Viper (Second Wave Book 1) (3 page)

Lara didn’t wait for him to respond;
she stood up and grabbed the packs before Viper placed his hand over hers. Lara
looked up into unfocused green eyes, her breath catching at his beautiful face.

Shaking her head slightly, she
focused again on his face in the moonlight. She could have sworn that he’d had
more bruises than that earlier.

“Let me carry one of them at least.
I promise I will not fall or slow us down.” Viper said quietly, feeling lost in
the flurry of emotions he felt touching her. Deep, unrelenting sadness flowed
through him until she pulled her hand away quickly.

Lara was shaken by the feel of his
hand on her own. There was something so familiar about him. But she didn’t have
time to think about it or sort it out. It didn’t matter anyway. She had two
promises to keep now, and she would.

Grabbing the heavier pack, Lara
left the lighter one on the ground for Viper and waited until he picked it up
and steadied himself. Gently grabbing his arm again, she guided him back
towards their stopping point for the night.

“Why are you here? How did you get
here?” Viper asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Did you not hear me? This is my
forest. I grew up here my whole life. When I got back from Afghanistan, this is
where I came. It’s the only home I have ever known.”

“The question is, why are you here?
How did you get here? What branch of service are you in?” Lara asked with an
edge of distrust in her voice. Although she felt a strong connection to the
man, she was no fool, and she needed answers as much as he did.

Viper almost smiled at the
determination he could feel in her energy. She was certainly a feisty little thing
he thought, wondering why she didn’t recognize his energy.

“I am here trying to kill them.
They shot down one of our transports. I came to, tied to the tree. I am not a
member of one of the military forces, although we do have members of the
military among our ranks.” Viper said, unsure what to say until he knew more
about her and what he was dealing with.

Lara stopped, Viper again stopping
just shy of walking into her. She was tired, frustrated, confused and her
shoulder was throbbing like a bitch. The last thing she needed was this guy’s
evasive answers, and she was getting ready to tell him just that when she saw
the light flicker in the sky behind him, before hearing the tell-tale whump,
whump of the blades.

“Come on, get down!” Lara said
pulling him down behind a fallen log in the thick underbrush.

They both looked up as the
helicopter flew low over the trees above them.

“They want you pretty bad to get
here this quick. How about you tell me why? Because at the moment I’m in no
mood to dig through bullshit for the truth. The only reason you are alive right
now is because I hate them more than I hate you. Don’t make me change that
opinion.” Lara demanded, turning to glare at him as soon as the helicopter
passed.

She had seen the markings on it,
and even if she hadn’t she would have recognized the sound of one of the Army’s
choppers in her sleep.

“We are a group working to rid them
of their influence in the government and around the world. Obviously, we don’t
exactly announce that to the world in general. It seems to me, you know what
that is like.” Viper said, trying out his hunch to see if he was correct.

With her body half on top of his
own, there was no doubt that he was correct. The energy she radiated to him
couldn’t lie to him. She pulled quickly away from him, as if knowing she was
giving away too much information to him.  

Lara stood quickly and turned her
back to him for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She was surprised when she
heard him stand more easily behind her than he had earlier. It had to be the
adrenaline kicking in from the helicopters; she thought. It was a good time to
reach their destination.

Grabbing his arm again, she set
them off at a faster pace and hoped they could make it to the cave before the
rush wore off both of them. Thankfully, her shoulder was numb, but without the
vicious pain to keep her awake, it was becoming increasingly difficult to
continue. She needed to rest.

Fifty-two minutes and two more
helicopters later, they finally reached the cave. Lara breathed a sigh of
relief as she deposited Viper on a rocky shelf around thirty feet inside.

“Wait here. I need to make sure we
have no innocent furries that we’re scaring.” Lara whispered in his ear, hoping
not to startle him in the dark.

The man was like a rock. Most
people would be freaked out to have been led into a dark hole and left alone,
but he seemed to trust her every move and word. It… unnerved her.

Moving further into the deep cave Lara
noticed that the only thing there that evening was a small family of possums.
The nonchalant look told Lara that they would all be safe and happy if she and
Viper stayed where she had left him.

