An Unexpected Life r1t4t

An Unexpected Life

Copyright 2018 Monica Clayton Published by M.E. Clayton

All Rights Reserved

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This book is a work of fiction. The entire content is a product of the author’s imagination and all names, places, businesses and incidences are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or occurrences, is entirely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent from the author, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Formatting: Smashwords Cover: Adobe Stock

Warning: This book contains sexual situations and other adult themes. Recommended for 18 years of age and over.

Table of Contents

Author's Note Acknowledgements Dedication Prologue 1. Raine 2. Kade 3. Raine 4. Kade 5. Raine 6. Kade 7. Raine 8. Kade 9. Raine 10. Kade 11. Raine 12. Kade 13. Raine 14. Kade

15. Raine 16. Kade 17. Raine 18. Kade 19. Raine 20. Kade 21. Raine 22. Kade 23. Raine 24. Kade 25. Raine Epilogue Playlist About the Author Other Books Me

Author’s Note

Just a couple of things before I let you go and get your read on. While I am doing my best to work with better editing and proofreading software, all my books are solo, independent works. I write my books, proofread my books, edit my books, create the covers, etc. I have one beta who gives me on my stories, but other than that, all my books are independent projects.

That being said, I apologize, in advance, for the typos, grammar inconsistencies, or any other mistakes I may make. Since writing is strictly a hobby for me, I haven’t looked for commitments in regard to publishers, editors, etc. My hope is that my stories are enjoyable enough that a few mistakes, here and there, can be overlooked. If not, my books are probably not for you.

Also, I am an avid reader-I mean an AVID reader. I love to read above any other hobby. One of the things about reading that hurts my heart, though, is when I fall in love with a book, but I have to wait for the additional books in the series to be released. Because I feel that disappointment down to my soul, I vowed that if I ever write a series, all books will be published at once. Nope-no waiting over here…LOL. So, if you are reading one of my books, but can’t find any other books on the secondary characters of that book, that means the book is a standalone project. Now, the exception to this was, both Enemy Series (Facing the Enemy and In Enemy Territory). I got enough requests for their secondary characters’ stories, I decided to write them. But, in the future, series books not released all at once will only happen at the request of my readers. As much as this is a hobby, I am writing these books for you guys as well as myself.

Thank you, all, for turning this hobby into something exciting and magical!

Acknowledgements

The first acknowledgement will always be my husband. While all my books are sourced from my imagination, I can honestly say, I’m blessed enough to have a husband who embodies what a perfect man is for me. I love you, babe. I love you more than you will ever know. And I know you love me more than I will probably ever deserve, but I’m keeping you anyway.

Second, there’s my family; my daughter, my son, my grandchildren, my sister and my mother. They are the people who love and know me the best, and still love me dearly, despite, of all they know…LOL!

And, of course, there’s Kamala. She will always be in my Acknowledgements, even if she claims she doesn’t need to be. She’s the first person (outside my family) that I shared this dream with, and she’s been by my side every step of the way. Kam, you really are the best kind of friend!

Then, there’s Kim. She brings so many laughs and opinion to the table, and I can’t thank her enough for her genuine enthusiasm towards my newly acquired hobby. I love the impromptu book club sessions. And I’m doing my very best to write as fast as she reads! Also, I can’t forget Phil. I know nothing about guns, so his advice was much needed, and greatly appreciated. I love how he gave each of my questions real thought before answering. Thanks, Phil!

And, Joe, who was not going to let me release this book without reviewing

Raine’s gun collection and making sure it was appropriate for a woman of her character. Thank you, Joe. Your is immeasurable.

And, finally, I’d like to thank everyone who’s purchased, read, reviewed, shared and ed me and my writing. Thank you so much for helping make this dream a reality and a happy, fun one at that! There are not enough ‘Thank You’s in the world….

Dedication

For strong women everywhere – My mother, my sister, my daughter, and hopefully, one day, my granddaughter. But, especially, my daughter. If anyone could be a Raine, it’s her.

Prologue

I never imagined that my life would end like this. I mean, while I’ve thought about it often, I never thought it would all come down to one moment of weakness. One moment of weakness that would set off a chain of events, and multiple other moments of weakness, that would lead me to be betrayed and sacrificed. Now, don’t get me wrong. I take full responsibility for the situation I was currently in. See, the problem with me was that I’ve been through a lot during my-less than stellar-life span. I’ve seen a lot. But when you’ve seen as much as I have, the experiences can create a fall sense of security. I mean, if you get shot during a drive by shooting but survive…well, you might actually convince yourself that you’re now bulletproof, and fear nothing. I’m only 28-years-old, but I’ve seen a world war. I’ve seen the destruction of humanity. I’ve seen families torn apart and lives lost. I’ve even had to experience the loss of my own family. My parents and sister were just three of the hundreds of millions of people lost. However, to the world they had been just three more casualties of war, but to me, they had been my entire world. I’ve experienced things I never would have imagined I could experience and have come out of it alive. I’ve survived. I’ve survived. Along with the remaining one million other people left in the world, I survived. The world went from over seven billion people on the planet to roughly one million, and I was lucky enough to meet the one person, out of that one million, who would lead me to my demise.

It’s situations like this that almost force you to believe in fate. I mean, with the population so scarce, what were the odds that I’d meet the one person who… I mean, fuck, what are the odds? So, if war didn’t kill me, if hunger didn’t end me, if disease didn’t consume me…then, I must have been meant for this. My death…dying this way, was going to have to mean something, right? Every decision I’ve decided, every choice I’ve chosen…they were all me. I had no undo influences. No peer pressure, no uncertainty, no coddling, or confusion. I saw something…or rather, someone, I wanted and surrendered without a fight. He didn’t force me. He didn’t bribe me. He didn’t encourage me. He did nothing other than be himself. I decided to ignore the signs. I chose to believe the lies. I decided to pretend it was all something more. I chose him. Over everything else, I. Chose. Him. I let out a humorless laugh. I chose ignorance, and now I would die for my stupidity. It was fine, though. I wasn’t going to beg or plead for a reprieve I knew wouldn’t come.

I wasn’t going to cry…well, maybe I was. I wasn’t sure the exact method of torture I might have to endure before I met my maker, so I might cry. But I wouldn’t beg. If I was going to die, I was going to die the same way I’ve been living for the past ten years. I was going to fight tooth and nail. Of course, I kept that little detail to myself. Instead, I stood in the cold, darkened room staring down the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He was looking back at me with eyes so cold, the grey in them looked like ice. Every moment we’ve ever shared a forgotten experience; a glaringly obvious mistake. I lifted my chin, ignoring everyone else in the room, and said, “Well, if you ask me, the world could do with two less people in it.”

Chapter 1

Raine – 2058~ It wasn’t often that I let despair rule my emotions, but today was extra exceptional. The war ended over eight years ago, so you would think I’d be used to the desolate landscape that covered the earth, but today everything looked a little more deserted, a little more lifeless. A little more hopeless. Twelve years ago, the planet erupted in a world war that made the previous two look like marital spats. When egos and money finally collided, and war had broken out, it was nothing like I had ever envisioned. Of course, my only source of comparison had been what I had been taught in school and whatever snippets I caught on television from foreign countries at odd within themselves. I had lived in America, though. I was sheltered from having to witness actual war. The United States of America was safe ground; impenetrable. America was the country every other country feared. We weren’t at risk. We were bulletproof. Here’s the thing, though… Over time, when you get too many men bumping dicks over who’s the most powerful, who has the most money, whose wife is the prettiest…well, a fight’s bound to break out, eventually. And one did. I had been only 16-years-old when all the nations in the world decided that their wife was the prettiest and they were going to prove it. I’ll never forget the paralyzing shock of the American Broadcast Station announcing that The United States of America was at war. I’ll never forget how my father locked us in the house and left in his truck. I being so

confused as to why my father would abandon us. How was my mother, with her two teenage daughters, going to survive a war? But, then, I the relief I basked in, and how safe I felt, when my dad returned with his truck full of water, canned goods, medical supplies, and so many other necessities. He had packed his truck so full that the bed had dragged. While most of the planet had been trying to figure out if it was a joke or not, my father had been out gathering everything he could to ensure we’d be okay. He made trip, after trip, after trip, and brought home gas cans filled with gasoline, more water, more medical supplies, chargers, two-way radios, etc. We had lived in Northern California, where basements weren’t really a common thing, but, by the grace of God, the house my parents had bought had come with one. So, we stockpiled the basement with everything my father had brought home. It wasn’t until he came home with things you couldn’t just buy over the counter that I knew things were getting rough out in the streets. After the initial first day, where he brought home stuff for survival, the next day he started coming home with stuff for protection. He came back with guns and ammunition. He came back with pharmaceuticals. He came home with knives and he even brought home a couple of hunting bear claw traps. But it wasn’t until he came home with library books that I started to really feel the panic of our situation set in. While everyone else was doing the same thing my father was, my father had taken things a step further. He had gone to the public library and brought home books on agriculture, science, medicine, poisons, plant life…even How-To’s on sewing and cooking. Incredibly, it was the books that had made it all real in my head. He was bringing home books on how to live again; on how to start a brand-new life. Anywhere. Normally, I didn’t dwell in the memories of my family, but today felt…distinctly different; emotional.

Looking around, even though I was only a mile, or so, away from the waterfall, I decided to sit down a rest a bit. I didn’t want my negative energy returning home with me. I scanned the scenery, and there were still these rare moments when, the difference between now and when I was a naïve teenager, shook me. The war had lasted four years because, while everyone wanted to flex their muscles, no one really, actually wanted to end all of civilization. I mean, what good was it to win a war and have ultimate power if everyone you’d have power over was dead? No nuclear weapons had been fired during that entire four-yearlong hell. Narcissists aren’t big on suicide. Nope. They just sent casualty, after casualty, after casualty to bring home the trophy for the prettiest wife. And everything had stopped. School had no longer been necessary. Work had no longer been required. Money ceased to have value. My father and mother turned into killers and, sadly, not against the enemy. The enemy was fought off by our military, and God bless those men and women, because they went out and did their jobs. They fought for their country with their every breath. No, my father and mother were forced to kill looters and scavengers that threatened to steal our food, water…basically, threatening to take over our home. The most horrific serial killer is no match for a person desperate for survival. Within a year after the war had started, people where calling on all their survival instincts, and our home no longer looked like a home.

It had become a goddamn fortress. And, within two years, my father wasn’t the only warrior in the house. We read all those library books cover to cover and learned how to cook what we had to last. We learned how to plant food. We learned how to make home repairs. We learned everything my father had to teach us. Including how to shoot and clean a gun. It wasn’t until the third year that the body count started polluting the skies. Funerals had become a thing of the past and the government had started throwing matches on the piles of corpses and calling it a day. I let out a sigh. My body so desperately wanted to lay back and look up at the sky, but I feared if I gave into the urge, I’d never get back up again. I’d just lay here and give up. I never would, though. Give up, that is. I had been the only person spared the night intruders came into our house and slaughtered my family. I had been the only one left alive, and I wouldn’t insult my family’s memory by taking my life for granted now. Whereas my father had been a university professor and my mother had been a legal aide, they had become a military force of two. They had been succeeding where many were failing and, somehow, word had gotten around. Somehow, someone had found out we were growing our own food and making our water last. They found out and came into our house to steal it all for themselves. Except that they hadn’t. My father and sister were already dead when my mother hid me in the hideyhole my father had carved out for situations just like that one. I hid in there for two days before I was brave enough to come out and face the reality of my situation. The reality that my family was dead, and I was now all alone.

I had mourned them for one day and then I packed up whatever I needed to ensure my survival and left the only home I had ever known. My father had disabled his truck whenever it hadn’t been in use to prevent anyone from stealing it, but because he taught us everything he knew, I was able to repair his simple sabotages and use the truck to flee my home in search of somewhere safe. I had driven for days before I accidentally came across the most beautiful waterfall I’d ever seen somewhere in the state of Wyoming. I how the only reason I knew I was in Wyoming was this little diner sign that stood strong and proud against the ravages of war. The diner itself and all the surrounding area had been a decrepit disaster, but that little sign…that little sign had sustained life and had been still standing. It had been that little sign that had me turning left and driving in the direction behind it. I drove and drove until I found the most stunning waterfall, creating an illusion of beauty and peace. I had stopped the truck and gotten out, and walking to the edge of the cliffs, I watched spellbound thinking how magnificent it would be to just jump and spend my final minutes of life basking in the waterfall’s crashing waters. I had spent an hour enrapt with the waterfall’s surroundings, and when I was finally at the point where I was going to pick up the pieces and go, or jump into the beauty and give myself over to fate, I had spotted a twinkling light in the distance, behind the rush of water. So, instead of driving off or jumping, I had climbed my way over the rocks, cliffs, and rugged terrain, and discovered that the shiny glint dancing off the sun was actually coming from behind the waterfall. It had been a no brainer. I had nowhere to go, no one that would miss me, or any plan whatsoever on what to do now with my life. I had held my breath and made my way through the bruising rain of water until I was standing on a rock so flat that I hadn’t been positive it had been created by nature. I turned around and I couldn’t see past the rushing waves of water coming down and it was then I realized I could be

completely hidden from the world, if I chose. I had turned my back on the waterfall and made my way through the cave inlet, not thinking about my truck or any of the contents in it. I made my way through the caved tunnel until I reached the end about five minutes later. When I stepped out of the tunnel, I had found myself standing before wilderness, so stunning, I was perfectly content with dying where I stood. But I hadn’t. Instead, I took everything my father taught me and used it to chart a course around the waterfall until I was standing next to my truck again. The terrain was rugged and untamed and I had known there was no way I was going to get my truck up and around the cliffs, so I had opted to find the most secluded, hidden area where I could set up house in my truck until I could find a way to get it around the waterfall. I had spent the next six months working day and night to make the land beyond the waterfall tunnel habitable and, after a year, I was finally able to create a patchy dirt road that would make way for my truck. That first year was spent with countless drives to the nearest unauthorized towns and cities, scrounging up everything I could, so I wouldn’t run out of supplies. I had many close calls and got into many fights defending what was mine during that time in my life. The truth was, it had been a miracle I survived that first year, being 19-years-old and all alone. Hell, every day since then, has been a miracle. And now, ten years later, I had land that’s been cultivated to produce food, shelter made to sustain most weather conditions, clothes, heat…most every basic thing a person needs to survive. Only, now, I share it with fifteen other people. Once the war came to an end and people started picking up the pieces of

civilization, the streets had become safer, and I had met certain people along the way. And, one by one, they made their way back to my secret hideaway to live with me in peace and security. Since I had all the knowledge, no one ever challenged me for control, and no one ever questioned our way of life. We farmed, we built, we nurtured, and we prospered for survival; not riches. Never riches. Of course, I knew there were many people out there who considered us rich because we were self-sustaining, but we valued quality of life above everything else. There was only one condition that was non-negotiable. Children were not allowed. Children were not allowed because I loved kids too much, and we didn’t have what it took to keep them from getting sick or hurt. We had medical supplies, but they were limited. And we were too far off the main roads to rush a child to the hospital, and doctors were only found in the big sanctioned cities. I was not equipped to watch children suffer, or worse, die. So, if our chose to engage in sexual activity, it was with the condition that they do it responsibly. If a pregnancy occurred as a result, they were asked to leave. Condoms were one of the commodities I considered important when I went into town for a supply run, and we never ran low. And most everyone in the compound chose to satisfy themselves responsibly, rather than chance being asked to leave. I shook off my melancholy and finished my trek up the pathway. I had opted for a small hunt rather than take the truck into town (yes, the truck still worked ten years later), so the walk was giving me enough time to shake off my feelings and show up without anyone worried about my mood. I was the leader of my own little clan. I couldn’t pinpoint how exactly it came to be, but I was. I was the one who had all the knowhow-thanks to my father. I was the one who taught everyone who ed my little family how to harvest, cook, clean, hunt, etc. It had started out slow. I was alone for the first couple of years, but then, slowly,

but surely…a person here, two people there. And now I was part of a family again.

Chapter 2

Kade~ I was going to go to Hell. But, in all actuality, I was probably going to go to Hell for a lot of offenses, not just this one. It wasn’t that I wasn’t a good guy, because I was. Or, at least, I tried to be. But sometimes life forces you to make hard decisions. Choices you normally wouldn’t choose. We all learned that the hard way ten years ago. It had been incredible to watch people turn into the animals they never thought they’d behave like. It had been incredible to watch how people valued their life over everyone else’s. After witnessing the things I have, I think the only true love that has ever existed is that between a mother and her children. Mothers will die for their children without hesitation, while most everyone else hesitates. I’m not judging, though. A human’s survival instinct is just as every bit as ingrained as that of an animal’s. We want to live. And when it comes down between us and the other guy? Well, let’s just say it’s that instinct that makes a mild-mannered bank manager shoot a hole clean through an intruder standing in his living room in the middle of the night. Now, I’m not professing to be a victim of hard times. I’m not. Well, not more than everyone is. The war did what all wars do. It made off with humanity and basic human comion. When it was all said and done, The United States of America, along with most of its allies, had made it out the top dog. The United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Australia, , , and Mexico had all made it out somewhat functional after the smoke had cleared and the bodies were burned or buried. Over the past few years, the leftover nations have rebuilt to the best of their abilities, but it’s a different world. We’re all different people. Priorities have changed, and we’ve all been restructured to keep everyone in check.

The government controlled everything. And I do mean everything. The rules were simple. To benefit from our governing body, you must pay a dividend, much like how people used to have to pay taxes. However, nowadays, if you bought anything provided by the government-which was damn near almost anything-you had to promise something in return. I guess you could call them a modern-day Mafia. If you bought a loaf of bread, well then, you could only buy that bread from government-sanctioned stores from then on. There were a few self-sustaining plantations, and whatnot, but not many. It took a lot of knowledge, hard work, and loyalty to sustain ground that would provide for many, without anarchy breaking out sooner or later. No one liked being at the mercy of others, especially after experiencing war. Plus, it didn’t take much for a shift of balance to occur and power to be up for grabs. I ought to know. I’ve spent the past four years standing by and quietly watching hope burn out because, even after all the horrible atrocities we’ve witnessed, some people have still managed to find it in themselves to be greedy, selfish and ungrateful. Because, like time always does, it makes you forget how horrible things once were. As you settle into your new life and become accustomed…well, shit is no longer as hard as it used to be. Life becomes easier once you let go of the has been and focus on the what is. You’re no longer suffering, and so, those awful traits start to resurface, and you’re surrounded by assholes again. I did count myself lucky, though. I lost a lot of the people I loved, but my father and my cousin, Brice, survived, and so I didn’t have to go it alone during those troubling times. And, lucky for me, while Brice was a pussy, my father wasn’t, and he got me through the worst of it. Travis Montgomery had always been a man’s man. He ruled our house with the respect earned by being the breadwinner and muscle of the house. My parents’ marriage hadn’t been overly affectionate, but their roles had been defined, and we knew who ruled the roost. The second we had realized we were in the center of an actual world war, my

father had instantly turned into the militant I knew he had in him. He became colder than normal, but he also became controlling and calculating. So controlling and calculating that my mother, sister and older brother had become casualties because they weren’t able to keep with the program he set. I had to watch in horror as my family dwindled down to just me and my father, and then Brice. My mother had had severe asthma and the pace my father had set for us had proven too much for her. One night I had heard them arguing; her explaining how she needed to rest and him telling her we didn’t have time to rest. The next morning, while my mother slept in her tent, my father had awoken us children and instructed us to suit up because we needed to continue on. After we had gathered up all our stuff, we had assembled near a huge, oak tree that had lined the path we were on and I noticed that it was only me, Carrie and Brent and that my mother wasn’t with us. When Carried asked where was our mom, my father had turned to her and said, “She’s sleeping. She needs her rest. Once we settle somewhere for the night, I’ll be back to get her.” He had lied. When we had finally gotten settled, I had asked if he wanted me to go back with him, while Brent stayed back to watch Carrie, and his answer had sparked a coldness in me that is still with me to this day. He had scanned the faces of his children, and without a flicker of guilt whatsoever, he said, “I’m not going back for your mother. She’s weak and I’m not going to let her drag us down with her.” I Carrie breaking down in tears and Brent spewing the most vile things at our father. I also me thinking about my mother, and how Jennifer Montgomery was anything but weak, and I had charged my father. He kicked my ass, though, and it took Brent and Carrie to break up the fight before he killed me. At 20 years old, I hadn’t been that much of a threat to my father. Travis Montgomery had laid down the law, and that was that. I’ll never forget the guilt that assuaged me when Brent had awoken me that very night and told me he and Carrie were going to go back for our mother. I had wanted to go, but my father had broken a couple of ribs and I had been such a

mess, Brent had been right when he said I’d only slow them down. So, I stayed with our father while they went back for my mother. By morning, they still hadn’t returned, and I’d never seen my father so enraged. Even when he was kicking my ass, he hadn’t displayed the amount of fury he displayed at finding out his eldest son had shown some balls and made a decision all on his own. What had surprised me the most was that my father had insisted on going back for my brother and sister. He had no desire to go back for the woman he married, but his children had apparently been the exception. We miraculously found my sister and brother with my mother. I being shocked that they had been able to navigate the trail by themselves and find my mother. I also the sickening feeling of finding them shot dead alongside my mother. All three bodies stripped bare of everything they had. I dropping to my knees, vomiting and ignoring the pain of my broken ribs and beaten body. My grief had blocked all that out. My father had barked at me to get my ass back up, and without one backward glance, he had taken off back down the trail, leaving most of his family behind him to rot. We hadn’t even buried them. We hiked for days before coming across a band of survivors looking for the same end we were. The incredible thing about it was that my cousin, Brice, had been one of the men amongst the group. It was a true miracle to have run into him. It had taken about a month, or so, but we finally came across a city that had just enough life to settle into. Our group hadn’t been the only one, either. It wasn’t a city like we all knew them to be at one time; it was a new city. A new city where our every move was ed for. It was rough, but we were alive and would continue to live. It was about four years ago, or so, that my father got tired of living under the government’s rule. He was never a man made to live at the mercy of others, so he planned and plotted, and when he had enough supplies, he broke out on his

own, taking me and Brice with him. But what surprised me was how many other people left with us. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who didn’t like the government breathing down their necks. It started out slow, but soon my father had taken his reign to an entirely different level. When we had set out, the first campsite we had come across, Travis had taken over with charm, manipulation and a little bit of intimidation. The charm and manipulation worked well enough for the first few camps he took over, but once his numbers grew and his power was pretty much cemented, intimidation became his new tool. But like all greedy people, the more he amassed the more he wanted. He still didn’t like the idea that he wasn’t in complete control of his troupe. We weren’t self-sustaining, though, and that was a problem for him. Occasionally, we had to still sneak into the cities and forage for necessities without getting caught for unauthorized buying or selling. It’s been four years and my father’s troupe has maintained its numbers and we actually have a designated living home base just outside of, what used to be, Wyoming. It’s pretty rustic and crude, but we live well for the most part. Our shanties are strong and can withstand most weather. Our supplies are rationed, but equally distributed. Even my father doesn’t take more than his equal share, but I think that’s due to manipulating his people into thinking that he’s all about what’s best for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a secret stash of supplies somewhere. Our home base is also located in one of the beautiful areas of wilderness. The countryside is green with plant life but colored with the miracles of nature. It tricks us into believing that the world isn’t as ugly as it really is. We have an area for crops, but we can only grow certain things. There’s a good 40, or so, following Travis, but not one of them knows anything about farming or cultivating ground for food. Most of what we have managed to create has been by the older generation of men who actually know some stuff. But, between us all, we’ve managed to build housing, create a water source, plant some food and get by with re-sewn clothing and whatever we’ve managed to grab when we made runs into the cities.

Our living situation isn’t the only thing that’s changed though. I’ve changed. I’m no longer that 20-year-old, scared kid who followed his father blindly and cowered, while the rest of his family had been slaughtered. I’m a 30-year-old man now, and the past ten years have hardened me like I never thought was possible. It started with the cold disregard for my mother and really took hold with the deaths of my family. That coldness grew every time Travis bullied a new camp group or scrounged ruthlessly during our city trips. The more inhumane he became, the colder I became. It was that or go up against him, and something always held me back. There were a lot of times that Travis was on the verge of madness where I had been the only person capable of stopping him from completely losing himself and, maybe, that’s what kept me around. I knew that if there wasn’t someone here to control his power trips, he’d do the unthinkable to of his troupe; the women, especially. And Brice was an outright pussy. There’s no way he’d step to my father. Not to mention, I think he wouldn’t mind benefiting from the way Travis regarded women. Whatever the reasons I had chosen to stay, I was now sitting in the middle of a hiking trail in the middle of the beauty that is Wyoming’s untamed wilderness, surrounded by whatever wild life managed to survive and procreate after the war, with an injury even I couldn’t walk off. Surviving under Travis’s rule, physical upkeep was a must. I was 6’3” of hard, defined muscle. I worked out every morning, all calisthenics because we didn’t have much to work with but working out was a priority in my life. Even if the world was ten times better than it had been during the war, never again would my father kick my ass the way he did the day he informed us he had left my mother behind. Most people were trying to live in peace, but as long as people like Travis Montgomery existed, I’d be keeping myself healthy and in shape. So, the injury to my leg sucked. Sure, the animal was lying dead behind the tree I was propped up against, but I hadn’t expected his attack to be as ferocious as it turned out. I turned to look at the dead coyote and understood exactly where he had been coming from.

I get it, buddy. Luckily, I had a gun big enough to kill it and prevent any further damage to my person. I shrugged off my backpack, dropped it on lap and unzipped it, searching for the first aid I always had with me. It wasn’t much, but I needed to bind the gashes and bite marks on my left leg. Thank God, it was my left leg. I was a righty and I would have been fucked if he had gone after my right leg. I was pulling out my first aid kit when I heard a soft, feminine voice cut through the wild’s music of nature. I hurriedly stuffed my gun in my backpack and zipped it back up. Just because the voice was female didn’t mean my life wasn’t in danger. I’ve encountered several ruthless females throughout the years, I wasn’t about to take any chances. When she broke through the trees, I was greeted with the vision of a young lady with hair the color of sun, a face sweeter than candy and a smile that was friendly. Thank God.

Chapter 3

Raine~ “You know I hate it when you take off by yourself,” Martin stated from the doorway of my cabin. I looked over my shoulder as I was setting my backpack down, and saw him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his shoulder. “And you know I hate it when you act as if I’m helpless,” I retorted. Martin snorted. “If there’s one thing I know,” he said dryly, “it’s that you’re definitely not helpless.” With my backpack safely on the table, I turned to face Martin. “It was a small hunt, Marty.” He gave me a quick nod and then walked in the cabin, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “As long as we’re self-sustaining, Raine, even small hunts are dangerous. Anyone can be lurking out there.” He wasn’t wrong. I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my head at him. “That’s been the case for the past ten years, Marty,” I reminded him. “It doesn’t change what needs to be done.” “Yeah,” he agreed, his voice tight. “I get that, Raine, but you don’t have to go alone.” I stared at my friend and wished for the millionth time that I found him attractive. We’d make a hell of a power couple if I wanted something more than just friendship from him. Martin Coulter was 6’2” of prime male. He had dark blonde hair that he kept cut short along the sides but let the top long enough to run his hands though; something he did when he was irritated. His matching brows sat over startling,

crystal blue eyes that drew you in, making you believe you were safe. His entire face was symmetrically masculine, from his straight nose, high cheekbones and cut jaw. His lips were neither too thin nor thick. They matched the perfection of his face. His body wasn’t too shabby, either. Marty worked out, at least three times a week, and when he wasn’t working out, he was working the land or making repairs with his team. He had broad shoulders, hard pecs that blended into a sixpack that could only come from hard fucking work. He had powerful thighs and legs I often saw flexing and hard at work. Martin Coulter was hot as hell. Too bad he didn’t do it for me. I sighed at his obviously genuine concern for me. “And I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I will not become that person, Marty.” I said, getting into a conversation we’ve had a million times over. “I will not get complacent and let everyone around me do all the hard work or take the risky trips. I will always lead by example and that’s not going to change, ever.” Martin took a deep breath and I could tell he was trying his best to not come at me like a worried father-or husband. I knew Marty felt a little something for me, but he never acted on it, more concerned with keeping my friendship and respect than getting into my pants. Besides, even if I did want to go there, I knew he visited Amy Leman late at night, from time to time, and I was not going to get in the middle of that “There are 15 of us here and eight of us are men, Raine. Any one of us can go with you.” I knew exactly how many men were in the compound; Marty, Jason Horn, Frank Briggs, Lester Jackson, Vincent Corelli, Armando Hernandez, William Cho and Elliot Tennyson. And I knew each one of them would go out hunting with me. So far, they have all shown themselves to be great guys. But I was not going to chance any of them thinking I couldn’t do this on my own. No fucking way. “And the second that happens, someone will begin to think I can’t do this alone,” I pointed out. “That’s not going to happen. I will never let that happen.” It wasn’t that I was being prideful or trying to pretend I was a man when I was a woman, but these people looked up to me; even the men. And all it took was one

small tap on a card for the entire house of cards to come crashing down all around us. Right now, I had the respect of every member of the compound, if I showed any weakness, who knows who would get it in their head that they could take the reins from me. Our balance of power was delicate, and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that. Marty opened his mouth to argue some more, but he was interrupted by shouts coming from outside. We quickly tabled our conversation and ran outside to see what was going on. The compound had gone from the empty landscape I had come upon to a crossways sort of cul-de-sac arrangement. As soon as you emerged from the waterfall’s cave you were greeted with two sets of cabins on either side of the cave’s mouth, these were our guard houses. There was a sizeable clearing caged in by thick Evergreens and green, lush brush. At the end of the clearing, there were three cabins aligned with about ten feet of space between them. The pathways in between the cabins led into the main center of the compound. The compound’s main ground was where we socialized, had cookouts, played and gathered for member meetings or announcements. The clearing was arced by five additional cabins on the opposite side of the three primary cabins. My cabin was the largest positioned in the middle of the other four, sitting as a throne amongst the entire compound. To describe my cabin these days, it would compare to a three-bedroom, two bath home that still existed in the cities. But instead of the cabins being wide, they were deep in built. They took up less space that way. Between the primary cabins and the other five, on either side, facing north and south, were our crops. The north side harvested all our edibles while the left side harvested all our materials. Both sides were fenced off to the wildlife that roamed the area with wood slated fences, while the compound was fenced off by chain linked fences. The only way into the compound was by the cave’s entrance or the open space between the guardhouses and the three primary cabins. The trail that was vehicle accessible started behind my cabin and circled around for six miles before it reached a hiking trail that eventually led to the roads of Wyoming. There was no

garage to hide my truck, but I parked it underneath a low cottonwood and disabled it while not in use just like my father had taught me all those years ago. As Marty and I ran towards the shouts, we realized they were coming from the first clearing before the primary cabins. We skidded to a halt when we saw Melody Horn and her father Jason in the clearing. Jason was ing a stranger over his frame. “What happened?” Martin asked, eyeing the stranger. Melody stepped forward, worry marring her usually cheerful face. She was the epitome of the good girl next door. She was 5’4” with beautiful blonde shoulder length hair, sparkling blue eyes and a stunning figure. She was only 24, and acted it sometimes, but for the most part she was a good person and worked hard. Her parents, Jason and Clarisse never let her slack on her share of responsibility here. “Dad and I were gathering raspberries before they fell out of season and we came across Kade, injured next to a dead coyote,” she explained excitedly and a little out of breath. The young; they were so dramatic sometimes. “We helped him bandage his wounds and thought maybe you could tend to his injuries a little better,” Jason added. “You know, so he doesn’t die of infection or something.” Jason Horn was a good man, and he did the right thing bringing Kade here to help him. It was the right thing to do. The humane thing to do. The comionate thing to do. The only problem? I didn’t like strangers. I didn’t like that this man was that close to our compound. I took the security of our compound very seriously. It was an almost obsessive thing with me. I took the safety of every member here as my own personal responsibility. The only people to show up randomly to the compound had been Elliot Tennyson about four years ago by pure chance. His com was broken, and he hadn’t known it. Martin came across Elliot a mile, or so, away while

Martin was hunting. The other straggler was Vincent Corelli whose body was dumped, beating and broken, from atop a cliff about three years ago. He landed just outside the northern crops where Lester Jackson and Frank Briggs found him. The appearance of both men had been pure happenstance, and even then, it still took me a while to warm up to the idea of letting them stay. Elliot had been 54years-old at the time and, while still in shape, seemed like he just wanted to live the rest of his days in peace. Vincent had been 31 at the time and, while he was strong, he was kind of lanky and didn’t pose that much of a threat. Besides, once he was nursed back to health, his gratefulness was apparent and his appreciation genuine. Martin jerked his chin up at Kade. “What happened?” By this time, people were making their way to the clearing. I ignored everyone gathering in favor of studying the newcomer. I’ve learned to read people throughout the years and this first impression was critical. “I was hunting and had my eye on a jackrabbit when I got too focused and ignored everything else around me,” he replied. “The coyote already had his teeth around my leg by the time I realized what was happening.” Martin tilted his head a bit and crossed his arms over his chest; a clear show of testosterone. “What happened to the coyote?” “It’s dead,” he said coldly. “It didn’t take much to turn my gun from the rabbit to the coyote.” “It was a miracle we found him when we did,” Melody chimed in. “His wounds look just horrible. He needs better first aid than what he has.” My eyes shifted towards Melody and the look on her face was enough to make me send Kade packing. She had hearts in her eyes, and she wasn’t doing a very good job of disguising them. But, hell…I couldn’t really blame the girl. The man was gorgeous, hot and sexy all rolled into one. Even the fact that

another man was ing his weight didn’t take away from his virility. “What’s your name?” Martin asked him, and I let him. I didn’t need to step on Martin’s toes to prove who was in charge around here. Everyone knew this was my domain. But that was being kept a secret from our visitor as a way to protect me. Some men think a woman in charge is an easy target. “Kade Montgomery,” he answered, not giving anything more away. Martin glanced at me and that was my cue. “Well, seeing as how we are rather far from…everything, how did you find yourself way over here, Kade Montgomery?” Kade turned his grey gaze on me and it was powerful. He made no efforts to hide his perusal when he answered. “I left the city a few weeks ago when their demands got to be too much. I’ve been wandering around ever since.” He shrugged a shoulder and dislodged himself from around Jason. I knew it was a show of power. He didn’t want me to view him as weak. “I just sort of found my way here.” I cocked my head to the left. “Which city?” “Not sure what it was before the war, but it’s called Grand Place 14, now.” Grand Place 14 was close enough to make his story believable. It was one of the larger cities established after things started settling down. I’ve only visited it a handful of times over the years, and only when Braxton didn’t have what I was looking for. For the most part, Braxton was the only town I shopped in. It wasn’t heavily governed the way the big cities were. It was an unsanctioned hidey town. I scanned the faces that gathered around, and I knew my next move would affect them, too. I had no reason to doubt Kade’s story, but I’d have a better feel for his story once I checked out his leg. I looked up at Martin. “Bring him to my cabin,” I instructed. “I’ll take a look at his leg.” Martin searched my eyes and I wish I didn’t see what I saw. He was very aware of Kade’s appeal in that alpha male way when a man knows there’s possible competition. Granted, it wasn’t competition when there was nothing going on

between me and Marty, but Marty was still my best friend and had been since he had become the third person to me here. Neither of us was looking for someone to disrupt that balance. Kade’s arrival was going to change things, though. I was sure of it. “Are you sure?” I smiled at him, trying to ease his discomfort. “It’s fine, Marty,” I assured him. “I’m not going to let him suffer. The sooner I can look at him, the sooner he can be on his way.” I turned my back on the entire group and made my way to my cabin. I wasn’t worried about what he’d see. Everything that matter was locked in one of the spare rooms and I wasn’t going to worry about what he could make of the compound. Because, just like Kade had a gun for hunting, we had an arsenal of weapons at our disposal. The spare cabin next to Martin’s was stock piled full of weapons, ammunition, buckets, tools, etc. The third room in my cabin housed the library that was made up of every book my father had gotten us. It also housed all my survival items, including the parts to the truck. The second spare room housed all the new inventions we created as we grew into what we are now. The crops, the cabins, the sewer systems, shower systems…all of it was housed in my cabin, and only I had the keys. The key to the spare cabin was hidden, but everyone in the compound knew where it was located. I walked into the cabin and left the door open for Martin and Kane. I was trying to steady my nerves as I pulled out our first aid trunk. While Kade was busy eyeing me, I was getting an eyeful myself. He was taller than Martin, making him stand, at least, 6’3”. He had inky black hair that was thick and wavy. His brows were just as dark and arched almost evilly. His eyes were grey, surrounded by thick, full lashes just as dark as his hair. His nose was straight and centered on a face created to be on the cover of magazines. He had a strong jaw and a pair of thick, plump lips. His clothing did nothing to hide his physique. Anyone looking at him could tell he worked out and worked out often. I’d bet the keys to my truck that his body was all hard planes and etched muscle underneath his clothes. Kade Montgomery was one of the finest specimen of man I’ve ever seen. Melody saw it, too, and if he stayed, the other women in the compound would

definitely see the same thing. He’d cause a riot. There was no way I could let him stay.

