by Marla Monroe
Men of the Border Lands 14
Their New Beginning
Abby wants a safe place to make a home. She is cautious of being duped into joining a community again, but there is safety in numbers. Now she is on a quest to find the one she has heard about in the Border Lands.
Harry and his sister are also looking for a safe place. When Thad joins them, Harry believes his chances with Abby disappear. Thad knows how dangerous it is now and has no problem sharing Abby with Harry to assure her safety if the man would just agree. He knows Harry is worried about his sister, but Thad doesn’t want to wait until Harry makes up his mind.
Will Harry and Thad be the men to provide a home for her? First they have to agree to share her. Then they need to work together to keep her safe. Neither man wants to wait until they reach the promised land to make her theirs.
Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction
Length: 75,404 words
THEIR NEW BEGINNING
Men of the Border Lands 14
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
THEIR NEW BEGINNING
Copyright © 2016 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-498-0
First E-book Publication: September 2016
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
This has been a hard fourteen months for my family. Through it all, though I didn’t participate, I read your comments and encouragement. Thank you for the kind words and simple acknowledgment that you were there, waiting for me to return.
I started this book when my mom first became ill, and I worked on it for over a year. During that time, I cared for my mom on a daily basis then lost her in April of this year. Out of the blue, I lost my father in July, only four months after my mom. I then finished the book, and I dedicate this book and my entire writing career to my parents who never judged me and always supported me. They worked hard all of their lives, sometimes two jobs to take care of their obligations and provide for their children. I am who I am today because they loved me and always told me they were proud of me. I pray that in some small way I can give some of that love, support, and devotion to someone else in this life. I miss you, Mom and Dad, but I’ll see you soon.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
About the Author
THEIR NEW BEGINNING
Men of the Border Lands 14
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
“Yeah, you just see how far you’ll get out there on your own, bitch. If it wasn’t for us, you’d have already died of starvation.” Bart, one of the so-called leaders of the compound, shook his head, his lips curled into a sneer.
“Maybe not, Bart. She’s got enough fat on her to last at least a week or two. Maybe someone will find her and make her their slave. I hear a lot of men out in the backwoods will take whatever they can get when it comes to a woman.” The other man laughed and threw her backpack at her feet. “Nothing in here of any importance. Let her take it. Won’t get her far.”
Abby fought back the hot tears burning in her eyes. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing how much their cruel words cut into her already shaky self-esteem. Before the year of catastrophes that had devastated the U.S. and, as far as she knew, the entire world, she’d been a confident, happy woman. She’d had a devoted boyfriend who’d just asked her to marry him. But Evan was gone now, killed in the horrible fire from the erupted gas lines that had swept their neighborhood in a matter of minutes.
Earthquakes, floods, and some of the most devastating weather anomalies in history had left entire states devastated from the mass destruction. The resulting plagues of diseases had further thinned the population until there were mere handfuls of the once-numerous inhabitants of the huge cities and rural countryside.
During the initial chaos that broke out, Abby, at twenty-six, had been frightened to find herself alone in a world turned upside down. She and others had moved from building to building, trying to stay one step ahead of the looting and the criminals who’
d just been handed a free pass to do as they wanted. It was no wonder that after a year of sleeping with one eye open she’d breathed a sigh of relief when she stumbled on a group of people traveling to what they called The New Promise Land. It turned out to be what had once been Iowa. They planned to form a community where they could keep each other safe.
After nearly ten years of living in the community they’d boasted would be a utopia of sorts, Abby finally realized that they weren’t all equals, nor were they truly safe. The self-appointed leaders still made all of the decisions, though it was supposed to only be for a short time while they built their community and made it safe. Instead of stepping aside so that new leaders could be elected as had been planned, the group of men formed a hierarchy system much like what she’d read of early Europe. Those without alliances among that privileged group found themselves on the bottom of the ladder and tended to work the hardest to support those above them. Abby hadn’t been all that surprised to find herself at the bottom.
“I’ll be just fine. Anything’s better than doing all the work while the rest of you live the high life without getting your delicate hands dirty. Screw you, Bart! You, too, Sam. The crops weren’t all that healthy this year with the drought and no one but a few of us to tote water back and forth to the fields. I’ll take my chances on my own. That way, anything I find I don’t have to give to someone else.” Abby grabbed the strap of the backpack and took several steps backward, holding no trust for the two slimy bastards watching her.
As soon as she made it to the scraggly tree line, Abby turned and slipped into the woods. There wasn’t much cover since there weren’t a lot of trees, but with all the dying undergrowth and broken limbs from previous storms, she was confident she’d hear them coming if they tried to sneak up on her.
I can’t believe they’re just letting me go. They’re going to follow me in a little while and try to hurt me or take me back. Who’s going to work for them and keep them in the luxury they’ve gotten used to?
Well, it wasn’t going to be her. She’d had enough when they’d refused to give more food to Tammie. She was already stick thin and had always had trouble keeping weight on. Abby had stolen as much food as she could get her hands on and hidden it for the woman, taking only a little for herself. Tammie should have come with her. Abby tried to talk her into it, but Tammie was convinced she wouldn’t make it more than a few weeks, if that.
“As much as I want to come with you, Abby, I don’t want to slow you down just to die out in the wilderness. This isn’t much, but it’s the best place for me,” she’d said.
Bile rose in her throat just thinking about what all the woman had been subjected to over the years they’d lived in the group. Though no one had raped or attacked Abby, Tammie had been a favorite target of the men over them. Abby fought them away whenever she was around, but more often than not, Tammie had been abused with no one around to protect her. Abby wished she’d found a way to get back at the men for her friend. Better yet, she wished she’d been able to find a weapon to leave with Tammie so she could defend herself.
