28. Adrian #2
“I’m fine,” Taryn whispered, exasperated. “I didn’t notice you asking me things like that before you got your dick wet.”
Beck smothered a laugh, and Lucas flipped him off.
He turned back to Taryn and nuzzled her neck. “Don’t be mean.”
The engines faded in the distance as Beck gagged. “Fox, please give him back his balls. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“Sorry, once I claim them, they’re mine forever.” She winked at us.
God, I loved this woman.
“Is it fucked up that I was turned on by that?” Beck asked no one in particular.
“Yes,” Lucas answered anyway.
Wren stood from her and Colson’s hiding spot. “They’re headed toward Baxter's.”
Taryn stepped onto the road. “Then so are we.”
Beck frowned, following right behind her. “You think they’re meeting them?”
No need to clarify which ‘them’ he meant. “Yes.”
Wren nodded in agreement. “Gideon never brought the fuel men into town unless they were picking up women.”
Taryn’s jaw tightened. “Bastards.”
We followed in the direction the trucks had taken. Far enough back that their enhanced hearing couldn’t pick us up.
Enhanced senses changed the rules. It wasn’t enough to stay out of sight; we had to stay out of range.
Colson tracked the vehicles when the road curved beyond what we could see. His skills rather impressive. I noticed Taryn looking at him in approval.
Wren stayed right beside him, for once not speaking.
Twenty minutes later, Colson raised one hand, and we stopped. Voices carried through the trees.
Men.
Several of them.
We moved closer slowly. The smell had reached us a while ago; now, this close, it was nearly unbearable.
Gasoline and diesel. Possibly propane, too. Enough fuel to make my head hurt.
Taryn held her hand over her nose. “That’s strong.”
We crawled the last several yards through the brush, and below us lay an old roadside service yard. It didn’t look like their main compound. It was much too small.
A gravel clearing surrounded by trees with an abandoned maintenance shed on one side. Two fuel trucks were parked near the middle, and Gideon’s vehicles faced them from the opposite side.
Neutral ground.
Five men stood near the fuel trucks, looking in much better shape than Gideon’s did, and much better armed.
One of the men smoked a cigarette ten feet from enough fuel to vaporize all of us. Apparently, survival didn’t require intelligence.
Wren shifted beside Colson. “That’s them.”
I looked at her. “The ones that usually collect the women?”
She pointed toward a broad man in a canvas jacket. “I’ve seen him several times.”
Taryn followed her gaze. “He came to town?”
Wren nodded. “Twice.”
‘To trade women?” Taryn clarified.
“Yes.” Wren still looked a little pale, and I wondered what that was about.
Gideon stood across from the man, and whatever charm he’d once used as a leader had disappeared. “You know what I brought you before.”
The fuel man laughed. “Before doesn’t count.”
Mace took a step forward, but Gideon stopped him. “I still have things worth trading.”
“Not seeing much, but a bunch of swinging dicks.” The man’s gaze passed over Gideon’s ragged survivors. “I don’t need any more of those.” He spit on the ground. “Split tail is what I’m looking for.”
One of his companions laughed, and Taryn’s expression hardened.
Gideon pointed toward the fuel truck. “I need diesel.”
“Want in one hand and shit in the other.” The man laughed and spit again.
Classy he was not.
“I don’t have any extra women now, but we’re tracking a few that got away,” Gideon said, and I saw Mace frown.
The fuel man smiled. “Is it the crazy blond, or the enhanced brunette you refused to trade?”
Colson glanced at Wren as she stiffened, then bared his teeth toward the men standing in the road.
“What brunette?” Mace spoke up.
“Don’t play dumb. Enhanced girl. Dark hair. Pretty. Nice ass. One of your boys wouldn’t shut up about her.” The fuel man raised an eyebrow.
Taryn’s expression grew darker as all three of us moved to surround her.
“She’s mine.” Mace gritted out.
“Bullshit. Not if you want fuel, she’s not.” Fuel man smiled. But it wasn’t a friendly smile; it was more of a baring of teeth. “We’ve decided we’re tired of the plain women you’ve been sending us. We want enhanced women.” He spat on the ground. “We want the brunette.”
“You can’t have her,” Mace growled. “I told you she was mine, motherfucker.”
I saw Taryn reach for the gun at her waist.
“No,” I mouthed.
“I could kill all of them right now.” She mouthed back.
“No, baby.” I flicked my eyes toward Rory.
I felt her sigh, then she put her gun away.
“Nothing's yours if you want fuel. Bring her to us, and then we’ll talk.” The fuel man gave a sharp whistle, signaling his men to gather at their vehicles.
He turned and opened his truck door, then turned back around. “Hey, Gideon.”
Gideon raised his head to look at him. “What?”
Fuel Man raised a pistol and shot Mace square in the forehead. “Just a reminder that you are alive only because it benefits me.”
“What the fuck, you son of a bitch?” Gideon started toward him.
“Ah, ah, ah. You don’t want to do that.” The fuel man got in the truck and slammed the door. “You’ve got 48 hours.”
Fuck.
I turned to Taryn, and her face had gone cold. She looked more like the Taryn she used to be than the one she had become.
All the men drove off, leaving Mace’s body lying in the middle of the road. I guess Gideon didn’t really give a shit about him, other than as an enforcer.
We all stood, but no one spoke for several minutes.
Then Taryn whispered, "I refuse to be hunted like a damn animal.”
Beck’s voice came from behind us, pissed and deadly. “We let them get ahead, then we follow.”
“I’ll kill every single one of those fucks.” Lucas growled.
“Yes, but first we need to get Rory somewhere safe.” I also wanted to kill those bastards, but we had to do things right.
I glanced at the beautiful brunette I’d loved for years, feeling a burning rage toward the men who had just left.
Taryn was mine, and I would kill anyone who tried to take her from me.
“I know a place.” Finley picked Rory up.
Wren glanced at him. “The silo?”
“Yes.” Finley nodded.
Taryn turned and walked a few yards deeper into the woods, then leaned against a tree.
I followed, with Lucas and Beck on my heels.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I laid my hand on her shoulder.
When she turned to face me, her expression was so full of rage that I stepped back.
“Those pieces of shit have had Lila all this time.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m afraid to find out what they’ve done to her.”
“Menace, I know it’s tough, but try not to think like that," Lucas said softly, resting his forehead gently against hers. “Lila’s grown strong because of you, and I truly believe she’s okay."
“I’m the reason she’s in this mess. I should’ve stayed at the farmhouse like you said.” Taryn turned away from him.
“No,” Beck grumbled. “You did what you thought was right.” He took her hand and pulled her in. "Can you guess how many people in my life have ever bothered to help me out of a tough spot?”
With a single tear rolling down her face, Taryn met his eyes. “No.”
Beck drew her in, his tongue tracing the path of her tear before his lips met hers in a gentle kiss. “None.”
“He’s right," Lucas said as he approached from behind, resting his cheek on her head. “You’re the kind of woman every man wants—the one who’ll fiercely defend those she loves, regardless of the risks.”
I walked over and grabbed her chin. “Now, enough with the regrets. What’s the plan?”
Her eyes hardened. “First, I'm finding Lila, then I'm killing all those bastards.”
“I like it,” Beck bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile. “Simple and to the point.”
Simple.
I grinned evilly.
Except that nothing about the expression on Taryn’s face was simple.
I knew her.
She wasn’t thinking about one woman anymore. She was thinking about them all.
It felt good. For the first time since the meteors fell, we weren’t running from something.
We were hunting it.