The Three (28 page)

Robby dropped his hand from Matt’s chest and shoved it against Kael’s shoulder. “Back off, man. You don’t want to start something here.”

“Kael.” Anna laid a calming hand on her arm. Please just control your temper until we get the information we need. “You saw something?” she asked Matt.

“Yes. A group of men, yesterday afternoon.” He glanced nervously at a fuming Robby. “They were traveling north. We passed them just after lunch.”

Anna’s heart began to pound. That has to be them.

“How many men?” Kael asked.

Matt shrugged. “Twenty, maybe?”

“Nah,” Robby interrupted. “I’d say more like twenty-five, maybe thirty.”

Anna’s tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth. She knew the next question to ask, but she struggled to tamp down her rising emotion. This was something—real, solid information— just when she thought they might never know where Elin had been taken.

“Did they have any women with them?” Kael’s voice cracked, betraying her anxiety.

“One that I saw,” Matt said, with a vague look of embarrassment. “They were leading her along with her hands tied.”

“Do you know the prisoner or something?” Robby asked. His eyes softened a bit, but his posture remained ramrod straight. “What’s it to you?”

“Depends.” Kael kept a straight face, but Anna could feel the barely perceptible quaking of her lean frame pressed against her side. “What did she look like?”

“Redhead,” Matt said. “I didn’t get a good look because we were kind of lying low until they passed, but…she was definitely a redhead.”

“She was hot,” Robby said. All traces of sympathy were gone as he eased into a nonchalant half-smile. “I bet she won’t be when those guys are finished with her.”

Kael’s arm shot out, and she gathered the front of Robby’s T-shirt in her fist, pulling his face close to hers.

Her lips curled, and she growled at him in wordless rage. Seeing the quick flash of violence in Robby’s eyes, Anna stepped between them and pushed Kael away. She shot Kael a pleading look before turning to Robby with hard eyes.

“She’s my sister,” she lied. I don’t want to get into the particulars of our relationship right now. “Don’t say anything like that again, okay?”

Robby looked her up and down, obviously dubious that she could have a pale-skinned, red-haired sister.

But he backed down slightly and said, “I’m just being realistic. What…are you planning on catching up to them and staging some heroic rescue? Two against twenty-five?”

She hoped there were only twenty-five. “How did she seem?” Anna asked.

“She looked healthy enough. One of her hands was bandaged, I think.”

“She was limping, too,” Matt offered in a helpful voice. “I’m sorry about your sister, miss. When we saw them I wished I could save her, but—”

“But even a punk kid like him knows when a girl is beyond help.” Robby’s gaze was almost apologetic, then his eyes went blank. He nodded at the gash on Kael’s head, which was slowly healing but still ugly. “That from them?”

Kael held Robby’s gaze. “It’s nothing.”

“Looks like something to me.”

“It’s nothing,” Anna repeated. Turning to Matt, her stomach flip-flopping with sudden urgency, she asked,

“Where were you when you saw them? Can you tell us anything about where they’re heading?”

Matt’s face colored under her attention. “Well, I guess we saw them just before we got on 65, so…yeah, they were heading north on Interstate 71. We passed them just north of Louisville.”

“Thank you,” Anna breathed. Despite the fact that nothing had changed, her spirits lightened. “Matt, thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem.”

Zep chose that moment to release a little yelp, startling everyone into gaping at one another with identical looks of surprise. After a moment Anna laughed, then half-turned to show Matt and Robby her precious bundle.

“Puppy,” she explained. “His mother and littermates were killed by wolves.” Matt took an excited step forward then stopped short, meeting Anna’s eyes. She nodded. “Go ahead and pet him. He loves attention.”

“Cool.” Drawing a brief look of disapproval from Kael, Matt reached out to stroke the tiny puppy. “What’s his name?”

“Zep.”

“We should get going.” Robby turned dismissive eyes from Kael. “I’m sorry to interrupt your wet dream here—a hot girl and a puppy, you fuckin’ loser—but we’re burning daylight.”

Matt shot Robby a red-faced scowl. “Fuck you, man. Why do you always decide when we break?”

Anna had to suppress a giggle at the all-too-familiar argument. Kael stood silent and tight-lipped. From the way she held her body, Anna guessed that it took every ounce of her will not to pummel Robby.

