Page 19

John

A s I predicted, they followed.

My guess was that robbing us on the road after we’d left—lulling us into a false sense of security—was their new plan. As soon as they’d asked me about buying Claire, though, I knew we had minutes to get the hell out. Human traffickers didn’t let their prey go without a fight. I should know.

When Claire started running, they knew the jig was up.

Chaos broke out. The guard at the gate grabbed for her, but I stabbed him in the throat.

Blood spattered onto my jacket, and he fell, clutching his neck.

Claire and Asha were riding ahead, while Kimmy waited for me as I sprinted to her.

I jumped on my bike and we took off down the old road.

There were shouts behind us, and I chanced a look over my shoulder. They chased us after us, even though they had no hope of catching up. I frowned. Something’s wrong, my gut screamed at me.

I pumped hard on the pedals and pulled ahead of the others. Claire shot me a questioning look, but I didn’t slow down. Was there a second ambush ahead? A trap of some kind? Whatever it was, I wasn’t about to let Claire ride right into it.

I rounded a bend in the road at a stupid speed. There was a bridge ahead, over a big, roaring river. The middle had collapsed. I couldn’t stop in time.

In a split-second decision, I ditched the bike and skidded across the crumbling pavement. Pain shot up my left side. The bike flew out from under me and went over the edge.

“Fuck, no,” I gasped, not because of the bike, but I’d thrown my pack over the handlebars. All my gear, including the ammunition we’d just traded for, was in that bag. Our tent was in it. Without it, all I had was my knife, pistol, rifle, and the clothes on my back.

I stood with effort, wincing at the sting of road rash down my left flank. I looked over the edge of the bridge and my heart skipped a beat. The front wheel of the bike had caught on a sharp piece of rebar, a few feet down. My bag dangled from the handlebars. Shit.

“Kim! Stop!” I shouted as she came whipping around the bend. “Bridge is out!”

She hit the brake, calling a warning back to the other two. She rode up beside me and dropped her bike.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, looking me up and down.

I didn’t answer because Claire and Asha pulled up, and I knew we only had a minute or two before the gang showed up to claim their prize.

“Kim, we’re the distraction,” I said. “Claire, try and pull the bike back up over the edge. We can’t lose my bag.”

Claire’s eyes widened, but she nodded and ran over to the edge.

“Only a couple of them will have guns,” Asha said in a rush. “They’re grunts, not mercs.”

Kimmy nodded, eyebrows raised, and Asha followed Claire onto the broken bridge.

I raised my rifle and waited behind a tree.

A minute later, five guys rounded the corner: three in front, two bringing up the rear.

All carried crude-looking clubs. No guns.

Kimmy and I shot at the same time, taking out two in the front line, and I got in a second shot before a bullet whizzed past my ear .

On instinct, I hit the ground, right as more shots rang out. They came from somewhere in the brush—a couple of snipers. The guys on the road were a distraction from the real threat.

Kimmy, also on her knees, grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the treeline for cover. We had to move, but…

“Claire!” I called, desperate, as I whipped around to look back at the bridge.

She was on her belly at the edge, Asha at her side. They were exposed…but so were we.

Kimmy and I crawled into the cover of the brush, staying low.

“You take one, I’ll take the other,” she said. “I think there’s one on each side of the road.”

My stomach twisted. “What about Claire?”

She gave me a hard look. “If we don’t take out the snipers, they won’t make it.”

She was right. Focus. I nodded and she took off running across the road to look for the other sniper.

I stayed low to the forest floor, same as on a hunt, listening carefully. A shot rang out, somewhere to the right, deeper in the brush—not quite in the same spot as the first shots. He was moving after each shot, then, not holed up in some tree. Smarter than I’d hoped.

Even as more shots sounded from the direction of Claire and Asha, I tuned out all but the sounds that meant life: scuffling, rustling, breathing. I listened hard, waiting for him to reveal his position.

The sound of another shot led me right to him.

Keeping my distance, I ducked behind a shrub to stay hidden.

A short, skinny guy with an eye patch was reloading an rusty-looking hunting rifle.

No wonder his shots weren’t that accurate; that thing could’ve belonged to my great grandfather.

They obviously saved their decent weapons for higher-ranking gangsters.

I raised my rifle and fired. The bullet burrowed into his brain, and he fell, dead before he ever knew I was there. I turned back to the road.

A sharp scream chilled my blood. Claire. I started running.

When I made it to the road, Claire and Asha were still on the broken bridge. They’d managed to pull the bike and my bag up onto the ledge—thank Christ. But the last gangster was dragging Asha, while Claire desperately tried to pull her back .

“You’re coming with me,” the gangster spat in Asha’s face. “You’ll face Cade.”

Asha clawed at his hands, trying to break free. Claire pulled back harder, digging her heels in. In desperation, the guy turned and punched her, knocking her down.