Chapter 4

Kade~ My leg hurt like a motherfucker, but there was no way I would let Marty carry my weight in front of these groups of people, who now came out to be nosey. There was no way I would let him carry my weight in front of her. When Melody and her father found me, it had been a pure blessing. I knew my leg was bad, and I hadn’t formed a plan past getting the damn thing cleaned. But when I stood up and hot, white pain radiated through my leg and up my spine, I knew I was fucked. Jason had introduced himself and his daughter and they were quick to offer their help. I had been momentarily stunned at their friendliness and willingness to help because that wasn’t something often seen these days. After I snapped myself out of my stupor, I had taken them up on their offer and prayed it would lead to somewhere good. And it had led me to the Holy Fucking Grail. When we entered the clearing, my head had immediately identified rushing water, and common sense had told me there was a waterfall nearby. What I hadn’t been prepared for was a homestead as put together as the one I had entered. The clearing boasted of four cabins, two on either side of a cavern opening, with three more some feet away, opposite the cave. They were actually fucking cabins. Not roped together shanties with animal hide as walls to ward off the night chill. Not strung together pieces of blanket and plastic to protect against the sun. No. These were actual cabins made of wood. Sure, they were crudely made and not

smooth like something out of those Country Living magazines my mother used to subscribe to, but they were the best housing I’d seen outside the cities. And it got better…or worse, depending on who you asked. As I ignored Melody’s and Jason’s help to walk with me, when we ed the three cabins up front, I followed Marty into a clearing that was wide, open and filled with tables, chairs and other social furniture. This was clearly the area where they all gathered. To my right were crops I couldn’t make out and directly across from those were other crops I couldn’t make out. Marty was being a dick and walking faster than was necessary and I knew it was just a childish tactic to try to unman me. Little did he know, it’d take more than a bum leg to unman me. I quickly noticed five more cabins at the end of the clearing; one large on in the center, with two on each side. They formed a sort of arc. I did my best to try to take it all in, but I couldn’t linger without looking suspicious. Marty walked through the door of the middle cabin and I grimaced as I followed up the steps. This was the only cabin I noticed had steps, and I wondered why and what it housed. When I walked in, I saw the woman who questioned me setting up first aid supplies on a table. Marty went to stand next to her, and I was aware that Melody and Jason had come in after me. For as big as the cabin was, it suddenly felt small and tight. The woman turned around and faced me. Her face gave nothing away, but I knew she didn’t like me being here. Her face was all poker professional, but those dark blue eyes of her were very expressive. “Have a seat,” she said, nodding her head towards a chair directly next to the table where she lined out the supplies. I sat down, and I hoped my poker face was as good as hers was. Taking the weight off my leg felt so good, I almost groaned in gratitude. “Do you need anything else?” Marty asked her. She shook her head, eyes still on me. “Mr. Montgomery, you already know Jason

and Melody Horn,” she said. “This is Martin Coulter.” She jerked her head in Marty’s direction. Okay. So, his name was Martin, but she was allowed to call him Marty. Interesting. I jerked my chin up, hating that he was standing while I was sitting. “Good to meet you.” His head tilted slightly. “You, too,” he said, even though we both knew the other one was lying. She looked back up at Martin. “No, I think I have everything. Thank you, though.” “Do you need any help, Raine?” Melody asked. Raine. Her name was Raine. Raine turned to face Melody and Jason and said, “Thank you, Melody, but I’m good.” She smiled to soften the refusal. “Why don’t you guys go home, and I’ll let you know how Mr. Montgomery is doing once we’re done here.” “Sure thing, Raine,” Jason said. However, he had to reach for his daughter when it was clear she wasn’t too happy about leaving me. Once they exited the cabin, Martin looked down at Raine. “I’ll be checking in with Lester.” His eyes darted towards me before finding her again. “Let me know when you’re done here.” “Sure thing,” Raine replied, simply and quietly. She watched Martin leave and didn’t pay me any attention until he shut the door behind him. When she turned back to face me, I could finally get a good look without everyone else’s eyes on us. And Raine was a fucking knockout.

She stood not an inch taller than 5’4”. I couldn’t tell how long her hair was, because it was piled on top of her head, but by the mass accumulated there, I’d say it reached to her lower back. It was also the color of mixed chocolate. Her dark brown brows were arched, but the right one was higher arced than the left one and it had a scar running through it. Her eyes were dark blue, fanned by a shitload of long, thick lashes. And they were fucking unadorned. She didn’t have a lick of fucking make-up on and it was actually disturbing how beautiful she was without it. Her complexion was a soft, cream color. Her nose was slender and centered, her cheeks full and rosy, her lips full and soft. When she had smiled at Martin out in the clearing, her smiled had showed straight, white teeth with a small dimpled on her right cheek. She had delicate bone structure and was petite as all get out, but that petite build was carved with curves for days. She didn’t have over exaggerated tits or ass, but what she did have created a perfect hourglass figure. Her tits were more than a handful and her hips were flared to perfection. Raine was fucking stunning. She also stood like a woman who would slit your throat without a moment’s hesitation, though. “So, Raine, huh?” I asked, throwing polite conversation out the window. “What’s your last name?” She stopped in mid-stride and cocked her head at me. “Why?” I didn’t even make an attempt to disguise my interest. “Raine’s not enough for me,” I told her, brutally honest. “I’d like to know your full name.” I could tell she was fighting with whether or not to tell me. Like I said, her face was poker perfect, but her eyes…not so much. “Raine Tyler.” Raine Tyler. It fit her. Raine resumed her walk towards me, and once she was standing in front of me, it was everything I could do not to grab her by her hips and drag her into my lap, straddling me.

Her eyes darted down to my leg. “Do you mind?” I leaned back in the chair and stuck my leg out. “Not at all.” She got down on her knees and placed my foot on the top of her thigh. My dick was instantly rock hard at the sight of this woman on her knees before me and I knew I was in serious fucking trouble here. Raine was doing nothing but being detached and polite in helping me and all I wanted was to say to hell with my leg, throw her on the table and fuck the shit out of her. She was truly fucking beautiful. I watched as she carefully rolled up my pant leg and I almost winced when one of the folds hit my open wounds. Her hands dropped back, and she looked up at me, her bottom lip in between her teeth. She released her lip before saying, “Your wounds run higher than I can get to with your pants rolled up.” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to need you to take off your pants.” Hmm…maybe she wasn’t as unaffected as I thought. “Or I can cut-” “No,” I said, cutting her off. “I can remove my pants. No need to ruin perfectly good clothing.” Raine stood up, and continuing with her polite regard, she turned around to give me privacy. I unbuckled my belt, unbuttoned my pants, pulled down the zipper, and lifting my ass, I pulled them down and over my thighs. I did all this as I watched Raine walk down the hallway and come back with a blanket. Bummer. “Here,” she said as she placed the blanket over my lap. It was clear she was going to make sure I knew what I was supposed to do with it. I adjusted the blanket over my lap as I kicked off my shoes. I had removed my sock from my wounded leg when I had been attacked, so I leaned over to remove the sock from my right leg. I didn’t say anything as I sat up and Raine sunk back down on her knees and pulled my pants down over my good leg. She paused and stared at my other leg,

chewing her lip again. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I can’t think of a way around pulling your leg through without rubbing it against wounds,” she answered. She then looked up at me. “It’s going to hurt, Mr. Mont-” “Call me Kade,” I said, interrupting her. Mr. Montgomery was my father, and I hated the way it sounded coming out of her mouth. Raine sighed, but she didn’t give me any resistance. “It’s going to hurt, Kade,” she went on. “Do you want to do this fast or slow?” Her words were innocent and completely directed towards my wound, but that’s not what my dick heard. Nope. My dick heard Raine asking me whether I wanted to fuck her fast or slow. My mind knew better, but the rest of me was rooting for remaining delusional. I shook my head and snapped myself out of my errant thoughts. I didn’t need her kicking me out before I even got a chance to let her tend to my wounds. “Fast,” I answered. “Let’s do it fast and…get it over with.” Raine nodded and reached for the bunched-up waistband of my jeans. “Okay,” she breathed. “Stick your leg out straight and I’m going to yank them down and over, okay?” I just nodded and braced myself for the burn. I got a decent look at the wounds when Melody and Jason helped me dress them, but I knew they were worse than what I was able to make out. And the dressing I did have in my first aid kit hadn’t been nearly enough to cover everything. I was able to barely cover the worst of it. I watched as Raine braced herself-as if she was the one who was going to endure the pain-and tightened her grip on my jeans. Then, in one fluid motion, she pulled my pant leg down and over until it cleared my foot.

My lungs lost all their air as the burn from the rub permeated through my leg and hissed with serious pain. I’m pretty sure some of my meat was attached to the inside of my jeans. “Motherfucker,” I hissed once my lungs filled up with air again. “Sorry,” she immediately rushed out. “Sorry, sorry, sorry…” I waved away her apology. “Not your fault,” I gritted out. “Just…just get to it, please.” My leg twitched when her warm hands grabbed the heel of my foot. I watched as she used her grip on my foot to twist my leg side to side to assess the damage. Her beautiful blue eyes shot up to mine, and she looked concerned. “I get that field dressings are crude at best, but…it looks like your dressing may have become stuck to the dried parts of your cuts, Kade.” Fuck. “I’ll do my best to remove your dressing, but…if it doesn’t come off cleanly, it might get a little painful.” “Christ, Raine,” I bitched. “You don’t need to give me a play-by-play. Just…do whatever you have to do to make sure my leg doesn’t become septic and fall off.” At first, I thought I might have gone too far, snappy at her, but she just rolled her eyes, and as she stood up, she mumbled, “Big baby.” I couldn’t stop my chuckle. “Am not,” I disagreed like a five-year-old. She had her back to me, so couldn’t see her expression, but her voice sounded perfect. “Are, too,” she volleyed back, and I took it as a good sign. When she turned back around with supplies in her hands, I should have paid attention, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her face. I’ve seen and met a lot of women these past few years, and I can’t recall one who stood out like Raine did. She was back on her knees before me and, this time, I was thankful for the blanket. I’m pretty sure she already knew I was attracted to her; my hard dick in her face didn’t need to confirm it. “Okay, Mr. Macho,” she said, teasingly. “I’m done with the play-by-play and you’re just going to take what I give you, understood?”

I smirked. “I love a forceful woman.” Raine stilled and then looked up at me. “Do you?” she asked, her voice serious. My next words were probably going to ruin whatever I wanted to start with her, but I wouldn’t lie to her. “No,” I answered, my voice just as serious as hers had been. “I love a woman who’s willing to surrender every part of herself to me; physically, emotionally and mentally.”

Chapter 5

Raine~ Kade could never know just how momentous his words had been. I had found myself feeling attracted to him, but those words…his affirmation that he preferred delicate women was just what I needed to pull me back into the right head space. He was silent, except for a hiss here and a grimace there, the entire time I worked on him. His wounds were deeper than I thought, and it took quite a bit of cleaning to get most of the dirt and grit out. I dabbed hydrogen peroxide on his leg until the bubbles faded into random simmers. He would need antibiotics and, hopefully, that’s all. I rationed the hard stuff and only used penicillin, and the like, for dire emergencies. When I was done bandaging up his leg, I stood up and looked down at him. “That’s the best it’s going to get. I have some antibiotics you’ll need to take and…you’ll have to keep a close eye on it and make sure it doesn’t become infected.” He gave me a tight nod, like he knew his words changed something between us. But did they really? I’ve known the man for all of less than an hour. There was nothing between us. Kade stayed seated, but his stare was every bit as unnerving had he been standing over me. “Are you going to give me enough antibiotics to go?” This was it. He’s flat out asking me if he’s staying or going. Everything in me was screaming at me to send him on his way. I didn’t know this man, and while there wasn’t anything to prove his story false, there wasn’t anything to prove his story true, either. He was a random stranger, and I had no

reason to trust his intentions here were honorable. But even if I wanted him to stay, we had no extra room, so he would have to bunk up with one of the men and I wasn’t going to force that on anyone. Jason, his wife-Clarisse and Melody shared a cabin. Frank and Jane Briggs shared a cabin. Christy and Marsha Jackson shared a cabin, thus making them a nonoption. The cabins were all small, two-bedroom areas. People doubling up couldn’t spare the space for a third person. William, Armando, Vincent and Lester stayed in the guardhouses, but those were one-bedroom stations. That left Martin and Amy in the primary houses because the spare was used for storage. Then there was Elliot in the only other twobedroom cabin in the clearing. There was no way Martin would let him stay with him, and I couldn’t put him with Amy, because no matter what the men felt for her or what they felt for each other, I wasn’t about to create a potential love triangle. Or sex octagon, as it may be, in this case. That left Elliot. Well, Elliot and me. And putting him with me was definitely out of the question. I found the resolve I knew lay within me and did what I always did. I made the hard decisions so I could continue my way of life. “I’ll be sure to pack you enough antibiotic, dressings and salve to get you to your next destination.” Kade didn’t comment. He didn’t need to. His piercing grey eyes were doing all the talking for him. He wasn’t pissed, more like…regretful, I suppose. I turned around, giving him some privacy, as I started cleaning up and putting the supplies away. I set aside the items I promised him, all the while, trying to ignore the sounds of motion coming from his direction. I was so lost in my mind that I hadn’t heard him come up behind me, but the second I felt the heat from his body envelope my back, my breathing hitched. Then it stopped altogether when I felt his breath on the shell of my right ear. “Thank you.” “Yo…uhm, you’re welcome,” I whispered back.

Before he could say or do anything more, the front door flew open and Marty walked in. We both turned towards him and the look on his face said everything. Our positions looked intimate. But that’s probably because they were. He didn’t close the door behind him, instead he just stood in the doorway. “How’s it going?” I turned back to face the table and resumed gathering up Kade’s supplies. “His wounds are serious, but I’ve done all I can, at this stage.” “So, then he can be on his way, right?” Martin wasn’t doing anything to disguise his dislike for Kade. Not sparing Kade a glance, I turned back towards Martin. “Yep,” I agreed. I handed Kade the bag I made up and walked right past Martin, and out the door, into the clearing. I wasn’t worried about leaving Kade in my cabin because I knew Martin wouldn’t let him be in there alone. He’d wait until Kade gathered all his things and escort him out. I needed some air but, unfortunately, the first people I came across were Jason, Clarisse and Melody Horn. Christy and Marsha Jackson were in the clearing too, but they were busy storing some crops that had been reaped. “How is he?” Melody asked as soon as she stopped in front of me. Shit. “He’s fine, Melody,” I answered as politely as I could. “I cleaned his wounds the best I could, and I gave him some antibiotics to help fight off any infections that might occur.” Even if I hadn’t heard the door to my cabin shut, the look that came over Melody’s face was indication enough that Kade was walking up behind me. Melody rushed around me towards him. “Are you okay?” she asked him, my answer apparently not good enough for her. I turned around just in time to see him smile at her kindly and say, “I’m fine, Melody. Thank you.” He glanced at me really quickly before his grey gaze

turned back to her blue one. “Raine took very good care of me.” Melody started wringing her hands in front of her. “Well, you should still be resting, right? I mean, you probably shouldn’t be putting too much weight on your leg until it heals.” To Kade’s credit, he kept his smile in place and didn’t throw me to the wolves. “Probably, but I need to get going an-” Melody’s back was facing me, so I couldn’t see her face, but the distress in her voice said it all. “What do you mean, you have to get going? You can’t leave,” she screeched. “You’re injured!” By this time, Christy and Marsha stopped their work to see what the new stranger was all about and Elliot, Jane and Frank Briggs, and Amy were already making their way into the clearing. “What’s going on?” Elliot asked, clearly concerned. Martin spoke before I could answer him. “Jason and Melody came across Mr. Montgomery on the back trail. He’d been wounded by a coyote, so they brought him back so Raine could take a look at him.” Martin’s gaze found mine as he added, “And now he’s ready to be on his way.” “On his way?” Elliot echoed. “Are his wounds superficial then?” Melody turned around-in a rather dramatic manner, might I add-and gasped, “Oh, no. His leg was horribly attacked.” Elliot turned his sweet, brown eyes towards me. “Is that true?” I nodded, even though I knew it would piss Martin off. “Well, then, we can’t very well send him off if the man is truly injured now, can we?” The right answer was no. The Christian thing to do was take care of this man until he was well enough to take care of himself. But my gut was still screaming at me that having him here was a bad idea. “We don’t have the room t-”

“He can bunk with me,” Elliot announced. “It’s just me in my cabin, Raine. There’s plenty of room.” I watched, paralyzed, as Elliot walked up to Kade, stuck out his hand and introduced himself. “Elliot Tennyson.” Kade took Elliot’s hand and shook. “Kade Montgomery, sir. Nice to meet you.” Elliot turned to face me. “What do you say, Raine?” I could feel both Martin’s and Kade’s eyes on me, but what was I supposed to say? There was no reason not to accept Elliot’s kind offer for him. Besides, what’s one week? Or two? Kade’s wounds were serious, but they weren’t going to take months to heal. So, the answer was obvious. “Elliot, if you’re sure you don’t mind, I think Kade could use a week or two to heal before he moves on to his next…destination or goes back home,” I relented. I’m not sure whose smile rivaled the sun more, Elliot’s or Melody’s. Melody squealed, and Elliot clasped Kane on his shoulder. He pointed towards his cabin and gave Kade the rundown. “That’s my cabin over there, on the edge.” Kade nodded and gave Elliot another handshake. “I really appreciate the offer, sir. I-” “Enough of this ‘sir’ business,” Elliot kindly interrupted. “Call me Elliot. We’re not formal like that around here.” Kade chuckled. “Elliot.” I wiped the crow off my face and finally addressed Kade. “After you get settled in Elliot’s cabin, meet us back here in the clearing, so I can introduce you to everyone.” Kade cocked his head at me and it was in that moment that he realized I was the one in charge here. He gave me a curt nod before agreeing, “Okay.” While Kade was getting settled in Elliot’s cabin, Martin and I had gone to round everyone up. Most everyone already knew a stranger was brought here, but they

needed to know what was going on. A few minutes later everyone was gathered in the center clearing. I ignored Kade, who was standing next to Elliot, and did the introductions. “As you guys have probably already heard, Jason and Melody came upon someone in need and brought him to the compound for some assistance.” Without looking at Kade, I announced his introduction. “This is Kade Montgomery and he’ll be staying with us while he heals from his injuries. He was attacked by a coyote and his leg is pretty messed up. His injuries are also the same reason he’ll be exempt from the rules.” We all worked. No matter what, we always all worked. Illness was the only exception because we didn’t want germs spread throughout the compound, making us all ill. “He’ll be staying in my cabin while he recovers,” Elliot added. I finally turned towards Kade and wished I hadn’t. He really was too good looking for his own good. “You already know Martin,” I stated, tilting my head towards Marty, “and you’ve already met Jason and Melody Horn, along with Elliot. Let me introduce you to the rest of the group.” I walked over to The Horns and made sure to pay equal attention to every member of the compound. “This is Jason, his wife, Clarisse, and their daughter, Melody.” I walked over to The Briggs next “This is Frank Briggs and Jane, his wife.” Everyone was standing in a semi-circle, so I just went from one member to the next. “This is Christy Jackson, Marsha Jackson and Lester Jackson, all siblings.” I wasn’t blind to how the women were eyeing Kade, but that was the least of my problems. I still had a stranger in our compound who I didn’t trust. “This is Vincent Corelli, Armando Hernandez, William Cho and Amy Leman,” I said, finishing the introductions. “And like I said, you already know Elliot.” A part of me wondered what Kade saw when he took in each member. The men varied, but not one of them matched his height or build. Martin was the closest at 6’2” and just as muscular as I envisioned Kade to be. Jason was 5’11” with brown hair he kept short and kind, brown eyes. He was 52 with a little chubbiness that came with age. His age didn’t stop him from working hard, though. He took care of his family well. Frank had blonde hair with soft, brown eyes. He was 38 and an even six foot and

still in great shape. Lester was a beast. He was 6’1” of strong muscle. He was 30 years old with brown hair that his sisters kept braided in cornrows and hard brown eyes. He was the sweetest thing, though, but worked hard. Vincent was 5’11” with black hair and deep, dark eyes. He was 34 and a little on the lanky side, but he was strong and still pulled his weight even if he didn’t have the muscle Martin and Lester did. Armando had brown hair and brown eyes and stood at about 5’10”. He was 36 and in great shape. His body was lean but ripped and he was our innovator. If I had an idea, he was pretty good at making it a reality. William was 35 and had blonde hair and blue eyes. You could tell he was a mixture of cultures because his coloring was Caucasian, but his features were Asian, as was his last name. He was six foot of lean muscle and he was another hard worker. Elliot was our…comion. He was 58 with red hair and experienced brown eyes. He still had a good muscular build, but he was the oldest out of all of us and we never lost sight of that. His knowledge was invaluable, and I loved the man to death. Before I could dwell on what he might think of the women, Melody’s voice broke through my musings. “I don’t understand why he can’t just stay even after he’s healed,” she blurted out. “Melody,” Clarisse hissed. She knew Melody was walking a fine line of defiance. I turned to Melody and treated her like the adult she was. In this new world, childishness couldn’t be tolerated. She may only be 24 in years, but she’s seen enough that she should be thinking like a 34-year-old. “Just because he hasn’t pulled out a gun to kill us all, does not make him trustworthy, Melody,” I stated coldly. “We know nothing about him and I am not going to welcome him into the compound before I do.” I eyed her so there was no confusion. “No matter how attracted to him you are.”

Chapter 6

Kade~ It’s been a week, and my leg is healing nicely. Much to my dismay. I wasn’t ready to leave. Or if I’m being honest, I’m not ready to leave Raine. The day she made the introductions-and put Melody in her place-everyone had gone back to attend to their business and Raine had stayed with me to explain how everything worked. She also made it clear that she wasn’t explaining things to me so that I could be a part of the group. No. Raine was explaining how things worked so that I wouldn’t get in the way. She made it clear that I was going to have to entertain myself while I was healing, and no one here was here to keep me company, and that included her. And Melody. And even as I wanted to just shut her the fuck up by stuffing my dick in her mouth, I couldn’t lie about how enthralled I was with how organized they were and how well they all worked together to make their compound as selfsustaining as it was. I had also found out that there were two actual shower stalls on either side of the primary cabins where they were able to tap into the waterfall’s waters to create showers that actually worked. When I had mentioned I thought I had heard the rush of powerful waters, she told me about the waterfall on the other side of the cave’s inlet. Raine had gone on to explain how the showers had been such a long, hard undertaking, it was agreed that none of the cabins would have private showers. Everyone used the two stalls, and when the weather was perfect, some of them

even bathed in the waterfall itself. Each cabin did have a refuse stall that had me stunned when I saw it in Elliot’s cabin. Raine hadn’t explained the layout of the cabins to me, she had stressed more upon the work they did and how everyone pulled their weight. She only mentioned the showers in case I felt the need to get clean-which I did. Elliot was the one who told me that, except for Raine’s cabin, all the cabins were built with the same layout. As soon as you entered the front door, you were immediately in the open living area of the cabin. Off to the left was the kitchenette which really wasn’t a kitchen at all. It was more of a storage place for plates, cups and utensils. There was a hallway opening directly in the middle of the back wall, and on either side of that hallway, were the two bedrooms. The bedroom doors were directly opposite of each other and the door at the end of the hallway led to the refuse room. It was fucking amazing. When I asked Elliot how had they managed to build the cabins, all he said was that everything I saw was all Raine. She was the miracle worker. He also mentioned that a lot of what I saw was already here when he was welcomed to stay here. Raine’s cabin used to be a small tent-like structure, but the sewer system had already been in place before there were enough to start building the cabins. Apparently, Raine had spent years digging her way through the earth until she tapped into the sewer lines that worked an old diner a few miles away. The more Elliot told me about her and this place, the more I wanted her. I knew she was tough. I knew she was independent. And I was really struck dumb when I had found out it was, she, that was in charge of the compound and not Martin. This tiny, slip of a woman was in charge of men twice her size and she was the one who ruled. But the more Elliot told me, the more it made sense. Raine was the knowledge. She was the one who made all this come together, and no matter the reason, they all respected her for it. They reveled in what she’s managed to accomplish-much

like I am now-and because they wanted to continue to live unrestricted and happy, no one challenged her. The worst thing somebody here could do was make that woman walk away, taking everything she knew with her. And the more I learned, the more I wanted to see her, and just like Murphy’s Law, the less I saw of her. The girl was amazing. She hunted, she gathered, she repaired, she made trips into town-sometimes on foot, she guarded, she worked the land…she did fucking everything. Because I was laid up the way I was, I had all the time in the world this past week to observe, and the more I observed, the more amazed I became. If outsiders knew what Raine was capable of, she’d be in serious danger. She’d be a prize every person left on the planet would want to possess. It didn’t help that she was as beautiful as she was, either. When she had been making the member introductions last week, my paranoid mind made sure to note everything about every member, and that included the women Raine had introduced. Clarisse Horn looked to be in her early 50s-51 maybe, and it was clear where her daughter got her blonde hair and blue eyes from. Clarisse stood at about 5’6”, and even with age, her figure was still impressive. If she looked anything like Melody in her younger years, Clarisse Horn had been hot. Melody was a little shorter than her mother, maybe 5’4”, or so, but that’s the only slight Mrs. Horn had over her daughter. Melody was, easily, the sexiest woman here. She had a pretty face, a big rack, small waist and flared hips. She was sex on legs, if a little bit immature. Jane Briggs was barely over five foot, making her husband tower over her. She had red hair with bright, green eyes. She looked to be the same age as her husband, 37, maybe, and while she wasn’t overweight, she was a bit soft around the waist. Now, Christy and Marsha Jackson were both extremely pretty women. Christy

was taller than her sister by a couple of inches, putting Marsha at 5’3” and Christy at around 5’6”. Christy was 28 and Marsha 26, but the only reason I knew that was because Lester had mentioned it in casual conversation. Both women were toned from hard work, curvy from their heritage and had the creamiest, dark mocha complexions I’d ever seen. They were truly, truly pretty. They had brown hair with matching ringlets and big, brown eyes. Amy Leman was just a pretty, but in a different way. She was the same age and height as Christy, but with blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a petite build and it fit her pixie style. Everything about her seemed delicate, but watching these people for the past week, I saw that she was just as strong as everyone else here. All the women were lovely in their own way, but none of them were Raine. If I was going to burn in Hell, it’d be to get my hands on Raine, and Raine alone. I also learned that William, Armando, Vincent and Lester lived in the guardhouses, while Amy and Martin lived in the primary cabins, and the third primary cabin was used for storage. Raine had the larger cabin in the clearing with The Briggs and The Horns on the right side of her cabin and Elliot and The Jackson Sisters to the left. Elliot’s cabin was right next to Raine’s and, every night, it took everything I had not to creep out of Elliot’s cabin and sneak into Raine’s. Even if Raine hadn’t been a factor, after a week of being here, I could see why everyone fell in line with Raine’s rules. Who would want to leave? The entire compound was self-sustaining with showers and a refuse line. The first time I used the shower, I had been amazed at how it had been set up to create warm water if you wanted it. It was crudely built, but the best I could describe it was an old fashion coal stove contraption that you adjusted the fire on to heat the water, if you chose. The refuse rooms had round tin tubs filled with water from the wells. Each room had a small bucket you used to carry the water. Once you did your business, you gathered water from the tub in the little bucket and poured it in the refuse basin and off went the waste. I eyed and absorbed everything I saw, but even I knew all of this took some

serious hard work and brilliance to make happen. And it was time to finally pull my weight. I had been excused, but it didn’t sit well with me to see everyone around me working hard, while I sat on my ass. Sure, in the evenings, they all relaxed and mingled and enjoyed the rewards of all their hard work, but still. I might be an injured man, but I was still a man. I wasn’t ten seconds out of Elliot’s cabin when I saw Raine heading towards her cabin. I jogged to catch up with her before she went inside. “Hey,” I called out. “Raine?” She didn’t bother even looking my way. She just jerked her head, instructing me to follower her, and I had absolutely no qualms about being inside her cabin with her. I followed behind her, and this was only the second time I’d been inside her cabin. The first time I had been in too much pain and too enamored of this woman to pay attention to her housing. But now, yeah, I was still enamored of this woman, but I was no longer in pain, and I noticed Raine’s cabin was pretty much built like the others, except for the second hallway that was positioned behind the kitchen area. I wasn’t sure what it led to, but I did notice the main hallway didn’t end with a door leading to the refuse room like all the other cabins. Raine turned to face me, and taking off her work gloves, asked, “What do you want?” “Hi, Raine,” I retorted. “How are you today? How’s work going?” She let out a sigh, dropped her gloves on the table next to her, and placed her hands on her hips. She cocked her head to the left. “Hi, Kade,” she mimicked. “How are you today? How’s your day going?” I smirked because she was such a dick sometimes. I ignored her sarcasm and asked, “Do you have a minute?” The corner of her lip lifted, and I could tell she wanted to laugh at me. “What do

you need, Kade?” God, I was trying to be decent there, and she goes and asks a question like that. “Do you really want to know what it is I need?” I countered. She lifted a brow, clearly not appreciating where I was taking this. “You have exactly one minute to tell me what you want and then I have shit to do, Kade.” One minute. Got it. It took only two steps for me to be looming over her. “I want you naked, shaking and screaming beneath me, as I make you cum over, and fucking over again, Raine,” I growled. “That’s what I want.” Her face was solid, but those eyes…those stunning blue peepers dilated and were excited. “Well, since you’re not going to get that, why don’t you tell me what you really want to ask me?” she replied coolly; pretending to be unaffected. “You’re wasting my time here, Kade.” I took a step back and snapped out of my haze of lust, but this wasn’t over. “My leg feels better,” I informed her. “I want to start pulling my weight around here.” She took a deep breath and my eyes automatically shot to her chest. I couldn’t help it. My dick was hard with images of my previously voiced wants and her tits were perfect. “It’s only been a week-” “And there’s been 24 hours in each one of those days, Raine,” I interrupted. “I’m fine and am up to doing some work.” I decided I needed to be honest here. “I’m going fucking crazy not doing anything, Raine.” “And what is it you want to do?” She threw her hand up to stop the very inappropriate answer I was about to give. “To contribute to the compound,” she clarified. “And fucking me doesn’t contribute to the compound, Kade.” I was trying my best to be good after she shut me down. I swear, I was. But then she had to go say the word ‘fucking’ in reference to fucking her, and I lost it.

I had Raine’s back up against the table, her dark, brown hair tangled in my fist and her body flushed, chest to chest, with mine. Her face gave nothing away, other than the tick in her jaw, but her blue eyes went dark. Her hands were splayed across my chest, but she wasn’t pushing me back. No. She was standing her ground and letting me know she was the exact opposite of how I described how I liked my women. Raine would never surrender herself for some convenient dick. But I bet she would for the man she’d fall in love with one day. Oh, yeah. She’d surrender everything, and I bet it’d be the most beautiful thing to ever happen on this planet. “You might want to get your hands off me, Kade,” she warned. Fuck it. I’d already crossed the line. If she was going to kick me out of the compound, I was going to make sure it was worth it. “That’s the last thing I want to do, Raine,” I replied. “I want my hands all over your goddamn body, baby.” “And you think the way to do that is to take?” she countered, still not pushing me away. Hell, fucking, yes. There’s no way Raine would give in without a fight. I knew this as well as I knew my own name. “I think you fantasize about me forcing my cock inside that nice, tight pussy of yours,” I challenged, hoping like hell she didn’t murder me on the spot. Raine smirked, and I had never wanted a woman more than I wanted this woman right here and right now. “The only way you’re ever going to find out is if you get your fucking hands off me right now and get out there and work,” she snapped, finally loosening her grip on her composure. “Go out there and prove to me you’re not an outright pussy and maybe I’ll give you my pussy,” she challenged right back. “You want to prove you’re well enough to pull your weight…well, then, go prove it.” Her eyes were like blue fire. “But if you end up

being a little bitch, the next time you put your hands on me, it’ll be the last.”

