Ben turned to head back when something caught his eye in the far corner. Four large panels of chain-link fence had been fashioned together to form what was unmistakably a cage of some sort. There was a single gate for access, with an open padlock hanging from the clasp. Ben approached slowly, studying the enclosure as he got closer. There were a few bowls scattered around the inside, some filled with water and some empty. He figured this was where the couple fed and kenneled the dogs, but then he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

  Inside the enclosure, a pair of bloody handcuffs hung from the far panel. Ben stared while his mind raced, trying to come up with a good reason for the restraints. But it could only mean one thing; Emmett and Amelia had someone chained up back here. He didn’t have to get any closer to see that the concrete floor was stained red with what appeared to be more dry blood.

  His pulse quickened as he wondered what this meant for him and the others. Were they in danger? Was the couple setting them up? Nothing Emmett or Amelia had done up to this point would indicate they meant Ben’s crew any harm, but that didn’t seem to matter right now.

  Ben followed the bloody trail toward a workbench along the back wall. He knew he should turn around and leave right then and there, but he needed to know what was going on here.

  An assortment of tools dangled from the pegboard-covered wall above the workstation, including various knives and hand saws. But the most disturbing item was a battery-powered reciprocating saw that was thoroughly caked in a layer of dry blood. A pair of rubber gloves lay nearby on the workbench, next to a terra cotta pot base filled with rings, earrings, and several wallets. The chiminea on the floor a few feet away still contained the charred remains of clothing scraps.

  Something was buzzing. The sound caught his attention, and he followed it to the end of the long wooden potting-bench-turned-butcher-block. There sat a large chest freezer, humming away in the eerie silence. Ben felt himself moving toward the appliance as if someone else was controlling his body.

  He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and slowly opening the lid. At first, he thought maybe there was some other explanation for the grim clues he’d found. The freezer was full of frozen vegetables and other foods one would typically expect to find in there, including the open box of ice pops. But then he saw it, a frosty, grayish-white hand extending above a bag of frozen corn.

  Ben almost slammed the freezer lid shut but stopped himself. A cold chill ran down his spine, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up as the pieces of the puzzle came together in his head.

  No, they wouldn’t do that, would they?

  Try as he might, Ben couldn’t deny the obvious any longer. Emmett and Amelia were feeding people to their dogs.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ben was beside himself and felt frozen to the ground while he contemplated what this meant. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was part or all of the reason the couple’s hardware store had survived the onslaught of looters. The unlucky few that had broken in or gotten past Emmett’s defenses had most likely ended up in those large stainless-steel bowls on the floor, one piece at a time.

  Ben eyed the chain-link enclosure again. The handcuffs triggered his imagination, making his mind run wild with visions of what might possibly have happened here, as a wave of nausea washed over him. He fought the urge to vomit and staggered away from the butchering table, trying to get a breath of fresh air. But that was hard to do in the stale, hot courtyard that suddenly smelled of death.

  Ben pulled himself together and backed away from the gruesome scene while coming to terms with the situation. He made sure to replace the jerry can exactly where he got it from, covering the dust-free spot on the ground where it had been sitting.

  The couple couldn’t find out he knew their dirty secret or they’d all be in danger, although it might be too late to avoid that. Ben thought about what he and Sandy had discovered at the moonshiners’ compound where they found Bajer in a cage. A similar situation with an ironic twist to the circumstances. Now the looks he’d been getting from the two big black dogs made sense. They’d been sizing him up and most likely wondering if he was on the menu or not.

  Once the cage and bloody tools were out of sight, Ben felt like he could finally draw a full breath of air without choking. He paused by the vegetable garden, and another terrible thought crossed his mind. He shook his head and tried not to think about it, but it was too late. Were Emmett and Amelia eating people as well? He had no proof of that, but he had no proof they weren’t, either. For now, he’d assume it was just the dogs. That was a disturbing enough discovery to deal with for the time being.

  Regardless of what was really going on here, Ben was certain of one thing. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible. But he’d known that all along. He had a strange feeling about the place since they got here. One of these days, he’d learn to trust his gut. It was hard to feel too guilty about being in this situation, though. With the Jeep breaking down, it wasn’t like they had a choice.

  Emmett wouldn’t have bothered to help them fix the Jeep if he’d meant them harm, would he? Ben wanted to think that the couple’s victims were limited to people who’d tried to steal from them or worse. Not that those circumstances would make what they were doing any more excusable, but that would mean less of a chance that he and the others were in danger.

  Ben opened one of the glass double doors that led back inside the store just far enough to squeeze his head through. All was quiet, as far as he could tell. Good. He’d make it back to the living area and start to wake the others. He didn’t really care how hot it was outside anymore. It was time to go.

  Easing through the narrowest possible gap in the door, Ben was back inside and already rehearsing excuses in case he ran into Emmett. He stepped quietly across the polished concrete floor, moving parallel to the long rows of overhead shelves. He paused at the end cap of each aisle to listen and peek around into the next. Row after row, he closed in on the can of heat-reflective paint he’d left out on the floor.

