Renegades: Badlands Next Generation

by Natalie Bennett

  I looked at him subjectively, from the dark hair that was longer on top and faded on the sides and the sun-kissed skin, all the way down to his black boots. He had a strange kind of beauty about him. Not soft or gentle, but rough and jagged.

  The tilt of his lips had me focusing on his mouth for a moment before finally meeting his gaze.

  He was smiling.

  “You want me to turn around so you can get a look at the back of me as well?

  He ran his eyes down my body, dragging them slowly back up to my face. “You’ll have to go first.”

  The action, as well as the words, made me acutely aware of my heartbeat and had a foreign kind of warmth spreading across my cheeks.

  His smile grew bigger, and this time when he laughed, I heard it.

  “Oh, I could have so much fun with you.”

  “You couldn’t handle me,” I retorted, adding politely, “and, no thank you.”

  He stepped back and crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side. “Do you know who I am?”

  My legs carried me forward and I looped my fingers through the mesh. Staring at his face, I felt as if I should have recognized him somehow, but I didn’t.

  “I’ve never met or seen you before.”

  He straightened and rubbed his chin. “Where did you say you were from?”

  Did he really think I’d fall for that? “The woods,” I repeated.

  He smirked and came closer, looping his fingers through the mesh a few inches above mine.

  His jaw line was incredible, his hues completely black. I’d never seen anything like them. I hadn’t seen anyone like him period.

  We stared at each other in silence, attempting to search the darkest depths of one another. I didn’t have an issue holding any man’s gaze, but looking into his eyes felt dangerous. Yet, I couldn’t turn away.

  He was the first to speak, breaking the row of silence we’d fallen into.

  “Thought my charms might work.”

  “Charms are for naïve little girls,” I retorted with emphasis.

  His lips curved slightly.

  “You know, it’s only a matter of time before I have the answers you won’t give me.”

  I did know that, but at the very least I hoped stalling would give me some time to attempt to think of a way out of this. I needed a solution that kept me safe from the A.R.C.

  “And until then?”

  “I’ll keep you. I might keep you even when I do know. You’re a cute lil thing. I think we’d enjoy each other.”

  I refused to get caught up in the last part of his words and found the middle portion of his statement to be offensive. Cute and little were not complimentary. Furthermore, I didn’t want to be kept. I wanted to be safe.

  “I could say the same thing about you.”

  “That your way of admitting you think I’m cute too?”

  Whatever look flashed across my face had him grinning.

  “Hey, you want to know a secret?”

  No, my brain replied as my mouth said, “Sure, why not?”

  “I’m big everywhere it matters.”

  I almost rolled my eyes. I’d heard way too many guerrillas discussing what was between their legs. It was like a competition to brag about whose was the biggest and what it could do. There were even a few foolish girls that slept around with them and later shared details.

  While I may not have been suicidal enough to do such a thing, I’d seen plenty and didn’t get the hype. All dicks looked like rattlesnakes—sometimes lifeless, sometimes ready to strike.

  “What’s your name? Can you tell me that?”

  “Star,” I supplied willingly. I had to give the guy something.

  One dark brow raised in response. “Your name is Star?”

  Suddenly realizing how close we were, I nodded and stepped away from the fence, wrapping my arms around my middle.

  “What’s that short for?”

  My god. He was frustratingly perceptive. With his onyx colored eyes drilling into mine I was almost compelled to tell him. Only, my name wasn’t all that common. That seemingly small piece of information could be the key to him figuring out everything else.

  “I go by Star,” I repeated.

  He tsked at me. “This game you’re playing… you won’t win.” The fencing rattled when he stepped away. He walked over to one of the boxes sitting on a table and began to dig inside.

  After a minute, he withdrew a thick plaid throw.

  “Here.” He effortlessly launched it over the top of the pen.

  I reached up and caught it before it could land anywhere near the remaining water still making its way towards the drain.

  “Thank you.” I examined the blanket closely. It wasn’t dirty from what I could tell, just old with a dusty smell.

  “By the time I see you again, I’ll know all I need to. You sure you don’t want to make this easier on yourself?”

  I responded by wrapping the throw around my body and taking a seat on the ground. Accepting this response without argument, he left. The overhead lights went off and the door slammed behind his departure.

  After a few minutes of dim-lit darkness and silence, I berated myself for wishing he’d stayed.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  If her name was Star, it was fitting.

  I called bullshit, and I was rarely ever wrong. I wasn’t sure what to make of her. I could count on one hand the number of times someone piqued my interest enough for me to grant them any semblance of space inside my head. I was normally too busy to give a shit about anyone other than my family.

  She had somehow secured a position without really trying. I could guarantee the last thing this girl wanted was to be the sole fixation of the devil.

  With Cam dealing with his brother, Bella and Ice in their own worlds most of the time, and the acolytes eager to handle the majority of my simpler tasks, kidnapping this girl was the most excitement I’d had in over a month.

  That was pathetically sad. Maybe I should catch someone to fuck with. Bloodshed could be good for the soul every now and then. A hunt never hurt, either. It would be a helluva lot more entertaining than watching Cam torture Butcher some more.