Chapter 7

Raine~ Kade had worked his ass off yesterday when he untangled himself from my person and left my cabin. I had to take a full ten minutes to gather myself before I went back out to help with the crops, and while it helped me to calm the heat in my veins, it hadn’t helped to clear my mind of the man. I’d never really given any thought to what type of man did it for me. Love, lust, sex, attraction…all of those things were a luxury in my life, not necessarily a necessity. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about what it would feel like to have a boyfriend or husband, I just had more important things to tend to. You know…like survival. And maintaining that survival. But Kade’s attack had me wondering about those dark images he had planted inside my head. His hands in my hair had felt decadent, and I hadn’t been opposed to the sensation. Once I had ed the to finish out our workday, I couldn’t help but notice how Kade took everything Martin had thrown at him and finished it with ease and extra effort. Every time Martin caught me looking Kade’s way, he had assumed I was concerned about his leg, and would tell me to relax. Martin had promised me he wouldn’t push Kade farther than what he was capable. I let Marty’s words convince me that it was Kade’s leg I was concerned about and not the sweat dripping down his bare chest and down his back. At the end of the day, I had gone to Elliot’s cabin to check on Kade, and while his leg had been slightly swollen, it made it through intact. And it had taken some arguing, and wise words from Elliot, but I made Kade promise he’d go easy today to give his leg a break. He argued, but then quickly conceded when I had made it clear that he had proven himself.

And I hadn’t been the only one who noticed. Christy, Marsha, Amy and Melody had all taken notice. I think even Clarisse and Jane had hearts in their eyes there for a moment. It didn’t escape my attention how, while Christy, Marsha and Amy were appreciating Kade on a purely physical level, Melody’s expressions were colored a bit green. Melody had clearly put a claim on Kade, and I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. He wasn’t mine and could do what he wanted. But I feared Melody’s crush might make her difficult if he couldn’t stay. We were all hanging out in the clearing, resting after a long week. Saturday evenings were our winding down time and Sundays were for complete rest. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we, all, agreed we worked hard enough during the week to take Sundays off. We were stockpiled with enough goods that one day a week wouldn’t ruin us. It was…nice. “Are you going to let him stay?” Marty asked me, bringing me back to the present. He was sitting next to me on the bench that lined up with the front door of my cabin. “What do you think?” I wasn’t sure what to do about Kade just yet, and I wasn’t too proud to ask for advice. We stared straight ahead, taking in how the were having a good time, while we had this conversation. “He’s a hard worker,” he answered. “He’s more than capable of pulling his weight.” “What about what’s going on with him and Melody?” “Is there anything going on between him and Melody besides her crush on him?” he replied, and I hated the relief I felt at his words. “Doesn’t matter,” I countered. “If she likes him, that, in of itself, is enough to cause problems. They could get together and have a bad break-up. They could get together, and she gets pregnant causing all kinds of drama with The Horns.

Or, he rejects her, and she becomes difficult.” “All possibilities,” Marty agreed. “However, he could let her down easily, with no drama, and everyone lives happily ever after.” I laughed. Marty was so ridiculous sometimes. I turned to him and arched a brow. “I didn’t know you were a romantic,” I teased. “Tell anyone and I’ll kill you,” he teased back. “So, you think we should let him stay?” I asked, point blank. Marty gave me a tender smile. “I love how you always use the words ‘us’ and ‘we’.” I shrugged a shoulder. “That’s because we are a ‘we’ and an ‘us’,” I responded. “It doesn’t matter what I know, Marty. I couldn’t have done any of this without all of you.” I nudged his knee with mine. “We’re a team. All of us.” Marty turned his eyes back to everyone in the clearing, specifically Kade. Kade was sitting with Armando, but the girls were randomly finding reasons to approach their table. I caught Armando chuckling a couple of times, no doubt, laughing at how they were flirting with Kade. They wouldn’t be flirting with Armando, and not because he wasn’t attractive. It’s just he’s been here long enough that if something were going to happen between him and one of the girls, it would have already. Oh, people here have paired up, and Vincent and Marsha were even an item, of sorts. But no one was flagrant or disrespectful with how they behaved with one another. We even kept mum about Amy’s friendliness. She provided something for the men here, and since emotions weren’t involved, the men who visited Amy did so maturely and everyone understood what it was all about. Christy and William found solace in each other’s arms from time to time, and so Amy’s visitors really just consisted of Armando, Lester, Elliot and Martin. No one judged because the alternative was not a pleasant thought. Without their…

arrangements with Amy, these men would either, combust, leave or bring back diseases from trips to town. And those trips to town might bring back unwanted followers. God, I needed to make a trip into Braxton soon. Samuel would be a good distraction right now. “I think you should let him stay,” Marty said, surprising me. I looked out towards the clearing. “I thought you didn’t like him,” I said, wondering if I’ve read everything wrong. Martin huffed out a pitiful laugh. “I don’t like that he has a thing for you,” he replied. “But, other than that, I got nothing against him.” “And would it cause problems if I had a thing for him?” It wasn’t that I was declaring my interest for Kade. I just needed to know what it would do to our relationship if something were to pop off between me and Kade. Martin knew about Samuel, but he’d never voiced his opinion on Samuel, one way or the other. Marty looked back at me. “I love you more than anybody on the planet, Raine,” he said, as if I didn’t already know this. “And, at one point in time, I would have loved for you to be my happily ever after. But, all these years later, I know that what I have with you is beyond a happily ever after. And that’s what I hold dear.” “What do you mean?” He smirked. “Men may come and go,” he started. “Hell, you might meet a man, one day, who doesn’t go. But, because you love me the way you do, I’ll never be a ing fad.” “God, some days, I wished I loved you like that,” I itted. “It’d make things so much easier, Marty.” “I’ve wished for that, too,” he confessed. “But I can’t help but feel like what we have is more important than whatever it is we’d have in a relationship. Just…” I turned my eyes back to the side of his face. “Just what?”

“Be careful with him if you do choose to partake,” he warned. “And, for the love of God, tell him about Samuel before anything happens. He doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who shares.” “Like you?” I teased, letting him know I know about Amy and trying to deflect from the seriousness of Kade. “It’s easy to share someone you don’t care about,” he retorted. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I care about Amy like I care about everyone here, but I’m not confused about what we do in her bedroom.” “Is it wrong that I’m grateful that she…does that for you guys?” Marty’s expression softened, and he wrapped his arm around me. “No, Raine,” he answered. “It’s not wrong. Amy’s not being forced to do anything she doesn’t want to do. It works, Rae…don’t over think it, babe.” I let out a deep sigh and gave in to the comfort of Marty’s arm. I wanted to curl myself into his body and just sleep in his warm embrace. Maybe Marty was right and what we had was more special than any relationship we could have had. “Okay,” I huffed. “Can you, please, go tell Kade I’d like to speak with him?” I felt Marty’s lips on the top of head before he said, “Sure thing, babe.” He unwrapped himself from around my shoulders and I watched as he walked over to where Kade was sitting with Elliot and speaking with Melody. Kade’s grey gaze shot towards me, and I tilted my head towards my cabin, as I stood up and turned to walk inside. It was sad that it was only a few seconds before I felt Kade walking in, but I needed every bit of those precious seconds to get my shit together. I turned around to face him the second I heard the door shut closed. “Any one of the guys has condoms available for you, if you’re going to need one.” I hadn’t meant to lead with that, but that’s what came out of my mouth. Kade crossed his arms over his chest and spread his stance as if he was getting ready to go to battle. “Are you saying you’re ready to bend over for me?”

It was crude, and I should probably be offended, but I haven’t forgotten what he said about what he likes in his women. “You’ve already made it clear that I’m not your type, Kade. That little show of force yesterday was just that; a game between two bored people.” “So, then, why mention the condoms if you’re not going to let me fuck you?” Again, he was going for shock, but little did he know, I’ve been through too much to be shocked anymore. “Because you don’t seem the type of man who’ll be satisfied with your hand for long,” I answered, being just as crude. “Sooner or later, Melody’s curves are going to be hard to resist. Or Amy’s open invitation will start sounding wonderful.” “Is this your way of telling me I can stay, if I want?” he asked, neither confirming nor denying what I said about Amy or Melody. “I’ll have to ask everyone if they’re comfortable with having you here,” I clarified. “But if they all say yes, then you’re more than welcomed to remain here, if you want.” His arms dropped, and he stepped towards me, until he was toe-to-toe with me. I had to tilt my head back to be able to hold his gaze. This asshole was not going to intimidate me. His gray eyes lasered into my blue ones. “And what about you? Do you want me here?” “These decisions aren’t made by me alone, contrary to what you may believe,” I replied. “We decide things that will affect the compound together.” He ignored my words. “Do. You. Want. Me. Here. Raine?” he repeated, his voice cold. “It doesn’t make a different to me whether you stay or not, Kade,” I said, dodging his direct question. “I’m simply stating that you can stay if you want to. Or you can go if you want to do that, also.” Kade reached up and pushed an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “You didn’t answer my question, Raine. Do you want me here?” “I did answer you,” I argued. “I don’t care if you stay or not, Kade. My life will

continue the same no matter what you decide.” He smirked like he knew I was lying. “Not true,” he whispered as he took my chin in between his fingers. “If I stay, your life is most definitely going to change.” I jerked my face out of his hold. “Let me know by the morning. I’m going into town, and if you’re staying, I’ll need to make the adjustments to what we normally stock. Gotta make allowances for one more mouth to feed.” Kade took a step back and scoffed at my flippancy. “You know, I’m beginning to change my stance on what type of woman does it for me,” he quipped. “I’m thinking meek and easy are just boring.” “Kade, I’m not going to lie and say it hasn’t been fun joking with you and playing this little cat-and-mouse game with you, but that’s all this is,” I stated, hoping he was hearing me. “We’re not going to happen, Kade. So, if that’s a deciding factor for you, then think long and hard about it before you give me your decision in the morning.” He didn’t say anything right away. He sort of just studied me, tilting his head to the side, sort of looking for a…I don’t know what he was looking for, but it was all I could do not to squirm under his perusal. When he finally spoke, it felt like a threat more than a mutual agreement. “I don’t need to think it over,” he said. “I’ll stay, if everyone is in agreement, and Elliot doesn’t mind a roommate for a while. But you might want to think it over and give me an answer in the morning on whether you want me here or not.” Kade ran the back of his fingers across my cheek. “Because, baby, every waking minute that I’m not working my ass off for you, I’m going to be spending them trying to get between your sweet, soft thighs.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond. He winked at me and walked out of my cabin leaving me weak-kneed. I knew everyone would be in favor of his staying. The guys like him and the girls really liked him. Elliot seemed to really enjoy having the company and I couldn’t ignore that the older Elliot got, the more we were going to need a replacement for him if we wanted to maintain how things ran. I had every intention of letting Elliot remain here until he ed in his sleep. And it looked

like Kane was his replacement.

Chapter 8

Kade~ The vote had been unanimous. Even Martin voted for me to stay and that surprised me. I knew he didn’t care for me, but maybe there was more to his way of thinking than I was giving him credit for. It had been agreed that I would stay with Elliot, but only until I could build my own structure. When I told Martin and Elliot I didn’t need to be in a cabin, that I was fine with a stable tent or something, they had scoffed and insisted that Raine wouldn’t stand for it. Nobody in the compound was treated better than the next person. Everyone had equal rations, clothing items, eating items, work necessities, and housing. Apparently, it was important to Raine that everyone was treated equally. The only reason her cabin was bigger than everyone else’s was because Amy had been her first guest and they built Raine’s cabin as a shelter for the both of them, and the undertaking had taken a couple of years and a lot of hard work, they held off on building anything else until they had welcomed new ; enough to help build what they have now. When I was laid up, Melody had informed me that everyone washed their clothes in the waterfall and there were drying lines behind each cabin to hang our clothes to dry. So, I was about to take my work clothes for a washing when I saw Raine coming out of her cabin, a backpack on. I jogged up to her. “You going into town?” I her telling me she would have to take a trip into the unauthorized town of Braxton if I was staying. Her stride didn’t pause, in the least. “Yeah,” she answered, walking in between the cabins towards the back. I followed. It wasn’t until we were a few yards from the back of her cabin that I

saw her weaving her way around a couple of big motherfucking trees. I kept following and stopped in my tracks when I saw an old, beat up, dark gray truck. From the front angle, it looked to be the size of those old Chevy Silverados. A 1500 series, maybe. Holy fuck. Almost no one had cars or trucks these days. Most cities had governed transportation and most camping villages didn’t have trails for vehicles. Vehicles weren’t banned, but the upkeep was so expensive, most people didn’t bother. But I understood why Raine kept her truck hidden. I came out of my stupor, and walked over, and began helping her load the bundles of crops and cloths I noticed were laying on the ground next to the truck. “What’s all this?” I asked as I helped load the truck. She didn’t stop hauling shit into the bed of the truck as she answered, “I try not to deal in money, if I don’t have to.” I didn’t blame her. If vehicles were rare, money was even more so. “I deal in trade, mostly. There’s a store in Braxton that works with me.” “Can I go?” Raine placed her bundled in the truck and turned towards me. “Why?” I didn’t stop loading the bundles. If I could get most of them in the truck, then I would. I hated that she worked so hard, but I knew better than to say so. “Has no one ever gone with you?” She blew a wayward strand of chocolate from her face and furrowed her brows. “No,” she answered. “Everyone has gone with me at one time or another. I just want to know why you want to go to town?” “Is it such an odd request?” I asked, ignoring her question. “No,” she repeated. “I just don’t trust you, Kade.” Good.

She shouldn’t. “I’m not confused about that, Raine,” I stated, knowing she meant what she was saying. “I’d just like to go. See…something different.” She arched a brow, but then nodded a second later. “Okay,” she conceded. “Hop in.” I hadn’t meant to, but as independent as she was, I wasn’t going to soften my masculinity because of it. I walked around and opened her door for her. I could tell she wasn’t expecting it, but she didn’t give me any shit about it. She got in the truck and she even let me shut the door once she was settled. A rapid-fire thought occurred to me that she might have been playing nice because she was going to take off the second I cleared the truck, but she hadn’t. Raine waited patiently for me to open the door and get in the truck. I did my best to pay attention to the rustic road that led to an actual street, and I noticed the round away was a few miles out before you reached the street. I watched for specific trees, rocks or formations, and made note of the pathway. I had a feeling that no one used the truck, other than Raine, but you never know. I needed to know where to go if I needed to. And Raine sat next to me, not saying a word, very aware of what I was doing. The girl felt no threats, that’s for sure. Once we hit pavement, I finally turned to her and asked, “How long have you been doing business in Braxton?” “About five years,” she answered easily. “I didn’t need to do much business in town until The Horns ed us and we grew substantially with those three.” I turned to face her. I was still so amazed by her accomplishments, I was genuinely interested when I asked, “How did you guys come to be?” She was quiet for a few seconds and, for a couple of those seconds, I didn’t think she was going to answer me, but she finally did. “It was just me for the first couple years after I discovered the clearing. I spent every day of those two years creating a…livable space. I…” I could tell she was uncomfortable giving herself

credit for all the things she’s done. It was…refreshing. “…I connected a usable refuse line and built a sustainable hut sort of tent thing. I cultivated the land to grow rotating crops, and that was pretty much all I did.” “All?” I snorted. “I’d say that’s a lot, Raine.” She ignored my compliment and continued with her story. “I was coming back from a hunt when I came across Amy…uh, stranded on one of the trails and she’d been…she wasn’t well. I couldn’t just leave her there, so I carried her back to the clearing an-” “You carried her back to the clearing?” I interrupted incredulously. Raine rolled her eyes but didn’t comment. “Once she was well, she did everything she could to contribute so she could stay. It took us about a year, but we were able to build the big cabin and we shared the space for two years before her cabin was built. We were able to build the three primary cabins in record time because by the time we finished our cabin, Martin showed up and The Briggs arrived right after that.” “They just showed up?” She smiled, and I could tell whatever she and Martin had, they’ve had it from the beginning. “I ran into Martin on a hunt. We were shooting for the same animal and he was…impressed that my shot was the kill shot.” She shrugged a shoulder. “We got to talking, and the rest is history. Next, came The Briggs. They actually found the waterfall and Frank had fallen in off a loose ledge and Jane was screaming for him. She was too tiny to help him. We heard her screaming and Martin, Amy and I went running and we were able to chain-link ourselves to pull Frank out. They were so grateful, they pledged the rest of their lives to us, even though, I made it clear they didn’t need to. They’ve been working their asses off for the compound ever since.” “I can only imagine how grateful Jane must have felt,” I reasoned. “If all she had in this life was Frank, then you guys saving him, saved her.” Raine nodded in agreement. “A couple of months after Frank and Jane showed up, Martin and I were hunting, and we stumbled upon Lester, Christy and Marsha. They were actually in a standoff with about five other men in the area. They were making crude remarks about the girls and Lester was doing his best to

protect his sisters. Martin and I ed in and that evened the odds. It was now five against five and that dampened their bravado.” “What happened?” Rained side-eyed me really quickly before returning her eyes back to the road. “We killed them,” she stated all matter of fact. “They were too close to the compound, and they had proven to be…a bit dangerous.” I remained silent and let her continue. “By this time, we had grown rather rapidly. We were able to build the three primary cabins and sow more crops. Everyone was wonderful with the teamwork. Armando showed up genuinely lost. I got such a good vibe from him, I let him stay without any qualms.” “He does seem like a really decent dude,” I agreed. Raine smiled. “Yeah, he is,” she confirmed. “Once he showed up, I had to make the move to find an unauthorized town to trade at. We were growing too fast, and we needed more stuff. The first city I found was Grand Place 14, and I had barely made it out of there alive. But during my escape, I ran into The Horns. Melody had only been 18 years old and she was a hysterical mess because Jason had been shot during his refusal to cooperate with the government. I found them on the side of the road, and I couldn’t leave them there. I hauled them up in my truck and drove them to the compound where Amy and I worked on Jason’s bullet wound. Luckily, he survived getting shot.” “Jesus.” I would have never thought. “That’s when I needed to find an unauthorized town. Grand Place 14 was not an option any longer. Elliot showed up after his com broke and he was genuinely lost. He would have starved to death, or worse, had Martin not come upon him in the wilderness. Vincent came next. He had been thrown from a cliff and actually landed at Lester’s and Frank’s feet while they were hunting. Vincent had been beaten and left for dead.” “And William?” “I met William in the store I traded at,” she said, smiling. “He was so thin and frail, my heart hurt for him. He was hiding behind the dumpster I use when I need to clean out my truck. I basically kidnapped him, and he’s never complained.”

“And, now, me,” I said, just to be ornery. “And, now, you,” she repeated, not taking the bait. The rest of the ride was made in silence. I took in the scenery and tried to make note of anything unusual. Just because Braxton was a small town, didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous to be out here. Any town that wasn’t a government-sanctioned town was dangerous. We finally pulled into town and the place looked deserted, but I knew better. They were meant to look this way to stay off the radar. The citizens who lived and worked in unauthorized towns ran the risk of imprisonment, or worse, just like the citizens who patroned the towns. Raine pulled her truck into a rusted, abandoned looking building. I watched as she got out, walked towards the garage door, and entered a code into its keypad. She turned to get back into the truck as the garage door lifted, allowing us entry. Once we inside, the door automatically shut behind us, and lights turned on overhead. I turned to Raine and watched her smile and get out of the truck. I took that as my cue and got out, also. “Do we need to carry our barter in?” “Not yet,” she replied. “We need to shop the store first. If they don’t have anything I need, then there’s no point in getting all of our stuff down.” “Does that happen a lot?” She shook her head. “No. Samuel’s good about keeping the shelves stocked with things people actually need.” Her answer was simple, easy and innocent. But the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when she said the name ‘Samuel’. I knew she’d been coming here for five years, but something didn’t sit right with me. I kept my thoughts to myself and followed her as she entered another code into the keypad at the man door. It opened, and I followed as we let ourselves into a fully functioning barter store. It was rather remarkable.

The outside walls were obviously false walls, created to look broken and abandoned. Glancing around the store was smaller than what the building allowed, but I’d bet my left nut that if someone were to peek inside the ‘broken windows’ they’d see an ‘abandoned’ store. The real store was inside the false walls that were about ten feet out. “Samuel?” Raine called out, as we walked up to a counter, and that tingled I experienced earlier ran down the length of my spine, as a man came around from the back. I instantly hated him. He was about six foot, with dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. He was medium built but had enough muscle to show that he took care of himself, and in his mid-30s, I’d say. Granted, in this day and age, most men stayed in shape. It really was survival of the fittest. I watched as he came upon the counter and gave Raine an easy smile. The smile reached all the way to his eyes, and I knew. I just fucking knew. “Hey, Raine,” he greeted, then jerked his head towards me. “Who do you have there?” “This is Kade,” she answered. “He’s our newest compound member. He wanted to come along, and I figured you should meet him, in case I ever need to send him into town.” “Well, I’ve met all the other ,” he replied, his eyes back on Raine. “Makes sense I should meet him too.” Raine turned towards me. “Kane, I’d like you to meet Samuel. He’s our barter.” “Awe, Raine,” he cooed. “I’m a little more than that, aren’t I, babe?”

Chapter 9

Raine~ I almost cringed. While I didn’t owe Kade any explanations on what I did or who I did, Samuel outing us so casually didn’t sit well with me. And Samuel must not have noticed my expression or Kade’s vibe because he kept talking. “I was kind of hoping you were going to make your next trip alone.” His eyes roamed up and down my body. “It’s been too long, Raine.” He wasn’t wrong. It’s been months since I’ve made a trip alone, probably close to eight months since we last hooked up. Now, I wasn’t stupid. I knew I wasn’t the only woman Samuel was getting the goods from, but I didn’t care. Samuel and his penis served a particular purpose, and it wasn’t to make me fall in love. “Well, I’m not alone and I’m here to shop, Sam,” I said, effectively putting an end to his flirting. Samuel was a sweetheart, but he was still a businessman. He smirked and let it go. “The back row’s all yours, gorgeous.” I winked at him, hoping to ease the bite of my words. “Thanks, Sam.” Without looking at Kade, I headed towards the back row that Samuel had designated as mine about three years back. “In case you ever have to come into town without me, the back row is kind of assigned for the compound. Samuel’s a great barter and notes everything his customers need. We have a routine stock of things we always need and if we need anything out of the norm, we put in a request and make the payment arrangements before Samuel acquires it for us.” Kade and I had just rounded the corner into the aisle when I felt his hand grip my arm and swing me around. He had me up against the racks before I could even find my footing. He bored down on me and hissed, “Are you fucking him?” “That’s none of your business,” I hissed right back.

His left eye twitched, and he looked like he was losing it. “The fuck it isn’t,” he argued. “Samuel is none of your business any more than Melody is mine,” I threw back. Kade’s grip on my arm tightened. “I’m not fucking Melody,” he repeated. “And if you’ve been fucking Samuel, that shit stops now, Raine. Do you hear me?” I was not going to have this conversation here. We didn’t have the luxury of time and I wasn’t going to fight about Samuel with Samuel only a few feet away. “As much as I’d love to stand here and discuss shit that is none of your concern, we don’t exactly have hours on hand to fuck around, Kade,” I reminded him. “You either start shopping with me or go wait out in the fucking truck, but I am not doing this with you right here, right now.” He let go of my arm, but fury was coming off him in waves. The sooner we got our shit and got out of here, the better. It only took about 30 minutes, but it was a painful 30 minutes. We found some stuff, and once I told Samuel what we had, Kade and Samuel had gone out to the truck to unload our commodities to make the trades. Samuel also wasn’t as blind or naïve as I would have loved for him to be. The second Kade and I had come out of the aisle, Samuel knew Kade was metaphorically pissing a ring around me. Kade had looked like he had wanted to kill Samuel and Samuel did nothing to hide his smugness. It was horrible. We were only three miles down the road when Kade lost his shit on me again. “I swear to God, Raine, you better not ever go into Braxton, again, without me.” The man had nerve, I’ll give him that. “I’m still confused as to why you think you have the right to tell me what to do, Kane,” I replied simply. “Just because you’ve made some offhanded remarks about wanting to sleep with me doesn’t mean we’re a couple or that we’re even going to sleep together.” The man growled.

He actually fucking growled. It was kind of hot. But I needed to focus. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he snapped. “I have every intention of fucking you, Raine, and I do not share. I don’t care when the last time was that you were with Samuel but know that it was the last time.” My hands white knuckled the steering wheel. Kade needed a reality check, even if his alpha nonsense was turning me on. “Think again, Kade,” I remarked coolly. And that’s when the crazy sonofabitch almost killed us. Before I could even what Kade was about, he had his seatbelt off, and was reaching over, grabbing the steering wheel and running us off the road. My feet hit the brakes, as we fought for control, and we’d nearly upended as we drove into a side trail that led to nowhere. When the truck came to a screeching halt, I turned and screamed, “Are you out of your fucking mind!?” And because I was too busy screaming at him, I hadn’t noticed that he reached over and unbuckled my seatbelt. The next thing I knew, Kade’s hands were on my hips, dragging me across the seat, until I was straddling him. Holy shit! His fists were in my hair and his hard cock was centered perfectly between my legs. Even with the both of us wearing denim, I could feel the obvious imprint of his rather sizeable dick. I started raining my fist down on his chest. “What the fuck are you doing!?” And, in a move I hadn’t anticipated, he untangled one of his hands from my hair, and grabbed onto my flailing hands, securing them between our chests. One fist in my hair, the other trapping my hands, Kade leaned into my face until his breath was touching my lips. “You can tell yourself whatever the fuck you

like, Raine,” he raged coldly in my face. “But, you and me? We’re happening. I’m going to be balls deep in your pussy before we reach our breaking point and go off and kill each other.” I twisted and turned, trying to break his hold, but the more I squirmed, the more his dick rubbed up against me. “If you need dick, you get it from me from now on. You got that?” Hell no, I didn’t get that. It was completely irrelevant that I was attracted to him. It was completely irrelevant that I wanted all the things that he’s planted inside my imagination. None of it matter as long as he believed he could rule me. I was getting off on his alpha personality, but my mind was still in control. “Don’t mistake the fact that I let you put your hands on me, and still kept you around, as a sign that you get the final say so over me and what I do, Kade.” His penetrating grey eyes bore into mine. “I have no problem letting you rule the world, Raine,” he said, still seething, “but when it comes to spreading your legs, that’s meant for me, and only me!” I started thrashing around because his words were starting to make me crave things that could ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for. “Let me go!” Kade tightened his hold on my wrists and hair. “Say it,” he snapped. “No more Samuel.” I wanted him to go to Hell, but we didn’t have time for this. We were out in the open in a vehicle anyone could decide to want. We had a bed full of supplies and items people would kill for. If Kade wanted to fight about who I had in my bed, then we could fight; but not here, and not now. So, I gave him what he wanted. “No more Samuel,” I hissed, my voice cold, but my body on fire. Kade searched my eyes, and I don’t know what he saw, but his grip loosened, and his breathing calmed. Fuck. The dude really was pissed. Maybe Marty was right, and I should have mentioned Samuel before letting Kade come into town with me. Or maybe I wasn’t as immune to Melody’s blatant claim on Kade as I pretended to be, and I wanted Kade to know what it was like to witness someone

else’s interest. Or maybe I was just stupid. While his hold loosened, and he allowed me to finally jump off his lap and get back into the driver’s seat of the truck, his voice was still hard. “I mean it, Raine.” I didn’t reply because…I mean, what was there to say? We still weren’t in a position to argue over this on the side of the road. I pulled the truck back onto the road and the rest of the drive home was made in complete, uncomfortable silence. I could feel Kade’s fury from my side of the truck. And, in all honestly, I didn’t understand what he was so pissed off about. I mean, the man couldn’t have believed I was a virgin or any such thing, so what was his deal? He’s only been with us a little over a week and he was behaving like we’ve been married for years and some random man was trying to make his way with me. It was ridiculous. When we pulled up to the compound, I parked the truck back under the Cottonwood that hid it and got out of the truck to start unloading the items we brought back. The second I reached the clearing, Martin saw me and jogged over to help unload the truck. When I put my box on the table in the clearing, Kade slammed the box he was carrying down on the table next to mine and stormed back towards the truck. I hung my head and let out a deep sigh. He was proving to be the biggest pain in my ass. When I turned to go grab another box, Martin was already walking back into the clearing with a load. His lips twisted, and he gave me a pointed look. “I take it Kade met Samuel?” “Ya think?” I exhaled, and ignoring Martin, headed back towards the truck. All in all, the three of us made four trips and by the time Kade dropped the last box on the table and I hid the truck again, everyone in the compound was in the clearing, eager to see what new goods we came back with. It always made me feel good to be able to provide for my friends and it felt like Christmas morning when I made trips back from town.

Martin, Lester and Jane started unveiling the boxes to show what we brought back when Melody piped up. “Did you guys go to town together?” I wasn’t confused about who she was referring to. She probably got up this morning and went looking for Kade to find he wasn’t around. Everyone averted their eyes and pretended to be more interested in the goody boxes than Melody’s words. Pain. In. My. Ass. “Kade went with me,” I confirmed for her. “If he’s going to remain here, he needed to meet Samuel, just as all of you have.” She looked to be appeased by my explanation, but this thing with her and Kade was quickly becoming a problem. She wasn’t subtle at all about her interest in him. Melody looked over at Kade and I could tell she could see he was upset. Everyone could tell. Kade was doing nothing to hide his irritation. “How d’you like Braxton?” she asked him. “Samuel’s pretty cool.” Jesus. Kade’s pissed off, grey eyes bore into Melody’s clueless blue ones and said, “Braxton was interesting and Samuel’s pretty cool as long as he doesn’t touch what’s mine.” You could literally feel everyone stop breathing. This was it. This would be the defining moment in where this thing with me and Kade went. On how everyone would view him, and what it meant for all of us. Melody was the first to snap out of her stupor. “Wh…what…what do you mean? What do you mean he’s cool as long as he doesn’t touch what’s yours?” She knew what he meant, but she was a glutton for punishment and needed to hear the words.” “Raine,” he replied; one simple word that held so much meaning. “As long as he

doesn’t touch Raine, everything will be fine. As long as no one touches Raine, everything will be fine.” I turned to face him and try to…well, I didn’t know what, but I felt I needed to say something. “Kade, this is not how we do things here,” I started explaining. “We respect one another’s priva-” “So, what?” Melody cried, interrupting me “You two are…dating, or something?” “Melody!” Jason snapped at his daughter. “What, Dad?” she barked. “Raine knew I was hoping…hoping…” I couldn’t let this happen. We didn’t have drama here. The very foundation of what we’ve all built together was based on mutual respect and Kane was undoing all that by just being here. “Melody-” “Melody,” Kade said, interrupting me, his voice soft and not at all as cold as it had been mere minutes earlier. “I’m sorry if my interest in Raine is upsetting for you, but I’ve been interested in Raine since I first saw her. It’s only been her, and I’m very sorry if that’s…if it hurts your feelings…” The man needed to just shut his trap. With no understanding of what it’s like to be a woman with a crush, he was just making things worse. “Melody-” “This is bullshit!” she screamed, and I couldn’t even be mad at her. I felt her heartbreak. Kade was the one chance she’s had in years to be with someone; to have someone to hold. “Okay,” Martin roared. “That’s enough. From everybody.” He looked over at me, letting everyone know I was still the one in charge, even if he was taking over this fucking mess. “Let’s get back to putting away our run and let Raine and Kade manage their own private business.” And because he ed me blindly, he turned to Jason and Clarisse and said, “Get your daughter under control. Her jealousy is not Raine’s lack of character or loyalty.” The clearing was deathly silent, save for the noises reaching us from beyond the wilderness. We all worked to separate the goods and to store and distribute. But once that was done, I walked into my cabin and stayed there.

I didn’t need this shit.

Chapter 10

Kade~ I fucked up. I fucked up, and I was man enough to it it. And, while I had plenty of reasons for my fuck up, I didn’t know if any of them were good enough excuses for acting like a Grade A asshole. The second I had laid eyes on Raine, my attraction to her had been swift and potent. I knew I wanted her, and that attraction wasn’t going to go anywhere. She was a fucking stunner and any man worth his salt would want to fuck her. And as the got more comfortable around me, they told me all about her accomplishments and what she was capable of. That’s when what I was feeling for her started reaching beyond the boundaries of mere attraction. I was learning what a phenomenal person she truly was, and I was pretty sure she had no idea what an actual treasure she was. With each day, my iration for her grew. Watching her work alongside everyone, watching her treat everyone equally special…it was surprising. In a world that’s seen war and people were fighting for themselves, here was this slip of a girl, doing everything she could to make the people around her grow, prosper and be happy. Now, while I already knew I wanted Raine physically, what I hadn’t expected was the fierce, raw, blood curling jealousy I felt when Samuel had made that one, small reference to having more with Raine than just a platonic bartering dealership. I had wanted to kill the motherfucker. And I hadn’t wanted to kill anyone like that since the day my father left my mother behind to die.

I hadn’t given much thought to whether Raine had been a virgin or not, but hearing all the stories of how all she did was work and maintain the compound’s structured way of life, I just kind of figured she was too busy to be getting it on with anyone. At first, I thought she had something going on with Martin, but I soon realized that they just had a really tight connection that only came when you trusted somebody with your life. Had Martin been sleeping with Raine, he would have never voted to keep me on. He would have gotten rid of me the second he could sense I wanted her. And he sensed that the second I laid eyes on her. I’m not sure if she has a past with any of the other men in the compound, but something told me she didn’t. Something about Raine told me that there’s no way she’d tip the balance of life here by sleeping with one of the guys here. And by me outing us…well, outing whatever was between us, I had done just that. I tipped the balance causing Melody to lose her shit and challenge Raine in front of everyone. The apology I gave Melody wasn’t even really an apology. I didn’t feel as if I had anything to apologize for. I never even hinted at wanting something with the girl. Raine’s been all I’ve been able to see since I fucking got here. But it didn’t matter. Melody was upset, and in turn, her parents were upset and that, in turn, upset Raine. The rushing water was the excuse I gave myself for not hearing Amy come upon me. It wasn’t until she was seated next to me on the rock that I turned and noticed her. “This waterfall is so beautiful, don’t you think?” she asked. I eyed the waters, and she was right. It was a stunning view. The blues, whites and dark purples of the waters made for a magnificent sight. “Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s very beautiful.” “And peaceful,” she added. “The sound of the rushing water drowns out everything around you. Helps you think, or not think, if that’s what you need to do.”

