“You did this!” Simon growled at Adrian when the man shoved him. “You turned everyone against me.”

  Adrian stepped back, realizing Charlie was right to want Simon dead. “It can’t be me. I’ll finish what Chris started.”

  Marc gestured Morgan to it. “If he becomes a problem, do it as quietly as you can.”

  Simon stumbled, understanding his death was coming sooner than he’d ever anticipated. “I want out of here!”

  “You have one chance for that to happen.” Angela swung around instead of going up the next ladder. “Ready to listen?”

  Simon flinched from her glowing red orbs. “Yes!”

  “Be good. Think good thoughts.”

  “That’s it?”

  Angela snorted, but she didn’t tell him it was too much for him. She motioned toward the ladder. “Your group is ready to hear why they should vote for you.”

  Marc was ready to grab the man as he shoved by Angela to get to the ladder, but Simon was filled with dread and fear. He couldn’t think good thoughts. He didn’t have any.

  “Nice.” Angela grunted as Marc put an arm around her. “Don’t tell Charlie or Simon won’t make it through the night.”

  “Too late.” Adrian pointed to the teenager standing in the shadows by the ladder.

  Charlie was staring at Simon.

  Noticing the teenager, the man climbed faster.

  “Don’t!” Simon screamed. He wasn’t hurt as far as anyone could tell, but the man didn’t stop yelling.

  Angela sighed again. “He’s going to fall off. Catch him.”

  Simon’s screams grew louder and then stopped. He gasped, letting go of the ladder.

  Adrian and Morgan broke his fall with their arms and hips, not catching Simon, but stopping him from being injured. He slumped into a pile at Angela’s feet, wheezing.

  Charlie came from the shadows. He knelt down to dig in Simon’s pocket, ignoring the guards who edged closer to grab him if they had to.

  Camp members were walking around the scene. Some were going to the mess to register their vote–drawn out of their holes at the chance to avoid Simon’s leadership. Instead of fear, they glared at the cringing man on the ground with no sympathy for his pain. In a few of those expressions, Angela also found satisfaction. It sealed the deal for her. Simon wasn’t going to be put in charge, even if the vote went his way.

  Angela took the notebook from Charlie, scanning the pages without responding to any of the thoughts or concerns in the minds around her.

  “It’s a list of the females in our camp who can have children–including the children.” Angela read the names. “Have someone talk to all of them. Find out if Simon has been bothering them.”

  Adrian swayed on his feet, ears buzzing, mind growing foggy. He’d been up for 24-hours now, as had Kenn, Charlie, and Neil. All of them looked rough, but no one doubted they could still be counted on if something went wrong.

  “We wanted him at the vote.” Marc glowered at his son. “You’d better have a good reason.”

  “He threatened Samantha. He was thinking bad stuff about Tracy.”

  “So you popped his nuts for bad thoughts about your girlfriend?” Marc grew angry.

  Charlie shrugged. “I crushed them a little. If you’d heard those thoughts about mom, the man would be dead. Even Adrian wouldn’t hurt her.”

  They all assumed Simon had been thinking about more than sex. He’d been fantasizing about pain.

  “He’s very jealous of the descendants. If he can hurt us, he will. That’s why Chris was handling it.”

  “You knew what the vet was doing?”

  “He should, since he called him.” Adrian knew that was the only way Angela had needed to come down to control Chris. She hadn’t given the order.

  Caught, Charlie wasn’t sorry. “I was trying to keep my hands clean, but you saved him, so I had to interfere.”

  “Why?” Angela wasn’t mad. She was worried she had missed something that Charlie hadn’t. She was also reconsidering her future plans for Charlie.

  “I’m not going to tolerate that anymore, from anyone. Safe Haven is about the good, the light. We have to stop giving evil a pass because of politics.”

  Charlie left the trio of stunned adults standing there. He’d delivered a harsh blow, but they’d needed it.

