An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2) (3 page)

So far, everyone was productive, and to her knowledge, neither her father nor Shane had needed to tell anyone to pull their weight.
Mina was enjoying the lightening of the workload, which actually left a bit of free time for everyone at the end of the day.

This evening, she was taking leftover dinner scraps to the chickens before planning to go to the pond for a quick dip to cool off. As she rounded the corner, she froze at the sound of angry voices.
Mina peeked around warily, surprised to see Lia and Shane standing a few yards away, their body language suggesting an intense discussion. She couldn’t hear their words, but they seemed angry.

She started to back away, but hesitated.
Not knowing the man, she couldn’t be sure Lia was safe with this stranger. Mina almost approached them when Shane grabbed her sister’s arms, but Lia shrugged him off, slapped his face, and turned to stride away.

Shocked by the display, and realizing
Lia knew Shane on a deeper level than just her husband’s commanding officer, she backed away. For just a second, he looked in her direction, his brown gaze pinning her to the spot. Eyes wide, she shook off her paralysis and turned back toward the house.

As she walked along, trying to puzzle out what she’d seen, she bumped straight into Coop. “Oh, sorry.” Without thought, she reached out to wipe the smear of tomato from his gray T-shirt that had collided with the plate of scraps in the
impact. His chest was hard and firm under her hand, and her fingers splayed without her permission, just resting against his skin for a long second. She looked up, meeting his green gaze before jerking her hand back.

He nodded to the plate, acting as though nothing strange had happened. To him, it probably hadn’t. She doubted the
experience had left him flushed, heart racing and hand tingling from a simple touch. “Weren’t you taking that to the girls?”

She somehow managed to nod. “I was.”

Coop crossed his arms, looking amused. “Aren’t you going the wrong way?”

She nodded. “I am. I guess I got distracted.”

He arched a light-brown brow. “By what?”

For a second, she considered blurting out what she’d seen, but hesitated. More than likely, he wouldn’t know anything more than she did, and the truth of the matter was none of it concerned her.
Lia’s interaction with Shane wasn’t her business. She settled for a shrug. “I have no idea.”

Still wearing that half-grin of amusement, he swept an arm forward. “Maybe I’d better walk you to the coop then, to make sure you don’t get lost.”

“Um, thanks.” It was a nice offer, but would he have made it to anyone? Was it just a way of being friendly, or was there more to it? Did he have a modicum of interest in her, or had he already decided she was too young and out-of-bounds for anything beyond friendship and pseudo-brotherly affection? The end of the world sucked. It should have crystallized everything, helping sort out what was important and what wasn’t. It shouldn’t still feel disconcertingly like high school and trying to guess if the guy sitting next to her was flirting with her, mocking her, or actually trying to get the attention of the girl in front of her.

*****

Early the next morning, she went to the chicken coop as usual. Mina didn’t even bother to look up when the door swung open before closing against the frame with a small thwack, expecting Coop. He claimed it reminded him of the summers he’d spent with his grandmother. Yeah, just what she wanted, to invoke memories of an elderly woman to whom he was related. “You’re late,” she said cheerfully. “You’ve already missed Lionel strutting around like the stud he thinks he is and pecking at my feet when I got in his way.”

“That’s too bad,” said a deep voice behind her.

She froze, egg in hand, before slowly turning to look up at Shane West. He’d never spoken directly to her, and she’d certainly never been this close to him, or the sole focus of his attention. He was taller than she’d realized, with a solid build that somehow felt intimidating rather than comforting, unlike Coop’s. She swallowed thickly. “Hello, Lieutenant West.” It seemed natural to call him by the more formal name, even though he wore a plain T-shirt and snug faded jeans instead of his army camos.

“Call me Shane. You’re Ken?”

She blinked, wondering how he had gotten the idea she was named Ken. It didn’t even sound much like her name. “Mina.”

He gave her what was probably supposed to be a sexy smile, but made her stomach curl a bit instead. “That’s
much better. I’ve never seen a Ken that looked like you before.” His gaze lingered deliberately on her breasts in the tank top before he looked up again. “I did have a sergeant in basic named Ken. He was built like a brick wall and not at all feminine. Unlike you.”

She managed a jerky nod, unsure what to say. Instead,
Mina focused on retrieving the eggs, hurrying through the familiar task so she could escape the chicken coop. Coop should be arriving soon, at least.

“I wanted to ask you something,
Mina.”

She nodded again, watching him peripherally.

“You’re quiet. I like that. It’s a nice change.”

Feeling like a puppet, she found herself nodding again.

“Let me know what you think of this situation.”

“I can try,” she said softly, bracing herself to discuss
Lia. That had to be why he’d sought her out.

“Let’s imagine you met a woman that seemed like
she was everything you’d ever wanted. Smart, sexy, and fun.”

“I’ve never found any woman sexy,” she said a bit flippantly, though
Mina’s stomach tightened. After witnessing the scene between them yesterday, she had no doubt he was talking about Lia. Did he really think she was going to give him some advice on how to capture her married sister’s attention?

He laughed slightly. “It’s reassuring to know you like cock.”

Mina flinched at the word. Of course she’d heard it before, but never from someone ten or fifteen years older than her, and in such strange circumstances. Bending her head, she focused on the nesting box.

“Assuming you’ve actually touched
one?”

She stiffened, not liking his tone or the way he was speaking to her. Putting the basket on the box, she said, “Excuse me,” and tried to move past him. When he stepped in front of her path, his sheer size blocking her,
Mina’s mouth went dry.

He continued on
as though he hadn’t been crude, and she hadn’t tried to leave. “This woman is married to a friend of yours, and he’s someone you work with. You’re technically his boss.”

