Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (59 page)

Kenn called it again. “One more time and we’re through in here.”

Angela keyed her mic. “Copy. I’ll tell you when to close them on this one.”

“Copy.”

She let her gun hang loosely and the men on the outside ledge with her did the same.

“What’s the count?”

On her left, Neil’s answer came quick. “Over seventy bodies inside, a dozen here, plus perimeter shots. Roughly half of what Kevin and Doug saw.”

Another big wave of growling dogs and wolves moved in the barn doors, followed by a group of bristling, bloody pups. Angela made the call. “Close the doors! Perimeter men begin the walk-in. It’s a go!”

Angela turned back to the constantly shifting mass below, glad of the torches. Her eyes immediately found those of the white alpha, barely visible through the corn. Knowing what had to be done, she subtly moved away from the Eagles, distracted them. “That’s too far for me. Can anyone make that shot?”

Marc and Neil both shook their heads as gunfire rang continuously from both the barn and the perimeter men.

“Not without my rifle.” Marc stated. “She’ll have to come closer.”

Time to do what I came here for,
Angela thought.
Face one of my many fears.
She tapped her vest for good luck and pulled the Caller from her kit. “I’ll need cover. Who’s got my six?”

Neil and Marc were moving her way, both meaning to stop her, and Angela dropped the ten feet to the ground before they could.

She swung the Caller in a defensive flash of circles as two snarling pitbulls lunged for her right away. Guns barked from the ledge and the former pets fell.

The sounds wailed harmonically over the farm and spun into the corn. “
Whhhwhooowooo
…”

Radios crackled.
“People are in the yard! I repeat - Eagles are in your line of fire!”

Angela heard the two men drop behind her and headed for the corn, the wolf Caller vibrating in her grip.

“
Oohh
…”

“
WWhhhoooooo
!”

The Alpha’s howl overpowered the shell as the wolf rose to her challenge from a hiding place in the stalks.

Angela threw her head back and let the woman inside answer. “
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
!”

It rang in the air and she triggered her wrist blade as the white wolf came through the stalks, baring bloody teeth. Bloody? One of her men had been hurt.

Fury spiraled through Angela in a lethal surge and she waved her blade. “Come on!”

The wolf snarled in answer and padded determinedly her way.

The pack was uneasy, confused and whining, and Kyle waved his Eagles to the ground to finish the battle as the last big group of wolves was driven toward them by the perimeter guards. “Mind your lines!” he snapped and opened fire.

Angela heard Marc and Neil take aim on the running Alpha about to lunge, and she slid into their path, preventing a clear shot. She’d issued this challenge and she would answer it!

“Duck!”

The animals were all pack-hunting, even the dogs, and she hit the ground as a furry shadow came at her from the side. Gunfire close by told her Marc had gotten the foaming poodle and she rolled to her feet in time to meet the Alpha’s jump, bracing her wrist to absorb the impact.

The wolf’s teeth slid against her, hot and hungry, and Angela ripped upward brutally as it bit into her arm. She and the wolf cried out together, one gasping, the other struggling. They hit the dirt hard and Angela rolled clear as the Alpha whimpered a last time and stilled.

Angela got to her feet without taking any of the hands there to help her up. Wiping the blood down her jeans, she slid the blade back into its holder and surveyed the yard. Her hands didn’t shake as she pulled the .357 and reset it with full rounds.

In that moment, she wasn’t his Angie and Marc’s mind narrowed in on it. This bleeding woman was a fearless hunter, a natural killer and marksman; a leader. This fearless fighter was Adrian’s and she belonged to Safe Haven.
His
Angie, the sweet, innocent girl he’d loved for so long, had been left in that cabin in Versailles, along with her attacker’s corpse.

“Brady!” Angela fired and hit the white wolf pup sneaking up on his backside.

Neil got the white pup to Marc’s left, marveling at how neat and cold she was. Not a shot missed as she stood with a leg over each side of her prey, and the Trooper knew he wasn’t the only one grinning in admiration.

The pack was thinned, most of the remaining animals running back toward the perimeter men who were in a tight net and the Eagles in the yard linked up to meet them. Careful not to trim each other in the crossfire, they came to a stop very close to where Angela still stood over the Alpha. She hadn’t been attacked since killing it, telling the men that these animals had accepted her leadership.

It was a powerful moment that she wasn’t aware of, but the Eagles recognized. This woman would eventually be part of the chain of command. She was too good to be anywhere else.

“I think that’s it.” Her voice was full of the victory they were sharing. “Let’s do a fast sweep to be sure.”

She didn’t have to tell them not to spare any of the injured animals they came across. After observing Kyle on the Nun mission, she already knew they wouldn’t.

Angela raised her chin as Kenn and Kyle fell in on either side of her for the sweep. “Move out.”

Ten minutes later, nothing moved but the Eagles and the blood-streaked stalks.

Chapter Eighteen

1

Angela took her time washing up by the barn door, not really listening to the argument going on above her. Her mind was on how it felt to win, to have beaten the Alpha and won her pack. There wouldn’t be a feeling to rival it, unless it was the moment she was finally able to conquer her fear and give herself to Brady.