She saw no reason to frighten the
animals if she and Viper would be just as safe closer to the opening as they
would be farther back near the animals.

Making her way through the dark to
Viper, she popped a light stick from her pack and activated it. Looking around
through the eerie yellow glow of the stick, she was thankful when she saw that
not much had changed since the last time she had been in here.

Moving behind Viper, Lara pushed a
few slabs of rock out of the way and pulled a pack out of the space inside.
Laying it beside Viper, she began pulling items out of it and laying it on the
rock beside him.  

“Here’s some water and an MRE. I’ll
get you patched up, and we’ll make you some food.” Lara said, handing him the
water and silver pouch. She quickly pulled her hand back when she felt the
electricity snapping at her the moment they touched.  

She stared for a moment at his
green eyes, the yellow glow of the light stick making them appear to swirl with
black. His stare made her feel naked, vulnerable in a way she hadn’t felt since
John.

Pulling her gaze away was harder
than she expected, and she almost applauded herself when she did.  

“Thank you.” Viper said, once she
broke the connection and started going through the backpack again.

“So, tell me about these people you
work for. Are they government?” Lara asked before putting the antiseptic on the
cut on his forearm and began cleaning the wound.

Viper sucked in a breath at the burning
pain in his arm. He wasn’t sure what was worse, her attempts to clean it or her
ability to avoid actually touching him while she did it. He greatly preferred
her touch while they spoke, he could read her energy as clearly as the words
she wouldn’t speak.

He had learned a lot from her in
the hours that she had led them here. Much more than she would have ever willingly
told him, he was sure. Which meant it was more imperative than ever that he
speak to his brother.

“We are not associated with any
government. The… terrorists have infected them all. You could call us a ragtag
group of those who are aware of what is happening, and trying to stop it. How
did you come across them? Most people don’t even realize they are there.” Viper
said evenly, watching as she ducked her head and looked away from him as she
finished wrapping his arm.

“Let’s see your leg.” Lara said,
stealing a glance at his face. She waited until he moved his leg onto the rock
and let him push the pant leg up and over the gash in the side of his calf.

“We…” Lara began before clearing
her throat and continuing again. “My best friend and I encountered them
overseas. Unfortunately, they also encountered us. He didn’t make it. How many
of them have infiltrated our government? How many of you are there?”

Viper almost smiled at the
excitement he could feel pouring off of her when she asked if there were more
of him. She was a fighter; he had no doubt of that.

“There are thousands of us, working
all over. You have information on them don’t you? That’s why you’re out here…
hiding, isn’t it?” Viper asked, watching her reactions carefully as she tended
to the cut on his calf.

Lara stole another glance at the
man, before pressing a little too hard on his cut. She ducked her head as he
sucked in a breath through his teeth.

“Where is your base? Who is your
leader? What was your mission here?” Lara asked, squeezing the antibiotic pack
onto his cut.

“You are full of questions, but not
so forthcoming in your own answers. I can understand your hesitance to trust.
What I have seen alone has made me just as distrustful of your people…” Viper
began but was cut off by Lara.  

“Wait. What do you mean by ‘my’
people?” Lara asked studying his face.

Viper felt like smacking himself
for his stupid mistake. She was very intelligent; he thought. Most people
wouldn’t have picked up on that little detail or would have overlooked it. He
would have to be more careful with his words until he knew what the hell was going
on.

“The military.” Viper said, nodding
at her uniform and hoping Lara would accept his excuse. He withstood her
penetrating stare until she finally looked back at his leg with a slight nod.

His initial assessment was correct,
her own team, commanders or both had betrayed her. He wanted to learn more, but
the exhaustion hit him so quickly he swayed before she caught him.

“Hey! Give me a second to get
something ready for you. Can you stay here on your own?” Lara asked, staring at
him as if to judge his strength.

As soon as he nodded, Lara wasted
no time in heading farther back into the cave. Moments later, she returned with
a bulky rolled-up grey item. Viper watched with rapidly dwindling energy as she
flung it out in front of her and laid it down on the ground in front of him.

“Come here.” Lara said holding out
her hand to him. Viper didn’t hesitate to take it and grabbed her tightly. Both
of them jerked back slightly at the rush of energy that hit them. Lara tried to
pull her hand from Viper’s, but he held it too tightly.  