Mina
frowned. “I wouldn’t pursue her.”

Shane sighed. “I wasn’t asking your opinion.”

Mina looked up at him. “You said you wanted to know what I thought.”

“Not about that. Just listen.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she returned to egg collecting and did her best to endure the man’s presence, still wondering when Coop would show up. Once he finished, he’d move on and she could escape back to the house. How she longed for a hot shower, more than any time in the past thirteen months. Talking with Shane left her feeling unclean.

“It turns out
when you make your move that she isn’t immune. You have a hot affair over a few months.”

Mina
closed her eyes, pained by what she’d heard. The idea of Lia cheating on Tony seemed incomprehensible, but there was clearly something going on between them. “Oh,” she said softly.

“Oh, indeed. You’re shipped out for eight months, but before you leave, you tell this woman you love her and want to marry her. She tells you she’s not leaving her husband, but she still goes to bed with you a couple more times before you
deploy. So you go along with it, thinking a lot can happen in eight months. People are killed by friendly fire all the time.”

Mina
squeezed her hand without thought, breaking the new egg in her palm. She looked up at him, horrified. “You were going to kill Tony?”

He lifted a shoulder. “It was just a thought, born of desperation. Obviously, it didn’t happen. When I want someone dead, they die.”

He was so cavalier about taking lives that it made her shudder. The egg residue was still in her hand, and she wiped it on the hay the best she could. “What do you want from me?”

He put his finger to his lips. “
Shh, and listen. After you’re deployed, the world goes to shit, and you think you’re never going to see this woman again. You’re hurting over it, because you think you love her, and you’re worried about her.”

She should have been slightly reassured to know he had strong feelings for
Lia, but something about him still set her teeth on edge.

“When your friend, her husband, offers to bring you back to his family’s house, where your woman is waiting, you jump at the chance. You go through hell and back, kill so many people you lose track, and keep fighting just to survive, all so you can get back to her.”

Mina balled her hands into fists. “You’re wasting your time, Shane. She loves Tony. I don’t know what she was thinking when she had an affair with you, but Lia and Tony are soul mates. They’ve been together since seventh grade. You have to let her go and move on.”

His mouth tightened
, but that was his only acknowledgement to her input. “When you see her, she treats you like a stranger, but you think she’s just trying to hide her feelings in front of her family. Except she keeps avoiding you, and you soon realize she wasn’t missing you the way you missed her.” His voice broke, indicating he was upset. “It sinks in that you were just a fun fuck for her and nothing more.”

Mina
felt a bit of sympathy, even though she didn’t condone cheating. Who hadn’t been in a position where they felt more for someone than the other person did? She could easily recall the boyfriend she’d had as a sophomore. She’d been sure she and Billy would get married. Less than a month after she’d given him her virginity, he’d dumped her for someone else. It had taken her weeks to get over the heartbreak. Tentatively, she touched his forearm. “I’m sorry you were hurt.”

His expression softened. “I knew you’d be a sweet little thing.” Shane let out a long sigh. “So you go on each day, trying to forget about everything you had with her. You even try really hard to hope she’ll be happy with your friend.”

She gave him a small smile. “That must be hard.” Maybe he just wanted some sympathy, or someone to talk to, and she seemed like the only option, having seen him with Lia.

“Then, one afternoon, you’re working when your friend comes up to you with his baby. You hadn’t paid much attention to it before, because it hurt
s to think she’d had a kid with someone else.” His voice surged. “But you hold the baby when he’s offered, and you realize almost immediately that he has your eyes, your nose, and your crooked second toes.”

Mina
slapped her hand to her mouth to hold in the gasp of dismay. She wanted to refute his assertion, but she knew exactly what he meant. Her sweet little nephew had second toes that bent in at a slightly odd angle compared to the rest of his straight digits. “Oh no,” she whispered.

He nodded, his eyes blazing with fury. “When you confront the bitch, she tells you her husband is the boy’s father.
” In his anger, he dropped the pretense of telling a story. “It doesn’t matter who gave him DNA, because Tony’s name is on the birth certificate, and with the world the way it is, I’ll never be able to do anything about getting rights or establishing paternity. When I tried to convince her I deserved to know my son, your bitch sister slapped me and threatened to have me thrown off the farm if I didn’t leave them all alone.”

Mina
’s stomach churned with nausea. How could Lia have gotten herself into such a situation? Much as she hated to, she had pity for the man beside her. Though he had brought a good deal of it on himself by sleeping with a married woman and betraying his own friend, it had to be heartbreaking to know he’d lost Lia and any right to his son. “If you wanted my advice on how to proceed, I have nothing to offer, Lieutenant West. I’m sorry for your situation, but I don’t see any good outcome from trying to claim Tyler.”

He surprised her by nodding. “You’re right. I hate having to concede defeat, but I don’t have a chance in hell of getting Ty or
Lia.”

She frowned. “Then what did you want my opinion for?”

He propped his hip against the nesting box, effectively blocking her in completely. “I just wondered if you thought a man could be happy if he had the baby sister of the whore who broke his heart and stole his son?” He stood up completely, looming over her. “Do you think he’d no longer feel the urge to plunge his knife into the whore’s chest if he fucked her little sister? If he fucked that sweet young thing until she gave him a child, do you think that would satisfy the need for vengeance and give him what he wanted?”

As the meaning of his words sank in,
Mina tried to dart past him. Shane blocked her exit, so she recoiled backward, squeezing herself behind the nesting boxes and into the corner. The wall pressed into her back, and she cursed that her dad had built the structure to last. There was no way she could kick out the wall in just a few seconds.