Chapter Twenty-Four
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MONICA COULD FINALLY relax now that the operation was over.
Feeling the phantom bullet wound in her back had helped her dig the slug out of her knight, but it had hurt like hell.
Remembering the warm hug he’d given her just before the procedure had helped ground her.
No man had ever made her feel so safe and desired before.
Then again, they’d all been puny humans.
Nazab was an actual knight who’d been created by Order, whatever the hell that was.
“Where do you want to search first?” Monica asked as she cleaned up the items she’d used. Nazab ambled over to the map on the coffee table while she sterilized the tweezers and scalpel. They could come in handy again, so she wasn’t about to throw them away.
“We can probably search a couple of locations this afternoon,” her warrior decided. “But you should eat some lunch first before we get back on the road.”
She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but nodded anyway. Her nerves needed to settle down a bit after what had happened in town. She ate the snacks and drank the water she’d packed, then replenished her backpack. “I’m good to go,” she said.
Nazab had chosen two areas to search and took the map with him. “I’ll direct you to the first location,” he said.
“Don’t you want to drive?” she asked. She’d been aware of him watching her every move when she’d driven them back to their base.
“You can take the first turn,” Nazab said. “I’ll drive to the second location.”
Monica drove back to the road and followed her sexy companion’s directions.
The more she got to know the knight, the more amazed and impressed she was by him.
He was nothing like the guys she’d dated in the past. He had enviable patience, probably because he was so damn old.
Her warrior hadn’t complained about needing to wait for two months before she would sleep with him.
Some guys had bailed as soon as she told them about her rule.
One guy had told her she wasn’t worth the wait because of her missing limb.
That had hurt, but she was better off without a toxic person like that in her life.
“What are you thinking about that makes you frown so hard, female?” Nazab asked.
“I was just thinking about a guy who didn’t want to wait to get me in the sack,” she said. “He told me I wasn’t worth waiting that long because of my leg.”
Just as she’d figured, he was instantly indignant on her behalf. “Why would it possibly matter that you’re missing part of your limb?” he asked.
“You know what people are like,” she said with a shrug. “I’m kind of amazed so many guys asked me out even after they learned I’m not whole.”
“They were drawn to your beautiful face and form and your even more beautiful soul, Monica Yemil,” he said solemnly.
She liked the way he said her full name. Everything about him was adorable. “My beautifully gray soul,” she joked.
“I think the only reason your soul is gray is because a Soldier of Chaos is your sire,” he mused. “I can’t detect any evil inside you, female. I watched you befriend an entire town of survivors just by cutting their hair and being your charismatic self.”
“To be fair, they would have worshipped anyone who can wield a pair of scissors,” she joked, then snickered. “But I’ve always been able to make friends easily,” she agreed. “Even if none of them were really close.”
“Why weren’t they close friends?” he asked, then pointed at the next road to the left.
She thought about it as she turned the corner. “I was always different from everyone else,” she said. “Aunt Pansy slapped me hard on the cheek when I told her I could sense people from a distance when I was a kid,” she said.
“Why did she do that?” he asked.
“She assumed I was lying,” Monica said. “I was only five at the time, but I learned to keep my mouth shut. I had to pretend to be normal and that meant keeping my secrets to myself. It was safer to keep people at arm’s length and not to form deep connections with them.”
“You’ve lived a lonely life,” he surmised accurately.
“Yep,” she agreed, trying not to get emotional again. “But so have you,” she pointed out. “Sure, you can sleep around, but you’ve never had a chance to fall in love, settle down and have a family with someone.”
“My brothers and I have never even discussed it,” Nazab said, which made her feel sad for all of the warriors. “Our duty has never changed throughout all of the eons of our existence,” he went on. “I’m not sure why things have changed this time, or why Fate is pairing us up with females.”
“Maybe we’re your reward for a job well done,” Monica joked, but she was just as confused as he was.
“Having you in my life is already the greatest reward I could ever hope for, female,” Nazab said.
Monica’s face heated up and she glanced at him. “That was smooth,” she said in admiration. “I’ve just deducted one day from your waiting period.”
“Really?” he asked, eyes widening a fraction.
“Nope,” she replied with a smirk. “Nice try, though.” He chuckled rather than getting angry, which raised him even more in her estimation. “I feel lucky to have met you, too,” she admitted. “We might not have forever together, but I already know I’m going to enjoy every minute we do have.”
His radiant smile was distracting, so she returned her attention to the road. “We’re only a few miles from the first location,” he said. “I’ll get you to stop before we reach it so I can scout it on foot.”
“They’ll hear us coming if we get too close,” she agreed. “It’s still so weird not to see other vehicles driving around on the highways,” she said, feeling nostalgic for the past.
She pulled over three miles later and parked behind some dense shrubs.
“You should be safe here,” Nazab said in approval.
“I’ll be back soon, female,” he added, then leaned over.
It felt natural to kiss him and he didn’t try to push for more.
Her knight climbed out and she locked the doors before he took off.
Even when Nazab was no longer on her radar, she could sense him through their link. “I’ll feel his pain if anything goes wrong,” she reminded herself. She didn’t have the same sense of doom this time, so she figured he would return safely.
Sure enough, her warrior was only gone for a few minutes. “The resort is occupied by humans with gray souls,” he reported as she climbed out.
“Did you tell them to head to the town?” she asked, rounding the truck to the passenger side.
“They don’t have many supplies to share,” he replied. “They barely have enough food to survive another week.”
“That sucks,” Monica said, feeling bad for them.
“I killed a deer and left it a short distance from the main building,” Nazab said. “It should tide them over for a while.”
“You were only gone for a few minutes,” Monica said in surprise. “Where did you find a deer?”
“A small herd was hiding in the woods nearby,” he said. “The humans will be aware of them now. They’ll need to learn how to hunt effectively or they’ll starve.”
“They’ve lasted almost a year,” Monica said as he expertly drove out from behind the shrubs. “What have they been eating? Not people?” she added in alarm.
“Their souls would have turned black if they’d become cannibals,” he said. “They were living on canned goods and preserved food they found in a bunker beneath the resort.”
“That was a lucky score for them,” she said. “Most people haven’t been able to coast through the apocalypse that easily.”
“They should have learned how to hunt long before now if they hope to survive,” he said in disapproval.
“I wonder if I could take a deer down by draining just enough energy to weaken it?” Monica said.
Nazab hiked his thumb at the back seat. “I scavenged some guns from the bandits we killed. I’ll teach you how to shoot after we head back to our base.”
“Yay,” she said without enthusiasm.
“But I’m sure you’re right about using your ability to steal energy,” he added. “Weakening an animal so it can’t run away would be an effective method of hunting for food.”
She’d rather use her skills to hunt than use noisy weapons, but the world had become a dangerous place now. It couldn’t hurt to learn how to shoot and it might even save both of their lives one day.