From the Ashes

by Angela White

  Adrian had three failsafe ways to determine the character of a camp member, and Angela planned to use them all. No one could hide their true nature around animals, children, and the elderly, all in the same night. Come bedtime, she would have her list ready to be posted. As it was, she now knew who was going to be on her right, and it was as much a shock to her as it would be to everyone else.

  8

  “Can I go?”

  Kenn regarded the sexy redhead who had just appeared at his side, very pleased that she’d spent the last half hour helping to clear ants from the perimeter with Kyle’s team. He was also shocked that the mobster had not only allowed it, he’d evaluated her during, studying her like he did with all their rookies.

  “Depends.”

  Tonya frowned. “On what now?”

  “On you being able to keep your mouth shut and follow orders for two hours.”

  Tonya didn’t censor her reaction. She hugged Kenn tightly and pressed a quick kiss to his scruffy cheek. With a shaggy crew cut and pouty lips, she still thought he was as good looking as Adrian. Did he think about her that way, compared to Angela? Tonya let it go. It didn’t matter. He was hers now, and that did.

  Seeing Kenn and Tonya moving through camp together drew attention. Tall and dark, with sexy red, it was sometimes like watching a model and her bodyguard with the way Tonya liked to strut and Kenn liked to smirk. Always cool and calm now, Kenn had started to regain the respect he’d lost. The camp females were beginning to let him know they were interested again, but he wasn’t. Earning back his place and providing one for Tonya were his goals now, and no one could hold a candle to that. Kenn felt that he’d done something nice for her, but in reality, she would probably be bored and cause chaos. He might even catch trouble for it, but if he was wrong and she did well, Angela would honestly evaluate her, as she was with Sam and Cynthia.

  That sent Kenn’s thoughts to the small group who’d been enjoying the bonfire lately. Seth and Becky were often joined by his team, and Ray and Dale, with the vet sometimes in tow. Adrian was pleased to discover that they’d made friends. Seth and Ray were currently directing camp traffic and putting up with glowers and silence, but Kenn had little doubt where they’d be in a few hours. And the thing was, it was drawing other people that he hadn’t thought would ever mix with them, such as Kyle and Jennifer. The campfire group, as they were becoming known, had nearly a dozen members now. Adrian said they were healing each other’s wounds. Kenn didn’t question it. His need to fight was gone. And he owed them for that, didn’t he?

  Kenn wasn’t sure, but he was willing to keep proving he belonged here, even though many of Adrian’s top men had now shown that they, too, were human enough to screw up. All he had to do was join the group at the fire, Tonya with him, and he would be accepted.

  Maybe even forgiven, but if he did, that wouldn’t be the reason. If he showed up in support, it would be to tell the camp that he’d had enough of their treatment. Seth and Becky, Kyle and Jennifer, Ray and Dale, and himself with Tonya–they’d all made mistakes, but it was time to let it go and pull together. It was something Adrian would do himself if he could have gotten away with it.

  9

  “Got a minute?”

  Adrian followed Angela into the deepest shadows, where only their two personal guards could hear them. When she turned around with that V standing out in her chin, Adrian immediately caved. “Just tell me, and I’ll do it.”

  Angela was satisfied that he understood. “Make sure he sees you with someone tonight. And then, make sure he keeps seeing it.”

  Adrian had already thought of that. “Anything else?”

  Angela held out a sheet of paper. “This is my team.”

  Adrian looked it over without revealing how he felt about those eight names.

  Angela didn’t wait for a response. She left him there and went to get cleaned up. She wanted to be ready, not a cactus.

  Nearby, Marc watched with dark eyes. When Angie was inside the shower camper–Jeff lurking in the shadows–Marc turned to look at Adrian.

  Adrian pretended not to have noticed Marc, instead breaking his own rule about being with a woman publicly. He motioned toward a willing female and was out of Marc’s sight seconds later.

