Endless Flames (Surviving Ashes, Book Four) (14 page)

Maxie’s soft crooning didn’t garner her any response from the frightened cat, not that she’d thought it would. She decided to start on the left-hand side of the vast area, wishing she’d had her jacket on at the moment. The temperature had fallen substantially over the course of their trip, but inside the grocery store was a lot warmer than out here where the encroaching elements kept this space cooler by at least ten degrees.

Scrrrrchhhh. Scrrrrchhh.

Maxie sighed with relief as she started forward, crossing in front of the Mule and toward the doublewide aluminum roll-down garage door. She recalled that the pet section of the store still had a pet carrier. She should have gotten that first, but she hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d try and corral the cat, showing him or her that she wasn’t a threat. Trust had to be established first.

“Here kitty-kitty,” Maxie serenaded, holding the LED lantern out as far as she could. “I’m not going to—”

Fuck
. Maxie instantly dropped the lantern upon seeing the black silhouette standing in the corner. She’d palmed her weapon and aimed it directly at the dark figure who’d obviously been the one making the noise in his bid to get into the docking area. His arms rose halfway and his hands came up as if to say he wasn’t the enemy. Was it a friend of Berke’s or was it one of those marauders who’d taken residence up in another abandoned mine located southwest across the river valley from the lodge that Berke’s unit had told them about? There was only one way to find out.

“So help me, I’ll drop you dead where you stand if you so much as move a finger,” Maxie warned with an even tone, keeping it low enough so Berke wouldn’t hear her. She didn’t want Jacob anywhere near this situation, especially one that she’d been trained to handle. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The man—it was more than apparent his gender considering his large frame—slowly raised his hands. Maxie fought the urge to pull the trigger. She’d given him a warning not to move and he’d deliberately ignored her request. He didn’t answer right away, so she kicked the lantern hard enough that it skidded across the cement. It did what she’d wanted it to do though. The low wattage beams finally illuminated his features and he certainly wasn’t one of Berke’s friends. He’d shown her pictures from his phone during one of the long lonely nights when he’d shared stories of them on their small breaks from traveling.

If he wasn’t Mav or someone from the rest of the group…who exactly was he?

B
erke shook his
head in irritation as he trundled his bedroll and then hooked it to his backpack. He picked up the other LED lantern that Maxie had left on the floor, noting that Jacob was standing on his own while holding onto the lower shelf for support. He’d figured out he could walk a long ways by sliding his hands down the metal ledge. He was talking to himself as he did it, very pleased with his own progress. At least one of them had accomplished something this morning.

A cat? Really? It wasn’t that he wasn’t compassionate to life that came in a furry form, but Maxie was more than likely to end up needing stitches after her foray with a skittish feral cat. Most likely the feline could live off of the rodents that the scraps around the grocery store would draw for years before it starved to death, but it was highly doubtful he’d convince her of that.

“Looks like you’re getting a pet kitty, Jacob,” Berke said as he swung the diaper bag over his left shoulder due to the fact that his rifle was over his right. He refused to think of himself as a pack mule when he hoisted Jacob into the air, holding the boy so that he faced outward. “Can you think of any names? How about something easy that you can say? Maybe something like Spot?”

Berke kept himself occupied as he walked down the aisle, because it sure as hell beat ruminating over the fact that he would enter the lodge today and have to face Rob Wicks and the rest of his grieving family. How would the father of the young man shot dead yesterday feel when the person responsible showed up for sanctuary? Berke might not have pulled the trigger, but he may as well have.

“…are you doing here?”

Berke came to an abrupt stop upon hearing Maxie’s voice. Who the hell was she talking to and why hadn’t she retreated the moment she realized they weren’t alone? Jacob was currently interested in chewing on the gooey teether that Maxie had found on the shelves, but it wouldn’t be long before his continual chatter revved back up again.

“My name is Ace Fairfax. Tank and Mav sent me down here to make sure you had additional coverage.”

Berke couldn’t get a good look at the man’s face, not that it would have helped to identity the guy. He’d been given a few details over the HF radio on what had transpired up at the lodge and the fact that this Ace Fairfax was reportedly one of Kellen Truman’s men. Why would Mav have sent him down here? It didn’t make sense. Berke hoped like hell that Maxie wouldn’t ease up on her questioning or take this blackhat’s words at face value.

“And why should I believe one word you say?” Maxie asked just as Berke peered around the back of the Mule.
Thata girl
. She hadn’t lowered her weapon and was asking for verification. Berke opted to backtrack, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be able to hold a rifle and shoot efficiently with Jacob on his hip. Instead, he dumped his bedroll, backpack, and long firearm on the front hood rack before he withdrew his sidearm. He palmed the Sig Model 1911 and shifted Jacob to his left hip, still facing him forward so it was easier for Berke to maintain his grip. “How would I know that Berke Daniels would even be here? Although they didn’t tell me that he was traveling with a female companion who was proficient with a firearm. The way you’re holding that service weapon suggests you’re former law enforcement and the service belt sort of tips your hand.”

“Mav would have given you a challenge word.” Maxie was bluffing out of her ass, because they hadn’t arranged any such thing. Berke couldn’t imagine Mav sending anyone but one of their teammates, so something wasn’t adding up. He was glad she was steering the conversation into the direction that would be to her advantage. “Say it or I put two in your chest and one in your forehead.”

“Not just yet, Maxie,” Berke interrupted with a not so pleasant tone, stepping to the side of the Mule’s trailer so he had both Maxie and Fairfax in his line of sight. He certainly didn’t want this man to think that either one of them were a pushover. “Fairfax. How’s the injury?”