  He’d also told his mom that he didn’t care about the greater good. He would do what was right all of the time, no matter what it caused or who it hurt. Angela looked at Adrian.

  Adrian shook his head. “Not me. Tracy might be able to do that. He trusts her.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll count on. In the meantime, work hard on those lessons. He won’t take it from me, but he has to be able to view the big picture or I can never put him into a leadership position.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t…want one.” Simon was trying to breathe so that he didn’t pass out. “He enjoyed doing that to me. That’s why…we want you gone. You’re dangerous.”

  “What about your list?” Marc let his demon dig in when Simon didn’t answer. Around the bright pain, Marc saw the fantasy that Charlie and Adrian had. “You want slaves to abuse? Let me make sure you can’t do anything to them.”

  Simon’s screams rang through the cave again, echoing to all corners.

  Now on the bottom level, Charlie smiled in cruel satisfaction and continued his rounds.

  The dim corridors echoed with footsteps now. Inhabitants came from the top and bottom floors to discover who was screaming and why, but the voters didn’t. They recognized the voice.

  Simon didn’t notice. He was turning blue. Angela would have interfered, but Simon’s thoughts had flashed her to the slavers, to Cesar and the rest stop.

  “Are you okay?” Adrian stepped closer to her.

  “Yeah. It doesn’t happen often.” Angela was subdued. “But some horrors you never forget.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Survivor

  1

  It took a long time for Safe Haven to recover from Simon’s screams. The sentries didn’t know what to tell citizens who gathered the courage to ask. Because Simon wasn’t being touched by anyone, most of the camp assumed he was suffering from an acute case of mountain sickness.

  Angela ordered him sedated and a painkiller given, but she didn’t tell Jimmy why. Charlie and Marc hadn’t touched him, but the mental pain had been as debilitating. Simon would stay away from all women when he woke.

  New concerns about the mountain illness kept the camp awake. It meant Angela had to stay up as well. These souls were too twitchy to be awake without the alpha overseeing them.

  Aware of how tired she was, Marc stayed nearby, watching out for her and helping.

  Angela chose to handle one of her scheduled morning meetings now, detouring toward the kids’ room.

  The man sitting there peered up in resignation. “I felt you coming.”

  “You’re worried about nothing.” Angela didn’t have the energy to be subtle. “You aren’t a predator.”

  Shawn flushed a dark red that almost matched the wrinkled shirt he was wearing under his Eagle jacket.

  Angela placed a hand on his wrist, scanning.

  Shawn was relieved that he hadn’t had to ask, but he was also scared that she would tell him she’d been wrong, that he was a threat.

  “Do you feel like a threat?”

  “No, but what about when she’s older? Will I be a danger to her then, like Billy would have been with Leeann?”

  “He wouldn’t have hurt her. They would have broken the rules too soon. With you, that’s not a problem.”

  “Why not?”

  “Missy won’t push you like Leeann would have Billy. She’s not as…forward, though I know it doesn’t appear that way. She’s lonely.”

  Shawn breathed a bitter sigh. “Yeah, who isn’t?”

  “Your mate is here now. I’ll tell you the name when you’re ready.”

  Shawn frowned. “But I thought Tara…”

  “You assumed Tara.”

  “Then the kid.”

  “That’s Missy’s obsession, not yours. Do you remember the exact words of our conversation?”

  Shawn struggled to pull it up. So much had happened since then.

  “Get me to our new home by sunset and I’ll tell you which Eagle to ask for a one-night stand.”

  Shawn laughed. “What if I get you there an hour before sunset?”

  Angela blew him away with, “I’ll tell you which one will sleep with you for the rest of your life if you want her to.”

  “I can still give you those answers, one of them. Choose based on your needs right now, not on what you hope to have later.”

  Shawn leaned in to whisper.

  Angela blinked as he leaned back. “Wow. Really?”

  Shawn nodded.

  “If that’s all it takes to make you happy, consider it done.”

  “Honest?”

  Angela stood up. “Of course. I understand wanting time with him.”

