Sole Survivors: Crux Survivors, Book 2 Page 10

  “Food’s up!” Keera called out.

  Chase stayed back, waiting for everyone to get plates, then filled up his own and sat on the floor next to Keera. Even the steam coming off his dish held full flavor—peppery spices, lemon and fresh, hot seafood. He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, then opened them when Keera spoke.

  “I put extra bowls around the room for a reason.” Keera grinned and picked up a crawfish. “I know Cadmar knows how to eat these, but here’s what you do. Separate the tail from the head.” She split the crustacean in half. “Some like to suck out the head—it’s up to you—then open the tail for the best part. Watch out for the juice. It splatters. Toss what’s left into the bowls.” She pointed at a stack of hand towels. “You might want to grab one of those before you start. This is messy.”

  “Messy goodness,” Cadmar said, delighted eyes locked on his plate. “It’s been so long since I’ve had this.” He lifted green eyes to Keera. “Thank you.”

  Ross stood up and set his plate on the rusty folding chair Chase had brought up earlier. He opened the scotch just as Jenna came into the room carrying mugs. “Your choice, whisky or wine. Thought we’d have a toast before we eat. We want to thank you, Keera, for your hospitality, the fantastic food. We want to thank you, Chase and Tripp for going with us to help Cadmar. Dorian, Jenna, Cadmar and I are really happy we made this trip and met you all.”

  Chase reached for a mug with the whisky. He closed his eyes and took a deep whiff of the smoky, faintly sweet aroma and groaned. “The food, then this. I don’t think I can handle all this goodness in one dose.”

  “I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven,” Tripp breathed as he picked up a crawfish. He watched Cadmar go at the small creatures.

  The kid knew what he was doing.

  “Have you thought at all about coming to New Mexico with us?” Ross asked, still standing over them and holding his mug of scotch.

  Chase looked at his brother, then Keera. Both merely looked at him silently. “We’re thinking about it.” He left his answer vague on purpose. He couldn’t speak for Keera. For Tripp either, really, because his brother was certainly old enough to make his own decisions now. All Chase knew was that Tripp would want to go and Keera might not. The thought of losing either of them made him feel like someone was pulling his heart out of his chest.

  Ross nodded at him, his eyes seeming to say he understood Chase’s inner struggle. He sat, held up his glass and said, “Cheers!”

  Chase swallowed the whisky and kept his eyes closed as the liquor spilled over his tongue and into his throat. It started soft, then picked up on the spice, the lime and turned sweet with a flavor he kind of remembered as vanilla. He groaned. “Wow. Where did you find this?”

  “An empty home,” Ross answered. “It’s where I find all the good liquor. None of the cream-based stuff stayed good, but the whiskies and vodkas have all lived on. A lot of the wine too. Jake, the other man who lives with us, is a wine fanatic. I promised to take him back to a small town where we found a stash in the spring. He’s probably already started building the wine racks. I like wine, but some of the others love it so much I make sure to pick it up whenever I find it.”

  “It’s how we work,” Jenna said. “We take care of each other. Look out for the things the others like. I hope we find lots of wine.” She forked a green bean. “It’ll keep Jake from making more.” She shuddered. “He’s missing some kind of key ingredient. It’s getting better, but still needs work.”

  They all tucked into the food. The silence was peppered with moans of delight, conversation and laughter. Chase mostly watched and listened, his heart warming from the pleasure of it all. The people, food and whisky. It was hard to believe that three days before, he and his brother had thought themselves sole survivors.

  Something crashed downstairs in the warehouse.

  Chase froze, his gaze coming up to clash with Ross’s. “Don’t suppose that’s an animal trying to get out of the rain.”

  Keera set her plate on the floor. “It could be. It happens a lot. Sounds like a big one, though.” She stood up.

  Jenna was the first to the door. Chase hadn’t even noticed she’d brought her crossbow. She’d left it against the wall. She swiped it up, opened the door, then took a quick step back, gasping.

