Resistance (Earth Evolution Series Book 2) (5 page)

Chapter 7

“Good grief, how many boxes did you bring with you, Jared?” Rachel asked as she lugged a box that felt like it weighed more than she did. She plopped it on the ground next to the other boxes that were being brought in.

“Just a few more. I am here for another week before I have to go back to the ship. I won’t be allowed to return for at least a month or two. My father thinks I’ve spent too many weeks down here. He wants me to take a break. He pulled rank on me and as commander, he has the final word.”

She sat the box down and stood up, groaning. She rubbed her back. The box was heavier than she thought it would be. She knew that she would feel the aches and pains tomorrow.

“Wait, Rachel, don’t lift any more boxes. I told you there are plenty of men around to do that. Did you hurt yourself?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I just ache a little. But I think that will be the last one I will be lifting for a while. What’s in there anyway?”

“The boxes with blue labels have food, the ones with green labels have clothing apparel with shoes, and the boxes with the white labels have the medical supplies.”

She frowned as she looked around and saw a mixture of blue and green labels along with the medical supplies. “Why are there food and clothing boxes mixed in here with the medical supplies?”

“This used to be the tribe’s supply area but I’ve confiscated it to use as the main medical facility since it was larger and has a fountain with running water. The food and clothing will be relocated as soon as the tribe leader decides where he wants them to go. Everything has to be under secure area with a guard on duty at all times now because of the...security issues going on.”

“It’s okay, I know about it. Quinn told me already. Though Kyle should have been the one to, but — anyway.” She blushed, realizing she had said too much.

Jared raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. “Is Kyle still giving you a hard time?”

“Yes. It’s like he knows exactly what to do or say to piss me off.”

Jared answered distractedly as he looked up and watched Lily walk in, carrying another box. “Yeah, I understand that completely.”

Rachel folded her arms across her chest and stared up at Jared. When he finally stopped watching Lily, he looked down and blushed from having been caught. “What?”

“How long has this been going on?”

“How long has what been going on?” Jared stepped around her and went to open one of the medical boxes.

“This thing with Lily.”

“There is no thing with Lily...I mean Mrs. Tyner.”

“Uh-huh. Look, Jared, I like you. Out of all the Estro men you are the easiest for me to get along with. So I want to give you a little bit of advice.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t mess with Lily. Maggie is very protective of Lily and her son. They’re basically like family now so if you screw with Lily’s feelings, Maggie will serve up your balls and feed them to you.”

Jared dropped the box he was holding. “She would actually do that, for real?”

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “We protect our family no matter what. Even though I like you, I would help hold you down if need be while Maggie put the hurt on you.”

He blinked before he replied. “Well, there is nothing going on and I plan to keep it that way. So my balls will be safe enough from you and your diabolical sister.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll go see how Mom’s doing with distributing the clothes, and then I want to take a quick shower.” Rachel walked off smiling as she heard Jared grumbling behind her.

“Feed me my balls? Where do they get this stuff from?”

*****

As Kyle did his security rounds and collected reports from everyone, the last report—the one on Rachel’s whereabouts, left him unsettled. No one had seen her since she last helped her mother finish distributing clothing.

He stopped to speak with her mother who said that Rachel planned to go with several other women to take a quick shower. The bathing area was a blocked-off room containing a water fountain that pumped water from a deep well. The tribe hooked it up so that the water came down like a shower.

It was also where Maggie had been attacked years ago. An emotion that he had never felt before filled him and it was overwhelming.
Fear
. He had never felt such fear before as he rushed toward the bathing area. He rounded the makeshift wall that acted as a barrier and nearly collided with Rachel.

“What the hell, Kyle?” Rachel glared at him.

He reached out and caught her arms before she fell backwards. She was wearing a short robe that was barely tied. The towel that she had wrapped her hair up in had come loose from their collision and fallen to the ground. Her hair was wet and hung down her back in ringlets.

“Rachel, what were you thinking?” he demanded, keeping his hands on her arms to steady her.

“What did I do now?”

“You left yourself alone and vulnerable. This is not the place for that. And you promised you would follow my safety protocols and stay with others at all times.”

She sighed. “I was just taking a shower. I felt weird getting naked in front the others. Many of them are weak still and I didn’t want to make them feel bad since I am healthy. I waited until they were done first. I helped some of the children wash and watched them while their mothers washed next. They literally left ten minutes ago.”

“This is the one place that I would think you would take more precaution in coming to after what happened to Maggie.”