  The camp wasn’t surprised to see Adrian with one of the whores–they’d come to expect it after understanding he wasn’t the type to have a mate yet–but Marc’s eyes narrowed in thoughtful speculation.

  He looked toward the showers, and then back to where Adrian was disappearing into the rear of his semi. Angie had set that up, he was suddenly certain.

  What did it mean?

  Nothing, he decided. She wanted Adrian satisfied so he would stop sending out those waves of need. Marc could live with that.

  10

  Word spread that Kenn was taking a team of female rookies out of camp, and those Angela had interviewed in the tent began to show up at the parking area where he was packing the truck. Some stared in envy, some snorted in embarrassed scorn, but the rest understood that a big moment could change things.

  By the time Kenn had the vehicle and gear ready, there were twenty women waiting at the tape with eager faces.

  Kenn started pointing, picking a team of eight lucky rookies for their first mission out of camp.

  “Samantha, Cynthia, Tonya, Crista,” he paused, ignoring the mutters at his girlfriend being chosen. He swept the group and picked out one that he was surprised to find. Shouldn’t she be at the bonfire with Seth?

  “Becca, Tracy, Leslie…” There was only one spot left, and Kenn sighed, doing his duty. “Peggy.”

  The older woman didn’t move, but swept the teenager in worried concern. She’d come for a minute with her daughter, not to chaperone, Kenn realized in relief. Then he frowned. She still didn’t understand that little Becky wasn’t little anymore.

  Kenn waved at the stack of double vests in the rear of the truck. “Get one on and get in.”

  After they reluctantly helped each other, the females automatically headed for the back, leaving the front seat for Peggy.

  “Hey.” Kenn pointed. “She’s here as a rookie, same as you. No special consideration is warranted.”

  A mad dash for shotgun ensued, and Kenn snickered as the first three women there began to fight it out. While they were struggling, a slender form climbed into the rear and then over the seat to claim the spot.

  “Time’s up!”

  Kenn’s shout directed the fighting trio’s attention to the now claimed passenger seat.

  “Hey!”

  “You didn’t fight for it!”

  Becky raised a brow at their surprise. “Why fight for it, if I can take it? Rookie Lesson 9. How to properly supply your own needs,” she sneered, showing an ugly side that made her mother’s eyes narrow. “I’ll be able to give her everything as XO because there’s nothing else I want. She knows that, and now, so do all of you.”

  Becky was the youngest female here, but she’d made it clear that she wasn’t to be dismissed.

  “Let’s go,” Kenn instructed, worried about a real fight starting, but Becky wasn’t finished.

  “I want time from each of you, training me in the ways the men won’t.”

  Sam sat up, shoving Tonya’s tightly packaged butt over so she could see Becky. “Why would we do that? You’re obviously holding a grudge, and we’ve pretty much let it go.”

  Becky’s eyes blazed. “Of course you have. You didn’t pay for your mistakes the way I did!”

  Instead of the expected guilt, Sam’s mind flew to her journey to Safe Haven. “That’s not true. I’ve paid the same price you have, a few times over.”

  Becky considered that. Knowing Samantha was also a rape survivor absolutely made a difference.

  “You know we’re going to have to work together?” Sam asked pointedly.

  Becky snorted. “Team work is a hard lesson. I hear you guys aren’t so good at it, either.”

  Samantha had the grace to flush, s
till stinging from Angela’s dismissal.

  “We’ll learn it together,” Tonya offered, overjoyed to find herself here, a part of the solution instead of the chaos.

  It drew attention to her, including Kenn’s, and she scowled in return. “What? You guys weren’t the only ones who had shit to work through. Even outcast whores can have a place in his paradise.”

  Kenn waited for them to deny it and finally allowed himself to celebrate his success at her transformation when none of them did.

  “Boo-ya, baby,” he murmured too low to be heard. Tonya wanted to be an Eagle, a real one, and Adrian could now support that. Some of the camp’s hardest, most loyal and trustworthy women were the outcasts–the whores the men went to in secret when Adrian’s strict rules became too hard to obey. The boss wanted the entire herd in his army, and that included those who had been kind enough to offer quiet comfort to his Eagles.

