Hope (3 page)

Her gaze moved past his shoulder, checking.

“You’ve got two choices, Penny. Stay here, or come with me.”

“That’s not much of a choice.”

“We can talk about it more upstairs.”

She was working it out. Her gaze kept slipping behind him at
the door. His senses were on high alert even as his knuckles throbbed in
protest at another confrontation.

Penny nodded her head. Tears filled her eyes.

He ignored her tears as he gathered her clothing.

It wasn’t his fault that she had no choice. He didn’t ask to
be responsible for her.

Chapter Two

Penny stared at the man who’d entered her apartment. She was
thankful for his rescue. If it hadn’t been for him, she’d have been in a lot of
trouble. The moment she answered the knock at her door, she’d known she would
be in trouble. How many times had she been told never to answer a knock? Men
answered the door, not women.

Life really had changed from the books her mother used to
read to her. Most of the world had prided themselves on being civilised human
beings, and with the introduction of one small tablet the world had changed.
 

She couldn’t believe a week being away from home and she’d
nearly been raped.

“Are you coming?” the man asked.

Taking one last look at her attempt at freedom, Penny
followed him out of her door. He walked up the next flight of stairs and
unlocked the door at the end of the corridor. Once they entered, he closed the
door and then slid the six locks into place. She’d only had the one lock on her
door.

“Even if I hadn’t opened the door tonight, they would have
gotten in, wouldn’t they?”

“You’re not in dream land, honey. This is the real world,
and a woman alone is like candy to a kid.” He removed his other jacket and then
took the one he’d given her. His clothing was as used as hers. They all survived
on what had been salvaged through many years of wars. Some of the old factories
still had the equipment to make clothes but none of the resources to use. The
man dropped her bag on the floor. She picked it up and moved behind him into
the main area of his apartment. There were a couple of chairs around a table, a
small kitchen, and then a sofa facing the windows. She was shocked by the fact
they weren’t smashed.

Television and radio were no longer available. She’d read
about them in some of the books her mother had kept over the years. For all
they knew, they were the only ones in the world.

“What’s your name?” she asked. She didn’t know how they
managed to survive. There were farmers who were doing everything they could to maintain
crops. After the M3 was produced the scale of food production had been reduced.

Books were a good source of knowledge. Since the wars, the
survivors had all needed to learn quickly how to survive in this new world. The
essentials had been food, water, and clothing. She’d been told that many had sought
through the rubble looking for anything of use. There were plastic containers,
or glass if it wasn’t smashed. Clothing was found and used no matter what the
size or shape. Books became a huge prize as they told many things from recipes
to how to construct fires. Her mother had been determined to make her read.
Penny remembered the fight her mother had had with her father over reading. He had
felt it was a waste of time while her mother was convinced the world could
revert back to the way it was before the wars. Penny’s father always got what
he wanted. Her education had ended, and she’d been put to work in the fields.
In her spare time she’d practised reading and writing. Her thoughts drifted to
her family. They had intended to sell her out before she ran away. She
shuddered, thinking about what her family had planned for her.

“Damon Wright.”

Penny remembered he’d told the gang members who he was. His
name had scared them. She’d never known men to react like that.

He pushed her onto the sofa, grabbing her bag and throwing
it to the floor. “Take a seat, Penny. You and I are going to have a little
talk.”

Damon took a seat next to her on the sofa.

She moved along the sofa taking a seat at the farthest end.
Penny had noticed his bruised knuckles, and she knew he was older than she.

He kept staring at her with a strange look on his face. Then
he pulled a plastic carton out of his jacket. “Here, drink this.”

She glanced at the murky substance. The plastic carton
didn’t surprise her. Plastic was one of the few materials that hadn’t degraded
over time.

“What is it?”

“
A drink that you’d better not know
what went in it.”

Penny sipped the liquid and tried not to choke on the foul
taste. What the hell was it?

“It tastes like shit, but it is better than trying to drink
the water here.”

She rubbed her chin when a few drops fell down.

“What are you doing here, Penny?” he asked.

Shrugging her shoulders, she didn’t look at him.

He caught her face with a finger under her chin. She tried
to fight his hold.

“Don’t even think about fighting me, Penny. Killing you
would be no hardship and save me a shit-load of worry. Look at me.”

Biting her lip, she turned to look at him.

“I know you’re a runaway, and I need to know if some men
will be looking for you. Are you from Don’s territory? What trouble are you
in?”

The questions were too much, and the tears began to leak out
of her eyes. She’d kept her tears at bay for so long she couldn’t stop the ones
that started to fall.

“I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes with the back of her
hand.

“Don’t be sorry.”

Then he did something she’d never thought a man was capable
of. He leaned over and pulled her in close. His arms circled her, not sexually,
but to offer her comfort.

The tears fell thick and hard. She couldn’t stop herself. It
was like a dam had opened inside her. She was away from her family, and in her
own way, she was safe. He stroked her hair, tugging the long strands off her
face.

She cried until it hurt her head and her stomach.

“
Shh
,” he said.

He rocked her in his arms. The comfort meant the world to
her. She never wanted to leave his arms, and in that moment Penny knew he would
always protect her. She didn’t know how she knew it, only that she did.

