Chapter Nine
M y bag was heavy as I threw it over a shoulder, filled to the brim, the zipper nearly exploding. I had grabbed dozens of underwear, several thermal shirts, and a few pairs of pants. My arms were struggling to hold all the coats, but I figured Warner and Sasha could help with that.
Walking slowly through the store so I didn’t accidentally trip, I looked for Warner. His tall frame leaned against the wall next to the front door, his bag as full as mine.
Once I was a few steps from him, I asked, “Did you get everything you needed?”
He nodded, taking in the things I had gathered. Considering it was still hot out during the days, it looked a little silly, but I knew the cold was coming sooner rather than later. The nights were already beginning to cool as we headed into the middle of August.
I eyed his full bag curiously. My father and brothers weren’t big hunters and I had no clue how much space ammo took up. I opened my mouth to ask if he had gotten anything else, but I never got the chance.
The space around me blurred as Warner spun my body, pushing me against the wall. His chest firmly pressed against mine. My lips parted, but Warner’s large hand was there, covering any sound.
His eyes were trained over my head, toward the door. Closing my eyes, I focused on the noise around me, trying to pinpoint what had spooked him.
The light tread of footsteps pounded outside the doors, barely audible through the glass. My eyes popped back open, meeting Warner’s gaze. Lowering his hand, he held up a finger to his lips, pulling his gun from the back of his pants.
The heat of his body never left mine, his large frame protecting me as much as the gun in his hand would. Moments passed, my breath shallow as the footsteps came closer, voices sounding.
Warner’s arm tensed against mine, preparing for whatever came our way. But the threat never appeared. We were hidden in the dark, whoever was on the sidewalk not having any reason to check inside.
Eventually, the footsteps faded, the voices gone, until the only sound was our deep breaths entwining. I let out a relieved sigh, ready to get out of here and back to the cottage.
However, Warner was still pressed against me, his posture still rigid. Dropping the coats, I lifted my hands, pressing them gently against his chest.
“Warner,” I whispered, his gaze crashing to mine.
Before he could put that uncaring fa?ade back on, I spotted the fear marring his features. His heart beat unevenly beneath my palms.
“They’re gone,” I reassured him, pressing my fingers deeper against his chest.
In an instant, that fear was gone, replaced with the heat from earlier. Suddenly, we were too close. Too near. And it was too quiet. There was nothing but the feel of his heart and the sound of mine whirring in my ears.
I didn’t recognize the feeling coursing through my veins. The fear that each moment could be our last mingled with the attraction buzzing under my skin. And when Warner leaned down, I met him halfway.
Our lips touched with a frenzy. His right hand reached for my hair, tugging on my ponytail until my head tilted back. His other hand reached for my hip, gripping me until I was even closer.
Sliding my hands up his chest, I tangled my fingers in the length of his hair, the dark curls soft under my touch. His tongue met mine, his hand sliding up and down my side.
The world around me vanished as I fell into the passion of the kiss, forgetting all our problems and that another set of guards could walk past the store at any second. None of it mattered when his touch was setting me ablaze.
Warner reached both hands beneath my legs, scooping me up effortlessly, bringing our faces level. Breaking away from the kiss, he stared down at me, a feral smile lining his lips. My grin mirrored his. Leaning forward, I aimed to capture his lips once more, when the sound of the door opening stopped me in my tracks.
Holding me with one hand, Warner grabbed his gun, tilting us slightly so he was in front of me. But he didn’t need to bother when Sasha’s cheshire grin entered the store. She took in our position, that smile growing as her eyes twinkled under the moonlight.
Red stained my cheeks as Warner lowered me to the ground, and I avoided his gaze. I wasn’t embarrassed about the moment, but I sure as hell was embarrassed we had gotten caught.
“Find everything you needed?” Sasha asked cheekily, and I nodded.
Finally glancing at Warner, I wasn’t surprised to see that he wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. In fact, back to the blank stare we were, except for the tiniest smirk that dotted his lips.
Gathering the coats back into my arms, I asked, “What about you?”
If possible, Sasha’s smile grew even wider, and she pulled her arms from behind her back, revealing exactly what kind of store she had been inside.
“Look what I found.” She held up two half gallons of vodka, her bag jiggling from the movement, glass bottles clinking together. “We’re going to get so drunk.”
