Page 19 of The General’s Captive (The Rift #1)

Secondary Base Camp

Eastern Idaho Railroad.

Negatives - No fence. No buildings suitable.

Positives – The train cars are strong, can be locked, less likely to be attacked or people found.

Notes - We have set up each of the train cars with beds, lanterns and enough previsions to last a potential emergency evacuation. But we need to do more for the long term if it is to be a serious consideration. Hopefully the rest of the council agrees.

“ R iley, hold up!” I shouted, trying to keep up with his long, angry strides as he made his way into the main building.

Of course, I knew he was pissed, we both were but he was holding onto a lot of grief, which only added to the stress of it all.

So, I knew if I didn’t do something to calm him down, he would likely self-destruct and do something he would regret.

“Riley, come on, just wait a…”

He stopped suddenly and whirled to face me. The anger there I knew wasn’t aimed at me, but he lashed out anyway.

“Just leave it, will you?!”

I swallowed hard and folded my arms.

“No, not when it comes to you, I won’t.”

He closed his eyes as if my words had burned.

“God, Alex, can’t you just stop?”

“Stop what?” I asked, jerking back a little.

“Stop fucking caring! Stop being… you,” he said, and this time it was like a lash to my heart.

The pain on my face must have registered, as he looked like he regretted it instantly. But instead of dealing with the hurt he inflicted, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there asking myself… what the fuck was that supposed to mean?

Again, I tried to tell myself that he was upset, angry, and grieving, and that would make anyone lash out at those closest to them.

So, for the first time since I had met him, I let him go.

Usually, I was the one that could calm him.

The one person who could pull him out of one of his moods.

The anniversary of the Rift was usually the worst time, as I knew he mourned someone who he had obviously been close to.

Someone the Rift had taken from him, but I still didn’t know who.

I often wondered if it was family, a best friend, or even a girlfriend.

He didn’t wear a ring so I assumed he hadn’t had a wife; I couldn’t see Riley not hanging onto that.

He did have that coin though, one he always seemed to have in his pocket.

I would catch him playing with it, rolling it between his fingers like it was his good luck charm.

But like before, whenever I asked about it, he would shut down.

Similar to now, he would just tell me to leave it, only in a less insensitive way.

Because he had never lashed out at me like this before.

Half of me wanted to run after him and demand to know what the fuck he meant. The other half was hung up on what he had said, asking me not to be me. Asking me not to care. And in the end, that was the part I listened to.

So, after forcing myself not to cry, I got back to my job, making sure that we were ready for whatever was heading our way. Because no matter what the council said about giving them time to decide, I already knew what they were going to say.

We would stay and fight.

That was the only outcome they wanted. And I would be damned if I let these people down by not doing my job and everything in my power to protect these people. But I was also pissed at the council for the mistake they were about to make.

It was most likely the reason I snapped at Volkov when he passed by,

“Get your ass to Jenkins and get that shoulder looked at!”

His brown eyes widened at my harsher than necessary tone, but when he glanced around and didn’t see Riley, his eyes softened as if he knew.

He had been on the supply run with Riley when it happened, making me feel guilty because Rodriguez was a friend to many, and here I was, being a bitch.

“Just get it sorted, yeah?” I said again, dropping my attitude and making him nod before walking toward the main building.

This was where medical was and where Nurse Jenkins was most likely sewing up the others that had been injured on the supply run. Before he walked too far away, I stopped him, telling him over my shoulder, “Volkov… We lost a brother today… I’m… I’m sorry about Rodriguez.”

He lowered his shaved head and released a shuddered breath before telling me, “We all are.”

Then he walked away, leaving me with tears in my eyes.

So, I did what I always did when my emotions got the better of me, I wrote them down.

I pulled out my journal I always carried in my side satchel, that I was rarely seen without, and I found a quiet corner.

Then I wrote down my goodbye to Rodriguez, wondering if it would end up being my last entry.

Whether this was a fight we had any chance of winning.

I just didn’t know this time.

After twenty minutes or so, of trying to hold it all back, I knew I needed to wash some water over my face. So, I made my way back to my room with the intention of putting my journal away, so it didn’t get damaged in the fight.

However, I came up short when I turned a corner and saw Riley sitting on my bed with his head held in his hands.

His hair was damp, making it a darker shade of blonde, like wet sand, telling me that he had not long got out of the shower.

His shoulders bunched, stretching his olive-green tee tight around his tensed muscles.

His fresh camo combats and boots looked as though he was ready for action once more.

