From The Ashes (Life After War) (33 page)

Charlie snorted, holding the flap open. “No. My dad’s nicer than she is when it comes to lessons. She’s a lot like Doug.”

Just coming out, Doug smirked at them. “Got a rep, do I? Good. You’ll know what to expect when it’s your turn.”

He went on out, and the two boys stared after him with uneasy glances that had guards hiding smiles.

Matt was a ball of nerves as he followed Charlie inside. He would know his fate in a few minutes. He didn't have much hope.

7

“
Damn it!”

Sam slammed Cynthia to the mat, grunting at the effort. The reporter was scrappy.

Cynthia growled as she stood, triggering Sam’s rage, and the storm tracker swung a nasty hit that knocked the woman on her ass again.

“
Match!”

Sam pulled in the anger and swiped a hand across her bloody nose as Cynthia struggled to her feet.

Cynthia used the sleeve of her shirt to clear her vision and then flung the blood toward Sam’s boots. “Again!”

Sam advanced obligingly, and the observing males braced, sure it would be ugly. The two women had already passed their evaluations in this area and others–it helped to have female vs. female–but the battle for Angela’s right hand was growing now that she was on light duty again. It wouldn’t be long before that slot would be officially filled. So far, no one knew which way it would fall, only that Adrian had given Angela the choice.

“
No. That’s enough.”

Adrian’s pleased words stopped them. He clearly liked it that they were showing their willingness to bleed and fight for the place they wanted. It was enlightening for the males, watching these determined women go through the same emotions and discoveries that they had. It was a bond that Adrian sensed might become incredibly strong once Angela was back full time. Right now, there was a lot of fighting, especially between the new and the old as the sexes merged, but once that XO slot was filled, things would settle down.

Cynthia and Sam could both do the job, but the two Eagles near the flap knew who it should be. After less than a month, Sam was brutal. In self-defense, she was only two levels behind Angela. Cynthia, on the other hand, was just starting her daily workout sessions. Sam spent hours a day in the ring with Doug and Billy, and sometimes even Adrian. Cynthia had only recently passed the first Kai lesson.

Neil and Jeremy didn’t like the idea of Samantha in danger any more than Marc had Angela, but there was no denying the truth. Sam deserved to be in that slot.

For Jeremy, it was another attraction, another sign that she was the woman of his dreams. For Neil, it was pride and pain. Pride that his chosen mate–even if she hadn’t chosen him–was doing so well, but also pain to be around her and not try to convince her that he that deserved another chance. Her words when he'd told her that he planned to ask her out–“
No promises, Neil”
–had stopped him from doing it.

“
Can I play?”

Angela’s forlorn tenor at the flap drew grins and instant welcome from all of the men. It also caused straightened shoulders and fresh glares between Sam and Cynthia, the only females. The sense of competition shot up.

Using the moment, Adrian motioned toward the ring. “Were you watching?”

Angela’s cool gaze went over both of the bloody females waiting for her approval. “Nope. Have ‘em do it again.”

Adrian smiled warmly amid the chuckles and disappointment. “Welcome home.”

With that, she was cleared for workouts.

Angela came into the tent with a long-suffering sigh. “Can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this ugly damn green.”

More laughter, but those who had spent time off-duty understood. It was like nothing satisfied. The air was air, food just food, but when you were a part of this life, the wind was crisp and inviting, and Mess was a sweet trip into happiness. To be away was to be incomplete.

As it was, rookie nerves before a Level Test were always rough, but with everything Safe Haven had been through in the last months, these men were even quicker to fight first and talk later. The number of men and women working off offenses with the Vet had increased. Sour-faced and surly, Chris now had more hands than he knew what to do with. Often there with Jennifer, Kyle was helping the Vet keep them busy.

Angela moved toward the two women who were straightening clothes, tending to minor injuries. She swept them with a hard gaze and silence fell in the tent.

Angela drew in enough air to speak, caught up in the magic of her new life. “I’ve had short conversations with you, where I refused to talk about what role you’ll have on my team. You both said you were content so long as you held a place,
any
place. Is that still true?”

“
Sure,” Sam grunted, clearly not meaning it.

Neil smirked. They were so much alike, it was scary.

Jeremy worried she was about to blow it.

Cynthia was already expecting to lose. After this session, she understood she had a lot more work to do.

Angela motioned toward the flap, where a new female had quietly appeared. “She says the same thing.”

All eyes went to Anne, running over the glasses and signs of her age. There were surprised mutters and even snorts, but Angela’s next words stopped it all and brought more curious tension.

“
There are no less than five of you now competing for my right hand.”

Eagles instantly began mentally naming and came up short by two. Even Adrian was minus one.

“
If someone shows me something the others can’t, that’ll seal the deal.” Angela turned toward Adrian. “What’s the deadline?”

“
By Little Rock.”

She nodded. “I’ll make my choice before then. In the meantime, all of them should receive XO training.”

Adrian motioned to Doug. “Take over.”

As the big man gathered the females in the corner and began explaining the next part of the test, Anne joined them for the walk-through. The camp would know within hours.

“
Are you sure?”

Adrian confirmed the mental question.
“It’s only for a little while.”

“
Long enough to give her the skills we all need and the strength to carry on after he dies.”

“
Yes, but also to finish bringing in those who are watching you form this team.”

“
Because it boosts their confidence enough to try,”
Angela confirmed the reason she’d given to Anne. A lot of this wasn’t set in stone in her mind yet, and while she was using Adrian’s techniques, confirmation helped to relieve some of the worry over her choices.