  “You can now, I’ve heard.”

  Her shoulders tensed. “Yes.”

  “But you aren’t.”

  “I’m very busy. We all are.”

  “But still…”

  Angela sighed. “I don’t want to hurt Marc, so I won’t until I can’t stand it. Desperate moments are the only kind we’ll ever have.”

  “Until Marc…”

  Shawn dropped his chin at Angela’s wave of pain. “I’m sorry. It must be awful to know that’s coming.”

  Angela grunted. “Actually, it gives me a chance to alter the future. If I didn’t know it was coming, I’d be blindsided.”

  “That makes sense.” Shawn yawned. “I’d like to be put to work if my punishment is over.”

  Angela chuckled, walking away. “You’ve been on duty over Missy and the other kids this entire time, Eagle.”

  Shawn grinned as he realized she’d been using him without him knowing it. “That is so sexy.”

  Angela’s raspy laughter floated through the tunnels, killing some of the fear.

  2

  Adrian had gone after Charlie. He didn’t believe it was good for the boy to be running loose right now. He needed to be busy.

  Adrian found him on the shattered level, digging through the rubble. “Want some help?”

  “Sure.”

  Adrian spotted the two piles and joined the boy in approval. The blankets and sheets would help the camp and the toys would please the kids.

  “It’ll also get them out of the way while mom works on the next plan to kill everyone.”

  Adrian paused, brow lifting. “You mad at her for that?”

  “No, just cautious.”

  “Maybe you should–”

  “Put myself in her shoes?”

  Adrian gave a curt nod at the rudeness.

  “I can’t do that. She’s the alpha and I barely know what that means.”

  “She’s your mom first and a leader second, most days. You just don’t use her for that anymore.”

  “I don’t think she’s the same.”

  “She’s not. She has evolved. All of us could do it if we were strong enough, but only a handful of our kind ever achieves what she has. The war forced her to evolve, though. You do know she didn’t want any of this?”

  “She says that and my dad says that, but who wouldn’t want that kind of power?”

  “Your mom.” Adrian sighed in wistful longing. “She never would have become this way if not for you.”

  Charlie scowled. “It was all you and my dad fighting over her! I didn’t have anything to do with it. I’m a burden and a duty, like this camp.”

  “She came for you.” Adrian sat down on the edge of a large, chipped boulder. “If you had been unhappy in Safe Haven, she wouldn’t have stayed. If you ever become unhappy in Safe Haven, she’ll walk away.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “You don’t have to. I know it.”

  Charlie studied the man. “And you do know her better than my dad.”

  “Yes. I accept the parts of her that he refuses to acknowledge. It lets me see what makes her tick and what ticks her off.” Adrian dropped his mental shield so there would be no mistaking his honesty. “If you told her you were leaving unless she had the vet kill me, she’d do it.”

  Charlie flushed. That’s what he’d been thinking about since learning that Jennifer had been announced as the heir to that council seat and not himself. That would get his mom’s attention.

  “Why would she honor you with leadership? Because you’re her son?” Adrian snorted, standing up. “You haven’t acted like it.”

  “She got Tracy raped and beaten!”

  “No one catches everything, boy. Many people were killed. It’s called war for a reason.”

  “We didn’t have to fight.”

  Adrian stopped. “You think she should have given up and let the government have this camp?”

  “Isn’t that what you were doing?”

  “No, you don’t get to excuse that with my mistake.” Adrian didn’t pull any punches. “What you’re saying is you wish all of these American citizens were in a government bunker with your mom, all being tortured and abused, so your girlfriend wouldn’t have been hurt? That we should all die, so you two can be together, but your mom should have chosen you to rule this camp?”

  Charlie hung his head. “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.” Adrian opened his mouth to pull the support of being the kid’s teacher and then snapped it shut. He rotated toward the ladder, wheels spinning furiously. Charlie needed a teacher. He had to understand that his own selfish desires meant nothing in comparison to the survival of their country. It was a huge disappointment to learn that the teenager hadn’t already figured that out from observing everything around him. Angela had made the right choice. Charlie might never be a leader.

