Endless Flames (Surviving Ashes, Book Four) (28 page)

“He’s got her, Berke,” Van announced in a strained voice that had nothing to do with the gasmask being put over his face. Berke’s chest experienced a blow unlike any other he’d experienced. God, he struggled to breathe until Van finally stood up and clarified what he meant. Somehow, Allman had the upper hand all along. “He’s got her. He’s got Allie.”

M
axie had never
before in her life been so relieved as when she and Mason had realized the multiple shadows passing by their small cove were members of the United States Air Force Security Forces detachment assigned to Fairchild AFB one hundred and fifty miles south of Lost Summit. There’d been a little bit of tension until introductions had been made, which consisted of Mason and Maxie holding up their weapons in surrender at seeing a half-dozen M4s pointed their way until their identities had been verified by Truman.

Maxie had been wrong though.

Setting eyes on Berke had knocked the air right out of her lungs. It killed her not to be able to go to him immediately, but Truman’s troops were currently arresting a man who was lying on the ground and laughing. It was nothing more than a taunt and it wasn’t hard to figure out that they were dealing with Allman. It didn’t take long before they had him in custody and managed to get his gasmask back on his bloodied face. The only shelter around that they could have used for cover was billowing CS at an alarming rate. Maxie wondered if the cabin had caught fire from the CS canister they’d shot through the window.

“Don’t—” Mason tried holding Maxie back, but she rushed through the ash toward Berke before he could stop her. It was safe at this point. Owen and Ann were still far enough away to maintain a vigil of their surroundings, most likely joined by some of Truman’s buddies at this point. Sealey and Fairfax stayed behind on the trail leading back home, whereas Brenna and Prue were still pulling up the rear with the horses. They did just fine with their makeshift masks, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t run off at the slightest intimidation and predators still inhabited these forests.

“Thank God you’re all right,” Maxie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Berke’s waist and holding him tight. She received the same gesture in return, although there was something desperate in his embrace. It wasn’t easy to maneuver with these masks, but she managed to pull away far enough to take in his expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Berke said somewhat distractedly, taking a hold of her cheeks with each hand. Neither one cared about the ash since the mask prevented the residue from getting on her skin. He was staring at her as if this was the first time seeing her. “You’re safe. For a minute, I—”

“I’m safe, don’t worry,” Maxie reassured him, resting her gloved hands over his. She also shared with him some of the information Truman had divulged to her. “Jacob is safe. Truman had deployed a detail to the lodge, giving them extra protection in case Allman had some of his men attack the bunker while we were out here.”

Berke slowly exhaled his relief, bringing her to him once more. He held her tight enough that it was hard for her to breathe, but she didn’t mind. The kind of adrenaline they both experienced took a mental toll as well. She could sense he was about to tell her something when an outburst had Maxie pulling away to see what was wrong.

“Get your fucking hands off of me,” Van managed to spit out, pushing Truman aside and once again trying to reach for Steven Allman. Kellen lifted his arms in concession, but that didn’t mean he was walking away. He signaled for Mav and Mason to come closer. “Tell me where she is, you sick son-of-a-bitch. Tell me where you had them take Allie! I know how to get the information out of you and I’ll start with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers, asshole.”

Maxie wasn’t sure exactly what had taken place within these last fifteen minutes, though it seemed like a hell of a lot longer. It had only taken eight minutes to reach the land surrounding the cabin and maybe an additional five for Truman’s Air Force buddies to force the occupants outside. The rest were spent trying to get Van under control and now she knew why. Allman had the upper hand even though he’d been disarmed and subdued with handcuffs.

“You’ll never know,” Allman declared, shifting his mask to a more comfortable position with his shoulder. “Good luck finding her, buddy.”

“You motherfu—” Van would have done the unthinkable had Mason and Mav not been there to stop him. Berke moved and positioned himself between Van and Allman, realizing that allowing Van to have his way would only result in a death that would most likely take Allman’s secrets along with him.

“You’re giving him what he wants,” Truman warned, stepping in and shoving Van in the chest to catch his attention. “Look at me. We’ll take him with us and we’ll get the information we need.”

Maxie had been under the impression that Van was the one who always maintained composure. He wasn’t one easily rattled and never once made rash decisions. Whomever this Allie was meant a great deal to him and she’d now become his Achilles heel, which Allman took great pride in twisting to his advantage. The man stood there with his chest out like he owned the world. Maybe he did own Van’s world right now, but she didn’t doubt it wouldn’t be long before he begged to tell them everything he knew.

“She’ll be dead by then,” Van said in a low tone, finally unwinding down to the point where someone could talk to him. He never asked who Truman was, and most likely assumed he was okay due to the fact that Mav, Mason, and Berke had brought him into the fold. Now certainly wasn’t the time to tell Van he was talking to his brother. “He knows it. I know it.”

Truman motioned for the military unit to remove Allman from the vicinity and they didn’t hesitate to pull him away to where the low hum of a motor was starting to cut through the air. More reinforcements, though this time with seven ton transport trucks modified to deal with the ash problem.

“Allman wouldn’t have her in a place where that could happen quickly,” Berke reasoned, finally stepping forward to block Van’s sight of Allman. It only seemed to incense him. “There were a lot of ways this could have gone in which he would have had to keep her someplace safe. We’re talking days, so let’s head back and regroup. We’ll get a search party organized and ready to launch the minute Truman gets us the location information we need.”