  Chase saw the gun before he saw the person holding it. As she came farther into the apartment, he recognized the long, muscled arms, the long, brown hair. She moved slowly, deliberately, her gun never wavering as she nudged Jenna into the room. Dirt streaked her face as the woman raider from the woods moved her gaze over everyone in the room and stopped on Chase.

  Chapter Ten

  Keera stared at the dripping woman holding a gun in Jenna’s face but watching Chase as if she knew him. She was built strong. Tall with slim, muscled arms left bare by a soaked black tank top. She was shivering, yet her expression held a sort of fierce determination that kept her from looking at all vulnerable.

  “I am not here to hurt anyone.” She kept the gun on Jenna, who still held her crossbow. Her gaze moved back to the weapon. “Please put that down. I have a feeling you’re good with it.”

  “You’d have a correct feeling then.” Jenna’s voice carried enough threat to make the new woman’s eyebrows go up. “Why don’t you put your gun down?”

  “I have my reasons. Please move over there with the others.” Her dark eyes turned suddenly imploring as she stared at Jenna.

  “Jenna, please come over here,” Keera said, her voice shaking even though she tried hard to keep it from doing that. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to care for the tall, blonde woman. “What do you want?” she asked the newcomer. “Why are you in my home?”

  Jenna stepped back, but she didn’t set down her weapon. She merely stared at the woman with threat in her green eyes. Ross and Dorian moved to stand on either side of her. Ross had one hand down by his leg, holding a gun.

  “Stop moving.” The new woman moved the gun back and forth between the trio. “I mean it. Nobody move.” Her brown gaze landed on Chase again. “You remember me? From the creek?”

  He nodded. “I do. You helped save Keera.”

  “I didn’t want those assholes getting their hands on her. I swear, I’m not here to hurt any of you and I’m alone.”

  “Why should we believe you?” Keera asked.

  “You have no reason to. None. I’m not staying. I wouldn’t even be up here, if some stupid snake hadn’t startled me into falling into your pepper plants. Sorry about those.” She stared at Keera. “I think I killed one of them.”

  “What do you want?” Keera moved closer. She didn’t think this woman would shoot her.

  “Don’t take another step. I mean it.” Her gun shook. “I’m hungry, cold and exhausted. My aim might be off and I could hit anyone in this room by accident.”

  Keera doubted that. She had a feeling the woman was a crack shot. “Why are you here?”

  “I’ve been spying. Heard about your plan to go to the farm.” She swallowed, water still dripping down her face in rivulets. “I don’t think you all know what’s really going on there.”

  This time Cadmar took a step toward the woman. “That’s my family. What are you talking about?”

  She looked at him, her dark brows drawn together on her forehead. “You Cadmar?”

  He tucked a strand of blond hair behind his ear, nodded.

  “I know your mother, Ellen. Your father, Ryan, and your little brother, Aidan.”

  “You know the men that were left there to watch them too?”

  She stared at him, her mouth turning down in a frown. “You have no idea the farm was turned into a base camp, do you?”

  The noise Cadmar made hurt Keera’s chest. It must have bothered Chase too, because he stepped forward and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Cadmar flinched, looked up at him, but let him leave his hand.

  A mix of emotions darkened the woman’s face. “More found out about the garden and all the animals�
�� There are at least thirty raiders staying there now.”

  Cadmar slumped to the floor. Tripp rushed over to kneel next to him.

  “Why are you telling us this?” Chase asked.

  “Because I like that boy’s family and I know you plan to rescue them. I want to help.”

  “Why should we trust you?” This came from Ross.

  She blinked water out of her eyes. “You shouldn’t. I was one of them. Whether I was a willing one of them is my own fucking business. But I like that boy’s family and I don’t want the younger boy of theirs there any longer.”

  “Have they hurt Aidan?” Cadmar’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  She stared down at him for the longest time before shaking her head. “No.”

  Keera didn’t believe her. Neither did most of the others if their expressions were anything to go by, but Cadmar had dropped his head into his hands and missed the stark fury that passed over the newcomer’s face.

