Essential Beginnings (16 page)

“You need sleep.” Mav bent to pick up his coffee and the hand towel. He walked around the couch to the kitchenette, leaving Henley feeling like they hadn’t resolved anything. He was always making choices for her that she didn’t technically agree with. It was frustrating, but if she were honest…it was the sexual frustration that was really getting to her. “I’ll take the couch for a couple of hours before I relieve Ernie if it’s all right with you. I don’t think we should be separated right now.”

“Wait.” Henley stood and faced Mav, needing some closure and clarification before either of them did anything else. His brown eyes had become hooded, preventing her from seeing what he was thinking or feeling. She now felt like she was walking on eggshells, but damned if she would wilt under the pressure now. “I’ll take the next watch. I can pull my weight and to set the record straight, while I did have some issues a few years ago, I’m more than capable of making sound decisions and contributing.”

“Did you hear me say you couldn’t?” Mav asked with a slight warning in his tone that she chose to ignore. “Let
me
be clear. I have never and will never put stock into what that idiot Rat says. I also have never thought you
weren’t
capable, but I will stand up for you if I think you’re being naïve or taken advantage of. As for me wanting you safe, that’s not going to change. I’m a protector. It’s in my nature. It’s who I am and I won’t apologize for it.”

Henley sensed that Mav was talking about two separate issues and while he soothed her ruffled feathers in one area, the other was still filled with landmines where she needed to tread carefully. She could see the tension radiating in his broad shoulders. She wanted him to feel safe with her, but it was more than apparent that he thought she was still judging him. Oh, how the tables had turned and it was up to her to prove that she wasn’t anything like his mother or those people that had made him feel less than appreciated.

“Like I said, I’ll relieve Ernie in two hours,” Henley stated, taking a deep breath and feeling more steady. She gestured toward the couch and the throw blanket as Mav picked up his rifle off of the counter. “I agree we should stick together, so make yourself comfortable. I’ll wake you when you’re up on rotation.”

Henley made her way to the bedroom and sensed Mav’s dark eyes on her the entire time. It would do her some good to be by herself, so she could sort through the varying emotions over everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Their lives had inevitably changed and nothing would ever be the same. She hesitated at the door, looking over her shoulder to find that Mav was still standing where she’d left him. Her mother had always tried to look for the silver lining and Henley channeled that mindset…Maverick Bennett was her blue sky among the inescapable ashes.

Henley went directly to the closet after she’d entered her bedroom and took down a heavy cardboard box Ernie had given her a month ago as a present. She took it over to the bed and opened the top as if she were unwrapping the foil from a hot potato fresh from the oven. Inside were several items; chiefly among them was a navy blue plastic box bearing a symbol of three small circles and three upturned arrows inside a larger circle. Ernie had explained to her that she needed a weapon of her own and he’d managed to do some horse trading down at the bait and tackle shop for some antique lures he’d found up at the lodge when he’d first bought the place.

Henley opened the blue case to find her brand new Beretta Px4 Storm .40 Caliber subcompact, still glistening with CLP from when Ernie had shown her its operations and cleaning procedure. Tonight, she would have the first occasion to wear the holster he had bought for it. Everything she knew had changed and she would have to change along with it. Not only would she have to be armed in this new world, she would have to be willing and able to use her weapon on a living person.

A
n hour had
passed while Mav had sat near the window in a darkened room, peering out into the cloudy moonlit night watching for manmade shadows amongst the shimmering iridescent glow. Hard edges had been what they had taught all of them—look for the hard edges and definable features.

Heavier clouds were now rolling in that had nothing to do with the volcanic eruption, but it did hamper visibility deeper into the tree lines. Ernie had stopped back not thirty minutes prior with a couple of Midway two-way radios with a basic encryption set so that they could all keep in contact with one another without the other team listening in, even taking time to raid the coffee maker for the remainder of hours-old coffee that had been left in the pot to stew. The older man didn’t ask what had been said between Mav and Henley, nor did he ask if things had been resolved. Mav would seek advice if he needed and now wasn’t that time.

“I’ll take the next shift,” Mav said softly, having heard the rustling of Henley’s jeans as she made her way back into the living room. He’d heard her lie down a while ago, but she’d been restless. He doubted that she’d even closed her eyes. “You haven’t slept, so try to get some rest. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

Henley didn’t reply, although she did surprise him when she continued to quietly walk his way only to maneuver herself in front of him. She sat directly in between his legs, gently took his arms, and then wrapped them around her waist while she leaned back up against him. Mav needed this intimacy as much as she did and he rested his chin on top of her head, breathing in her lavender scent and absorbing the heat from her body. They sat that way for quite a while, the silence comfortable for once.

Mav had gone through his adult life thinking he’d conquered his insecurities regarding his childhood and she’d brought them out as if the uncertainties had been hiding right below the surface. It didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t help but wonder if it had been her past that had clouded her judgment or if she really did see something in him that had cautioned her to keep her distance. His concern brought back unwanted thoughts and feelings, which he wanted to turn off. He hadn’t doubted himself on any level in so long that this was like a punch to the gut. He refused to be weak when others were counting on him to be strong.

“Tank doesn’t believe Kellen when he says that the military base is offering refuge to any citizen who can make their way to the base,” Henley said, her voice low enough that he had to strain to hear her. And there it was. Distrust. She was more likely to believe someone else and put in her life in danger if she didn’t trust him. “I can tell you don’t like him, but is there any way he could be telling the truth?”

