From The Ashes (Life After War) (57 page)

“
Not just you,”
Angela sent, hesitating by his door.

Marc grunted, hitting the window button. “Need a few minutes.”

Angela got into the passenger seat instead, and Marc growled, not lighting the smoke he'd taken from his kit. “This isn't like last time, Angie–where a quickie in the training tent will fix me.”

Angela recoiled in surprise.

“
Damn.” Marc leaned his head back against the seat. “I'm sorry for saying that.”

Angela tried to meet him halfway. “I'm sorry, too, Brady. I've tried very hard to control the hunger. That's the first...”

Angela paused, unable to finish. It had gotten away from her once before, back in South Dakota. “Second time.”

Marc's face tightened as he understood, but Adrian's words were currently rendering him incapable of thinking about anything else.

“
Is it true?”

Angela wasn't in any shape to lie to him. “Yes.”

Marc's grip on the wheel tightened. “But, with him?”

Angela forced the words out. If she didn't tell him, Adrian would. “His energy is like mine–it fills the power.”

Marc's naked pain was all over his face as he looked at her. “I'll step aside.”

Angela forgot about the edge he was dangling over. She grabbed his jacket and dragged him toward her. “No, you won't!”

Angela stopped them inches apart. “I've wanted you since we were kids, Marc. That hasn't changed!”

“
May I?!”

Marc nodded and stepped back. The usual consideration she got from him would be absent with the Marine.

Angela moaned softly when he kissed her, but quickly felt the difference. Marc's hands were rough, pulling her closer with no care for her fear. His free hand went behind her neck, and he pulled her onto his lap before she could protest. His hands went to her head, bringing her to him for an intense kiss.

Angela was swept away. This was the old Brady, but all grown up. He didn't hold back or worry over mental issues. He was wild and hers!

Angela kissed him back, and the male watching in surprise finally began to understand that all the holding back he was doing had backfired.

Marc pushed her sweet lips away, eyes blazing. “I need you!”

Angela nodded shakily. “Whenever you want, Brady.”

Marc hissed. He'd been waiting for her to be ready, but it was clear that he shouldn't have. She needed to be bonded with him on every level.

Marc was watching her emotions flash across her flushed face. He wasn't hot and bothered like he had been in the training tent–this was a different type of heat–but if she kept looking at him that way, she might get a reminder of why vehicles had back seats.

Angela leaned forward, smiling a bit at the thought. “I'd prefer a bed.”

Marc grinned, eager to get her into one. “What the lady wants, she gets.”

Marc saw the first trace of apprehension enter her eyes.

“
Soon?”

Marc sighed. He'd figured on three more weeks of barely satisfying necking, but that was no longer necessary. Except, it was. He wouldn't change his plans because of what had happened. That would be letting Adrian come between them and the man inside refused to allow that.

“
Will you kiss...”

Marc lunged forward to claim her mouth.

3

After a few minutes of talking, the five vehicles continued on their way, and the camp watched them in uneasy surprise. They weren't joining? Didn't they understand they'd just found safety?

Adrian climbed into his semi and lit a smoke. His hand shook as he keyed the mic. “They're passing through. Let's get things loaded up and passenger lists checked.”

The small caravan was seven cars and trucks, each with a glittery name on the windows or doors. There was a tool truck, a heavily-barred mail truck announcing currency exchanges, a clothing jeep covered in poles and plastic, and even a book wagon, of all things. Each store was lined in shelves and baskets that were woefully lacking in what thy claimed to have.

The vendors were all female, as were the passengers, and it gave Adrian concern, even as he understood the need for it. The females running that show, Carol and Marsha, weren't about to give up their independence and join Safe Haven, where they had to live side-by-side with those who'd destroyed the world. Adrian was sure these wouldn't be the only all-female group they met in these new apocalyptic times.

Adrian didn't watch, confident his Eagles would have it covered. Right now, he needed a few minutes to get back in control...

Adrian's eyes went to the mirror. He would have to fix this when they made camp, and he had a good idea of what would help, but it was hard.
Her reaction!

Adrian drew in a thick lungful of smoke and blew it back out in a furious stream. Tracy had better be available. This heat would have to be released.

Adrian watched Angela kiss Marc, saw Marc's hands tighten on her shoulders in need.

Fuck!

Adrian started his rig and then ground the cigarette out on the back of his hand in a frustrated attempt at distraction.

His teary eyes went to the mirror. Her head was on Marc's chest, a small smile on those cherry lips.

Adrian grimaced, head falling against the seat in misery. Seeing them together hurt more than any burn. It was the worst pain Adrian had ever felt.

4

Marc was aware of Angela’s lingering tension as they climbed from their vehicle. Instead of words, they chose to watch Kyle get the camp set up.

Things had changed for the mobster here, no longer as admired or respected, but there was little anyone could say about his actions. He was polite to Jennifer, treating her like a ward, and everyone was getting used to them being together.

The camp and Eagles weren’t taking it easy on him, but he did have a bit of backup. If he hadn’t, Angela was sure Adrian would have helped the couple. Ten minutes around with them said the same thing Seth and Becky had already given up trying to explain to offended people. Right or wrong, they were going to have their way. The easiest thing to do was let it run its course and protect the females if they ever needed it.

Angela doubted it would become a problem. Both of those males were smitten, unable to think straight at the slightest brush of their mate’s hand, and the females were wearing grins and secure cloaks of contentment. Those pairs were here to stay, and Safe Haven would have to get used to it. It appeared some members were trying. There hadn’t been a request for a moral board vote yet in either case. As long as Peggy didn’t protest and Kyle waited until Jennifer was older to touch her, they might end up very happy. It was a perfect setup, guided into place by fate and their perfect leader.

