Phobia (Interracial Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria) (2 page)

“
They will,” Coles replied.

Wisteria
chewed nervously on her lower lip and clutched her wakizashi sword while scanning the small group of soldiers who’d accompanied Charles and his two ladies.

The
ladies were Hailey Davenport, his eighteen-year-old daughter and Lexie Hindle, his twenty-three year-old girlfriend.

“
Please, Major, don’t leave us out here to die,” Hailey cried as tears poured from her ocean blue eyes and down her perfect face.

Wisteria
was dumbfounded by what Coles proposed, but this wasn’t the time for questioning him. Her focus needed to be on security, and she did her job by monitoring the sides of the street. Being this far away from the security of the Isle of Smythe unnerved her. Their small group could easily be sitting ducks, should a swarm of biters appear.

Coles
assured her earlier that the trackers and soldiers cleared most of the biters from the town and as long as they were back before sundown, they’d be fine. Still, she’d rather be safe than sorry. As she stood waiting, she thought about marauders. Those people didn’t live in Smythe and they’d kill them without any hesitation for weapons or supplies.

She’d
never encountered them when she’d been a tracker, however, a lot of the soldiers who went further a field had gotten into a few skirmishes lately.

Wisteria hadn’t seen any of it. F
ive weeks ago, she’d been pulled off the patrols after a flesher bit her. She’d been treated with a blood serum and a blood transfusion from her dead daughter, Oleander. The treatment worked and she recovered.

Now the scientists on Smythe
searched for a way to replicate the cure, so far, it hadn’t worked.

However, she
now found it hard to concentrate or read. She experienced dizzy spells with bouts of tiredness and sometimes for no reason at all her words were becoming slurred and she’d pass out—because of these ailments, Close stopped her from being a tracker.

“The residents of the island trust me because I’m one of them. They’ll never trust an outsider, no matter how long you’ve been here.” Charles defended himself. “Without me, you would be able control those people, especially when they learn you sent me to my death. Someone will stab you in the back.”

“
You’re right. The locals might be hard to lead at first, but I’ll leave that to Milton to handle,” said Coles. “You remember her; your ex-wife, the one you left for Miss Teen Britain here.” he nodded at Lexie. “When I informed her about what we were doing, she was positively thrilled to spread the word you’ve been planning to leave the island for a better life in New Birmingham City. She assured me everyone on the island will hear about it.”

“
But that’s a lie,” Charles shouted.

“
Like the lie about how I was the one responsible for evicting people from the island or three winters ago, when we almost ran out of food because your incompetent friend who was in charge of rations, had no clue about how to protect the food from rats. You blamed that on me, so we’re both liars. I can live with that,” Coles answered with an expressionless face. “Can you?”

“
That was—different—” Charles stammered.

“
I get it, you were creating political capital.” Coles shrugged. “Me too. Nothing personal.”

“
Elliot, you’re a good person not a killer. Don’t do this.” Charles grabbed Coles’ arms.

“
You’re wrong. I’m not a good guy. Honestly, only the truly conceited ever consider themselves good.” Coles shoved the man back. “I don’t lie about what I am. I’m a son of a—”

“
You’re a father too.” Charles pointed at Wisteria. “You want her to see this?”

Hailey burst into tear
s and rushed toward Wisteria. “Help me.”

“
Hailey, it’s going to be fine.” Wisteria stepped back toward the hood of the beat up SUV Coles recently gave to her.

“
Your dad wants to murder me. Please talk to him and make him understand this is wrong.” Hailey trembled as she took hold of Wisteria’s jacket. “I’m a kid, I don’t deserve to die. I’m a good person. I can count a hundred others on Smythe who deserve to die, but not me

“
Hailey get back to your father.” Sergeant Piers Baxter called from behind. The twenty-something year-old soldier shook his rifle at Hailey. “Now.” He’d never open fire because he hadn’t attached the silencer. If Piers fired his gun, the sound of the shot would attract biters from miles around.

However, Hailey spent so little time outside Smythe, she probably
wasn’t aware of that.

“
Piers, please put the gun down.” Wisteria still didn’t like him terrorizing the girl anymore than she liked Coles doing it. “Hailey will do what you say. Right Hailey?”

Shivering,
Hailey nodded.

Piers
squeezed his eyes into slits. “Fine, but because you asked, Wisteria.” He lowered the weapon.

“
Why is he doing this?” Hailey muttered as she moved away.

Wisteria
again chewed on her lower lip recalling where he’d gotten his idea.

Three days ago,
she walked in on Coles and her mother talking about how Charles wanted to hold another freedom run because he thought the outside was safe enough. The last freedom run almost cost Wisteria her life and killed a teenager called Melissa Abner. When Coles refused, Charles and some of the residents started pressuring him to change his mind. Coles had commented on how Isle of Smythe would be much safer if Charles wasn’t in charge since he didn’t have a clue about how to keep the island secure.

Her mother suggested Coles
overthrow Charles. Coles couldn’t do it. The locals, who grew most of the food, were loyal to Charles. Coles admitted to Wisteria how he or her mother weren’t able to take any action when Hailey, Karen Else, Yvette Bruno and Billy Saunders attacked Wisteria years ago. If things had been different, Coles assured Wisteria, those girls would’ve paid for what they did.

Lara remarked most of the
m did pay in an odd way because Karen died, Yvette got her brain fried when renewed by the Family and Billy was kicked off the island. The only person left was their leader, Hailey.

