Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (44 page)

Leaving him speechless, she turned to the curiously waiting people. “My apologies. Even the War couldn’t destroy teenage angst.”

Moving by the over-guarded
Qz
, Adrian heard the sharp remark and smothered his grin. You could only have a light touch for so long and then a heavier one was required. He got a nod from Doug and kept going. It was her first time meeting the new arrivals without John there to direct her or alert the guards to any problems, and all the Eagles were nervous about it.

Waiting until he was out of sight of the area, Adrian waved Kenn over, seeing the Marine was ready to head out for a shift on road clearing. Things were far from fixed between them, but the much quieter man was working on it. Kenn had spent most of the last week out of camp, gathering food, water and fuel. Tomorrow evening, he, Zack, and a small team would leave on a Slaver recon. In their case, no news was not good news, but a sign of danger.

“I need photos this time. If you get the op.”

Kenn knew he would make the time. On this, he and Neil agreed. The Eagles were ready, but until Kyle put his vote with theirs, Adrian wouldn’t budge. There was complete trust of the Mobster’s judgment there and it bothered Kenn as much as it always had, only now there wasn’t a struggle inside to hide it. His true nature, surly and quick to spark, was on view for all to see. Kenn and the camp were both slowly adjusting.

“Main men, special spots and weapons?”

Adrian’s voice hardened with a frustrated anger that told Kenn the blond leader wouldn’t be able to ignore the threat much longer.

“Everything. Their chain of command, captives, blood - get it all.”

Kenn wasn’t sure why it was so important to get it now, but anything was better than being here and seeing Angela be welcomed by the Eagles for her determination and strength. He’d tried very hard to crush those things.

“Marc, wait up!”

Neil’s loud call caused their heads to turn and Kenn spun away from the parking area like he’d been burned. He may have to accept the changes and he would, but it didn’t make the need to kill Brady any easier to deal with.

“Hey, Brady!”

Marc couldn’t keep ignoring the Trooper like he had been for the last week. After seeing the way Angela was so set on being an Eagle, he wasn’t even sure he was angry about the Kai lesson anymore. A couple of shoulder slides were nothing compared to watching the clumsy Trooper put in that stitch.

Waiting, Marc saw Charlie sitting next to Angie, Dog at their feet, and felt his heart clench. His happy family… except they weren’t his anymore than they were Kenn’s. After this morning, he wasn’t sure if the small hope he had held for them still existed. If Angie wouldn’t give up being an Eagle, he would end up leaving and it was that thought that stopped him from doing more than nodding at his son when Charlie turned his way
. It would be easier if there wasn’t a bond yet
, he thought, and realized he had expected the teenager to be upset that his mom now knew their secret. Instead, there was only sympathy in a quick message.

“Don’t sweat it. She’s sharper now.”

Marc’s mind flashed to the morning’s fresh set of bruises.
“Tell me about it.”

Neil was glad Marc hadn’t embarrassed him by refusing to stop. “Can we talk a minute?”

Marc shrugged wryly. “I’ve got the time if you do.”

Neil gestured toward the small wooded area outside the tape. “Let’s take a short walk.”

The two men slipped out of camp with only a few witnesses. One was Jeff, the guard on the area and that man hesitated. Those two weren’t as needed as Adrian. Surely they didn’t need a tail too? Jeff was the only man on Seth’s team who hadn’t swung to Brady’s side yet and he turned his head back toward Safe Haven in defiance. He and Zack had been from the same Texas town before the War. When the horror had destroyed their lives, they’d set out together and it was a bond not easily broken. What Zack thought was best… Jeff intended to go along with.

Of the other two witnesses, one was hoping the guard might feel that way and the other never considered the danger of following three grown men out of Safe Haven’s perimeter.

Neil led them to a secluded area before stopping and then he did what Marc expected least. He took his hat off… and then apologized.

“I’m sorry. I hated it. I only did it because…”

“Of Adrian’s orders,” Marc tried to finish.

Neil shook his head, scowling. “No. Because of Angela. She pushed me too, hard.” Neil sighed, dropping down on a nearby boulder.

“She wants it, Brady. Neither of us has the right to stop her.”

“And when she gets killed?”

“We won’t let that happen.”

“Bullshit! If not for Kenn, the brother would have ended her.”

Neil didn’t answer, couldn’t. It was true.

Marc wanted to stay angry, but the sadness was too consuming and he let the Trooper off the hook. “I’m done. It’ll be her choice from now on.”

Neil sighed in relief, missing the wording. “Good. Now spend some time with her that doesn’t involve an argument.”

Marc let out a snort. “No problem there. I doubt she’ll even speak to me.” He tried not to be bitter when his friend laughed.

“She’s as dangerous as the rest of us, only in different ways.”

“Yeah.”

Now perched carefully in a nearby tree, Becky’s attention was pulled between the talking men and Rick. Clearly, the new guy was spying on Neil and Brady, like she was, but why? Was he really a Slaver in disguise? A delicious chill shot into her gut and she forgot to breathe as the suspected traitor turned her way.

Rick’s vivid stare held her, saying everything she wanted to hear, and yet nothing. He was an exotic, foreign mystery to her slowly awakening female body, and when he turned back to listen, the teenager flushed happily.
He was letting her stay!

Not sure why she hadn’t already alerted someone to the new guy’s odd behavior, Becky studied him, seeing he’d acquired a uniform somehow. He looked like an Eagle… the same Eagles that were adamant about Adrian’s age rules. Rick wasn’t. She could see it in his hot glances and feel it in his body language. If she offered herself to him, there wouldn’t be any hesitation. He would be between her legs before she could change her mind.

