I repeated what I’d heard, but Roger understood it no more than I did.
“But it might be a coincidence.” Dottie didn’t look like she believed those words. “I have to go back to the storage roomanyway. I left my book in there. They were there for a while; maybe their scents still linger there.”
“I can try to track them,” I offered.
“Those boys sounded young. I wonder if they were the bunch that came in with the new settlers.”
“Could be,” Roger said. “I’ll come with. See if I notice any clues.”
Chapter 7: Dottie
I stood there in shock inside my ransacked library with the copy ofNuts, Bolts, and Caffeine: A Mechanic’s Guide to Keeping It Togetherin my hand. I had been warned of the broken window out front, but I hadn’t expected the door to be left wide open. I also hadn’t expected to find books all over the floor like someone had been looking for something in a rush.
It wasn’t just random shelves either; whoever had been in here went for the important stuff. The first aid and medical guides were scattered all over the floor. The agriculture and gardening section was also a mess. But it was the engineering and mechanics shelves that took the worst hit.
The hardest part was that until I went through book by book, I wouldn’t even know which ones they’d taken.
“Dottie?”
I turned to Roger, trying to keep my frustration and anger in check.
“Where are your laptops?”
The implication had my belly feeling like lead. I ran behind the counter. The library’s main laptop was gone.
“Motherfuckers!”
Roger looked shocked for a moment, clearly not expecting that level of profanity from the older lady with the glasses who you’d expect to shush you if you talked too loudly between the stacks. I stomped over to the back meeting room. Kiera’s laptop sat inside the little cubby at the back of the podium where she usually hid it.
I relaxed. At least they hadn’t taken that. I hurried over, grabbed the device, and tucked it under my arm.
It had been a while since anything like this had happened in New Franklin. Sure, we had some issues in the beginning with people being major assholes and trying to split the group up. They tried to steal our supplies. But that was years ago, and we were such a close-knit, well-run settlement that we didn’t usually have issues like this.
I still had to go through and figure out which books were missing, but this was more than someone coveting another’s gear or weapons. This was trying to steal from the settlement itself.
Ror’k had started picking up the books and reshelving them. He was doing it all wrong, but it was still sweet that he was trying. I went to help him. This was going to take a while.
“Shit. I knew I should have pushed to have someone watching those boys. Let me take over from here.” Roger took a book from my hand and placed it on the shelf in the wrong spot. “I’ll get a team in here to clean up. You get yourself some rest.”
“But they’re going to reshelve everything wrong.” I took the book he’d just put away and placed it an entire shelf lower into the spot where it belonged. “It’ll end up taking longer.”
“How about this… I’ll instruct the team to place all the books on the tables. They’ll be there for you in the morning.”
I shook my head. I knew I’d never get any rest knowing my library looked like this. This place meant so much to me. It represented the idea that despite the scourge-filled wasteland outside of our settlement walls, the world was still worth fighting for.
Realizing that he wouldn’t be getting anywhere with me with his damn logic, Roger said, “I’ll get someone in here to fix the window and help clean up. They won’t touch the books, I promise.”
He turned to Ror’k. “Let’s go find these boys and see if they smell familiar.”
“I prefer to stay until others arrive. I do not wish to leave Dottie alone. There are hostiles around.”
“It’s okay, Ror’k,” I said. “They were after the books. Not me. And they already took what they wanted. I’ll be fine. Go find our troublemakers.”
I wasn’t sure I had the energy to deal with Ror’k right now. I shouldn’t even have let him kiss me again; I was only digging the hole deeper. What I should’ve done was tell him that I wasn’t looking for a relationship. Everyone knew how easily these hunters fell when they found someone compatible. Was it possible for me to be his mate if I wasn’t fertile?
“Let’s go, overseer.” Roger turned.
Ror’k nodded solemnly, and the two left. Alone with my books again, I let my shoulders sag and my vulnerability show.
