Hidden Flames (16 page)

Prue’s fingers automatically tightened on the handle of the knife when she heard the sound of another engine, but then recognized the sound of Owen’s Harley. He must have hidden it inside the foliage. Sure enough, he came riding through a small opening bent low over his handlebars. He sat up once he’d cleared the branches, holding out his helmet.

“Put this on,” Owen directed, leaning closer so that she would be able to take it from him. She didn’t.

“I’m fine,” Prue blurted out before realizing that he’d assume she’d argue. It was definitely ingrained in her. “You wear it.”

“We either stay here for the person who fired that weapon to find us, or you put it on and we leave.” Owen was absolutely serious and she could see that no amount of reasoning with him would change his mind. It was his helmet and he should be the one wearing it, but she wasn’t about to waste any more time. She slowly took the helmet and placed it on her head, fastening the strap underneath the gasmask. “Stay close. It’s only going to get worse out there.”

Prue did exactly what Owen had wanted and she stayed as close as possible without actually scraping her tires against his. Daylight had made itself known after another hour or two of riding, but there was no actual sun shining down on them. She was cold and miserable, having no idea how far they’d actually gotten, but she refused to complain. She was alive and Owen would stop when he either felt it was safe enough or when he found a sanctuary that would allow them to rest.

It was impossible not to view things differently now. Prue’s body might have crashed after the adrenaline had fled, but her thoughts were running rampant. What mattered anymore? Paying the damn bills wasn’t an issue, dealing with uptight asshole yuppie wannabe biker customers was no longer an issue, and the daily grind ceased to exist. Life would never be the same. She didn’t have to worry about having someone in her life to complicate things. There wouldn’t be the typical relationship where everyday struggles came into play. Owen had already proved time and again that he would be there for her, so the theory that she was guarding herself from being abandoned went by the wayside along with the load of bricks that it came with.

Their future was nothing but survival. Why would she want to do that on her own? Prue practically choked on her laugh when she realized how ridiculous her old fears sounded now that the only important thing was enduring the next mile, the next hour, or the next sunrise. They would fight to live, because that was in their nature. She truly understood everything Owen had said now…the meaning loud and clear. Nothing else mattered and her previous reservations regarding people in general had no place in this new way of life.

Trusting one’s own instinct was vital in a way that had never existed before. Prue trusted Owen and he trusted those men that were waiting for them in Washington. She hadn’t changed her mind about Owen being an ass back at that house, because he sure as hell could have handled that situation better. But just because he’d been a jerk didn’t mean that she wouldn’t get over it. There were no ground rules anymore. It was them against the loss of humanity as desperation made itself known among civilization. She wanted to be by his side for the journey and that had nothing to do with the fact that he’d come for her, but because he’d shown time and again that he wouldn’t leave her behind. He was a man of honor and while she hadn’t had the privilege of knowing such a man before…she did now and she would make the most of it.

Prue sighed with relief when Owen signaled that he was turning off the main road. He never would have pulled off so soon if nothing had happened and would probably have continued on for quite some time before stopping. They were on a tight schedule and the longer they stayed out in society the more of a danger they put themselves in.

Prue had been too tired to look at the signs they’d passed and wasn’t quite sure what state they were in, but this newfound faith was refreshing. They appeared to be pulling into a neighborhood and Owen slowed his speed, which she matched and really started to study their surroundings. Two-story homes with very steep roofs were now on either side of them and she figured he must have chosen this place just for that reason.

Owen appeared to pick one at random close to the entrance, pulling into the drive and signaling that she should shut off her engine. He sat there, not saying a word or explaining what the plan was. The entire neighborhood appeared to have lost electricity, but there was the sound of a generator in the distance. She wondered if that family had heard the bikes and figured they wouldn’t care even if they had, as long as they weren’t bothered.

“Stay here while I take a look around,” Owen instructed, still scanning the area and evaluating their surroundings. He slowly extricated himself from his bike, but came to stand beside her before executing his plan. “You have that knife I gave you?”

“Right here,” Prue confessed, patting the sheath on her waist. The blade he’d given her technically didn’t fit into it as well as the original, but it would do. “Go. I’ll be fine. Then once we shower maybe we can have that sex we talked about.”

Owen had already stepped away to search the perimeter when he stopped. He turned back around to face her, his dark eyes not lightening the way Prue had hoped. She could have handled that a little better, but it wasn’t as if she’d ever been the most graceful person. She said what came to mind and she was honest. He couldn’t ask for more than that, so she thought maybe she’d elaborate further.

“You don’t have to look so serious.” Prue unfastened the helmet strap to give herself something to do. She wasn’t normally the nervous type, so she chalked up the trembling in her fingers due to the fact that she’d almost died earlier. That would have anyone a tad bit anxious. “It’s not like I said we’re going to get married or anything, but I can admit it’s more than friends with benefits. Could we just talk in the house? Sitting here is making me antsy.”

Prue stood and swung her left leg over the seat, exiting her bike on the other side of where Owen stood. He wasn’t reacting at all the way she’d thought he would. She started removing the packs from the rear seat, not waiting for him to check out that area. He’d already made up his mind that they were staying and it was highly unlikely anyone was in this house, considering the garage door was open and there wasn’t a vehicle to be seen.

“Prue?” Owen paused long enough that she finally looked his way, his eyes crinkled with what appeared to be one of his half smiles from underneath his mask. “You’re going to have to do a hell of a lot better than that. Until you can, we’ll push the bikes into the garage to conceal them.”