As if hearing the thought, Rick turned to look at her again. The open need in his gaze had her mind sending up flares of alarm and her body tightening under his perusal. Suddenly feeling shy, she turned her attention back to the conversation, but not before a small smile of invitation crossed her young lips.

“Are we okay?”

Marc nodded at the question, glad he could. “Yeah.”

Neil’s relief was obvious. “Great.” He did a quick sweep. “You ready to get back?”

Marc laughed. “After you tell me what’s up with you and Samantha. I thought you wanted…”

“Wait.”

Neil’s tone was sharp enough to stop Marc.

“I heard something.”

Becky froze as Neil’s hard eyes swept the area she and Rick were hiding in. But neither of them had moved, she realized, and let herself draw in air as the Trooper turned to scan another direction. He didn’t know they were here.

“What was it?”

“Like a… growl?”

Marc’s mind flashed to Nebraska and the wolf battle that he and Angie had fought to get here. “Let’s go back.”

Both spies held their breath as the two men walked right by them without noticing. When the Eagles were ahead, their shadows followed silently, keeping track of each other’s progress and the conversation.

“Can I ask you something?”

Marc chuckled as they neared the caution tape. He hadn’t repeated his request, waiting to see if the Trooper wanted to talk about it.

“Samantha, no question.”

Neil smiled sheepishly. “That apparent, huh?”

“You need more than a game or a chase. Sam can give you that.”

“I know, I just…”

“Want the other one, too.”

Neil flushed. “Yeah.”

“The problem there is that she won’t stay young and flirty, and you’ll be stuck with a woman who doesn’t have a clue what she wants,” Marc stated as they stopped just outside the perimeter tape. “With the other one, it’s different. She’s seen enough, learned what matters. True survival hasn’t even crossed Becky’s mind. She’s a cute kid, I’ll give you that, but in the end, cute fades and you have to be able to live with what’s left.”

Neil’s own common sense and the comments of his team had been telling him that all along and the cop spoke firmly, “I have to be an Eagle first. My woman would need to understand that.”

Marc chuckled. “Good luck there.”

“You too.”

Marc’s smile faded. “Yeah. We have the gun class together tonight. Should be tense.”

“She’s pissed,” Neil commented, not telling him that he’d heard Angela arrange to switch-off that duty.

Marc didn’t answer, his attention swinging to the woods behind them. Had he heard Neil’s growling noise?

“You
gonna
try to talk to her?”

Marc swept the trees harder, now sensing a shadow and he berated himself for the lack of awareness.

“Probably. You knew we had a tail?”

“It’s Becky.”

“You allow it?”

“Yes.” Neil brushed away a small fly, thinking for being so small, they bit like mosquitoes. It was early for them, but the vet already had a stockpile of salve for the animals’ ears.

“And what about the things she overhears?”

The Trooper shook his head easily. “I didn’t say anything bad. You did.”

Marc laughed and they ducked under the tape feeling like friends again.

Behind them, rage was boiling from both of those listening. Their fears of Neil and Samantha were founded. Instantly bonded by their anger, when Rick moved closer, Becky held still. He would help her keep them apart. And in return?

His expression was one of a wolf about to have a meal, going over her young body with blatant lust.

“I’ll think about it,” she muttered lowly, perched in a tree fork and Rick slowly moved his hands to her small waist to help her down.

“Don’t!”

His hands snapped back like she’d slapped them and her tone remained sharp, “Never without permission!”

Rick’s green eyes narrowed dangerously. “May I?”

Satisfied he knew the rules, she shook her head. “I have plans later. I can’t smell like you.”

Rick’s sexy grin made her knees go weak. “Lucky guy.”

“Yeah, wish he thought so.”

The traitor admired her slim curves again, producing an actual jolt of awareness that had her flushing. “His loss.”

Becky kept eye contact as she moved by him and Rick stepped back, very aware of how much he liked the sneaky girl. So far, she was the only one who had noticed he was out of his tent without a guard. Maybe when this camp fell, Cesar would let him keep her too. Then he would have both of the females Neil wanted.

Neil’s mind was full of Marc’s words as he moved back toward his team. He wasn’t sure enough to try to claim her, but he hoped Sam felt like talking about things. He needed to know if the attraction was as strong for her. The lust he felt for Becky had been sharp for a while, but the need to know Samantha had overpowered it. When he took himself in hand these days, it was cornflower blue eyes and platinum hair in his fantasies.

Struggling with the change, Neil moved into the new garden area and stopped in shock at the sight of Jeremy and Samantha stepping into one of the supply trailers alone together.
We have a problem
, he thought, hands clenching.

Sam jumped as the radio on Jeremy’s belt crackled and she smiled at the overloaded guard. “Do you need to get that?”

“No, what else is on the list?”

Sam turned back to the neat shelves, comparing with her list. They were getting things started for their own food source, and tomorrow, they would get a lesson in planting. “A first aid kit, another rake, 2 hand-shovels…”

For Earth Day, she’d been instructed to plant all the trees they had found during the last supply run. When she’d asked Adrian why, his answer had pleased her.
“It’s for those who come after us.”

Jeremy followed Samantha willingly enough, arms already loaded down. He had volunteered to cart supplies, still running on the instinct that said Neil would check up on her. Good call.

“Would you like to know what one click on the radio means?”

Sam turned to stare at him in surprise. “Sure.”

“Someone’s coming.”

It took her only a second to guess who and put the clues together. “Act one, scene one?”

Jeremy didn’t think he had ever been so close to personal betrayal in his life at her flash of intelligence, and it was hard for him to laugh like it didn’t matter. He wanted to steal her from Neil!

“Confused bachelor confronts slightly willing bachelorette and smitten XO. Take one.”

The door flew up, flooding them with light, and Sam gestured with her hand. “Action!”