An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2) (37 page)

Her anger at Lia was merely another manifestation of her
powerlessness in the situation and her worry for Coop. Forcing several deep breaths helped the emotion dissipate, and she made herself reach out to take Lia’s hand. “Come on, sis. You have to snap out of it.”

Lia blinked at her, but said nothing.

The fighting continued, and Mina heard shouts and grunts. She remained helplessly unaware of what was happening, frustration mounting, until the welcome sight of Coop’s group made her leap up from her vantage point despite the occasional bullet still being exchanged. Two men walked in front of Coop and Dana, with Desmond slightly off to the side.

Coop used his gun to gesture that the two men kneel in front of the damaged gate. “You in the trees…you have thirty seconds to come down before I start shooting your comrades.”

“Fuck you,” shouted a harsh male voice from up high.

Though inexperienced in warfare, even Mina knew the idiot had just betrayed his position. It was no surprise to her when another body fell out of the tree several seconds after Owen swiveled the sniper rifle.

Less than a minute later, Shane, Hector, and Tony came back from the opposite direction. She was surprised to see the two men working together, but figured they had put aside their differences long enough to keep the farm safe. The way Coop was feeling, perhaps Shane had been safer in that group than with his.

They herded a lone stranger, his hands bound in front of him with baling wire. With more force than necessary, Tony kicked the man in the knee, forcing him to fall onto the ground beside his compatriots. “This was the only piece of shit left.” Her brother-in-law spat on the ground near the fat man he’d kicked. “The other
one is dead, and we saw no further evidence of more.”

Shane grasped a handful of the man’s greasy locks as the others moved from their defensive positions to surround the attackers. “Howard
Bitman, or Hobbit, as Les calls the fucker.” Curling his lip, he said, “Hobbit has a taste for young boys.”

Relieved that Holly had taken Kaden somewhere to hide,
Mina didn’t want to know how Shane knew that. Apparently, no one else did either, because they didn’t ask as he walked over to the other two, examining them for a moment. “Pardons, a nurse. He could have been helpful in a world like this, but he fell in with a piece of shit like Les.”

“So did you,” said Pardons, glaring as he struggled with the bindings on his hand.

“You made me an offer I wasn’t at liberty to refuse, since I was dying from infection.” His gaze slid briefly to Emme, making Mina recall with pride that her sister had caused the hideous scar on his face with Coop’s gun. After a second, he went to the other man, whose bald pate didn’t allow him to grasp a handful of hair to draw back his down-bent head for identification. He didn’t seem to need it. “Hardy, who will fuck anything that moves—young or old, willing or not.”

Mina took
Lia’s hand and drew her closer to the others, trying to get her near Tony. He sneered at his wife and turned away, but Lia didn’t seem to notice the slight as she stared vacant-eyed into the nearest fire.

“
We can safely assume two in the trees, since they haven’t continued shooting.” Shane frowned. “That leaves three, unless Les managed to pick up some more psychos along the way.” The kick he levied at Hardy’s stomach seemed to cause Shane as much pain, judging from the way he grasped his injured leg and cursed. “Did you find any other sadistic fucks, or is it just the nine of you?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Hardy didn’t answer, but Hobbit seemed to have no trouble spilling his guts. “It’s just us. Please don’t kill me. I didn’t want to do this.”

Shane’s harsh laugh echoed around the yard. “I believe that, Hobbit. Not that you had any qualms about attacking a bunch of innocent people, but I’m sure you didn’t want to get off your ass and put down your bottle long enough to take an active role.”

His mirth faded as he turned to Coop, obviously
acknowledging him as the leader. “That means there are three unaccounted for, and two of them are Les and Antaya. They’re sick fuckers.”

“I’ll defer to your expertise in recognizing your kind.”
Despite his wounded shoulder, Coop reloaded his gun with cool efficiency before lifting his hand for silence. “Here’s what we’ll do. I want small groups, but no one goes alone. Mina, you take Lia into the house.”

She glared at him. “I want to help.”

“You’ll help by keeping your sister safe.”

