The Survivors

1

“I’d like to talk, if you have a minute.”

Samantha spun around to find Adrian standing by the camper she’d just come from. She had been hoping the intimidating leader would have other fish to fry right now.

“Sorry. Busy?”

Flinching again at a trio of loud, curious people moving by, Samantha shook her head.

“Good.” Adrian motioned toward his tent. “Let’s chat.”

Sam went slowly. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation with frayed nerves and a sleep hangover from the sedatives. When they walked in silence, she was glad for the moment to collect her thoughts.

Adrian left the flap open, but she was reminded of her time in Cesar’s camp–of José’s attack. Samantha’s stomach twisted.

Adrian gestured to the small table and chairs. “Have a seat while I get us a drink. Soda, water, or tea?”

Picking the one hardest to tamper with came automatically as she sat in the chair closest to the exit. “Soda.”

Adrian observed as he poured himself a cup of tea. She was too worried for someone who’d found safety. He joined her at the table, hating her flinch when he set his cup down too hard. He suspected she and Angela had a lot in common, but where Marc had been there to help Angie, this woman had been alone. She’d survived as best she could. “We have rules here, and you’ll learn them, but one is more important than any of the others. We have no violence against women or children. The penalties are too high. I know you’ll feel better with this, but you don’t need it.” Butt first, slowly, Adrian extended the .45 from his boot.

Sam took it. She didn’t want to offend him, but she was eager for the comfort it would provide tonight while she was sleeping alone. No one could take away what the boss had given her. “Thank you.”

“Keep it close until you feel you don’t need it anymore, then give it back for the next abused woman who comes here.”

She slid the weapon into her pocket.

“What did you do before the war?”

Sam froze at his unexpected change of subject.

“Your career? What did you contribute to society?”

Samantha sighed. “I was a storm tracker.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“I chased the wind, played with the equipment, and tried not to get myself killed.”

Adrian’s tone cooled. “If you have a gift, Samantha, now’s the time for using it. We need you.”

His chiding tone sank into her loneliness. Some of the truth was out before she knew she was going to tell him. “I can sometimes predict them, from the data. I had a pass to the Essex compound. My chopper crashed.”

Hiding his pleasure, Adrian leaned forward. “We would have a place for you even if you only babysit, but I have one question. Are you a spy?”

Sam shook her head, frowning. “No. Never.”

“What about the man you came in with?”

She looked away. “I don’t know…maybe.”

Adrian was surprised; he had expected a firm denial. They were both already under watch.

“Can I have a smoke?”

Adrian slid his lighter and full pack toward her. “Keep those. Why don’t you think he’s good, like you?”

Sam felt better, as he had intended. She recognized the ploy, but it succeeded. “Because he was a slave too. We never should have been able to ride out. It was too easy, as if he was waiting for me to suggest escaping.” She drew in a lungful of smoke that shot out as she spoke. “I told Kenn everything I could remember. Rick got me out, but I wonder what he used to buy our freedom. There’s no way we escaped, and the only currency Cesar takes is blood. I have no proof…but I think Rick is risking his life as an inside man. They made a deal. I fell for it.”

“We have good security here. He’s already being watched.” Adrian’s words betrayed none of his increasing worry. “We’ll catch him in the act if he is a spy, but for now, we wait and watch–myself and the Eagles, not you. It’s my job.”

Sam knew she was being manipulated but she agreed without hesitation. It would keep her from being responsible. A heavy weight faded from her shoulders. She was giving that job up to this man. “Will you have me watched too?”

“Do I need to?”

“No, of course not, but I would if I were you.”

The calm, reasonable tone made Adrian crack a real smile; he changed the subject again without giving her an answer. “Tell me more about your job, Sam. What exactly is a storm tracker and why did that earn you a pass?”

2

Rick paced his tent, nervous and confused. He had spent all day in here. It was well into the evening now, and he was still being quarantined by the elderly doctor who had taken his time coming, then had left as fast as he could.

The disapproving healer had given evasive answers to even normal questions. Rick was tense. He hadn’t handled this level of alertness before, but someone should have been by to talk to him, wanting the information Samantha didn’t have. He’d expected her, some guards, Kenn, and their leader, but no one had come.

Why not? A trick? Improbable. Maybe they didn’t recognize the threat, even with all the alertness? Most of the people he had viewed so far were prey. The fear was obvious to Rick after surviving the slavers all this time, but there were also men here who were as dangerous as Cesar. Rick already had an idea of how shift changes worked but gathering more information had to wait. Suspicious glares returned to him repeatedly whenever he opened the flap.

