Chapter 13
The following week, they departed on their trip to Hillside, the first settlement on their list. The plan was to visit two settlements to the west of Angel’s Nest on this trip, return home and rest, then visit the second two settlements to the east before autumn arrived.
The journey was rough on Asha, who’d never traveled so far on foot before.
They brought the horse-drawn wagon with them, but it was strictly for carrying cargo.
Outfitted in her uniform and carrying a backpack of basic supplies, a rifle, and a pistol at her hip was more weight than she was used to carrying over long distances.
Thank God she’d spent the last month and a half in bootcamp.
They followed the crumbling remains of an old highway, with Raph using a hand-drawn map and compass as a guide.
Asha had no idea how accurate they were, but Cade had made the trip more than once, so she only hoped she wouldn’t get lost in the dense forest that surrounded the road. She stuck close to Cade.
He estimated it would take a couple of days to arrive at Hillside, so when it got dark, they pitched their tents in a forest clearing, away from the road to minimize the chance of discovery by others.
A couple men were appointed to be on nighttime watch while the rest of them slept.
Asha shared a tent with Cade, and she was so tired from the day of travel that she was asleep before he even retired to bed.
The moon was high in the sky when Asha awoke again.
It wasn’t strange for her to wake up in the night, but for once, it wasn’t nightmares that troubled her.
Her bladder was uncomfortably full, aching and nagging at her.
She didn’t want to leave her tent and go out into the night, so for a while, she lay there, delaying her decision.
Cade was fast asleep in his own sleeping bag next to her, lightly snoring, which made her smile involuntarily.
She tried to go back to sleep, but eventually, her problem couldn’t be ignored.
She considered waking him, but she didn’t want to bother him.
Eric would’ve yelled at her for something like that.
Besides, wasn’t that why she’d been training so hard, these last few weeks? To stop being such a scared mouse?
With a yawn, she stood and pulled her boots on. She wore nothing but the thin nightgown that Lana had given her. On her way out, however, she picked up her holstered pistol and strapped it around her thigh, concealed by her skirt.
Just in case.
She thought about lighting her lantern, but decided against it.
It’d be a glowing beacon that’d only draw attention.
Luckily, the moon was almost full, and silver moonlight bathed the camp in shadows, layered with light fog.
Shivering slightly in the cool spring air, she walked across the camp towards a copse of trees that would provide decent cover, away from that creep, Garrett, who was on the night watch.
With the chirp of crickets in her ears, she entered the brush and went far enough that Garett wouldn’t be able to spy on her.
After she peed, she silently made her way back toward the clearing. The mist had thickened considerably, obscuring her path, and after a couple of wrong turns, Asha had to admit that she was lost. She couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of her.
Fear shot through her, but she took a deep breath.
Panicking wouldn’t help. Rather than get herself even more lost than she already was, it was best to sit and wait for the fog to lift, or for morning to come, if it came down to it.
Pushing down the urge to run, she found the nearest tree trunk that was mostly clear at its base and sat beneath it, leaning back against the bark.
Asha waited for what felt like a long time, but the mist didn’t disperse.
She did her best to stay calm, but every minute that passed, that became harder.
Her heart leapt when she heard footsteps nearby, crunching through the brush.
She prayed that it was Cade coming to look for her, but she had no way of knowing who it was.
The footsteps abruptly stopped, and a faint light became visible through the fog.
“Asha?”
Ugh, it’s Garrett, she thought with a grimace. Better than nothing, I guess.
“I’m here,” she called softly. “I got lost.”
“Yeah. Saw you go off on your own. Keep talking and I’ll find you.”
She did, trying to keep her voice low to avoid attracting predators or people. Eventually, the big, ginger-haired man came into view, holding up his lantern. At the sight of her, his lips curved into a lascivious smile, and Asha shifted uncomfortably. He offered his hand to help her stand.
“I’m fine, thanks,” she said stiffly, moving to get up.
It happened in a fraction of a second: Garrett dropped the lantern and shoved her backward. She landed in the dirt with an oof, and then he practically threw himself on top of her. He was so massive that his weight knocked the breath out of her, temporarily stunning her.
“If Cade thinks he can bring a woman on board without sharing her,” Garrett panted, “he’s got another thing coming. Open your legs, sweetie.”
