The Change: Episode one (35 page)

Baker’s tone was full of anger. “We won’t
leave our kids!”

“
Then you’ll give up your
new lives and join them back in custody! You can’t stay here any
longer. They’ll firebomb Atlanta next to make sure no survivors are
hiding in the vines.”

“
How long?”

I shrugged at Greg’s question. “If I were
them, I’d wait a few hours to see if there’s movement on the
satellites. If there is, I’d send in the troops to round them up.
If not, I’d just blow it up to be sure no one else can use it this
way in the future. I’d say six hours from the blast at most before
the Kudzu plant no longer exists here.”

Baker turned away, looking toward his
rebels. If the Network took out the plant with their chemicals, all
of their hiding places would be exposed. It was an awful choice to
have to make, and I felt more sympathy for him than I normally
would have, but I still felt that clock ticking. The Network knew I
was here. They thought I had gone rogue on my family, and I
intended for it to stay that way. Angelica would be sent home the
second we were out of here.

Around us, the males were gathering gear
from the bodies and not being particularly gentle about it. The
apathy over the deaths, now that they were finally heading out to
do something, was disheartening to me, but I understood it. Most of
these had come from the Network complex. They’d learned not to get
attached so it couldn’t be used against them.

“
Candice…”

I could feel Baker wanting me to volunteer
to escort them, and I wasn’t sure, before all was said and done,
that I wouldn’t agree. I was far too angry to let this go. The
males left here now stared in horror, stunned at the sight of what
had been their home, their shield against the brutal world. Baker
would help them as long as he could, but would it be enough? Would
these vulnerable, unmarked males make it to the safe zone with only
the convict to lead them? It was a duty I was reluctant to accept,
but really, my choice had been made for me the instant the Network
had tried to kill us all. I wouldn’t let that slide…. and they knew
it.

“
We need you.”

I looked to where Daniel stood, Angelica at
his hip. They were slightly battered, but alive. Would these males
be in a week? And even if they did manage to get there - which
would be no easy task with the Ring or the Defenders following -
they would be entering the gates of hell.

The Borderlands were two states wide and six
states deep. They split the country in half, and because of the
shift in the jetstream, it was the most dangerous place to live in
New America. The weather on a good day was dangerous and the dust
storms that sprang up sometimes ran for weeks at a time. There were
also bandits (male and female), mutated wildlife, and even huge
pythons that came up out of the ground to swallow Mopars whole. It
was a totally lawless land that even the Network had no control
over.

“
Will you meet us
there?”

After everything that had happened, it was
hard for me to leave Baker. They wouldn’t stop until he was dead.
He needed my protection. I thought about his invitation to see how
things really were. I also remembered the way the males here had
been before the Network had extinguished the lives, how Baker’s
quiet, laid-back leadership had begun to change them. The leader
could return a lot of what had been stolen, but these males needed
someone who could teach them to fight.

“
Please…”

I’d never thought to hear Baker beg for
anything, and I let myself ask a foolish question that mattered
only to me and my family. “Why the Pruetts?”

His mouth opened, but it was my mate who
answered.

“
They’re scared of you. The
Network has no hold over the Pruetts… and they’ve never liked it.
With a family like yours around, they know these truths will
eventually be discovered… and revealed.”

My family was in danger, but not just the
seven or so of us who were close. Our entire bloodline had been
targeted. I reacted the only way I could. I grinned.

“
I’ll send someone to
help,” I stated, thinking of Angelica’s sister. She was on a bounty
run in the Borderlands, and knew it better than anyone in Network
lands. I was fairly sure she and her parents would agree. After all
we’d learned, I actually thought we might
have
to make sure we included them in
our plans for the Network. They were also Pruetts who had been
betrayed. They would want to have a say about it.

D

I stepped out of the entrance behind her, my
head held high and my mind in tatters. Baker’s safety mattered to
Candice. She wanted to go with them. From her words, I assumed she
meant she would take me home, and then join them – her and a few of
the friends she’d been gathering, maybe. I hated it that I was a
hindrance, yet again.

As we cleared the tunnel, I saw her head
turn back, eyes spilling secrets I was guessing she had held for a
long time. Baker had been her friend… my stand-in. If I wanted her
to let go of him, I had to trust.

“
Go with them. Send me back
with Angelica.”

The few males within hearing distance
flinched away from us at my words. Men didn’t tell women what to
do. Baker, just behind us, stopped to stare with the same surprise
that she had.

“
I’ll only hold you up and
cause trouble.”

I took a dejected step toward Angelica and
found myself on the ground under a furious Changeling a second
later.

The males didn’t yell this time, but all of
them watched in worry as she pinned my arms above my head.

“
We. Will never… Be
separated. Ever!”

Candice slowly lowered her head to just
inches from my face. “I’ll make you the strongest man in his Safe
Zone. You’ll be at my side, and we’ll help him rebuild our world…
together.”

Beyond thrilled, I rolled us over and
claimed her lips.

Behind us, Baker laughed in satisfaction at
the confirmation of her plans.

I slowly drew back from her mouth, still
finding the taste of her exotic, even though we were fully bonded.
I smiled at her flushed face, those pink eyes. “I love you,
Candy.”