Berke recalled from one of the radio transmissions with Mav that Mason had come across Ace Fairfax at a rest stop. He’d been badly injured, courtesy of the men Paige had with her on their pursuit to claim the bunker. Fairfax apparently belonged to a special unit made up of three others who’d sought sanctuary by the names of Kellen Truman, Ann Moreau, and Dean Sealey. They weren’t the run-of-the-mill military unit, from what Mav had divulged over the open net. That would definitely coincide with the man in front of him.

Ace Fairfax had a good four inches on Berke, along with eighty pounds and what appeared to be a few muscles he wasn’t so sure he knew about. The man’s neck was corded in a manner that screamed steroids and quite honestly didn’t look too healthy. Berke didn’t look forward to a physical altercation down the line with this one, should one be needed. Fairfax’s dark brown hair was buzzed down to his scalp and his dark eyes were now focused on Berke, which was a hell of a lot better than being trained on Maxie. She was his ace…no pun intended. He had no doubt that she would quietly observe the upcoming discussion and then make a quick decision on whether or not the man standing in front of them actually posed a threat of any kind.

“Better, thanks,” Fairfax answered with a half-smile, lifting a hand to his right side where he’d been shot right before Mason had found him bleeding out in a men’s restroom. “Sykes has a knack for suturing.”

Berke studied the spook in front of him, trying to get a gauge as to what he was really doing here. Everything he said matched up, but his story about being sent to check on them was off.

“I heard you were helping out on the security detail, but I’m surprised Mav didn’t come himself,” Berke baited, watching carefully for any signs that Fairfax would go for his weapon. He’d had plenty of time and could have easily taken Maxie out already if he’d wanted to. Berke wasn’t fooled into believing this man was as easygoing as he was portraying himself to be. “That’s not the way we usually do things.”

“Van’s projected ETA was two hours ago and he hasn’t shown up,” Fairfax said straightforwardly, causing Berke to lower his weapon. Jacob seemed to think that’s what he should do too with his teething ring and ended up throwing it on the ground. He wasn’t too happy when he wasn’t given it back as quickly as he’d like. “As you know from the transmissions, we’re a little shorthanded in the security department. Mav thought it best you have company from here on out.”

Berke had no choice but to believe Fairfax at this point. Maxie didn’t lower her weapon though. As a matter of fact, she didn’t move a muscle as he holstered his firearm.

“Would you give us a moment?” Berke inquired of Fairfax, not really asking for his permission. Berke gave Fairfax a wide berth and closed the distance between he and Maxie, Jacob immediately holding his arms up and starting to cry over having left his teething ring on the floor. His cries muffled what Berke had to say. “Lower your weapon, but don’t holster it. I don’t care what this man says. Mav would never have sent him here to meet us without a heads up. I want confirmation of his story and that everything is still all right up at the lodge.”

Maxie didn’t reply, most likely not taking the chance that Fairfax could read lips. Berke had faced himself away from the possibility as well, but turned back around now—Jacob still on his hip. She understood what he wanted her to do.

“Let me grab Jacob’s teething ring and wash it off before we pack up,” Berke said, signifying that the two of them were fine with Fairfax’s presence. Most likely, the man already understood too well that this wasn’t going to turn out the way he’d thought it would. “Tell me about the group down in Rat’s old mine while we get things sorted out.”

“There’s around a dozen of them in modified vehicles. They must think this is a remake of
Mad Max
,” Fairfax explained, leaning his shoulder against the aluminum oversized door while still maintaining a position to see both him and Maxie. Berke didn’t ask how he’d gotten inside considering the garage door had been unfastened from the automatic opener, as well as being locked into place by a scrap piece of rebar that blocked the track. A quick glance told Berke that the rebar hadn’t budged. “Not the friendly sort, but they haven’t made a move toward the lodge. They seem content with their accommodations for now.”

Berke snatched Jacob’s teething ring up from the dirty floor and walked back to where he’d set his backpack on the ground. He unfastened the water container from the side and then used the fresh liquid to clean off the soothing toy. Jacob squealed with delight as he made a few grabs for the teether. Berke made sure his back was never to Fairfax the entire time.

“So you don’t think they had anything to do with Van being delayed, do you?” Berke didn’t want to believe that something had prevented Van from making it to their destination. Van was the cautious one out of the entire group, so whatever the reason was for his deferral had to be serious. “What about the people Paige was associated with? Do you think they had something to do with Van’s not making his objective?”

“Could be. No telling without more intel,” Fairfax hedged, looking down the other side to where Maxie was no doubt hooking up the HF radio. She’d left the LED lantern on the floor where it was still illuminating Fairfax. The brightness wouldn’t allow him to decipher what Maxie was really doing. “We shouldn’t hang around here any longer than necessary.”

“I agree,” Berke said, hoisting Jacob a little higher to make a point. He made sure to keep Jacob to the side where he couldn’t be a target. “It wasn’t easy traveling with a child. Speaking of which, what did you use to come down off the mountain?”

“Sykes rigged some masks to fit over his horses’ muzzles,” Fairfax explained without hesitation, somehow becoming quieter with each word. He finally figured out what was taking place. The next couple of minutes weren’t going to be pleasant. “Are the two of you almost ready?”

“Maxie, do you have everything you need?” Berke called out, wondering if she’d been able to get confirmation from whoever was manning the radio in the telecommunications room in the bunker. He tensed and readied himself as he waited for her reply. “We really need to speed things up here.”

“I can—”

Thwack!

“Fuck!” Fairfax yelled after the discharge of a weapon reverberated around the docking area. “You—”

Jacob started crying at the top of his lungs, especially when Berke covered him with his body even though he’d pulled his weapon in response. It went against Berke’s natural instinct to recoil versus advance, but this was also the first time he had a child in his arms during a firefight. Rage boiled inside of him at the thought of this innocent boy being hurt.