An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2) (40 page)

*****

It was late afternoon by the time she returned to the main house, a modest ranch-style built at least one hundred years before. Her great-grandparents had struck it rich in something called stocks—which she didn’t think referred to cows or other livestock—and had bought the winery as their weekend getaway. After The End, it had become their permanent retreat and had allowed them and their descendents a chance to survive and start over in the new world.

What had once been a charming, quaint building kept in pristine condition had now fallen into age-related disrepair. Materials weren’t easy to acquire. Had they been, it was still a losing battle. The house was built at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century and hadn’t been designed to withstand a century of hard living. For some reason, she noticed the house’s flaws today, wincing at the sagging porch and stairs, the peeling paint, and the missing shingles on the roof.

The sound of a horse neighing around the side of the house startled her, sending all futile musings about house repair flying from her mind. Biting back a sigh, she dropped her toolkit in the dust by the house, mentally hoping none of her neighbors had stopped by for a visit. After a long, hot day working in the sun, she wanted to fill the tub with a few buckets of tepid water and soak until the water turned ice-cold—which should take about an hour in the lingering heat of summer.

As she rounded the house, the horse came into view. No, more than one. Four? Her first thought was the Evans family had stopped by in a not-so-subtle attempt to mooch an evening meal. Almost immediately, she dismissed the thought, knowing they didn’t own horses. Having one horse was doable for most families, but four would be a luxury outside the means of the folks in the Yakima-Grace province.

Wearing a frown, she straightened her homespun cotton shirt as she stepped onto the front porch. At least the boards here didn’t sag as much as they did around the side of the house. With a cursory wipe on the rag rug to remove dust from her boots, Madison opened the screen door and entered her house.

It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer interior, and she couldn’t stifle a gasp when she recognized the forms of four soldiers standing awkwardly in the kitchen, with her mother standing in front of the pot-bellied stove, clearly waiting for the cast iron teakettle to boil.

What did
Blaney’s people want? She knew they’d surrendered their required allotment of grapes and wine to cover their annual taxes, because she had helped pack and load it herself. As she rushed to her mother’s side, intent on sending Elaine to sit down at the shabby table, she realized it wasn’t the gray uniform of the local province soldiers. These men wore the black and silver uniform standard to the Commander’s army, stationed in Seattle-Archer. What had been anxiety suddenly escalated to pure terror. Why would the de facto president of their region send troops to their modest home? When these soldiers came, people disappeared.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she put an arm around her mom’s waist and led her to the table, saying, “You shouldn’t be out of bed, Momma.”

Elaine summoned a wan smile. “I couldn’t be rude to our guests.”

Shooting a baleful glance at the one who appeared to be in charge of the small group, she said, “I can imagine.” No doubt they had pounded on the door, threatening to break it down unless her mother opened up. Patting Elaine’s shoulder, she said, “I’ll handle it now.”

The teakettle whistled as she turned from her mother, and she took a moment to take it off the stove before spinning around to confront the soldier standing slightly apart from the others. “Why are you here?”

If he found her tone disrespectful, it didn’t show in his expression. He straightened slightly. “Commander Archer would like you to be his companion for dinner this evening.”

“Me?” The word was almost a squeak, and she had to clear her throat before continuing. “I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong house or something. I don’t know the commander.”

A small frown disrupted his bland expression. “You are Madison Cole?”

With a bit of hesitation, she nodded.

He inclined his head just once. “You are the guest we have been sent to fetch, Miss Cole.”

“This makes no sense. I’ve never even seen…” She trailed off, remembering the eerie feeling of being watched earlier. Had the commander been in Blaney’s car? A shiver raced down her spine at the thought of the ruler of the Northwest Federation spotting her and deciding to have her for the evening. She wasn’t naïve enough to think dinner was the only thing he expected.

Clearing her throat again, she said, “Please tell the commander I thank him for the honor, but I really can’t leave. My brother and father on a supply run, and my mother is ill. I couldn’t possibly leave her and my little sister here alone.”

The soldier lifted a single dark brow. “You want me to tell Commander Archer you said no?”

Madison nodded. “Please.”

He blinked. “Look, Miss Cole, I can’t do that.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you don’t decline an invitation with the commander.” He ran a hand through closely cropped black hair, introducing a note of dishabille into his previously crisp appearance. “I can’t. You have to come with us. The consequences of doing otherwise…” He trailed off, looking pained.

Fear heightened another notch, making it difficult to breathe. As much as she wanted to keep protesting, a glance in her mother’s direction showed her Elaine was getting worried. The last thing her mother needed was to have this confrontation happen in her presence, where she would feel the need to stand by her daughter. If Elaine thought she didn’t want to go, her mother might do something crazy, like go for the hunting rifle. Sick as she was, her mother bear instincts were still strong.

Taking a deep breath, trying to diffuse the palpable tension, she managed a small smile. “In that case, I need a few minutes to change clothes.” Perhaps she could escape out the window and flee into the fields? It was a feeble plan, but at least it would get her away from the house and her mother’s concerned presence.

He shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. It’s a rough ride back into
Graceport, and you’ll have an opportunity to freshen up before dinner.”

Clinging to the idea of squeezing out her bedroom window, she said, “But I’ll need something to wear after I freshen up.”

Once again, he shook his head. “Something will be provided, Miss Cole.”

Disappointment settled like a lead weight in her chest. Once she was riding with the soldiers, there wouldn’t be a chance to flee. After her arrival at
Graceport, she’d likely be surrounded by Archer’s entire security force, making escape impossible. Was there no way out of the “honor” of sharing the commander’s bed for a night? “How thoughtful,” she managed to say in a dry voice.