  She stared at Chase. Hard. “I didn’t plan to let you know about me yet. Damned snake.” A rueful smile tilted her lips. “But here we are.”

  “Delilah, right?” Chase asked.

  She responded with a curt shake of her head. “No. My name is MacKenzie. Listen, I know everyone camped at that farm. I can get inside. I can help.”

  “What do you want in return?” Jenna asked.

  “Nothing. Like I said. I like that family. They don’t deserve to be working as slaves for the raiders. I’d already planned to go back and help them but hadn’t figured out how to do it alone.”

  “How about you lower that gun?” Ross asked. “Things could progress to a real discussion here much faster without it.”

  “Then tell your woman to put down the crossbow.”

  Ross snarled. “My woman, as you call her, makes her own decisions. But knowing her, she’ll keep it in her hand, just not aim it until she has to. We don’t know if you have anyone else hiding outside. Can’t trust a stranger. Good enough?”

  She stood there, shivering, holding that gun on them. Keera could see the goose bumps on her arms from across the room. She guessed Tripp could too because he stood and snagged his jacket where he’d set it on a table.

  She whipped her gun toward him.

  “Hey, I’m just giving you this.” Tripp held it up to show her before he tossed it. “I have another and you look like you’re freezing.”

  The woman caught the jacket, stared hard at Tripp, obviously surprised, then nodded. “I’ll find you all again before you get there. Roads are bad. You’ll have to go east, then north.” She kept the jacket clutched against her as she backed out of the room. She didn’t take the stairs, instead jumping over the rail at the top before she took off running back into the storm.

  Chase swore and stalked to the door to close it. “Think she was alone?”

  Jenna still held the crossbow pointed toward the floor. “Actually, I do. She said you knew her?”

  “Saw her is more like it. The first day I met Keera—the day before meeting you, in fact—Keera was fighting raiders. That woman was with them, but she ended up killing one of the men before running off. I got the feeling she wasn’t with them willingly.”

  “She seems pretty tough to have been an unwilling victim,” Tripp pointed out. “Did you see her arms? Plus, I saw two other guns tucked into the weird pockets on her pants.”

  “Couple of knives too,” Keera added.

  Cadmar stood up. “She could have all kinds of reasons for being with raiders. Possibly even the same reasons I willingly stayed with the ones who took me from my home. Maybe they have someone she loves.”

  “Or maybe she’s just into survival.” Ross squeezed Dorian’s arm as he tucked his gun back into the waist of his jeans. “There’s more safety in numbers.”

  Dorian patted Ross’s hand. “Whatever her reasons, she broke up this nice party we were having. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m thinking we should hole up inside the warehouse until it’s light out in the morning.”

  “I agree.” Keera walked to Chase. “I’m going to shut the garage door and lock it.”

  He shook his head. “Someone could take a shot at you.”

  She frowned at him. He seemed to have forgotten how long she’d taken care of herself. “Even though I agree it’s a good idea for everyone to stay up here for the night, I do think that woman was alone. But I’m still going to shut the garage.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Chase opened the apartment door.

  “Here.” Ross handed him his gun.

  Chase merely grinned and picked up his jacket to pull one from the pocket. “First thing I learned about this new world. Never walk around unarmed.”

  “I’m going to make myself one of those small crossbows—one that could fit into my pocket so I can just be all cool and whip a weapon out.” Jenna set her bow on the floor, leaned it against the wall.

  “And shoot what? Tiny arrows?” Dorian chuckled.

  “A tiny arrow can do a lot of damage if you hit a person right.” She picked her plate back up. “It might not be a party anymore, but I’m still going to finish eating. I love these things. Wish we had them at home.”

  Keera smiled as she heard Dorian laughing while she walked down the stairs.

  “There are crawfish in New Mexico,” he was saying. “In Phoenix too. We called them crawdads.”

