After the Crux

by Worth, Dani

  Jake dropped beside him, gloved hands on his chest, his cheeks cherry red with frostbite already. “The curtains are drawn, so they heard the shots,” he said on a wince.

  Ross forced himself to breathe slowly as he spotted the truck, stopped a ways from the house. The men in that vehicle had no idea how many people could be in the house. It looked deceptively small, since so much had been built underground, but they hadn’t charged toward it, so someone in that cab was probably smart enough to realize not all was as it seemed. Ross could only hope they waited long enough for him to get them first.

  “Was that a gunshot?”

  “Hmm?” Dorian ignored her muffled question as he yanked her sweater over her head. He only cared about getting her naked and getting inside her. That kiss with Ross in front of the others had been a bold move, one he’d expected to embarrass him a little, but it had done anything but. He’d understood in that walk across the room that he loved the man just as he loved Jenna. With every fiber of his being—and he didn’t care who knew it. And though the blood had rushed to his dick before he’d even touched Ross, it was now staying at full mast for the woman in his arms. He was so damned lucky.

  “Dorian, seriously, be still a second and listen.”

  Her tense body and the real fear in her voice finally broke through his fog of lust. He listened just as the sound of bullets peppered the air. They sprang into action, pulling on clothes and running through the hallways and back to the main part of the house. Lynn and Georgia stood frozen in the foyer, hands tightly threaded together as Lynn peeked through the heavy curtains they’d drawn shut over the front windows and doors.

  Heart pounding, Dorian rushed to the window and looked with her. A strange semi-trailer similar to their own was parked about a hundred feet out.

  Lynn turned to him, tears streaking her face. Georgia moved closer to her, wrapped an arm around her waist.

  “Do you think they shot them, Dorian?” Lynn whispered.

  He watched the strong Lynn hang on to Georgia as if the other woman were a lifeline. He would have expected Georgia to be losing it because of her past, but her shoulders were straight and her expression was almost protective as she held her friend.

  “I hope not, Lynn.” Dorian glanced outside again. “We’re going to have to move fast. Jenna, you ready?”

  She nodded as she reached into the drawer in the table by the front door for the binoculars.

  Dorian noticed Colin then, standing to the side next to the other kids. The boy cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Can I look through the binoculars?”

  She handed them to the boy and he held open the curtain to look. “The truck is new but those are the guys who had me before.” His lip quivered before he bit it hard enough to show blood. “They’re really bad guys.”

  Dorian’s lungs froze at the look of abject terror on the kid’s face. He turned to Jenna to find her watching Colin. Her expression didn’t change but he could see the furious determination pouring into her by the tightening of her features, the straightening of her shoulders. He could feel it pouring off of her and into him. “Georgia,” he said softly, not taking his gaze from Jenna’s. “You and Lynn take the kids into the cellar and barricade the door.” He finally tore his gaze away to focus on Colin. “Can you shoot a gun?”

  He knew he was putting a hell of a lot of trust in the kid. For all they knew he could be working with the guys outside, but Dorian’s gut was telling him this kid would shoot them in a heartbeat. He had a feeling he knew why.

  Colin nodded.

  “I need you to help Lynn and Georgia protect Elijah and Gwen, do you understand?” When the boy nodded, he continued. “Jenna and I are going out there. We’ll take them out before they even get close, so this is just a precaution.”

  “I understand,” the boy said. “I won’t let them anywhere near the kids. I promise.”

  Dorian nodded and pulled out the keys to the gun cabinet. He handed them to Lynn. “You guys get what you need from this one and Jenna and I will hit the one in the back.” He reached out and hugged Lynn close. “I’m sure Jake is okay.”

  She squeezed him hard. “If he’s not, those men will wish they’d never been born.” She stepped back, wiped her nose on the shoulder of her sweatshirt.

  He reached toward Georgia, hesitated. When she came forward to hug him, his heart twisted. He kept the hug light, surprised she’d gifted him with one at all.

  “Come on,” Jenna said. “We gotta go.”