“Do you have a horse, Miss Cole?”

She shook her head, not bothering to tell them her father and brother had taken Hack on their trading trip. They were due back in two days, and she wondered if she could somehow keep them from finding out about her pending humiliation after the fact. Squaring her shoulders, she decided not to be so defeatist. There would have to be a way to escape. She just had to remain alert and not hesitate to seize the opportunity when it arose.

*****

She ended up riding double with the soldier who had insisted she accompany them. He maintained a polite distance between them and engaged in meaningless small talk that required little conversation on her part. That was a blessing, because her mind was too preoccupied with the looming ordeal. Despite her determination to remain on-guard for an out, she couldn’t help her thoughts turning inward to dwell on what the evening might bring.

Although many girls her age were already wives or mothers—and had no doubt been lovers to men before marriage—she was still innocent at twenty. Her parents had tried to shelter her and protect her from harm. It was impossible to grow up around animals and not know what sex was, but she had always heeded her mom’s advice to wait until someone special came along. This commander was as far from special as she could envision. What awaited her was surely akin to rape, maybe even outright violent violation, depending on his proclivities.

By the time they reached the capitol of their province, she was hot and sweaty, with a stomach full of nausea. She’d been to Graceport a few times, but always as part of a family outing, with her father and brother nearby to offer protection. Only a crazy woman traveled alone, and she couldn’t have felt more alone if the soldiers surrounding her, and all the people milling about the streets, suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Today, the open-air market did nothing to delight or engage her senses. She surveyed the foods and wares with dead eyes, too afraid of her fate to find any pleasure in seeing so many people gathered together. There had to be at least a hundred shoppers and merchants in the milieu, which was a huge crowd to her.

The soldiers rode with purpose through the market, navigating a maze of streets that seemed to be leading them to the capitol building in the center of Graceport. The destination made sense. Obviously, the commander would set up shop in the seat of government for the province.

For the first time, she wondered why Archer was even in their area. What did the leading vineyard province in the Northwest Federation have to offer a man who lived in the capitol of the Federation? Archer must surely be used to luxury and the best of everything, even with limited resources and limited electricity. Hard to come by anywhere, those things were beyond scarce in their province. Only
Blaney lived in any modicum of lavishness, and his mansion was no doubt humble by Seattle-Archer standards.

Perhaps the commander and
Blaney were friends? Shady politicians often attracted like minds, didn’t they? Her father liked to say so anyway. Knowing how corrupt Blaney was, it increased her disgust to think of spending an evening with a man cut from the same cloth.

Her musings came to an end as they arrived at a building situated about a block from the impressive courthouse that served as
Blaney’s headquarters. She recognized the three-story white building as the governor’s mansion, and it certainly seemed like one to her, having lived in a two-room house her entire life with two siblings and her parents.

An elegant woman in a flowing purple dress waited on the marble steps. She flashed a bright white smile that contrasted beautifully with her black skin as she started down the stairs to meet them. The soldiers halted their horses, and the man she’d ridden with handed her down to the ground carefully.

“Excellent, sergeant. I know Tiernan will be pleased you managed to find Miss Cole.” That bright smile, seemingly genuine, turned next to Madison. “It’s lovely that you could accept his invitation, Miss Cole.” She thrust out her hand in a motion that didn’t even allow Madison to think of refusing to shake it.

“One doesn’t say no to the commander,” she said tightly, forcing a smile that felt fake.

She laughed. “Not usually.” With a smooth motion, she threaded her arm through Madison’s, thus completing the transfer of prisoner, but in a way that didn’t feel threatening. “Come with me, and I’ll find you a place to wash. I imagine that ride was unpleasant.”

“I wouldn’t like to do it again, uh…?”

There was that smile again and it somehow suffused her with warmth, even in the circumstances. “Cleo Black.” A hearty laugh accompanied it. “Isn’t that just the most perfect name ever? I sometimes think my great-grandfather changed his last name after The End just to match the family’s skin tones.”

Feeling a bit disoriented, she didn’t reply to the friendly chatter as Cleo led her up the stairs and into the governor’s house. For an enemy lair, it sure was nice. The floor seemed to be marble like the stairs and shined to a high sheen. The walls were simple white, but with decorative wainscoting that caught the eye and added an elegant touch. Moving at a rapid pace to match the other woman’s, she didn’t get to pause and examine anything, but what she did see seemed to be in excellent shape. It was obvious where a good portion of
Blaney’s profits from corruption ended up.

They ascended two flights of stairs covered with sumptuous burgundy carpet before stopping at a set of double doors. Cleo opened them and stepped aside to allow Madison first entry. “Here we are. Home sweet home…for tonight.”

The room featured two double beds and matching vanity tables with old-fashioned mirrors. “It’s nice. I, um, get to sleep here tonight?”

“This is my room, but it makes a good place for you to prepare.” After closing the door, Cleo cocked her head. “You don’t think the commander sleeps in this room, do you? I imagine
Blaney’s so eager to get in Tiernan’s good graces that he’s probably given up his room for the night.”

Her stomach cramped, and she drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want to do this.”

Cleo blinked. “You don’t want to spend the night with Tiernan?”

She shook her head, wondering how anyone could find that so shocking. She didn’t even know the man. She’d never even seen him in person and knew next-to-nothing about him. For all she knew, he was a fifty-year-old bald man with massive fat rolls.

The other woman blinked dark eyes again. “Well, that’s…um…let’s see about getting you a bath.”