Page 65 of Born Savage

Her shoulders tightened. Not from fear. When necessary, the woman was fearless. Her irritation was created by my appearance. I couldn’t deny I enjoyed the hell out of watching her work, her presence powerful even in how she controlled her need for passion.

“Who is on coms?” With her level of fury, her boots pounded on the concrete.

“Thomas.” As another corridor intersected, two of the men broke off, heading to handle their assigned tasks.

She jerked to a stop in front of another entrance bay, keeping her distance until the remaining soldier unlocked the door.

Once again, her hand was on the lever and she hesitated. “I care about these people, Rage. Very much. They are my family and have been for years.”

“Do you trust them?”

My question caught her off guard, the slow lift of her head in my direction an indication she was doing everything to maintain a sense of calm. Not for me but for the other man watching every move she made. I knew the expression on his face all too well. Even when basic survival meant working together, men believed themselves to be the tougher, more capable sex.

Star was determined to prove otherwise.

“Implicitly.” She threw open the door, remaining in the doorway and gesturing for me to walk inside.

“Where are my men?”

The obvious demand brought a coy look to her eyes. “Be careful, Rage. You are a guest.” She turned to the other man. “Have our guest’s traveling companions brought here immediately. But watch them. They are extremely dangerous.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Mark kept his gaze locked on me while he backed away. His lack of immediate respect irritated even me.

“Do it,” she snapped, tossing her head to the side and toward him.

Fortunately for him, he scuttled away, leaving the two of us alone while the alarm echoed in my ears.

Given there was a more than decent chance her intentions were to ensure she wasn’t forced to accompany me on the journey, I grinned. “Ladies first.”

We didn’t have time to play this game, although I’d paid close enough attention to the entrance door. Unless the intruders had explosives and didn’t mind attracting Night Dwellers and thunderbirds, the massive winged creatures known to frequent the area, the bastards were merely on an expedition for now.

Her usual huff brought a smile to my face, but she stormed into the room, nodding toward a table where the duffel bags had been tossed. From there she moved toward a bank of weapons stored inside the room. The number and type were impressive, more firepower in one location than I’d seen other than in two places.

One being Freedom City number one and the other inside the building where I’d recovered. No wonder she didn’t want to leave. She was sitting on a goldmine. There were differences, weapons that had been placed there prior to the war and those collected along the way.

While I jerked open the bags, she selected two assault rifles just as at least two dozen men and women piled into the room.

They didn’t need to be told what to do. Whether at her direction or someone else’s, they’d prepared through drills.

Now carrying my selected weapons and extra ammunition, I hoisted the bags into one hand. As soon as I closed the distance to where she was standing, she bristled.

“I need to see what we’re dealing with.”

A little thought went into deciding if I was allowed before she nodded. “Don’t touch anything.”

Vicious rounded the corner as he passed an intersection, heading to another part of the compound. “The heat seekers indicate a large group. Heavily armed.”

“Then I guess we have our hands full.”

“You can sit this one out, Rage,” she insisted, refusing to stop while tossing out commands she truly believed I would follow.

If she believed her long strides would keep me from following, she was wrong. Soon we were inside the security room, which was somewhat impressive. Why computers had been placed in the hold I didn’t know as they sat dark and unusable, but a screen was highlighted in a bright green, flickers moving across the landscape surrounding the bunker. When the blips became stationary, it was a clear indication that whoever was outside was hunkering down. Lying in wait in preparation of the hatch being opened in the daylight.

A classic maneuver, a telltale sign of basic gangs moving from one compound to another, killing and scavenging before continuing on. Dangerous, yes, because they were unpredictable, some potentially carrying diseases that were even deadlier.

“What are your orders, Commander?” Thomas finally made an appearance. While he was doing his best to ignore me, I was given the opportunity to pay closer attention.

She leaned over the console and her hesitation presented an opportunity.