10. Lucas
CHAPTER TEN
LUCAS
The clinic smelled like bleach, blood, and burned coffee.
Which, honestly, felt reassuring at this point.
I sat on the edge of an examination table while two armed guards stood outside the open doorway, watching me as if I might suddenly start biting people.
I understood it.
The fever had transformed enough survivors that trust among everyone had vanished.
Finley, a doctor here, had introduced himself and stood across the room, studying a vial of my blood under a portable lamp while another doctor scribbled notes nearby.
“Enhanced,” Finley muttered finally.
Neither of them looked surprised.
“No signs of active infection,” he continued calmly. “Healing markers match the others.”
Others?
That was interesting. We’d been secluded at the farmhouse, so I hadn’t known whether we were the exception or the rule.
Finley looked up. “You survived the fever. How long ago?”
"A few months,” I answered vaguely.
“Any aggressive behavioral shifts?”
I stared at him. “What?”
He sighed tiredly. “Violence. Instability. Territorial behavior.”
Was this guy serious? I gave them both a look of astonishment. The fucking apocalypse had caused all of those things and more.
“No more than expected, given that the universe has taken a shit on our planet." I frowned at the fools.
Finley snorted quietly under his breath before setting the blood vial aside.
“You can stop glaring,” he told me. “I think the question is stupid, too. It’s just standard procedure.”
Comforting.
One of the guards knocked lightly against the doorway. “He’s ready to see him.”
Finley nodded once before gesturing toward the hall. “Come on.”
Outside, the settlement looked disturbingly normal in the daylight. People carried groceries, and children played in the park.
Then, beyond the town walls, an infected screamed.
It startled me because I’d been lulled into a false sense of safety by all that normalcy.
This place was weirding me out. I’d be glad to find Adrian and Beck.
Finley walked beside me quietly while we crossed Main Street toward an old courthouse.
“You should know Gideon doesn’t usually let men in anymore.”
“Then why is he willing to see me?”
“Because you’re enhanced.”
I tilted my head. “I’ve heard that term used several times since I came in. What does it mean?”
“It means the fever affected you differently than it did those poor bastards out there.” He motioned with his head to the wall.
I understood his meaning, but I kept quiet. It was better to listen and gather all the information I could than to give away anything else about myself they didn’t already know.
I looked toward the ring farther down the street. Men were already crowded around it despite the early hour.
“Fights?” I asked.
“There are a few unclaimed women, so I expect they’ll begin soon.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“Unclaimed women?”
What the hell was he talking about? I’d noticed the men far outnumbered the women, but I hadn’t thought much of it. I bet Taryn was chomping at the bit. No way was she going to take this lying down.
That’s what she got for leaving the way she did.
Finley pushed open the courthouse doors, then led me inside. The old courtroom had been converted into some kind of headquarters, with maps covering the walls and armed guards stationed near every entrance.
A small group of men stood across the room.
“That’s Gideon. He’s the de facto leader of this shitshow. Be respectful. Your life may hinge on whether he likes you or not.” Finley whispered urgently right before we approached.
One of the men stood near the judge’s bench, speaking quietly with another man before turning toward us.
Tall.
Well-dressed.
Controlled.
He wasn’t some screaming warlord.
More like a rich businessman.
But his eyes…dead. The eyes always gave a person away.
“Lucas Rowen,” Gideon greeted smoothly. “Finley tells me you were a teacher before the end of the world.”
“Yes.”
His gaze lingered on me. Calculating.
“Finley confirms you survived the fever.”
“Yes.”
“And you traveled here alone?”
“Yes.” The less said, the better.
Gideon motioned toward one of the maps pinned to the wall. “You’re probably trying to understand what this place is.”
“I’m trying to understand what you want from me.” Finley bumped my side with his elbow and gave me a warning look.
“Enhanced survivors strengthen the settlement." He narrowed his eyes. “They patrol farther. Fight harder and recover faster.” He waved his arms around the room. “You’re valuable here.”
I didn’t comment, and he continued.
“The world ended,” he said simply. “Most people responded emotionally.” His eyes sharpened slightly. “I responded practically.”
Ah, I got it now. He was a man in love with himself. I could work with that.
“How does this all function?” I’d noticed some unusual things while observing the town during my walk from the clinic.