Rachel stopped trying to pull away from Kyle and looked up at him in horror. “This is where it happened?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, I know about it, but how do you?”

“I...found Maggie’s diary and read a few passages. I was going to return it.”

“You had no right to read her diary. That’s personal!”

“You had it and were reading it. Then you dropped it by accident. Does she know you have it at all?”

“Of course she does. She is the one who gave it to me.”

“Oh. Well, you should still know better than to be here by yourself. It’s just too dangerous.”

She looked back at the darkened bathing area and shivered. “I won’t come here again. Even if I have to stink to high heaven then I will.”

Neither said anything as Kyle wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her farther away. “I think there is another bathing area. I will see if I can ask the tribe leader where that is. I will also ask my father if we can bring a few of our engineers down here to build real stalls. I just don’t understand why these people don’t relocate to the domes or to our ships.”

“It’s the only home they’ve known. People will tend to pick what is familiar over what is new and alien to them.”

They stopped and Kyle maneuvered Rachel to where her back was leaning against the wall. He trapped her in his arms and leaned his body close into her. She couldn’t easily escape. He took in her robe and her damp skin. The idea of her being completely naked underneath the flimsy material had him hard and aching.

“You can’t be alone like this. Someone could catch you while you are almost naked and have his way with you.”

“I’m not completely naked. I have a robe on.”

“What’s under the robe? Are you even wearing undergarments?”

She blushed and looked away from him. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“Oh but it is. I’m in charge of security. And what the hell are you wearing on your feet?” He bent down and lifted her left leg to pull off the shoe.

“That’s my flip-flop. Give it back.” She had to reach out to grab hold of him to keep her balance.

“A flop what?” He shook it and frowned when it flipped back and forth.

“My flip-flop. I wear them on my feet for showers so that I don’t walk on the dirty ground. It’s one of the things we brought from the dome to distribute.” She snatched the flip-flop and shoved it back onto her foot. She jerked her leg from his grip a little too fast and lost her hold on him. She started to fall but he caught her and pulled her tight against his chest.

They were both breathing hard and Rachel could feel her nipples harden. “Let me go, Kyle.”

“I can’t.” He leaned down and took her lips gently but firmly.

She shoved him to break their connection but he wouldn’t let her push him away completely. “We shouldn’t do this.”

He moved further against her until he had her pressed tighter against the wall. It was not enough to hurt her but enough to keep her right where he wanted her. “We should, we really should.” He leaned down and kissed her again this time, pressing and teasing until she opened up for him.

“That’s right. Open up for me, baby,” he encouraged her.

*****

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to him. He tasted so good, like nothing or no one she had ever encountered. His flavor was sweet and sexy with a spice she couldn’t quite place. It was addicting and she sucked on his tongue to try to get as much of it as she could.

Several guys in the dome had kissed her before. But they were boys compared to Kyle, who was all man. She had never had this reaction to a kiss before, either. He seemed to know exactly what to do. He must have had lots of practice. That thought didn’t sit well with her.

She felt his fingertips touching her bare shoulders and they trailed down her bare shoulder and then down her arms. She moaned when she felt Kyle take one of her naked breasts into his hand.
Naked? How was she naked?
Her robe must have fallen open and slid off of her without her realizing it.

“Kyle…” She meant to tell him to stop but he was nibbling her earlobe. Her thoughts escaped her except for one.
Since when did ears become an erogenous zone?
His fingers tweaked her nipples and she could swear she felt the pull straight to her pussy. She was growing wet for him, and a need she had never felt before was growing inside her.

She gasped when he leaned down and took a nipple in his hot mouth. No man had dared touch her like this. He suckled first one nipple then the other. His lips devoured her as his fingers trailed down her stomach and then played with her clit. She expected his fingers to move inside her so when he growled and stood up she was confused.

“This had better be good.” He spoke roughly.

It took her a few seconds to realize he wasn’t talking to her, but to whomever it was that contacted him on his communicator.

“Sir, Mrs. James is distraught over her daughter who is still missing. Should we send out teams to look for her?”

“That won’t be necessary. I have Rachel here with me. Let her mother know I am escorting her back.”

“Yes, sir.” He ended the call on his communicator.

Kyle turned to look at her. “Let’s get you back to your mother before she decides to come looking for you herself.” He helped her pull the robe back up and over her. His fingers lingered a little. Then he took her elbow in his hand and began walking her down the tunnel.

“Are you going to talk about what happened?” Rachel asked, feeling ignored.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he told her.

