29. Taryn #2
Finley came in last, and Rory moved to his side. He put one hand near her shoulder as he moved through the room, positioning himself between her and the rotter without making a production of it.
He moved to the old mattress and cleaned it off, then sat Rory on it. She curled her legs beneath her, and Max immediately followed, settling beside her. She leaned into him and relaxed for the first time in hours.
Finley looked around. “This will work.”
His voice was dead. The only thing keeping him among the living was the need to look after Rory. If that hadn’t been the case, I was sure he would have followed Harper to the grave.
Adrian opened one of the filing cabinets. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
The first drawer held yellowed paperwork and mouse nests.
The second was better. A pair of heavy work gloves and two rolls of duct tape.
Wren moved toward the desk. “You can find all kinds of things in desk drawers.”
She opened the top drawer. Pencils. Old receipts. A tape measure.
Wren handed it to me. “Just in case you want to see who measures up.” She waggled her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
Colson smirked. “You don’t need that.”
“I doubt it’s long enough.” Wren opened the next drawer and sneezed when a cloud of dust billowed out.
“Bless you,” Colson said immediately.
“He already did, baby. He already did.” Wren looked pointedly at his crotch.
I was sure the big man would blush, but this time his eyes grew heated, and he formed a heart with his index fingers and thumbs at Wren.
She blew him a kiss, then looked down into the drawer. “Ooh!”
What the hell? Was it cute or spooky to see a man that size making heart shapes with his fingers? Some questions, I suppose, simply cannot be answered.
“What is it?” Beck leaned closer to look at what she’d found.
Wren ignored him and pulled out a small fixed-blade hunting knife.
Colson took it from her, and she stared at him.
He inspected the edge with his thumb, wiped dust from the handle, then handed it back.
A smile wide enough to rival the Grinch’s, covered her face. “You trust me with sharp things!”
“Yes.” He took her cap off, kissed her forehead, then put it back on securely.
Finley found a small first-aid box mounted on the wall. Most of it had already been picked clean, but a few sealed gauze pads, medical tape, alcohol wipes, and a pair of disposable gloves remained.
He took all of it.
Adrian pulled an old county road map from beneath a stack of invoices on the desk.
Wren immediately leaned over his shoulder. “There.”
He looked to where she was pointing. “What?”
“That road.” She tapped the map.
“What about it?” Adrian asked her intently.
“That’s the one the scavenging teams used before Gideon told everyone to stop going that far east.” Wren met his gaze.
“Toward the fuel traders?” Lucas leaned closer to the map to get a better look.
“Probably,” Wren shrugged.
“Only probably?” Adrian raised his brow.
Wren pointed at the map again. “There’s the creek. The bad bridge, and this road goes toward the old petroleum place.”
Finley started pacing. “I once asked Gideon if all the fuel came from there. It was the only place that made sense.”
“It sits really far off the main highway down a long country road.” Wren nodded. “I haven’t seen it personally, but that’s the only place it can be.”
Adrian folded the map carefully. “Then that’s where we’ll go.” He turned to Finley. “Barricade the door with the desk when we leave.”
Finley nodded. “I’ve got enough food in my pack for a couple of days.”
“Can anyone spare a few more bottles of water for them?” I asked everyone.
Together, we managed to spare six bottles, in addition to the three Finley already had.
“Max will hunt for himself if you let him out.” I leaned down to scratch him between the ears, and he let out a pitiful whine.
“We’ll be fine for a few days,” Finley reassured us.
Adrian nodded. “If everything goes well, we’ll be back long before you run out. If not, and you have to leave, we’ll follow your trail until we catch up.”
Rory shifted on the mattress, and Max lifted his head, then settled again when she rested a hand against his neck.
She didn’t ask where we were going, or when we’d get back. She just watched us with tired eyes while Finley unpacked what little food and water we had left beside her.
Wren crouched and whispered something in her ear, and Rory gave the smallest hint of a smile. Then Wren snuggled Mojo more firmly beside her.
Finley looked at all of us. “I think you’re crazy for doing this, but I understand why you have to.” His eyes moved toward Rory, then back to us. “Make sure you come back.”
Something about the way he said it made the room fall silent. It wasn’t because he doubted us. It was because Harper hadn’t.
I nodded. “We will.”
Beck moved first, stepping out to check the tree line. Adrian came to me and tightened the strap on my pack, while Lucas moved behind me and rested a hand at the back of my neck.
I looked from one to the other. Then toward Beck, who had already turned back to make sure I was still where he’d left me. “What?”
“Nothing,” Beck said, widening his eyes innocently.
“You’re all doing the thing,” I said, exasperated.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. “What thing?”
“Circling.”
Lucas’s thumb moved once against my neck. “You do have a tendency to take off for parts unknown.”
“I always know where I’m going,” I smirked. “I just may not always let you in on it.”
Beck snorted. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I stared at them.
Three beautiful men.
Three completely different kinds of difficult. Yet somehow, when things went bad, they fit together like parts of the same weapon.
Maybe that was why this might just work.
None of them had to be everything. They only had to be themselves. And that worked for me.
Adrian touched my back. “Stay close.”
Lucas leaned down beside my ear. “And try not to get kidnapped, Menace.”
I smiled.
Wait until he found out the plan I’d come up with.