Gideon folded his hands behind his back. “Individual households failed early, especially as half the town fell to the infection. Shared labor and protection proved more sustainable.” He paused briefly. “Especially once women became scarce.”
I felt my stomach drop. We’d been so secluded at Ben’s and then the farmhouse that all of this was news to me. I’d bet that was why Adrian and Beck stayed. If Gideon was watching them closely, there was no way they’d lead them back to a farmhouse full of females.
“How scarce?”
“Too scarce.”
He didn’t have enough grief in his voice for my liking.
Gideon walked toward the large windows overlooking the town.
“Most of our surviving women have already been claimed by groups,” he continued calmly. “The few remaining unclaimed women are carefully protected until suitable placements are found.”
Placements.
Christ.
“And the fights?”
“Only the strongest men are to be trusted with our most valuable property.” He continued to stare out at the town. “There are other ways to claim a woman, but that’s the swiftest.”
I hated that he referred to women as property. Those women were mothers, wives, and sisters.
Hanging my head, I took a few moments to think.
I hated everything about this, but if everything he said was true, no woman would be safe with just a single protector. The longer this went on, the more barbaric society was going to become.
My stomach lurched.
How would we keep all the females in our care safe? Taryn, Lila, and the twins would be more valuable than gold. Ethan and Lane would fight with everything they had, but they were no match for the strength I now possessed. How would we defend against a large group of men like Adrian, Beck, and me?
“…I understand why you’ve set it up that way,” I admitted carefully. “But I need more time to see how it works for myself.”
I wasn’t in a position to give him shit about anything he said right now.
Gideon smiled slightly.
That seemed to please him more than blind agreement would have.
“Good.” He said with satisfaction.
A knock sounded against the courtroom doors before one of the guards stepped inside. “Cross and Maddox are here.”
Gideon looked back toward me calmly. “I’ve sent for your friends.”
I didn’t comment.
The doors opened a second later, and Beck entered first.
He looked intimidating and much older than he had at the farmhouse.
Big.
Tattooed.
Looking like violence wrapped in human skin.
Adrian followed behind him, his demeanor calm as usual, though his eyes sharpened slightly the second they landed on Gideon.
“Glad to see you. It’s been a while.” Adrian’s face remained expressionless as he shook my hand.
I went along with him, acting like we were merely acquaintances.
“I thought they might help you acclimate.” Gideon eyed us with interest.
Acclimate.
Right.
Like I’d just transferred schools instead of entering the apocalypse harem fight club.
Fantastic.
These two seemed much closer than they’d been at the farmhouse.
We walked down the street toward the boarding house, and I froze when I saw Taryn and Lila being escorted into a department store. When our gazes met, she narrowed her eyes in irritation, but then her gaze dropped to the two men walking beside me—and she blushed.
I really needed to sleep. No way would Taryn be looking at Adrian like that. I was surprised when I glanced at Adrian, expecting to see a scowl at the lovey-dovey shit between Beck and Taryn, only to see him smiling at her.
What the fuck was going on? Taryn had refused to give him the time of day unless she was making a bitchy comment or the conversation was directly about our survival.
I looked back at her, confused, and was just in time to see her flip me off discreetly before the door shut behind her.
There’s the brat I know but definitely don’t love.
“It seems y'all have a lot of explaining to do,” I said quietly as Beck grabbed the boarding house door and motioned us inside.
Neither man spoke until we entered their room, and the door was firmly shut behind us.
“We have a lot to discuss with you.” Adrian took a seat at the small table.
Beck walked into the tiny kitchen and grabbed each of us a beer. “How are the girls?”
“Well, they were fine when I left. But food is scarcer than when you two set out for this place.” I pulled out a chair to sit, and Beck joined us at the table. “We need to get back as soon as possible.”
He sighed and pulled out a chair. “That’s the plan.”
I startled when I felt something wet on my hand, then looked down to see Max standing near me. “Hey, boy. I’m glad to see Taryn didn’t get you killed.”
“Like she’d ever let something happen to him.” The chair creaked as Beck sat down.
“Are you sure that thing is going to hold you?” I scratched Max’s ear and smirked at the big bastard.
“It’s held up so far.” His throat worked as he leaned his head back and took a long pull from his bottle.
I had my doubts.
“Cold beer. That’s a treat.” I took a sip of mine and savored the taste.
“Gideon makes sure the enhanced men stay content.” Adrian took a drink from his bottle.
