Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (40 page)

passion for war…for victory.

“Good Crator, woman, I think you got them. What the hell kind of maneuver is

that?” Gilroy’s voice sang through all of their comms. Meah suddenly became

incredibly aware that she no longer was on a glider with a young teenage boy…and she

no longer had only ten winters. There had been nothing erotic about the first time she’d

pulled that stunt off with Andru. They’d been children and all she’d felt was the

incredible security his strong body had offered at the time. His warrior skills equaled

hers and she’d never met anyone like that before. Those emotions had been enough for

a girl with ten winters to fall in love with a boy.

She was no longer a girl and Andru was certainly no boy. Every steely muscle

underneath her gloved hands sent surges of heat spiking through her body. She had a

hand on each of his shoulders and she kneeled with her two knees tucked up nicely

next to his crotch. He had one arm securely wrapped around her and it dawned on her

at that moment that his very large gloved hand was spread across the side of her

bottom and hip. How long had it been there? He held her tightly to him so that his

cheek rested against her breast as he focused on the road ahead of them.

Meah pulled away from him and easily turned herself around in front of him.

Andru’s large body managed to brush closely against every part of her as she situated

herself in front of him. It definitely didn’t feel like that when they were children and

she’d turned around on the glider in front of him.

“It was a stunt I learned as a child.” Meah spoke into her comm and heard Ana’s

voice laugh.

“Andru and I used to try to do something like that but I always fell off. It’s a good

thing you’re so small,” Ana said, still chuckling.

Andru took his hand off her waist long enough to reach up and turn off his comm.

“I daresay that was a lot more fun than chasing wild boars.”

Meah’s entire body stiffened. He remembered? He put his hand back on her waist

and then pulled her hard up against his front. She squirmed to create space between

them but he simply moved his arm so it draped over her shoulder and tucked around

her chest. His hand held her arm but she could feel the edge of his palm on her breast.

She reached up and pulled off her comm.

“Do you mean to be moving that adorable rear end of yours around like that?” he

whispered into her ear and she could feel his rough cheek as he spoke. She froze and he

chuckled hoarsely. “You’re an incredible warrior, Meah.”

“It wasn’t that hard to do.” She forced herself to sound indifferent.

“Have you ever been able to do it with anyone else?”

She hesitated. “No.”

“Then you trusted me with your life, didn’t you?”

She felt her heart start to pound and she knew he could feel it against his arm. “I’d

trust any of my warriors with my life.”

Andru’s comm beeped and he released her to flip it on but then snuggled her

closely once again. Meah quickly put her comm back on as well.

“Andru, I’m detecting a transmission down there toward the center of their town.”

Tara’s voice came through clearly. “I’m going to land the troops to the northeast of here.

Our instruments show there is a high plateau among the hills in that direction.”

“Do you think our friends were trying to meet someone here?” The muscles in his

arms flexed against hers as he navigated the glider and punched at the computer on his

console. “I’ve picked up the transmission. We’ll check it out then meet you at the

camp.”

“Move quickly. I’m sure over half the town knows you’re there by now. You made

quite an entrance. There’s some chatter going on up here about some incredible stunt

you and your brand-new claim managed to pull off.”

“We’ll be with you before you know it and then we’d be more than happy to give

you a demonstration.”

Meah’s face burned with embarrassment when Gilroy and Ana burst into laughter.

She elbowed him hard in the rib cage and he grunted loudly.

“Are you all right over there, my friend?” Gilroy taunted. He rode alongside them

now, and Meah could see his white teeth contrast brightly against shiny black hair that

flew wildly around him.

Tara chuckled. “If you come home injured, my son, we’ll all wonder who harmed

you.”

The town they were in was rough and uncared for. The buildings were all in

disrepair and in need of a good coat of paint. There were no sidewalks or roads, just

hard, pressed dirt that spread from the buildings on one side of them to the buildings

on the other. Every person they saw looked suspicious of some crime or the

contemplation of one. This place was a far cry from the flourishing community of

Bryton.

“The transmission is coming from in there.” Andru pointed to one of the buildings,

a tall wooden structure that had warped boards and peeling paint. What windows there

were had been boarded over, making the place rather uninviting.

They parked, and Meah was incredibly relieved to be free of the virile body behind

her. She fell in next to Ana, not realizing how two curvy Runners dressed in full

military attire drew more attention to them than the stunt she’d performed with Andru.