C

I’d never thought to hear that from a man
and actually return such a foreign emotion, but it came to my lips
like it had always been there, waiting for me. “I love you, too,
Daniel. Nothing will ever change that.”

He kissed me again, harder this time, and I
heard the others move back inside to finish salvaging what they
could for the trip.

I pulled him closer, feeling his tremble,
his need. I’d woken those instincts Baker would need in the others,
and Daniel was already learning to use it. His hands roamed freely,
without any fear of my rage, and I didn’t protest when he began to
make love to me right there under the tunnel archway.

Chapter Twenty Two

New Network City

Network

“
Why did you order
that?”

Every head at the long table turned toward
the newcomer in surprise at the rudeness.

“
I saw the alerts. If
you’ve killed them all, we’ll never find out where the Safe Zone
is.”

The door slammed shut, and they all turned
back to the head of the table, the biggest seat.

“
It will demoralize those
in that zone. It was a group vote.”

“
I wasn’t here.”

“
It was unanimous. You
would have been outvoted anyway.”

“
But we needed him to lead
us to the safe zone.”

“
He still will. His tracker
is moving. As long as he’s with her, she’ll keep him alive. The
Pruetts forgive nothing. It’s why we’ve always worked so well
together.”

“
I don’t
understand.”

There was a tolerant chuckle. “That’s
because you’re new here. The West Coast may align itself with only
untrustworthy dogs, but we here in New Network City prefer a higher
class of servitude.” The voice sneered now, “When they figure it
out, they’ll join the rebels, fight for them.”

“
Why the hell would you
want that?”

“
Because they’re stronger
than most of the animals out there under our rule, and every one of
them is smart enough to figure things out. If they stay on our side
much longer, we’ll be too busy fighting them for control to
accomplish any of the goals. Knowing they’re an enemy is infinitely
better.”

“
Why not just kill them?
I’ll see to it personally.”

There were snickers and wide grins at those
words.

“
What?”

“
You obviously haven’t
watched the Bachelor Battles.”

“
I don’t watch any of the
Games. I have better things to do.”

”
Make an exception. Before
you try to kill a Pruett, you might want to know what you’re up
against.”

A hand moved over the console, and the
recent, familiar episode of the Bachelor Battles flickered into
holographic life in the center of the table.

There was a blur while it ran through every
clip of Candice – from sleeping to fighting – every move she had
made after entering the complex was on tape.

The video slowed and finally stopped on a
close-up of the cage where two females faced each other at the end
of a match. One was a former Defender anyone would have recognized
for letting Baker escape. The other was a teenager with flat, black
eyes and a lean, hard body. Under her image was the name of C. M.
Pruett.

The video started playing at normal speed,
and the Council watched as the wild teenager drew back and sent her
claws deep into the throat of her opponent, ripping upward. As the
body fell, she grinned, an ugly glare that promised blood. The hand
froze the video there, as the regulars at the long table discussed
it.

“
Her parent was just as
violent.”

“
Her mother burnt out when
we let her have a mate. We could do the same with this one if there
was more time, but the rebels are gaining ground.”

“
If we can follow them to
the Safe Zone in the Borderlands and bomb it, we take care of both
problems at once. I still agree with the plan.”

“
You know it’s in the
Borderlands?” the newcomer interrupted angrily. “You haven’t told
the Coast that!”

“
We don’t report to you!”
The head chair squeaked as it was vacated. “And you haven’t told us
what hits you’ve taken from them, either, so don’t think you can
come here on a trade-off for information and not give any. If you
want our secrets, you’ll be sharing some of your own! Now, sit down
and open your mouth with respect for the freedoms we
allow.”

The chair farthest away groaned in protest
as the newcomer filled it. The voice was submissive, but still
determined. “We’ve got the same problem as you – the rest of the
world, and behind them, the rebels – and it’s getting bad.” There
was a deep sigh. “Where to you want to start?”

Before the Head of the council could
respond, a lower member’s voice echoed in shock. “Look at the
newest list for the Bachelor Battles.”

The name at the top drew frowns and nods,
some of the members already seeing how it could be used. With
another Pruett in the Games, the Network now had leverage, and they
knew how to use it.

D

We were home.

Her parents were surprised by the story
they’d been told, but they had accepted it without much comment. It
gave me the sense that they had known what would happen as soon as
Candice and I disappeared with Baker. I understood her Father had
been rooting for her to feel the need to get involved. Her Mother,
though, I couldn’t figure out.

Mary was sparkless, as Baker called her, and
other than her strength on the runs, I didn’t understand why she
was a bounty hunter at all. Why would she want this for her family?
Was she really still a bit more dangerous than even Candice was
giving her credit for? I held my suspicions to myself. I would
watch, and if I could help that Pruett female in someway, I would.
I owed them so much!

When we had left Pruett lands a month ago,
there were concerned neighbor’s eyes on us, but now they were
intense, dangerous. Did Candice feel it? I was sure she did, and I
moved a step closer. I had a long way to go before I could really
protect her from our enemies, but I was determined to learn, and my
new family had already begun teaching me.

Candice turned from the mail-slot, and her
face said that whatever was in it would firm her choice as to where
we went from here. I waited as patiently as the rest of her crew
followed her inside. Whatever she chose was fine with us, and she
knew it.