“I was going to ask why you didn’t come back, but after meeting Gideon and hearing his crap, I think I get it now.” I rubbed my face, exhaustion hitting me hard.
After the fever and waking up with these super senses or enhancements, as they were referred to here, I learned that we could go farther and faster, but we still needed rest.
“We didn’t want to drag any trouble back to the girls. Gideon's been keeping tabs on everything we do. I’m sure he wasn’t convinced we’d been alone since all this began.” Beck looked down at the table with a scowl. “But we think we have a plan to get us out of here.”
“I assume it involves Taryn and Lila, too?” No way these two would leave their precious Taryn behind.
“No shit,” Beck said sarcastically.
Adrian looked at me like I was an idiot for asking. “It does. But you’re an important part of it too.”
“I can’t wait to hear this.” I narrowed my eyes, annoyed with them both.
“I doubt that,” he said under his breath. Then he took a long drink of his beer.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. It was rare for Adrian to hem and haw like this. I was afraid that whatever he had to say, I wasn’t going to like.
I grew really nervous when Beck leaned back in his tiny chair and grinned. “Just rip the band-aid off.”
Adrian snorted and then turned up his bottle again.
“Just fucking tell me already!” The dread building in my stomach was making me sick.
“We’re going to form a family group and claim Taryn.” Adrian barely got the words out before he let out a burp so deep it had to have come up from his asshole.
Beck burst out laughing. “I didn’t think you had it in you. Must be because you finally lost the stick up your ass.”
I felt like I was in a dream. What the fuck was happening right now?
“You and Beck are going to claim Taryn together?” I frowned in confusion. “I’m assuming it’s going to be a performance to throw Gideon off?”
“That’s part of it.” Adrian agreed.
Beck finished his beer in one long gulp, then banged it down on the table. “But it won’t only be for show.”
“What?” No way, I understood that right.
“In theory, Gideon isn’t wrong. Women are scarce, and one man, even an enhanced one, isn’t going to be enough protection.” Adrian glanced at Beck, then turned back to me. “We both love Taryn. And even though neither of us is the kind to share, to keep her alive and safe, we’ll try.”
“Hold the fuck up! You two, who’ve been fighting for months over that viper, are suddenly going to set all of that aside to share her?” I was stunned, and a little pissed off, if I were honest.
“Yes.” Adrian stood and threw his bottle in the trash.
“Yes?” I stood and began pacing. “Yes, he says. Like it’s nothing.” I stopped abruptly. “Is Taryn on board with this?” I answered my own question. “Of course, the greedy bitch is. That must have been what that fake little blush was—”
I was cut off abruptly.
“Don’t call her that,” Beck snarled as he shoved me against the wall.
Max growled low as if he agreed with him.
“I’ll call her any damn thing that I want.” I shoved him back. “She made false accusations and got me fired.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Beck punched me in the eye. The sharp sting immediately spreading across my face.
“Fuck!” I yelled at the pain even as I returned the favor and punched the bastard in the mouth.
Beck’s head jerked back, and he stumbled. “Not too bad, Teach.” He grinned, his teeth bloodstained from the lip I busted. “Maybe you’re not as much of a pussy as I thought. I might be able to stomach this after all.” He looked at me, and his face grew serious. “But the name-calling has to stop.”
What the fuck?
Max eyed us both like we were crazy, then prowled off to lie on a pile of blankets on the floor.
“I’m nobody’s pussy biker boy. I was fucking shit up long before you were able to get your dick hard.” I slowly sat on the bed and held a hand over my aching eye.
I heard Adrian open the refrigerator. “Are you two finished?”
“Yep.” Beck straddled the tiny chair he’d been sitting in and smirked at me.
I narrowed my one good eye at him, then flipped him off.
Adrian brought the beer over to me, and I winced as I pressed the cold bottle against my eye.
“He’s right.” Adrian sat back at the table.
“About what?”
Damn, my eye hurts. I’d never admit it, but that boy packed one hell of a punch.
“You can’t call her names anymore.” He leaned back and gave me a serious look. “I won’t allow you to treat our wife like that.” He motioned between us all.
I stared at him in confusion. “Why was I included in that?”
“Because you’re going to be in our family group too.”
I took the beer bottle from my eye, uncapped it, and drank it all in one gulp.
Fuck my life.