Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (38 page)

Angela’s laughter stopped even the Eagles in the shadows and they stared at her in wary confusion.

She slowly stopped, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry… it’s just that you have so much loyalty for him and he feels none toward you.” She shook her head. “Such odd alliances have come from the War.”

Angela turned toward Lee, his thoughts easily read on his face. “And if I tell you what you want to know, will you then support me and abandon Kenn?”

It was the moment some of the Eagles had feared, her using her new freedom to usurp authority, but there was no denying that she was more worthy than the Marine Zack’s team was ready to help.

Lee nodded. “To know, I’d swear loyalty to the wolf and his master.”

Angela cracked a smile. “I won’t ask for it. You’ll accept me when you’re ready. As for your question, talk to Adrian. I’ll try to answer it if he says it’s okay.”

There was a dumbfounded silence as all of them realized she’d reminded them of who was in charge here - Adrian, not Kenn. She sneered at Zack. “Kyle’s coming through the trees to your left. Don’t shoot him.”

“
Bossman
says for you to meet him in the training tent.”

Angela thanked Kyle as he revealed himself and moved away. Around her, shadows followed and she tried not to appear worried. Kenn was out there somewhere, probably with a scope searching for her head. The moment she’d feared for so long was here and it was terrifying.

Kyle had heard her last words and the few Eagles still in the shadows were quick to fill him in. When he looked at Lee, the pain there was too great to deny.

“I’ll do it this once because she wants it. From now on, anyone else can go to him themselves and explain why it’s worth her wasting that kind of power.”

Angela ducked into the training tent with a feeling of relief, but she didn’t let her guard down yet, not sure if it was a trap by the Marine to get her alone. The Kenny she’d survived before the War was capable of that and worse.

Adrian was waiting for her in the large hayroom and Angela felt better. He wasn’t as worried and that meant he still had faith that Kenn would do the right thing. She hoped he was right.

Adrian saw her control, her fear, and knew he’d been right to put himself with her instead of an Eagle. This was the most dangerous time, the chaos while they were closing the gaps in security. He would have to be relieved before daylight came, but for now, his presence would be a distraction for her and also for Kenn, who should be set up and watching by now, like Marc thought. Adrian wasn’t sure his words had been enough and until he was, he planned to stay close to her. Kenn wouldn’t take the chance on hitting him, to get to her. Anyone else was likely a dead bird.

“Ready for a lesson?”

Angela started to say no, but stopped. She was too wound up for anything else.

“You’re the boss. I just hang here,” she joked distractedly.

He grinned back, keeping his distance. “Good. Show me the moves Neil taught you.”

Eager to work off some of the tension, Angela began dropping guns and gear. Outside, a dirty drizzle began to fall, bringing the fog with it.

Chapter Eleven

1

Dawn hit the refugee camp slowly.

Fog, thick and waist-high in places, had moved in overnight, covering Safe Haven with a mysterious, dingy gray canopy that had the guards tripled and everyone who knew about Kenn’s snap, on high alert. The Marine could be out there right now, sneaking in to do what he had threatened.

Camped out in the large hayroom, Angela tossed and turned. The awful dream wouldn’t let go of her and she muttered lowly, waking her son with words of danger and death - hers.

Charlie listened with a worried heart, the sense of something about to happen thick in the cold air. He’d been scared when he found out Kenn now knew who his dad was, but he had been terrified for her and was glad Adrian and the Eagles had put them under guard. Not sure what to do, but positive trouble had come, he quickly dressed and slipped out.

On duty, Marc caught the teenager’s eye as he came from the tent, but got only a tense glance that had the father looking around for any signs of Kenn. Marc swept the fog harder, now accepting that his bad feeling had grown into an awareness of blood about to spill. What had he missed?

Kyle and Neil sipped from steaming mugs, one slowly waking, and one refusing to sleep. They had just finished updating each other about Mitch and Rick, and the hunt for a new Com truck. Both tired males wondered what Charlie was doing, but didn’t stop him to ask. The teenager’s shadow was Seth, appearing as confused as them, but with that expression of intense need on his face there was only one person the teenager wanted and it wasn’t either of the men who had a father’s claim.

Adrian’s eyes shot open at the silent words, not hearing the camp or his men, only the worried thoughts and images of the boy now begging him to do something.

 
“They’re coming for her.”

Adrian met him at the flap. “When?”