  He followed Jenna as she ran toward the back of the house, which was above ground and held the kitchen, mudroom and storage. She stopped by the back door and shoved her arms into her heavy white parka before pulling on matching gloves. She’d blend out there in the snow even if she left her head bare, but Dorian grabbed her white hat and pulled it over her head before cradling her face and kissing her. “You have to be careful. Promise me.”

  She nodded, reached for her crossbow. “Those fuckers are dead if they hurt Ross.”

  “They’re dead even if they didn’t. We can’t let them leave knowing where we live. Do you want to go back on the run? Go back to filthy basements and having to clean bones out of homes before we can hide in them?”

  “No.” She closed her eyes, then opened them. “I won’t let them leave.”

  The steel in her voice matched what he was feeling in his chest. He reached for his coat, already deciding what guns he’d take. Deep in his heart, he hoped Ross and Jake were okay. He couldn’t imagine what the loss of either man would do to their world.

  Jenna darted around the side of the house and entered the forest. The snow was falling heavily now and her boots sank deep into it, especially in the places it had piled in loads from the sagging tree limbs. She found a thick bush with an excellent line of sight to the truck and knelt, ignoring the instant wet and cold mush that melted through her jeans and bit into her knees. Her breath frosted in the air, so she kept low to keep it hidden. She didn’t know what kind of equipment they had and good binoculars would catch the movement of air even through the heavy snowfall. She notched a bolt into her crossbow and lifted the binoculars hanging from her neck.

  She spotted two men in the front of the cab and one in the back seat. They watched her home with avid eyes and she guessed they were trying to assess how many people could be inside. If they were smart, they’d recognize that part of the house was underground.

  Her lungs froze when she saw the tip of an assault rifle right before the driver started rolling down his window.

  Firm resolve kept her hands steady as she aimed the crossbow and waited. Despite the cold, sweat dripped down her forehead and her heart ached with fear that Ross had been hurt. Or killed. Her life with Ross and Dorian played through her mind like a film. That first day in the basement when she’d been so scared Dorian was dying and how she’d heard Ross on the floor above them. Even at nine years of age, she’d known it would be better if she and Dorian died rather than to let the crazy men outside get them. She fast-forwarded to years later when the three of them had found that cabin on the lake in Oregon early in the summer and they’d swam and picked sour wild plums.

  She thought about the time they hadn’t found food in days and Dorian had passed out from hunger, right on top of an old root cellar that held jars of beets. Nothing but yucky beets. They’d been so hungry, they’d broken the jars, ate until they were sick, then giggled for days over their stained purple chins.

  A tear froze on her cheek. She left it, not once taking her eyes off that driver. So when he raised the gun, he never got off a round. Jenna didn’t hesitate.

  She released the bolt and it slammed into the bastard’s head. He slumped over, the gun tumbling into a snow drift outside the truck. The other man ducked but she saw the look of terror on his face. She notched another bolt.

  The driver’s door opened and jiggled, as if they were trying to push the dead man out. She didn’t want that either. She sent another bolt into the open window and all
movement stopped. She knew she hadn’t hit him—she didn’t have the right angle. So, she turned and sprinted around the trees to the other side of the house. The cold had started to hurt her chest and her eyelashes stung with frost from the tears.

  When she got to the other side, she nearly fell into a snow drift as relief poured through her tired muscles. She’d caught sight of Ross and Jake crouched behind a boulder. They were okay! Pulling her focus back to the danger, she turned and aimed, ready to hit either of the other men in the cab as soon as they moved, but Ross beat her to it. He jumped and ran toward the truck, firing his gun into the passenger side. She saw an arm flail and knew the man in the passenger seat had been hit.

  Ross reached the truck and she held her breath, ready to shoot the last raider before he could hurt her man. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw that Dorian had a rifle on him too.

  “I’m not going to shoot anyone, I swear!”

  The yell came from inside the truck. Ross surprised her when he straightened up, his head in clear range. She ran toward the truck.