O
wen had seen
it many times over—the moment when a person understood that fatality was real and he or she starts to see things differently. He’d also witnessed that belief revert back in at least half of those cases and he wasn’t about to be on the receiving end of Prue’s regret. He wanted a hell of a lot more than a
maybe we can have that sex we talked about
. Casual didn’t suit him and like her…he wasn’t about to change that in spite of the temptation before him.

The perimeter of the house had been untouched and the ash hadn’t been disturbed. They had both entered through the garage after parking their bikes and locking the ignitions. Owen knocked on the door, not wanting to take anyone by surprise just in case someone was in fact still home. There was no answer, not that Owen had expected one, and he motioned for Prue to wait as he went in first to make sure the house was truly deserted. He gritted his teeth when he saw that Prue had entered the kitchen and had already removed her gasmask before he’d given her the all clear.

Owen walked to the door they’d entered and opened it, seeing that she’d already manually closed the garage door, engaging the bolt in the track to secure the door. They’d have to have a conversation about her following orders. He was so used to that during his service that her defiance made him leery.

“Think the water is running?” Prue asked, walking over to the sink to see for herself. Owen then removed his mask, placing it next to hers on the counter. She breathed a sigh of relief when water came out of the faucet, immediately cupping her hands and gathering up the clean liquid. She leaned down and splashed her face, but it would take more than that to get the soot off of her skin. “How long do we plan on staying?”

“Long enough for us to get a couple of hours’ worth of sleep, some hot chow, and then a new game plan.” Owen leaned down and rested his elbows on the counter, grateful that she’d thought to set her flashlight down so that the beam was directed toward the ceiling. It gave enough light for them to see, but there were no uncovered windows to alert others that they were here. They’d both been through a lot and his body had taken a hell of a beating, something he hadn’t experienced since his days in the Corps. “Go and take a shower, Prue.”

Owen made sure his warning came through loud and clear. He wasn’t ready to talk about what she’d brought up in the driveway. He needed time to figure out how he was going to respond. He wanted what she was offering, but not if she was going to change her mind miles down the road. It was all or nothing with him and he needed her to understand why.

“Prue?” Owen called out, waiting to hear the turn of her boot at the entryway. He didn’t look her way, but instead stared straight ahead at the stainless steel refrigerator that had no doubt been cleaned out before the owners had left for a better sanctuary. “I have my inner battles as well. Don’t think that you own that territory solely by yourself. The hardest thing about growing up in foster homes was knowing that it wouldn’t last and waiting for that inevitable knock on the door saying it was time to go. I’ll never have to worry about receiving that kind of disappointment from my team members and I won’t be put into a position where that could happen with you. It’s all or nothing with me. I’ll need your promise.”

Prue remained silent and stayed in the doorway for another minute before she quietly took one of her packs and left the kitchen. She hadn’t taken a flashlight, but they’d had multiple ones packed and he didn’t worry that she wouldn’t find her way. He forced himself to stand and then take inventory of the kitchen, but it was mostly empty like he’d thought it would be. He went out to the garage and cleaned both filters, flushing the old dirty oil out and rinsing out the secondary sponge filter before filling the bath with fresh oil they had scrounged from the farm work shed. He wanted to keep their stash of clean oil intact as long as he could and forage for usable items along the way. Owen wanted the bike maintenance completed before they rested so that they could leave immediately if an emergency arose. The damage on his bike wasn’t too bad thanks to the engine guard and mostly cosmetic except for a bent mirror that he’d managed to fix on his own.

“Your turn,” Prue said softly from the doorway. Owen rose, wincing slightly when his knees experienced slight pain. Prue dashed any hopes of a warm shower even though he already knew the water heater wasn’t working. Praying that the tank had kept some water warm was delusional at best. “The water’s pretty cold, but you get used to it.”

Prue looked years younger with her fresh face and her hair pulled back into one braid that hung down her back. It would definitely be easier to keep it clean during the rest of their travels, but he missed seeing the satiny waves hanging over her shoulders when she wasn’t wearing that cap of hers. He did take notice that she had left it in her saddlebag. She’d changed into clean clothes though and was currently brandishing multi-colored striped socks minus her boots.

“I’ve got the filters clean and the bikes ready to go when the time comes to move out,” Owen said as he closed the distance between them. Prue didn’t move and appeared to stay in place on purpose. Her chin tilted and there was determination in her chocolate brown eyes. They reminded him of the surprise he’d discovered and he pulled the small square package out of his pocket. This was the perfect time to give it to her because he wasn’t ready to have
that
talk quite yet. He still wanted her to have time to think about things—call him cautious, but what he felt for her was too important to be a spontaneous decision. “I thought you might enjoy this.”

Prue relaxed and smiled, reaching up for the slightly abused package containing a single Reese’s Cup that he’d found sitting by itself in a kitchen drawer long forgotten. At the last minute, he lifted his arm so that she had to rise up on her tiptoes and then use his chest for balance. Her hands would be covered in ash from his clothes, but she could wash them off in the sink. Hearing the tender laugh was more than a reward after the day’s events.

“You really want to stand in the way of a girl and her chocolate?” Prue asked, raising one eyebrow and trying to give him one of her stern looks. It fell flat and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms. He really needed to hold her and gain comfort in the fact that she was safe, but he understood the importance of giving her time to come to terms with taking a human life. “I could really, really use some of that medicine right about now. It’s not like they have Dr. Pepper on hand.”