“That it does,” I agreed, not giving her anything more. I felt her nudge my shoulder with hers. “Don’t let this crap with Melody get to you, Kade. She’s young and dramatic.” I turned towards her and arched a brow. “What makes you think I’m worried about Melody?” Amy smirked. “Because you’re worried about Raine and Raine worries about everyone here. So, you’re kind of worried about Melody by default.” “And what about everyone else?” I honestly didn’t give a fuck what everyone thought of me, but I cared about Raine. And I cared about what kind of backlash my big mouth might cause for her. I was feeling…antsy, though. She wasn’t actually mine yet, and that was fucking with me. “Everyone else isn’t thinking anything,” she said, surprising me. “Raine’s never slept with anyone here. She’s never slighted anyone. She’s never hurt anyone. She’s never embarrassed anyone. She’s never done anything but be the leader she feels she needs to be for us.” Amy looked back out towards the waterfall. “At some point or another, every man here has found himself in love with that girl. I mean, what’s not to love? Hell, I’ve fallen in love with her a couple of times, my damn self,” she chuckled. I turned to look out towards the waterfall, too. “How do you know she hasn’t slept with any of the guys here?” Amy laughed. “Because if she had, they wouldn’t be in any of our beds. That’s how I know.” My head snapped back to look at her. “What do you mean?” She looked at me and cocked her head to the right. “Vincent and Marsha…get along and Christy and William get along.” I was taking ‘get along’ as her way of saying they were sleeping together. “The rest of the guys visit me if they are so inclined. If anyone had been with Raine, they’d never leave her bed.” “No jealousy?” I wasn’t judging, but I was kind of fascinated that the men were able to share Amy and still remain harmonious about it. I’d fucking kill any of them if they went near Raine with sexual intentions.

The corner of her lip lifted. “None,” she replied. “We’re all adults and we all understand that people have needs. Raine understands it too. Plus, none of us would do anything to get kicked out of here, so we kind of don’t have a choice but to make it work if we want to continue to enjoy the experience of sex.” “I’m not judging how you guys all get along here, but I gotta tell you, Amy, I can’t and won’t share Raine,” I told her straight. Amy laughed again. “Jesus, you really are thick,” she quipped. “Look, I’ve been with Raine the longest, but Martin knows her the best. If you want to know what makes her tick, ask him.” This time I laughed. “Like Martin would tell me anything about Raine,” I scoffed. “Exactly,” she agreed. “So, it looks like you’re going to have to go to the source. Whatever you want to know about Raine, you’re going to have to ask Raine.” I stared at Amy as she stood up. “You know, I appreciate the company and all, but I don’t think you really gave me any helpful advice on how to crawl.” Amy smiled down at me. “You don’t need any, Kade. I’m pretty confident you know exactly how to crawl. Just know one thing, though.” I gave her my undivided attention. “If you hurt Raine, or cause her any problems, any one of us will slit your throat and dance in your blood. Got it?” I nodded. “Yeah, I got it.” Once she was out of sight, I turned back towards the waterfall. I knew what I had to do, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’ve never been in a situation like this and I really didn’t know how to deal with a young girl’s crush. Sure, there’ve been women in our camp who I enjoyed over the years, but it was pretty much in the same manner as Amy had described her situation. The sex had been more of a release than actual relationships or because I actually wanted to be with someone exclusively and for a long period of time. Raine’s the first woman to pull that…want out of me. But I had to make things right with Melody, first. The compound’s dynamics were more important to Raine than anything else. This shit with Melody could

ruin any chance I had with Raine, if I still had one. I stood up and went to go do the right thing. Even though I didn’t feel like I should apologize, I still had to make shit right. For Raine. For everyone, actually. Everyone’s been so good to me, they didn’t deserve the…stress this situation was causing. Maybe I was at fault a little. I knew Melody had a thing for me. I should have nipped it in the bud before announcing to the entire compound that I want to sleep with Raine. I reached The Horns’ cabin and knocked on their front door. A few seconds later Jason answered, and the man looked embarrassed. “Hey, Jason, can we talk?” “Sure, Kade.” He shut the door behind him, and I followed him past his cabin and down the trail through the back wild lands. We were a few yards out when he finally came to a stop. “Look, Jason-” Jason put his right hand up to stop me. “No, Kade,” he interrupted. “Just let me…God, this is so embarrassingly uncomfortable…” The man didn’t deserve this. “Jason, I’m sorry,” I said, ignoring how he wanted to go first. “I’m sorry that I didn’t handle Melody better. And I’m sorry I disrespected Raine in front of everyone. Our private business should have stayed that way.” He let out a sigh. “We all failed Melody,” he said. “Clarisse and I knew she had a fixation on you. Hell, everyone in the compound did. I guess nobody wanted to deal with the awkwardness of having to let her down easy.” “Maybe,” I conceded. “Maybe you’re right about all of us sharing the blame. But I never should have chosen Raine over her in front of everyone like I did. I was just in a bad head space and wasn’t thinking.” Jason stuffed his hands in his pockets and regarded me. “God, I hate to say this

but…” I cocked my head to the right. “But what?” “I think the best thing you can do for Melody is show her how much you care about Raine,” he said. “If she sees that…if she can see that you care about Raine as more than just a casual attraction, Melody will have to get over her infatuation with you.” “God, this conversation is so…” “Uncomfortable?” he suggested, chuckling. “I’m really sorry, Jason,” I repeated. “I never wanted to…hurt anyone or ruin what you guys have going on here.” “For whatever it’s worth, I don’t think you have, Kade,” he differed. “But I think you should probably go talk to Raine. She’s a tough girl, that one. But this kind of…discord has never happened before, and she might be taking it hard.” I extended my arm to shake his hand. “Thanks, Jason,” I said as he took it. “I appreciate it very much.” He clapped my arm with his other hand. “Don’t mention it.” We walked back to the clearing in silence and I waited until I saw him go inside his cabin. Once he shut the door behind him, I made my way to Raine’s cabin, wondering if she was going to even open the door for me. I was gratefully surprised when she opened the door a few seconds later. She cocked her head and slapped a hand on her hip. “I should slam this door in your face,” she greeted. I wanted to smile, but if I did, she’d probably drop me on my ass as she kicked me out of the compound. So, instead, I said, “You probably should.” Raine made me sweat it out for another few seconds before she stepped back and opened the door to let me in. I wasn’t confused about why she was letting me in, though. Raine was letting me in to cuss me out privately, rather than the route I took, and acting an ass in front of everyone.

When she shut the door behind me, I looked around and noticed, while she did have a bigger living space, her furniture was spare, matching everyone else’s. The furniture was just as crude as the cabins, but it all served its purpose. The only luxury the cabins had, besides the refuse room, was that they apparently harvested cotton at some point, and the beds had actual cotton bed tops that made it possible to sleep comfortably. “What do you use those two extra bedrooms for?” I asked, finally noticing the double locks. “None of your business,” she replied, without missing a beat. I turned to face her, ready to take my lumps, but knowing a simple apology wasn’t going to cut it with her. “How do I make this right?” She arched a brow and smirked. “Go tell Melody you lied, and it’s her you want. You guys will go on to live happily ever after and peace will be restored in the kingdom.” I was on her inside a second. I had her up against the wall next to the front door; one hand flat on the wall beside her head, the other on her left hip. Her smirk had me rock hard, and I rubbed my hard cock up against her stomach. “I’ll do anything you want me to, Raine,” I whispered against her jaw. “I’ll do whatever you think I should to make this right.” I nipped at her delicate skin. “But I will not give you up for anyone else.” Her eyes flashed, showing me a glimpse of just how furious she was with me. I was ruining everything she worked so hard for and… She. Was. Livid. Raine’s tiny fists slapped against my chest. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! How could you embarrass Melody like that and how could you…I’m not your girlfriend!” I pressed my hard cock up against her some more. “Because I’d just come back from meeting your fuck toy!” I roared. The hand that was flat against the wall was now tangled in her hair. “Because I’ve wanted nothing more than to be buried so deep inside you, you’ll never get me out, Raine. Because I don’t care about these people half as much as I care about owning you!”

Honesty at its finest, right there, folks. Then she said the one thing that really fucked me up. “Well, now, here’s your chance to prove it.”

Chapter 11

Raine~ I was so pissed off at Kade for disrupting our way of life, I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself. I had all these emotions swirling inside me and I didn’t know how to express them. I’ve never felt so many conflicting emotions at once. Even when my family was murdered, my emotions came in stages; first, shock, then outrage, then sorrow, deep-seated grief, loneliness, and finally, acceptance and numbness. This? What I was experiencing now was a tornado of anger, embarrassment, desire, want, attraction, fury, and fear. Fear was prevalent because I haven’t feared a person in years. But I feared Kade. I feared him because I didn’t trust him worth a damn, but I wanted him. And I wanted him in a way that was different from Samuel. Samuel was a release. Kade was an uncontrollable desire. Kade was dangerous. But I no longer cared. I no longer cared that he was bad for me, and I was positively confident that Kade was bad for me. He was a bigger threat to my way of life than anything I’ve encountered since I left my home to find a way to survive. But. I. Did. Not. Care. My hands reached for the hem of his shirt and Kade was already helping me undress him before I had even lifted the material halfway up his smooth, cut torso. “Jesus Christ,” I breathed out the second he was shirtless. Kade was fucking beautiful.

The next few seconds were a scramble of desperation. We tore at each other’s clothing until we were both completely naked, chests panting, and hands, lips, mouths and tongues, a tangled mess. We were like goddamn animals. Kade’s lips were on my neck, his hands on my hips, when he said, “No other man gets to touch you like this, Raine.” His teeth found a chunk of my skin. “No other man gets to see you like this.” I was so desperate for him, I probably would have promised him anything at this point. “No one else,” I agreed. His hand fisted my hair in a painful, but thrilling grip, and his grey eyes were all fire when he looked at me and hissed, “No one else for either of us, Raine.” I nodded just to placate him. I wasn’t really giving a damn what declarations he was making. Even with his hands all over my body, I still didn’t trust him. And he knew what I was doing, because he suddenly stopped everything, and dug both his hands in my hair, tightening and pulling, holding me captive. “No one, Raine,” he seethed, just as pissed as I was that we were so weak for each other. “No fucking one!” I nodded, this time putting in the effort to be in the moment with him. “No one, Kade,” I repeated. “Just you and me.” “You ever let Samuel touch you again, even if it’s a fucking hug, and I’ll fucking kill him, Raine, I swear to God…” I didn’t want to talk about Samuel. I didn’t want Samuel here with us. I wanted Kade because I wanted him. I wasn’t standing naked with him to make a point about Samuel or to make a point about Melody. I was standing naked with him because I couldn’t stand my self-denial any longer. Kade Montgomery made me feel things I’ve never felt before and it started when he hobbled into the clearing with Jason the first time I saw him. I can it that now. My hands ran up his chest and around his neck. “There’s only you, Kade,” I said, despising how weak and…female I sounded. “I only want you.” He must have believed me, because the next thing I knew, his hands were underneath my thighs, lifting me up and my body was being slammed against the wall.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, and with no foreplay, no sweet words, no tenderness or sanity whatsoever, Kade slammed into my body with his cock and the pain was blinding and absolutely euphoric. “Kade!” I screamed, giving no thought to if anyone could hear me. He was no better. Kade didn’t give me any time to adjust, his madness just as consuming as mine. He started ramming his hard heat inside my pussy so hard, my body kept breaking against the wall behind me. “Jesus Fucking Christ,” he grunted. “You feel better than anything I’ve ever experienced, Raine.” He took the words right out of my mouth. This was unlike any sexual experience I’ve ever encountered before. “Don’t stop, Kade” I begged, past the point of pride. “Please, don’t stop.” Kade’s hands tightened around my thighs, making sure not to lose his grip on my body. “You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’d ever stop this.” I closed my eyes and let his words wash over my body. “I’m going to live inside your hot, wet, tight pussy every fucking day, Raine.” “God, yes…” My arms tightened around his neck and I used his shoulders for leverage as I bounced up and down on his hardness. Kade was huge, and the stretch felt phenomenal. It was painful and exquisite all at once. He was well and truly fucking me and it was just what I needed to rid myself of all my unresolved emotions. I needed to forget that I didn’t trust him. I needed to forget the havoc he’s caused by being here. I needed to forget the drama with Melody. I needed to just forget, and he was making that happened. His fierce thrusts, his animalistic grunts, his dirty words…they were all making me forget what a bad idea this was. What a bad idea he was. “Your pussy feels like it’s strangling my fucking cock, baby,” he panted. “It feels so damn good, but I can’t wait to taste you, Raine. I can’t wait to run my tongue all over your perfect body and know everything about you.” My body started responding to his wants. That was one thing I’d never done. Foreplay. Samuel and mine’s relationship was one of biological release and mutual pleasure. We kissed, and our hands have touch each other, but we never

engaged in real foreplay. There hadn’t been time or the desire. We had always known what we were about. But, now, the thought of Kade kissing his way down my body, tasting me, had me soaking his entire groin. It sounded blissful and the thought of going down on my knees in front of Kade for the sole purpose of driving him out of his mind, had me ready to do whatever he asked of me. “Fuck, Raine,” he growled. “You’re pussy’s soaking wet, baby. Does the idea of me eating your sweet pussy turn you on?” “Yes,” I itted shamelessly. “I’ve never…” I caught myself and stopped. No need to go into details about what I did or didn’t do with someone else when Kade was deep inside me. But, apparently, I didn’t catch myself in time. Kade’s rhythm faltered and his growl almost deafened me. I thought he would be pissed, but instead, he got more…enthusiastic. “You will never be able to say that with me, Raine,” he snapped as his motions became more violent. “There’s not anything I’m not going to do to you or this delectable body of yours, baby. There’s not going to be any way that I’m not going to fuck you.” I came. My body tightened around his and my scream was primal. “Kade! Oh, God, Kade!” His words, more than anything, were what had driven me to my expected peak. “Holy fuck,” he grounded out. “Holy Jesus Fuck.” I watched in turned on fascination as the veins in Kade’s neck, shoulders and pecs pulsed and vibrated as he came inside me. My head fell back against the wall and my body drifted into a limps state as I closed my eyes and just reveled in the shocks and tremors of our aftermath. It crossed my mind that it was quite possible for me to fall asleep pinned against the wall. The cabin was silent except for our harsh breathing. We were just breathing, but it sounded so loud and…pronounced. Like our harsh breathing was the final stamp of approval for what we’d just done. Kane’s head was dropped against my shoulder, but his hands stayed firm on my thighs, still putting in the effort to

hold me up. And I needed it. “Where’s the bedroom, baby,” he whispered against my skin. “I’m fucking wrecked. We need to go lay down.” Was it stupid how giddy I felt at hearing him say he was wrecked? Because I felt stupid. I felt like a teenage girl with her first celebrity crush. “It’s the room behind the kitchenette,” I supplied. “Down the back hallway.” He lifted his head, and I didn’t say anything as he kissed my cheek and carried my back to my room. Once we got there, he laid me on the bed and fell in next to me. My bedroom wasn’t much to look at. It was functional just like the rest of the cabin. There was a bed with a cotton top on it. A huge wooden chest I stored my clothes in. A small table next to the bed and a couple of chairs. It wasn’t feminine but, then, neither was I. I couldn’t afford to be. I had to constantly prove that I wasn’t a man or a woman. I was a leader. A leader above everything else. Kane and I were snuggled under the covers and his body curled around me and it felt so dangerously good. It felt comforting and safe. His left hand started running up and down my bare stomach in a back and forth soothing motion as we spooned. “Those keys on your necklace,” he whispered against the back of my head. “What are they for?” Yes, the sex was incredible, and he took my body and mind to another realm, but none of that changed what I thought of him. My gut was still screaming at mevery much like the first day I met him-that something wasn’t right with him. I very consciously chose to ignore the screaming, though. “None of your business,” I retorted sardonically. “Just know they’re worth more than your life and if you ever try for them, I will kill you, Kade.” I was expecting bluster, but instead, I got a sweet chuckle. “I’m not confused about what we just did, Raine,” he replied. “I know for a fact you’ll kill me if you ever deemed it necessary.”

“Necessary?” I scoffed. “I’ll kill you if you irritate me long enough, Kade.” His arm tightened around me. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Just don’t kill me before I’ve had a chance to sample every inch of your body, baby.” I snugged closer to him, contradicting everything coming out of my mouth. “I’m still pissed at you, Kade.” “I know you are, baby,” he sighed. “I’ll make it right. I promise.” We let silence take over the conversation for a few minutes before I said, “We didn’t use a condom, Kade.” At the time, I had been so lost in his ion, a condom hadn’t even crossed my mind. But I didn’t like being a hypocrite. Condoms were a must, and just because I bartered valuables to see a doctor annually, didn’t mean that we didn’t need to double up on protection. I had been bartering with Samuel for two years when I started thinking he might be someone I could hook up with. When things really seemed like they were going to go in that direction, I had him find me an underground doctor and I got on the birth control shot. I opted for a yearly shot and I’ve been taking it for the past three years. But I still made Samuel wear a condom when we’d been together. “Is that a problem?” he asked, his voice a little edgy. “I…” God, it was so tacky to talk about other partners when your thighs were still coated with cum from your current lover. “…I only started sleeping with Samuel about two years ago. We’ve only been together a handful of times and each time I made sure I was protected.” “And before Samuel?” My next words were going to sound pathetic, but they were true. “There wasn’t anyone before Samuel,” I confessed. “Samuel was my first, and he’s been my only. Well, he was my only…” “Motherfucker,” Kade swore. “Are you telling me you gave that asshole your virginity?!” This dick. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I sassed. “I supposed I should have saved myself for you like

you did for me.” Kade was silent for a few seconds before he grumbled, “Point taken. But you’re still going to have to give me some…time to…come to , Raine.” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “You’re such a jerk, Kade.” He rolled me over and crawled over me as I laid flat on my back. His groin was up against mine, my legs spread to accommodate him. I could already feel his dick hardening, hot and velvety smooth. Kade braced his weight on his elbows as he stared down at me. “Raine, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I’m a good guy, because I’m not.” I willed my eyes not to water. He wasn’t telling my anything I didn’t already suspect but hearing him say those words were crushing. “But I want you in a way that I can’t breathe with it. You have no idea what you do to me, and while I respect your insistence on responsibility and safety, there’s no way I’m going to fuck you with a condom on now that I know what if feels like to cum inside you.” He leaned down and nipped my jaw. “No fucking way, Raine.” I moaned and ignored my gut again as Kade pulled back and slid inside me once again. “God…” Kade was pulling and pushing and his slow tempo was driving me crazy. “I plan on doing everything I can to be your only God, baby,” he promised. “And it’s going to start with making you so crazy for my hands, tongue and cock, you’re going to beg me to do filthy things to you.” I feared his words were an unforeseen prophecy. “And what about you begging me?” I didn’t want to be the only one going down in flames. Because this shit was going to go down in flames. I felt it. Kade chuckled as he buried himself to the hilt and held still. “I will follow you around on my fucking knees, begging every goddamn day, if it means you’ll let me in your pussy every night, Raine. That’s what you do to me.”

Chapter 12

Kade~ The morning after had been…uneventful. I’m not sure what I had been expecting, but it wasn’t for Raine to wake up and go about her business as usual, as if last night hadn’t been the best night of our fucking lives. Well, of my life, hands down. I only hoped it felt that way for her too. I just wasn’t ready to become a full-blown pussy and ask her if he enjoyed herself, too. She came all over my fingers, face and cock all night long, so I’m just going to take all of that as a sign that she had been satisfied. I know I was. Watching Raine cum had been a sight to behold but watching her and hearing her begging for me to make her cum was the thing of legends. Hearing this capable, strong, independent woman beg me for something only I could give her had been like getting high off drugs so prime, you lose yourself after only one hit. And, while I hated thinking of her and Samuel while we were in bed, the caveman in me loved knowing that I’ve been the only man who’s tasted her pussy. After everything we did last night, I’m the only man who’s ever known how her tits fit inside a hot mouth, how her pussy tastes, and I’m the only man who has had a front-row seat to the sight of her pussy pulsing and contracting after she’s come all over my tongue and face. I’m also the only man who has had the pleasure of stuffing his cock past those soft, plump lips of hers and cutting off her air supply, choking her and shooting a load down her throat. Her inexperience had me in a frenzy to mark her and do everything I could think of to her. I might not have gotten her virginity, but knowing she’s only given it up a handful of times, and each time, it was just sex; I made sure her first experience with everything else had been with me last

night. I took her in every position imaginable and I knew she had to be sore this morning, because I sure the fuck was feeling it. You can work out every day or work the earth every day like they did here, but your body still didn’t open in a way it did when you were having sex. The only thing I hadn’t tried was bending her over and sliding inside her ass. Oh, I planned on getting in there eventually, but if she hadn’t let that fucktwad Samuel so much as lick her pussy, I was pretty confident he’d gone nowhere near her ass. And that was going to be for me and me alone. However, it was now Monday, and the entire compound was at it. I learned that everyone here worked in rotation. The compound worked in teams and they rotated on responsibilities, and every three months, the teams would be reformed. It was Raine’s way of making sure no one got on anyone else’s nerves or got burnt out. There were three groups of five, making me the odd man out. But since I was an official member of the compound now, Raine had to put me somewhere. She eventually assigned me to be with Elliot, William, Martha, Frank and Clarisse. Christy, Jane, Lester, Vincent and Armando were in the second group. And Raine, Melody, Amy, Martin and Jason were in the third group. I almost felt like a petulant child when I hadn’t been assigned to Raine’s group. So, the way it worked; one group farmed, one group repaired, and one group hunted. We were free to hunt alone, but it was recommended that we didn’t. There were human and animal enemies everywhere. Didn’t I know it. The compound was two months into their rotations, so I would be with my team for another month, and this week, we were assigned to repairs. Raine’s group was hunting and Lester’s group was farming. We’d rotated every week, and it fucking sucked. If I was busy repairing the compound and Raine was busy hunting, I wouldn’t be able to see her until the evenings. I wondered if she did it purposely since Melody was in her group.

Frank and I were doing preemptive storm control on the showers when his curiosity got the better of him. “So, you and Raine, huh?” I was tightening the wooden slats and didn’t bother even looking at him. “If you’re about to warn me that you’ll slit my throat and dance in my blood if I hurt Raine, no need,” I replied. “Amy already beat you to it.” Frank chuckled. “Amy is a bloodthirsty little thing, ain’t she?” “Very vivid imagination,” I agreed. “But I will tell you like I told her, you guys don’t need to worry about me and Raine. I know how…very special she is.” Frank nodded in complete agreement. “Nasty business, though,” he added, “that nonsense with Melody.” I stopped tightening the slats and looked over at him. “Spit it out, Frank,” I barked, irritated that everyone thought I wasn’t good enough for Raine. I mean, I wasn’t…not by a long shot, but I still didn’t like hearing it. Frank threw his hands up in surrender. “Oh, hey,” he laughed. “I wasn’t implying anything.” “Then why mention it, then?” “I was just going to tell you to watch yourself, is all,” he warned. “How so?” He shook his head at me like an older person shook their head at a youngling. “Melody’s never behaved like that before,” he explained. “No one is really sure how this is going to play out. So, if you want to keep Raine, you better make sure Melody doesn’t get her hooks into you.” “I’m not interested in Melody,” I snapped. “I know,” he said, trying to calm me down. “We all know you’re not. But that doesn’t mean Melody might not try something.” Frank let out a sigh. “Look, I like Melody, Kade. But my like and respect for Raine outweighs how well I get along with Melody and her family. But if I were you, I’d make sure I was in Raine’s bed every night and there’s no questioning where I want to be. A seed of

doubt can grow into one hell of a tree.” I didn’t comment, and Frank didn’t offer any more deep advice, but his words were like a neon sign in the back of my mind. He was right. I knew Raine didn’t trust me. Sure, she trusted me with her body, but she trusted Samuel with her body, too. So, that wasn’t saying much. Even as we had begun to finally fall asleep in the early hours of the morning, she had not once even itted to liking me as a person, never mind any declarations of love and worship. Nope. She itted to loving my hands, fingers, mouth, tongue and cock, but me as a person? Raine could actually really hate me for all I knew and was just using me for my dick. It wouldn’t take much for me to lose whatever little trust she had in me. And, while I didn’t take Melody to be that evil, the phrase ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ was invented for a reason. We finished out the day with light conversation and it was nice. We’d have to wait for Lester’s group to shower first and then we could. Once Raine and her group came back, they’d shower, and we’d all sit down to eat. The harvesting group showered first, because they got up the earliest and finished their day first. The hunting group showered last, because their return time to the compound was never exact. Depending on what they encountered or caught, there were times they came back after dinner. I was gathering my clothes and toiletries when Elliot’s voice stopped me. “Doesn’t seem to make much sense for you to keep your stuff here if you’re planning on sleeping in Raine’s cabin every night, now does it?” With my stuff in my hands, I turned to him and scoffed, “Just because she lets me sleep in her bed doesn’t mean she trusts me to be in her personal space.” Elliot nodded. “You’re probably right about that. But, maybe, you ought to do something about that, Kade.” “What do you mean?”

“You might think you have Raine,” he said. “But you don’t if she doesn’t trust you.” “How do I make her trust me?” Elliot chuckled. “I have no idea. Martin’s a better person to ask about stuff like that.” I cocked my head at him and let him feel my exasperation. “You know, you people sure do like to offer me a lot of unsolicited advice, but it’s all vague statements with no real advice whatsoever.” Elliot rubbed his chin. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Maybe we should probably mind our own business.” “Yeah, maybe,” I said, chuckling at the older man. His laughter followed me out of the cabin. I was heading towards the north side shower when I caught sight of Raine and her team coming back from their hunt. They were each carrying something, and the sight was incredible. They looked like a team of warriors coming back from a kill. She looked amazing. But she also looked right past me, and walked right through to the primary cabin clearing, towards the waterfall. They cleaned all their kills near the water. I stormed into the shower stall and jacked my dick off before washing my body. Her sheer lack of need for me was like sexual torture. It turned me on but pissed me off at the same time. The second I exited the shower, I could smell the harvesters making dinner, and it smelled delicious. I was starving, and I was grateful for the way things were done here. It was another hour and a half before we were all sitting down to eat. And, while Raine didn’t exactly ignore me, she didn’t pay any extra special attention to me, either. Melody had been quieter than usual, but other than that, everything was perfectly normal.

Raine was treating me exactly like she was treating everybody else and it was pissing me off. Was I the only one caught up in this thing between us? Hell, I was so consumed with her, the second I saw her this evening, I had to go beat off in the goddamn shower, and here she was, acting as if she could take me or leave me. Fuck that shit. I waited until everyone was clearing the tables and cleaning up before I decided to make an ass of myself again. When I stood up, I walked over to where she was standing, ready to take her plate to the water tub, and I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, baby,” I whispered just for her to hear. “I missed you today.” Okay. Now, most people wouldn’t see anything wrong with that little show of affection, but we weren’t most people. Amy had already given me the details on who were linked up as couples and who weren’t, and while it was common knowledge, the reputed couples still didn’t show any displays of public affection. Everyone did their business behind closed doors and didn’t flaunt what they were doing. Well, fuck that. I wasn’t going to deprive myself the feeling of Raine in my arms because everyone else was okay with how things were running here. Hell, I don’t even think I could manage it even if I tried. But it went all south when Raine set our plates next to the tub, grabbed my arm, and dragged me through the cabins and behind the compound. The expression on her face said it all. This was not good. And her expression hadn’t gone unnoticed by the compound . “What the fuck is your damage, Kade?” she snapped as soon as she thought we had some privacy.

“What?” I asked, playing stupid. Raine closed her eyes, pinched her nose and bowed her head. I’m pretty sure she was counting to ten. When she lifted her eyes and gifted me with that beautiful blue gaze of hers again, she gritted out words I knew she was dying to shout. “There’s a reason the couples here do not engage in public displays of affection, Kade.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at her. This ought to be good. “While, yes, we are a family, family isn’t always a good substitute for loneliness, Kade,” she seethed. “You can be surrounded by friends and family all day long, but they can’t make you pretend that you’re not going to bed alone at night.” The more I saw where she was going with this, the more I knew my existence here was going to be a struggle. I was already halfway to understanding the point she was going to make, but I had no idea how I was going to be able to respect that and keep my hands off her. “Raine-” “No, Kade,” she snapped. “No matter how well your life is, no one wants to see people in love when they’re alone. No one wants to be reminded of their loneliness. Right now, we have two solid couples, but everyone else is just engaging in sexual release. No one is in love. Hell, Melody isn’t even engaging in anything sexual with anyone, making her the loneliest person here.” Raine stepped towards me. “I will not be throwing what we did last night in her face. In anyone’s face!” I heard what she was saying. Honestly, I did. But…What. The. Fuck? I bored down on her. “So, you’re actually standing there telling me I can’t touch you or kiss you until we’re in the privacy of your cabin?” I asked, hating every word coming out of my mouth. “Keep questioning how things are done here, Kade, and you won’t get to touch or kiss me even then,” she snapped. I didn’t like it.

I didn’t like it one motherfucking bit. But what the fuck could I do? “Fine,” I conceded. “If those are the rules, then those are the rules. But if I have to treat you like a casual friend during the day, then you better believe you’ll be spreading your legs for me every goddamn night, Raine. No exceptions.” “We’ll see, Kade,” she retorted, then walked away, leaving me standing there holding my dick.

Chapter 13

Raine~ It’s been a week and my bravado proved false. Kade’s been in my bed every night this week. And even though we are doing our best not to be overly obvious, everyone knows. Well, at least Elliot does. He’s the one who wakes up to an empty cabin each morning. It was Sunday, and everyone was scattered about today. Christy, Marsha, Lester and Vincent went to go swim in the stream a few miles from the compound. Amy, William, Armando, and Jason went on a hike earlier, claiming to want to stretch their legs, but I think they just wanted some space from Kade’s uncontrollable…want of me. Everyone else was, either, in their cabin, or hanging out in the clearing. Everyone, but Kade. I had no idea where Kade had gone to and I was doing my best not to get…girly over it. The were free to do what they wanted with their Sundays and I never questioned them because they never got into any trouble or brought anyone back with them if they did leave the compound. And because I was forcing Kade to adhere to the same living conditions as everyone else, I had to swallow the bitter pill that wherever he was, was none of my business, either. I was mending some work pants when the front door to my cabin opened. I already knew who it was, so I didn’t bother with niceties, and neither did he. “I have some clothes that can do with some mending if this is how you’re going to spend your Sunday, babe.” I smirked. God, how I loved this man. I looked up from my needled and arched a brow. “Is that so?”

Marty sat down on living room bench and nudged my knee with his. “You okay?” Dropping my hands in my lap, I looked over at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?” This time, he arched a brow. “Where’s your man?” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know, Marty,” I sassed. “And he’s not my man.” The corner of Marty’s lip lifted, and both his brows shot up. “No?” he asked just to be contrary. “Then what is he?” I smirked. “A distraction?” I posed my answer like a question. “Come on, Raine,” he urged. “You’re not even a little bit curious about where he’s gone off to?” “What he does outside my bedroom is none of my business, Marty,” I stated coldly. “Damn, babe,” he whistled. “That man is damn near murderous over you and you really don’t give a fuck where he’s at or what he’s doing?” “It’s not my business, Marty,” I repeated, but this time the ice was gone from my voice. “I can’t insist we act like everyone else in the compound and then get… ridiculous over him not answering to me. I’m not going to be a hypocrite.” Marty shook his head. “You know, Raine, that perfection you live every day is going to wear you down one day.” “I’m far from perfect, Marty,” I corrected him. “I’m probably the most imperfect person here.” “You’re right,” he replied. “You’re not perfect. But you strive for perfection every minute of every day and a person just can’t live like that forever, Raine. You’ll never be able to enjoy life if your every move is calculated to be perfect. You’ve created a miracle here and you don’t ever stop to really, truly enjoy and appreciate it.” I was already shaking my head at him. “That’s not true, Marty,” I argued. “I

appreciate every sunrise and every inch of this compound daily. I know how lucky we are, and I won’t ever lose sight of that.” He was quiet for a while and then he grabbed my pants and the sewing kit out of my lap, placed it on the table next to him, and hauled me into his lap. And I went. I curled up into his lap-his safe lap and wished to sit there forever. Martin had his arms wrapped around me with his chin resting on the top of my head. “I overheard Melody talking with Christy the other day,” he stated. “She was telling Christy how silly she feels over everything that went down with Kade. She said watching him watching you, she can see now how she was… being fanciful about Kade. That she can see how he has eyes for only you.” I snuggled in closer to his chest. “That doesn’t mean we couldn’t have handled the situation a little more…delicately,” I countered because I still felt wretched about the entire way it went down. “True, but…I think it’s blown over, Raine,” he replied softly. “I hate the…discord, Marty,” I itted. “I hate that he’s disrupted our flow.” “I think you hate that he’s disrupted your flow,” he replied, being candid as ever. “Maybe,” I quietly mumbled. Marty adjusted me so I was tightly tucked into his body. “I’m with you whatever you decide to do with Kade, Raine. You know that. I just don’t want you making decisions based on fear or…well, fear. If you really don’t trust him and want him gone, say the word. If you really think he’s got bad intentions, let’s kill him. But…I’ve never seen you respond to someone the way you have with him. You guys have this…pull or something and…well, I just don’t want you thinking you don’t deserve to be happy.” He kissed the top of my head. “You surviving the attack on your family is a blessing, not a curse, Raine.” “I love you, Marty,” I murmured into his chest. “I wish…” “Don’t wish for something that’s not meant to be,” he said, interrupting me. “I’d

rather have this, right here, than some romance that has the potential to burn out. I love you, you special girl. I love you like you’re the only family I have on the planet. I mean, I have love for everyone in the compound, but I love you like I’ll follow you anywhere, Raine. You’re my best friend and the only person I trust with my life.” I’m not sure how long we slept, or when we even fell asleep, but we were awoken by the slamming of the front door. I jerked awake, and it took me a few seconds to my surroundings. I felt Marty’s arms tighten around me to keep me from falling off his lap, but before I could assure him I was stable enough on his lap, Kade’s voice boomed throughout the room. “Am I interrupting?” This asshole. “Not at all,” I quipped, ignoring his thundering stare. “Any longer and I’d have awoken with kinks all over the place.” Marty chuckled and kissed the side of my head and I was vindictively pleased when I saw the tick in Kade’s jaw at the action. “Get off me, babe,” Marty sighed. “My legs are going numb.” I slapped at his chest but stood up. I stretched and acted like I didn’t have 6’3” of pissed off male glaring at me. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said and reached up to kiss Marty on his cheek. “Sure thing,” he replied as he kissed my cheek back. Then I watched him give Kade a quick head nod as he walked ed him and out the front door. I loved how Martin gave Kade no excuse for finding us curled up together. It cemented Martin’s security and put Kade in his place all in one motion. As soon as the door shut closed, Kade crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me. “You guys seemed rather cozy,” he stated, his voice sharp and cold. “We were,” I retorted. “Or, at least, I was,” I amended. “I’m not sure about Marty.” “And if one of the women here was curled up in my lap like that, that’d be

okay?” he challenged. “If one of those women has been your best friend for years before I came along? Then, yes, Kane, it would be alright,” I threw back at him. “Bullshit, Raine,” he thundered. “It’s not okay. It is not okay for me to walk into your cabin and find you in the arms of another man!” I rolled my eyes. I knew it wasn’t fair that I was taking my confusion out on Kane, but I didn’t care. I was super confused about what I was doing and that was driving me to be disappointed in myself. I didn’t trust Kade, and I was compromising my gut instinct for sex. Albeit, it was great sex, but my choice to be with him when I didn’t trust him challenged everything I thought about myself. I always thought I was smart, strong and level-headed. But one 6’3”, ebonyheaded, grey-eyed, muscled mountain of a man later, I want nothing but to let him rule me with his body. I was a woman behaving like a girl and the self-disgust was making me take it out on Kade by keeping him at arm’s length, but then lashing out because I didn’t know where he was today. But, even knowing all that, being that self-aware, I was not going to ask him where he was. I placed my hands on my hips and tilted my head to the side. “What did you want, Kade? And why are you just letting yourself into my cabin without knocking first? It’s rude.” His brows shot up and the look on his face was incredulous. “I’ve been fucking you unconscious every night for the past week and you have the gall to tell me I need to knock before walking into your cabin? Are you fucking seriously?” I got flippant because I was upset with his disappearing act, but I refused to address it like a grownup. I rolled my eyes at him again. “You’re putting way too much stock in the fact that you’re sleeping with me, Kade. Don’t get me wrong,” I said, a bite in my tone. “You’re great in bed, but for the most part, you’re just saving me a trip into town.”

