Sole Survivors: Crux Survivors, Book 2 Read online

  “This is going to be difficult,” Ross said. He lay on his stomach on Chase’s other side. “So far, I know we don’t shoot MacKenzie, her black friend and the red-haired man in overalls. She said the only other woman and the teenager, but I’m sure she wasn’t talking about the one in the back of the truck. Damn. We need to know where Cadmar’s mother and brother are and how many more are in that house.”

  A cow mooed from the barn. “Well, we know they haven’t slaughtered one of our milk cows, at least,” Cadmar said.

  Chase didn’t point out the milk yesterday had proved that, but he knew the kid was nervous.

  “Wish we could just pick them off now.” Jenna was on the other side of Ross.

  Chase turned to make sure Keera was still behind him. She patted the back of his calf to let him know she’d caught him checking. He couldn’t help it. Just the thought of something happening to her stilled his heart. She’d crawled so far into it, she’d taken up permanent residence.

  Hell of a thing. Realizing you’re completely and head-over-heels in love in the middle of a snake-infested field right before what was sure to be a gunfight. He should have told her. Given her the real words.

  Three more men walked outside. Cadmar sucked in an audible breath, then dropped his field glasses. He quickly scrambled for them. “Holy shit.”

  “What?” Tripp poked his shoulder, reached for the glasses. “Let me see.”

  “No. Wait your turn.” He stared a long time, then sighed. “Nobody hurt the tall redhead. I think that’s my little brother.”

  “Your little brother?” Chase asked. He blinked, looked again, squinted. Now that he was looking closely, he could tell the kid was young. He had the soft roundness in his cheeks and chin still. “I take it he’s changed?”

  “Holy shit. Yeah, he has. He’s just fourteen. When I left, he was shorter than me.”

  “This sucks. I can’t see enough. Somebody give me some binoculars.” Tripp tried to grab Chase’s.

  They had three pairs of glasses between them, so Ross must have taken pity on Tripp because he handed him his pair. “Okay, there are eleven people there besides MacKenzie. We know the barns are clear, we know not to shoot the two redheaded men and the black man. Did I miss her hug anyone else? And have we seen Cadmar’s mother yet?”

  “No.” Chase tried to adjust the glasses to see through a slit in the curtains. “There’s no way to know how many are still in the house with her, though.”

  “I hope she’s okay.” Cadmar gave his glasses to Jenna.

  Chase looked at the kid. “MacKenzie saw her, so we know she’s okay. Much as I hate watching these people get into the things in the back of the truck, I wish that woman would yell again. Could draw out everyone else.”

  “They’re eating my damned pickles. Even your brother is.” Tripp’s grumble was just the thing Cadmar needed.

  The kid smiled at Tripp. “Quit ogling my brother and give me the glasses back. He’s only fourteen.”

  “What?” Tripp curled his lip. “If I was going to ogle someone, it would be—”

  A scream shut him up and pulled their attention back to the farmhouse. A teen girl had come running out of the open front door and was booking it toward the fields. MacKenzie started to run toward her but the boom of a shotgun halted her in her tracks. She stared, obviously stunned, as red covered the girl’s back and she collapsed on the ground. MacKenzie turned toward the man on the porch who had shot the girl and the look on her face warned Chase.

  “We don’t have time to find out who else is in the house.” Chase dropped the glasses and ran toward the back of the barn. He heard the others following. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched MacKenzie scream and run at the big guy with the rifle. He lifted the gun but the woman next to him shoved it up just as he shot. Mackenzie had two knives in her hands as she leaped the last few feet at the man. His eyes flew open wide as her first knife reached him before she did. She buried it in his belly and twisted.

  “Shit!” Ross said. “Don’t shoot the woman on the porch either. Just go for the ones we’re sure about.”

  They stopped in the barn.

  MacKenzie’s cries of rage had kept the raiders’ attention on her, so Chase and the others were able to creep through the barn until they reached the opposite opening.

  “We’re close enough to shoot now,” Keera said, her low voice right beside Chase.

  The woman crouching in the back of the truck spotted them and yelled.

