An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2)

by Kit Tunstall

  Seeing Shane should have made her tremble with fear, and it did, but there was a stronger emotion underneath. How dare he come back here and try to ruin her life again? She and Coop were at a pivotal moment, having openly declared their love and making plans to get married. They had practically married each other just that morning. How dare he interfere with her life again? And the idea of her nephew resting at that monster’s mercy sparked her anger into rage.

  Her hands were bound, but nothing else, and she was able to lunge forward before he expected it and slam her fists into the side of his face. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” She scowled at him. “Why would you ever come back? How do you even have the nerve to face me after what you did?”

  Shane rubbed his cheek, drawing her attention to the already existing bruises and cuts. “I understand why you’re upset—”

  “Upset?” She almost screeched the word. “Upset doesn’t begin to cover it. How dare you come back and try to wreck my life again? Do you honestly think I would ever want you after you killed my mother?”

  Shane paled. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “After you carried through on your threat, I can’t believe you came back.” Mina shook her head. “I sometimes thought you were just a bully, but wouldn’t really follow through with hurting my family. I guess you showed me.”

  His brows furrowed as he frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Anger still thrummed through her, blinding her to anything else. “I’m talking about the bullet you put in my mom’s heart the day you ran away after raping and beating me in the barn.” Allowing all her disgust to show, she added, “You’re wasting your time. I will never come with you willingly, even if you try to use Ty against me.”

  Shane scowled. “I’m not going to use my son, Mina. I’m here to save him, and you.”

  Only something so unexpected could cut through her rage and make her falter. “What?”

  “I didn’t mean to kill your mom. I was just firing the gun randomly to escape.”

  Shane looked away, seeming to have trouble meeting her gaze. Before he did so, she was sure she had seen remorse in his eyes. She narrowed her eyes in contemplation. “Why are you here?”

  “The farm is going to be attacked, either tonight or in the next few days.”

  Her lips parted as she gasped. “That’s ridiculous. Who would...why would anyone do that?” She immediately rejected the claim as more of his machinations. “Just let us go home, Shane. You know they’ll come looking for us. Tony won’t rest until he gets his son.”

  “My son,” said Shane harshly, before he sagged. “Your group is harboring someone they want, Mina. A big, black guy.”

  She frowned. “Desmond?” Shane shrugged one shoulder, the pain on his face drawing her attention to the blood-soaked patch on his other shoulder.

  “I don’t know his name. We were never close enough for introductions, but he did manage to shoot a couple of people in the group I was with. They want him to pay, and they don’t care about going through the rest of you to make it happen.”

  Mina frowned. “How do you know this?”

  “I was with them when they first ran into the guy. He was with another woman and a kid.”

  She bit her lip, forced to consider Shane might be telling the truth in light of the details he was providing. Either that or he had been watching the farm for a while and had noticed Desmond’s arrival. Testing her theory, she asked, “Where did you face off with him?”

  “A grocery store. There were fourteen of us, and only two of them, besides the kid, so it should have been easy for Les’s group to take…everything, but they held us off.” He scowled. “Us. I hate that word. I was with them, but not with them.”

  She ignored the last self-serving statement as his words penetrated. “This group is coming for Des? How do they even know he’s here?”

  Shane looked disconcerted, but answered. “We saw them a couple of days ago. Ran into that guy, along with Coop and some of the others.”

  Anger seared her again. “Was it you? Did you shoot Coop?”

  He looked miserable when he nodded. “I did, but you have to understand—”

  She slapped him again, surprised when he didn’t fight back or try to stop her. “I understand all right. You still think you own me, you sick fuck.”

  He shook his head, leaning back as though to avoid her. “If I hadn’t shot him in the shoulder, he would have been in the line-of-sight of one of the other guys, and he would have killed him.” He frowned fiercely. “I should have let them. It would have made getting you back easier, but I didn’t. I couldn’t let that scum shoot Coop.”

  “So you did it yourself.” She curled her lip.

  “At least he’s still alive.” Shane suddenly winced. “Um, isn’t he?”

  She nodded one time. “Why are you here?” she asked again after a long moment of silence.

  “I couldn’t let you and Ty be at their mercy when they come.” He looked paler than he had even moments before, though it was unclear if it might be blood loss or fear. “I’ve seen what they do. I couldn’t let them do that to you. And they wouldn’t give two shits about Ty. If he got in their way, they’d kill him.”

  A shiver racked her as she recognized the fear in his gaze. Shane was a lot of things, with many terrible qualities, but he’d had steady nerves when she had known him before he fled the farm. To see him fearful of the people planning to invade left her blood cold. “You chose to save us, but you’re just going to let the rest of my family and friends—people who were your friends and comrades—face them unaware?”

  “I can’t save everyone. If I’d openly approached the farm, someone would have shot me before I got out one word.”

  “Yeah, probably me.” She said it with a mix of acknowledgement and pride. If she’d had the chance, she would have shot him. She still would, if the option presented itself. Whether or not he had intentionally shot Janie, her mother was dead either way, and he deserved to pay for that, along with everything else he’d done to her.

