  “Can I play?”

  Angela’s forlorn tenor at the flap drew grins and instant welcome from all of the men. It also caused straightened shoulders and fresh glares between Sam and Cynthia, the only females as the sense of competition rose.