The walk back to the cottage took longer thanks to the weight of our bags. Even though I had stuffed mine full of clothing, it was by far the lightest. Sasha and I had alternated carrying the booze, Warner solely holding the ammo after I had learned how heavy it was.
When I had offered to take a turn, Warner had smirked at me but willingly handed it over. I could barely hold it up, the bag slipping from my fingers and nearly falling to the ground.
Thankfully, around midafternoon the next day, we were walking up the dirt path toward the cottage. It was my first time taking in the area during the daylight, given the required bedrest I had been on.
The cottage looked even smaller from the outside, the entirety of it made of dark logs. The two windows at the front of the house were covered with curtains, not allowing anyone a glimpse inside.
The space around the house was massive, trees seeming to rise from the roof and spreading for miles. To the left and right was open land, no neighbors in sight. The nearest house we had passed was at least two miles away.
From the outside looking in, there was no way to know that eleven people were residing inside. Which although the goal, reminded me of the rows and rows of people living in tents, completely unaware of what was happening around them.
Although I appreciated the relative safety of our current circumstances, I couldn’t ignore the unfairness. And the plan that I had mentioned to Warner became bigger and bigger, pressing against my brain until it was nearly all I could think of.
And that plan all started with convincing the entirely too overprotective people inside that it wasn’t crazy. I figured the alcohol Sasha had slung over her shoulder would help convince them otherwise.
Stepping up to the front door, Sasha knocked a specific pattern, alerting those inside that we were back. Almost immediately, the front door opened, Murphy’s bright gaze taking us in.
His eyes scanned each of us from top to bottom, checking for any injuries. Once he was sure everyone was okay, he smiled widely, grabbing the coats from our hands.
“I take it the trip went well?” He eyed each of our heavy bags that we set on the floor as we walked in.
Giving one last glance out the door, he shut it firmly, locking it back in place. As I walked further into the living room, Aiden met me in the middle, wrapping me tight in a hug.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered, and I nodded against his chest, squeezing him a little tighter. “Did you run into any trouble?”
My face flushed as he asked, thinking of the guards that had been outside the store. And what had transpired immediately after. “Nope, no trouble.”
There was no need to worry him, not when nothing had happened. Especially if I had any chance of convincing him to go back to the camp to steal more information.
Once Aiden let me go, I took in the rest of the room, noting that almost everyone was here. Since we arrived, most of us had been staying inside during the days, just to be safe. Mina and Sasha had taken residence on the couch, whispering quietly together, while Rainer, Murphy, and Warner shuffled through the ammo he had gathered.
When Rainer shoved a shiny new pistol into his waistband, I realized I had been right to assume Warner had grabbed more than the ammo. In fact, three other guns sat on the floor, ready for the taking. Although, I had no clue who he expected to wield the other weapons, because I knew, I for one, had zero intention.
Elizabeth sat with the twins, who were both reading books from the library in their room upstairs. Emmanuel wasn’t in the room, but I figured he was most likely fishing or gathering more firewood.
Crossing to my bag, I unzipped the top, grabbing out the rolled and stuffed clothing. Once I had what I needed, I made my way toward the twins. When I sat before them, they both looked up from their books with wide smiles.
“Are you still sick? Mommy said you were sleeping so long because you were sick.” Stephanie crawled over to me, pressing her hand against my head, probably something she had picked up from her mother.
“I’m not sick anymore,” I told her gently.
“Does that mean you can play with us? I want to pick flowers like we did before,” Stephanie said, bringing a smile to my lips.
“I’d love to pick flowers with you.” Grabbing the children’s clothing I had thought to grab, I gave each of them a pile. “I got them both some clothes to change into, figured they’d want to get out of their dirty things,” I said to Elizabeth. “There’s also more clothing for you and Emmanuel in the bag.”
Elizabeth smiled softly at me, her eyes tinged with sadness. “Thank you, Alessia.” I murmured a you’re welcome, pushing to stand, but Elizabeth reached forward, grabbing my hand before I could. “Thank you for everything. For keeping my children safe. We will never forget what you did for our family.”
Her demeanor was strange as she spoke, her eyes pleading with me, but I wasn’t sure for what. Shaking off the odd feeling, I let go of her hand, standing to my feet. Ruffling the twins' hair, I took one last look at Elizabeth, her haunted expression searing into my brain.