  Jenna dropped to the ground, aimed and took the woman out with a bow faster than Chase had thought possible. Jenna quickly loaded another bow and took aim at the next person. But they’d lost the element of surprise. People dove behind the truck, behind a stack of hay bales and one guy ran into the house.

  Keera lay flat, a gun balanced in both her hands as she looked down the sight. “I can see one of them stretched out behind the truck on the ground. I might be able to hit him.”

  “What if he’s one of the ones MacKenzie didn’t want us to hit?” Tripp asked.

  Chase eyed the distance between their barn opening and one of the raiders’ semi-trucks. “I don’t think it matters much at this point. If we don’t move fast and take these people out, they’ll use Cadmar’s family as hostages.” He looked at Ross, meeting concerned and angry blue eyes. “Cover me?”

  Ross nodded and took aim.

  Chase hauled ass, not slowing when bullets hit the dirt close to his feet. He reached the truck and ducked. Someone cried out and he looked back to see that Keera had taken her shot. Impressed, he knelt there and considered the best way to reach that house. He glanced around the side, watched the woman pull MacKenzie off the now dead raider. She was frantically pointing toward the barn, warning her. One of the men jumped onto the porch and grabbed MacKenzie by the ponytail, jerking her completely off her feet. She cried out, then sent her elbow back into his gut.

  He grunted, let her go and she turned and ran into the house. Chase had an open shot at the guy, so he took it. Blood sprayed from his neck when the bullet hit him. It was a kill shot. Chase whipped his gun to the woman on the porch. She’d saved MacKenzie but he still didn’t know if she was friend or foe. She wasn’t paying him any attention. Tears were pouring down her face as she stared at the fallen body of the teen girl. She suddenly screamed and ran at the raiders hiding behind the truck. There was a thud and more yelling and dirt flew out from the sides of the vehicle. Chase didn’t know what was happening back there, but from the sounds of skin hitting skin, he thought she was pounding on someone. He turned to catch Ross, Dorian and Jenna spill out in three directions from the barn.

  When Tripp and Keera ran out, he felt like his heart would jump from his chest. He pulled a clip, reloaded and sent out more cover fire.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone inching around the back of the house. The person was male and didn’t have red hair, so Chase fired off a shot. He heard a grunt, but couldn’t see if it had been a kill shot or not, so he crouched down to watch.

  Keera yelled out and he turned only to see her fall. At first he thought she’d been shot. Heart pounding like crazy, he ran for her.

  Two raiders spilled out from around the truck and Ross threw a hard punch at the first one.

  Chase reached Keera to find she’d tripped. He was leaning over her when her eyes flew open wide and she yelled, “Duck.” He did.

  She whipped up her gun and shot. A body thudded to the ground next to them.

  “Are you okay?” Chase put his hand on Keera’s shoulder.

  She looked up at him, lips thin with pain as she nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I think we got most of them.” She suddenly pointed behind him.

  Chase followed her finger and everything in him froze when he saw the man rushing his brother. Tripp never turned to look—he was too busy pulling another man off Cadmar. The poor younger kid’s face was already bruising from the punches he was receiving from the man straddling him.

  C
hase sprang into motion but before he could reach Tripp, MacKenzie climbed the fence next to them and jumped the man. She took him down fast, but didn’t stop there. Her fist hit the guy’s face with so much force, Chase heard his nose crack just as he finally reached them. He bent to rest his hands on his knees, breathing hard. He waited, but the raider didn’t get up.

  Two shots rang out. One from either Ross or Dorian…the other came from inside the house.

  Tripp turned and hauled Mackenzie up. “Why’d you do that? I could have taken him.”

  She sneered. “You didn’t even know he was coming.” She twisted out of his grasp and looked around him at the ground where Cadmar had sat up. He had pulled off his T-shirt and was holding it to his nose.

  Chase winced at the amount of blood soaking into the white material.

  “You okay?” MacKenzie asked him.

  Cadmar nodded, then pointed at the guy lying on his face next to him. “Tripp was busy taking this one out, so thanks.”