“Yes, you will! Get them to back off.”

“It won’t work and not just with her. With any female.”

“Didn’t you see what we did? She’s like him.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

Wrapping a thick strip of gauze around her newest injury, Angela moved away from the doors as the voices got louder, restless and a bit frustrated. She should be hurting and probably feeling guilty, but… turned on? Again, the spilling of blood had her hormones swinging and Angela kept her face turned away from the others as much as she could, not sure if they might be able to read it.

Marc kept his ears on the loft and the fight that was close to starting, but his attention was on the lone female wandering the battle scene like something was missing. She reminded Marc a bit of his base commander. The big man hadn’t come on missions very often, but when he did, they had always ended with that dangerously good leader roaming the scene much like Angela was doing now.

Marc’s gut twisted. He’d never been able to discover what had caused that reaction in his commander and he doubted it would be any different with Angela. She had a wall up that he couldn’t get through.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, but I’m telling you right now, so listen.” Kyle’s voice was set in stone. “This is what she wants, what Adrian needs, and you will not let your allies stand in the way!”

Kyle stormed out of the barn a few seconds later and drew the Eagles over to where Angela stood. “We’re not done here. What’s next?”

It took Angela a moment to realize he was talking to her. “Cleaning up, I suppose.” She frowned. “Anyone have gloves?”

Half the men raised a pair and she fell into the role more easily this time. “Okay. You guys are carriers. We’ll put it all in the barn and burn it.”

“What about the ones that got away? They’ll come back here,” Kenn asked tonelessly, joining the circle, but only a back corner.

Angela shrugged. “I could poison a few of the chickens, if you think they’ll eat it.”

Tone perfectly unsure, it eased his singed feathers enough to allow a note of real interest to finally enter his voice.

“You cook ‘em, we’ll scatter ‘em.”

Angela made a crude gesture. “
Cookin’s
woman’s work,” she joked, and was rewarded by scoffs, chuckles, and Kenn’s face flushing. How many times had he said that to her?

Angela was gentler than he had any right to expect. “Leave it in the past.” She gestured at the barn. “Go get your meat and we’ll play doctor.”

There was an instant of silence when none of them knew what to say and they waited for Kenn’s reaction with bated breath.

The Marine stared, dumbfounded at the suggestive joke, and Angela rolled her eyes. “Men!”

That pulled an unwilling snort from Kenn. “Women!”

Angela didn’t hesitate to give him another humility-delivering blow. “Sometimes, they do mix.”

Kenn hated her for being able to draw it from his lips, but holding back was impossible. He grimaced. “And do it well.”

It was as close to a compliment for her success as she would get and the others recognized the moment for what it was; a peace talk.

“And, next time?”

None of them were sure Kenn would answer. When he finally did, it was like the end of a war.

“Maybe it will be easier next time or maybe it’ll be harder, but the job will get done.”

Satisfied, Angela allowed that deliriously addicting tone of command to fill her voice. “It’s time. Get them moving. Eagle Two has point.”

2

Kenn had them reunited with the two vehicles they still had, and camp set up a mile away from the burning barn, out of the harsh wind and smells, an hour later.

Wrist aching louder than the rest of her battered body, Angela let him keep Point. Now that she’d done what she came to, the need to lead was fading. Had Adrian known it would be that way? He’d seemed reluctant to let her come along, but that look he’d given as they rolled out… He’d been hoping she would have another success to help push the goals further, but had he foreseen this closely sitting group of men surrounding her with their protection?

She watched her fellow survivors. Some were playing cards, letting out the occasional quiet groan or laugh. Two of them had kits open, tending minor wounds. A few were reading, something she found surprising not only for men, but for the times. It was something the camp rarely did. Most however, were sitting quietly in a circle around the nicely crackling fire, staying close. Adrian had been sure they would support her or he wouldn’t have let her come.

Her gaze skipped over Kenn, dozing lightly against a tree stump, and went to the men on duty. Kyle and Seth were taking the first watch and she spent a moment trying to memorize their pattern. It was a light guard for such a dangerous area, but these two Eagles were lethal. Anything they met in the shadows wouldn’t stand a chance. Neil was also out there roaming somewhere, and she was comforted even more. The only thing better than that trio, was Brady.

Her head swung toward the vehicles, where a lone man smoked and studied her through the blazer window. Marc hadn’t spoken to her since the battle, but he wanted answers, she could feel that. She would tell him the truth, but he wouldn’t like hearing she had loved it, wanted to go on every run now.

Angela sighed. She was officially an Eagle, had helped complete a mission. He wouldn’t be able to take much more before he split or gave in.
“He has run out of things to teach,”
the Witch intoned, slapping her back to their trip here. Angela tensed against the pain that always came. Their two months alone together had become vague and blurry. There were times she struggled to even remember what it felt like to have his arms carrying her into the tent after her first Kill. How it had felt to draw him close, like she’d done with her attacker…

Only one memory of their 2000 mile trek remained vivid, but even that was tainted. The delicious chill brought from recalling those stolen moments, now sent her thoughts straight to Safe Haven’s Leader. What was that man doing at this moment? Wishing she’d reach out to him, let him in for a minute? Likely that and more, but she didn’t. With the top men out of camp, the blond would be surrounding himself with the light of those left. He wasn’t alone.