  As I walked away from the storage room, I contemplated how I wanted to go about dealing with my new house guest.

  “You get anything out of her?” Cam asked, appearing at the end of the hall as if I’d summoned him by thought.

  I hadn’t seen him all morning. I didn’t know what time he’d called it quits the previous night, but his hair was damp and the bags beneath his eyes had gotten noticeably smaller, so at least he was still washing his ass and sleeping.

  “Her name is ‘Star.’”

  “Hm,” he grunted, staring in the direction of the storage room. “That tells us nothing.”

  “Yeah, but her not knowing who I am lets us know a fuck ton more.”

  “You think that’s why she wasn’t afraid of us?” he asked, falling in step beside me.

  “No. I think she has a skewed perception of our world in general.”

  Spotting Ice and Bella on the sectional in what made up the living room, I beelined for it.

  “Finally,” Bella chirped when she noticed us. “Is she still alive?”

  “You’d know if she wasn’t.”

  Damn near bouncing on the balls of her feet, she moved from one end of the circular couch to the other.

  “Okay, so, what are you going to do with her?”

  I eyed her, biting back a smile. Her energy knew no bounds. It was good to see her spirit hadn’t been broken when she was taken. She reminded me more and more of our mom every day, but significantly less fucking insane. I meant that with the deepest love and respect regarding our mother.

  “We’re not sure yet,” Cam replied, taking a seat beside her as I planted my ass on the other side of Ice.

  “Yeah. We need to figure out who the fuck she is first.”

  “She couldn’t just be some random straggler?”

  I knew she
already had the answer to that, but I replied anyway. “If that were the case, she would be dead.”

  “Lags don’t look like her,” Cam added.

  “Exactly.”

  Ice and Bella shared a sly glance, then both smiled.

  “And how does she look, Luce?” Ice asked.

  “Yeah, our inquiring minds would love to know,” Bella echoed.

  “You’ve seen her,” I responded somewhat dismissively.

  “She’s not starved, and aside from looking like she went for a roll in the mud, it’s obvious the girl doesn’t wander around the Badlands.”

  I kept my answer simple. If I said what I was really thinking, I’d never hear the end of it. I didn’t really get it myself. Star wasn’t typically the kind of girl I was attracted to, and that’s exactly what made her even more alluring.

  Her hair was a mix of auburn and golden brown, hanging nearly to her waist. Her skin reminded me of porcelain, slightly freckled.

  Beneath whatever the fuck she had on I could see everything, and it was far from disappointing. She was soft and petite with curved hips. The cute remark had been my way of fucking with her. She was gorgeous. I had to believe she knew that.

  It wasn’t just that though. Most chicks wanted me because of what I would become and who I was. I’d be their status symbol. The rest were terrified of me.

  The absolute lack of fear in those hypnotic pewter eyes and her blatant intrigue were rare. I liked it. Just as I liked how pink she turned when I smiled at her. Add in the fact that she was a complete anomaly, my mind was set on figuring out everything I could possibly know about her.

  I’d just met her and was already planning on keeping the girl. The list of reasons why may have been small, but each one was crucial. She could be good for Cam too.

  He didn’t have to say it.

  I could sense it from the moment he carried her down the hall. He’d have dragged any other woman by the roots of their hair. I think we’d both appreciate having someone like her around—even more reason to figure out her identity.

  I needed to know who was seeking her out, who she was running from. It may have seemed barbaric and like something from the Stone Age, but men didn’t let someone who looked like her wander off freely. The only logical explanation for her being there was that she’d escaped from somewhere.

  Her being a prisoner would explain the handcuffs, if I wasn’t ninety-nine percent positive someone had been on the other end. Only one side was secured to her wrist, the other was in perfect condition and cinched shut. Had she been attached to some sort of object that wouldn’t be the case.

  “I’ll let you be vague for now, but if we’re keeping her around for the time being you can’t keep her locked up in there forever,” Bella stressed.

  Realizing I’d shut out her voice for the past minute or two, I pretended otherwise. “I gave her a blanket.”

  “You gave her some dead person’s blanket? How utterly romantic of you,” she deadpanned. “It’s already been half a day. Don’t you think the girl is hungry? And I’m sure she would like to use an actual bathroom and change out of her night clothes.”

  She had valid points, minus the blanket thing. That wasn’t a gesture of romance, I was simply trying to make her somewhat more comfortable until I spoke with my acolytes and my father to get a clearer picture as to who she was.

  The sooner I got this worked out the better. I would never allow myself to lounge around and wait for answers. I couldn’t stand not having all the facts or necessary information. Sitting on my ass could prove to be a fatal mistake. I’d wasted enough time as it was.

  “I need to get in contact with Dad.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Ice volunteered.

  “Cam?” I looked over at him.

  He glanced at me and nodded, not even taking a second to think about it.

  “Yeah. I got it. I’m sure there’s something in one of those boxes she can put on.”

  Ice made a face that spoke volumes of his disapproval. His freakishly blue colored eyes conveyed how much of a bad idea he thought that was.

