Hell's Fortress (30 page)

“You were out there. You know the answer to that.”

“It won’t do any good. If they come, we’ll fight them off. Again and again if we have to. We have no choice.”

“I know,” she said. She wrapped her arms around Steve’s waist and leaned her head against his chest. “The rest of the valley is worrying about that. Let them, just for tonight.”

He lifted her chin and kissed her. And then he pulled her toward the door to go back inside.

Outside the valley, the world was burning to ash. Cities turning to dust. Millions dying from starvation and disease. The desperate survivors knew about this sanctuary and were descending upon it like clouds of locusts.

But for tonight, that was not their concern. Steve barred the front door and led Eliza toward their bed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my agent, Katherine Boyle, for her help and advice. Thanks also to my great team at Thomas & Mercer, with a special mention to Anh Schluep, Terry Goodman, Jacque Ben-Zekry, and David Downing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo © 2011 David Garten

Michael Wallace was born in California and raised in a small religious community in Utah, eventually heading east to live in Rhode Island and Vermont. An experienced world traveler, he has trekked through the Andes, ventured into the Sahara on camel, and traveled through Thailand by elephant. In addition to working as a literary agent and innkeeper, he previously worked as a software engineer for a Department of Defense contractor, programming simulators for nuclear submarines. He is the author of more than a dozen novels.