Chapter 25
Zayne
I don't know what's worse—having experience with places like the one we're heading to and knowing what to expect, or being blind and only able to make assumptions, like Zeus has to be doing.
I can't count the number of times I wanted to turn this fucking truck around and head back to the Cerberus property on the drive over here. I still haven't made up my mind that I wouldn't do exactly that until I pull up to the gate, the guy walking out to greet us making the decision for me.
Instead of being questioned like a couple of cops, like the last time we were here, the guy smiles, immediately accepting us as brethren.
"I'm Ricky," he says, leaning a little further into the truck.
I lean back, the stench coming off him almost thick enough that it's a tangible thing.
"We may be fucking wrong about the water heater situation," Zeus mutters.
I keep my eyes on Ricky, grateful that he's too distracted looking over his shoulder to have heard.
"Glad you guys made it before the sun came up," he says, pointing toward the horizon. "But just barely."
I take a moment to appreciate the pink beginning to light up the sky.
"You gonna let us in, or do we have to sit here all fucking day?" Zeus growls.
Ricky grins, as if he holds all the power in the world, and a snarly bastard like Zeus isn't going to speed him up unless he wants to move faster.
"You must be Lyle," Ricky says, shaking his finger at him. "I heard you were a surly bastard."
I don't have to look back at my partner to know the man is glaring in this direction.
"Do us a solid, man," I plead. "Don't want to get on the boss's bad side on day one."
He dips his head in agreement. "Not a good place to be... ever."
"Thanks, man," I tell him, managing only a flat-lipped smile.
"I'll grab the gate," he says.
"You have anything for us?" I ask before he can get too far from the truck.
Much to my disappointment, he walks right back, leaning in the same way he did before. I do my best not to gag on the body odor rolling from him.
"Oh shit. Yeah." He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a crinkled piece of paper.
I take it from him, unfolding it to reveal a roughly hand-drawn map that has clearly been photocopied so many fucking times it's almost illegible.
"Your bunks are here," he says, pointing to an area of the map that has tiny squares drawn on it, the lift of his arm bringing a whole new wave of stench.
I swallow against my gag reflex, knowing I won't make any friends if I insult the first guy we come into contact with on our first day here. Besides, you never know who people are within the organization. We learned that from the jump with Bobby.
"You'll head here first," he says, his finger tapping another location on the map. "That's where you'll unload your rations."
I nod, understanding from experience that this is expected. These sorts of situations are not unlike any cult. What you have is no longer yours, but belongs to the organization as a whole.
"The fuck?" Zeus growls. "You expect us to give up our shit?"
I don't take my eyes off Ricky, gauging his reaction.
Instead of getting angry, another smile crosses his lips as if he's the one who created the rule and takes great pleasure in relieving people of their belongings.
"You know, I think I like you," he tells Zeus.
"After you drop rations," he continues, "you'll--"
"I went to fucking jail for six months for stealing the money to get my goddamn shotgun," Zeus interrupts.
Ricky pulls in a deep breath, his smile faltering for the first time since we made contact with him.
"Those are the rules. Don't like 'em? Take it up with Bobby, just let me know when you plan to do that so I can witness him cutting you down at your fucking knees."
"After?" I prod.
"This is the store," he says, pointing to the map once again. "They'll have everything you need to get comfortable."
"We'd be comfortable if we got to keep the shit we came with," Zeus says, his tone a little distant as if his fight is over and he's accepted what's going to happen inside.
Getting pissed at losing our stuff is expected.
I doubt a single person has come into this compound and just rolled over and agreed.
It isn't fair, and these folks are big on fairness when it fits their agenda.
They can't always see it that way when they're taking others' liberties away, but that's also expected.
"If you have any other questions, the folks at the unload location can answer them," he says before taking a step back.
He walks a few steps away from the truck before stopping in his tracks as if a thought just occurred to him. He turns back toward us, staring into the passenger seat until Zeus looks in his direction before speaking.
"Be glad you didn't bring a woman with you," he says, a certain sadness in his tone. "They'd take her, too."
With that, he slaps the side of the truck and walks away. A few seconds later, the gate swings open, giving us access to the compound.