“Fuck you,” Asha gasped. “Get off me!”
He laughed at her, struggling under him. “Some soldier you turned out to be, huh?”
She managed to inhale deeply enough to scream—as loudly and shrilly as she could manage—right before Garrett fist closed around her throat.
“This doesn’t have to be so hard,” he said through gritted teeth. “Open your legs and I’ll let you live.”
This isn’t happening to me again, Asha thought frantically. I’ll fucking die first.
Cade’s voice came to her: your first thought should always be your weapon.
In one smooth motion, she drew her pistol and jammed the barrel against Garett’s gut. It took a split second for him to register what she’d done. Fear and rage coloured his features rapidly.
“Let me go and I’ll let you live, asshole,” Asha snarled in his face.
Perhaps reflexively, his grip on her throat tightened, and she squeezed the trigger.
Once, twice, three times in quick succession.
Three loud bangs that made her ears immediately start ringing.
Garett’s eyes blew wide open in shock. He tried to speak, but blood bubbled out of his mouth, and then he went dead weight on top of her.
His eyes were blank, staring at her without seeing. She started shivering.
“Asha? Asha!”
Relief surged through her. It was Cade’s voice.
He arrived a minute later, his rifle locked and loaded.
“Help,” was all she could manage, crushed beneath Garett’s corpse. Cade rushed to her side and threw the body off of her like it weighed nothing.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded. “Garett…”
His eyes trailed over to the body, seeming to register for the first time that it was indeed Garett’s. He swore loudly.
“He attacked me,” Asha said, hugging herself in an attempt to stop the shaking. “I got up to pee, and he…saw an opportunity, I guess. I got lost, and he followed me, and he was on top of me, and I wasn’t going to let him do that to me, Cade, not again, I couldn’t—”
“Okay, okay,” Cade said soothingly, slinging the strap of his rifle over his shoulder. He crouched in front of her and took her hands in his. “It’s alright, darling.”
“Captain?” Leo’s voice called, and several sets of footsteps approached. Thankfully, the fog was finally beginning to lift. “We heard shots. What’s going on?”
Cade shot Asha a meaningful look. “Let me handle this.”
Still shaking like a leaf, she nodded. She didn’t know how to tell the men that she’d just murdered one of their own, even in self-defence.
What if they don’t believe me? she thought, horrified. What if they turned on her for killing their comrade?
“I’ll tell you what happened,” Cade growled, sounding entirely different to just a second earlier. No longer soft and soothing, he sounded murderous—terrifying. “This piece of shit attacked Asha. Got up to take a piss and saw it happen, so I shot him.”
More relief surged through her, and she wanted to burst into tears. He was taking the fall for her. Protecting her from his own men. She was immensely grateful; she didn’t know what she’d have done if they’d all started in on her.
Leo and Dom came into view, along with a couple other men. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene, and the blood rapidly pooling underneath Garrett’s body.
“Leo and Dom, you’re on disposal,” Cade ordered. “String him up. The rest of you, go back to camp and tell the others we’re not under attack. We’ll be having a meeting at dawn.”
“Cade—” Asha began, but he shook his head at her.
“You’re coming with me,” he said, clipped.
He offered Asha his hand, but she couldn’t take it. Not after what’d happened. Cade clucked his tongue and lifted her onto her feet, and despite his manhandling, Asha was grateful. She wasn’t sure she could’ve stood on her own.
He linked arms with her, holding her up since her knees kept wobbling, and walked her back to camp.
The other men were peering out of their own tents, obviously curious, but they stayed where they were when told they weren’t under attack.
Cade led her to the far end of the camp, out of earshot of the other soldiers.
“Are you injured?” he asked sharply. “Does anything hurt?”
Asha shook her head. She was still trembling, though not as hard.
Cade examined her critically with his flashlight, focusing on her throat where Garrett had briefly choked her.
“Just a little bruising,” he said, clicking off the light. “Not serious. Now, let’s get you out of that nightgown.”
Asha started, unsure of his meaning, but when she looked down, a dark, round stain soaked through the fabric. Garrett’s blood.
Bile scorched her throat, and she scrambled several steps away. As she doubled over and puked her guts out, she felt Cade’s hands gently holding back her hair. When she finished, he offered her his water flask, and she took a long drink.