He would have to be more careful here than in the other places where he’d helped Cesar gain control. He also couldn’t contact the Mexican on time. He would have to lie low for a while and blend in. This was a large, well-organized group, and judging from the almost constant gunfire, they were learning to defend themselves. He would have to find their weakest point or Cesar and his nasty men might not be enough for these people.

These are good people, Rick. We have to warn them about Cesar.

Samantha had told him that from the passenger seat of the Blazer, saying she knew he’d made a deal, but it wasn’t too late to do the right thing. It was, of course. Rick didn’t like fearing for his life because of the color of his skin, but he did like Cesar’s way of life. He had no intentions of backing out. He would give the Mexican this camp, then he and Samantha would go away for a while. She was never far from his thoughts now, body crying out to him from two tents over.

Even if she reneged on their deal, and he already knew she would, he’d get her in the end. If he treaded lightly. The leader here had a warden’s coolness that watched and waited, knowing his convicts would offend again if given the chance. Rick planned to stay out of Adrian’s line of sight for the duration of his stay. He had received a copy of the rules within his first hour of being here; he understood the warning. If he was caught, he would pay with his life.

3

Back in her tent, Samantha laid on her sleeping bag, tired but unable to drift off. The sedative hadn’t faded until her shower. Now, she was wide awake. The shrewd doctor or his sweet wife would have given her a sleeping pill, but she hadn’t asked. There were things going on in Safe Haven that she needed a clear head for.

Sam wasn’t sure if this was another slaver camp, just with prettier edges. Some of the people here were bad, like Kenn. He beat his woman. She suspected Kenn was a lot like Cesar on the inside. The difference was these people didn’t know that side of him existed. Or at least they hadn’t until his woman had shown up. There was no way they could have known, because Kenn was Adrian’s right hand.

Sam frowned. There was something familiar about the leader, something that made her think of Washington. Did I see him there? A flash of a man getting out of a cab in the rain? It didn’t matter to her who he’d been before, so long as he was a good man now, but she was curious.

Sam curled an arm over her cheek, other hand caressing the gun under the blanket. She felt better with its cold comfort, and she was glad to have found people who were decent, but Rick was dangerous. She wished she had more experience with guns, other than knowing they were now the difference between being free and being a slave.

They’d traveled hard and fast; he hadn’t talked to her at all unless he had to; he hadn’t answered any of her questions, not even about where he was from or what he had done for a living before the war. He’d kept moving them northeast by day and crawled between her legs at night. The fact they hadn’t made a single detour told her Rick had known these people were here. He had wanted Angela too, but he’d noticed the men with her too late. His actions were not those of someone searching for good people to join. Rick was infiltrating them.

Has, she corrected herself. She had no proof, but she knew it. She had to distance herself from him, publicly, so it would get to Adrian. Rick had taken advantage of her; she never wanted him to touch her again.

Really? her body challenged. What a liar.

She was hit by erotic images of them on the way here: bent over the hood of a limo, pushing against each other in his sleeping bag, straddling him on the horse as it thundered under them. His touch had been like fire to her. She felt her body responding to thoughts, followed by a familiar ache that eased her mind a bit. At least she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Samantha had worried over it a little in the last week, not quite sure if she was late. It was a relief to know she wasn’t.

Sam rolled over, cradling the gun. He hadn’t forced her; he hadn’t abused her. Deep down, she hoped she was wrong. I’ll rebuild my life, either way. I will survive.

She was finally able to sleep, but in her dreams, the voices whispered she and everyone else was in danger because of her lover’s loyalty to a vicious killer.

4

Adrian began his nightly rounds in the small sea of sleeping tents that surrounded his. He frowned when he saw one hadn’t been put up for Angela. Kenn’s doing? Probably. He went to the perimeter men first.

His stops were brief and full of comments about Kenn’s behavior. The only place he lingered was the QZ, where Neil was pulling extra hours to cover the doubled sentry posts. Tomorrow night Neil would sleep like a baby, but tonight, the trooper was their eyes and ears. Adrian went to him for information. He’d witnessed the cop ducking into Marc’s tent. Neil wasn’t one to break his rules lightly. Adrian wanted to know what had happened, what he had missed.

Adrian advanced through the darkness beyond the perimeter tape, realizing Neil’s post was the one without a second man. That explains the extra man two stops back. “What happened to your help?”

“He got on my nerves.”