  “What is wrong with you two? My Satanas,” Bella sighed and stood up, shaking her head. “Come with me Cammy, we can find her something of mine that will fit. You aren’t dressing her up in some dead bitch’s gaudy old clothes. Who knows how long some of that’s been in there? Ew.”

  I preferred she remained in what she had on, but I could see where Bella was coming from.

  The storage area was one room our dad hadn’t bothered clearing out. Some of the shit in there was older than me.

  We divided into two teams to get things done, each walking in different directions of the compound.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I followed Bella upstairs to what was once Grimm and Arlen’s room.

  She’d made the space her own the second we arrived here. The wall the bed sat against was white, dominated by a colorful Baphomet mural, the most girlie one to ever exist.

  The remaining walls were a light shade of blue. It wasn’t my thing. I preferred darker tones.

  But this worked for Bella, and my sister would have loved it. Lilith was as girly as a Savage could be.

  Bella shut the door then turned to face me, tucking a strand of nearly white blonde hair behind one of her ears, blue eyes full of concern.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Uh… yeah.”

  “You sure?”

  I sighed and offered her a small smile. “I’m the same as I was the last time you asked me.”

  “I just want you to be…” she trailed off.

  “I know,” I supplied. “I want to be that too.”

  “Do you?” She gave me a suspicious look, not believing my words.

  “Of course I do.”

  “If you say so.”

  “What is this, anyway? An interrogation?” I asked jokingly. “Look, kiddo—”

  “Hold up. Kiddo?” she laughed. “I’m not a kid.”

  “True. You’re more of a brat.”

  She mockingly pouted, causing me to smile. I should have known she would take offense to that. In so many ways, she wasn’t a little girl anymore, but in even more she was. I may have been biased though, because even when she was grown, I would see her as my baby sister and Lilith’s best friend.

  Being around her sometimes made me feel closer to Lilly. The way she was thriving gave me hope that Lilith was alive and would one day be able to do the same. Hoping was foolish around here, but I had to believe in this for my own mental stability.

  “I should never have let them separate us,” she stated solemnly.

  “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here right now,” I reminded her gently.

  “I know, but Lilith wouldn’t be alone with him either.”

  Him being Samael. I didn’t know what to say to that. There wasn’t anything to add that I hadn’t already said a hundred times. He was angry and jaded for his own reasons. He’d been that way for a long time. No one noticed until it was far too late. I held no anger towards him for that, but it did nothing to change how I felt on the other matter.

  I didn’t want Lilith near the deranged fucker, but in an entirely messed-up way, she couldn’t be safer anywhere else. I wrapped an arm around Bella’s shoulders and pulled her in for a half-hug.

  “We can’t change what’s already happened. All we can do is keep going and strive for things to get better.”

  “I know,” she muttered, lowering her gaze to the floor. “Still sucks.”

  “That’s life, princess. You might as well get used to it because most times she’s a real demented bitch.”

  “You sound like my mom.”

  “Who is a beautiful and wise woman.”

  She laughed lowly, leaning her head on my arm before moving away in the direction of her closet and disappearing inside.

  I waited patiently, growing a tad concerned after a few items hit the ground. “Are you all right in there?”

  She reemerged a split s
econd later holding two garments, one a simple piece of material I’d never seen her wear. And for good reason.

  I pointed, “What is that?”

  “It’s a dress.” She held it up so I could get a better look.

  “Okay. Why do you have it?”

  She gave me an exasperated look. “Don’t start with me. I’ve never even worn it because I know you’d all have meltdowns and probably force me to wear acolyte robes until I’m eighty.”

  I walked over and took both from her, hanging the skimpy one over my shoulder so I could get a better view of the second. It wasn’t bad—the color of ivory and with a cinched waist. I looked from it to Bella.

  “I don’t remember seeing you in this. In dresses ever, now that I think about it.”

  “Because I’m not a dress kind of girl. You see this?” She waved a hand up and down to indicate her shorts, T, and flannel tied around her waist. “This is me.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I went to move back towards the hallway, but she stopped me.

  “Whoa. You can’t go yet. Hang on a second.”

  She darted through a different door, the one that led to her attached bathroom, returning with a brush, a towel, and a washrag.

  “You’ll have to find her something suitable to wash up with. Mine is almost out. Can you handle that?”

  “I don’t think that will be too difficult,” I replied, accepting the additional items.

  “Good luck, then,” she quipped, planting her hands on her hips.

  “Right.” I turned to leave, and this time she didn’t stop me.

  The main level of the compound was still empty, Luce and Ice not having returned from their mini mission.

  I knew the not-knowing aspect of this situation would drive him up the damned wall. Lucifuge always knew everything. When he didn’t, he was a ruthless bloodhound seeking every fact, detail, and rumor to dispel.

  He had a talent for figuring out all the stuff you wouldn’t want a single soul to ever know. Your fears and your dirty secrets. Your strengths and weaknesses.

  Romero had crafted and molded him like a mad scientist does a perfect specimen. Whispers swirled that Luce was crueler than his dad had ever been, but I didn’t think him cruel in the slightest.