  It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he was caught here. Perusing the store out of curiosity was a reasonable thing to expect of someone with limited resources. As long as they didn’t know he’d been in the outdoor area.

  The harder sell was going to be convincing the others to leave right away. He couldn’t be too obvious or too eager to leave; Emmett and Amelia would suspect that he knew something.

  He rounded the last end cap deep in thought, so much so that he failed to see Samson until they were practically face to face with one another. Ben locked eyes with the big dog. This was exactly the type of situation he was trying to avoid. Running into the dogs alone was his biggest fear. Or at least it had been before he found out what the couple were up to here.

  Samson stood still in the middle of the aisle, and for a moment, he looked as surprised as Ben was about the meeting.

  “Good boy, Samson.” Ben tried to sound as friendly as he could, but the dog stood his ground, showing no reaction aside from a slight twist of his head. Then he shifted his weight to his front feet, leaned in toward Ben, and sniffed the air loudly.

  “Easy there, big boy. We can be friends, right?” Ben held his hands out in front of him, palms facing the massive dog as he spoke. This was the closest he’d gotten to either of the Cane Corsos since they’d been there. The dog must have been a buck ten at least. His muscular frame and rigid posture made the eighty-five-pound Gunner look like a lightweight.

  Ben tried to get a read on the animal, but he didn’t have to wait long to figure out Samson did in fact not want to be his friend. A deep, low growl began to build in volume. The aisle suddenly seemed much smaller than it had before. Ben took a slow step back, trying to put a little space between them, when he saw Delilah out of the corner of his eye. She’d flanked him and was approaching from a different aisle on his left.

  Ben eased his hand back to the handle of his Glock but didn’t draw it from the holster yet. He didn’t want to do this, but he wasn’t about to let himself be mauled by these two beasts. Emmett and Amelia had been nice to them so far, but if he was forced to defend himself against Samson and Delilah, he would do whatever was necessary.

  Delilah continued stalking him from the side while Ben tried to give equal eye contact to both. It wasn’t long before she joined Samson with a guttural protest of her own. Ben swallowed hard and prepared to pull the Glock. He couldn’t believe he would have to do this, and although he was concerned for his own safety, all he could think about was having to explain to Emma why he’d killed the dogs.

  “Lassen es.”

  Ben turned to see Emmett standing behind Samson at the end of the aisle. Both dogs stopped growling immediately after the sharply spoken command.

  “Hier,” Emmett added.

  Samson and Delilah ran to Emmett’s side and stood obediently as if the standoff with Ben had never happened. Ben let go of his pistol, hoping Emmett hadn’t noticed that he was reaching for it.

  “Sorry about that. They’re pretty territorial. Glad I woke up when I did.” Emmett looked down at the dogs.

  “No, I’m the one that should be sorry. I couldn’t get any rest, so I thought I’d look around the place. I hope you don’t mind.” Ben shrugged.

  “Aus.” Emmett pointed as he spoke, and the dogs took off toward the living area. Ben was glad the dogs were gone, but after his recent encounter, he wasn’t sure he was much happier about the pair being around the others.

  “Those are some impressive animals,” Ben commented as the dogs disappeared.

  “Amelia’s babies. We never had any kids of our own. I swear she loves those two more than me.” Emmett smiled but avoided Ben’s gaze. “Again, sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Say, would you be open to a little bartering? I’ve got some ammo I’d be willing to let go.” Ben rocked back and forth on his feet.

  “I see you have a few cans in the Jeep.” Emmett ran his hands through his gray beard as he thought. “I think we can work something out.”

  “Great.” Ben smiled and wondered if the man was aware of just how close he’d come to putting a bullet in his dogs. He didn’t like what he found in the other room, but maybe he was judging the couple too harshly. They were surviving in a world with no rules. They all were.

  Ben saw the bullet holes in the walls and the boarded-up windows. Emmett hadn’t electrified the fence and all the building access points for no reason. Maybe Ben shouldn’t condemn the couple without knowing what they were up against here. Maybe he didn’t want to know or get involved. He wasn’t interested in much anymore unless it got them closer to home.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “I see you’ve got some of that roof sealant. Smart.” Emmett nodded his approval.

  “Yeah, not sure if it’ll help much.” Ben picked up the can, along with the roller and other accessories he’d gathered.

  “Used it on a shed once. Did wonders for cooling it down. Sealed a few leaks, too. That all you need?”

  “Well, that’s as far as I got. Didn’t really get a chance to look around much,” Ben lied.

  “How about you tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you before you leave?” Emmett offered.

  “Okay, sounds good. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else. But it’s not necessary. Honestly, I’m prepared to part with some ammo for this stuff and the Jeep fix,” Ben stated.

  “I could use some .223 for me and the wife’s ARs,” Emmett said.