Both women wore their headscarves but their bodies were quite alluring through their

black leather outfits.

“Let’s surround the building,” Gilroy said to Andru, but then turned to look at her

and Ana. “But make sure you stay linked.”

Andru nodded. “Do it.”

They split up, ignoring the few gawking townspeople who had heard the stories of

the two dangerous races but had never actually seen a Gothman or Runner before. Ana

and Meah ran around one side while Andru directed Gilroy to take the other side.

Andru remained out front and waited until everyone checked in.

“There’re several boarded windows over here, no sign of anyone,” Meah said.

“Same thing on this side,” Gilroy followed in a second.

“There’s another door back here. It doesn’t look like it’s locked,” Ana spoke last.

“Okay, Meah, you’re up here with me. Gilroy, join Ana in the back. On my word,

we enter the building.” As Andru spoke, Gilroy ran to the backside, and Meah moved

quickly back toward the front.

She joined Andru with a laser pulled in either hand. Andru said go and they barged

in at the same time. Inside was one large dark room. They spread out and Meah was the

first to pull her beam to help scour the musty darkness. The other three quickly

followed suit.

“Over here,” Ana called. “I think this is what we’re picking up.”

The others gathered around a small table that housed a landlink and a small

generator.

“Disassemble it and we’ll take it back with us. Let’s get out of here.”

Meah and Ana walked behind the men as all of them hauled equipment to the

gliders.

“Fresh air,” Meah muttered as soon as sunlight hit her face.

“You look really pale.” Ana set the equipment next to her glider and studied

Meah’s face. She glanced over at the men then looked back at Meah and whispered.

“Are you okay?”

“Ana, I think I’m going to be sick.” Meah placed her hand over her heart. “Oh

Crator, not right now.”

The two men looked over at them curiously and Ana smiled at them then grabbed

Meah’s arm. “We’ll be right back.”

Meah felt better by the time they reached camp, which was already set up. It was an

impressive and incredibly secure sight to see so many Runners and Gothman camped

on the high plateau nestled in between large rocky hills. She was in a really good mood

when she discovered her scouts had pitched her tent and a new glider waited for her

next to the tent. She even smiled and accepted the chiding of several Runners who had

heard about the stunt she pulled with Andru.

Everyone had stories to swap around the fires, and Meah enjoyed meat that had

been captured and then cooked over gyrating flames. She turned down several offers

for Gothman wine but instead helped herself to a large cup of cold water out of a

nearby barrel.

There were no signs of Andru, Ana or Gilroy. Ana checked in with her on her

comm to make sure she was feeling better. Meah confided that she was pregnant and

then had to listen to Ana tell her how she threw up several times a day for what seemed

like forever. Meah groaned inwardly and replied it wasn’t that way for her usually. Ana

told her Andru and Tara were going over the landlink the four of them had found, and

hopefully they’d know more about this mysterious clan shortly. However, after eating

her fill and being warmed by the fire, Meah wanted nothing more than to crawl into her

tent and call it a night.

Meah was asleep for what seemed like only minutes when she felt someone shaking

her arm.

“Wake up child,” she heard from somewhere very far away.

It took a minute to adjust her eyes, but then she sat up quickly when she realized

the dog-woman leaned over her.

“It’s you. You’re the dog-woman, aren’t you?”

“That’s what they call me.” The old woman laughed silently. “Hurry, child, we

don’t have a lot of time.”

Meah reached down to grab her pants and pull them on. When she looked up they

were no longer in her tent but outside, and there was no one around them.

“Where are we?” But she spoke to herself. The dog-woman was nowhere in sight.

Meah stood up quickly, fastening her pants. She didn’t have her headscarf and her

hair hung loosely around her. A cool night breeze rustled the trees, and she wrapped

her arms around herself. There was a large house in front of her with a huge wrap-

around front porch. The sweet smell of juniper trees overwhelmed her and she began

walking down the gravel drive that disappeared around the back of the house. She

noticed another structure by the time she reached the backside of the house. It was a

large garage, and light streamed out of it, casting shadows around the edges of the

yard. She pulled her laser and moved toward the tent of light.

“When did we find this out?” The large figure bounded out of the darkness so

quickly Meah didn’t have time to move. “How many are there?”

“Identify yourself.” She screamed more from being scared to death than from an

attempt to sound authoritative.