Then he raised his head and looked at me, remorse easy to see.

“I was a dick,” he admitted before I had chance to open my mouth.

“Yeah, you were,” I stated before releasing a sigh, letting my tensed shoulders drop before adding, “But I know why, and I understand… after what happened to Rodriguez and then the council, you’re angry and hurt and…”

“Alex, stop,” he said, making me frown as he got to his feet and approached me, doing so slowly, like he was afraid of spooking me or something.

“Riley?” I questioned, but his name came out thick and unsure. Because the look he was giving me now, I swear it was like a dam had just broken. No, not a dam … walls . The walls he had erected around his heart, keeping it protected from ever getting hurt again.

“I thought it was for the best,” he said softly, but before I could ask what he meant, he continued, “That it would save us both the hurt.”

“What are you trying to say?” I shook my head, trying to make sense of where this was coming from.

“I am sick of pretending. I can’t do it anymore, Alex.”

I swallowed hard and, I swear, I nearly choked on it when he raised his hand to cup my cheek, his thumb caressing where my tears had fallen before reaching my room.

“I don’t understand, what are you trying to tell me here?” I asked, my voice sounding far too vulnerable.

“Life is too short to spend it trying to fool yourself.”

“Fool yourself about what?”

He shook his head a little.

“I don’t want to be your friend, Alex,” he stated, making me gasp as pain sliced across my heart.

To know that all these years he had, what…? Been pretending to be my friend? Why? Did he feel sorry for me? Feel bad because I saved his life after he had first saved mine?

My anger grew as I scowled up at him and said, “Then don’t be!”

I turned around ready to run out of there, which was when he grabbed my hand and spun me back to face him, his hands came to my waist, keeping me from escaping.

“What do you want?!” I shouted this time, the tears starting to fall, but he gave me a tender look and replied,

“Don’t you know by now…? What I have wanted for the last two and half years since I first met a silly girl who couldn’t shoot for shit and has a terrible singing voice…

who ended up being… the bravest fucking girl I know,” he added this with a reverent tone, making my heart hammer in my chest for new reasons.

I swear it was close to bursting when he raised his hand up and lifted my chin with his thumb. Meaning I had no choice but to look into his unwavering eyes, before he then finished telling me what he wanted…

“So, you want to know what I want, Alex, it’s simple… I want you.”

I gasped as shock tore through me. My legs felt like they were going to give out as I processed the words. Words I had been dreaming he would one day say to me.

“Me?” I asked, making him grin as he lowered his lips closer to mine so he could whisper,

“It’s always been you.”

I sighed into him, my heart soaring and making me ask stupid questions as he started to cut the rest of the minute space between us.

“What are you doing?” I asked nervously, as if this would make it more real.

I watched as he grinned that smile I adored, the one that always seemed to be reserved just for me. Only I was too convinced I was forever in the friend zone to notice. Well, now I noticed, and I was about to feel it too as he whispered over my lips,

“Kissing you, cute girl.”

Then our lips finally met like two pieces of a fated puzzle. I had wanted this for so long and now it was here, his perfectly soft lips blending with mine. His sweet, wet tongue slipping inside and teasing my own.

I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped my lips, begging him for more, and he seemed to be in the same mind set.

I felt his hands fist the material at my back as the kiss intensified.

My black t-shirt stretching tightly across my breasts as if he wanted to tear the thing off me.

Everything I wore felt uncomfortable, and my body yearned to be naked, skin to skin.

I was even cursing the thick material of my camo pants, as they rubbed uncomfortably against my skin.

My restless body just wanted to take this further, starting with pushing him back on the bed and turning another dream of mine into reality.

I threw my arms up around his neck, my fingers running through his hair before holding on, intent on keeping him as close to me as possible. I could barely believe this was actually happening. But then our lips broke apart when he pulled back slightly to rest his forehead against my own.

Then he breathed out, “Christ, I have the worst timing.”

I chuckled and had to agree,

“Yeah, not gonna disagree with you there, especially when we could have been doing that for the last two years.”

He laughed and pulled back further, cupping my cheeks and looking at me. His eyes heated as they roamed my features.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” he said through deep breaths, his eyes then travelling down my body like he had just found buried treasure.

I blushed, but just when he started to lean down for another kiss, reality hit. The reality of just how badly timed this was as our next kiss was disturbed by the sound of alarms blasting through the room. Alarms that meant only one thing.

The army was here.

And now all I was left to question was…

Would we ever get that second kiss?