  “I know this kid, it’s okay!” Ross called out.

  She didn’t lower the crossbow, keeping it perfectly aligned on the shaggy blond head of the man in the back seat. “They aimed a fucking machine gun at our home, Ross.”

  “They’re dead—they’re also the same guys who attacked me in Texas. This kid helped me escape.”

  “Where’s Colin?” the kid demanded.

  Jenna eased closer to the open driver’s side door. She got a better look at the guy and realized he wasn’t that much older than Colin. He didn’t have the look of useless scum like the other two, and was clean, but he did look hungry. And in his eyes, someone a lot older than a teenager stared back at her. “Who is Colin to you?”

  “Just let me know if he’s okay.”

  Dorian, who had silently joined them, turned toward the house. “He’s fine. I’ll bring him to the window so you can see.”

  The kid narrowed green eyes. “Let me talk to him.”

  Jenna shook her head. “We make the rules here. Who’s the kid to you?”

  “He’s just someone we found a couple of weeks before we met up with your guy in Texas. He’s um—” He broke off and Jenna swallowed at the faint look of disgust that flashed in his expression. “He’s had a rough time, but I mostly was able to…distract them. I just want to know that he’s okay here.”

  “We’re not monsters,” Ross muttered. “There are other kids here. You can come in and see that they’re fine, if you’d like.”

  “But there will be weapons on you,” Jenna added. “I’m sure you understand.”

  Blond hair swung as he nodded. “I do.”

  Jenna stood, boiling rage in her gut because she knew exactly why this kid had been worried about Colin. She waited until Jake had joined them and the three had come around to her side of the truck before she swung the driver’s door open all the way. She shot the man in the head again. Another bolt was notched and ready to go again should the kid turn out to be a weasel. Jake held his gun ready too. Shooting the dead guy made her feel a little better—but only a little. Colin had suffered a fate she and Dorian hadn’t because they’d had the big, fourteen-year-old Ross to protect them. As Ross came close, she noticed his limp and gave him a look that held everything she was feeling.

  He stared back before kissing her. His lips were cold. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. He turned back to the kid. “We never had time to exchange names before. My name is Ross. This is Jenna and Jake. What’s yours?”

  The kid winced. “Cadmar.”

  “Seriously?” Jenna blurted, before biting her lip. Ross chuckled.

  “My parents are Irish and the name means ‘brave warrior’. They thought it would help. It didn’t.” He eyed the crossbow she still half aimed at him. “I’m not with these guys by choice, I promise. They have someone holding my family hostage—I had no choice but to go with them. Please be careful with that. I’d like to get home to my mom and dad.”

  Jenna thought about his age and the timeline of the Crux. “You have your real parents still?”

  He nodded. “And a younger brother.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “And they didn’t take him?”

  His cheeks were already red with cold but she knew they would have been on fire anyway. His agitated shuffle and inability to meet her eyes made her wish she’d kept the question to herself. Cadmar was like Dorian—masculine yet pretty—so she knew why they’d taken him. The lump in her throat threatened to choke her and tears burned the backs of her eyes. She abruptly turned toward the house so he wouldn’t see.

  Cadmar was still talking as they walked toward the house. “They took my family by surprise. I really want to get home and make sure they’re okay. They left some of their men there.”

  “First come inside and have some food. We’ll put together some supplies for you and you can check on Colin.” Ross’s voice was barely more than a growl as he led the way.

  Jenna knew he was just as affected by the boy’s story. Cadmar might be making it up, but she could tell he wasn’t. She couldn’t imagine what he’d gone through or what he’d put up with to keep Colin relatively safe. Anger fueled her steps as she moved ahead to let Lynn and Georgia know they could come out. She knew Jake would never let Cadmar out of his sight and that he’d keep the gun at ready.

  Chapter Ten

  Colin hugged Cadmar the second he saw him. Ross had to force himself to unclench his fists, feeling the sting of bloody furrows where his nails had bit into his palms. The two kids had gone through hell and he planned to toss the bodies of their tormenters into the woods in a place he knew the wildlife would tear into them.