  Kenn looked at the silent females still on the ground and then to the sneering girl in the passenger seat. All of this had come about because Angela had had the strength to overcome what he’d done to her. The shit he’d put her through had been bad–enough to break some of the men he’d served with before the war.

  Kenn felt his heart, that small, cold, organ he’d had no use for, swell with new life. He had no more hopes of holding her again, or even getting closer than they were right now, but it was a tiny secret that he would hold close as he went through his days. By never giving in, Angela had healed him enough that Kenn was finally able to able love someone other than himself.

  “Are we done here?” he asked gruffly, hiding the happiness his male mind told him he was required to cover. Decades of training beaten into him wouldn’t allow anything else.

  “Yes.” Becky answered, sounding more like an adult than any of the camp had ever heard from her. “We were something else before. Now, we’re Eagles in his army. We’ll all honor that.”

  The tension broke with those familiar words.

  Sam offered Cynthia a hand and then pulled her up. They shared a rueful look and then offered a hand to Tonya. She took both hands with a smirk, then shoved her way past them to take the seat behind Becky.

  Everyone else was chuckled, including those watching from the perimeter tape. They’d caught glimpses of the men at moments like this and hadn’t understood. Being set free from society’s preconceived notions that women were the weaker sex was intoxicating.

  As the truck left camp, another sharp flood of happy excitement filled the cabin, and Kenn knew that he’d chosen the right females for this quick recon. He’d been training the females, but hadn’t been allowed to be alone with any of them except Tonya, until now. Knowing that he had regained the boss man’s trust boosted Kenn’s mood and increased his willingness to keep training them. He would please the entire camp with it, but more than that, he would be atoning to Adrian and Angela.

  “Did that just happen?” Marc asked, shocked.

  “Yes.” Angela understood what it meant. “Things will be better now for the Eagles.”

  Marc sensed that she didn’t want to talk about her team. “Charlie’s had a lot of questions lately.”

  Angela sighed, not ready for her son to become a part of the couples that were forming in Safe Haven.

  “Angie.”

  She stopped. Charlie did have a crush on someone. Marc was thinking it. “I know he’s growing up. I don’t have to like it.”

  Marc chuckled. He hadn’t told her the details, but he knew she suspected that they were guy talks. “We’ll handle it. Another day.”

  She smiled gratefully. She was tired and a bit restless, a feeling all of the Eagles were sharing as they pushed hard to reach Little Rock. Despite the personal torment, Adrian would have slowed their pace to avoid spooking the herd. Kenn and Angela, however, agreed that the evidence of nature’s determination to wipe humankind from existence would keep this camp rolling with few complaints. They didn’t like being out in the open anymore. As a result, they were now just days from Adrian’s goal, his fear.

  Marc guided Angela towards the room he’d prepared for them. It ran the length of the house and had a wide mattress that he had checked and covered in clean sheets not long after seeing Adrian direct her there. Thick drapes would hide their shadows, and Marc’s respect for their leader increased even as the inner male gloated. Giving this couldn’t have been easy.

  Marc flashed a menacing glare at two rookies lingering in the shadows, their jealousy clear for all to see.

  She’s mine, he sent. Go away or die.

  They left in a hurry.

  “Where’s the fourth tattoo? Your ass?”

  Marc’s head swung her way, and Angela snickered at his expression, stopping at the door. “Just curious.”

  “My ass.”

  Angela’s heart thumped and heat rushed to her chilly limbs. “What is it?”

  Marc leaned against the door, folding his arms across his chest. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

  Angela loved it that she was getting the old Marc. She had Adrian to thank for it. He’d let the tiger out of the cage.

  “Come on. Tell me your secrets.”

  Marc’s breath caught. He had a lot of those, but the only one he could think of right now was wrapping his hands in that silken hair and kissing her until they were both aching.