  “The water stopped!”

  Climbing up the ladder, Adrian reversed direction. The guards on the water level could work on the problem, but it would distract them. Adrian stopped in the mess. “We need four hands on the bottom level for sentry duty.”

  Zack stood up, knowing his boys would follow. He’d heard the water call. They would be listening to the sounds of repair attempts all night. Zack didn’t mind. He was having trouble sleeping and his teenagers had the energy of youth to be burned through. All of the boys had been disappointed with their day of scavenge and salvage. This would put them in a better mood.

  Adrian went to the top floor for a fast round, skipping the weapons room where Angela and Marc would soon be settling down for the night. The reading and TV chambers, cleaned, were full of camp members that hadn’t responded to the call about the water. It was peaceful. Adrian checked on the guards, glad to find them alert. He didn’t stay to exchange small talk or insults. While Marc and Angela were sleeping, he would do his best to make sure nothing went wrong.

  The mess level still held about fifty residents, however, and it was not peaceful or quiet even though the vote was over. It also wasn’t out of control. Kyle, along with Neil and Doug, were in the corner playing poker until their shift on that level began. Adrian went by the crushed floor where Charlie was toiling and descended to the bottom. He wanted to check on Samantha and Jennifer.

  Adrian found Daryl, Allan and Donald perched around the various cubbies and tarps, sharp glances missing nothing.

  Satisfied, Adrian tapped on the tarp. “You decent?”

  “No!”

  Adrian heard Samantha’s grunt and ducked inside. “I’m not a snitch.”

  Samantha paused in getting into the bed. “We both know that isn’t true.”

  Adrian’s lips thinned, but he still came over to help her get settled. As he pulled the blanket up, he spotted the red bandage.

  “She picked women just like her.” Adrian ignored Samantha’s coming protest and left the tent.

  Samantha sighed, arms crossing over her chest. “See? A snitch.”

  Adrian went to Daryl. “Can I borrow your medic bag?”

  “Should we get Neil?” Allan eyed the tarp. “We’ve been watching her shadow for half an hour.”

  Donald chuckled. “She was up before he hit the top of the ladder.”

  “He asked you to keep an eye on her?” Adrian took the medical bag.

  “We…offered, so he would give her a break. Same for Kyle. After the crap down here with Simon, both of them refused to take a shift.”

  Adrian’s lips twitched. “Let me guess. You told them they’re slacking off for a woman during a camp crisis?”

  Daryl slapped Allan on the shoulder that wasn’t injured. “Genius here reminded us that the favorite weapon we used to use against wayward Eagles was the truth.”

  Adrian was still chuckling as he ducked into the tarp. While warmer than outside, this level was getting an awful draft from the low temperatures. When they’d had the heat going, it had pushed into the bottom floors and brought the average 60° up to a comfortable 70°. Now, the 60° down here was cold to everyone–himself included.

  Adrian handed Samantha the kit. “I don’t remember what to do.”

  “Why didn’t you call my watchdog?” Samantha’s grumble was lost in the sound of banging on metal. The workers were trying to reestablish a water flow.

  “After I patch you up, I’ll locate a spot on the top level for you and get your stuff. If we’re careful, he won’t notice until I take you up.”

  Samantha handed him the alcohol wipes and then began to thread a suture. Neil had gone up for two more bags of medical supplies late last night. Jimmy had been thrilled. So had the patients who knew the supplies were low. Jimmy had been using what he had to for the more serious injuries. Samantha had needed more stitches, but the doctor had run out. Now, Adrian would put in the others.

  “He’ll be pissed at you.”

  Adrian cleared the dried and fresh blood with the wipes, hating the ugly injury that marred her leg. “Was he okay with me before?”

  Samantha was surprised into a laugh that helped distract her from the pain. “No.”