  The whole time they put together supplies for Cadmar, Ross was trying to figure out how to tell the others that he planned to go with the boy. He couldn’t let Cadmar go off to rescue his family alone.

  Seems he shouldn’t have underestimated Dorian and Jenna. The two cornered him and dragged him into their wing while Cadmar was on his third bowl of chowder.

  “We can’t let him take on that other guy alone,” Jenna hissed as soon as she shut the door. “We have to go with him. Maybe bring the people back here.”

  Dorian nodded. “I missed the story, but Jenna filled me in. I can’t send a kid out by himself to do this. I’ll go with him.”

  Ross, his heart slamming against his ribs, wrapped an arm around their necks and pulled them close to nuzzle. “How did I get so lucky to get you two?”

  Jenna squeezed him, then moved back. “His story has my gut in knots. I can’t stand it. I’m really worried about the other boy and his parents. He said he’s been gone nearly a year. A year, Ross! They could be dead and he could be walking into some kind of hell. He does seem like a good kid and—” She broke off.

  Dorian stroked a hand down her hair. “He protected Colin the best he could. We have to help him.”

  Ross blew out the breath he’d been holding in a long sigh. “I’d planned to. But I don’t want Jenna to go.”

  “Hell no, Ross.” Her green eyes went sharp enough to emit sparks. “I’m good with my crossbow. I can help and you know it.”

  He did know it. She was a better shot than all of them. Those old, protective instincts were so damned strong, he worked to fight them back. She must have figured it out because she came close to press her body to his, to stroke his slightly frostbitten cheeks with her warm hands.

  “Ross, the three of us were out there a long time and we made it. Let’s help out this kid. All three of us.” She grinned suddenly. “And did you hear what he said at the table? They have pigs and chickens and two cows. Bet we could make a trade.”

  Dorian nudged them before handing them each a glass of whiskey. “No trade. We’ll convince them to move here. There’s more safety in numbers and we can expand the place, build another barn. Georgia could have her real butter.”

  Ross tossed back the whiskey. “I’ll go talk
to the others. It’s really not safe for any of us to tackle the trip until the snow lets up. I’ll convince Cadmar to wait.”

  Jenna shook her head. “He won’t. He has to be dying to get to them.”

  “He’s a smart kid. He’ll understand. Pour me another whiskey, will you, Dorian? I won’t be long.” Ross winked at Jenna. “Why don’t you guys go ahead and get naked.”

  “Told you he’s become a barathrum,” Dorian was muttering as Ross left the room.

  “And you love it,” she said, laughing.

  Ross pushed aside the worry of making this trip in the winter, pushed aside his worry over taking Jenna and Dorian. He strode down the hallway toward the kitchen, knowing this was the best decision. He just had to convince Cadmar to wait until the current snowstorm was over.

  A week later, Jenna woke up in their soft bed in front of the fireplace that still held hot embers from the night before. They gently popped, still putting out heat, but not enough, because she could see her breath in the air. Under the heavy, blue comforter, she was toasty warm though because two masculine legs were plastered against her from the men on either side. She lifted her head to see that Ross lay on his side facing her, one leg outside the covers. His hand rested on her stomach. Dorian slept on his stomach with his arms buried under the pillow, his silky, black hair falling over his face. His entire left side was plastered to her.

  She wiggled, loving the feel of masculine hair and skin against her.

  “Stop squirming,” Ross murmured, voice muffled by the pillow. “Tired. You wore me out.”

  Chuckling, she rolled toward Ross. “I took you guys on one after the other last night and I’m fine. I’m just trying to get warm, so quit your bitching. This is our last morning in our nice bed for a while.” The snow had slowed and enough sun had come out to melt a lot of the heavy drifts. They’d spent yesterday packing and preparing for their trip to Louisiana, of all places. She hated that they’d be gone so long, but not only did she worry for Cadmar’s family, she owed him for helping Ross that day in Texas.