Lara started to panic, trying to
pull her hand from Viper’s as he stood, his unfocused green gaze staring at her
as if he could see into her soul. As soon as Viper felt her fear, he pulled
away from her and immediately swayed, the loss of her energy hitting him
quickly.

Lara didn’t want to touch the
strange man again, but she also couldn’t let him fall. Grabbing the front of
his charred and ripped shirt, she pushed him to the ground and helped adjust
him onto the sleeping bag she’d grabbed from her stash in the cave.

Lara was thankful that the strange
adrenaline rush she got when she touched him only affected her if she touched
his bare skin. It didn’t seem to bother her if she just touched his clothes and
limited her contact.

“I’m sorry. I just need a few hours
to rest.” Viper apologized as she pushed him back until he was lying flat on
the ground on the sleeping bag.

He struggled to focus on her as she
stood back up and chuckled at him. “It’s understandable; you're pretty beaten
up. I’m actually impressed that you made it this far without collapsing sooner.
Just get some rest. We can’t leave until tomorrow anyway.”

Viper closed his eyes and listened
as she moved quietly around the cave for a few minutes. He knew when she
extinguished the strange yellow light and heard her move towards the cave
opening.  

When she didn’t move for several
minutes, Viper knew that was where she would stay while he rested. She would
keep watch to make sure he was safe. He knew without a doubt that she would
keep her word.

Because Viper knew her. Maybe not
the woman she was, but he knew her soul as well as he knew his own, and he knew
he needed to heal as quickly as he could in order to get her to safety, to
Dread and Ratoka.

Because she shouldn’t exist. She
shouldn’t be here. He needed to find out, not only how the hell this was
possible, but what the hell he was supposed to do with her now.  

Chapter
Three

Lara waited until she heard the
deep, even breathing of the strange man before opening the bag she’d carried
with her to the cave entrance.

Pulling out the leather knife
sheath, she carefully placed it between her teeth and bit down, testing its strength.
Satisfied with the give in the leather, she kept it in her mouth as she opened
the bottle of alcohol with her right hand and set it aside.

Lara unbuttoned her shirt and
sucked in a deep breath as she moved the material off her shoulder. Grabbing
the bottle of alcohol, she quickly poured it over both sides of her shoulder
before she could change her mind.

She silently gasped for air as the
burning pain slammed into her senses, causing her hand to shake so hard she
dropped the bottle on the floor of the cave.

Lara bit down hard on the leather
sheath as she struggled to fight the black spots filling her vision and the
scream that threatened to explode from her throat. She fought to take slow,
deep breaths and shuddered slightly when the pain finally eased enough for her
to continue.

She made quick work of bandaging
both sides as best as she could with one hand before stashing everything back
into the small bag and buttoning her shirt again.

Holding the bottle of water between
her legs, Lara opened it with her right hand and set the cap aside. She popped
open two of the packs of pain reliever and downed them at one time along with
half the bottle of water. She’d take some antibiotics once she got to the
cabin, she thought.

She was lucky. Very lucky. The
bullet not only went through; it hadn’t broken any bones that she could tell.
Lara squeezed her left hand into a loose fist and winced at the pain that shot
up her arm. She could use it if she had to, she thought, but it wouldn’t be
fun. 

Leaning her head back against the
rocky wall, she closed her eyes for a minute. She was exhausted. More so than
she normally would be, even with the extra activity and change in destination.
Shaking her head, Lara listened to the sounds of the forest.

She could tell by the subtle sounds
that they were alone and hadn’t been found. Yet. The quick response of those choppers
told her that whoever Viper was they wanted him pretty badly and had no
intention of giving up on finding him anytime soon.

However, she was having a hard time
taking the leap that he was one of those people, like John, who was truly a
good person. Honestly, trying to help make the world a better place and do the
right thing. People like that were rare in this world.

Lara didn’t have the kind of luck
that would drop someone like that in her lap. Someone she could trust enough to
give the tapes to, to help her find the people who killed John.

She couldn’t deny that she felt
something for Viper. An instant connection like she had felt when she had met
John. Only it had felt so much more intense and deeper than what she had felt
with John. Then again, she thought, maybe she was finally cracking up. It would
explain Viper’s disappearing bruises and injuries.