  “I didn’t need her to rescue me,” Tripp said, anger still lacing his voice.

  “Tripp, back off. You’re being an ass.” Chase straightened. He looked around, counted bodies. Ross and Jenna were on the porch with their backs to the wall on either side of the front window. Dorian disappeared around the back. “Nobody is shooting at us from inside the house. We might have gotten everyone.” He glanced back at his brother. “What’s your problem?”

  “I’m not a kid and I don’t need her rescuing me.”

  Cadmar stood to his full height, which was considerably shorter than both Tripp and MacKenzie—though Tripp had MacKenzie by a good four inches. “I’m not a kid either but I appreciate you helping. That guy was strong.”

  MacKenzie grabbed Tripp’s arm and turned him toward her. Her eyes were so narrowed, Chase was surprised he could see pupils at all.

  “Are you telling me you’re pissed I helped because I’m a woman?”

  Chase crossed his arms, interested in watching his little brother respond to this one. He still kept most of his attention on the house. Ross had moved to the door. He gestured at Jenna to crawl under the window. She rolled her eyes at him and shot past the window on her feet. No one shot at her, but she flattened her spine on the other side of the door.

  “I repeat,” MacKenzie said through gritted teeth. “Are you pissed because I’m a woman?”

  “No.” Tripp’s word came out through clenched teeth too.

  “Then what’s the problem, kid?”

  Tripp’s nostrils flared, his hands closed into fists and the look he turned on MacKenzie was suddenly hot enough to make Chase pay more attention to him, and to frown because it made him vaguely uncomfortable. He clued in.

  Ahh, there’s the problem. Chase waited for the fireworks, but shock crept up his spine when all Tripp did was step close to the woman. Very close. So close, she had to stretch her neck back to keep staring him in the eyes.

  “I.” Tripp wrapped his hands around her upper arms. “Am.” He pulled her body against his. “Not a kid.”

  He kissed her. Chase’s mouth fell open when his completely inexperienced twenty-three-year-old brother laid a kiss on the older woman with apparently enough finesse to make her wobble when he let her go.

  MacKenzie stood, her lips shiny and wet, and she stared so hard up at Tripp, he expected his brother to burst into flames. Chase chuckled when all she did was wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, scowl and stomp off.

  Tripp turned to glare at him. “Why are you laughing?”

  “What?” Chase threw up his hands. “I’m impressed.”

  “Well, I’m not.” The muttered words came from Cadmar as he walked toward the house, still holding his shirt to his nose.

  “Wait,” Ross called out, holding his hand up to stop Cadmar. “Let us check inside first.”

  “But I heard a shot. From inside.” Cadmar took another step.

  Ross shook his head, expression drawn. He turned and muttered something to Jenna and she shook her head. Hard. “No,” he said loud enough for them all to hear. “I’m going in first.”

  “Ross, I think I hear MacKenzie inside and—” She stopped, then spoke louder to the rest of them. “Where’s MacKenzie’s other friend? The man?”

  “He’s still cowering behind the truck and wondering if it’s safe to come out,” an unfamiliar voice yelled.

  “Come out with your hands in the air.” Ross held his gun on the man as he slowly came around the truck.

  The man matched Cadmar in height, was whip thin and had one of the friendliest smiles Chase had ever seen.

  “Name’s Karl. I’ll just stay over here unarmed, okay?” He kept his arms in the air as he stood in sight.

  “You do that,” Ross said, voice low. He kept his gun on Karl.

  Tripp walked to Cadmar, who was visibly shaking. “I know you want to go in there so badly, but let’s give MacKenzie another minute or two. If things were safe, she’d already be out here.”

  “And you know her so well.” Cadmar, bloody shirt to his nose, shivered, then took a few more steps toward the house.

  “What’s his problem?” Tripp came back to Chase and Keera, crossed his arms and glared at Cadmar’s back. “Surely he isn’t upset that I helped him. That guy was twice his size.”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “Think that boy likes you.”

  “Of course he does. We’ve become good friends.”

  “Maybe you aren’t a kid,” Keera said. “But you’re kind of obtuse.”