Unwanted jealousy seared its way down Angela’s throat and her grip in the damp dirt tightened. Clear-headed from the adrenaline letdown, she understood what was about to happen if she didn’t make a change. Marc was going to leave and this bond she had with Adrian would grow. Nothing would stop it.

“
Give up your new dreams,”
the Witch stated.
“That will.”

Angela turned her head back to the fire. Not even for Marc. There had to be a way to get him to accept her choices. Once he did, they could be together and then her loneliness wouldn’t keep trying to strengthen ties with Adrian. It wasn’t what she wanted. He wasn’t Brady.

Filled with sadness, Angela didn’t notice how her mood affected the men around her. The jokes and laughter stopped, conversations trailed off, and the men on duty increased their sweeps. None of them connected it to the only woman among them though, and the next hour went by slowly as she continued to examine the hard truths she’d been avoiding.

Marc was able to feel her unrest. She wanted his support, his welcome and encouragement, and she now understood that wasn’t going to happen. It was hard not to go to her and give in, but he knew it would only last until the next time she put herself in danger or did something he didn’t agree with. As long as Angie was an Eagle, there would always be a wall between them.

Could he live with that? Between the missions and lessons, she would be his. Fighting alongside her today had been awful, but it had also been enlightening. The girl he’d known was gone and if he wanted a life with
this
Angie, he would have to do it her way. Could he?

Marc didn’t take his eyes off of her, studying each expression, each movement. There was a strength in her he’d denied and the warrior inside was finally able to be heard.
“Of course, you can. Any version of that bloody female will do. She had to be protected before. This is better. Now, you can love her.”

3

Dozing lightly by the fire three chilly hours before dawn, Angela stiffened suddenly. “There’s something wrong.”

Heads turned her way, few of them were asleep, and Marc immediately moved from his solitary seat in the blazer at their reaction.

“What is it?” Kyle asked, moving to her left as Marc came to her right.

“Something with the camp.”

The men around her nudged those who were still drowsing.

“It’s Adrian.”

Now the men were moving, pulling on gear and following Kenn’s lead as he began breaking camp. None of them doubted her after the call they’d taken on the way here, a short, tapped out message that Angela didn’t know about yet.

“Is he okay?”

“Is it the Slavers?”

Angela stretched out a cold hand and placed it on Marc’s wrist. “Sorry,” she stated lowly and drew, hard.

Energy flooded her, sweet and warming, and her grip tightened as the images cleared. “Something went wrong during travel time. They had to stop in the middle of a road.”

“Where are they?” Kenn’s tone was loud and Marc frowned at him.

“Brakes went out, I think. He’s down in a ditch…”

“Tell me where!” Kenn demanded.

Marc snatched his hand out of her grip and took a step forward, still not satisfied with all the times he’d spilled the Marine’s blood. “Why don’t you leave her alone? You think what she does is easy?”

“Why don’t you kiss my…”

“He’s okay. They all are. He had Kevin set up the tow rig and Zack roll out camp right there.”

Kenn groaned in frustration, breath streaming out in a rush. “Where at?”

Kyle finished unfolding the map from his kit. “Can you show me?” The Mobster’s calming tone had always sounded like Adrian’s to their ears and it stopped the fight.

Angela’s next words brought relief and more worry. “He felt us. He says everything’s 5-by and to get our asses home.” She searched the map for a fast moment, narrowing it down. “There, near Grant.”

Kenn snatched the map from the Mobster and headed for the vehicles he hoped were now dry enough to get them home. “Put her behind the wheel and everyone find a seat.”

Expecting worse, there was no complaint from the Eagles, even when Kenn climbed into the passenger side of her blazer.

Angela was told more than once not to worry about being too rough behind the wheel as Kyle, Seth, and a mix of the three teams got inside to crowd behind the Marine. She understood the message clearly.
Get us back as fast as you can.

Angela slid into the chilly driver’s seat and fired up the engine. It was time to go home.

The ride back only took twenty hours this time, with just one short break to change drivers and use a tree. They didn’t have time for more. Adrian needed them.

As Billy got them moving again, Kenn turned to glare at Angela from the front seat. “You’ve had your lead. Now, do what you’re told or you’ll be in a tent with a guard.”

Telling her, telling them all, he knew very well she was supposed to have a shadow. Because he hadn’t said anything, didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed.

Angela yawned tiredly, not needing to see Marc’s anger to know it was there. “Whatever you need.”

Not expecting her to cooperate, Kenn stared.

Kyle took over. “You’ll be with me and I’ll be busy. Stay close.”

Angela expected Kenn to have a problem with her being in the middle of things upon their return, but the Marine only gave Billy a hard look that made the Eagle drive faster.