After several minutes passed, she climbed out of his lap.
She needed to tell him something. Not all of it but enough to keep him at bay.

“I’m from Ben Grimes’s area,” she said.

“He’s a nasty piece of work.”

“You’ve heard of him.”

“I work for Don Michaels. I know all the area leaders.”

She nodded her head feeling like a fool.

“Did you petition Don to move here?” he asked.

Penny shook her head. “I have to petition?”

“When you move from one area to another you have to. Those
are the rules.”

“They still have rules? I didn’t know. I thought the rules
were gone with everything else.”

“You’ll need to see Don. He could throw you back into your
area.”

She shook her head. There was no way she could go back
there.

“I know you’re a runaway, Penny. Who are you exactly?” he
asked.

“I’m a no-one,” she said. She’d been told she was no-one for
enough time. A woman was a no-one. They were only good to serve a man in the
bedroom and in the kitchen.

She’d heard her papa tell her mother so many times she’d
lost count. He’d tried to tell her how her world was going to be all the time.
She’d gotten out of there before he had chance to finally send her off.

“Will your family come looking for you?” he asked.

“I don’t think so.”

Damon rubbed his eyes. She stared at his knuckles feeling
the colour leave her as she looked.

He caught her looking. “You better get used to it, Penny.
Life in the city is nothing like being part of a family. While you’re part of a
family, you’re working on the farm, but here, nothing comes easy. You need to
find a place for yourself, and a girl like you will be useful to fuck. There is
nothing else out here for you.”

“I’m happy to do anything I can, but I’m not going to sleep
with anyone.”

“We’ll see.” He kept staring at her. She ran her fingers
through her hair to try to occupy her crazy thoughts.

“Do you have any idea what kind of world you’ve entered?”

She glanced down at her hands resting in her lap. “If it is
an improvement from home, I’ll be happy.”

There was silence for several moments between them. “I don’t
expect you to tell me exactly what went on in your home now, but in time I’ll
need to know everything.”

He patted her knee and then got up.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To bed.”
He moved away from the
sofa. She got up from her seat and followed him.

“Where do you want me to sleep?”

“I’ve only got one bed, sweetheart.” He walked into a room
with a massive bed. It looked comfortable and inviting.

“We’re going to have to share a bed?” she asked.

“Not like that, princess. I can’t get anything more than what
I’ve got. You either share this with me or try the sofa. I’ve only got one set
of sheets, and it gets cold.” He pulled his shirt over his head.

She couldn’t stop staring at his defined muscles. They were
bulging in his arms and back. She didn’t even know muscles were in a person’s
back. His back and arms were covered in tattoos. She’d never seen so much ink
on a person. A couple of the men who’d worked on the farm with her had shown
her the tattoos they’d gotten. None of their ink looked half as threatening as
his did.

Great, Penny,
remind yourself how little you know. No education at all.

“I don’t want to do that for you to keep me,” she said,
feeling the blush stain her cheeks.

Damon turned to her. She saw he was angry with her from the
frown on his face.

“Listen, princess, I’ve never had to make an exchange for a
fuck, and I don’t intend to start now. You’re here because I can’t leave you to
them. I don’t have many fucking morals left, but raping a woman is not
something I can accept. You want a fuck from me, you can, but I’m not going
anywhere near your pussy for your stay. You got me?” he asked.

She was horrified and took a step away. Penny didn’t know
what to say to him.

He took a step toward her. She took a step back, hitting the
wall on the next step.

Damon put his hands on either side of her head, trapping her
against the wall and his hard body.

“Do you understand me?” he asked.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and moved away. She grabbed
her throat trying to still her beating heart. Damon was not a small man. She
only came to his chest, and she knew there was a great deal of strength inside
him. Anyone who thought otherwise about his strength was a fool.

“Put this on and get in.” He threw a shirt at her. The shirt
hit her in the face.

“Is there a place for me to change?” she asked.

“Change there. With those bastards lurking I’d rather not
risk having you out of my sight.”

She turned her back to him. “Do you rescue all the damsels?”
she asked.

“No.”

His answer sobered her up.

Why was he
saving you? You were not worth saving.

She pulled the shirt over her head, removed the old bra she
still wore, and pulled his top over her head.

When she was covered enough for decency, she stepped out of
the pants, leaving her knickers in place.

Penny moved to the bed. Damon had his arms folded under his
head. He was staring at the ceiling.

She climbed under the blanket and settled back. This was the
first time she’d been in a bed with a man.

“Relax, Penny. I won’t hurt you.”

“I know.”

“Are you scared because of those thugs?” he asked.

“They took me by surprise. I didn’t think when I opened the
door.” She wrapped her arms around her body trying to protect herself from the
invasive images.

“Don’t think about it, Penny. You’re here, and I won’t let
anything happen to you.”

She didn’t ask why. The “why” at the moment didn’t matter to
her.
For the time being she was safe, and that was all
she cared about.
 

“Tomorrow I’m going to have to take you to Don.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“He’ll talk to you. I suggest you treat him with respect.
He’s a good guy, most of the time.”