  “Ub-what?” Tripp grinned, knowing exactly what the word meant. “And what are you talking about?” He looked back at Chase.

  Chase waved him off. He’d let the three of them figure it out. Still, he was impressed by the way his brother had handled the fight and the way he’d made his point clear to MacKenzie. Chase felt a pang in his chest.

  His brother didn’t really need him anymore. It was no longer just him and Tripp. They had other people now and even though some of them, like Ross, were the strong, take-charge kinds, Chase’s little brother was all grown up and just proved he could take care of himself. He would probably be making a family. Soon, if the way he looked at MacKenzie was in any way returned from the woman.

  And damn, Tripp was going to be in for a time with her. Like Cadmar, she came damaged. Tripp may have seen his share of grief and would probably never get over losing Maggie, but he hadn’t been abused. Not like MacKenzie and Cadmar.

  He thought of Ross, Dorian and Jenna. It was possible Tripp could find that sort of relationship. It was damned obvious Cadmar was crushing on his brother and Tripp had become fond of him fast.

  Nah.

  He started to laugh at his own thoughts, but realized something. He was stalling. Stalling so he didn’t have to look around and take in the blood and death painting the farmyard like a morbid horror movie poster.

  Keera stood beside him, her arms crossed as she stared toward the fields. He followed her gaze to see the collapsed teen girl. There was no way she’d survived that shot, but he started that direction and halted abruptly when an older woman came running out of the house. Her hair, the same blonde as Cadmar’s, flew out behind her head as she nearly flew across the yard. “Cad!”

  The boy turned around, grinned and held out his arms. She had hers wrapped around his neck so fast, he staggered back despite the fact she was smaller. “Hey, Mom,” he said. “Told you I’d be back.”

  She looked like she had no intention of letting him go. Ever. But Cadmar obviously didn’t care. He held her, patted her back and smiled at the taller man who now ran toward them from the house. The taller man and the taller, younger brother. Cadmar had obviously gotten his height from his mother. Cadmar gaped at his brother up close as the younger boy beat their father to him and pulled him out of their mother’s arms. His brother hugged him so hard, he lifted Cadmar off the ground.

  “Holy crap, Aidan, what happened? You were shorter than me when I left!”

  “We thought you were
dead, Cad.” The redheaded boy stepped back to let his father hold Cadmar. “All the other raiders only stay gone a few months before coming back. It’s been over a year!”

  “Well, I’m not dead. And look, I brought friends.”

  Cadmar’s father turned as Ross walked up to them. Ross held out a hand, grimaced when he saw it had blood on it and pulled it back. Cadmar’s father reached out and grabbed his hand anyway, shook it hard. “There’s been more blood spilled here than that. You the one Mac told me rescued my boy?”

  Ross, squinting in the sunlight, clasped the man’s hand with both of his. “Truth is he rescued me first. He was with a group that took me captive. He freed me so I could take a younger boy with me.”

  “He would have taken me too, but it’s a long story, Dad. In fact, I have so much to tell you all.”

  His mother stepped forward. “I’m Ellen and my husband is Ryan. What you’ve done here—” She broke off when MacKenzie came out of the front door and paused, her gaze on the girl at the edge of the field. Cadmar’s mother made a harsh sound of grief and jogged to the girl.

  Keera slipped her hand into Chase’s. “The girl can’t be alive. That rifle…” She didn’t have to finish. “What’s Tripp doing?”

  Tripp walked to stand beside MacKenzie, who had followed Ellen and knelt by the girl. He stood, staring down at her body. Chase flashed back to the bullet hitting her back, the blood…her long blonde hair. “Oh no,” he murmured, keeping Keera’s hand in his as he walked to the small group.

  “Tammy’s dead. That motherfucker shot her. Shot her in the back.” Mackenzie reached out and tugged the girl’s shirt down over the mangled and obviously halfway healed D branded into her side. She didn’t make another sound, but tears tracked down her cheeks.

  From the back, the teen did look a little like Maggie. Pain tightened his chest as he stared at her frail body, then he laid his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Tripp?”