From The Ashes (Life After War) (34 page)

The Eagles on the area–his team that was about to be relieved so that they could take their places overseeing the level tests–wanted to continue being upset. Hearing his promises, being sure he would stick to them due to his reputation here at Safe Haven, went a long way in calming them. If Kyle said she’d be of age, then she would be. Daryl's support and carefully chosen words had also helped convince them.

The Vet ignored them all as he came out of the semi, only caring for the wildlife in his charge, and Mitch staring at him through the com truck window. When Kyle was done with the pups, maybe he’d swing by and find out what the disgruntled man had seen… and maybe Safe Haven would be short another useless member. Connie and Rick hadn’t been the only evil Adrian had let in. He and his Eagles had to play by the rules, but Chris hadn’t before the War, and the vet didn’t plan to now, either. Some things had to be done, and some people needed to die. It was that simple.

“
What do you want in exchange for the pup?” Kyle asked the vet. “I’m her collateral.”

Chris had been expecting it. Anyone could see the mobster was smitten, and what better way into a young girl’s heart than a puppy? “She joins the training lessons and shows up. One sign of abuse, and I come for it.”

Kyle made sure his words carried. “I’m not trying to buy her. I thought she'd like it. There are no strings attached.”

That had been her first thought, and Jennifer was glad to know she'd been wrong. “I’ll show up for every lesson, my word. And I’ll come help you out here, too, if you have something I can do,” she informed Chris, thinking the vet had probably once been a very handsome man, but nice hair and straight teeth couldn’t make up for that nasty attitude. None of Safe Haven's females ever looked his way.

Kyle opened his mouth, but Chris beat him to it. “Paperwork and play with the small animals. They get restless, being caged so much.”

Jennifer’s happiness radiated again, making her glow. She could tell by the way they stared. The closer she got to delivery, the harder it was to control the things that made her different than the other survivors here.

Jennifer used a simple smoke-and-mirror technique–she sounded her age. “Cool beans!”

Both men blinked, shaking off the haze.

The vet’s tone softened into one Kyle had only heard him use on the animals. “You can’t start working until Adrian clears it, but you come and play with them whenever we’re camped.”

Unable to control his jealousy, Kyle directed her attention back to his gift. “Which one do you want? The solid black one is the runt.”

Instead of picking, Jennifer stood up and moved very slowly into Kyle’s personal space–pushing herself and him–to show how much she appreciated the gift. She knew pets weren’t allowed.

Big stomach resting against his hip, Jennifer cautiously curled her arms around his thick neck. “Thank you. For bringing me here.”

Kyle clenched his fists to keep from reacting, nose on fire as her sweet scent flooded him. “
Anything
to make you happy.”

She leaned closer to hug, and Kyle groaned, hands coming up to hold her shoulders. He eased away before his fingers could cross a line. “Go pick your puppy, and we’ll hit the Mess for a snack before you crash.”

Happier than she’d been since the War, Jennifer did as instructed. She still held a fear of the dangerous man who’d chosen to be her protector, but it wasn’t something she had to worry over right now. She’d also heard enough of the adult females talking to know there was another side to sex, one where humiliation and submission weren’t involved. Jennifer thought that was probably BS, another line fed to female children to keep them following blindly.

Jennifer's breast hardened into the deep ache that said delivery wasn’t so far away now, and she shifted around so the men might not notice her adjust it. She couldn’t wait to hold her babies, but carrying them sucked. Not that she would do a lot of complaining. Angela had saved her and her children, given her another chance. Jennifer wouldn’t be caught alone again, nor would she hold back the Witch from how often she wanted to draw energy from Kyle. She would do whatever she needed to.

Kyle strolled into the shadows to take up a place by his XO. They didn’t speak right away, watching Jennifer sort through the five pups. The load these two lethal Eagles were carrying was toted without complaint, and the moments like this–sweet and simple–were hard to come by. When one happened, senior men tended to take a minute to soak it up as a buffer against the next horror…
or the last,
Kyle thought, mind flashing to holding Angela down so that Adrian could burn her.

Jennifer picked the runt and then helped the vet take them all to the semi, chatting cheerfully with the surly man the entire way. To Chris, Jennifer was another expectant animal to be cared for. The fact that she was human didn’t matter to him. All he saw was her need and the abuse she’d suffered. Despite his bad attitude, it was winning the vet a special place in Safe Haven among those who understood what made him tick. The man abhorred violence of any kind, but most especially to animals and mothers.

“
That was nice of you,” Daryl stated.

“
She needs it.”

“
Someone to be nice to her?”

“
To feel special.”

Daryl raised a brow. “And to know that someone cares?”

Kyle watched Jennifer’s awkwardly perfect waddle. “She already knows that.”

“
Then why?”

“
Tell the camp I don’t want her to be lonely while I’m on runs.”

“
And the real reason?”

Kyle’s heart, his guilt, spread over his face. “Every time she loves it, she’ll be reminded of the man who gave it to her… and maybe love him just a little, too.”

Daryl sighed, being swayed to the idea against his will every time he saw them interact. “The others are coming around. Just keep being careful.”

Daryl leaned in. “And stop letting those sparks show when she touches you or smiles. It’s too clear.”

Kyle settled into that blank expression that was so dangerous. He wasn’t sure if he might lose it all, but he had no illusions that it would be easy. In this life, achieving happiness wasn’t meant to be easy.

