Apparently not.
In the distance, past the rolling hills that hid the ranch house, a cloud of dust rose into the air.
“Somebody’s coming,” Ripper announced. “We gotta be outta here before they get to the gate.” He switched on the engine while everybody else ran to their vehicles. We tore away from Valhalla, leaving behind our own cloud of dust.
As we rode away, I kept twisting my head around to see if they were following us. After a couple of miles, Ripper must have concluded that no one was in pursuit. He signaled a stop. We huddled together on the side of the road.
“What happened to Bear?” Kyle dragged his hands through his hair. “Those assholes better not have hurt him.”
“Nazis, huh.” Levi planted his hands on his hips and squinted at the distance. “So, are we going to leave Valhalla in the hands of freaking Nazis?”
TWENTY-FIVE
Ripper
After driving away from Valhalla, we backtracked for a couple of miles, then turned onto another long, curving driveway. Around a bend, out of sight of the main road, we found a house and barn. We lucked out. No bodies to deal with. The owners must have packed up and headed out when the flu hit.
We parked our vehicles in the barn, then carried supplies into the house, everything we’d need to set up camp, plus all our weapons. No way I’d leave Grandpa Kurt’s stash unprotected in an outbuilding. Place had a well. The electric submersible pump was dead in the water, but it had a hand pump. Couldn’t light a fire in the wood-burning stove—the smoke would announce our presence if the brigade was looking for us—but we pumped water to drink, to prepare dinner, and to wash off the road dust. We set up a two-burner camp stove, powered by a small propane cylinder, and fixed a big pot of dehydrated chili for dinner, along with a skillet cornbread.
Decided to take Levi along when I scouted out Valhalla that night.
“Seriously? You’re replacing us with a seventeen-year-old?” Kyle demanded when I broke the news. “Just because the kid can build booby traps and knows the difference between an AK-47 and a Tav...Tav…whatever it is.”
“Tavor.”
“Right, a Tavor. Just because he knows weapons doesn’t mean you can count on him more than you can us.” He pointed at Sahdev and himself. “Honestly, that’s damned insulting.”
“Levi knows firearms and how to build booby traps,” I agreed. “Ain’t the reason I’m bringing him along to reconnoiter Valhalla. I know that I can count on the two of you.” I pointed at the men. “What I don’t know yet is if Levi’s temperament matches his skill set. He’s young. I wanna spend some one-on-one time with him. See if he keeps a cool head on a mission. If he follows my orders, or if he gets pissy and argues when I tell him what to do.”
Nobody elected me, but I was in charge. When push came to shove, every group needed a leader, a final authority when a decision had to be made. I was it, especially when it concerned strategy and keeping us safe from outside threats. Nobody else had my experience or was capable of my brutal efficiency.
“I need to be there,” Kyle argued. “Bear is my friend. I have to find out if he’s alive or if those bastards killed him.”
I clapped a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Get where you’re coming from—you don’t wanna leave a brother in enemy hands—but my mind is made up.”
Kyle opened his mouth to argue. I shot him a look that quashed any further debate.
“Okay.” He threw his hands in the air, giving up. “But if you go back, will you at least promise to bring me the next time?”
“Yeah.” The concession cost me nothing. I’d already planned to do just that.
Half an hour before sunset, Levi and I got ready to hike back to Valhalla. We’d be traversing uneven ground in the dark, so we’d wear night vision goggles. We’d topped off their charge with our solar powered USB battery pack as soon as we arrived. I’d carry my Colt and the Tavor, in case things went to shit and we found ourselves in a firefight. Levi opted for grandpa’s Glock 17.
In case of trouble, Kyle, Sahdev, and Mac would keep their sidearms close while Levi and I were gone. They pulled the blinds and turned the lanterns on low, so the house wouldn’t light up like a beacon in the night.
While Levi was saying goodbye to Hannah, I took Mac’s hand and led her into the back bedroom where we’d thrown our sleeping bags. Had a surprise for her. I’d hung her solar powered moon lantern in a corner of the room. The glowing orb had helped her out after her ordeal with the impostor cop. I hoped seeing it again would make her feel better now that our hopes for Valhalla had gone south, and I had to take off to scout the place.
“My moon lantern.” She crossed the room and gently touched it. “When you gave it to me, we came this close to kissing for the first time.” She smiled and held a thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart.
“Yeah. Didn’t kiss then, but we’ve made up for it since then, wouldn’t you say, Mac?”
“Yes. Yes, we have.” Her smile faltered. “And after Jason...every time I woke up in a panic, you were there, and the moon lantern was chasing away the shadows.” The shadows were in her eyes now, old demons stirring to life. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Mac’s hands were clenched. Soon as she said the words, she frowned and shook her head, as if mad at herself for voicing her fears.
Mac fought hard to get over her fear of abandonment, but it was still there, hovering in the background, ready to rise up and bite her in the ass. Couldn’t blame her. Not after her parents both ditched her without a backward glance. Not after we’d been separated twice in the past month, with absolutely no guarantee that we’d ever find each other again.
Mac was afraid of being left behind. I was blown away that I’d connected so deeply with anybody, that home meant people and not just the place where I slept and stowed my shit. Maybe it wasn’t the most promising basis for building a relationship, but what we had was good. I wasn’t gonna fuck it up.
I gripped her hips and hauled her close. “No way I’ll do anything stupid or careless. Not when I have so much to live for.”
She nodded. “I know that, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from asking.”
“It’s a reconnaissance mission. Don’t expect any trouble, but if trouble finds us, I want you to know that I will burn down the world to make it back to you.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, Mr. Solis.”
“You do that.” I tapped her nose. “Your phone’s charged. How about you settle down in here and read one of your romance books. Maybe one with a sexy biker and a hot college coed, then later, we can finally act out one of the scenes.”
Mac groaned, but the sparkle had returned to her eyes. “Why did Kyle have to show you my e-book library? Can’t a girl have any private fantasies?”
“If you keep your fantasies private, how am I gonna make them come true?”
She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “You already have.”
“Darlin', we just got started. Got some fantasies of my own I wanna try out.”
Mac blushed. After months together, after everything we’d done to each other, her cheeks still flushed red when I talked about sex. It was fucking adorable.