  He inclined his head. “Probably. I tried approaching stealthily, hoping I could catch you alone, but Chelle was there.”

  “Is she dead?”

  With a shake of his head, he said, “I knocked her out, but she’ll wake up. I’m sure she’s up and sounding the alarm by now.”

  “When you couldn’t catch me alone, you decided to kidnap me instead?” A hard laugh escaped her. “Typical Shane West.” She stared at her sleeping nephew for a moment. “And how did you get Ty?”

  “I knocked out Lia when I happened across them alone.” There was just a hint of satisfaction in his gaze, but he didn’t gloat. “I took Ty. He didn’t even cry. It was like he remembered me.” Pleasure shone in his brown eyes.

  Mina forced away any twinges of sympathy or softening. “You might be okay with leaving my family and friends to die, but I’m not. Untie me so I can go back and warn them.”

  He shook his head forcefully. “Absolutely not. I’m not going to let them rape and kill you.”

  “You’ll just take me so you can rape me instead.” She made no effort to hide her loathing. “You’re a bastard, but I didn’t realize you were a coward.”

  He was suddenly in her face. “If I was a coward, I would have broken when they tortured me to find out that guy’s location. I kept my mouth shut for you and Ty, even when that bitch went to work on me with her knife. So don’t call me a coward. I can protect you and Ty if we leave now. If we wait much longer, it will be too late.”

  Mina blinked, surprised by his intensity. His words also explained the injuries he’d suffered. “Why did they think you’d know where Des was?”

  “Because they figured out I deliberately shot Hector and Coop non-lethally, so they could escape.” He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We can talk about all this later, but we have to go.”

  She frowned as she glanced around the orchard. “Considering your usual playbook, I’m
kind of surprised you didn’t snatch me away from the farm while I was unconscious.”

  He glared. “I would have, but I couldn’t carry your deadweight too far. I need you to walk.” Glancing at the sky, he said, “Running would be better. They plan to attack after nightfall, so if they’ve found the farm, it won’t be long now.”

  “Come back with me. Help me warn the others, so we’ll all have a chance to survive. We can defend the farm, but they have to know about the impending attack.” She hated the hint of pleading in her tone.

  Shane frowned, but shook his head. “We can’t. They won’t listen in time, and we’ll all die, even Ty. Is that what you want?”

  “Of course not, but I’d rather we all die, including Ty, while trying to defend our home and each other than perish out there on the road, running away.” Firming her shoulders, she mulled over her proposition before speaking. “I’ll make you a deal.”

  He quirked a brow. “What kind of deal?”

  Her heart broke even before she uttered the words. “If you come back with me to warn the others so we can fight, I’ll come with you.” The thought of leaving Coop caused unbearable agony, but she’d rather have him alive and separated from her than let him die without even trying.

  “What do you mean, you’ll come with me?”

  Mina took a deep breath for courage. “I promise that if we survive the assault, I will leave the farm willingly with you when it’s over. I’ll stay with you. I’ll do my best to make you happy and try to love you the way you need.” Touching her tongue to dry lips, she added, “You know they won’t let you take Ty, but if we make it and leave together, I’ll give you a baby. I’ll have as many babies as you want.”

  His eyes darkened as he seemed lost in thought for a long moment. Finally, he shrugged. “I can just take you now and be done with it.”

  She caught her breath, struggling to hide her fear. “You could, but I promise you I will fight you every step of the way. I will not surrender to you, and there is nothing you can do that will make me ever try to make you happy. I will never love you if you force me to leave everyone I love to die.”

  His implacable expression crumbled, and his sigh was weary. “They aren’t going to believe me. They’ll be trying to kill me the moment they see me, especially with the baby and you in tow.”

  She suppressed the sensation of victory, knowing it was far too premature. There were too many obstacles in their way to even begin to celebrate. And if they were successful, she would have to leave with Shane at the cessation of the battle. She shuddered with dread, but forced it away to focus on the moment. “Give Ty to me. Stay directly behind me when we get to the group. Consider me your human shield until you get a chance to explain why you’re here, and what we need to do.”

  Shane looked disgusted. “I don’t want to use you like that.”

  “I don’t really see another option, unless you want someone on the farm to finish the job that other group started.” She held out her hands for his knife, so he could cut her loose. For a second, she thought about trying to overpower him and run back to the farm once he freed her, but quickly discarded the notion. Even though he was weak, he might still be able to subdue her. If she betrayed the promise she’d given, he would either force her along with him or leave her behind to die with the others. Either way, he would take Ty, and she couldn’t allow the baby to go off the farm. He belonged with his family, not the man who had fathered him, but had never been a parent.

  Looking defeated, Shane slipped the knife between the plastic and cut. As she opened her hands, he frowned, taking her left hand in his. There was a world of pain in his eyes as he rubbed his thumb across the deep scar on her wrist, though he didn’t say anything about it. After a moment, he let her go when she pulled her hand insistently from his grasp.

  She rubbed her wrists to restore circulation before getting warily to her feet. A second later, she found herself in the odd position of offering Shane a shoulder for support so he could stand upright. He looked a bit gray and swayed before stabilizing. She took the baby from him as they started walking back to the door of the escape tunnel. “You look like hell.”