I expected anger or even some manhandling. But I got neither. Kade’s face was pure rage when he turned his back to me and stormed out of my cabin. The slamming of the door shook the cabin, and I wondered if I was ever going to see him again. And I wasn’t too sure how I felt about that. I realized I felt a bit cowardly about it. If Kade left, then it solved all my problems. If he left, it would save me from having to actually make a real decision where he was concerned. This past week, I found myself wondering how much longer I could convince myself that I could lie down with him every night and not get attached. It was one thing if we had sex and he got up and went back to his cabin afterwards, but that’s never what happened. He always stayed, and I always fell asleep in his arms. I sighed and walked out of my cabin, ready to face whatever awaited me. When I walked out into the clearing, I saw Marty and almost everyone had come back from their Sunday adventures and the only people missing from the clearing were Kade, Lester, Amy and Melody. I refused to speculate on Kade’s and Melody’s whereabouts. I knew Marty told me that Melody had changed her mind about Kade, but I didn’t know Kade well enough to know whether he’d go to Melody out of anger or revenge. And I guess that was the crux of it all. I was attracted and sleeping with a man I didn’t know and didn’t trust. It was the height in irresponsibility, but I was doing it, anyway. I looked over at Marty and his expression said it all. He knew I was fucking shit up and making things more complicated than they needed to be. He jerked his head towards the waterfall, and I knew he was telling me that’s where Kade had taken off to. I took a deep breath and went to go find him.

It didn’t matter how confused I was. I chose to approve him becoming part of our family and I chose to sleep with him. He didn’t deserve to be treated badly just because I didn’t know how to handle what I was feeling. I found him sitting on the opposite of the cave. He was sitting in the same spot I sat at when I first came upon the waterfall. The day I stopped and wrestled with continuing on or jumping to my death to be with my family. The familiarity of seeing him sitting there gave me chills. I walked over to him and sat down next to him without an invitation. He didn’t tell me to fuck off, so I considered that a win. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I found the balls to finally speak. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” I itted. “Even before the war, I didn’t. I was only 16-years-old when the war started, and before that, my father was really strict about his daughters dating.” Kade didn’t say anything at first but then he finally said, “How many sisters did you have?” I wasn’t expecting that question, and it made my eyes water a bit. “One,” I answered, proud of my answer. Proud of my sister. “Whinter,” I chuckled. “And, yes, my parents named us Whinter and Raine.” “Whinter and Raine,” he echoed. “They were murdered in a home invasion about three years into the war,” I went on to explain. “My mother had hidden me in a little hidey-hole my father had carved out for our safety. The intruders found my father and sister outside and when my mother realized what was happening, she hid me, and they got her when she ran to go help her husband and daughter.” “What were your parents’ names?” he asked softly. “Phillip and Belinda Tyler.” God, I can’t the last time I spoke about my family. Probably when I told Marty my life’s story. “And you’re telling me all of this now because…?”

It was kind of cold, but I didn’t blame him. I’ve been a first-class bitch since the man got here. It wasn’t his fault I didn’t trust him, and I shouldn’t have allowed him to stay if my lack of trust mattered that much. And I really shouldn’t have let him fuck me if I thought he was bad people. “Because I think…if we’re going to do this, I think it’s important for you to know that I’ve never done this before,” I replied. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He finally looked over at me. I felt his stare and turned to face him, as well. His eyes were serious, and his face was stoic. When he finally spoke, my heart dropped. “I’ve never done this before either, Raine.” His brows furrowed as he added, “I’ve never been in love before.”

Chapter 14

Kade~ She didn’t say it back. But to be fair, I didn’t exactly say the words and tell her I loved her. I just told her I’d never been in love before. And I haven’t. I’ve had women and, before the war, I’ve had girlfriends. I’m familiar with lust, want, companionship and indifference when it came to women. But Raine? Raine had me feeling things I never imagined possible. In a world where people were conditioned to look out for themselves and just try to survive and exist, Raine evoked feelings of pure desire, possessiveness and protection for her. The madness she made me feel could only be love. Nothing else could drive me this insane. My lips skimmed over her stomach as I ignored the warning bells going off in my head now that I’ve itted my feelings for her. Raine was a dangerous person to love because there was no room for error with her. We were probably going to go up in flames, but they’d be fantastic flames, for sure. As I slowly inched down her body, getting closer to her center, her scent started to make my mouth water. She really did taste lovely, and I loved that I was the only man to ever know her like this. And now that I’d told her how I felt, I told her this too. “I love eating your pussy, baby,” I murmured, my hot breath teasing her wet cunt lips. “It makes me hard as a rock to hear and watch you come undone with my face buried between your thighs.” Her small hands tightened in my hair and her legs fell farther apart. She might not love me or be ready to it it out loud, but there was no mistaking how

much her body loved what I did to it. “Kade…” I ran my tongue flat against the inside of her folds, making sure to touch on her hard, little clit, and I was rewarded with her low, agonized whimpers. I loved driving her out of her mind and I prayed she’d continue to let me do it for as long as life would allow. Making sure my tongue kept massaging her clit, I stuck two fingers in her tight, wet sheath and started finger fucking her as she held her legs open for me. I curled my fingers upwards and put pressure on that secret rough spot with every jab. She moaned and withered on the bed and I finally decided to test what she felt for me. I drilled her pussy with my fingers and ate at her center with enough vigor, Raine was coming apart within minutes. I paused to look my fill, and I watched, enthralled, as her pussy contracted, and her cream dripped out of her cunt and down her ass to drip on the bed. It was a sight I’d never get tired of seeing. I didn’t give her much time to recover. My mouth went back to attacking her dripping lower lips, and this time when I shoved my two fingers back up her pussy, I eased a third inside her puckered, untouched ass. Raine’s entire body stilled, but she didn’t stop me, and the deeper my finger went, the tighter her hands dug into my hair. Soon, my fingers were double penetrating her pussy and ass, and Raine was going crazy with it. “Oh, God, Kade,” she wailed. “Oh, God, don’t stop…” There was no way in hell I was going to stop. I worked her holes and the second I nipped on her swollen clit, Raine screamed and came so hard, her body shook with uncontrollable convulsions. “Kade!” I removed my fingers and climbed up her body. My dick was so hard it was a painful thrust into her soaked pussy. I hooked her leg over the crook of my elbow, opening her up wider, and I rammed into her so hard, her nails scraped down my back and I could feel the sting as she drew blood. It felt bloody fucking fantastic.

“That’s it, baby,” I panted. “Be a good girl and take my cock.” Her lust filled eyes flew open and her vulnerability was breathtaking. “It hurts,” she moaned, but those expressive eyes of hers told me she loved that it hurt. “Good,” I growled. “I want it to hurt. I want your entire body to hurt with the memory of how deep and hard I fuck you.” “Oh, Jesus…” she groaned. “Now, give me what I want, Raine,” I grunted. “Cum all over my cock, baby. Give me another one.” She didn’t respond, but it wasn’t long before she was screaming my name again and contracting all around me. It was the best fucking high. Throughout our time together, I’ve fucked Raine countless of different ways. So, she wasn’t surprised and didn’t protest when I pulled out of her pussy and flipped her pliant, weak body over. She also didn’t utter a word when I reached underneath her to prop her up on her knees. I leaned back and took in the view of Raine with her head down and her ass up, presented to me for the taking. I reached in between her legs and scooped up her juices with two of my fingers, and as I rubbed her back with my other hand, I took my cream covered fingers and pushed them, slowly and carefully, into her tight ass. “Kade…” “Shh, baby,” I purred, trying to reassure her. “Trust me.” Raine moaned, and I took that as my cue to continue. Her body was limp and relaxed, and I knew that’s how I had to take her. Once I was satisfied that her ass was lubed up enough, I grabbed my cock and guided it to the ring of her ass. I didn’t stop rubbing her back as I pushed in and forced my cock into her ass, inch by agonizing inch. It took a few seconds, but soon I was balls deep in Raine’s ass with my groin pressed against the cheeks of her ass, and the sight was mesmerizing. And not because I was living the sexual dream of fucking my girl up the ass.

No. It was a mesmerizing sight because, while she might not have said the words, I meant something to Raine. She wouldn’t be letting me do this to her if I didn’t. But, suddenly, me taking control wasn’t enough. I needed more. “Let me hear you say it, baby,” I demanded, lodged in her ass, but not moving. “Kade, please…” she moaned, her voice quivering with how uncomfortable her body was. “Say it, Raine,” I repeated. “I’m not moving until you say it. Until you demand it, baby.” She whimpered, but finally gave in, but not in the way I wanted her to. “Fuck me, Kade,” she moaned. I reached underneath her body and pulled her upright until she was on her knees with her back pressed against my chest, my cock lodged uncomfortably in her ass. I held her to me, my arm across her chest, cupping her left tit, holding her captive. I leaned down so that my lips were at her ear. “That’s not it, Raine,” I onished. “Just say it.” “No,” and that one, little word sounded like it’d been strangled from her soul. I wanted to force the issue, but I wasn’t going to punish her for being scared. I wasn’t going to punish her for her confusion, the way she was punishing me. My hand released her tit and pressed against her back, pushing her back down on the bed, until she was on all fours again, and I gave her what she wanted. I pulled out of her ass only slam back inside the tight orifice with the same force as I would if I were fucking her pussy. I should have been more tender, more considerate, but this girl had me all kinds of different fucked up. And she wasn’t stopping me. Raine was taking everything I was giving her, and I decided I didn’t need her words as confirmation for what she felt for me. She felt something for me, and I knew it.

“I love you,” I panted out, and it wasn’t because she was letting me fuck her in the ass. It wasn’t a lust-filled declaration. I wasn’t a teenage boy in between my first set of female thighs. I loved this woman. I was sure of it. “I love you,” I repeated as I continued to invade her body in the dirtiest way possible. “God, I fucking love you.” “Kade!” Her cry came out as a strangled sob and, trust me, I knew exactly how she felt. My hands tightened on her hips and my need to claim her, to own her had taken on a whole new life. Now that the words were out there, it made this real. It was no longer a fight for dominance or control. By the time tonight was over, Raine would know who was in control and who dominated in this relationship. “I fucking love you and I don’t care if you don’t say it back,” I grunted, fucking her as if I felt the opposite. I was fucking her like a low-grade whore who had to just grit her teeth and take it. “I won’t let you stop me from loving you. I won’t let you stop me from owning every inch of your body, including your heart, Raine.” I reached underneath her body to play with her pussy and the second my finger touched her slippery clit, Raine exploded around my body. Her ass clamped down on my dick so hard I saw white spots behind my eyes. “Fuck!” I roared, right before I followed her and emptied my cock in her ass. After a few intense seconds of silence, I eased my cock from out of her ass, and the second I did, Raine fell limp on the bed. I stayed on my knees behind her, and for the first time in a long time, I felt at a complete loss of what to do next. It wasn’t until I heard the first, faint, quiet sob that I realized Raine was actually crying and it occurred to me that I might have truly hurt her. I reached for her, dropped onto my ass on the bed, and curled her into my arms, very much the same way Martin had her earlier. “Shh, Raine, baby,” I whispered, fucking panicked out of my goddamn mind. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry if I hurt you. Where are you hurt?” I could feel my cum escaping her body and dripping onto my lap and I felt like a heel. I was so gripped with my need to…secure her

to my existence, knowing my cum was leaking out of her body had my dick ready for round two. “I’m fine, Kade,” she mumbled, her moment of weakness behind her. And when she tried to untangle herself from my arms, it was hard to tap down my instant anger. “Nu uh, baby,” I growled, holding her tighter. “You’re not going anywhere until you explain the tears. Did I hurt you?” I felt her body expand with the deep breath she took before she said, “You didn’t hurt me, Kade. The experience was just a bit…overwhelming. I’ve never done anything like that before.” I had to grit my teeth. I hated how she addressed the act of anal sex as what overwhelmed her, but there was no mention of how I told her I loved her. God, this woman was beyond stubborn. “So, you’re okay, then? I didn’t hurt you physically?” She let out a small huff. “I’m sure I’m going to be feeling the aftereffects tomorrow, but I’m fine, Kade.” It was way past midnight, so being fairly certain that everyone was asleep, I said, “Why don’t we go take a swim in the waterfall pool?” Raine’s head shot up and her eyes were big, round, blue saucers. “Hell, no,” she yelped. “Why would we do that? What if someone sees us?” “Then let’s go take a shower,” I amended, trying to get this girl to work with me. She didn’t immediately argue, and after a few seconds, she asked, “Why?” “Because I want to do everything with you, Raine,” I told her, honestly. “And that includes taking care of your body. I want to wash your hair, clean your skin and just be naked with you any way I can.” Her eyes started to shine, but she quickly blinked it away. “Kade-” I positioned her so she was straddling me, and the situation was…obscene. She was still leaking from a very forbidden place and my cock was finding life again. “Just don’t, Raine,” I pleaded. “Just for tonight…just for right now, just please

don’t.” Her eyes searched mine and I hope like hell she trusted whatever she saw in my eyes. I hope she would just give a little. Raine’s eyes dropped to my lips, and she leaned, taking my bottom lip between her teeth in a playful nip. When she leaned back, she held my gaze when she finally did give a little. “I’m drowning in the sensations you make me feel, Kade,” she confessed. “You make me want to be naked with you any way I can, too.” I reached between our bodies and position my recovered cock against that battered hole again. I wasn’t a doctor, but even I knew I couldn’t fuck her pussy until we were both clean of where I’d been. But not fucking her again in this moment was not an option, and she must have felt it too, because she slowly eased her weight down over my cock until I was balls deep in her ass again. “Are you okay?” I whispered, placing a kiss on her collarbone. “Does it hurt?” She moaned, and with the help of my hands on her hips, Raine started slowly riding my cock with her ass. “Yes…” she whimpered. I closed my eyes. It was a constant battle between not wanting to harm her and wanting to brand her in a way so painful and so final, she’d never be rid of me. “We can stop,” I suggested, praying like fuck she wouldn’t take me up on it. Raine’s hands came up to cup my face and, while it wasn’t a confession of love, her words filled me with such a relief, I almost lost my hard-on. “It hurts, and it’s uncomfortable, but I want to do this with you, Kade,” she whispered, and I knew…I just knew, she was referring to more than just what we were doing physically. I didn’t comment, and we both started moving with the most exquisite torture. It was enough, I kept telling myself. It was enough that she was letting me take and brand her. It was enough that I was here with her as no one else has ever been. It. Was. Enough.

Chapter 15

Raine~ It’s been a couple of weeks and life at the compound has fallen back into its peaceful existence. After the night Kade told me he loved me, he seemed to relax a little, and blended in with everyone better. It was as if he no longer worried about where his place was here. And, while he has spent every night in my bed, he still lived with Elliot and he’s no longer affectionate towards me in front of everyone. It’s like he’s accepted the way things are here and is no longer struggling with the way he thinks things ought to be here. Everyone has accepted that…well, that we’re a couple for the most part, and even Melody’s issues have seemed to run their course. Things were going well, and it should have been enough, but there was still an unsettling feeling simmering deeply beneath my soul. I guess my wariness came from the fact that the man spent every night in my bed doing everything he could to imprint himself on my mind, body and soul, but we still knew very little about one another. I struggled with how free we were with our bodies, but we were tight-lipped about everything else. The keys around my neck jingled; seeming to echo my thoughts. Kade knew about my family, but he didn’t know the details of how I was able to survive on my own for so long. Granted, Martin’s been the only person who’s ever been inside my extra bedrooms and has seen everything that I have stored in there, but if I was sharing my body with Kade the way I was, shouldn’t I be wanting to share everything with him? I just really didn’t know how to be in a personal relationship with anyone. Every night Kade told me he loved me. Most of the time he declared his love for me while he was inside me, but a few times, he’s said it while we were drifting off to sleep. He always stayed the night, and he always held me as we slept.

It was a dangerous level of comfort. I felt peaceful in his arms and that was giving me some serious anxiety. I needed my independence like I needed to breathe and Kade was making it difficult to exist without him in my bed every night. A ruffle of leaves snapped me out of my inner thoughts, and I stilled where I stood. My group was on repairs this week, but I still went out on hunts by myself sometimes. I enjoyed the Wyoming wilderness and surrounding myself by such natural beauty helped to remind me that not all had been lost during the war. There were still beautiful places that existed and there were still good people in the world. I hunch down behind a Cottonwood and blended in with the trunk’s natural hues and textures. Over the years, my hunting garb has been painstakingly sewn into camouflage perfection. And with my dark brown hair and small stature, my entire being blended in well with the earth around me. Closing my eyes, I strained to hear the smallest sounds coming from where the wind carried the sound of the rustling leaves. I was expecting wild cries or frantic dances of wildlife, but instead, I thought I heard…voices? Now, while it was early morning, before the repair team started our shift, it wasn’t unheard of for someone else in the compound to hunt. Hell, even the hunting team might have decided to get an early start, but it was rare. We were really good about not hunting unnecessarily and everyone in the compound usually let me know if they were planning a solo hunt. They knew I enjoyed going out alone a lot, so, as to avoid any tragic accidents, we made sure to be aware of who was out hunting. My next thought was that if it wasn’t a compound member, that meant the voices I heard belonged to strangers, and that always got my back up. I stayed crept and hidden and had my gun ready at my waist and my bow and arrow was pulled back and taut. I was ready for whatever might come my way. I didn’t relish killing another human being, but I have over the years, and I’ll do it again if I have to. The first two years on my own had been bloody. People had underestimated me a lot and when I was unfortunate enough to run across the riff raft of what the war had created, I had to fight for my life on a few occasions. The first time I ever

killed someone, the shock of it had stayed with me for days. I had nightmares and my body trembled with traumatic anxiety. I’m sad to say I no longer suffered aftereffects after about the fifth time I had to choose my life over someone else’s. Now, I’m still not a fan of murder for the sake of greed or to feed the world’s evil, but I no longer juggle with my conscience if someone kills to protect themselves and theirs. A person doesn’t change evil by martyring themselves. You might think a peaceful surrender will make the enemy see the light, but it doesn’t. Evil doesn’t exist in the light, so they’ll kill you, take everything you have and move on to the next victim. A quiet sacrifice won’t change the world. It takes a huge sacrifice. And there are a million things in the world a lot bigger than one human’s existence. So, if you’re going to risk your life, do it in spectacular fashion so that the world will notice. I heard their steps coming closer, and I opened my eyes in awareness. The sun hadn’t made an appearance yet, so the lands were still blanketed in darkness which was a blessing in this case. They couldn’t see me, and the darkness camouflaged the border of the compound. Granted, the compound was a couple of miles away, but we worked hard to make sure the compound wasn’t noticeable from a distance. From the outside looking in, the border of the compound looked like a dense cluster of trees and brush. We had purposely created the illusion that it would take too much work to trek through the tight growth of wilderness. People were better off going around and making their way along one of the hundreds of trails in the area. As the voices grew closer, I could finally make out what they were discussing. Both voices belonged to men. “All I’m saying is that I’m tired of his shit,” Voice #1 said in hushed tones, even though no one was around to hear him. At least…I didn’t think there was anyone else around to hear him. “And what do you propose we do, Eli,” Voice #2 replied, the exasperation clear in his voice. “I just don’t understand why we’re following him, Derek,” Eli said, sidestepping

Derek’s question. “We’ve been following him for years and he’s led us nowhere. We still struggle every day to maintain what little we have.” “I know, I know,” Derek agreed. “I get it, Eli. His…dictatorship ways are getting old, but what’s the alternative? Branch out on our own? We don’t have shit to make our own way.” Eli was silent for a while as their footsteps kept making their way towards me. “What do you think about his super-secret grand announcement he keeps hinting to?” Derek scoffed. “I think it’s bullshit. I think he knows we’re getting restless, so he’s stringing us along with a promise of something bigger and better. Like. He. Always. Does.” I held my breath as the two men finally came into focus. There were so busy talking amongst themselves, they wouldn’t notice me even if I hadn’t been camouflaged. But what struck me as odd was that neither of them had any hunting equipment on them; no gun, no bow and arrow…nothing. So, what in the hell were they doing out here? I remained silent and still until they ed along the trail, and it wasn’t until ten minutes later that I finally emerged and headed back to the compound. My hackles had been raised, and I needed to get back and see for myself that everyone was okay. Since it was still dark, everyone would still be in bed. If anyone was up, it’d be the harvesters getting ready for their shift, but they’d all still be at the compound. I needed to warn the hunters of what I encountered before they headed out. The electricity my anxiety was shooting throughout my body had me wondering if I should suggest that the hunters stay back at the compound today. It wasn’t like we were hurting for food or anything. We had enough that one day wasn’t going to set us back any. As I made my way back to the compound, I replayed everything I heard over, and over again in my head. They were obviously a part of a troupe of some sort and they weren’t happy about the direction their leader was taking them. However, if they were part of a troupe, but didn’t have enough to break free

from it, then it stood to reason that their troupe was also close. Derek clearly stated that they didn’t have enough supplies to break out on their own, so that meant they couldn’t have strayed too far from their camp. Even if they were a day’s walk away from their camp, that was still too close for my liking. But something told me they were closer than that. Unless they had stored their hunting supplies in a designated spot in the wild, neither one of them had been holding any hunting tools, or canteens, or anything. I mean, it is possible they left their hunting and camping gear somewhere, but… well, hell, maybe they both went to go take a piss and they went together to ensure no one got lost. It’s possible. But I doubted it. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when I walked into the compound’s clearing. I saw light flickering through the breaches of wood in a couple of the cabins, but it looked as if everyone was still sleeping. There were sundials positioned next to the entrances to the crops, and I walked over to the south one to see if there was enough light coming through to compare it to the watch on my wrist and both instruments told me it was just a little past 5 am. That was close enough. I started with The Horns’ cabin, knocked, and as soon as the door opened, I instructed them to get ready and meet me in the main clearing. I knocked on The Briggs’ cabin next, then Elliot’s, The Jacksons’ and then made my way to the primary cabins and the guardhouses. It wasn’t until I was back in the main clearing that I had ed Kade. It was still early, so I knew he was still in my cabin and not at his and Elliot’s getting ready for the day. I ignored the prickling down my spine as I realized that, while everyone knew, this would be the first time they were all going to witness Kade coming out of my cabin first thing in the morning. Ugh.

I shook off the thought and walked into my cabin to wake up the man in question. I wasn’t surprised to find him in the kitchenette fixing something to eat. He turned towards the door as soon as he heard the door opening. Kade stood in my kitchen smiling at me and it was a stunning sight. “Hey, baby,” he greeted, but his face quickly dropped the smile when he took notice of me storming towards him. “What’s wrong?” “I need you to meet me out in the clearing,” I announced, not bothering with a good morning greeting. To the man’s credit, he didn’t ask any questions. He just stuffed his morning muffin in his mouth, washed it down with whatever he had been drinking, and then extended his arm outward as if to say, ‘lead the way’. We walked out of the cabin together and I did my best not to cringe. Everyone was gathered, and they were witnessing the final stamp on exactly what kind of relationship Kade and I had. I walked over to stand in front of them and my heart swelled when Kade went to go stand next to Lester. I was so grateful he didn’t stand behind me as if coming out of my cabin gave him a better standing in the compound than everyone else. This was my show, and he was making sure everyone knew it. Maybe he really did love me. “Thank you, everyone, for humoring me this morning and meeting me out here,” I started. “I just wanted…well, I was out hunting this morning and I came across two strangers who were in the area.” I watched as a few faces became anxious, some curious and some-Martin and Kade-alert. “I was camouflaged, so I wasn’t detected, but I’ve never seen them before, and they were only a couple of miles out.” “Were they men or women?” Lester asked. “Both men,” I answered. “It was dark, but from what I could make out, they were around 5’10”, or so. One had blonde hair, and the other appeared to have dark red hair, maybe. Both decently built from what I could tell under their clothes, but not very big or threatening.”

“Were they talking?” William asked. “Did you hear anything they were saying?” I hated lying to them. I really wanted to tell them everything, but I didn’t want to cause them any unnecessary worry. I needed to choose my words carefully. “They were just talking about some personal stuff about their journeys…stuff like that. But I got the impression that they were looking to…explore other possible living situations.” “And you’re worried they’ll find us?” Christy surmised. “Yes, I am,” I told the group honestly. “We’re pretty well secluded and our borders blend in great with the forest floor, but it’s not impossible to stumble upon us. It’s happened.” Elliot and Vincent chuckled. “I just want you guys to be vigilant and aware that we have some people in the area.” “Do you want us to hold off on hunting this morning?” Armando asked. The man knows me well. “I would prefer it if the hunting team stayed back this morning and substituted for myself, Martin, Lester and Frank.” I could feel Kade’s eyes burning a hold clean through my face, but just like I needed strong men to walk the perimeter with me, I needed strong men to stay back and hold down the fort in case something popped off. “Martin, Lester, Frank and I will walk the forest floor while you guys keep things together here. If that’ll work for everyone.” Everyone murmured their agreement, all except Kade. Kade was livid, and he wasn’t doing anything to disguise what he thought about my arrangements. I’m not sure if he felt like it was a blow to his manhood as an alpha male or if he felt like it was a blow to his manhood as the man who’s sleeping with me. Either way, I didn’t have time for his shit. I turned to Martin and jerked my head towards my cabin in a gesture for him to follow me. Too bad he wasn’t the only one who followed me.

Chapter 16

Kade~ My mother raised me to never hit a woman; to always cherish the woman you loved and to be the man she loved and respected. But, God, have mercy on my soul, Raine made it hard to my mother’s teachings. I wanted to throw her over my knee and spank her ass until she screamed that she understood who the man in this relationship was. This wasn’t about her leaving me behind to secure the compound. I didn’t have a problem with that. This was about her leaving me behind to secure the compound while she went out and put herself in danger looking for random strangers. Yeah, I knew Martin, Lester and Frank would die for her, but something told me it would never come to that. Raine was the type of person to throw herself in front of a bullet for a person she cared about. She was willing to go out there and do whatever she had to with no thought to what it’d do to me if something happened to her. And that’s what I was pissed about. So, ignoring her silent invitation to Martin only, I followed them into the cabin. I walked in on Martin saying, “Be straight with me, Raine. What did you hold back?” Her eyes darted towards me and Martin turned around to see what had grabbed Raine’s attention. The second he saw me, he zipped his lips and folded his arms over his chest. Martin was clearly on her side and his stance said as much. If Raine didn’t want to share with me in the room, then Martin wasn’t going to say shit. “What do you need, Kade?” Raine asked, making it clear as crystal that I was

not welcomed to be a part of their conversation.” My brows shot up casually. “I don’t need anything, Raine,” I retorted. “Just came by to ask the same question Martin just asked. And before you try to placate me with some scripted bullshit, I know there’s more to your story or you wouldn’t be in here alone with Martin.” Raine crossed her arms over her chest and matched Martin’s stance. “I’m alone with Marty all the time, Kade,” she pointed out, and did nothing with her words except succeed in pissing me off more. “Yeah, I’m very aware of just how much time you spend with Martin and how,” I snapped. Martin smirked, and I turned on the asshole. “If you got something to say, Martin, now’s the time to do it.” Martin uncrossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at me. “You think I’m worried about you, Montgomery?” he asked, his voice condescending. “Because I’m not.” I stepped to him until we were only a few feet away from each other. “You should be,” I seethed. Martin smirked. “I don’t think so, Kade,” he said smoothly. “You see, while I get where you might get the impression that you rate rather high in her life, you’re nowhere near where I am in her heart.” “Mart-” Martin ignored Raine and continued to scrape raw every open wound I had where Raine was concerned. “See, Kade, the thing is…you might have the privilege of her body every night, but what we both know, is that I have everything else. I have her love, her trust, her utter and complete loyalty. I don-” “That’s enough!” Raine’s voice echoed through the cabin. “That’s enough.” Martin turned to face her. “Think he’s too delicate to hear the truth?” Raine rolled her eyes, and I hated how she was so blasé about all this when I was ready to tear Martin apart with my bare hands. Now, don’t get me wrong, I had no doubt Martin would be hard to take down, but I could do it.

She slapped her hands on her hips and glared at him. “The truth?” she growled. She looked up at him and then looked up at me. Swiveling her head back and forth between us, she said, “Let’s explore the truth, then.” She turned towards me first. “I’ve known Martin for years. Count them…years. I’ve share every single one of my days with this man and, out of everyone here, he’s my best friend. He’s the man I love and trust above everyone else. No one-not one other person on the planet-will ever come between us. Ever.” “Are you fucking ki-” She cut me off and turned towards Martin. “You’re right, Marty. No one makes me feel as safe as you do. However, in a matter of days…days, Marty, Kade has made me feel what no other man has ever made me feel in my entire life. Not you, not Samuel, not any man. I might not love him and trust him like I do you, but what I feel for him consumes me, Marty. I can go a day without talking to you…hell, I can go a week without talking to you and fall right back into your arms when I see you. Well, guess what, Marty, I can’t…cannot go a day without seeing Kade.” “Raine, you-” “Fuck you, both,” she hissed. “Fuck you for turning what is my concern for this compound into a dick measuring contest! I love you, both. I love you guys differently, but make no mistake, I love you guys equally. But, right now, I don’t have time to massage your balls and pat you guys on your motherfucking heads. Because as much as I love you guys, I love this compound more, and I am not going to let outsiders threaten it.” And, just like that, my anger vanished. I felt like a complete dick because she was right. I had no idea what it was like to lead people and be responsible for the lives of others. I had no idea what was going on in her mind as the sole person responsible for all these people and I had gone and made this about me. “Look, Rai-” “Fuck you, Kade.” She turned towards Martin. “Fuck you, too, Martin.” She shook her head and took a step back from us both. “You guys can stay here and bump dicks all you want, I’m going to check the perimeter of the compound and not give a fuck about how sensitive and delicate you two pricks are.”

Raine stormed out of the cabin and left me and Martin standing there regrettably feeling like assholes. Well, at least, I felt like an asshole. I’m not sure what Martin was feeling. “Pretty sure we totally deserved that,” he sighed as he ran his hands down his face. Yeah, he was feeling like an asshole, too. “So, how are we going to do this?” I didn’t know exactly how I felt talking to him about Raine, but she had made her position clear. Neither of us was going anywhere. And she loved me. She said it. I heard her, and I wasn’t going to let her take that shit back. As clear as day, Raine said-in front of her best friend-that I’m the only man who’s ever made her feel what she feels when she’s with me. She can go a week without seeing her best friend, but one day without me was too much to bear. Martin arched a brow. “We’re going to stay put in the places she assigned us,” he grimaced. After a few seconds, he became serious. “I love her, Kade, but not in the way that should make you feel threatened. My relationship with her is not going to change and she will always be my main priority. And, while I will respect what she’s got going with you, I won’t hesitate to kill you if you hurt that girl.” “I love her,” I told him point blank. If he was going to be honest, then he deserved my honesty. “I’m not going to hurt her. I’m…I’m in this for real. If we were in a world where marriage and kids were a normal thing again, we’d be married, and she’d be pregnant by now.” “Okaaaaaayyyyyy,” he said dramatically. “Well, why don’t we save our male love bonding for later and fall in line with what Raine needs right now?” Martin grabbed her satchel off the table and headed out of the cabin. “Fuck. She forgot her shit,” he called back as he left the door open on his way out. I felt like a jackass watching another man run after my girl to help her go out and

slay potential dragons. It was my job to slay her dragons. It didn’t matter that she could slay them herself. It didn’t matter that Martin was more than capable of protecting her. It. Was. My. Job. Raine was my responsibility and, so far, I’ve been doing a piss-poor job of taking care of her. I left the cabin to go-as Martin said-to where Raine assigned me. It sucked, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I approached Vincent even though there was no one who was really left ‘in charge’. “Hey, man, I have no problem harvesting, but…I’m feeling kind of… out of sorts. I’d feel better if I walked the area or just went and checked some shit out.” The look on Vincent’s face might as well have been a kick to my nuts. He knew I was feeling unmanned, and it sucked. “Dude, I get it,” he said sympathetically. “I do. But things run smoothing here for a reason, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess with that.” “Things run smoothly here because everyone follows Raine’s rules,” I huffed, feeling a bit sour. Vincent crossed his arms over his chest and straightened to his full height. He’s the third person I’ve offended today. I must be on a roll. “Things run smoothly here because every one of us trusts Raine explicitly. There’s not one iota of doubt in our minds where that woman is concerned. She spends every damn day making sure we’re protected and provided for. So, yeah, if she comes to me and tells me she needs me shovel shit and she needs me to do it with a smile on my face, then guess what I’m going to do? I’m going to shovel shit with a goddamn smile on my face.” I threw my hands up in a surrendering motion. “Hey, hey,” I started. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…fuck, I just...I didn’t mean to offend you, Vincent.” The man took mercy on me and put his hand up to stop me. “Look, I get it, Kade. If Raine was my girl, I’d be going crazy right now, too. Hell, truth be told, if Raine was my girl, I’d probably would have put a bullet in my brain ages ago.