  She watched Chase scouting the area. A gust of wind swept in through the open garage door and Keera shivered and wished she’d grabbed her coat. “Maybe we should have invited her to stay inside. It’s grown so cold. She could stay down here at least. Out of the rain and wind.”

  “She wouldn’t. That woman doesn’t trust us any more than we trust her.”

  He must have felt it was clear enough because he grabbed the door and pulled it down.

  “There used to be a remote for that thing, but I couldn’t fix it.” She stepped closer to him, still shivering. “You know, I haven’t known any of you much longer than I have that woman and yet I trust everyone in my home. It’s strange.”

  He turned, frowned when he saw her arms wrapped around herself and tugged her against his body. “It’s weird for me and Tripp too, but I feel the same way.”

  She sighed into his warmth, hugged her arms around his waist. “Guess today proved I trusted you most of all.”

  He tilted up her chin, stared at her a long moment, then gave her that half smile she found herself waiting for. “You gave me the ultimate trust.”

  “Yeah, well I want to give it to you again.” She chuckled, couldn’t help it.

  His smile grew before he kissed her.

  What started as a peck quickly heated up and Keera opened for him, felt the rumbling of the low sound he made in his throat as his tongue swept into her mouth. He kept his fingers on her chin, tilted her head to give him better access. Her shivers this time had nothing to do with the cold. She pulled back. “Do you want to sleep in my room with me tonight?”

  “I do. I do more than I can possibly explain. But I’m not going to—not yet. Tripp—” he broke off.

  “Yeah, guess it would be kind of awkward yet.” She barely kept the frown off her face because she didn’t completely understand his reticence. Tripp was a man, an observant one, and she was pretty damned sure he’d picked up on what had already happened between his brother and her. She’d caught him looking at the mark on her neck. “I’m going to see about getting everyone settled somewhere.” She gave him a quick smile and jogged up the stairs.

  It was possible the man wasn’t really interested in more than she’d already given him.

  “There’s another storm comin’.” Tripp leaned forward and squinted at the sky through the windshield of the RV. “Think this one’s going to be worse. Those clouds look awful.”

  Chase followed his gaze, his gut clenching at the speed of the dark clouds moving overhead. They rolled in round and thick and hungry. Within seconds, fat drops of rain splattered the glass. Slow at first, then they
picked up. The storm that had kept all of them at Keera’s overnight had finally let up this morning and they’d been able to get going just fine. But between the lack of passable roads and old and newly downed trees, their progress had been slow. This storm looked rough. The wind already bent trees in front of them. “We’ll need better shelter than the vehicles if this gets worse.”

  “Looks like Ross is thinking the same thing.” Keera came forward to stand between them. She’d opted to ride with Chase and Tripp. “They’re slowing down.”

  “But I don’t see any buildings.” Tripp stretched over and flipped on the defroster. “I only see mostly dead kudzu. But—” He broke off when the RV hit something in the road, causing the vehicle to rock hard.

  “I see vines in the shape of a building.” Keera braced herself on a wall and pointed just as the RV hit something else. She stumbled back.

  “Sorry,” Chase muttered as he gripped the steering wheel tight. “The rain is starting to make visibility impossible. Looks like Ross found shelter.” He stopped the RV. “Rain’s too hard to see now. Tripp, go ahead and start packing extra clothes and food packs.”

  Chase parked the RV and walked to the long drawer under the couch.

  “Pulling out the big guns?” Tripp asked.

  “Did you happen to see the door of that place?” Chase pulled out the drawer and lifted a rifle and two guns, then set them on the couch. “We have the most ammunition for these.”

  Keera knelt beside him. “I saw the door. It was cleared of vines.”

  “So someone has been there and they could still be there.”

  “But they could be nice,” Tripp added.

  “Or not.” Chase looked up at his brother. “Most of the people we’ve met the last few years have been bad, Tripp.”

  “Yeah, and the last few days, those odds changed. We met Keera and the others.” Tripp picked up the Glock. “But I get it. Always err on the side of caution.”

  Grinning, Chase grabbed the box of ammunition. “So you have been listening.”