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“What did you promise them to help me?” I asked cautiously.

John sighed. “Anything they wanted.”

I gawked at him. “What?”

“We didn’t have a lot of choices,” Kimmy said, rubbing her bleary eyes. Neither of them had been sleeping as much as they should while they took care of me. I appreciated it, but I worried about them. “We didn’t promise anything specific. They said they want help surviving out here, but it seems like they’re doing fine with their current setup, so I’m not sure why they need our help.”

As if on cue, the cabin door banged open, and a large, impossibly muscular man with a buzzcut walked in. Cade. The man Asha had been so hung up on for so long, in the flesh.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked, folding his arms, but he didn’t sound as though he particularly cared either way.

John tensed at his voice, and I knew he was on edge every moment we were here, dependent on these people we didn’t trust. Leo seemed decent—he’d saved me, after all—but we’d been burned badly by Asha before, and it seemed only wise to distrust the man she’d attached herself to. Plus, Kimmy said she’d spotted a few women working around the village.

I hated to think they might be there against their will, but I’d learned my lesson about assuming the best of Asha. It was far safer to assume the worst.

When nobody said anything, Cade went on. “Now that it looks like Claire will survive, you know that we’ve delivered on our end of the deal. It’s time for you to deliver on yours.”

John gave a disapproving grunt. “As far as I’m concerned, helping Claire is the least Asha could do after the shit she pulled.”

Cade’s eyes flashed at Asha’s name, and his jaw tightened. “You’re not dealing with Asha anymore. You’re dealing with me.”

“Same difference,” Kimmy shot back. “I’m surprised she lets you speak for her, considering how things ended between you two. Aren’t you the one who flew into a rage and smashed an entire room and screamed in her face? Nearly struck her? And then she came to us, broken beyond repair, and we were stuck with her. Thanks for that.”

My mouth dropped open. Asha had told Kimmy much more than she had me, apparently. I’d never been able to get her to open up about Cade. At her response, anger settled into the lines on Cade’s face, but in his eyes, I spotted something else: shame. He inhaled deeply, as though grounding himself.

“Yes,” he replied simply, surprising all of us. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I regret everything I did during that time. Asha didn’t deserve it. I wish she’d never left me, but she was right to do it. All I can say is that I changed, and I was lucky she took me back.”

John scoffed, and Cade shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me, but it’s true.”

“How did she survive?” I asked. My incision was itchy, but I resisted the urge to scratch. The question had been niggling in the back of my mind ever since I learned that Asha’s body hadn’t been found.

“Leo and Regenerex,” Cade answered. “We were in the right place at the right time. By the way, at Asha’s request, I’m not going to nail your husband to the wall for that. She said anyone would have done it in his place. But consider it another favour I’m doing for you.”

John grunted. “I’d like to see you try.”

Cade’s returning smile was sinister. “So would I.”

The air was tense as the two men stared each other down.

“Cool it with the testosterone-fueled pissing contest,” Kimmy said sharply, and I had to urge to laugh at how exasperated she was.

“You have Regenerex?” I asked, more curious than tense now. I was still wary, but Cade’s reaction to being confronted about Asha had somewhat pacified me. That he wasn’t defensive—that he felt shame over his mistakes—said something about him. It wasn’t enough to trust him, but enough to hear him out, at least.

“Had,” Cade corrected. “We only had the standard single shot that comes in a military doctor’s kit. Leo stockpiled as much medicine as he could before we left the Delta, but that one is harder to get your hands on, especially on short notice, even for a doctor.”

I nodded knowingly. Neil had told me as much when he was alive.

“How did you even meet Asha?” Kimmy asked, crossing her arms. “She never did tell me that part.”

Cade’s smile turned surprisingly fond, his gaze softening. “It’s a long story that’d probably make all of you get high and mighty and indignant. Let’s just say that we didn’t meet under the best circumstances…but both of us are trying to turn over a new leaf since we moved here. To do things differently.”

John snorted. “Sure, you are. So, what are you really here for? What do you want?”

Cade rubbed his chin, his grey eyes watchful and sly. “Asha said that you all have running water and electricity in that community of yours. We want that here, at Ashburn.”

Kimmy’s eyes widened, and John tutted his disapproval. “You have none of the infrastructure needed for that. The Valley had pre-existing structures from before the Fall that have been added to and replaced over time. You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“It’s not my problem,” Cade replied with a nonchalance that chafed at me. “You’re in our debt, so it’s yours.”