  “On my left cheek. It was a dare.”

  “It better not be me again. On the hip works, but I don’t think I’m okay with you sitting on my face or something.”

  Marc chortled and advanced. He reached out to tickle her, and the instant their skin touched, electricity flew.

  Angela tensed and quickly backed up.

  Marc followed her. “What is it?”

  Angela wasn’t sure what to say. Flirting was fun, and she was attracted to him, but the fear of physical contact hadn’t gone away. She’d just learned to hide it better. She wouldn’t be healed until these flinches were gone, and she suspected that letting Marc make love to her was the key. If she got through it without him hurting her...

  Marc gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “I scared you.”

  She flushed, loathing her weaknesses, and right at that moment, Kenny. “I’m sorry.”

  Marc pulled her close for a soft hug. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, baby.”

  “I don’t want to be this way.”

  “I think I’ve got it covered.”

  Angela’s gaze widened. “You’ve made plans!”

  Marc didn’t deny, just leered again. “Keep going over them in my mind, too. Wanna be sure I don’t miss anything!”

  Angela laughed, shoving at his chest, and Marc quickly leaned in to capture her lips. He stayed still, sending heated thoughts, and Angela pushed back, arms coming up. She loved his kisses.

  Marc caught the thought and slid a hand to her hip as his tongue rubbed her bottom lip.

  Angela gasped, and Marc dipped in to taste her. Sweet.

  Her nipples hardened against his chest, tongue brushing his… Lightning flared, and Marc pulled back. Not so fast. Slow down, think!

  Angela’s lips were cherry red, already swelling, and he smirked. Okay, fine. A little more kissing.

  11

  Adrian ducked into the privacy of the training tent, only to find it full of Eagles. He disappeared into the big hay room, nearly growling at Doug, and the males exchanged curious glances. What had the boss so pissed?

  Headed for the showers, Neil paused in the flap at the sight of Marc and Angela kissing. The embrace was torrid, heat flaring.

  Behind him, others came to the flap and gaped. The pair had been a legal couple for a while now and had exchanged a couple of public embraces, but this was the hunger, the lust of a man and woman wanting to complete the act. It was easy to understand why Adrian was upset when each of them was now filled with a milder version of hatred and blinding jealousy.

  Angela broke the kiss reluctantly, gently stepping back with sexily mussed curl
s and well-kissed lips. “Feel better now?”

  Marc understood the why and the where, realizing she’d made sure it was seen by everyone, including Adrian.

  “Yes, actually.”

  Angela didn’t grin. “I won’t do it again, hurt someone this way to prove I’m loyal to you.”

  “You didn’t have to this time.”

  She cocked her head, the slightly disdainful curl of her lips saying she hated the idea, but she wasn’t above hurting him, either. “Yes, I did, but now that it’s done, you have to do something to ease one of my fears.”

  Marc’s interest picked up instantly. “What?”

  “Tell me tonight isn’t about making sure he can’t come between us.”

  “Nothing’s happening tonight, baby-cakes.” Marc grinned. “Unless you jump me.”

  Angela laughed and Marc guided her inside.

  As the couple moved into the house, Neil went back inside to talk to Adrian. He entered the hay room, staying out of the way of the blond working out with only his hands and his shadow. And, understood instantly. Didn’t he have his own jealousies when he saw Samantha being given lessons? In this case, it was Angela being reintroduced to passion, and Adrian wanted that slot for himself.

  Again, Neil’s thoughts of a coming meltdown surfaced. Adrian hadn’t reached a limit yet, not by any means, but he was finally showing the pressure. It was time to try to head it off.

  Adrian stopped, turning to look at him, and the Eagle had another of those moments of instant realization. Adrian had heard that thought.

  In too much pain to pretend at that moment, Adrian grunted, “Yes, I did.”

  Neil blanched. Another thing he’d kept from everyone.

  “Not everyone,” Adrian replied.

  Neil’s first thought came out of his mouth. “Why not me, boss?”