Resentment at his chest-thumping display simmered in her eyes, but she bit it back. As much as she wanted to play an active role, there wasn’t a lot for her to do. She forced herself to ignore the voice whispering at the back of her mind that she was as useless and weak as she’d ever been. No, that wasn’t true. She could take care of herself and Lia, if necessary. Coop wanted to keep her safe
and was not casting subtle aspersions on her ability. “Fine,” she said with a touch of ill grace.

Not waiting to see how he would divide the group, she
tucked the pistol into the back of her pants before taking Lia’s hand to lead her to the house. They were on the porch when the screen door slammed open. She faltered, her blood running cold when she saw Yu and Finn emerge onto the porch, followed by a chubby man and a taller female with ebony skin. The pale gray of Ty’s jacket contrasted with the woman’s dark hair as she held the baby gently on her hip. Though the pose was maternal, and she seemed to be holding her nephew with care, the sight of that other woman with the baby made Mina’s heart stutter.

So did the blood drenching Yu’s front. She met the other girl’s gaze, seeing fear there, but also a touch of
feral satsifaction that indicated it wasn’t her blood. Shane had said three were unaccounted for, but Mina thought Yu might know what had happened to the other one.

“Look at this,
Antaya.” Les smirked at the group in the yard. “First they leave the back door open for us with those torn vines acting almost like a flashing neon sign to show the way in. And now, they’ve formed a little welcome party for us.”

Her lilting giggle was far creepier than anything Mina had heard in a long time. “How convenient.” She caught Mina’s gaze. “You must be the advance party.”

Lia let out a small cry and wrenched her hand from Mina’s. Before she could stop her sister, the other woman ran full-tilt toward Antaya.

“Give me my baby.”

“No, I think I’ll keep him. That one stole mine.” She pointed to Desmond coldly. “Murdered my little one, you bastard.” She rubbed her stomach. “Your bullet tore ripped apart his tiny body, and you will know how that feels soon.” The hand on her stomach moved to a sheath at her waist that seemed to cradle a large knife.

“Fine, I’ll come with you, but leave these folks alone,” said Des.

“No,” Emme, Winn, and Coop all protested simultaneously.

“It’s too late
for that, my friend,” said the paunchy middle-aged man pointing his gun at Finn’s neck. “You’ve offered him sanctuary, and you have a nice setup here. We’ll be needing it to raise the kid.”

“You’re not taking my baby.” Lia seemed to have snapped out of her mental paralysis. She looked lucid as ever when she tried to snatch Ty from
Antaya’s grasp. “Let go, you bitch.”

It happened too quickly for Mina to
even try to intercede. One second, she was trying to pull Ty from that crazy woman’s arms, and the next, Lia fell to the porch with blood spurting from her neck as the black woman wiped the blade on her pants and slid the knife back into its sheath.

Tony let out a rasping sound, and Mina echoed it with a harsh cry of her own. She rushed toward her sister, ignoring the gun pointed in her face as she knelt by Lia. Fumbling, she stripped off her coat and folded it into a messy square, trying to staunch the flow of blood from the carotid injury.

Lia’s lips moved, but it was impossible to guess what she wanted to say. In less than a minute, the life drained from her eyes, and she went limp. Mina continued to kneel beside her, tears blurring her vision. Reality faded for a second, and she was once again a little girl turning to her oldest sister for comfort after a nightmare. Uncaring of the blood that had poured from her neck, she laid her head on Lia’s chest and let the tears flow, wishing she had regained that closeness with her that would now be forever beyond reach.

“Everyone wil
l please put down their weapons,” said the man looming over her.

“I don’t think so, Les,” said Shane. “You’ll kill us all either way.”

“Yes, that’s true, but if you try to fight us, the babe is sure to die.” He gestured to his men on the ground. “Untie them now.” His gun didn’t waver until all three of his associates once again stood free, warily backing away from Coop and the others to melt into the shadows around the porch.

“He looks a lot like you, Shane,” said
Antaya, as she rubbed her cheek against Ty’s head, ignoring the baby’s whimpers. “I’d swear he is your son. If so, the slain mother at our feet must be the Mina whose pie you missed.” Her laugh was rich and dark, but poisonous rather than sweet.