“Tell you what, kid. I’m going to go take a piss while you say goodbye to your new friends here. Then we leave.” Robby stalked off in the direction of a large billboard at the side of the highway.

When he was out of earshot, Kael murmured, “No offense, Matt, but your buddy’s a real asshole.”

“I know.” Matt stroked Zep’s head. “But it’s better than traveling alone. He’s not so bad, most of the time.”

“Go ahead and take him out of the sling,” Anna offered. “You can hold him, if you want.”

Matt positively beamed. “Really?” His voice cracked a little on the word.

“Sure.” She stood still as he extracted the puppy from the sling and brought him close to his chest.

With his eyes shining and his nose crinkled with the force of his smile, for a brief moment he reminded her of Elin. His innocence, the light in his eyes, all of it recalled what Anna adored most about her red-haired lover. She blinked back tears and checked Kael’s reaction.

Bitter melancholy immediately crept into her heart. Kael was silent and expressionless.

As if sensing Kael’s mood, Matt again tried to buy some slack for his rude traveling companion. “Robby’s had a hard life. He doesn’t mean half the shit he says. He just…doesn’t know how to be any other way.”

“Robby’s had a hard life,” Kael muttered. “Haven’t we all?”

Matt looked so uncomfortable, Anna sought to reassure him. “You handle Zep like a pro. You ever had a puppy before?”

“I’ve never even seen one.” He scratched Zep’s head and laughed when the puppy’s leg began to twitch in synchrony with his fingers. “This is a good day.”

“I’m glad.” And she was. Watching Matt’s happiness made her feel as good as she had in days.

Matt’s smile faded, replaced with a stricken look. “I really am sorry about your sister. I hope you find her and get her back. I’d love to help, if I thought Robby would ever go for that.”

“Somehow I don’t see your friend engaging in acts of heroism,” Kael said cynically.

“I just don’t understand…” Matt seemed to be speaking his thoughts out loud. “I mean, I want a girlfriend as much as the next guy, but I can’t understand just taking—” He lowered his gaze to the ground. “I hope you get her back.”

“Thanks,” Anna said. “The information you just gave us helps a lot.”

Matt ruffled Zep’s fur before returning the puppy to Anna. “Your sister will love him. Thanks for letting me hold him.”

“You’re welcome. How old are you, by the way?”

“Sixteen.” Matt grinned and raised shy blue eyes. “Seventeen next month.”

“Cool.” Anna imagined Matt filled out with age and with curly hair. He could be Garrett’s baby brother. “You remind me a little of a friend I used to have.”

“Ready to go, kid?” Robby returned and cut off any response the boy might have managed.

Matt gave a disappointed nod. “Yeah, man. I’m ready.” He held out his hand to Anna. “It was great to meet you, Anna.”

Anna shook his hand. “Likewise, Matt. Thanks for everything.”

Matt nodded, then looked at Kael with almost fearful eyes. “Good luck. I know you’ll get her back.” He offered his hand.

Kael took it, and glared at Robby when the older man snickered under his breath. “Thanks, kid.”

Eager to cut off a possible confrontation, Anna waved at Robby. “Thanks for your time.”

Robby nodded at her, then, after a hesitation, at Kael. “Travel safe.”

Kael secured Zep in the sling as they watched Robby and Matt walk away. “I didn’t like that guy,” she grumbled. “Asking if you were mine. What a fucking asshole,” she said. “I thought he was going to come in his pants just talking to you.”

“Shut up.” Anna kept pace with Kael at the center of the road. Now that they knew which route they needed to take, there was no need to scour the shoulders. “Matt seemed like a good kid.”

“He did. I hope he stays that way, with the company he keeps.”

Anna frowned at the thought of the fresh earnestness in blue eyes being wiped away by his surly companion. Or by anything else. The sudden surge of protectiveness startled her and reminded her again of how she felt about Elin.

“Then again,” Kael continued, “I suppose nothing stays that way forever.”

Anna’s eyes filled with tears at the naked disillusionment in Kael’s voice. For a moment it felt as though Kael was giving up— not only on Matt, but also on Elin—and it took everything Anna had not to strike out at her lover in anger.