The teenager linked their minds like he had with Marc, and then fate was all around them and they both were running for the training tent.

On the hill above them, where the layers of damp fog concealed everything, Kenn was waiting. Blind up and Ghillie on, he’d been set and ready since midnight. Tonya had packed everything he needed to accomplish this last mission and it was too bad he wouldn’t get the chance to thank her.

The fog below parted, revealing the barest shadow, and he used instinct to help guide him to his target; the
killer
instinct his government had honed. Small, Kenn would have dismissed the shadow if not for the adult form moving close behind. Who would have a guard right now? His targets.

The Marine moved his scope to cover the main entrance of the training tent, but his eyes watched what he could see of the sides and back as well. Brady would have her in the hayroom, where the bale walls were too thick to be sure of a kill shot. And where Adrian might still be, too. Smart. Brady knew Kenn wouldn’t kill the blond or even trim him by accident. If Marc kept Angie and Adrian close, it might take a while to get a clear shot.

Kenn studied the hayroom intently. He was on his own line now. There was time to spare and if Adrian thought his rage could be stopped with a short radio call, the blond Leader was in for a huge shock. It didn’t matter that Kenn’s heart had clenched with longing to be back on Adrian’s right or that he’d even been halfway to that coveted place before he’d stopped. They would never really let him back in and the person responsible had to… whose shadow was that creeping along the ground near the flap of the training tent?

When Angela moved out of the hayroom, Eagle’s tired eyes ran over her, checking, but no one told her to stay put and she headed for the tent flap. The first-ever rookie tryout for females was about to happen and she wasn’t missing it. She’d spent most of the night worrying, but she’d come to understand that whatever was meant to happen, would. Like Adrian felt, she too knew they couldn’t outrun fate.

As Angela stepped outside into the chilly fog, she saw what she’d failed to account for, but it was too late to avoid the knife sliding around her throat.

Time slowed as the blade drew blood and the voices in her head began demanding survival. She tensed against him, preparing to fight.

Dean growled at her, dragging them toward his waiting jeep. “Be still!” The knife went deeper, blade spotted red, and Angela stopped fighting. If he couldn’t take her out of here, he planned to kill her.

Adrian and Charlie rounded the corner of the training tent as Marc dropped from the tree behind them.

Realizing he was trapped, the twin jerked her closer, using her as a shield. “Stay back!”

Angela met Adrian’s eye, knowing only he would have the strength to do it and got his subtle nod in return. The brother wouldn’t leave this camp alive, no matter if she had to fall, too.

“Let her go!”

Neil grabbed Marc before he could rush in, and Doug helped him wrestle the Wolfman back as Kyle and his team moved closer.

“Let me go! He’ll kill her!”

 
“Eagle lessons, Ten.”

At Adrian’s words, every man in the area faded back and prepared to do it by the book.

Feeling Dean’s determination to take her away or see her dead, Angela drew on her courage and relaxed her body as much as she could. Blood trickled down her chest as she shrank back against the burning man. Almost a caress, the surprise loosened his grip for a brief second that she didn’t waste.

Twisting, the blade sank in deeper, and she braced against the pain as she swung her arm back to catch his flesh in a yanking vise. The knife flared into her skin, making her moan, and their sounds were mirrored agony.

“Bitch!”

Angela shoved at his loose arm, ducking beneath it and Dean swung wildly as she spun away.

“Lookout!”

“Open Fire!”

“Angie!”

“Mom!”

 
“
AAhhhh
!” Angela screamed as Dean’s knife sank into her shoulder instead of her neck and her hand clutched for her holster as she fell.

Pop!

Dean’s face drained of life as Angela stared in scared confusion. Between his glaringly dead eyes, was a huge round hole that began to ooze crimson in small rivulets.

Kenn slowly lowered the rifle, heart now thumping with that familiar feeling of victory. Boo-ya! He’d made the shot!

And they all knew. The Eagles were staring up at him in shock and the Marine snapped a quick salute that Adrian returned with a grin of welcome. He’d saved her. Now, Adrian would forgive him his flaws and let him back into the fold.

Angela caught the thought, even through the din of voices surrounding her, and she shoved into Kenn’s mind as Marc swung her into his arms and headed for the medical tent.

“Only for Adrian and your place?”

“You know it.”

“Then I owe you nothing.”

“Agreed.”

