I opened my mouth, only to close it when the woman held up her finger. “You, however, are an entirely different matter,” she continued, her tone distinctly hardening. “This is our place. The people here areourpeople, and we take their safety very, very seriously.”
Much like the man’s, the woman’s looks were similarly deceiving. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties and was on the smaller side, with dainty, pert features. At first glance, she appeared diminutive, almost shy even. Her skin was fair, dotted with freckles, her hair short and moderately styled, and she dressed plainly in dark, solid colors. You didn’t really see her type anymore, the sort of person you wouldn’t ever pick out of a crowd, that you’d never mark as exceptional in any way. Those people hadn’t survived very long.
It was ultimately her eyes that gave her away and hinted at who she really was. Golden brown in color, they were, at first glance, sad eyes… maybe even a little angry, too. But the longer I looked at her, the longer she looked at me, the harder her gaze grew until I was looking into the steely-eyed stare of a woman who’d definitely seen some shit. A woman who knew full well what a threat looked like… and I fit her description.
“First things first,” she said. “I want to know how many more of you there are and where your camp is.”
I shook my head. “There’s just us—I mean, there were three of us… but now it’s just us.”
One of her dark brows peaked. “And why is that?”
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I sighed. “I’d left them at the farmhouse to scout ahead and they were fucking around in the woods and…” I trailed off while I fought for composure. “… and now it’s just the two of us,” I finished through my teeth.
“So you’re telling me that it’s just been the three of you surviving out there?” she asked, disbelief tinging her words. “This entire time, just the three of you?”
“Yes.”
Glancing at the man beside her, a silent exchange occurred between them. “Suppose we choose to believe you,” the woman said slowly. “Would you care to share how you found us?”
“I didn’t.” I jerked my chin in Davey’s direction. “You found me.”
“You can’t expect me to believe it was just a happy coincidence that you ended up on our dead end.”
I struggled for calm. The rational side of me understood their need for safety protocols, but the irrational side of me was desperate to get inside that wall, desperate to get to Willow. The sun had already set, night was upon us and I couldn’t let that gate close with me stuck on the wrong side of it.
“I saw you in town,” I practically snarled, no longer able to mask my growing anger. “And I figured you had a camp nearby but I didn’t have any plans on coming to look for you until Willow got sick. So, yeah, I was looking for you, but I didn’t knowwhereyou were, only that you were here somewhere.”
“So it was you who made the mess at Carole’s.”
My chest tightened, frustration squeezing all the air from my lungs. “Does it fucking matter?”
“Watch your fuckin’ mouth, son,” Davey growled, stepping toward me.
My glare swung in his direction. “Fuck you—I’m not your son.”
“It does matter,” the woman said evenly.“I need to know where your head is. It’s all relevant.”
For a moment, I only stared at her. “You want to know where my head is?” I finally said, laughing bitterly. “Lady, my little brother is dead and Willow is…I don’t even know what Willow is because you’ve got her in there while I’m stuck out here with you asking me where my fucking head is! It’s been just the three of us for God only knows how long and…and if she dies too…Jesus Christ, this whole fucking thing is all my fault… ”My words died off in anguish.
Davey was practically on top of me now, his weapon clutched in his hands, ready and willing to use it if given the go-ahead. I barely spared him a glance. He was merely the muscle; it was the other two, the not quite so average man and woman that posed a much greater threat.
“And I get it,” I continued through my teeth. “I really do. You don’t know if you can trust me, but you’ve got to believe me—I don’t give a shit about this place, and what you have or don’t have—all I care about is Willow.”
The woman’s head tilted; her eyes bored into mine. “And what if we can’t help Willow—what happens then?”
Every fiber of my being roared in protest at the mere suggestion. “Then I’ll leave.” I managed to spit out. My next two words didn’t come easily; I felt as if my tongue were wading through quicksand. “…without her.”
No one spoke. Not the woman or the man beside her. Not Davey, who was still staring daggers in my peripheral. Not the two guards in the tower with their rifles still trained on me, or the handful of people who’d gathered at the gates.
Then the woman’s clasped hands broke apart and her rigid posture relaxed. She was a quiet, unassuming woman once again. Inclining her head, she said, “Follow me.”