As they ducked out of the tent, Adrian holding the flap, he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
“Who’s the fifth?”

8

“
You’re late.” Chris quipped.

Kyle gently dislodged Jennifer’s hand from his tingling arm. “You’ll get over it.”

Jennifer kept her eyes on the ground as she waited, curious and a little uneasy. There was only the vet and the guards here, but it was still enough male gazes to make her wish for the privacy of her tent…
Kyle’s
tent.

The sight of the dome light in his camper had brought her to tears every time she saw it, and Kyle had insisted on switching after getting her a thick air mattress from the supply truck. Most nights she fell asleep while he was still with her, woke to a flower or a piece of candy on her pillow. He was sweet, considerate, and so closed-off it was hard for to imagine him as a father.

Jennifer ran a loving hand over her twins as they jostled for position, murmuring softly. “In a bit, babies. In a bit.”

As if hearing and responding, her stomach settled into the occasional twist, and she went back to her observations. Life here was so good that sometimes Jennifer found herself studying it for hours without moving or talking. The setup was vastly different, but it was the leadership that made it a beacon of safety. Even the name said she and her children could be happy here.

“
Damn dog.”

The Vet backed up as Kyle came out of the semi with a large box. Inside, something sniffed and scratched curiously.

“
Why don’t you keep her chained up?”

Chris scowled. “You didn’t hurt her did you?”

Kyle snorted contemptuously. “No.”

Chris shrugged, eying the newest tear in Kyle’s pants. “It’s her pups. You hurt?”

“
No. I’ve learned to jump when she lunges. Only got the cloth this time.”

Chris snickered in satisfaction, moving into the truck to assure himself of Star’s safety. “Give her time. She’ll figure that one out, too.”

Kyle was still scowling as he set the box at Jennifer’s feet. “Know you’re okay with wolves. What about mutt puppies?”

Jennifer frowned darkly. “Guess that’s what I’m having.”

She eased to her knees beside the box before he could say anything.

Kyle stopped breathing when she giggled.

“
They’re so cute!” she sighed happily. “Hope mine are.”

Kyle was answering before he could think, steering the conversation in a direction that he had intended to avoid. “Oh doll, your kids’ll be beautiful. Fathers don’t matter when they come from your gene pool.”

Jennifer flushed, staring at the puppies as her heart pounded. “Cesar was ugly. Won’t it make them that way?”

Kyle knew a thin line when he heard it. The problem was, he couldn’t
see
it. “You’ll love them anyway.”

Jennifer was too young to hide her concerns. “What about you?”

Kyle had already considered that. When it came to getting what he now wanted more than even air, there was little he hadn’t sorted through. “We’ll stay until it's causing trouble. By then, Safe Haven will be settled somewhere.”

He fought the urge to brush her hair out of her eyes. “We don’t have to live in Safe Haven, Jenny, to be a part of its light.”

Jennifer hadn’t considered that, still working up to what else was on her mind.

Kyle understood that asking for her wants so soon after being a slave was hard. “There isn’t anything that you can't tell me or ask for.”

“
If I said yes, I would definitely need two things, and they’re hard.”

Her fear was thick, making her breathing rough. Kyle felt the protective nature, but also the dangerous need.

Her chest heaved a bit at his silence, capturing his eye. He braced for a fresh wave of lust and was surprised to find sympathy leading. “Yes, to both. Now tell me, knowing I’ve already agreed, and I can’t take it back.”

Jennifer swallowed. “If you find, after they’re born, that you can’t handle who their father is, you have to let me take them and leave.”

Kyle knew it wouldn’t ever matter to him. He’d always wanted to be a father, he just hadn’t wanted to be a husband. That had changed.

“
Next?”

Jennifer drew in a breath, and Kyle prepared to take a blow.

“
You can’t… have me, until they’re six months old and we know if you can love them.”

Kyle leaned down to brush that curl back.
So soft!
“Let’s make it until you’re legal, so the Den Mothers don’t castrate me. I’m rather fond of that part, Jen. I doubt I’d be the same without it.”

Jennifer giggled, sending delighted vibes across the camp. “Okay.”

Above her, the shield rippled into view for a bare instant that was only noticed by three people. Two of them were in different parts of the camp and assumed the other had done it.

The third stiffened with a hundred connections filling in the blanks of Jennifer's profile.

Kyle backed up. She wasn't just special–she was meant to lead. Only those with that duty affected the shield. It was the first thing he and Neil had noticed about that mysterious bubble.

Jennifer felt Kyle's withdrawal and instinctively knew it was over something he had just figured out about her. She quickly distracted him, vowing to control her emotions better.

“
Are you sure you really want me, Kyle?”

The mobster was jolted from his deep thoughts. “So much that I’ll make any deal you want, even if it costs me everything I've built.”

Jennifer’s heart leapt. He was hers now, if she wanted him. The manipulative girl gave him a smoldering glance that was hidden from the others by her hair. She did.

Kyle’s openly returned leer said he’d known all along, but his reaction spoke louder. He backed up another step. He meant to stand by his word and not touch her until she was legal.

Jennifer didn't celebrate her victory, thinking a life at Kyle's side now looked better than any of her other options. She had come to care for him without meaning to.

Kyle absorbed the warmth in her eyes like it was the icy drinks she’d confessed that he smelled like to her. And then he stepped even further away. A man could only take so much.

Totally distracted from what he’d noticed with the shield, Kyle leaned against the truck, staring at her without the usual protective cloak over his expressions. Making her happy was something he planned to do over and over.