  He snorted. “I’m sure I do.”

  “I have to admit that I like it. It gives me a bit of dark glee to know you were beaten.” Giving him a cheery smile, she added, “It’s a good look for you.”

  He groaned, but didn’t retaliate or respond as they shuffled with what felt like a maddeningly slow pace through the dark tunnel. Shane had lit the torches on the walls during their exit, but the meager illumination wasn’t adequate to see very far in front of them. “We need more torches, when this is over.”

  “Your family and friends will. You and I will be far away from here.” There was a strong undercurrent of suspicion in his tone as he reminded her of her promise.

  “Yes, if we both survive.” She tried not to let her anxiety bleed through her voice. In her heart, she embraced the strong hope that Shane would die in the battle. When faced with the possibility of her own death versus a lifetime with Shane, she honestly couldn’t decide which would be worse.

  *****

  Shane followed Mina through the darkened tunnel, calling himself all kinds of fool as he did so. Did he really think she would live up to her side of the bargain? Why should she? After everything he’d done to her and her family, she would be justified to shoot him as soon as she procured a pistol. Hell, she might even be leading him back to the farm with the plan of doing just that.

  Not that he didn’t deserve it, but he wasn’t eager to stroll back into the heart of the group. “They’re going to shoot me on sight,” he said again. Her half-shrug didn’t make him feel any better.

  Why was he doing this? It wasn’t too late to make her come with him. He could be sure Ty would be safe. Mina would be safe too, and at his side where he wanted her.

  By his side, but hating him with all her might and fighting him every chance she got. He didn’t want her like that. Shane knew he had no right to try to keep her under those circumstances. If he took her now, he’d be forced to let her go once it was over. She’d be safe, at least temporarily, but then she would be left alone if Les’s group wiped out the farm, as he feared. She would have no safe haven and no one to rely upon, because she was certain to reject him. That would leave her vulnerable to all the other predators in the new world.

  He had to admit it didn’t sit well with him to leave the others exposed, without any warning, but he’d been unable to figure out a way to warn them. His first plan had been wiser and more cautious. He knew this was reckless and likely to end up with him dead, but he couldn’t walk away from Mina.

  *****

  He had been right about their great desire to see him dead. Everyone in the yard drew a gun the moment they left the house, which connected to the escape tunnel through the basement, and stepped outside. Everyone on the farm, minus Owen in the lookout tower, was gathered in the front yard, and Mina assumed they were about to form search parties to look for herself and Ty.

  Lia was the first to notice them, and she shouted Ty’s name as she ran toward them. Mina relinquished the baby without protest, glad to have her arms free. Tony was a step behind his wife, spending a moment touching the boy’s head before turning to glare at her and Shane.

  “What’s he doing here, and why do you have my son?”

  Mina stepped back a little as Tony leaned over her threateningly. “Shane was trying to—”

  Tony scowled. “Shane took my son? Why the hell did he take my son, Lia?”

  The vicious look on his face stunned Mina almost as much as him turning to confront his wife instead of Shane. The others were joining them now, and she saw Coop’s face tighten with rage at the sight of Shane. As much as she wanted to run to him, she didn’t dare move in case one of the many guns suddenly pointed in her direction, aiming for Shane, managed to go off without her acting as shield.

  Lia’s eyes welled with tears, and she turned just right for Min
a to see the bandage on the back of her head, already soaked through with traces of blood. Shane must have hit her pretty hard.

  “He’s safe. That’s all that matters,” said Lia.

  “He’s not—” Shane tried to insert.

  “Stop.” Tony held up a hand, looking weary. “I know, man, okay? I know he’s not my son. I just didn’t want to believe it.” His sneer encompassed both his wife and former friend. “You two disgust me.”

  “Now isn’t the time,” said Mina quietly.

  Tony glared at her. “What the fuck are you doing with him?”

  “I’d like to know that myself,” said Coop, coming near enough to touch her.

  Her heart wrenched when he made no move to do so. “Shane came to warn us.”

  “About what?” asked Coop, crossing his arms.

  “That’s not true,” said Shane at the same time. “I came to take Mina and Ty out of here before you’re—”

  Coop moved quickly, trying to grab Shane as Mina moved between them. “You piece of shit. When I’m done with you this time, there won’t be enough left for you to even crawl away.”

  Winn pumped his shotgun as Mina pushed gently against Coop, touching her lover’s shoulder in an attempt to get him to calm down. “You’ll have to get at the back of a long line, Coop.”

  Seeing her father’s face so contorted with rage brought home to her how devastated he must have been by her mother’s death. Mina couldn’t believe she had been so wrapped up in her own pain for so long that she’d never really spared a thought for her dad’s or her sisters’ suffering.

  “I deserve that bullet, Mr. Marsden, but I need to tell you all something first.” Shane took a hesitant step forward, clearly resolved to warn them despite his apparent certainty someone was going to shoot him any second.

  “I just want to know why you and your whore had Tyler,” said Tony.