Shane flinched, but didn’t respond to her taunts. “I’d rather he died than be raised by you two pair of nuts.”

“How dare you?”

Mina looked up when Tony shouted at Shane, blinking with surprise when her brother-in-law punched him, sending Shane to his knees on the ground.

“Put down your guns,” said Tony to those around him.

“No.” Shane shook his head, appearing to try to clear it. “They’ll kill you horribly, Tony. You’d be better off turning the gun on yourself
than putting it down like some pacifistic sheep.”

“Shane, you’re giving our new friends a bad impression of us. We can do quick and merciful.” Withou
t hesitation, Les seemed to aim his gun at someone in the group randomly and fired. Hector let out a sound somewhere between a cough and a whisper as he slumped to the ground.

“No.” Yu pushed past
Antaya and thundered across the porch, seemingly not aware, or uncaring, of the gun Les kept trained on her. He didn’t fire as she reached her boyfriend and fell to the ground beside Hector. His lips quirked in amusement as she prostrated herself beside the fallen man, making Mina want to slap his smug face.

Mina held her breath as Yu felt for a pulse and shook the man
without receiving a visible reaction. Yu’s primal scream answered the unasked question of Hector’s fate, and she had to turn away from the sight as tears nearly blinded her. It was only when she looked down that she saw the knife sticking out of Lia’s boot.

She reacted instinctively, slumping forward in a posture of misery that was only partially feigned to grasp the pearl handle of the switchblade. It was nothing like
Antaya’s knife, but it would do what she needed.

“
I won’t ask again for the guns.” Les tapped the barrel of his pistol against Finn’s head, producing a sound that made Mina wince as her brother flinched. “If they aren’t on the ground in three seconds, this young man’s brains surely will be.” He jerked his head in her direction, and their gazes collided for a moment. “Then the little blond is next.”

“No,” Coop and Shane roared together, clearly united on at least one thing.

Les quirked a brow. “Interesting. Perhaps you’ve guessed wrong about the fallen one’s identity, lover.”

Antaya
shrugged carelessly. “I have occasionally been wrong.”

“So have I. Take our friend West here. I swore he was a stone-cold killer when I recruited him.
I thought he’d show some loyalty for me sparing him.” Les shook his head. “I saved your pathetic life, you ungrateful piece of shit, and this is how you repay me?”

Mina didn’t pay attention to Shane’s response, if there was one. Instead, she caught Finn’s gaze. As stealthily as possible, she flashed him a glimpse of the knife before cutting her eyes in
Antaya’s direction. He frowned before his eyes widened. He seemed poised to say something, but shot a considering look at Ty before clamping his lips shut and straightening his spine. He understood the risks to himself if she did anything, but had clearly accepted them. She could practically see the last remnants of the young boy fade from him as the man took over.

“One…two…”

Before Les could reach three, Mina rolled and stabbed the knife through Antaya’s shoe as hard as she could. The other woman howled with agony and reached for her foot automatically, allowing Mina to jerk Ty from her hold. As she rolled farther down the porch before turning to stand, she saw Finn ducking down. Shots rang out a second later, and she didn’t have time to focus on anyone or anything else. Her sole goal was to get Ty somewhere safe.

Finn had followed her when Les’s attention wavered to focus on his lover. She knew they had only seconds, and she passed Ty to him again. “Same plan as last time.”

“I’m sorry. We didn’t know they were in the escape tunnel until Yu stumbled into the third one. She killed him, but they captured us.”

“I know. It’s okay.” She touched her brother’s arm. “We can discuss the details later. Right now, take Ty and get out of here.”

He grasped the baby against him and hurried into the house. Mina searched around for her pistol, but didn’t find it in the waistband of her pants. It must have fallen out when she’d knelt down beside Lia’s body or rolled after stabbing that crazy woman. Since she’d left the knife in Antaya, she was defenseless. That was a scary proposition when the woman she’d stabbed was suddenly facing her and hobbling after her, as Les turned the other way to fire at Mina’s people. Les’s scumbags in the shadows, having reacquired weapons from somewhere, provided supporting fire, and there was a maelstrom of bullets and screams.