Wisteria had
joked he frame Charles for trying to rob them or something and that would make the residents hate him.

Lightheartedly,
he dismissed the idea. Then at 3:30am that morning, he woke Wisteria up and dove her to Woolmer with a small contingent of soldiers. He took her to the Woolmer roundabout, where she found Charles, Hailey and Lexie alongside a small lorry filled with provisions.

“
Wisteria, we’ve had our differences, but your friendship has always been important to me.” Hailey wiped her bloodshot eyes.

“
Friendship?” Wisteria sparked. “You’ve made my life a living hell.”

“
We were messing around.”

“
You’re not that dumb.”

“
Listen, we’ll be friends from now on. That’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“
What I want
is
you out of my life,” but Wisteria wasn’t a murderer and wouldn’t stand by as her stepfather left them out here to die.

“
Steven would kill you, literally, when he learns what you’re doing.”

Hailey
’s mention of their mutual ex-boyfriend did little to make Wisteria feel better. “If I had my way, Steven would be here too. Then, you both could find an abandoned mall or whatever and start your own little messed up colony.”

Years ago, Wisteria thought the incredibly attractiv
e Steven Hindle would be the love of her life. Back then, she would’ve done anything to please or get close to him. Over time, he repeatedly used that knowledge to manipulate or humiliate her.

Her feelings for him faded once she met Bach. When she forced Bach out of h
er life, she ended up dating Steven out of pity and guilt, following the death of his father. She tried to be a good girlfriend to him, but found she didn’t care and they broke up. But it appeared, he wasn’t keen to let her go and the less she acted interested, the more he wanted her. She suspected it was to prove he could and not because he cared. Now like Hailey, Steven became an irritant she wished would disappear, but she’d no desire to see him killed anymore than Hailey.

“
Wisteria, please,” Hailey dropped to her knees. “Make Coles stop.”

“
Get up.” Taking Hailey by the arm, Wisteria pulled the girl to her feet. “At least have some dignity.” Stomping away from the blubbering teen, she headed back to Coles.

With folded arms, Coles watched
the girls’ conversation with a slight smirk. “Having fun?”

“
You aren’t going to leave them out here?” Wisteria whispered when she reached him. “You’re doing this to scare them, right?”

Puzzled, Coles frowned down at her.
“I don’t understand.”

“
Like a prank?” Wisteria replied.

Her stepfather shook his head.
“I don’t play pranks?”

“
You’re not going to do this. You’re not a murderer,” she pleaded.

Again, he grimaced.
“It’s not murder. Depraved indifference to human life—perhaps. If there is ever a crown court again, I’ll let the lawyers sort out the legalities.”

“
Coles—” she begged.

“
Wisteria, do you wonder why I brought you here?”

She shook her head.

“I brought you because, one day, you might have to lead this town and you need to understand the tough decisions you’ve got to make,” he said.

“
Lead Smythe? The government will eventually—” she started.

“
Unless someone can produce the Queen of England or a legitimate and acceptable heir, they’ll be no British government.”

“
But isn’t the royal family safe?”

“
You know, but until everyone is sure, we’ll be on the island for a long time and when something happens to me, you’ll be the one to take charge.”

Stunned
, she trembled a little. “I don’t want to run the island. I don’t want to lead anything or anyone.”

“
Who then? Kids like Hailey don’t have a clue what it takes. You’re a fighter and that’s what it’s going to take to keep our island from tearing itself apart.”

“
Garfield will do it,” Wisteria recommended.

“
He’s got his own agenda,” Coles said.

“
Coles, you do this and it’ll change everything,” she implored.

“
That’s the whole point.”

“
It’ll change how I feel about you. I’ll never respect you and I’ll be afraid of you for the rest of my life. Doc was a monster. You’re the father I—” she stopped.

“
Father?” He glowered at her.

If you do
this, I’ll be lost Coles. Please, I need you to at least try to be normal for me.
The words wouldn’t come out. She felt a tear run down her cheek as the memory of what Doc or Dr. Deji Kuti, the man she’d thought was her real father actually did to her, came bubbling to the surface.

Doc
raised Wisteria most of her life and she’d called him Daddy, but he’d wanted her for his research. He harvested her eggs in an attempt to create human-Famila hybrids because he’d been looking for a way to make humans as strong as the Family. He’d never loved her. She’d been an experiment to him.

“
Don’t cry.” Coles pointed at her. “That doesn’t work on me.”

“
Of course it doesn’t.” She backed away. “You can’t be manipulated.”

“
Wisteria, relax.” Crossing his arms, he scowled at her. “Didn’t Piers explain? We’re only going to put them in a pit for a week.”

The pits were small secure bunkers built in houses outside the
Isle of Smythe. They provided temporary shelter in case someone got stuck outside the island.

“
Piers didn’t tell me anything.” Wisteria shot a dirty look at Piers. “You aren’t going to leave them here?”

“
If I wanted him dead, Sabine would’ve poisoned him and made it look like a heart attack. That would’ve been easier and she offers to do it every week.” He chuckled. “No, we’ll keep them in the pit for a few days, bring them back and tell people we captured him and recovered the stolen food.”

“
He’ll be an outcast.” Wisteria guessed.

“
I don’t care. He won’t be my problem anymore as he won’t be able to meddle in how I run things.”

“
Oh.”

“
My dear, I’m touched. It almost sounds like you love your psychotic stepfather.” Coles winked at her.

She did, but she wasn
’t going to tell him that. It felt weird. “Next time, tell me what you’re planning.”