“I’m more inclined to trust my instincts and Ernie,” Mav answered cautiously, doing his best to shove aside his doubts. They wouldn’t serve him well and could only end up hurting them in the long run. “Truman knows more than he’s letting on and I don’t think he booked this fishing trip out of the blue. There is a way to find out if the base is accepting people and that’s to use the HF radio inside the bunker. I’ll do that when it’s my shift and we’ll have an answer before we leave for town. I locked down both of the main entrances into the bunker from the outside. You can’t enter from the cliff face truck entrance or the lodge utility tunnel anymore without having someone to unlock them from the inside. The Stump Tunnel and the NG Wellhead Security Door are on keypad now. I reset the primary codes to the secondary set earlier. If you use the Wellhead Tunnel, reset and engage the gate charging system each and every time. We have no clue whether or not Kellen is here to secure the bunker as part of an advanced team.”

“I remember when he called to make his reservation and it had to be in January,” Henley said, even offering up the fact that Truman had booked his cabin for four weeks with a likelihood extension of another two. Mav would have contacted someone back in Chicago to do a background security check had the lines been working. They were in the dark with what this guy’s intentions were with that option out of the question. It was highly doubtful the men at the base would know Truman, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. The most important thing right now was confirming Fairchild AFB was taking in those seeking shelter. “I find it odd that he would have known something like this was going to happen and now that it did, why send people away if he’d already figured out what Tank had about the area being a select region that might provide a chance at survival?”

“I don’t know, but that just means we have to be even more careful and watch each other’s backs.” Mav wondered about his four buddies out there, maneuvering through what must be thirty millimeters of ash closer to the supervolcano. The only one out of all of them that would have a harder time of it would be Van. He’d been in New York with the bigwigs working at a financial institution and while he’d always made sure his home was well armed against intrusion, he didn’t have access to survival items needed for this type of catastrophe. “We’ll protect what we can until the guys get here and then reevaluate our situation.”

“Should we move the residents here?”

“Yes, at least within the next couple of days. Preferably tomorrow,” Mav replied, already knowing this place was easier to fortify than the entire town of Lost Summit. It was convincing the residents that it was for the best that would pose a problem. Jeremy and couple of his local friends who were in their mid to late twenties had come home to help their parents work the stores in town for the tourist season that came each summer and they would more than likely understand the need to set up a main camp and collect supplies. It was the older generation that would be harder to convince. They would probably refuse to accept that society in general had changed. It would be easy to have someone monitor the HF radio for any emergency calls from Berke, Owen, Mason, or Van on a rotating shift once Ernie and Mav had everyone transitioned up here at the lodge. “At least those that have stayed. Some may have moved off during the night.”

Henley turned in Mav’s arms at his declaration, her green eyes searching his. He’d turned off the lights at the start of his shift to simulate them knocking off for the night and allow his night vision. Now there was barely any moonlight. She wouldn’t find the reassurance she was looking for so he stroked her arms, which were now covered in a heavier sweater than she’d worn during the day. She gently laid her palms on his chest and her warmth soaked through his shirt, reaching his skin.

“Are you saying you think a number of people have already left?” Henley whispered as if she were afraid to hear the answer. It wasn’t a truth she could hide from and Mav was also troubled that people they cared about had fled in the middle of the night. “Where to? The border patrol agent won’t let them cross, Mav.”

“They need to find that out on their own and most likely the Canadians have already beefed up the main border crossings. The smaller outpost north of town may not be as secure. That road links up directly with Alberta #3 Crowsnest Highway on the Canadian side. Ernie will be listening to the police two-way radio and the shortwave, so we’ll know if anything changes overnight. People might feel that they have the right to cross in spite of what the border patrol agent says.” Mav’s thoughts went in a totally different direction when Henley’s fingers pressed deeper into his chest. He rested his hands on her waist, standing them both up and planning to finish this conversation so that she could go back to her bed…alone. “Look, you need to get some rest. Go back to bed and then I’ll wake you up for your shift. We’ll see who’s still here in the morning.”

Henley didn’t reply or move, causing the tension in the room to rise. She slowly slid her hands higher up around his neck, her body pressing closer to his. He’d imagined this moment for a very long time, but never had it included an apocalyptic backdrop. Decisions in extreme circumstances were never made with rationalism. Mav should have pulled away for both their sakes, but he couldn’t.

“Come with me.” There was no hesitation in Henley’s voice. “Come to bed with me.”

“You’re scared,” Mav replied, justifying her request in a way that she could understand. This situation wasn’t life and death at the moment and he didn’t want her to regret this decision since they still had to wake up in the morning. It was better to wait and he did his best to alleviate the situation with some lightheartedness. “Learning that the world as we know it will never be the same can do that to a person. On the bright side, we don’t have any zombies attacking.”

How Henley managed to spike up the sexual tension in the room was beyond him, but she did. She lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips on his ear, her breath sending electrical currents down his neck. Damn if he didn’t want to throw sanity to the wind and see where this took them.

“Please come to bed with me, Maverick,” Henley whispered before pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Don’t make me beg on my hands and knees.”

Visions of Henley pleading with him to make love to her while kneeling at his feet slammed into his mind’s eye and he kissed his tactical sanity goodbye. Regardless that he knew this act was only to give them a temporary sense that they were still here, that they were alive and well, he quickly lifted her until her legs wrapped around his waist and captured her lips. A hard bulge on her waistline attracted his attention for the first time. She was wearing a clip holster with some type of subcompact pistol poking into his abs. They were going to have to talk about that later. He didn’t need a flashlight to lead their way to her bedroom. He’d mapped it out in his head the moment he’d set foot into her cabin, just as he did with every room or building he entered since his training had started back in the day. This time…the deep-rooted habit came in handy for an entirely different reason.