I can't even look at Zeus, despite the rage I can feel vibrating through him.
I don't know if he's trying to act in line with what's expected of his character, or if he's trying to blow this.
The man has to know that separation from the group at this point, after the two nights we've spent robbing people, literally witnessing the leader of the group commit a felony, isn't as simple as being asked to leave.
I can't explain it to him right now, and I don't know when I'll get the chance, but he has to calm the fuck down if he expects to be successful in our mission.
We need to be the new guys these people trust and lean on, or it will take us fucking months, if not years, to gather the intel we need to take them down. I don't know about him, but spending that long with this group was never in my fucking plans.
"Calm the fuck down," I say as I put the truck in park outside of the first building we're expected at.
He grumbles something about working hard for the things he has, and I know he's in character rather than hell-bent on getting us killed.
"Well, look at you," he says with more than a hint of flirtation in his voice as he climbs out of the truck to be greeted by a cute blonde exiting the building.
"You must be Curtis," she says, bouncing up to him with her hand out.
I don't miss the way her eyes dart in my direction as if she's already terrified of me before she looks back at him.
"Actually, I'm Curtis," I say, watching as she pulls her hand back before Zeus can take it.
Her eyes dart between the two of us, and, much like with Ricky, it seems Lyle Smith's reputation as a giant asshole has spread around the camp.
"I'm Lyle," Zeus says, a softer edge than I've ever heard in his tone. "And you are?"
"I'm Re—" she pauses, as if she has made a mistake. "I'm Candy."
"Nice to meet you, Candy," he says, holding out his hand and not missing a beat, even though this woman just obviously lied to him.
She hesitates a second time, her hand slow to rise, as if she knows being rude to him would come with dire consequences, before reluctantly placing her tiny hand in his.
He gives it a gentle shake before immediately releasing it, knowing the touch is unwanted. I can only presume he doesn't want to victimize her further than she already has been.
He gives her a wide smile as he hitches his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the truck. "I'm told we're to relinquish all of our belongings to you."
"Not everything," she quickly explains as if she has been treated poorly by others in our position before. "Just weapons, electronics, bug-out bags, that sort of thing."
"Do we need to unload it ourselves, or will we have some help?" he asks, his smile never fading.
Hell, the man almost looks approachable, and it's very reminiscent of how he looked at Dakota when she paid attention to him, as if he valued what she had to say.
No wonder this man took a job defending women. It's clear he can see the value in her, even when most people she crosses paths with only see her as a possession to be used and abused at their whim.
She narrows her eyes, her smile hesitant. "I heard you were mean."
His fake smile turns genuine at her challenge, and it's a fucking sight to see. Mesmerizing, almost, and I can't help but try to think back if he's ever looked that way at me.
I bite my lower lip, remembering that very same smile only a couple of hours earlier in the bathroom, and knowing he threw it my way more than once recently does nothing to help me build up a wall to fight what I'm feeling for the man.
"Only to assholes," he assures her. "You're not an asshole, are you?"
She shakes her head, smile growing wider, and damn if she isn't pretty. Although it's hard to look past the dark circles under her eyes and the clear bruising on her upper arm as if she had been recently grabbed by someone much bigger than she is.
"You guys can keep your clothes and any personal hygiene items you brought," she explains. "If you just lay out everything else right here, we'll get it into our inventory."
"Perfect," I say, rounding the back of the truck and dropping the tailgate.
I don't glance at Zeus when he meets me at the back of the truck, but I'm no less curious about him and the way he handled himself with Candy.
I know better than to think he handled her with grace and kindness as a form of manipulation he wants to use to his advantage at a later date, but he has to know there can be trouble in how he treats the women here.
"Careful who you flirt with," I warn on a whisper, my eyes darting up to make sure that Candy is too far away to hear.
He chuckles. "Jealous?"
I drop the box I'm holding, the clank of supplies inside drawing her attention for a second before she lowers her eyes back to the clipboard she pulled from somewhere I didn't see.
"You have no idea who she's connected to," I explain, not giving a voice to his accusation. "Acting that way to the wrong woman can get you killed."