Adrian was almost certain Zack’s words about unfaithful women had almost caused a fight. Zack was a notorious woman hater. It didn’t matter who she was. Makes sense now. A perfect right hand for Kenn. “Broadcasting again when he should have been tuning in?”

Neil chuckled as he swept the dark landscape around their sleeping people. “Been one of those days.”

“Yes, it has. Put a twenty-four hour watch on Danny. He’s our thief.”

Neil’s thoughts went straight to Angela. Did she tell him that? Does it matter? “I’d love to be the guard on him at the trial.”

Adrian knew there wouldn’t be one if the thief were caught in the act. Another problem with the clogged legal system, fixed. If there was absolute proof, why have a trial? Guilty didn’t change just because someone forgot to sign a paper or read them their rights. They were criminals. They didn’t have any.

The chilly wind gusted by, bringing drizzle. Neil swept the landscape again. He drew in a breath. “What’s our penalty for hitting a woman?”

Adrian chose his words carefully. This was Neil’s chance to get rid of Kenn, but it would destroy Safe Haven. “A trial. If found guilty, the camp votes on a second chance with harsh punishments or for the person to be branded and banished.”

“What if it’s one of your circle doing the hitting?” Neil gestured angrily. “Do the same rules apply?”

Adrian’s stomach twisted. “Yes. Our laws are for all of us. Is there something I should know?” Did Neil see something? What else did Kenn do?

“Just suspicions.” Neil didn’t want to say more.

Adrian pinned one of his most trusted men with a hard look. “Your instincts are part of why you’re here, Neil. If you know something, especially if it concerns a woman, I expect you to tell me. Even when you know I don’t want to hear it.”

Neil sighed, torn. He understood what was at stake. “I didn’t witness it. I don’t know those who say they did, but I believe it.” He gave Adrian a brief run through of the encounters he’d had today, lingering on the scene between her and Marc. “He does love her. Marc will let her go if that’s what she wants, I’m sure of it. He’s already following our rules, and he doesn’t even know what they are! Then, there’s Kenn, trying to force her back into a relationship she doesn’t want. He didn’t give her a tent–told Charlie not to put it up, that she would spend her nights in his bed where she belongs. He plans to put her in all his classes and activities–so he can keep an eye on her is my guess–and he’s telling people that Charlie is his biological son.”

Adrian remembered Kenn’s words to him when they first met. He had asked if that was his son. Kenn had said…“He might as well be.” They had all assumed he was caring for a child that wasn’t his. It had impressed them.

As he knew it would. More than just the Eagles would be pissed over this. Either Kenn had lied then, or he was lying now. “We’re going to give them a chance to settle in, but I won’t let either of them force her into anything.” Adrian ignored his own guilt. He was about to herd her in a way, and though it was for the greater good, that didn’t make it right.

Neil kept his voice low. “Good, because I don’t think there’s many left like her.”

“Pretty, isn’t she?”

“Beautiful, but it’s more than that.” Neil thought of the way she had read his mind to start their conversation. “She’s special, more than just because she’s a doctor. You know?”

Adrian did. He wasn’t surprised the trooper had noticed too. Neil wasn’t as quick as Kyle in most areas of their training, but about people, he was quicker.

“I’m going to look after her when I can, maybe ask a couple of the Eagles to do the same.” Neil didn’t need to see Adrian’s frown to know it was there.

“Got hopes, Neil?” Adrian was relieved when the cop shook his head.

“No. Marc asked me to, but I had already decided I would before I talked to him. She’s got a strong pull, a gift we need. A lot of men will want her, not just those two.”

Adrian didn’t betray how much those words pleased and bothered him because they were true. He was glad Neil planned to take Marc under his wing. The trooper hadn’t said so, but Adrian had spent months getting to know Neil. It was encouraging that at least one of his circle was willing to give the man and his wolf a chance. Almost everyone else was talking about making Marc’s life rough if he got between Kenn and his wife. Marc was now cleared, but he’d been told not to roam until morning.

These people wouldn’t accept him easily. To stay and have a chance at building a life, Marc would have to prove himself. Neil could help him with that. The guard was popular. There would have been serious trouble if he had taken a stand against Kenn in the beginning and made Adrian pick. “You’ll let me know how your day with him goes?”

“You know it.”

Adrian was almost smiling as their long day ended. “Yes, I do.”

It hit Neil again how grateful he was for Adrian. Anyone else would be using it all to their advantage, or things would always have to be spelled out. With Adrian, he saw it before it became a problem, then handled it quickly and quietly. Considering what they had done to the old world, Neil thought Adrian was more than they deserved.