Following Brady, Adrian handed out orders with a steady voice and a worried heart. They’d almost lost her! “Check-in of all guards. Get everyone in the Mess and accounted for. Pull those steel plated rigs around it and get rid of that body! Call in all shifts and set up a perimeter.”

“No need.”
Angela’s thoughts were surprisingly calm considering how much blood and pain she was covered in
. “He was alone. It’s over.”

“But how would I know that? Careful cover. Remember it.”

Angela was only vaguely aware of how many camp members were running their way. ”
I will.”

In the dark about the drama that had played out behind the scenes, the camp was there to greet Kenn as he walked down the hill in his handmade sniper cover. A large part of the startled crowd met him, some of the Eagles as well, but Adrian was nowhere to be seen and the Marine stored it, bitterness still festering. He’d known Brady would run to her side, but he hadn’t expected the Boss to.

As he moved toward his truck, he tossed the brass to Kyle. “Give that to him; tell him I want my place back.”

Kyle nodded, sliding the hot metal casing into his pocket. Like him or not, Kenn was needed. None of them had been able to make that shot without hitting her. Even Brady had flinched when Doug let him go. Adrian had been drawing his own weapon when Kenn fired, but it would have been late. The Marine had saved her life and Kyle had little doubt Adrian would give Kenn his place back in reward.

He watched Kenn get welcomed by Tonya in a way that had the Eagles guarding the parking area, staring in surprise. Most of them hadn’t known the two were having an affair. Kyle frowned at the term. Neither of them was seeing anyone else. That was more like a relationship. Would he abuse her, too? Would Adrian care?

2

“Did he know? Did he let him get that close to you intentionally?” Adrian demanded, the need to do something overwhelming. She’d gotten hurt on his watch!

Angela shook her head, wincing as fresh warm drips ran down her arm from the movement. She was thinking about how Kenn had lingered long enough to make sure she’d be marked. This searing wound was his payback. “Yes.”

Marc and Adrian both turned to John.

“Is she okay?” Brady’s tone was threatening.

The doctor snorted, snapping on a pair of gloves with angry movements. “Does she look it?” John elbowed his way through them to get back to her. “Make a hole!”

Both Marines instantly responded to the tone, moving to linger near the flap.

Angela’s grin quickly became a grimace as John dumped alcohol over the heavily bleeding gash and began wiping at it.

“You all right, Lass?” Doug’s big head had appeared through the flap, face bandaged, and she held still, flashing a too-bright smile instead of moving. “Just a bit dizzy, is all.”

The big man grinned wryly before ducking out. “You get that a lot here.”

“Ready?” Angela did nod this time and the hardened men by the doorway both winced at a fresh gush of blood.

“Don’t do that!” John snapped, wishing Anne was here instead of babysitting.

“Sorry.” Angela smiled at him through the stinging and throbbing.

The upset doctor blew out a sigh. “Hold still now, sweetheart, okay?”

“Yes.”

John moved the needle toward her skin and Marc took a step closer. “Aren’t you going to numb it?”

“No.” Angela’s voice was like stone. “I’m losing a lot of blood. Let him get it closed.”

That had the worry replacing the anger and Marc forced himself to watch the needle moving into her bloody flesh. This was what she was in for as an Eagle and he knew without asking that this wouldn’t be enough to get her to quit. He would have to be able to take seeing her hurt, over and over.

Angela began to block him as she picked up that thought. When her stomach lurched, she tried not to let it show on her face.

“Angela?” Adrian’s voice was full of the need for answers.

“He felt it coming and went to higher ground to see above the fog. That’s what you tell them.”

Adrian ignored Marc’s warning glare, thinking her being accepted as an Eagle wasn’t just ruffling Kenn’s feathers anymore. Brady was about to start fighting it for real. “Now, give me the truth.”

“He did it for you.”

“To get back in?”

“He was rolling through the motions, getting set, when he spotted… Dean slipping in and made the right choice.”

“ And, if there hadn’t been an attack?”

Angela’s voice was soothing to both men. “He would have taken his own life rather than destroy your dreams. I was only in real danger from him before your call.”

She felt Adrian’s relief and kept her knowledge to herself. Kenn had weighed killing both her and Dean with a single shot and claiming accident. The only thing that had stopped him was the certainty Adrian would never forgive him, but the Marine had made sure she would have something to remember from it.

“You should get out of here. It looks funny.” Angela’s words had one man grinning and the other tensing.

Eager to have the camp back to normal, Adrian ducked out, leaving Marc to stare at her remorsefully.