Seeing her fall twisted something inside me. I saw red, and my brain blocked out everything else. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on his chest, beating the ever-loving shit out of him with my bare hands. I didn’t even remember how I got there.

“John,” Claire said, and I suddenly felt her hand on my shoulder. “Stop. It’s alright. Stop, darling.”

I realized I was panting, and my hands were slick with blood. The gangster was no longer recognizable. His head was a purple, bloody mass of tissue and teeth. My knuckles burned; I’d split them on his face.

“Damn it,” I muttered, blinking fast. I let Claire help me off him, settling on the ground to catch my breath before pulling her into my arms.

“You okay?” I murmured urgently. “Let me see your face.”

“I think I’m fine,” she replied shakily. “Don’t worry.”

I gently tilted her head to the side, inspecting her jaw.

A purple bruise was already forming, but it didn’t look any worse than that.

I wanted to hold and comfort her, but we had to get out of here.

Kimmy was a few feet away, checking Asha for injury.

The road rash I’d gotten earlier burned like hell, but I’d take care of it once we were safe.

We gathered our stuff and took off as fast as we could, following the river until we found another bridge that was mostly intact. We rode for a couple more hours, mostly in silence, until I felt safe stopping for the night. My poor back was killing me by then.

Claire and Asha set up camp while Kimmy tsked over my road rash.

“You could’ve said something earlier,” she scolded. I winced as she cleaned the raw flesh, picking bits of gravel out. “No need to be such a hero.”

I spotted Claire watching us with concern. Her bruise had darkened, marking her beautiful face with violence, and I hated it. It’d been a rough day for everyone, and I wanted to make her smile.

So, I shrugged. “What can I say? I was trying to impress my girlfriend, and I thought that would do it. ”

Claire’s responding laugh made me feel a little better. She swapped places with Kimmy, who went to help Asha set up the tent. I sighed and shut my eyes as she spread ointment across my back, soothing the burn. Her touch was what I needed at the end of this fucking awful day.

“You scared me,” I said quietly as she massaged in gentle circles. “They could’ve stolen you away in half a second back in Little River.”

She let out a long breath. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner.”

“Not your fault. There wasn’t a slave market there the last time we went.”

There was a stunned pause. “The platform with the women…that was a slave market?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “They’re not uncommon in some of the gang-owned settlements. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have taken you.”

“Is there a lot of slavery in the Wasteland?” Claire asked, and I could tell she was trying to keep her voice level.

“Some,” I answered honestly. “Not everywhere, but…I’ve seen enough to know that it’s out there. Not all abductions, though. That’s more of an opportunity thing. Some people become slaves willingly, at least at first.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “They’re poor, starving, and desperate. Sure, they’re abused, but slaves usually get a home and a meal every day. That’s a lot to people who’ve been born into nothing, or who don’t know how to take care of themselves.”

Claire was quiet. She carefully bandaged my back, and I kissed her in thanks.

Her expression was thoughtful as the four of us gathered around the fire.

We had dinner, and I noticed that she kept glancing over at Asha, who remained silent throughout.

Kimmy half-heartedly tried to make conversation, but none of us were in the mood.

“Ash,” Claire finally said, her tone careful. “Who is Cade?”

Asha flinched as though she’d been hit. “Nobody.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, your friends nearly killed us today. Least you can do is give us a heads-up if they might come looking for you.”

“John,” Kimmy scolded, right as Asha snapped back, “They’re not my friends.”

“We know that,” Claire said, giving me a disapproving glance, and it was obvious I wasn’t going to win this one.

I may not have been able to stand the woman, but my sister and my girlfriend clearly saw something in her that I just didn’t.

For now, I’d have to suck it up, even if I fantasized more and more about pushing Asha down an abandoned mineshaft.

“Fine,” I said, holding up my hands. “Sorry.”

Asha softened slightly, though she still glared at me.

“No one’s looking for me,” she said. “We happened to run into them, which isn’t that unusual. The Guardians are one of the biggest gangs in the region; they control a lot of territory. I didn’t know they’d taken Little River, though.”

Kimmy touched her hand. Asha flinched but allowed it.

“Is Cade someone who hurt you?” Kimmy asked softly. “You’re safe from him now, you know. We’ll protect you.”

I wasn’t so sure on that front, but there was an intimacy to the promise that made me sigh. No matter how much I didn’t trust Asha, it was too late. My sister had a thing for her. It was obvious in the way she looked at her.

“Thank you,” Asha replied, and to my surprise, she sounded sincere.

Later, after Kimmy headed to bed, Claire and I prepared for the first watch of the night. Asha headed for the tent to turn in, and as I watched her, she met my eye. A second passed, and then she smiled at me.

It only lasted half a second, and then she turned away. She’d never smiled at me before. It should’ve felt like a peace offering, maybe. An olive branch. I should’ve taken it as a sign that things between us may not always be so heated.

So, why did it make me more uneasy than ever?