She’s…well, it just takes a certain kind of man, is all I’m saying.” “Are you saying I’m not that man?” Christ! People were just pissing me off everywhere today. He laughed. “No,” he smirked. “You’re probably the only man who’s strong enough to stand behind her and let her be her.” I didn’t comment. I did the only thing I could think to do, and that was fall in line with everyone else. It wasn’t easy, and I didn’t like it, but I had no allies here. Everyone was loyally devoted to Raine, and this was something Raine and I were going to have to discuss privately. Hopefully, we didn’t kill each other in the process. It was two hours before Raine, Martin, Lester and Frank returned from patrolling the grounds. When they returned, they had split up, approaching every compound member to tell them what they had found. Or what they hadn’t found, as was the case. Lester was the person who approached me, and I tried not to read too much into it. “Hey, man,” he said, clapping me on my shoulder. “I just wanted to let you know that we searched the perimeter thoroughly and didn’t find anything except some trail tracks. But it looks like all is well for the time being.” I gave him a curt nod and got back to work. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk, but the struggle was real. I had no problem with strong women, just when that strong woman belonged to me, then there were issues. I worked for another hour before I had decided to go looking for Raine, but when I turned around to go put up my equipment, I almost mowed her down. She had been approaching me, a mere couple of feet away. She threw her hands up to ward me off. “Whoa, there,” she chuckled. “You in a rush?” God, this woman did the most fucked up things to me. “I was actually on my

way to go find you,” I told her. Raine cocked her head at me and her brows furrow. “No one talked to you about our patrol?” I removed my work gloves and leaned on the hoe plow I had been holding. “Yeah, they did,” I informed her. “Lester came and told me you guys didn’t find anything except some trail tracks.” “Well, then what can I help you with?” she asked. She’s constantly asking me that goddamn question and the answer is usually always the same. She can help me by getting fucking naked. But I didn’t say that. “We need to talk, Raine.” Her lips curled inward, and it looked like she was doing her best not to just blurt out the first fucked up thing that was popping up inside her head. After a few seconds, she said, “I agree. But while I agree, now is not the time and out here is not the place.” “We can-” She put her hand up to stop me. “We can talk tonight after we’ve finished this day out.” Her face softened, and it made me feel like a fucking pussy, further pissing me off. “I get that you’re struggling, Kade. It…this place and the way we do things here is not for everyone. And I want to be absolutely clear with you about something.” My hands tightened around the hoe plow. “Yeah. What’s that?” “You’re not a prisoner here,” she stated this matter of fact. “You are free to leave whenever you want. No one will judge, question or hate you if you decided this isn’t the place for you. You’re free to pack up your stuff and leave at any time.” “Really?” I questioned. “And what about all that bullshit earlier about how you can go a week without seeing Martin, but you can’t go a day without seeing me? What would happen to that if I left?” Raine laughed.

She, honest to goodness, laughed in my face. I could feel my blood boiling at her mocking dismissal of her words. When she finally got herself under control and spoke, I realized I really knew nothing about this woman. Nothing. “Kade, if you left, I’d do the same thing I did when I was 16-years-old and my entire family was slaughtered. Just like I had to step over their murdered, mutilated bodies on my way to gather enough strength and fortitude not to drown in my grief, I’d step over my broken heart on my way to gather enough strength and fortitude not to despair over the loss of a childish wish for a happily ever after.” Well, fuck.

Chapter 17

Raine~ Normally, I was good about not lingering in the shower. I hated being wasteful, and I didn’t like hogging shit as if I was entitled to more than everyone else. But I granted myself a few more minutes of cloistered peace before heading back to my cabin where Kade and I were scheduled to talk. I was sure he was going to tell me he was leaving and, while I didn’t blame him, I needed a little bit of time to gather my composure for his announcement. Today had been bad and, to be fair, I knew it would be. Kade wasn’t a backseat type of man. He wasn’t the type of man who stood behind a woman while she ran things. I knew it. Everything about him screamed alpha, power and strength. He wasn’t equipped to bide his time, waiting for instructions. And even if he didn’t leave tonight, he’d leave eventually. I wasn’t going to change. This was who I am, and I wasn’t going to change for anyone. I had no problem enduring a broken heart, but something happening to the people who have entrusted their lives to me? Yeah. I wasn’t sure how well I would survive letting them down. Granted, Kade was just as important a member of this compound as everyone else, but I wouldn’t let my love for him make his life worth more than anyone else’s. And I did love him. I’m not exactly sure when or how, but I didn’t need to pinpoint that moment in life. I wasn’t a fanciful girl who dreamed of the perfect boyfriend, the perfect marriage and perfect kids. The second the world broke out in war, all thoughts of happily ever after had vanished. With everyone’s savage side emerging, I actually considered myself lucky that I had a choice in how I lost my virginity. Sure, I hadn’t loved Samuel or expected wine and roses from the man, but there

were so many times I encountered the drudge of the world, that I was positive I would be raped, murdered and/or left for dead. So, willingly losing my virginity to Samuel had been a wonderful choice to have experienced. Having wistful thoughts about how I loved Kane just wasn’t me. I didn’t dream like that. I didn’t wish or hope like that. Armed with the knowledge that I was finally in love for the first time didn’t change anything for me. I wasn’t going to start drawing hearts and flowers on my school notebook. I loved Kade, but that didn’t give him perks and privileges where I was concerned. I gave my virginity to Samuel, and I gave my heart to Kade, but the compound was actually my first and only real love as far as I was concerned. Those early years, where I had spent every single day making the land livable, had kept me sane. I had worked my fingers to the bone, day and night, and I exhausted myself to the point where I had been too busy to feel the loneliness of my existence. The compound-for me-was about more than just the people who lived in it, the structures and the things we’ve managed to accomplish that very few other people have. It was about me. Every spec of dirt within the gates mattered to me. They meant something personal for me. Creating, maintaining and living in the compound had given me a purpose. And that purpose was living. I’ve often thought about what my life might be like now had that sign at the diner never called to me. If I had never found the waterfall, I’m positive I’d be dead by now, or worse. The compound was directly tied to my sense of realism and I wasn’t going to let whatever it was I felt for Kade ruin that. Even if that meant he’d walk away, eventually. I’ve never been in love before and so I could fully it I didn’t know what I was doing, but I wasn’t afraid to try to figure it out. I mean, maybe I should be putting Kade above everyone else. Maybe I should be treating him like my dad treated my mom. Maybe he should be more important than Martin or anyone else in the compound. But while I believed I was in love with him, that feeling didn’t override my sense of self. Besides, love does not conquer all.

If love conquered all, my parents and sister would still be alive. If love conquered all, the world wouldn’t have gone down in a blaze of glory over power, money and status. No. Love was wonderful at night when you needed someone to hold. But love didn’t feed you, clothes you, house you or protect you. So, while the idea of a magical love so real, that it transcended reality, that was not a truth. Life was the ultimate truth and sometimes life choices took precedence over choices in love. And that’s what I was doing. I was choosing life over love and Kade was going to have to find a way to deal with that. If he couldn’t, he was free to leave, but I wasn’t going to chase him. Not because he wasn’t worth it, but because my sanity was worth more. I finished my shower and when I walked into the cabin, Kade was already in the kitchenette putting together something to eat. Normally, I ate with everyone else in the clearing, but tonight I needed my privacy. Kade turned around, and setting the plates on the table, said, “I figured we could eat first, talk later.” I eyed the food and wondered if I’d be able to eat. I was always hungry at the end of a workday, but my stomach felt like it was tied in knots. Not only because of Kade, but I still had a bad feeling about the trail hikers I saw earlier. Even though we hadn’t found anyone on our search, I was still feeing unsettled about people being so close to the compound. “Thanks,” I replied as I sat down and pulled the plate towards me. Kade remained standing, and we ate in silence and it was horribly uncomfortable. It felt like our minds were working with all the points we were checking off to make sure we won the argument that was sure to happen. We were so engrossed in what we wanted to say, we didn’t have time for flippant conversation over dinner. It felt like I was gearing up for a damn high school debate showdown. When we were done eating, Kade grabbed the plates, cups and utensils and piled them together to wash later. He turned to face me, and leaning back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest and just cocked his head. I’m guessing that was the sign for me to go first.

I led with the question that would give me a clearer insight to how he thought. “What, exactly, were you expecting when you decided to get involved with a person like me?” Kade straightened to his full height and reached down to grab the edge of the counter. He didn’t answer right away. It appeared as if he was actually giving the question some real thought. Finally, he said, “I wasn’t, actually.” He let out a deep breath, and I wanted to laugh at his arrogance. “I wasn’t thinking at all. I saw you and knew I wanted you and it didn’t matter to me what…challenges might arise from pursuing you.” I mulled that over for a few seconds. Kade didn’t strike me as the type of person who was impulsive, but I completely itted to not knowing him well enough to know that for sure. “Okay,” I conceded. “I get that. However, we didn’t fall in bed the second we met. You knew what I was about way before we ended up sleeping together. Why did you move forward with bedding me after you knew what my lifestyle entailed?” He scoffed and actually looked pissed off. “Because you’re fucking mesmerizing and you’re the only person who doesn’t seem to realize it.” He pushed off the counter and stepped towards me. I was still sitting down, so he really towered over me when he stopped to stand in front of me. “There was no way I wasn’t going to fuck you, Raine.” I arched a brow. I knew that he deliberately used the word ‘fuck’ to throw me off my game. He wanted me raw and unhinged. “So, then, fuck me, Kade,” I replied easily. “Why did you let yourself fall in love if you weren’t going to be able to handle it?” His jaw ticked, and I knew it was because he thought I was challenging his manhood. I wasn’t. I didn’t think any less of him because he couldn’t handle me. Just like I didn’t think anything less of Melody because I didn’t think she could handle Kade. Dating was a ritual in where we learned about one another and determined if we were a good fit or not. Not everyone fit together once we got to the meat and potatoes of the relationship. That’s when couples would decide to go their separate ways. And that was okay. It was okay to realized you didn’t fit with someone and move on.

So, it was perfectly okay that I wasn’t a good fit for Kade. Kade’s lip curled and that one, little act made him look like a snarling animal. “Let myself?” he asked. “You act like it was a choice, Raine.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe,” I conceded. “Maybe?” Kade arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest again. “It wasn’t, Raine. Just like I’m positive you wouldn’t have chosen to fall in love with me if falling in love was a choice.” Usually, I liked that Kade was so much taller than me, but not right now. I stood up, and he took a step back to give me some room. “Be that as it may, Kade, falling in love doesn’t mean you’re no longer capable of making rash decisions,” I informed him. “You can be in love with me all you want, but if I’m too…if I’m not exactly what you’re looking for, then leave. Leave and give yourself time to fall in love with someone else who is what you’re looking for.” He laughed, and the sound was bitter and dark. “Oh, because it’s just, oh so, easy to walk away from the people you love and move on to someone more compatible.” This time I lifted a brow. “Isn’t it?” “No, it isn’t, Raine,” he spat. “I might not know how to deal with you, but I know I want to learn.” My brows shot up, and I knew my face had taken on a look of utter shock. I wasn’t expecting him to say something like that. I had been expecting him to give me all the reasons why he was going to leave. I wasn’t prepared for this. I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Kade,” I told him honestly. “I think you’re the type of man who needs to be the man, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You can’t change me, and I don’t want to change you. Maybe Melody was a better option for you all-” Kade’s hands were tight around my arms and he was hauling me up against his chest before I could finish what I was saying. He shook me for emphasis as he

said, “I don’t give a fuck about Melody or any other fucking woman on this planet, Raine.” Ooookayyy. “I love you! I love you, goddamn it, and I’m not walking away from you just because you’re difficult to understand.” I looked into his grey, crystalline eyes. “You can’t win,” I whispered. His eyes fell to my lips and then roamed all over my face before settling back on my eyes. “It’s definitely not a win if I don’t have you, Raine.” Before I could comment, his lips were on mine and we were tearing at each other like it was our last time. And, hell, maybe it was. Maybe tomorrow would kick off another world war and we’d be fighting for our lives again. But I tried to do the right thing here. I tried to let him go. I told him he was free and not obligated in any way to remain here. To remain with me. Kade wrapped his hand in my hair and, fisting it to the point of pain, he pushed me down onto my knees and it was fucking hot. His breathing was labored, and he looked out of control. “Be strong and tough all you want, Raine. Rule with a steel backbone and no fear.” He hissed when I wrapped my hand around his hardened erection. “But, in here, when we’re together like this, I rule,” he barked out, his voice hard and forceful. “I decide how you’re going to get fucked. I decide how you’re going to take my cum. I decide when you’ve had enough, Raine. I decide it all. Now, suck my dick, baby.” Sounded fucking great to me. I didn’t care that he forced me on my knees. I didn’t care that he was doing it in a derogatory fashion. I didn’t care that he was calling the shots. I didn’t care because he was right, and it was turning me on. I needed someone who was strong standing next to me. I needed someone strong who was capable of making the weight on my shoulders feel lighter. I needed strong behind closed doors. When I spent all day feeling like a leader, at night, I wanted to feel like a woman, and I was hoping Kade could give that to me. I needed complete independence during the day, but at night? If this is what he

wanted to give me to reminds us of the roles between us, then I’d give it to him. I took his cock in my mouth and sucked and teased and worshipped like he taught me. I stayed on my knees and let him jam his cock into my mouth. I let him pull on my hair and I let the pain tingle down my spine. I had my hands flat against his muscular thighs, but I didn’t halt his movements. I took his abuse and the harder he fucked my mouth, the more I realized just how strong Kade thought me to be. It felt like a beautiful redemption. I was ready to take him when he untangled his hands from my hair, and grabbing my shoulders, he hauled me up and bent me over the table. I laid there like a good, little slut and waited as Kade shoved my pants all the way down to my ankles. I was already shirtless from the frenzied kiss earlier, so he had a great view from above when I was sucking his dick. Kade slammed into me without any work up, but that was okay. I was dripping wet from the blow job anyway, so he slid right in. I cried out, and he grunted as he buried himself to the hilt. “There’s no fucking way I’m ever giving this up, Raine,” he snarled as he started fucking me with no finesse whosoever. It was brutal and raw and perfect. “I don’t give a fuck how many times we fight, or how many times I have to go up against your backbone. I am never fucking giving you up.” The love-strucked girl deep down inside me hoped he wasn’t lying. My body thrashed, and I moaned as he kept slamming into me harder and harder. We’ve fucked like this before and I knew how deep and filling he could feel inside me, but the emotional tug felt different this time. This time we were fucking to bind ourselves to one another or to create a memory for when it was all over later.

Chapter 18

Kade~ I woke up to the sound and smell of rain. And to an empty bed. Two days ago, Raine had predicted a small storm-I didn’t know how-but she had been right. All the cabins had roofs that were reinforced with leather. It blocked out the heat and the rain from above. The sides of the cabins were less protected, but not enough to ruin anything. When Raine had made her prediction, work had gone into triple time. The harvesters made sure the crops were reaped or protected against the rain. The repair team focused on any major structural issues. And the hunting team gather double, in case they were stuck at the compound due to bad weather. You’d think I’d be used to it by now-how well everyone worked together, but their knowledge and teamwork still surprised me. A lot of their ways were primitive, but a lot of them weren’t. While we did experience a world war, technology and modern availabilities did exist. Granted, you had to pay a steep price to enjoy that technology, but it still existed. But I was done questioning how things worked around here. It had taken a lot to come to with the fact that, if I chose to be with Raine, I was going to be constantly warring with her independence. The night of our talk, I had fucked her in all the depraved ways I could think of. It was a dick move, and it was a weak attempt at forcing her to recognize that, while she ruled the compound, I ruled her. She hadn’t complained, and she hadn’t told me to stop. She took everything I gave her, and she did it with my name in a variation of moans and screams. I also moved all my shit from Elliot’s cabin into Raine’s the next morning. It wasn’t until I had my stuff laid out all over her cabin did my soul begin to settle

a little. We had reached a compromise where I gave her what she needed during the day and she gave me what I needed during the night. It was perfect. I got up, and walking naked to the basin, I began to brush my teeth. The chill in the air forced me to throw on some clothes as I scrubbed my canines. Once I was done, I walked out into the living room to find Raine fully dressed, only she wasn’t dressed to start the day. Nope. She was dressed for battle. Raine wasn’t dressed in her simple jeans and t-shirt. She had on cargo pants that were littered with knives and guns in their strap holders and a shitload of magazines. Her shirt was simple, but she had holsters across her chest containing, at least, three guns that I could see. Her jacket was thick, and her gloves were leather, but fingerless. Her dark brown tresses were thrown up in a ponytail and her face was void of makeup, as always. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in all my life. “What’s going on?” I asked, eyeing her as she checked weapons like it was an everyday thing. Hell, and maybe it was. She didn’t spare me a glance when she said, “I woke up with an ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach and…” She didn’t finish her sentence. It was as if she thought it pointless to explain. “Maybe the rain-” She stopped what she was doing and finally looked over at me. “It’s rained a million times over the past ten years, Kade. It’s not the weather that’s giving me this…unsettling feeling. And even if the weather wiped out everything, I’d start all over, simple as that.” Christ, this girl. “Give me a minute and I’ll-”

She was already shaking her head at me and I had to remind myself of our compromise. “I’m just going to go check…” She paused and then let out a sigh. “Just, me when you’re done-” “I don’t have any weapons, Raine,” I reminded her. “Just let me grab my jacket, okay?” See? Compromise. Raine nodded, and I knew it was killing her to wait on me, but she did it. She waited, and it was a testament to how she was going to try to make us work, too. I grabbed my jacket, and after putting it on, I walked up to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay, Raine,” I said, trying to soothe her apprehensiveness. She let out a sigh and gave me a slight nod. Her dark blue eyes searched mine. She smiled and leaned up to place a light kiss on my lips. “I’m sure it will be,” she said, and I’m pretty sure she was saying it to soothe my emotions. Fuck. “Rain-” I stopped when I heard it, and from the stillness in her entire frame, I knew she heard it, too. Her eyes rounded. “Did you hear that?” I nodded. “Give me one,” I whispered. She handed over a goddamn Desert Eagle, and I wondered how in the hell she could even shoot the damn thing, but that also wasn’t all. She dug into her cargo pants and pulled out a wicked-looking knife. “Here,” she whispered back. “Sometimes a gun isn’t enough.” I cringed at the thought of how she knew that. I kissed her forehead again. “Let’s go check it out.” Thinking back on the compromise, I should have let her go first. This was her domain, and she was more prepared than I was, being strapped from head to toe in firepower, but I went out the door first. She could yell at me later.

The sun was barely rising over the forest, causing an eerie glow to cover the compound. Everything was wet, and the air smelled clean. The rain had faded from a steady rain to a light drizzle. Everything looked…precise. Everything except for the twenty, or so, men flooding the compound clearing. My eyes scanned the crowd, and I noticed only a few of them were armed, the rest were not. Of course, they could have been hiding their weapons in their clothing. The men varied in age, race, size and confidence. You could see it on their faces. Some of them looked ready to do battle, while others looked wary. I had my gun in my hand, but it was pointing down. We weren’t the threat. They were. I did a mental count of the compound , and while I was positive the women wouldn’t hesitate to fight and protect their home, there were only nine men in the compound, including me. And even if we included the women in this fight, that was still only 15 against a good 20 grown men. It didn’t look good. I didn’t look over as I heard Raine’s footsteps in the wet dirt approach. I stood still as she ed me, her .22 raised, staring down the men before us. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice cold and stronger than I expected. My stomach flipped when I noticed the body making its way through the crowd of men. And I’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Is that how you greet all your visitors?” Brice asked. Raine didn’t falter. “You’re not a visitor,” she replied. “Now, if you would be so kind as to continue on with your journey, we can all move on from this peacefully.” I kept my eyes on Brice, not looking around when I heard the doors of the cabins around us open. I knew the compound were armed as I heard their steps, leading them to stand next to me. Behind Raine. Brice cocked his head and smirked. “Not very hospitable,” he joked. “And from

the looks of things, I’d say you have plenty in the way of offering us some hospitality.” Guns were being cocked all around me, but I still refused to look away from Brice. I didn’t have to look or be told to know that everyone who came out of the cabins was pointing their guns at the intruders. “I said leave,” Raine repeated. “You have no business here, and let me assure you, you are not welcomed.” “Are you sure about?” came a voice from the center of the mob. I couldn’t stop the tick in my jaw and the weight in my stomach as I watched my father emerge from his crowd of followers. “I’d say there’s at least one person here who’s happy to see us.” He smiled, and it was one of the most evil things I’d ever seen. I stepped forward until I was standing directly next to Raine. “What are you doing here?” With his smile still in place, my father answered, “The natives were getting a little restless, son. Your little visit that Sunday wasn’t enough.” I could hear the gasps behind me, but nothing from Raine. She didn’t move a single muscle at what my father just announced. But before anything more could be said, the compound from the guard houses came up behind my father’s group of followers. They were all armed and pointing their weapons; much like the compound who were already backing Raine. The only person missing was Martin. And, because there was no way he’d ever leave Raine to take on something like this alone, I knew he was already enacting out an emergency scenario, much like this, and doing what he was practiced to do. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure the reason they were all standing around, so confident and sure, was because Raine didn’t have a weak bone in her body. They’d planned for something like this and they all knew their roles and how to execute them. Since I wasn’t in any danger, I walked over to my father. He was still smiling when he reached out, shook my hand, and clapped me on my shoulder. “Good job, son,” he beamed. “This place is everything you said it was. We’re going to be very happy here.”

“That’s impossible, since you’ll be leaving,” Raine retorted, and it was then, that I turned around to face her. I stood side by side with my father and there was no way she couldn’t deny the relationship. I was a younger, stronger replica of Travis Montgomery. Brice had the Montgomery looks, too. So, there was no denying the connection. I studied her face, and she gave nothing away. Not even her eyes. Usually I could get what I wanted from her eyes, but not now. Now she was the embodiment of complete control. She was, absolutely, magnificent. “Raine, right?” he chortled. “I can call you Raine, correct?” He didn’t wait for a response. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we’re not going anywhere.” “You think so?” She said, her eyes lined up with her gun, ready to shoot anyone who moved. “Kade gave me quite a report when he came home a while back,” he divulged. “I know about your crops, the layout of your cabins, the fact that you have a vehicle, how many of your compound are men and women…need I go on?” Raine didn’t so much as flinch. “You can go on to recite the square footage of the showers for all I give a fuck,” she snarled. “What you think you know doesn’t change a damn thing.” My father took a step closer to her. “But I beg to differ, Raine,” he replied. “Is your unwillingness to share what you have worth the lives of your compound ? Even you have to it, one life lost is one too many.” “If you really believe that, then I suggest you leave with your men, and leave now,” she challenged. He tsked. “Can’t do that, Raine. My people are tired, hungry and want something better. Your compound provides that.” Raine still didn’t falter or lower her gun. “So, you kill us all, and then what?” she asked. “How long do you think you’ll be able to sustain what’s here once everyone who knows anything about our life here is dead?” She didn’t show an

ounce of fear and her voice held strong when she went for his balls. “If you had the capability of maintaining any kind of decent abode, you wouldn’t be here trying to steal what’s not yours.” “Dad-” He threw up a hand and shook a finger at me. It was his only acknowledgment. “Oh, my dear, Raine,” he said, his voice condescending and annoyed all at the same time. “There are countless ways to make someone cooperate. Many different kinds of motivation for…someone such as yourself.” “So, then, do we just shoot it out now and let whatever becomes of it be?” I couldn’t believe how casual she sounded when talking about her own death. I knew she was unlike any other woman I’ve ever met, but I didn’t realize just how different she was until now. I stepped forward until I was standing next to my father. “Raine, I know you don’t want to endanger everyone here.” Maybe I could appeal to her love of her people. “Everyone here is prepared to do what’s necessary, as evident by the firearms they’re currently aiming at your family,” she said-again, her face and voice not betraying a single thing. I knew what my father was about, but he had promised me he wouldn’t move unless I knew about it beforehand. I wasn’t prepared for his unexpected arrival. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. But I knew how responsible she felt for the lives of everyone here. I knew. “She’s the one,” I told my father. “She’s the one who holds the keys to all of this. Everyone else just follows her lead. They wouldn’t know what to do without her guidance. Everyone else here is useless without her.” Travis smirked. “Why don’t you take a walk with me, Raine,” my father said. “Let’s go talk in your cabin and maybe we can work something out.” Before she

could answer, he added, “It’s that or we kill all of you. See, the number of men you see here is not all the of my troupe. We have more just waiting outside your little homestead. We outnumber you plain and simple.” “So, you want to make a deal, is that it?” she scoffed. “Depends,” he replied. “How badly do you want your people to live?” I started into her perfect face and answered for her. “More than you can imagine, Dad.”

Chapter 19

Raine~ Kade was right about one thing. My family meant more to me than anything that’s been created here. And, so, while I didn’t necessarily agree with Kade’s father, I did agree that no one should die because I went against my gut instinct. I knew Kade was bad news. I had felt it. I felt it and I ignored it. And I wasn’t about to let anyone else pay the price for my poor judgement. Hell, it wasn’t even poor judgement. It was outright selfishness. I just never imagined that my life would end like this. I mean, while I’ve thought about it often, I never thought it would all come down to one moment of weakness. One moment of weakness that would set off a chain of events, and multiple other moments of weakness, that would lead me to be betrayed and sacrificed. Now, don’t get me wrong. I take full responsibility for the situation I am currently in. See, the problem with me is that I’ve been through a lot during myless than stellar-life span. I’ve seen a lot. But when you’ve seen as much as I have, the experiences can create a fall sense of security. I mean, if you get shot during a drive by shooting but survive…well, you might actually convince yourself that you’re, now, bulletproof and fear nothing. I’m only 28 years old, but I’ve seen a world war.

I’ve seen the destruction of humanity. I’ve seen families torn apart and lives lost. I’ve even had to experience the loss of my own family. My parents and sister were just three of the hundreds of millions of people lost. However, to the world they were just three more casualties of war, but to me, they were my entire world. I’ve experienced things I never would have imagined I could experience and come out of it alive. I’ve survived. I’ve survived. Along with the remaining one million other people left in the world, I survived. The world went from over seven billion people on the planet to roughly one million, and I was lucky enough to meet the one person, out of that one million, who would lead to my demise. It’s situations like this that almost force you to believe in fate. I mean, with the population so scarce, what were the odds that I’d meet the one person who… I mean, fuck, what are the odds? So, if war didn’t kill me, if hunger didn’t end me, if disease didn’t consume me…then, I must have been meant for this. My death…dying this way, was going to have to mean something, right? Every decision I’ve decided, every choice I’ve chosen…they were all me. I had no undue influences. No peer pressure, no uncertainty, no coddling or confusion. I saw something…or rather, someone I wanted and surrendered without a fight. He didn’t force me.

He didn’t bribe me. He didn’t harass me. He didn’t do anything, other than be himself. I decided to ignore the signs. I chose to believe the lies. I decided to pretend it was all something more. I chose him. Over everything else, I. Chose. Him. I let out a humorless laugh. I chose ignorance, and now I was going to die for my stupidity. It was fine, though. I wasn’t going to beg or plead for a reprieve I knew wasn’t going to come. I wasn’t going cry…well, maybe I was. I wasn’t sure the exact method of torture I might have to endure before I met my maker, so I might cry. But I wouldn’t beg. If I was going to die, I was going to die the same way I’ve been living for the past ten years. I was going to fight tooth and nail. Of course, I kept that little detail to myself. The only problem was Martin. I knew he was on the roof of the storage primary house, gun in hand, waiting for my signal to shoot all these motherfuckers dead. Too bad it couldn’t be done without some of my people possibly getting hurt. And, even though, they all signed up for this and were prepared to defend their home, I just couldn’t stomach someone getting hurt or killed because I couldn’t control my hormones.

I lowered my gun and eyed Kade’s father. I didn’t trust him anymore than I trusted his son. He had an evil to him that radiated off his person. The guy who originally spoke carried more of the vibe of a person trying to pretend he was tough, but really wasn’t. I turned my back on all of them and faced my family. “We’re going to go inside and talk. I-” “Raine,” Elliot interrupted. “Don-” I stared at my friend and I knew he was scared for me. This was off script for us and no one knew what they were supposed to do now that I changed shit up. “It’s fine, El,” I assured him. “Nothing’s changed.” His eyes rounded but he just gave me a slight nod. He knew what I meant when I said nothing had changed. It meant that they were to defend themselves regardless of where I was or what was going with me. And if I had to sacrifice myself to these people, so that everyone was safe, so be it. I walked into my cabin without a backward glance. If they shot me in the back… well, then, at least, I wouldn’t have to live through seeing what my choices did to everyone. When I made inside, I turned just in time to see Kade’s father, Kade, the guy who spoke earlier, and about ten additional guys crowd into my cabin. I quickly did the math, and that left ten guys, or so, guys outside. Even if they were outnumbered now by my people, it didn’t matter. It was a tight scene with a risk to everyone. Maybe if I could signal Martin, he’d be able to pick off half of them before they got a shot off. That action might result in my death, but that wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was that I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not about having reserves close by. If the shooting brought them all running, then we’d all die for sure. I shook off all the ‘what ifs’ and addressed Kade’s father. “So, what’s your proposal?” Might as well cut to the chase. I had people standing outside ready to blow each other to bits. I needed to defuse the situation quickly. Kade’s father stuck out his hand to shake mine. “First, let me introduce myself,” he said, smiling. “I’m Travis Montgomery, and that young gentleman over there

is my nephew, Brice.” He cocked an arrogant brow when he added, “And, of course, you already know my son, Kade.” I didn’t bother glancing at Brice or Kade. They weren’t worth my time. Travis was calling the shots, so it was him I needed to keep my eye on. “What’s your deal?” I asked, not taking his hand. “Simple,” he answered, his slimy smile still in place, but his hand lowered. “I want everything you’ve managed to accomplish here, Raine. How can we make that happen?” I thought about the keys around my neck and the rooms that held all my secrets. It wasn’t just the books and mechanism that made the compound possible. It was being able to understand what you were ready and looking at to make it happen. My father taught me everything I know. He taught us hands on and that’s the only reason I could turn what was on paper to reality. “So, you plan on just moving in and pushing us out, is that it?” He smiled, and I hated that he was good looking. Evil shouldn’t be good looking. “No, Raine, of course not. Like you stated earlier, we’re not exactly equipped to maintain all that you’ve managed. What I need is you.” “Then you’re going to have to kill me, Travis, because you can’t have me,” I replied, and I was kind of fascinated that I wasn’t scared. “Or I could kill your people, one by one, until you comply,” he challenged. “You could,” I agreed. “But what makes you think I won’t put a bullet in my head before it got that far?” I didn’t mind dying for the greater good. Travis arched a brow. “You’d really kill yourself to save those people out there?” He shook his head. “Come on, Raine. No one is that selfless.” “Maybe you’re not,” I retorted. “But maybe you don’t know what it’s like to really love.” He smiled. “Maybe, I don’t.” “So, what now?” I asked, because I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. I

just needed to find a way to give Martin a signal to start shooting. Travis glanced around, eyeing his followers. I watched as he was trying to figure out what to do next. He wasn’t expecting me to be willing to die for what I loved. And since I was packed with guns and knives to the gills, he couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t go through with my threat of suicide. And Kade had confirmed I was the one he was going to need to keep around in order to keep the compound flourishing. “Well, I suppose we do find ourselves in a bit of a predicament,” he said, darkly. “I can’t have you dying, but I’m not sure how to get to you quick enough that you won’t kill me or yourself. You have a lot of firepower strapped to that hot little body of yours.” “Raine…” I finally let myself look over at Kade, and I wish I hadn’t. Standing before me was a man who I’d never met before. He gave the performance of a lifetime these past few weeks, and while I never trusted him, I never expected this big of a betrayal. I wasn’t sure if I had anything of real consequence to say to him, but whatever I was about to say was cut off by his cousin “How about you let me fuck it out of her, Uncle Travis?” My eye shot over towards Brice. I’d like to say I was disgusted, but he had the Montgomery genes and was good looking, as well. Not as good looking as Kade, but he wasn’t anything to scoff at, either. “If you’re feeling brave, bring it on,” I said, answering for Travis. He laughed. “It might be worth the battle if the final outcome is burying my cock in your pussy.” I waited. I waited, and a part of me wished that Kade would finally say something. Defend me. At the very least, tell Brice to shut his fucking mouth. To still claim me somehow. But he didn’t.

He stood by and let us discuss my rape and murder like it was dinner conversation. Maybe if I just got one of them to shoot me, the sound would signal Martin to start shooting. Because that’s the edge I needed. And even if they did shoot to kill me, I would manage to be able to pick off a few of them before they did me in. Could I kill Kade? Hell, motherfucking yeah, I could kill him. “Well, Travis,” I said wryly. “I’m not sure what to tell you because I’m not going to help you. And I’m also not going to let you line up your men to rape me into submission. So, if you’re going to kill me, do it now.” He cocked his head at me. “Decisions, decisions,” he cooed. “What to do?” “Why don’t you just take over and let us all start over somewhere else?” I knew he wouldn’t go for it. After all, it’s been made clear that I’m the one who held all the knowledge. He wasn’t about to let me go knowing that. “I could, Raine,” he said. “I could, but the more time I spend in your company, the more I realized how much I’d like to keep you around. You’re far more interesting than the women I’ve met lately.” My stomach soured. First, Brice make comments about fucking me with no regard to Kade standing right next to him and now his father. The heartbroken part of me wondered just how he described me to his family. Was I just an easy lay? Or was I just that disposable he didn’t mind who used me first or how often? I straightened my shoulders and steeled my spine. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live a long life and move on to my next adventure. I wanted to experience the next phase of my life. But, no matter how much I wanted to live, I had to take responsibility for letting Kade into the compound. I was okay with that decision.

Everything happened for a reason. And I think the reason I didn’t fear my death was because I knew I would finally be reunited with my family. I believed in Heaven and I believed I’d find my family again. I could have done this a million different ways. I could have killed myself, killed them, made a run for it, or any manner of other options. Instead, I stood in the cold, darkened room staring down the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He was looking back at me with eyes so cold, the grey in them looked like ice. Every moment we’ve ever shared a forgotten experience; a glaringly obvious mistake. I lifted my chin, ignoring everyone else in the room, and said, “Well, if you ask me, the world could do with two less people in it.”