  “I can manage that.” Ben made his way around Emmett, who was still standing at the end of the aisle, and headed toward the loading bay. He hoped the man would follow him. From there, he’d at least be within earshot of Sandy and the kids. He also wanted Emmett to turn off the electrical current to the doors so they could open the loading bay. Ben didn’t want to be cut off from the vehicles anymore.

  He couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at Emmett as he walked. He couldn’t trust the man anymore. Or his wife or their dogs, for that matter. But he had to play it cool until they had what they needed. Now that the initial shock and disgust had settled to a low roar in the back of his mind, he was thinking more clearly.

  He’d unload some weight from the Scrambler and get their water topped off before leaving here. It would be stupid to pass up a good water source. Both trucks had full tanks of fuel, and if they didn’t have to stop for water somewhere after this, they could make up some of the time they lost during the first half of the day.

  Ben had reached a point where he felt somewhat indifferent when it came to how and when they traveled, or at least he felt that way currently. No matter the approach they took, they were running into more and more people as their days on the road added up. Trouble found them no matter the time of day they drove or the route they chose. That was how it felt, anyway, and the idea that things would most likely continue this way—or get worse—was daunting.

  The temptation to drive all night was real. They had enough people to drive in shifts, and even if they moved at half the speed during the night, it was still moving. Traveling like that would make a huge difference to their schedule, but he also understood the risks involved.

  Ben wished he’d tried to barter with Ed for at least one of the NVGs. He probably would have, but he thought it was too pushy considering what Ed and Julia had already done for him and his crew.

  There were two main problems with running at night. The first and most obvious was the attention two sets of headlights would attract against the stark backdrop of the pitch-black landscape. Regardless of the moon or clarity of the sky, the nights were darker than ever. The artificial light of the trucks would stick out like beacons announcing their presence.

  The second danger that came with running at night was the broken-down vehicles and burnt-out wrecks they encountered along the roadways. It was tough enough to avoid hazards on the road in broad daylight. The lack of proper light would only make navigation that much more difficult.

  Sometimes it wasn’t the wrecks so much as it was the debris left behind by the multicar pileups. Ben thought about all the little pieces of glass and twisted metal that were commonplace on the road. They still didn’t have a spare for the Blazer. And even if they somehow managed to avoid a direct collision with one of the many obstacles along the road, they could easily get a flat by driving over something they shouldn’t.

  Ben weighed the merits of traveling at night while waiting for Emmett to deactivate the electrical current. He watched closely this time, trying to memorize the process, as the man threw a series of switches and levers. He planned on leaving here soon, but it wouldn’t hurt to know how to turn off the security system in case they had to escape.

  Emmett nodded at Ben when he was done securing the power, giving him the go-ahead to open the oversized metal roll-up door. Ben pulled the heavy links of chain hand over hand, sending the segmented door up into its housing with a loud clanking noise. He did his best to make as much noise as possible in the hope it might rouse the others from their naps.

  “Doesn’t look like it’s come down much,” Emmitt remarked.

  Ben eyed the wall-mounted thermometer and saw that the temperature was still hovering around 115 degrees. He wasn’t that surprised, based on the amount of heat he felt coming off the big metal door before he’d opened it, but he was disappointed.

  It was still hot, but the temperature was dropping. And at nearly three in the afternoon, it would only get better as the sun moved toward the horizon. Ben hated the idea of pushing the vehicles in this heat, but the alternative could potentially be a lot worse.

  Staying here was counterproductive, even if Ben had trusted the couple. They needed to keep moving regardless of his discovery. The longer they were here, the more likely they were to get caught up in a fight. Judging by the bullet holes in the front facade of the hardware store, the attacks were frequent.

  “It can get pretty bad here at night.” Emmett caught Ben staring at the holes as he finished working the chain-operated door.

  “At least you’ve got a pretty good setup. You’re well-fortified in here.” Ben almost mentioned the dogs but stopped himself. He thought it best to leave them out of the conversation; his face could give away what he knew about the two animals.

  Ben eased himself down off the loading dock and made his way to the back of the Scrambler. Sorting through the ammunition cans, he found one of the smaller ones and dragged it out onto the tailgate. He popped the lid and double-checked the contents. He wasn’t really sure who he was outfitting here. Was he doing the right thing by giving Emmett and Amelia ammunition?

  Six hundred rounds of .223 would keep the couple well-armed for a while. What if they were bad people and he was enabling them to continue their reign of terror on this community? Ben considered himself a good judge of character. Or at least he used to. Ever since finding Vince with the Patriot Hooligans, he was no longer as confident in his ability to read people.

  He thought about offering Emmitt some MREs instead, but the man hadn’t asked for food. Ben was afraid he knew why but tried not to think about that. He didn’t want to part with any of their food reserves, anyway, and getting rid of a couple dozen MREs wouldn’t lighten their load by much. Eliminating six hundred rounds of .223 from their loadout wouldn’t help that much, either, but every little bit counted.

  Ben was overthinking things. This wasn’t his problem. He closed the lid on the can and pulled it off the tailgate.