“
I’m nobody’s perfect anything.”

Angela winced. Hadn’t she shut that door, not wanting Adrian to sense that she and Brady were about to… get closer?

“
Too late for that.” Adrian, on his way to the parking area to supervise, pointed toward the small farmhouse. “Enjoy your clean bill of health in a real bed.”

Flushing, Angela went to unload her things and get set for tonight’s meeting without denying. She didn’t like the camp thinking she was getting special treatment, but Marc wasn’t above taking advantage of Adrian’s need to keep her safe.

“
And you, as well,”
the Witch reminded.
“You’ve more than enjoyed being alone with him.”

With those words, she was also now cleared for full duty. Angela didn't plan to mention it. She was sure that Adrian hadn't gotten Marc's okay, only John's.

Angela let go of her annoyance, waiting to enter the house until Daryl said it was clear. She marched by the recon team with red cheeks at the knowing looks and comments being exchanged, but she didn’t insist on a tent. She wanted any time with Marc that she could get. In a few days, she would have to give up their late nights in place of her duty. She was going into Little Rock. Brady wasn’t.

Kyle caught up with Angela before she got inside the house. “Do they die? Is that why you were looking her over for your team?”

He'd tried hard to resist the question, but failed.

Angela stopped, wanting to tell the truth, but also to keep hiding it. What was the right thing?

“
Please,” Kyle begged. “I have to help her.”

The Witch wouldn't look for Kyle, but it was a question that Adrian had already asked. “What would you give to prevent it?”

Kyle was crushed. That meant they died. He'd expected to be upset, but this pain! He wanted Jenny's babies. “What do I have to do?”

Angela pushed the Witch back, preferring to handle this one herself. “Adrian already made that deal for you. If it can be done, he'll see to it.”

Kyle's face relaxed as much as he was capable of. “Thank you.”

Angela delivered a short warning as she headed inside the house to drop her gear and get cleaned up before the tryout. “I see darkness when I look, Eagle. Brace for it.”

5

“
It’s good that everyone brought their guns. My Eagles don’t go
anywhere
without one.”

Angela swept the slightly crowded tent, almost shocked by how many women had shown up to try out for her team. She’d been optimistic when she directed Sam and Cynthia to set up one of the common tents that would hold forty, but it had been a good choice. She had nearly that many waiting patiently for it to begin, eager to fight for her right hand slot. The honor, the sense of power was enough to make her laugh out loud. But she didn’t.

“
We’re going to talk, and I’ll take notes. If I need you to do something that the others have already done, they’ll instruct you, so holster those competitive attitudes. I want women who will work together, no matter who directs them. If you already know you can’t do that, bow out now.”

Samantha forced herself to her feet. “I should go, then. So should Cyn. We’ll kill each other for that slot.”

Angela motioned them both forward. “One minute. Tell me why you should get it.”

The females had only been prepared for battle, and neither of them spoke.

Angela didn’t mock them but made her dissatisfaction clear. “Both of you deserve the place, but neither of you can give me what I need from it. You’re too full of yourselves, still, to fit the role.”

Before they could protest, Angela held up a hand. “It’s not a bad thing, ladies. Every soul in this camp is going through hard adjustments, learning to adapt to the challenges that are thrown our way. You two are no different.”

“
Does that mean we’re excluded?”

“
Only from XO. You’ll both have a place on my team, if you can handle the pecking order when I post it.”

They left cloaked in a feeling of disappointment and failure that they weren’t sure what to do with.

As they left the well-guarded area, Sam and Cynthia stayed together. Doing rounds had become a routine to them both, as well as taking the late shift.

“
Do you think it was the drama with our personal lives or the fact that we don’t get along?”

Sam shrugged, stinging. “Both, I’d guess. Probably more, too.”

“
But, you’re like them. I don’t understand why she passed you by.”

Sam let the truth out, no longer wary of the reporter. “A lot of people like them are here now. Adrian’s been gathering.”

Cynthia hadn’t considered that. “What happens when there are enough?”

“
I don’t know. Maybe we can heal the world.” Sam shrugged, heading toward the garden. “Or maybe we’ll finish destroying it.”

Cynthia noted the unhappy tone that matched her own and followed. “You need a hand in there or something?”

Sam started to shoot down the pity offer, then saw how Cynthia was braced for scorn. She was making a genuine offer. Why?

Cynthia read it and shrugged. “I’m a bit… lost. I thought you might be, too.”

Sam let go of their grudge in that moment. “I am. Not as much as before the War, but the last weeks have been rough.”

Cynthia’s response said she understood. “It’s like there’s no anchor. The camp’s divided, I sleep alone at night, and I’ve lost the one thing I thought I wanted most.”

Sam raised a brow. “Thought?”

“
I wasn’t going to be the best papergirl. I’m a lot like Kenn when it comes to being a glory-hound.”

Sam was surprised to hear such an admission, and almost immediately delivered one of her own. “I was more concerned about trying to keep up with her mentally. Angela’s so much like Adrian that it’s a bit intimidating.”

6

Lurking around freshly-made piles of debris, Kyle listened to the females going through the same levels of anxiety that his own team had, and understood that the moment Adrian had been hoping for was here. These two had surrendered their competition and come together. It was only one instant in time, but it would lead to more. It was how he and Chris had become so close after competing for Top Eagle. He winced at the thought of his late XO. Daryl was good, but he and Chris had been a matched set.