There was no way, in the rising
moonlight, as close as she was, that she had misjudged the extent of the
injuries on his face. His jaw had been swollen to the size of a tennis ball.
His left eye was almost swelled shut. And there was a bruise that had traveled
from his chiseled jaw to his temple.

In the light of the glow stick, his
facial injuries didn’t even need tending. The swellings of his eye and jaw were
almost completely gone. The small cuts that had been scattered around his face,
and neck were now nothing more than specks of dried blood that she had easily
wiped away.  

Even the cut on his forearm had
closed dramatically since she had first seen it in the clearing. No one could
heal that fast. She had either seriously misjudged his injuries, or she was
losing her mind.

Either option was unappealing to
her. If she was losing her skills to judge something so simple, she wouldn’t
make it long out here. If she was crazy, then she would end up in a VA run
psych ward, if she went back. Either way she would end up dead. Dying out here,
alone, was a better plan, she thought, and felt more dignified.

She’d think about it once she got
the intriguing stranger somewhere safe, like she promised him. If she wasn’t
losing her skills, she would bet that if he was telling the truth, then his
people would be coming for him. All she would have to do is keep him alive long
enough for his people to find them.

The problem would be setting up a
system of clues for his people, but not for the enemy. She had a feeling Viper
would be able to come up with something unique that would only speak to his
people if they saw it. Lara made up her mind that she would have him leave the
clues for them to follow when he woke up.

As long as she could keep them away
from the cabin, she could easily disappear into the forest when his people came
for him and head to the cabin when they were gone. She wasn’t going to take any
chances that the cabin would be discovered. By anyone, if she could help it. She
was under no delusions that she could trust the beautiful stranger. Or anyone
else for that matter.

Lara pulled her rifle across her
lap and stretched out her legs, trying to get more comfortable. Leaning her
head back against the wall again, she thought back to the clearing, hoping that
she’d remember a clue as to who he was. And why she felt so… strangely, around
him.

She’d been shocked to see the men
in the clearing and thought they were there for her at first. Then she saw him.
He was staring defiantly at the asshole who had hit him. His green eyes had
flashed with fierce determination, and Lara had felt like the years of
loneliness had disappeared the moment she saw his eyes.

Lara hadn’t cared if he was good or
bad at the time, all she knew was she had to save him. She had recognized the
men who held him. They were all surprisingly similar in appearance to the ones she,
and John had encountered overseas. Similar builds, height, jaw lines…… the only
variations seemed to be eye and hair color. Even the hairstyle was the same
severe military cut.

The most important detail she had
seen, had been the same shoulder sleeve insignia that the ones in Afghanistan
had worn. It was an insignia that she and John had never seen before, denoting
a unit none of them had ever heard of and couldn’t find any information on.  

John had asked around and was told
the same thing everyone else who asked had been told. That they were a
specialized unit on a separate mission and were using their location as a base
of operations. They were to be ignored and forgotten.

Those men in the clearing with
Viper were wearing that same badge. Even if her instincts and soul hadn’t
screamed at her to try to save Viper, the fact that those men were of the same
unit that killed John was enough of a reason to eliminate them in her mind. She
had probably saved dozens of men and women just like John by doing so, she
thought, giving herself a mental pat on the back.

Viper was nothing like those men, and
it had nothing to do with the fact that he was so much like John in so many
ways. She guessed his height to be around six-foot six and weighed at least
three hundred pounds. Most of which was solid muscle, from what she could tell
by the size of his arms and the way he filled out his uniform.

John had been big like that, and
he’d shown just as much attitude as Viper had. Before they had executed him,
she thought sadly. But there was something else about him. Something that called
to her in a way she had never felt before.

Lara smiled wryly. It would figure
that she would finally find a man intriguing, at her age, and her shelf life
had already hit the expiration date. She always had bad timing; she thought.  

While they hiked to the cave, Lara
noted the coordinates of the clearing where she had found Viper. Pulling out a
map, she cross checked the location with where she heard two loud blasts earlier
that morning.