Abby walked for what she was sure had been a couple of hours before taking a chance and resting among some tall wild wheat waving like golden waves above her. She found it odd that the seemingly healthy stalks thrived when their wheat withered not far away. The soft whispers of the wind through them relaxed her. So far she hadn’t been able to detect that anyone was following her, but she wouldn’t stay long just in case.
She pulled out the one treasure she’d managed to take with her. From beneath her blouse Abby carefully pulled the tape from her skin that held the plastic bag containing the prize. She’d taped it to her abdomen so that the bottom was tucked into her pants and wouldn’t be noticeable.
The handmade map depicting the new terrain of the western part of the U.S. had been hidden inside a bin holding dehydrated potatoes in one of the many stores she and some of the others were made to search for supplies. Once or twice a month, they were loaded into the back of trailers pulled by horses to loot any stores, homes, or cars found in their exploration of the area surrounding their community. Abby had immediately known what the crudely drawn picture was and hid it until they’d returned home. Then she’d protected it in a plastic bag and buried it so that no one would find it and take it from her. The map would one day be her ticket out of the hell she’d found herself trapped in.
Abby was very careful as she removed the map from the plastic bag that was now wet with her sweat. Thankfully the paper remained dry. Breathing a sigh of relief, she unfolded it and studied it until she was fairly sure of her current location. Then she located where she wanted to stop for the night. It showed a small set of caves and a few houses off a gravel road that she hoped was only another four or five miles to her right. She’d never been all that great at reading a map or discerning distances, but prayed she wasn’t off by much. Though Abby was only guessing, it was all she could do.
There wasn’t a scale or legend to use to figure out miles between landmarks and Abby wasn’t familiar with them to judge for herself. She worried that there wasn’t a true measure between locations, only a depiction of direction and what to look for, indicating there could be anywhere from five to fifty miles between sites. She refused to let it discourage her. Anywhere she ended up would be preferable to where she’d started out.
Despite how things had been before at the compound where she’d just escaped, Abby had to believe there was somewhere out there that would be safe and treat her like any other person and not a slave. She knew it might turn out to be a lie, just like a lot of things had lately, but she had to try. She had few alternatives outside of just giving up and dying out in the wilds all alone.
“I’m not going to die out here. I’ll do just fine. I was amazing at my job. I can do anything I set my mind to. Daddy told me that all the time.”
She sure hoped that was going to be the case. Surviving alone in the wild was a far cry from her old job as a crime scene investigator. In that role she’d more than excelled at what she did. Her coworkers and supervisor often said that she had some sort of sixth sense when it came to crime. Abby could remember how it felt when the nearly invisible clues pulled at her, catching her attention before drawing her closer to discover them.
Funny how it hadn’t helped her with judging the sincerity of the group she’d hooked up with only a year after it had all happened. She would have thought herself a good judge of character until they essentially made her and some of the others their slaves.
And she was pretty sure that surviving out there in the wild unknown wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as it had been having those clues fall magically into her lap, either. Here she would have to be innovative and use her brain as well as her hands to make things happen, like finding food and clean water.
I can do this. I just have to stay alert and follow the map.
She’d rested long enough. Being idle only led to morose thinking. It was time to get back on the road or path, since that was what she was following in order to find the road. Abby needed somewhere to stay before it got dark. One thing she knew that she didn’t want to do was spend the night out in the open. There were more dangers than just men out there. She’d heard that the wolves and wild dogs had become bold and would attack humans as if man was now on their delicacy list. Abby didn’t want to be a feast for some pack of wild animals. She wanted to find a safe place to spend the night and eventually make a home where she could live and stay off anyone’s radar.
* * * *
“Are you sure that map is accurate, Harry? We’ve been walking for hours and still haven’t found the iron cross mentioned on it.” Harriet stopped in the middle of the two-lane highway and glared at him.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s accurate. We’re on foot, sis. It’s going to take a while to get anywhere. People had cars and trucks when they created these maps. It’s been about eight or nine years since everything changed. Without transportation, there’s no way to be sur
e how far we have to go to find any of the markers on the map.” Harry loved his twin sister more than anything, but having patience wasn’t something she excelled at.
“I’m sorry, Har. I’m scared. I hate that you’re having to try to find a place so I’ll be safe. I’m nothing but a burden to you.”
“Stop it, sis.”
“It’s true. You were really sweet on Cassy back home. You shouldn’t have had to leave her to get me out of trouble. Why wouldn’t she come with us?” Harriet asked.
“You make it sound like you’d gotten caught shoplifting or something. You weren’t in trouble. You were being hunted by the men back there and I wasn’t about to sit around playing footsies with Cassy and let some disgusting man take you. You deserve to be safe and cared for just as much as anyone else, sis.”
“But Cassy…”
“She could have come with us, but she chose to stay. I wasn’t as important to her as I’d hoped. That’s all.”
Relief washed a cool path down his back when Harriet didn’t say anything more. He’d really cared for Cassy, but the fact that she didn’t want to come with them was a loud-and-clear message that she wasn’t all that into him. She’d complained that it would be too hard to walk all that distance for something that might not turn out to be anything at all. She told him that she didn’t want to sleep out in the open or worry about wild animals. Fine. It was better to realize that now than it would have been down the line. He’d never have forgiven himself if something happened to his sister and the woman he’d given his heart to hadn’t returned the favor.