Chapter 20

Kade~ It took a few seconds for her words to penetrate with meaning. And then it took a few seconds to do the math in my head. And then a few more seconds to realize what a motherfucking idiot I was. We’d been fucking long past a month and she’s never bled. And I didn’t question it or even think about it because all I cared about was being inside Raine’s body. “Oh, well,” my father said, his voice booming throughout the room. “This is certainly an interesting and new development.” I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him in the most horrific way imaginable. I’ve been wanting to kill him since the day he left my mother behind. But standing here, listening to him and Brice talk about raping Raine…well, it was all I could do not to get us both killed. Hell, it was everything I could do to make sure Raine didn’t kill me in cold blood. I had never intended for shit to go down like this. Never. I had planned on telling Raine all about my father and how he had gotten wind of her compound. I had planned on confessing everything, but I had wanted to make sure she loved me first. I needed something to help keep her from kicking me out of her life. And I figured if I just waited until she had fallen in love with me, like I had fallen in love with her, she’d be more apt to listen to me. That Sunday when I had gone back to my father’s camp, I had given him enough information to not suspect I wasn’t on board with his plan to take over Raine’s

compound. I had never been on board for something like that. Even before I met Raine, I wouldn’t have gone along with my father’s plans to edge them out. All the other camps he took over weren’t done with force. They had been done with manipulation and sleazy charm; never by obvious, brute force. But one day he had come back from a scouring trip in one of the unauthorized townships and said he had heard a couple of people talking about a rumored compound that was self-sustaining. The very idea of that possibility took root inside his head and he refused to let it go. I can it that I found the concept fascinating and if it was true, it was short of a miracle. But I wasn’t so fascinated by the idea that I was willing to take the place over by force. And when I realized that my father wasn’t going to give up the search for this mysterious homestead, I volunteered to go search for it and report back. At first, Travis was against the idea, but once I explained that a lone man showing up wounded would be better received than an army of armed men, he relented, and I became his inside spy. But then I saw Raine, and I fucking fell in love with her. Now, granted, even before it was love, there was no way I was going to let anyone put their hands on her. The second I laid eyes on her, the game changed. It might not have been love at first sight, but it was something. Something strong enough to change every one of my plans for my future. Long before my father set his sights on Raine’s compound, I was preparing to leave him and his troupe. I wasn’t a boy anymore. I was a 30-year-old grown ass man who’d been going through the motions because it was easy. At least, it was easier before my father started making promises he couldn’t keep. It was only a matter of time before people in his troupe started turning on him. I could see it. I could see it with every failed promise. And, sad to say, I really didn’t give a shit about Brice. Yeah, he was my cousin, and we grew up together, but once he became my father’s puppet, he started leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I had nothing against the people who followed Travis; they were just trying to survive like everyone else. The men were decent enough, and the women were kind enough. My only issue was with Henley, one of the daughters that traveled with us. She wasn’t a fan of the word ‘no’.

But none of that mattered now. Everything’s changed. Raine was pregnant if I was reading into her words correctly. Raine was pregnant with my child. She was pregnant with my child and, if any place could nurture a child in this world, it was this compound. And as babies were a rare commodity, the government would expect our child to be born in a hospital and marked. Abortion was illegal nowadays because the government’s main priority was to repopulate the earth. Their reasoning was quite simple; the more people in the nation, the more money they can extract from its citizens. And because very few people had the skills or knowhow to care for a baby independently from what the government could provide, people practiced safe sex as to ensure not getting pregnant. No matter how you felt about this life, no one wanted to hand over their baby and their lives to the newfound government. Nobody. But Raine’s words brought on an entire new weight of problems. She knew she was pregnant and, yet, she stood there, as casual as the sun, and spoke about killing herself or insisting on my father killing her. I knew the people of the compound meant the world to her, I just never imagined they’d mean more to her than her own child. Or maybe it was the fact that it was my child that caused her not to give a fuck. Little could she know what those words that she spoke would do to my father. I watched as he grinned from ear to ear. “I lost a son and daughter,” he announced, as if he had been victimized. I noticed how the sonofabitch made no mention of his wife; my mother. “And here you are, available to replace what I’ve lost.” Raine’s brows shot up at his callous wording. “Available?” she snorted. “I wouldn’t count on it, Travis. See, I’m not available to you in any way. And, even if I was, the child I’m carrying could very well be a girl. No male to make up for the one you’ve already lost.” Travis’ true colors flashed. “It doesn’t matter what that child is,” he barked. “It

will be a Montgomery, making it a member of my family.” Raine cocked her head and her face was all cocky and arrogance. “And what, pray tell, make you believe this child is a Montgomery?” My knees buckled. It was faint, and no one could tell, but I could feel the strength that held them up vanish in a wisp. I had no idea how far along she was, and I had no idea when the last time she slept with Samuel was even though she said it’s been a while. She could very well be pregnant with Samuel’s child. Hell, even I knew that some women didn’t start showing until their fourth month into pregnancy, and Raine was so tiny, it was quite possible that she’s been pregnant for a while and just not be showing. That baby might not be mine. My father’s brows shot up and the look he gave me was one designed to emasculate me. “I guess you’re not as charming as you thought you were if she’s been hosting some other man’s dick, son.” He shook his head and tsked. “Quite a disappointment to hear, I must say.” “Well, since we’re obviously not going to wait the eig-until the baby is born to find out who its father is, why don’t we worry about the here and now,” Raine snapped. And, while no one else might have noticed her slip, I sure as fuck did. She was about to say eight months. And if that’s what she was about to say, then that meant that child she was carrying was mine. But, fuck, who was I kidding? Even if that child wasn’t mine by genetics, it would have still been mine because Raine’s mine. Samuel would have just had to deal. But no matter what, Raine’s life was now the priority here. “Don’t let her words fool you, Dad,” I growled. “That baby’s mine. Just like she’s mine.” He made an exaggerated pout. “Awe, Brice, see that?” he sing-songed. “Looks like my son’s not willing to share.” I couldn’t take it anymore.

Fuck Travis Montgomery and every motherfucker in this room. I stepped to him and, this time, I wasn’t 20-years-old and intimidated by this man. Now we stood eye to eye, and I had no doubt I could take him. “Not only am I not willing to share, but no one touches her,” I seethed. “No one.” “Then you better find a way to disarm her, Kade,” he seethed back. “She doesn’t give a fuck about her life and, knowing that, there is nothing stopping her from trying to put a bullet in every one of us. So, if you’re claiming her like that, then you better control her.” Raine didn’t comment, but I was betting that was due to the fact that she was too busy coming up with ways to murder me in my sleep…nah, Raine’s going to kill me while she’s looking me straight in the eye. That’s more her style. And because my father was right and Raine had no regard for her life, shit was going to get bloody. Raine was not going to hand over the compound. I knew that. I knew it like I knew my own name. The only thing I could do at this point was give her the advantage and pray that she was intuitive enough to go along with it. “We need to have this discussion outside,” I stated. “What we say in here doesn’t matter. If you don’t want a fight on your hands, they need to hear it from Raine that…things are changing.” My father nodded. “Maybe you’re right.” “I’ve been living with these people for weeks,” I reminded him. “I know I’m right. They follow her blindly and they’ll need to see for themselves that she’s willing to compromise. Otherwise, they will get bullet happy and start firing to protect her.” He looked over at Raine. “Shall we?” She didn’t hesitate one second. She walked right past me, him, Brice and everyone else in the room and stepped outside. I followed behind her because I didn’t trust anyone else. When we made it back to the clearing, everyone was still in the exact same positions when we left. Guns were still drawn and Raine’s people looked like

they’d fire at any second. I still had my gun, but it didn’t compare with the four on Raine’s body, not to mention the knives and endless magazines hanging off her body. And my main concern was Raine killing me, not anyone else. I knew, the second I turned my back on her, she was going to end me, and I didn’t blame her. Before anyone one of us could speak, Raine’s voice carried, loud and clear. “Mr. Montgomery, here, wants to take over the compound,” she announced. “He wants to bring his group to take up residence here and benefit from all that we’ve built.” She glanced around, making sure to take in every face that belonged to her. “We decide this like we do everything else; together.” There was a heartbeat of silence as she let everyone soak that in. “If we decide that’s not something we want, then lives might be lost, including yours. I want everyone to think hard about that, before deciding. This…standoff will only end one of two ways. We compromise, or we fight.” I followed her gaze, and that’s when I saw it. Or, him, rather. Martin was camouflaged on the roof of the primary supply cabin, his gun aiming straight for me. It must be all a part of their emergency plan. I didn’t know what was in the supply cabin, because that had been off limits to me-just like Raine’s two extra bedrooms-but by the pile next to Martin, I’d say firearms were some of what was stored in that cabin. I stood to my full height, letting him know that I saw him. I could only pray that the fact I wasn’t alerting my father to Martin’s whereabouts was proof enough of which side I was on. I didn’t deserve Martin’s benefit of the doubt, but I prayed for it. Hell, I was one hundred percent sure that every member of the compound wanted to be the one to take me out. They all heard what my father had said. They all heard him announce my role in this. When it came to either side of the fence, Raine was the only person who could save me. And how ironic. The very thing that was making it difficult to function here is the same reason I might get to live. I struggled and struggled with Raine calling the shots and pushing me behind

her, and now it was only that strength and leadership that could save me. Because there was no way I was going to let my father take over. There was no way I was going to let him hurt Raine, either. If I could manage it, no one in this compound would get hurt, but Raine was my priority. With or without the baby she carried, Raine was my priority. And then I stood in fascinated awe as every compound member gave their vote. “No,” said Jason Horn. “No,” said his wife and daughter in unison. “No,” said Frank Briggs as his wife echoed his sentiment. “No way in hell,” Elliot barked. “No,” said the Jackson sisters. “Fuck, no,” said Lester Jackson. “No,” said Vincent Corelli. “No,” said Armando Hernandez. “No,” said William Cho. “Hell, no,” said Amy Leman. Raine’s eyes shot to mine, then my father’s, and then, back to mine. Regardless of everyone’s vote, she knew she was the deciding factor. The next words out of her mouth would decide how this is all going to play out. But I already knew how it was going to play out. All because she hadn’t asked Martin. She hadn’t asked Martin because he already knew. He’s always known. And this moment, right here, was what he meant that day we argued in Raine’s cabin. She trusted him in a way that she trusted no one else. Raine trusted him with her life and the life of everyone she cared about.

Martin was her person; the person who actually made a difference in her soul. I was trying not to let that knowledge crush me when Raine looked me in the eye as she raised her weapon and said, “No.”

Chapter 21

Raine~ The first shot rang out, and I knew it was Martin with his 30-ot-6 rifle. That first shot rang out and blew a hole clean through Brice Montgomery’s head. Suddenly, there were bullets flying back and forth, but I didn’t cower. I had only one target, and that was Travis Montgomery. However, I wasn’t so blinded by my hate that I hadn’t notice how some of his troupe dropped to the ground and were positioned there in surrender. It made me all the more pissed off. And that wasn’t good when I was strapped with two 9 Millimeter handguns, one a Glock 17 and the other a Glock 19, two Smith & Wesson .38 Specials, and five different variety of knives. Not to mention the .22 in my hand. Their instant surrender meant those men on the floor were here for a better life and nothing more. They were the ones praying for a peaceful resolution that would bring them a better quality of life, and as long as they stayed down, we would spare them. We weren’t murderers. But our fight wasn’t limited to flying bullets. No. All around me there were people shooting, ducking for cover or flat out combat fighting. And I wasn’t concerned about who would win. We had home field advantage, and since no one could get to Martin, he was picking them off whenever he had a clean shot. I fought my way towards Travis Montgomery, prepared to put a bullet through his head, but I couldn’t do it without possibly shooting Kade in the process. I was about to reach them when someone came up beside me and sucker punched the side of my face. I saw stars, but it wasn’t enough to knock me down or stop me. I’d been fighting for my life for years. I’ve found myself in this

position before. I turned, fist raised, and started swinging, and not in that hysterical girl fighting style. I fought like my father had taught me. My punches were precise and calculated. My assailant was about five inches taller than me, but he was lankly, and I knew he was weak from the punch he threw. Now, whether the punch was weak because he had an aversion to hitting females or because he was a pussy, I didn’t know. I didn’t much care either. Since I was so much shorter than he was, I got one shot to his kidneys in and a second shot to his ribs. I dodged his right hook, but when he got me with his left to my temple, I realized he had been holding back with his first shot to my face. I didn’t want to kill him, but I wasn’t strong enough to stop him. I wasn’t worried about him killing me, however, I couldn’t afford to be knocked unconscious either. I needed to remain in this fight. I pulled out my gutting knife and used his height to my advantage. Coming in below him, I held the knife by the hilt, and I swung upwards, jamming it underneath his chin, and clean through his skull. I didn’t wait for him to fall before I was already running my way towards Travis and Kade. My eyes surveyed the ground, and as long as there weren’t any of my people on the ground, I didn’t stop. I also didn’t give a fuck. These people threatened my home and the people I loved. I was halfway to Travis Montgomery when I heard Elliot’s roar. I turned and saw a knife protruding from his shoulder. I ran as fast as I could, another knife in hand, and because the asshole who stabbed him was concentrating on Elliot, he didn’t suspect a thing until it was too late. I jumped on his back, and reaching over, I sliced his neck wide open. His blood sprayed like a fountain, coating Elliot’s shirt, but he was dead before I jumped off his body. As much as I wanted to go end Travis Montgomery, I couldn’t. Elliot’s wound needed tending, and I was not about to leave him. “Elliot…” “Don’t worry about me, Raine,” he gasped. “Go handle your shit, girl.”

“You are my shit, Elliot,” I teased, not caring that we were in the middle of a battle for our lives. “I’m not leaving you when you’re hurt.” I looked up and noticed the odd were heavily in our favor now. So, I turned back to Elliot. “Go back to your cabin and I’ll send someone in to help you.” “Bullshit,” he snapped. “I’m not going to hide in my cabin like a goddamn coward, Raine!” “It’s not cowardice, Elliot,” I snapped back. “You’re hurt! And I need you alive, Elliot. Don’t die on me because you want to be stubborn.” “Raine-” “We’re winning, Elliot,” I said, interrupting his protest. “Look around. We’re winning.” “I’m not leaving this fight,” he growled, and I knew he wasn’t going to budge. “Fine,” I relented. “But if you get yourself killed, I’m going to kill you.” The sonofabitch winked at me. When I turned back around, the first person I noticed was Martin. He was no longer on the roof of the primary cabin. He was smack dab in the middle of the melee with the rest of us. I caught Martin’s eye, and when he turned to look at me, I knew I needed to reach him before I did anything else. There was a possibility that one, or both, of us could die during this fight and he needed to know what he meant-means to me before it’s too late. I ducked, weaved and dodged bodies, fists and bullets to get to him, and when I did, he looked down at me and smiled. “You better stay alive, babe,” he simply said. “Right back at you,” I replied. Chaos was happening all around us, but these few precious seconds were ours. “I love you, Raine,” he whispered with so much emotion it brought tears to my eyes.

I nodded. “I love you, too, Marty,” I whispered back. “More than you will ever know.” We stared at each other for two more seconds before we turned our back to each other and fought outwards. Marty was the eyes in the back of my head, and I was his. It was how we always practiced and how we always knew it would go down. Now that Marty was with me, I could concentrate on getting this shit under control. I fought off three more men-shooting two and stabbing the third, and while I was doing that, everyone else was taking on their fair share. Soon enough, the dust was settling, and when it was all over, we had four men lying face down in surrender, with Lester, Christy, Jason and Frank positioned over them aiming their guns at their heads. We had 11 dead bodies and all of them were from Travis’ troupe. The remaining six men were beaten and bloody, but standing with Amy, William, Armando, Vincent, Jane, Melody and Marsha holding guns to their heads. Clarisse was tending to Elliot’s wound and Martin was standing next to me. In the middle of the clearing was Kade, and he had a gun pointed at his father. Everyone looked like a bloody mess, except for Marty. Since he spent most of his time on the roof, picking motherfuckers off, he hadn’t become a victim to as much of the physical combat the rest of us engaged in. I scanned the clearing and asked, “Is anyone else hurt besides Elliot?” Amy winked at me. “I broke a nail,” she joked. “Does that count?” The relieve that poured through me was physical. I looked at the faces of every member of the compound, and my relief that they were critically unharmed was palpable. I had let these people down by getting involved with Kade, and they came out here and fought with their lives, regardless. They fought for me and they fought for each other. My heart felt like it was going to burst with the love I felt for these people. They didn’t let me down even thought I let them down. I risked their safety and sacrificed their peace, and they fought for me, anyway. As much as I wanted to tell Clarisse to take Elliot inside and tend to him, I

couldn’t do that to him. He was a part of our family and he deserved to witness what was going to happen next. Besides, he was probably already feeling his age, knowing he was the only one who got hurt, I didn’t want to add to whatever bullshit he had going on in his head. I turned back to the people I needed to address, starting with the men on the ground. “Tell me your names,” I instructed, recognizing the two from the woods. “Eli,” said the first man. “Mark,” said the second. “Daniel,” said the third. “Derek,” said the fourth. I looked down at the men and each one was facing the ground. Some people might see that as an act of weakness, but I didn’t see it that way at all. Not wanting to fight was not a sign of weakness. “If one of you were to speak for all four of you, which one would it be?” There were a few seconds of hesitation before Mark spoke. I suppose he was giving the other men a chance to take the lead but stepped up when they didn’t. “I guess that would be me.” I didn’t work that way though. A team was a team no matter their leader. “Do you all agree?” They all mumbled their agreement before I addressed Mark again. “Why did you guys Travis in coming here?” “May I stand up?” I gave him credit where credit was deserved. He was still a man despite the position he was in and he wanted to be addressed as such. “You may all stand,” I replied. “But just know that if one of you makes one false move, you will get a bullet to your brain.” I kept an eye on all of them as they each stood. Observing them, I saw that they appeared to be just as exhausted as those who fought. Fear really was a motherfucker.

Mark gave me a tight nod. “We’re not here to cause any trouble. We were never here to cause any trouble,” he stressed. “Travis gave us the impression that we were going to be welcomed.” I studied each man. Derek looked to be in his early 30s and seemed fit. Eli appeared to be in his late 40s and slim in stature. Daniel looked somewhere in his early 20s and built like he’d look good naked. And Mark looked to be in his late 30s and fit, as well. Taking in each man, they could have easily ed in the fight to help Travis out. The fact that they didn’t moved me to believe what he said as the truth. Something inside me made me want to help them. “Are any of you married? Have any children?” I needed to know so I could determine what I was going to do with them. “I have a wife,” Eli said, while the others claimed bachelor status. “And what would you guys like now?” “I want to go back to my wife and…move on,” Eli said, with no hesitation. “I want to go back,” Mark said. “I don’t have a wife or children, but I do have a younger sister I care for.” “I want to stay,” Daniel said, any fear of rejection giving way to honesty. “I need to go back,” Derek answered. “I don’t have a wife or children, but my… the family I’ve made along the way, they are who I want to get back to.” Daniel was the only one who wanted to stay, and we could make room for him. Especially now that Kade was leaving, Daniel could bunk up with Elliot, if need be. I turned to the other six men and knew we were going to have to kill them. There was no way around it. Even if I believed they’d never come back to bother us again, I couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t tell other people . I couldn’t risk confirmation of the compound getting out. Besides, these motherfuckers tried to kill us.

I looked at the faces of the men that would haunt me for years to come before looking over at Marty. He gave me one small nod letting me know he was with me whatever I decided. I looked over the face of my people and gave the order. “Kill them.” Amy, William, Armando, Vincent, Jane, Melody and Marsha didn’t hesitate. Like a beautifully synchronized dance, they each took a step back, cocked their guns and shot each man in the back of the head. The remaining four paled a bit, but other than that, everyone else took the executions in stride. There was also another reason for the order. I needed to show the men who I was going to set free see what we were about. I meant business and weakness wasn’t an option. When I turned to them, I gave them a choice. “I don’t know the kind of relationship you guys had with the dead bodies, but if I let you leave, you’re free to take the bodies with you and bury them. If not, we’ll dispose of them.” I’m not sure what it was that set Travis Montgomery off, but he finally broke his silence. Maybe knowing he was next finally snapped him out of his stupor. “You fucking bitch!” he screamed. “You think you’re going to get away with this?!” Before I turned around to face him, I heard the telltale sounds of someone getting the shit slapped out of them. Facing him, I saw blood trickling down the corner of his mouth, but that could have been from the fight and not the slap. I had mixed emotions about this man. A part of me wanted to shoot him dead on the spot, but another part of me wanted to keep him prisoner and torture him until his soul left his body. Cocking my head, I smirked. “Who’s going to stop me?” I asked. “You?” “You think those cowards are going to keep their mouths shut about how you killed all these people?” he shouted, spit flying everywhere. I laughed. He truly was an idiot consumed by his own ego. “We didn’t kill anyone,” I clarified. “We defended ourselves.” “You just shot and killed six defenseless men!”

“Defensive men,” I muttered to myself. I wasn’t sure what he was playing at, but I wasn’t buying into his sociopathic ways. I walked up to him and announced his fate. I could have drug it out, but I was exhausted, and Elliot’s wound needed tending to. “I’m going to kill you now,” I said, my decision final. “I’m going to kill you and hopefully the people you’ve poisoned will be able to erase you from their lives once and for all.” Kade finally spoke, and I almost stuck a knife through his ribs. “You can’t, Raine,” he said. “This is the one person I’m not going to let you kill.”

Chapter 22

Kade~ Raine looked over at me and the look in her eyes would drop a lesser man. There was so much hate in her eyes, it was hard not to react physically to it. She turned her entire body to face me head on. “And why is that?” I had a lot to make up for. I had a lot to prove to this woman; my love being first and foremost. I would never understand the level of betrayal she was feeling right now, but I had to make it right. A person didn’t get a second chance with Raine and that’s what I was asking for. When she gave the order to execute Tim, Roger, Jerome, Harry, Grant and Nolan, it had been hard to just stand by and let it happen. These are men who I’ve spent time with and weren’t really bad people. They had just fallen under the darkness that was my father. Now, I understood why she gave the order, but it hadn’t made it any easier to witness. I was just thankful that she had spared Mark, Daniel, Eli and Derek. Well, at least, for now. And having known them for some time, I knew they were good on their word. They just wanted to get back to a life that was Travis Montgomery-free. I knew that feeling. “Let me,” I offered loud enough for everyone to hear. I’m not sure how many of them witnessed me fighting my own father, but I needed to make it clear which side I was on. I was on Raine’s side. Always Raine’s side. Raine scoffed and actually smiled widely. “You think I would trust you to kill your father?” She shook her head. “You must really think I’m a fucking idiot if you think I’d trust you with anything at this point.”

I didn’t want to air our dirty laundry, but it needed to be done. If I was going to have any chance at redemption, I had to prove to these people that I hadn’t played Raine for a fool. She didn’t falter or have poor judgment. “You’ve never trusted me with anything,” I reminded her. “You’ve told me every day since the day I met you that you didn’t trust me for shit.” She smirked. “And it looks like I was right.” I nodded and gripped the gun tighter. “You were right not to trust me, Raine,” I conceded. “But not for the reasons you think.” “The reasons I think?” she repeated. “I never lied to you,” I pointed out. “I just never told you what I was doing here.” “You’re going to play semantics with me, Kade?” she hissed. “You’re lucky I haven’t sliced you from your navel to your chin, you sorry motherfucker.” “Raine, I-” “You dare to stage an injury to fall into our good graces,” she seethed. “You come here with the pretense of wanting to be a part of this family and earn a rightful place here. You threaten Martin and then Samuel. You worm your way into my bed all the while you’re plotting and planning with your sonofabitch father to take over and destroy everything we’ve built. And you…you have the fucking nerve to stand there and tell me you never lied to me?” She was a raging, shaking mess by the time she was done reciting all my transgressions. “Kill him, Martin,” she snapped, and she barked out that order while looking me straight in the eye. I looked over at Martin, who was already lifting his gun. “Don’t, Martin,” I said, not carrying one iota if it sounded like I was begging or not. “I love her.” “You don’t love me,” Raine spat. “You love what you think I can do for you.” I turned back to face her. “Bullshit! I wanted you the second I laid eyes on you,” I reminded her. “I wanted you even before I learned that you were the one in charge.”

“But how convenient that you fell in love with me once you did learn I was the one in charge around here.” She didn’t give me a chance to respond. “I said fucking kill him!” “Babe, mayb-” She whirled around, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had thrown a knife across the clearing, aiming for Martin’s head. “What Martin? What?” “I’ll kill him if that’s what you really want,” he answered. “I just think…maybe you should make that decision after a couple of days. Give yourself some time to cool down.” Martin would never know how grateful I was to him in that moment. Raine cocked her head. “Because in a couple of days, when I’m not pumped on adrenaline and hate, everything he’s done won’t be real? It’ll all be a lie?” “Raine, babe, w-” “Fine, Marty,” she hissed. “I’ll just kill him my goddamn self.” She turned back around and started coming at me head on, and I realized I had only two choices. I could take the gun off my father and point it at her, protecting myself, or I could keep it on my father and let her slice me open. It was a no brainer. I kept the gun on my father. But the second she reached me, instead of putting a bullet in my brain, or gutting me like she previously had threatened, Raine looked up at me and asked, “Why?” I knew I only had one chance here, and not just with her; with everyone. “When I was 20, my father left my mother behind defenseless. We fought when I found out he had left her behind, and he kicked my ass. I was laid up with some broken ribs and a busted body when my older brother and younger sister decided to go back for our mother.” Like I’ve always said, Raine’s face was poker perfect, but her eyes…her eyes told everything, and I knew she was listening to me, even if

she didn’t want to. “When Travis found out, we went in search of Brent and Carrie. He still didn’t give a shit about my mother, but he wasn’t going to let his children escape him. When we found them, we found them all together. Brent and Carrie had reached my mother, but someone, or a bunch of someones found them first, and then robbed them and killed them.” Raine’s eyes widened just a fraction, but I saw it. “I’ve been wanting to kill this man for 10 years, Raine.” “Then why haven’t you?” she asked, her voice low and raspy. The entire clearing was so quiet, I knew they heard her, anyway. “Because he was still the only family I had left in a world where I didn’t know what was going to become of it,” I answered honestly. “But once I found you…I did what I had to do to bide myself some time to figure this shit out.” “Everything but tell me the truth,” she huffed. I loved this woman, and she was pregnant with my child. She was the center of everything that made me want to exist. But I knew my betrayal was unforgiveable in her eyes. “Let me kill him,” I said. “Let me kill him and then you can do whatever you want with me.” And I wasn’t lying. If she decided she wanted me dead, then that’s the price I was willing to pay for what I did to her. I wasn’t so clueless not to realize that my betrayal ran deeper than just a woman’s boyfriend lying to her. I shook the foundation that her relationship with everyone here. I placed her judgment into question and that was the ultimate sin for someone like Raine. Her brows rose, and she jerked her head towards my father, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire time. Maybe he knew there was no point in begging. “Kill him, then,” she said, calling my bluff. I didn’t spare my father a glance as I pull the trigger, splattering the side of my face and my clothing with his blood. Raine searched my eyes. “Feel better?” “Do you still hate me?” I countered.

“Yes,” she snarled at me. “Then, no, I don’t feel better,” I answered, truthfully. “Nothing will make me feel better if you don’t forgive me.” I almost cringed because I knew I was coming off as the world’s biggest pussy, but it was true. Raine laughed, and it was bitter, cruel and dark. “So, let’s say I do forgive you, Kade,” she said. “What then? Because this isn’t just about me. You think you need to only my forgiveness? You think I’m the only person you betrayed? You think it’s that fucking easy?” “No,” I barked, finally losing my composure, but talk about pouring salt in a gaping ass wound. “I know I have to earn back everyone’s trust here before there’s even a chance of you giving me an inch. I know that, Raine! I fucking know it like you can’t imagine. But I’m not so stupid as to realized that it’s still up to you if I even get that chance to earn back their trust.” Raine turned her back on me, and for a split second, I thought about killing her. I wondered if ending her life would end the misery I was sure to drown in for the rest of my living days. I watched as she approached the four remaining men from my father’s troupe. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Martin switch his aim from me to them, and I was reminded of all the reasons she didn’t need to forgive me. Raine got love from Martin and sex from Samuel. She didn’t need me for a goddamn thing. It was sobering. “You guys will be escorted back to where you came from,” she announced. “It will be then that I’ll decide if you guys live or die.” Mark shook his head. “There are only a few men back at the campsite,” he said. “It’s mostly women and some daughters. No children though.” “And what do you guys plan on doing with those women?” “What we’ve been doing,” Mark replied. “We’ll travel until we’re somewhere safe. We…we can go back to the sanctioned cities. They’re not that bad considering the alternative.”

Raine scanned the faces of her people. “Martin, Lester, Christy, William, Kade and I will escort these men back to their homestead.” She looked at the men. “Was there anyone here you guys wanted to take back to…bury, or return to their family?” All four men shook their heads. After that, she turned to Elliot. “Let Clarisse tend to your shoulder, El. That’s final.” Not letting Elliot answer, she turned to Frank. “Take the dead bodies to the woods and bury them, burn them or leave them for the animals. I don’t care which, just decide what’s easiest for everyone.” “If you leave the truck, Armando, Vincent and I can make a day’s drive and dump them close enough to a sanctioned city that someone will dispose of them,” Frank replied. Raine nodded. “Whatever is easiest, Frank. Just don’t get caught.” She turned back to the four men we were to escort. “If one of you so much as sneezes, I will kill you with no hesitation. Understood?” All four men nodded. “Anyone need to take care of any business before we head out?” Everyone shook their heads, and just like that, we all headed out. We gathered the hunting group’s packs and escorted the men back. I knew it was only a fourhour trek, but the fight had taken so much out of us, the trip was grueling. Raine didn’t speak two words to me the entire way there, and I already felt like I had been scrapped raw enough, that I was fine with the silent treatment. Martin spoke with me, and that was surprising. Once we reached the camp, there was fright, tears, and anger all around. The women who’d lost their husbands were devastated, but everyone else was shocked over what had gone down. It appeared as if Brice had been the only asshole who truly knew what Travis had been about. The crazy thing? My respect for Raine had gone up a hundred notches when she took the time to speak with every member of the camp who was left. And she didn’t just pat them on the head and tell them those were the breaks. No. She spoke to each person at length and asked about their lives, their goals, and what they wanted for themselves in the way of life.

And with every motherfucking answer, she gave them advice and tips on how to make that happened. She shared what she knew and wasn’t stingy about the details. I watched in awe as people took notes and cried over her selflessness. These people knew Raine didn’t owe them anything, and they were just as blown away with the idea that she didn’t care about that. She was just being Raine. The journey home was…wrought with serious tension and discomfort. Everyone knew I was going back to be tried and sentenced. And no one had uttered a word while Raine and I were being all Reality T.V. in the clearing. Not one person, save for Martin, had interjected any comments on whether I should live or die. No one had commented either when Raine mentioned earning their trust back. I honestly didn’t know where I stood right now. But I knew the odds were in favor of me returning so that Raine could blow a bullet in my brain. Daniel looked over at me. “That compound is pretty amazing,” he voiced, low and thoughtful. “And I can’t believe she’s letting me go back to live there with you guys. She’s pretty amazing.” I looked back at the kid. “She’s more than amazing,” I protested. “And, even if she kills me, knowing her has been worth all of it.” “You really love her, don’t you?” “Give it a few weeks and you’ll find yourself in love with her too,” I snorted. “She’s unlike any person you’ll ever meet, and her strength is going to make you want to challenge everything you ever thought you knew about life.” “Before things went to…well, you know,” he grimaced. “How did you manage to keep someone like her?” I shook my head and looked over at Raine leading the trail. I thought about his question and the answer hit me like a brick to the face. My laugh was hollow. “I didn’t. It was her who kept me,” I answered. “Like she does everyone who ends up falling under her spell.”

Chapter 23

Raine~ “You can’t do this!” Martin whispered yelled. “You just fucking can’t, Raine!” I zipped up my bag and then looked up at the one person who knew me best. “Don’t do this to me, Martin,” I replied. “I have to be able to sleep at night.” It was past midnight, and the compound was silent, but not at rest. Until Frank, Armando and Vincent got back, this thing wasn’t over. It wasn’t over until everyone was back at the compound safe and ed for. When we had returned, I moved Martin into my cabin and put Kade and Daniel together. I thought it would be easier on Daniel if he was sharing space with someone he knew and was comfortable with. No one had argued, and I made sure I was on a perimeter patrol when Kade got his stuff out of my cabin and moved. I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with him, but when I spoke to each of the compound who were home, they had all surprised me by telling me they felt like Kade deserved a second chance. All the reasons varied, but all their answers had boiled down to the fact that each one of them believed that he was truly in love with me. They were putting all their trust in their belief in my happily ever after. It hurt to have to disappoint them. “Raine, no one is blaming you for-” I whirled around on Martin. “I’m blaming myself, Marty,” I snapped. “I am!” “Why?” “Because I knew Kade couldn’t be trusted, and I chose to be with him anyway,” I answered. “I put my want of him before everyone else, and it’s fucking eating me alive, Marty.”

“Raine…” he whispered, his anger dissipated. “There’s nothing wrong with choosing love.” I scoffed. “I didn’t choose love, Marty,” I spat, disgusted with myself. “I chose him before I ever fell in love with him. I didn’t trust him from the second I laid eyes on him, but I wanted him. I wanted him in a way that was dangerous and unhealthy.” He started pacing the cabin. “You’ve been perfect for over ten years, Raine,” he grumbled. “You’re entitled to make a mistake.” I shook my head. “Not ones that can cost lives, Marty.” He stopped pacing and stood before me. “You can’t leave, Raine. You just can’t.” The pressure behind my eyes was real, but I willed it away. If I fell apart now, Martin would never let me leave, and I needed to leave. The guilt I harbored for putting my want for Kade above what was best for everyone else felt like an albatross around my neck. Looking up at my friend, I did something I’ve never done in over ten years. I reached around the back of my neck and pulled my necklace up and over my head. I handed the chain that held the keys to the truck, my cabin and both bedrooms. “Here,” I whispered. “You’re going to need these.” Martin’s entire body deflated. “Raine, I’m begging you. Don’t do this to me,” he groaned. “Babe, please don’t leave me.” This time I couldn’t will away the tears that prickled in the corner of my eyes. “Martin, I love you more than my life,” I told him, honestly. “And, normally, I’d do anything for you. But don’t you get it? I can’t even look those people in the face.” “But you know they don’t blame you,” he said, again. “Hell, they all want Kade to stay. You told me yourself they’re all hoping you guys will be together forever.” When it was obvious that Martin wasn’t going to take the chain, I got on my tiptoes and placed the chain around his neck myself. “I don’t fucking want these!”