She had assumed, at the time that
it was the quarry doing their weekly blasting a few days early. If she had been
paying more attention, she would have realized that the blasts were not normal,
and they hadn’t come from the direction of the quarry at all.

Lara mentally kicked herself for
being so stupid. If she hadn’t been so distracted she might have been able to
make it to the wreckage. There may have been innocent people that could have
been saved.

Lara fought the memories that came
rushing at her. It felt so real that she could swear she could even smell the
acrid smoke of the burning vehicle, see John laying half out of the window,
flat on his back.

He had been trying to slide out of
the flipped Humvee when the men had walked up to him and without blinking an
eye, they had shot him in the head. Two shots to the head and her brother was
gone. Then she’d blacked out.  

She came to four days later in a
small village. An isolated tribe had found her and pulled her from the
wreckage. If she hadn’t been trapped inside, hidden under one of the seats, she
would have been killed with John.

Lara fought back the tears that had
begun to fall silently down her cheeks. Using her sleeve, she wiped furiously
at her face until it started to sting from the pressure she was using. She had
to pull herself together, or it would be Viper next, and she wasn’t going to
let him die.  

Taking several deep breaths, she
tried clearing her mind. She turned her focus outward, like she had when she
was a child, allowing her senses to soar around her.

Lara breathed deeply, the scents outside
of the cave engulfing her. She easily imagined herself wandering among the
trees and wild flowers that grew outside, passing silently among the various
night creatures that hunted and crept along the forest floor and in the skies
above.

Even as a child the animals had
never bothered her, always staying just out of sight, watching out of
curiosity. As if they knew that she was different. That she didn’t belong. Unlike
her fellow humans, the animals had accepted her though.

If she paid close enough attention
to them, she would hear the warning cries or howls, and the echoing of various
creatures sending the message of danger through the forest. Centering herself
more deeply, she concentrated on the sounds around her for a while.

Lara spent the next several hours
listening for any sign that they had been found and getting everything ready to
move them to their next location while Viper slept. She hoped that his head and
vision would miraculously heal the same way the rest of his injuries had. However,
Lara wasn’t holding her breath; her luck never ran that good.

By the time Viper had begun showing
signs of waking, she had everything packed and ready to go. Hunkered down at
the mouth of the cave, Lara waited until she knew Viper was almost awake before
moving over to him.

Lara’s heart almost melted in her
chest when his big green eyes opened, and he gave her a brilliant smile.
Pushing her thoughts and feelings aside, she handed him a bottle of water and
two protein bars.  

“You need to eat and drink some
water. We have some traveling to do today if we’re going to avoid them. Do you
have a fever?” Lara asked, not waiting for his reply she felt his forehead
herself.

Nodding her head, satisfied that he
wasn’t feverish, she began clearing the cave of any signs that they had been
there. By the time she’d covered her tracks farther back into the cave, Viper
was already standing and trying to fold the sleeping bag.

Grabbing the sleeping bag, Lara
pointed to one of her packs near his feet. “Go ahead and put the trash in there
for now. Then grab that tin of grease paint and write something on the walls
for your people to see that those ass holes won’t be able to decipher. Let them
know we’ll be heading North West, if you can.”

Lara didn’t bother to turn around
and check to see if he was doing as she asked, she turned from him and expertly
folded the sleeping bag and stored it back in its hiding place. She needed the
time to pull her head back into the game.

Watching him wake this morning,
seeing his bright green eyes and his smile had shaken her more than she wanted
to admit. When she’d touched his forehead, she had felt like she had been
plugged into an electrical outlet.

Shaking her head to clear her
thoughts and help wake her up, she headed back into the main cavern where Viper
was writing a message on the rocky wall with her black face paint. She glanced
at it quickly, only understanding part of the cryptic and vague message he had
written.

“How is your vision this morning?
Your head?” Lara asked, standing beside Viper.

Viper turned his obviously
unfocused gaze to her before shaking his head slightly. “I’m sorry; I still
cannot see much. It is clearer than yesterday, but I’m afraid I still won’t be
of much use to you.”

There was no mistaking the sadness
and regret in his voice and for some reason, Lara didn’t want him to feel bad.
Forcing as much cheer into her voice as she could she lightly squeezed his
hand.