Page 91

“What the fuck—” Kimmy burst out, coming out from under the rain jackets.

The strange man pointed his rifle at her and said in a deep, booming voice, “Hands where I can see them. Both of you.”

We didn’t have much choice but to raise our hands. My mind raced, trying to figure out why the hell this guy was here. My first thought was robbery, but we were in the middle of the wilderness. I’d never met bandits this far out before; they mostly stuck to roads because that was where the people were.

The man was tall, with dark hair and bronze skin, dressed in all black. He was also fucking shredded, which was unexpected, because it meant he must be well-fed. And obviously armed, which meant he didn’t need our weapons.

“Who’s the other girl?” he demanded, and I realized Claire’s feet were sticking out from under the jacket tent.

The second he pointed the rifle in Claire’s direction, I leapt in between, keeping my hands up and out, shielding her. The guy shot me a surprised look, but his mouth hardened into a thin line.

“Get her on her feet.”

“Fuck off,” I gritted out. “She’s hurt.”

He looked like he didn’t believe me, but then I heard Claire’s faint, terrified voice.

“John, what’s—” She hacked a cough and tried to sit up.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Stay there, baby. You’ll hurt yourself.”

It took everything in me not to go to her, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off the gunman.

“Look, we don’t want trouble,” Kimmy said firmly. “We’re just passing through because my sister-in-law is injured. She might have pneumonia. We need to get her home to take care of her. If you just—”

“Dom, you asshole,” a female voice called out. “You left me in the middle of nowhere in the fucking rain! You have to stop wandering—”

A woman with black hair and smooth, perfect brown skin emerged from the brush. Asha.

I felt like I was seeing a ghost. I could tell the feeling was mutual, because all the colour drained out of Kimmy’s face. Asha looked as surprised as we felt. She stared at us, wide-eyed, for several seconds before anyone spoke.

“Shit,” she said softly, looking at the ground. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What?” the big guy—Dom—said. “What’s going on?”

Asha bit her lip, and to my surprise, she looked…guilty. I hadn’t known that shameless bitch was capable of such a thing.

“You’re alive,” Kimmy managed weakly. “How…?”

Asha shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “It’s a long story. But yes, I’m…here. This is Dom, my…well, I’d say he’s my friend, but he’s kind of a dick, actually.”

Dom grunted, but at least he lowered his weapon.

“Friends of yours?” he asked in that gravelly voice of his.

Asha cut me a cold look—more like I remembered her. “Not exactly.”

Awkward silence. Kimmy had gone from shocked to furious in a hot minute, and I felt much the same way.

“She’s a friend in the way that grizzly bears are friends,” I said. “They look cute, but then they rip your face off.”

Asha rolled her eyes. “You’re as charming as ever, Wastelander. Where’s Claire to round you out?”

Her eyes moved behind me, to the place where Claire was still lying. Her eyes got big again.

“What’s wrong with her?” she asked, and to my surprise, there was a note of worry in her voice. “Why is she lying like that?”

“They said she’s hurt,” Dom said, looking like he didn’t believe it.