“Marty, please do this for me,” I begged. “Don’t hold me prisoner here when it’s just going to kill me inside” I watched as Marty lost it. He kicked, punched, swore…I watched as he tried to exhaust all the horrible emotions that were coursing through his body right now; hurt being the primary one. And I understood what he was going through, even if he didn’t think I did. This compound was my home and the people in it were my family. I loved each, and every one of them, as if we all shared the same DNA. Walking away from them wasn’t easy. But all I could do was leave them the tools to be successful. And I knew they let Marty fall into the leadership role. He was the best person for the position as he was privy to everything I knew. He’s been my partner for so long, no one would rise up and question him. Not even Kade. When Martin finished his tirade, he looked over at me and said, “At least take the truck, Raine. You can sleep in it or…” I shook my head. “That truck would bring undue risk and you know it, Marty.” “I don’t know how to fucking let you leave,” he whispered, broken hearted. I left my bag in the chair and I ran to him. As soon as I touched him, my arms wrapped around his neck and his arms encased my entire body like two bands of steel. “I love you,” I cried into his neck. “I love you, so much, and…I will never forget you or what you’ve meant to me all these years, Marty.” “Oh, babe,” he whispered into my hair. “I’m going to let you go, so you can get your head on straight, but I am going to be here waiting for you to return every goddamn day, Raine.” And maybe that is just what I needed. Maybe I just needed to get my head on straight and work through the guilt. But I knew I couldn’t do that here. I couldn’t do that with everyone pretending that I didn’t let them down. Everyone pretending that Kade and I were supposed to kiss, make up, and live happily ever after. Martin and I stayed wrapped around each other for a while. I didn’t want to let

go of him and I knew he didn’t want to let go of me. I stepped back, finally letting him go, and I knew I couldn’t leave him like this. I smiled and said, “As long as I know where to find you, I’ll never be lost to you, Marty.” He smiled back, even though it was pained, and replied, “Then I’ll make sure you can always find me.” I kissed his cheek, turned and grabbed my backpack, and walked out the door without a second glance. I’ve been around these lands for ten years and I knew which way was best if I didn’t want to be detected. And I didn’t. I didn’t want anyone coming after me, and I knew that was a possibility with how badly Martin didn’t want me to leave. It didn’t help that he knew these lands almost as well as I did. I was prepared to leave through one of the side trails, but I couldn’t do it without a view of the waterfall one last time. I followed the truck trail until I was standing before the waterfall. The moon was out, and that gave me enough light to ire the raging, flowing waters. I closed my eyes and tried to commit all the colors to memory. I basked in the roar of the waters and how it drowned out everything around me. I stayed like that for about five minutes too long, and when I opened my eyes, I broke out in sobs at what the waterfall had meant to me all these years. This waterfall saved my life all those years ago and, now, I was saying goodbye to it. I shook off my melancholy and raced towards the wooded area that would shield me best. I wasn’t a fool. I knew the creatures that hunted at night. I knew the perils that existed. I knew that if the animals didn’t get me first, there was starvation, dehydration, or just plain exhaustion. I knew the roads and unused trails were riddled with unsavory sorts. I knew all this, and I was still willing to face those possibilities more than I was willing to look my family in the eyes, knowing I failed them.

Cowardly? Maybe. But I never professed not to be one. Not one time in the past ten years did I ever think I was brave. I was just doing what I needed to do in order to survive. I fought for my life just like any animal would. There’s nothing brave about that. Our innate instinct to survive is ingrained in all of us; it’s how we’re programmed. My life was not a series of brave moments. It was mostly a series of survival moments. I felt like it was that way with damn near everyone. Brave were the people who actually had fought the war. Brave were the people who roamed the earth trying to save people. We still had policemen, firemen, priests, pastors, missionaries, caregivers, etc. Those were the brave; the saviors who went into treacherous territories and tried to make life better for others. I didn’t and don’t do that. I made life better for myself and picked up a few people along the way. Hours later, the sun was coming up over the horizon and it really felt like a brand-new day; a brand-new life. The sun brought back that feeling when I first got into my dad’s truck and drove away from the only home I had ever known. I had no idea where I was going or if I was even going to survive the journey. I had no plans or expectations, and I didn’t now. I had absolutely no expectations about where this new chapter would take me. The only difference now was that my end game needed to be good enough to raise a child. The sensible thing to do was to surrender myself to a sanctioned city or town. Life would exist pretty much like it had before the war, except for that prisoner feel. The government would provide for you and create a life much like the life we all had before the war, I just found the price too steep to pay. You could enjoy cable, cellphones, vehicles, and even a beer at the bar. You could hold down a regular job and have a family. You could live a nice life. All you had to do was sign it all over to the government.

Sanctioned towns didn’t even deal in monetary exchanges. The government provided everything, and it was all kept track on a card; like credit cards. It was the only way to guarantee that the money your earned went back to the government. If you wanted to leave the town, you did it flat broke. There were the shantytowns that provided enough, and I wasn’t opposed to those, but I was so used to doing things on my own for so long, I wasn’t sure how well I’d adapt. Finally, there were the unauthorized towns, and with that thought, I knew where I needed to go for a head start on the rest of my journey. The hike was rough, and it took longer than normal because I took side roads and unchartered trails. A com was one of the few items I had packed. I knew all the tricks to maximal survival with the minimum of supplies. When I finally reached Samuel’s storefront, I snuck around to the hidden man door and tapped in the secret code. It wasn’t a long wait before Samuel swung the door open. His eyes widened, but he immediately opened the door and let me in. He locked the door behind him and then turned to face me. “Why d’you use the man door?” I set my backpack down and realized this is probably the first time in my life that I’ve asked someone for their help. “I left the compound and I’m on foot,” I answered candidly. His eyes really widened, and his face was pure shock. “Jesus Christ,” he breathed. “Why?” I couldn’t stop the appreciative glance I gave him. He was wearing a simple black shirt, jeans and work boots. God, why couldn’t I have fallen in love with him instead? “I have cash,” I said instead of answering him. He ran his hands through his hair at that announcement. Cash these days was equivalent to a cache of diamonds prior to the war. One dollar was worth the price of a one-carat diamond stone prior to the war. Samuel pinned me with a stare, hard and cold. “You know better than to tell people you have cash,” he seethed. “And I’m going to ignore how you came into

my spot and insulted me by suggesting that you have to pay me for my help. I thought we were better than that,” he spat. “Even if you do belong to Kade now, we’re still friends.” I dropped my head and did something that I hadn’t done in over five years. I started sobbing, and I didn’t stop even when Samuel’s strong arms wrapped around me. Samuel guided me towards the back of the store, where he actually lived, but he never unwrapped himself from my person. He guided me to the couch, and we sat down together. Samuel didn’t utter a word as I cried curled up in his lap. When I finally stopped crying, I told Samuel everything. I told him how Kade came to be a member of the compound. I told him about the drama with Melody. I told him about my fight with Martin. I told him about falling in love with Kade. I told him about Travis and Brice. I explained the fight, the killings, the trip to return Mark, Eli and Derek. I told him about letting Daniel stay. I told him about how everyone voted to let Kade stay, and even their opinions on how I should forgive him. Samuel stayed silent as I recounted everything. But it wasn’t until I mentioned that I was pregnant that Samuel finally spoke, and it was to ask, “Are you going to keep the baby?” I nodded into his chest. “Yes,” I whispered. His arms tightened around me. “Then you’ll stay here, Rai-” I jerked out of his arms, and I knew I looked a mess, but I didn’t care. “I can’t do that, Samuel,” I protested. “It’s not safe for you, and even if it was, I’m not going to impose on your life like that.” His brows shot up. “And you think I’m going to just let you wander the streets, pregnant and at risk?” he asked, his incredulousness evident. “You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m letting you leave here.” I was about to protest again, but he held his hand up to stop me. “If you want to earn your keep, then you can cook and clean or whatever, but you’re staying.” I wanted to argue, but I was tired and emotional. So, I compromised. “I’ll stay until the baby is born, but then…” He didn’t argue, knowing a win when he saw

one.

Chapter 24

Kade~ I walked out of the cabin Daniel and I shared, and I knew something was wrong. The compound felt…ominous. When I entered the main clearing, I saw Martin coming out of Elliot’s cabin and the look on his face was enough to make me stop mid-step. When I picked up my stride again, I was in front of him before he had even made a few steps. “What’s going on?” He sighed, and I knew. I fucking knew. Raine was gone. “Let’s talk in the cabin,” he replied, instead of answering me. I wanted to tell him ‘fuck no’, but I followed because that wasn’t the way Martin worked. If I was going to get anything out of him about Raine, I had to listen. So, I followed his ass to the cabin, hating every motherfucking step. Once we were inside the cabin, I asked again, “What’s going on?” His face was stoic and resigned. “Raine left.” Even though I knew it, my body froze at his words. Saying those words, Martin made it all too real. “What do you mean she left?” He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “She feels like she let everyone down.” I was about to object at that absurdity, but he held up a hand to stop my words. “Now, while everyone doesn’t believe that for one bit, she believes it. She feels it, Kade. Leaving is her penance for choosing

to be with you when she knew better. She didn’t trust you, but she chose you anyway. She chose you over everyone’s safety and she said she can’t bring herself to look everyone in the eye knowing this.” I was already shaking my head. “But…that’s bullshit,” I argued. “She talked to everyone afterwards and everyone was fine with what went down. I know it for a fact because I went door to door and spoke with everyone, fucking begging for forgiveness my goddamn self!” Martin sighed again. “I pointed all that out to her myself, Kade,” he replied. “None of it matters. What matters is what she’s feeling. Raine has to be able to look in the mirror, Kade.” I grabbed the first thing my fingers made with and threw it across the room. “You don’t think I know that? I fucking know that, Martin,” I roared. “I understand the guilt she must be feeling, but how in the fuck could you just let her go?!” Martin stepped towards me and we were eye-to-eye in our rage. “How in the fuck did you think I was going to stop her?” he challenged. “This is Raine we’re fucking talking about!” “So, you just let her go?” I challenged back. “No! I did everything I could to keep her here,” he yelled. “Everything except treat her like she doesn’t know her own mind.” I knew I was yelling at the wrong person. Deep down, I knew this wasn’t Martin’s fault. He was right. Raine was a force all her own. No one was capable of controlling her. Least of all, me. And I knew there was only one way Martin would help me. “Raine’s pregnant.” His face gave way to shock. After a few seconds, he started shaking his head. “No way,” he muttered. “There’s no way she would have kept something like that from me.” “Would you have let her leave if she’d told you?”

“Fuck, no,” he snapped. “I would have tied her stubborn ass to a chair and gone and gotten you.” His words did so much that he’d never understand. “Because you would automatically assume it’s mine?” I asked. “What about Samuel?” Martin snorted. “Of course, the baby is yours. Not only does she take the shot to prevent pregnancy, Raine and Samuel were very strict about their sexual practices. They were double covered when they hooked up. And, besides, I know she hasn’t been with him since the last time she went into town solo, and I’d say that’s been about nine months ago.” Martin cocked his head. “So, doing the math, I’d say, if that baby was Samuel’s, she’d be delivering it by now.” My hands slapped onto my knees and I bent over in pure, euphoric relief. The baby was mine. Raine was, for certain, pregnant with my child and she was out God knows where. I didn’t know what Martin had seen on my face when I righted myself, but the look on his face was pure sympathy. “You thought it was Samuel’s,” he stated. I shook my head. “Not knowing when the last time they hooked up, I knew there was a possibility that Samuel could be the father,” I itted. Martin stared at me for a few torturous seconds and I noticed the tension leaving his shoulders. “And you really didn’t care if that baby was Samuel’s, did you?” I straightened my spine and stared him down. “No,” I itted. “That baby’s parentage didn’t matter. If it belongs to Raine, then it belongs to me. Raine’s mine, Martin. And that means anything that has anything to do with her is mine or my responsibility.” Martin smiled. “If that’s the way of it, th-” “That is the way of it,” I reiterated. He gave me a terse nod. “Then you have my blessing, Kade.” Martin laughed. “Not that withholding it was going to stop you, but…”

Making the decision that I didn’t have time for this, I said, “I’m going after her.” Martin started rubbing the back of his neck and hairs on the back of mine started to stand. “What?” I asked. “What aren’t you telling me?” “Now that I know she’s pregnant…” “What!?” I barked. “I’m thinking she might be with Samuel,” he grimaced. My heart skipped. “Why would she be with him?” “The things she took with her were for her to sustain herself, Kade. She would need things when the time came to deliver the baby, and she’d only get those things from Sam,” he explained. “There’s no way she’d risk traveling in her third trimester, when she can’t hide it anymore.” “Can I use the truck?” “I’m coming with you,” he replied. “Thank God,” I mumbled. Martin stopped. “Really?” I cocked my head at the man. “If she’s with Samuel, I’m going to lose my ever lovin’ fucking mind, Martin,” I confessed. “I’ll need some help so that I don’t murder Samuel and she doesn’t murder me.” “Let’s go,” he chuckled. The drive to Braxton was quiet. I’m not sure what Martin was thinking about, but I was struggling with praying that Raine was in Braxton, but slightly hoping that she wasn’t. It wasn’t even really that she was with Samuel…I mean, it was, but it wasn’t. I hated the idea that she ran from me, but I hated the fact that she might have run to another man more. Logically, what Martin said made sense. She would need supplies for when she delivered the baby and, logically, I knew Samuel was her

barter and a reasonable to visit before she left beyond where she could be found. I knew all this. But I still hated it. No matter what their relationship now, he will always be the man she lost her virginity to, and the only man she’s ever been with save for me. And I hated that. I even hated that he seemed like a decent guy. I was a complete asshole for preferring Raine making it on her own rather than run to Samuel. I hated the jealousy boiling in my veins. Too soon-or not soon enough-depending on your viewpoint, we reached Samuel’s false storefront. Martin pulled up to the side of the store and repeated every move Raine had made the last time I was here. He got out and typed in a code that raised the door, and he drove in a soon as the top of the truck cleared. Once the door shut behind us, we both got out and walked into the store. Samuel was behind the counter and he didn’t look surprised to see us. Raine was here. Raine was here and Martin knew it too. “Where is she, Sam?” he asked point blank. Samuel straightened to his full height and placed his palms flat on the counter. “She’s where she wants to be, Martin. Don’t make this shit get ugly.” My waist was already touching the counter before he could finish his sentence. “Then don’t make this shit get ugly, Samuel,” I snarled. “Where the fuck is she?” He looked over at Martin, who was now standing at my back, and then looked back at me. “Like I said, she’s where she wants to be, and it apparently isn’t where you two are. Now, why don’t you both head back to the compound and let the girl be.” I knew it was dangerous to tell Raine’s business, but if she came to him to get supplies for the baby, then he’d already know. And it killed me that she trusted this motherfucker that much. “She’s pregnant, Samuel.”

“I know, Kade,” he hissed. “I know she’s pregnant, and even though she can only be a few weeks, the girl needs her rest. She doesn’t need you two hunting her to the ends of the earth!” “Don’t make me fucking kill you, Samuel, because I will.” His eyes narrowed, and he didn’t give a fuck. “Then that’s what you’re going to have to do, Kade, because I’m not handing her over to you guys. Period.” “Raine!” Martin yelled. “Raine! Get out here before these two fucks kill each other!” He wasn’t wrong. After a few seconds, I heard a door creak open, and I closed my eyes in relief. Raine was safe. All three male heads turned when she emerged from one of the store aisles. Raine rounded the corner, and I had to lean against the counter to stay upright. I haven’t lost her. She ignored Martin and Samuel and eyed me, waiting for the fight to pop off. So, I popped it off. “What in the fuck did you think you were doing?” Raine lifted her chin. “I don’t answer to you, Kade,” she retorted. I stomped over to her, and I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck. Or fuck her senseless. But instead of giving in to either of those options, I stared down at her and laid down the law. At least, my law. “The fuck you don’t,” I corrected her. “I get that you’re used to doing shit on your own and you don’t need anyone taking care of you. I. Get. That. But I love you. I love you and part of loving someone is taking care of them.” “Like I took care of everyone in the compound by letting you into our lives?” she snapped. “Like that kind of love?”

“Jesus Christ, Raine,” I swore. “No one blames you for that. Not one person at the compound has lost any respect for you. They still love you and trust you to lead them. Your guilt is your own. It’s not anything that they’ve heap upon you. You haven’t done anything that deserves forgiveness. I have. I’m the one who fucked up. But guess what? They’ve forgiven me. So, what do you have to feel so guilty about?” “Because I chose you when I knew you were bad for us,” she cried. “Because I knew you were bad news, and I chose to be with you regardless of all the warning bells!” “Yes, you did,” I agreed. “You did, so what’s so different now?” “You motherfucker,” she seethed. “The guilt comes from the fact that you brought all that trouble down on our heads, making us have to fight for our lives, and…” I leaned over her. “And what?” She looked goddamn mutinous. “And, even after all that, I still love you,” she spat. “I want to choose you, and that’s where my guilt comes from.” “Samuel,” Martin’s voice cut through the silence, “help me gather up her stuff.” Raine and I remained silent as the two men made their way to the back. Once they were out of earshot, I reached around and cradled the back of her neck in my hand. “I love you,” I said again. “I love you and I’m so fucking sorry, Raine. You will never know how sorry I am, but this is not the way. Forget about me, leaving the people who love you most is not the way to go.” Her eyes watered, and I was sure that would be my undoing. I never imagined Raine would ever cry over anything, least of all me. “Raine, baby…” “I’m not the best thing for them if I’m going to constantly battle with what’s best for them and how much I want you,” she said. “Now, don’t get me wrong here, Kade. I will always choose them over you, but it doesn’t mean I want to live my life in constant heartbreak.” I cradled her face in both my hands. “Raine, I will never do anything, ever again, to hurt you or the people you love,” I vowed. “I was never in uniform with my

father. I it I handled it wrong, but not because I meant you guys any harm, but because if I had told you the truth from the very beginning, you would never have given me a chance. You would have kicked me out and I’d have never known what it was like to love you, and that just wasn’t an option, baby.” Before she could say anything, Martin and Samuel were returning with her belongings. I let go of her face and looked over to see Samuel carrying her backpack and Martin carrying a large bag. I looked back at Raine. “Let’s go home and figure this out, baby.”

Chapter 25

Raine~ The drive back to the compound was as quiet as a tomb. But, to be fair, there wasn’t much to say. I knew Martin was trying to mind his own business, but he should have thought about that before he jumped in the truck with Kade to come find me. I knew Kade told him I was pregnant. It’s the only reason Martin would have gone against my wishes for space. It’s the only reason I hadn’t told him I was pregnant. It’s the only secret I have ever kept from Martin. I’m sure I was going to have to make that right between us. Sure, I’m certain he understood, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have the right to feel duped. What a mess. We pulled into the compound and I was surprised at what I saw. No one was in their groups. No one was doing their assigned job. Everyone was in the clearing, packed as if they were leaving. My heart dropped, and all my worst fears were being confirmed. I let them down and now they didn’t even want to live here anymore. I was two seconds away from a panic attack when Jane yelled, “Raine! Oh, my God!” She rushed over and wrapped me in her arms. My arms automatically went around her, and before I could gather my bearings, everyone was rushing me. “Jesus fucking Christ, Raine,” Elliot breathed out. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” “Seriously!” Melody screeched. “You…ugh, I’m so mad at you right now!” Jane untangled herself from me and gave me some breathing room. “I take it

Martin told you guys.” Marsha planted her hands on her hips. “Told us?” she huffed. “More like broke our hearts, you jerk!” I smiled. It was my first genuine smile. “Look, we all know what you’re thinking,” Lester ed in. “But you’re wrong, Raine. So very wrong.” Amy elbowed her way through the crowd and stood before me, her head cocked, tears in her eyes. “Raine…” I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her. Martin was my best friend, but Amy and I had a special bond. She was the first person who staved off my loneliness. She was the first person who I started living for besides myself. “I’m sorry, Amy,” I whispered in her ear. I wasn’t sorry I left, though. I was sorry I didn’t say goodbye to her. She deserved a personal goodbye. Amy pulled back and let her tears cascade down her pretty face. When she spoke, her voice was loud and clear in the silence. “Do you the first thing we did once I was…well again?” I nodded. I it like it was yesterday. “We organized an emergency evacuation plan and strategized what we’d do in the event someone found us.” She gave me a curt nod. “And what have we been doing ever since then when someone new came to live with us?” “Create new plans that include and protect all of us,” I mumbled, pretty sure I knew where this was going. “And why did we do that, Raine?” she asked. “Was it because we knew one day that Travis Montgomery, specifically, would find us?” I shook my head. “No,” I answered. “But-” “Travis Montgomery was on his way to find us no matter what decision you made regarding Kade. We’re just lucky no one’s found us before him,” she said, interrupting me. “We all know what we have here, Raine. We all know, and we

are all willing to protect our way of life with our lives, Raine. Your decision to be with Kade doesn’t affect anything. We practiced and trained because we all knew, eventually, we’d need to defend what’s ours.” I let her words sink in, but they still didn’t ease my guilt. I looked around at everyone and asked, “Is that what you guys are all doing? Instead of working, you guys are on patrol for more intruders?” Armando snorted. “No,” he said like the answer was obvious. “We were packed up on our way to go look for you, crazy girl.” I whirled around to face him. “What?” I couldn’t disguise the shock in my voice. “You didn’t really think we’d let you go, did you?” Lester asked? “Girl, you are crazy.” Two strong arms wrapped around me from behind, and I knew instantly that it was Martin. He rested his chin on the top of my head. “I was the only one you asked to respect your wishes for space, babe. Everyone else had free rein to go find you and drag you back,” he chuckled. “You leave, we leave,” William added. “It’s as simple as that, Raine.” I turned in Martin’s arms and just held on. I knew these people respected and cared for me, but I never imagined their love for me matched the love I had for them. After a couple of minutes, I stepped away from Martin and addressed everyone. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not sorry I left, because I really do believe you guys deserve a better leader, but I am sorry I left without saying goodbye. It was chickenshit to run out of here in the middle of the night.” “Raine, we need you here,” Christy said. “You’re a part of this family.” “Thank you, Christy,” I smiled at her. I glanced over at Kade and then back at her. “I have a couple of things I need to work out, but I promise I’m staying.” “Raine,” Martin said, his voice commanding and absolute, and I knew what it meant.

“No more secrets,” Kade added, knowing where Martin was going. I dropped my head and took a deep breath. Once I said the words, it was more real than what it already was. But they all had a right to know. This affected everyone, and they might think differently once they knew. I lifted my head and took in all the faces of the people I called family. Here goes nothing. “I’m pregnant.” Gasps of shock echoed all around me. There were a couple of ‘holy shit’s too. Amy squealed. “Are you serious?” I looked at my oldest friend. “Yep. Kade knocked me up,” I teased. She clapped her hands together. “A baby…” she cooed. “When are you guys getting married?” Clarisse asked. “We’re not, C-” “As soon as she forgives me,” Kade answered, completely disregarding my denial. “Do people even get married anymore?” Frank asked. “I can do it,” Elliot piped up. We all turned to face Elliot. “What?” I choked out. He shrugged a shoulder. “Before…well, before the world went the way it did, I used to be a pastor,” he said, making my jaw drop. “Perfect,” Martin ed in. I started waving my arms around. “Hold up,” I said. “Wait.” I had to stop this craziness. “I’m not marrying Kade. I don’t even like the man right now.” “And that’s my cue,” Kade muttered. “If you guys will excuse us, take an easy day, while I convince my fiancé to marry me.” And then Kade did something I would never have anticipated.

The asshole grabbed me around my thighs, hauled me up, and flung me over his shoulder. In my head I was cussing him out, but I was in such shock, I remained silent the entire walk to my cabin. Once we entered the cabin, and he shut and locked the door behind him, he set me down. I straightened and glared at him. “What the fuck was that?” “That’s me being the fucking man in this relationship,” he snapped. “You have to manhandle me to prove you’re a man?” I snapped right back. “No,” he barked. “I have to manhandle you because you’re too goddamn stubborn to talk sense into!” “I’m going to kill you,” I threatened, seething. “Please do,” he challenged. “Because that’s the only way I see myself getting any peace, you insane fucking woman.” I threw my hands up. “So, if I’m so crazy, why would you want to saddle yourself with a woman like me?” “Because I fucking love you!” he roared. “I love your crazy, just like I love your strength, your loyalty, your intelligence, your spirit…your fucking everything!” I decided for honesty. It wasn’t that I was proud, or anything like that, I just wasn’t an overly emotional person. I wasn’t used to being shrouded in feelings and having to work through them. These emotional few days had to be definitive proof that I was pregnant, even if I wasn’t already sure. My periods came like clockwork, so the day I missed my first day, I knew. I didn’t need the second or third day of absence to confirm it. Doing the math in my head, I probably got pregnant the first night I was with Kade. I really thought I had enough time on my shot, but like Planned Parenthood has been saying since the beginning of time…only abstinence is foolproof. Every contraceptive carried a chance of an unplanned pregnancy. “You hurt me,” I stated simply. His entire body deflated, and I knew he felt…guilty. He didn’t step to me or try to touch me. He stayed where he stood. “I know I did, Raine.”

“I don’t know how to look at you and not hate you,” I added, really giving this honesty thing my all. “Well, I don’t know how to look at you and not love you,” he replied. “What will you do if I…if we can’t get past this,” I asked. I really wanted to know the answer. Would he leave his child? Would he disappear? Kade finally stepped towards me and cradled my face in his hands. His grey eyes were dark and serious. “I’ll stay here, if you let me, Raine. I’ll stay here and help you raise our baby,” he growled. “And I’ll stay away from you if that’s what I have to do to pay for hurting you.” He shook his head. “But I’m not leaving. I will never leave you or my child. Never.” “I’m scared,” I confessed. “The first time I fall in love and look what happened? I get pregnant and a battle ensues.” “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life telling you I’m sorry, because you know I am,” he said. “But I will spend the rest of my life loving you and treating you the way I should have all along. Not the way you allow, and not the way anyone else allows, but how two people in love should treat each other.” I was so damn confused. I felt like my heart was breaking to be free, but my mind was holding the keys to its cage, trying to prevent my heart from getting broken again. I knew people deserved second chances, and I knew love was messy, but I just wasn’t used to being out of control. My life was straightforward. It didn’t involve messy emotions. I stared into his grey eyes and threw caution to the wind. “If you ever lie to me, withhold a secret from me, hurt me or just annoy me, I will fucking kill you, Kade,” I growled. He smirked, and God, it looked so goddamn sexy on him. “I can promise the first three, but I can’t promise that last request, baby,” he whispered. “I plan on annoying the hell out of you for the rest of our lives.” “I guess three out of four is reasonable,” I teased, feeling lighter than I have since the day this man walked into my compound.

Kade kissed me and it wasn’t frantic or lusty. It was sweet and tender and full of unspoken promises. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held the hell on. I kissed him back, and when his arms closed around my body like steel bands, I was no longer worried about wrong decisions or guilt. With the decision made and guilt just a feeling I needed to work through, I gave myself over to Kade and the second selfish thing I’ve ever done. “I love you, Kade,” I mumbled against his lips. “Thank fucking Christ,” he breathed. “Because I lied. I would never have left you alone.” I couldn’t help it. I started laughing in his arms. I started laughing because I believed him. I knew deep down, Kade never would have lived here and left me on my own. I envisioned countless fights and this man trying to sneak in my bed. I envisioned never being able to drive into Braxton ever again. I envisioned craziness all wrapped up in a sexy, 6’3”, muscular frame of maleness. Kade smiled and brushed my hair out of my face. Staring down at me, he said, “I love you more than I ever thought I could. I never planned on you, Raine. But now that I have you, I will never let you go, baby. Never.” “So, then what? We let Elliot marry us, we move in here together, and live happily ever after?” He glanced around, and when his eyes landed on the hallway leading to the spare rooms, he said, “We’re going to need to make a nursery for the baby.” “Hold that thought.” I ran outside and found Martin talking with Daniel. He took one look at my face, smile and had the necklace already waiting in his outstretched hand. I returned to the cabin and Kade asked, “What’s going on?” “Come look,” I said, leading him towards the hallway. Once we were standing in between the doors that led to each room, I unlocked them both and swung the

doors open. Kade peeked his head into the library first and I watched quietly as he took in some of the titles. When he stepped into the second room and took in the electronics, the technology, the inventions, everything…“Holy fucking shit,” he muttered in awe. Holy fucking shit, indeed.

Epilogue

Raine – 5 Months Later~ It was Sunday, our day of rest, and everyone was relaxing. But for me, I was officially six months pregnant and no longer participating in the work rotation. Kade was taking up the slack, plus with Daniel a member of the compound now, we had more than enough hands to make up for my…noninvolvement. After I showed Kade the contents of the rooms, we were able to bring out the radio and I even showed him the electricity line. We always waiting until a new member was around for a few months before showing our luxuries. It was a matter of trust. But once they were trusted, they were able to enjoy our amenities. And when I made the decision to be with Kade, I made the decision to trust him too. Martin moved back to his cabin and Daniel shared a room there until we could build a new cabin. Once the cabin was built behind the guard housesspecifically, directly behind Lester’s cabin, we decided to build two more, so we’d have six on one side and three on the other. We needed room for growth. The idea really came into play when Daniel took an interest in Melody and they started dating. I was wary about it at first, but once Kade explained to Daniel that pairing up here was akin to marriage, Daniel said he understood, and he didn’t have a problem with it. Melody wasn’t someone he just wanted to the time with. It was sweet. Lots of other things changed too. Vincent and Marsha moved in together, and so did William and Christy. Now, no one was having sex on the tables in the clearing or anything, but there was more love and affection in the air. It took me a long time to accept the changes and come to term with the guilt I still carried, but it didn’t rule my life anymore. It was weird. It was as if everyone was living their lives to match mine and, once I fell in love with Kade, they all seemed freer. Everyone was still reluctant about having kids around because the same dangers still existed as far as the risks should a child fall sick here, but it wasn’t taboo anymore. It’s only been five months, but the changes

have made the time feel like years. I was sitting on the top of one of the tables when Martin planted his ass next to mine. I nudged his should with mine. “What’s doing?” He turned and looked at me. “I met someone the last time I went into Braxton,” he announced. My heart dropped and the very idea of losing Martin made it hard to be happy for him. “Really?” I asked. “I thought maybe you and Amy…one day…” “I love Amy to pieces, but even if she’s not the one for me, I know I’m not the one for her,” he said, easily. I turned to look back at the clearing. “Are…does this mean you’re leaving?” My voice broke, but I wasn’t embarrassed. His arm came around my shoulders. “Never, you crazy girl,” he answered. “But…with time, I’m hoping she’ll be welcomed here. Once I’m sure of her.” I let the tears fall. “I’ll allow a whole trainload of strippers if it’ll keep you here, Marty.” He laughed. “No strippers. Just a girl I like for right now. One that might matter later down the line.” “Are you making my wife cry?” I laughed. It still felt weird to hear Kade refer to me as his wife, but Elliot did marry us ceremonially, and even if it wasn’t legal, it was legal here. There are random times where Elliot will call me Montgomery, as if I’m liable to forget he married us. “Calm your jets, dude,” Martin chuckled. “They’re happy tears.” Kade huffed. “They better be,” he mumbled. Martin laughed as he vacated his seat and Kade took his place. Kade dragged me into his lap. “What was that all about?” I grinned. “Martin has a girlfriend in town,” I answered, totally spilling the beans.

His arms tightened around me. “What a difference a few months make, huh?” I snuggled deeper into his chest. “The best differences.” We sat like that, quiet and still, for a while before Kade broke the silence. “I’m going to love you for the rest of my life,” he announced. “You know that, right?” I nodded. “I know,” I whispered. “I’m going to love you for the rest of my life,” he repeated. “You’re my everything, Raine.” I smiled, my trust no longer in questions. “I know.”

The End.

Playlist

Heaven – Julia Michaels Believer – Imagine Dragons Centuries – Fall Out Boy At The Beginning – Richard Marx I’m Bad At Love – Maddy Benson The Unforgiven – Metallica Wasting My Time – Default Let Me Go – 3 Doors Down Right Here Waiting – Staind Find You – Zedd Pain – Three Days Grace Pray For Me – The Weeknd Light On – David Cook Rooms On Fire – Stevie Nicks The Catalyst – Linkin Survivor – Destiny’s Child Dayz Of Our Lives – Bone, Thugs & Harmony Piano In The Dark – Brenda Russell Uprising - Muse Wild One – Faith Hill

About the Author

M.E. Clayton works full-time and writes as a hobby. She is an avid reader and, with much self-doubt, but more positive and encouragement from her friends and family, she took a chance at writing, and the Seven Deadly Sins Series was born. Writing is a hobby she is now very ionate about. When she’s not working, writing, or reading, she is spending time with her family or friends. If you care to learn more, you can read about her by visiting the following:

Smashwords Interview at: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton Bookbub Author Page at: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton

Other Books

Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by M.E. Clayton:

The Seven Deadly Sins Series (In Order) Catching Avery (Avery & Nicholas) Chasing Quinn (Quinn & Chase) Claiming Isabella (Isabella & Julian) Conquering Kam (Kamala & Kane) Capturing Happiness

The Buchanan Brothers Series (In Order) If You Could Only See (Mason & Shane) If You Could Only Imagine (Aiden & Denise) If You Could Only Feel (Gabriel & Justice) If You Could Only Believe (Michael & Sophia) If You Could Only Dream

The How To: Modern Day Woman’s Guide Series (In Order) How to Stay Out of Prison; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Lyrical & Nixon) How to Keep Your Job; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Alice & Lincoln) How to Maintain Your Sanity; A Modern Day Woman’s Guide (Rena & Jackson)

The Enemy Series (In Order) Facing the Enemy (Ramsey & Emerson) Engaging the Enemy (Roselyn & Liam) Battling the Enemy (Deke & Delaney) Provoking the Enemy (Ava & Ace) Loving the Enemy

The Enemy Duet (In Order) In Enemy Territory (Fiona & Damien) On Enemy Ground (Victoria & William)

Standalone Unintentional Purgatory, Inc. My Big, Huge Mistake An Unexpected Life

Me

I really appreciate you reading my book and I would love to hear from you! Now, unfortunately, because I do have a full-time job, and a family I love spending time with, at this time, I’m afraid it would be very hard for me to maintain a multitude of social media sites. However, for the sites I do participate in, here are my social media coordinates:

Favorite my Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton Like my Facebook Author Page: https://facebook.com/claytonbooks Follow my Bookbub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton Follow my Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton Visit my Website at: https://meclayton2016.wixsite.com/mysite