Anna jerked in surprise when Kael took her hand. She gazed at Kael, too tired to hide her volatile emotion.

“Except Elin,” Kael told her in a soft voice, her indigo eyes radiating quiet empathy. “We’ll make sure that Elin stays that way.”

Anna managed a tremulous smile at that. She had no choice but to believe it was true.

THE SKY WAS black and fuzzy with stars that looked distorted through Anna’s watery eyes. She’d awakened with the sweet strains of a dream about Elin still floating through her mind, and she felt her delicate control slipping.

She sensed Kael stretched out beside her, but she didn’t turn to look at her lover. My lover. My lover whom I hardly recognize anymore. Kael seemed to grow weaker every day, but she remained stubborn about keeping their pace. It tore Anna apart to watch her struggle through every step they took. She felt as though Kael were dying right in front of her eyes.

They’d agreed on a new travel strategy as they passed through the town of Shepherdsville a couple of hours before they set up camp. Anna glanced across at the bicycles they’d found. They would help, but everything depended upon whether they could find Elin if the trail grew cold, and beyond that, whether they could defeat at least thirty-odd men even if they did. Every day Anna grew less hopeful, but she struggled to maintain a confident façade for Kael. Kael was determined to be strong by refusing to stop no matter how battered she felt, but Anna knew that her emotional state was more fragile than her body at this point.

For days Anna had worried that if she cracked, Kael would surely follow.

And if Kael cracked, Anna was afraid of what might happen.

In the daylight, she wouldn’t let herself cry. Not for Elin, not for Kael, and certainly not for herself. But at night, she felt the sadness, fear, and exhaustion weigh down upon her and she lacked the will to fight it off.

She looked over to Kael. Amazingly, she slept, with Zep curled up next to her head. Anna experienced a feeling of pure relief at the sight, then the release of knowing that for the first time in days, she could think about something else.

After a moment of brief struggle, she began to cry.

Anna lay in Elin’s arms, naked and sweating slightly. Kael was off hunting, as usual, so they had stolen some private time together. Since becoming lovers only a week earlier, Anna had devoted herself to making Elin feel good.

“That was amazing.” Elin pulled Anna up for a long kiss. “I love everything about you, sweetheart.”

“I love everything about you, too.” Grinning, Anna buried her face between Elin’s breasts, inhaling the scent of her freckled skin. “Especially the way you look when I’m touching you.”

Elin ran gentle fingers through Anna’s hair, and after some time, Anna whispered, “When I was growing up, I never, ever thought I would find someone who would love me like this.” The confession made her feel vulnerable and strong at the same time. “I thought I was a freak because I liked girls.”

“Did you ever tell anyone?”

“Only Garrett. And only after he told me that he liked boys. I was so embarrassed to think of anyone finding out.”

“You knew people would think it was wrong?”

“How could I not? All everyone talked about was when I would get married and start having babies. I think it was pretty much assumed that I would marry Garrett. I would have, too, though we would have had a hard time with the babies.”

“You never thought about trying to find someone to love?”

Anna shook her head and kissed the slope of Elin’s breast. “I never thought it would be possible.”

Elin caressed the back of Anna’s head. “I always dreamed of growing up and finding my true love. I just never imagined I would find two.”

“I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t found you,” Anna whispered. “It scares me to think about it. If I’d been traveling any slower, if I’d taken even one step in a different direction…I may have never known what loving you was like.”

“But you do know.” Elin cupped Anna’s face in her hand. “And you’ll never have to be alone again.”

Anna choked back a loud sob. She closed her eyes and tried to hold on to the memory of Elin: her smell, the softness of her skin, the feeling of her hands. Cold tears slid down her face. She struggled to get a grip, to bring her emotions under control, but she felt terrifyingly empty. Without thinking, she slid her hand into her panties, moving between her legs and stroking herself with tentative fingertips. She replayed the memories she had over and over again. Making love to Elin. Talking with her. Sharing every aspect of her soul with the first woman to ever kiss her.

She wasn’t wet, but the steady rhythm of her fingertips circling her clit brought a sense of comfort that she hadn’t felt since Elin had been taken. She continued to touch herself, still crying, and wishing for sleep. If she were lucky, Elin would be there waiting.