Chapter Ten

1

As the gritty sky settled into full black, Kenn was finishing a shift on duty over two tents–Tonya’s pharmacy and Candy’s hairdressing canvas.

Both females were getting customers, and much like he’d predicted, most of the pharmacy orders were for Tonya's stashes of Advil and Chapstick. In exchange for these things, people were donating time to teach her the things she’d been avoiding. It was earning her small gestures of friendship and giving Kenn an awareness of emotions for her that he hadn’t known existed until his snap. Leaving her behind had been hard, and recognizing it made Kenn keep their relationship within legal bounds for the last weeks. Other than the occasional, discreet moment, they were both walking the line.

For Kenn, life was now a confusing mix of new emotions–of being accepted by the camp again while being loathed by the Eagles. For those brave men, it was justice. For the herd, life was good–mostly, because of him and Brady. Now that they were no longer two dogs fighting over a bone, they were working together, making their own magic.

Kenn still didn’t know if Marc and Angela had been together while she was with him, or how they’d split up, but there was another suspicion now. Whatever Charlie had said had triggered the shootout. Had he been hiding his gifts? Was he like Angela? Kenn wasn't sure if mattered anymore. He also wasn't sure that it didn't. He was making progress, growing... but to be fooled for ten years by a child? How was he supposed to react to a crippling blow like that?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kenn spun, hand dropping to his 9 mm before he realized it was only the construction crew adding another layer of the sniper shield around camp. They were out of wooden planks now and having to use the moldy trees for stakes to attach the ledge. Once they chopped them down, there was still usable wood, but in another year, that wouldn’t be the case. The ledge was going up as fast as they could get it together.

Thud! Thud!

Zack’s boys were the ones cleaning the mold off of the trees. It was their punishment for stealing supplies from the trucks when Zack’s team was on duty. The trucker hadn’t known about it, and he’d let Adrian handle it with a week’s hard labor. That had been the lightest punishment handed out. Mitch had been assigned a buddy in the com truck so that he was never alone on duty. The first time his ‘buddy’ reported him drinking and radioing, he was finished as Safe Haven’s radio man.

People were working, digging latrine holes and garbage pits, washing clothes, playing cards and hand held-video games, chatting lightly while waiting in lines. It was calm, but the Marine wondered how many of those low conversations were now about Angela and the things she could do. Those who’d been in the medical tent were refusing to talk, but one had only to view John’s renewed health to know something had happened.

He was moving without discomfort again, the fog pushed away, and he appeared to be sober, telling the camp she’d helped him enough that he didn’t need the drugs. With his renewed health, John was busy implementing new procedures for the camp, like the monthly disinfecting of all tents and equipment, and restarting vaccinations for those who wanted them. He also upped the iodine consumption for the entire camp after his weekly absolute lymphocyte count came back more elevated than usual.

The doctor tested a random batch of those who came in during the week and compared it to tell the cook how much to add to the drinking water. Today, he’d done all of that, and had just finished examining Billy’s broken leg, sending him out of the medical tent on crutches instead of in a wheelchair. The Eagle was ecstatic. And clumsy.

Kenn watched him fall twice, wincing each time. If he kept up like that, John would be setting the other leg next, with no sinkhole to blame.

“
Instructors and testing Eagles to the training tent.”

Radios crackled, some still not functioning at all despite him and Brady working on most of them.

Angela walked by with a gun on each hip, fast clip implying her recovery was speeding along. John had just cleared her for private lessons with the Senior men. Marc wouldn’t like Adrian's plans, but to Kenn, there was a strong sense of time running out. Whatever Adrian was preparing Angela for, it was closer now.

Kenn stepped over to where Doug was standing. The big man was in charge of making sure the cans were lit, the dogs were put out, the supply trucks locked up, and the keys went to the man on Point–Allan.

“
Is everything set?”

Doug didn’t answer.

Bracing against the ache of his lingering rib injury, Kenn raised his voice. “Are we 5-by?”

Doug swung around in surprise, and Kenn ignored the twinge in his side to view what had distracted the big man so thoroughly. Doug wasn’t normally one to miss much. If not for his limp, Kenn would have considered him a serious rival when he’d first joined.

“
We're all set.”

Kenn narrowed in on the Mess. Hilda and Peggy were unpacking the truck and it wasn’t hard to guess which female the giant man was eyeing after all the stories flying through camp.

“
You should go talk to her.”

“
What?” Doug stared like Kenn had three heads.

Kenn shrugged. “You’re allowed a personal life.”

You don't understand
, Doug thought.
You don't look like me.

Doug was addicted to the dream of rebuilding as much as the rest of Adrian’s refugees, but the idea of finding a woman among Safe Haven’s hens was terrifying. No one wanted a hulk like him.

“
Doug?”

“
I don't need a woman.”

Kenn flashed to one of his last moments with Tonya, to the way she’d had him shuddering and groaning. The Marine snorted. “If you say so.”

Doug quickly pushed Kenn’s words out in favor of the silent worship from afar that he’d been doing for months now. She wouldn’t have anything to do with someone like him, not a strong woman like Peggy, but he liked to look at her. The stern bun she always wore was loose, and the sight of all that strawberry silk gone wild had drawn his eye from across the camp. It glistened in the light of the camp fires like diamonds.