Maxie watched as Berke and Truman shared a conspiring glance, the others in on it as well. Van was the only one left out and her heart ached for what was still ahead of him. It was as if they’d all silently agreed to keep Van and Truman’s relationship under wraps until Allie was located.

“I want to interrogate him myself,” Van stated, wiping the back of his hand on what was left of his shirt. Ash was settling into his wounds and they needed to be treated right away. Risk of infection grew the longer the wounds were exposed to the elements. Maxie could see from here the amount of damage done to his face. “We can do it here.”

“We’re returning to base,” Truman ordered, not waiting for anyone else to agree with his decision. He was taking charge and giving the hand motion for his men to move out. “Allman might be trained to resist physical interrogation, but back at the base we will be able to utilize enhanced chemical methods he won’t be able to defeat with his training.”

Maxie couldn’t help but look around them as the men continued to show their support, telling Van they were making the right decision to return to the lodge. They told him multiple times they would find whoever this Allie was and bring her home as well. Maxie began to wonder if they could keep their promise.

The expansive chain of mountains covered a very extensive range that was now cloaked with volcanic ash. They couldn’t see beyond thirty yards in front of them during the day, so how could they be expected to find a woman who might be anywhere…even twenty miles away? There was only one person who truly had all the information they needed and he might be holding the last trump in the deck.

“Are you ready to go home?” Berke asked, pulling Maxie’s attention away from a vast void of emptiness extending up this alley heading northwest. She was cold and hungry, yet she hadn’t been the one who had been held prisoner. She glanced over to Van who was now staring into the same abyss that had captured her attention. The fear settling over his already damaged features was hard to look at. “Van needs medical care and then we need to come up with a plan to search the immediate area leading up into these mountains.”

“You don’t think Allman is going to give up Allie’s location, do you?” Maxie asked, dread filling her already aching heart. “We can’t just leave her…”

“We’re not leaving her, Maxie.” Berke rested his gasmask against hers, his dark eyes reminding her of the oath he took. “We never leave our own family behind.”

*

Maxie held Jacob
as he drifted off to sleep, mesmerized by his long lashes and the way his fingers curled into her shirt. His innocence had been untouched and she would strive to keep it like that as long as she could. What awaited him as an adult was nothing short of a nightmare and yet he was in the best place possible for that to happen.

“You have no idea how lucky you are, little man,” Maxie murmured, keeping her voice as low as she had when humming the lullaby she’d used to get him to sleep. She brushed a finger over his flushed cheek. “You’re surrounded by good people who can teach you how to protect yourself. They’ll show you what it means to have integrity and compassion. They’ll make you into a leader who people can trust and support without fear.”

Maxie didn’t want to think about how Jacob was their next generation and what he’d need to learn to survive, but she didn’t have a choice. By his early teens, the world would be recovering from this disaster. The population would be a fraction of what it was today. The country they had all grown up in was gone and new nations would rise. It was her responsibility to see to it that Jacob was instilled with the confidence to lead a community and be a leader they could look up to. He hadn’t asked for this, but yet the liability for any kind of future had fallen on his shoulders.

“I love you.”

Maxie couldn’t have heard right, so she quickly looked up to find Berke leaning against the doorway to Jacob’s room. She’d decided last night that she would keep things this way so she and Berke had their own space. It also would benefit Jacob in the long run to have his own sleeping area, a luxury they could afford for the time being until everyone at the lodge needed to be moved into the bunker. From the affection shining in Berke’s dark gaze, she understood that she’d made the right decision.

“That’s good,” Maxie counseled, her nerves causing her hands to shake a bit. She didn’t think it was a good thing to put Jacob in his playpen. She might very well drop him and that wouldn’t earn her a Mother Of The Year award. “I wouldn’t want to set a bad example for Jacob. You know, sharing my bed and all.”

Maxie got the intended result, which was for Berke to smile regardless that the worry around his eyes would stay there until Allie James was found safe and sound. They were starting the first series of rescue searches first thing in the morning, unless Truman reached out to them with an exact location. Van hadn’t been pleased when he discovered that the military had taken over custody of Allman, but Truman vowed he wouldn’t leave Fairfield Air Force Base without the answers that they needed. It was only a matter of time. It had been roughly two hours since she’d last seen Berke, understanding his desire to be with Van in his time of need. She was grateful he was here with her now though.

“I want you to know that I respect your job in law enforcement and trust that you can take care of yourself, but I really hated you being out there away from me,” Berke said, pushing off of the wooden doorframe and reaching down for Jacob. Maxie handed him off and was touched to see him place a tender kiss on Jacob’s forehead before laying him down and tucking him in for the night. “He needs his mother.”

“He needs a father, too,” Maxie pointed out honestly, reaching for Berke’s hand. She could have sworn she saw a glistening in his eyes when he glanced back down at Jacob. He didn’t look back at her, so she said something that would garner his attention even more…and she meant every word of it. “Would you be that for him, Berke? Would you be my other half so we can raise him together? All I could think about on the way up that mountain was how much I’ve come to love you. I won’t sit back in the shadows to make your stress ease, because not being out there with you only makes mine rise. You’re my balance in this life and I want to hold your hand as we walk through it side by side.”