Rachel stumbled. How could he say that? If they hadn’t been interrupted, they would have fucked right then and there. She didn’t like how he could turn his emotions on and off. Rachel was so confused and now she was little bit pissed.

She yanked her elbow out of his grasp. “I’ve got it from here. You can get back to your duties.”

Kyle watched as she stomped further ahead of him, leaving him feeling confused and helpless. He hated feeling that way. Earth women were so complicated.

Chapter 8

Rachel was feeling so many different emotions she didn’t know what to focus on first. She hadn’t slept well the previous night. She tossed and turned, thinking about the kiss. It had quickly spun out of control. She still couldn’t believe she allowed herself to react to him that way. He was just too sexy to resist.

She wanted Kyle. There was no doubt about it. Despite the fact that he flirted with others, she couldn’t hold that against forever. She had pursued his brother before he married her sister so it was all kind of awkward.

She needed to keep her distance from him. After he had just left her without so much as a goodbye, she had been miserable the rest of the evening. She didn’t socialize as she normally would.

He was keeping his distance from her, too, which made her question herself. She wondered if she had done something that turned him off. She wasn’t the most experienced kisser, but no one had complained before. Did he know that she was a virgin? Would that matter to him? She was a little hurt and angry. What made her the angriest was that he hadn’t stopped by to check on her even once that day.

She had told Lily and her mother that she wasn’t feeling well and that she wanted to stay in and rest. But now she regretted the lie; plus, she was bored sitting in the subway car. She couldn’t get herself to go back to sleep and lying there on the bench only gave her uninterrupted time to think about Kyle, his hands, and his addicting kisses.

“Damn it!” She sat up frustrated and angry and embarrassingly horny. It would serve him right if she went out there and found another man, maybe even his cousin, and flirt with him. But the thought of any man but Kyle touching her made her feel queasy inside.

She stood up, needing to get out of the subway car. If she weren’t so far away from the subway entrance she would try to go up top for a little bit. But up top had unpredictable weather, which changed from calm to torrential within seconds. Twenty minutes up top without a filtering mask would fill her lungs with dust particles. Since she was stuck down here, she would at least walk around some.

She left the subway car and started walking toward the main center where most of the tribe members hung out. She got halfway there before she spotted Kyle talking with his brother Jared. She paused and watched as they spoke animatedly. They were a very striking pair. The Estro men were devastatingly handsome when they were all together.  It was hard to look away from them. Well, all the Drastans were gorgeous including the few women she had seen on the ship. It wasn’t fair. She always felt pale and small when she was around them. Maggie called the female Drastans “alien glamour models.” Rachel sighed. She turned around and headed in the opposite direction. She just couldn’t face Kyle at that moment. She needed some space.

*****

Kyle was talking to his brother Jared and they were arguing over his brother wanting to travel to the other tribes to help them. Kyle wasn’t equipped with enough security to accommodate that.

“No, Jared. You’ll have to wait until Father sends more security for that.”

“But these people are in need and from what Maggie says, they won’t travel here for fear of us. We need to go to them and show them that there is nothing to fear.”

“No, I just can’t approve of that right now.”

“I’m the lead mediko and it’s not up to you.” Jared stood at his full height.

“Well, I’m head of security and how do you expect to transport the medical supplies without my cooperation?” Kyle stood to his full height but was still a couple of inches shorter than Jared.
Damn him.
But he was still in charge of this mission and he wouldn’t be intimidated. “That’s final.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Excuse me.” A small voice said from below.

Kyle looked down as he noticed a small boy pulling on Jared’s pant leg to get his attention.

Jared knelt down to the child’s height. “Thomas, why aren’t you with your mother?”

“Mommy’s over there but she didn’t see me leave. I needed to tell you something.”

“You know better than to leave your mother’s eyesight. You have to be safe and follow the rules,” Jared told him.

The little boy looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry, Doctor Estro. I just wanted to know where Rachel was going.”

Kyle felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knelt down to look at the little boy. “What about Rachel?”

“Mommy said she wasn’t feeling well and she stayed in the subway car. But I saw her heading toward the dark sub tunnel by herself.”

“How long ago was that? Thomas, I need to know.” Kyle’s voice was a bit desperate.

“Easy, Kyle, he’s just a little boy.” Jared wrapped a protective arm around Thomas’s shoulders. Jared used a gentler voice. “Thomas, this is important. Rachel could be in trouble. Do you remember how long ago it was that you saw her?”

“I don’t know. I called out to her but she didn’t hear me. So I tried to tell Mommy but she was busy.” Thomas was starting to sound upset.

“It’s okay, Thomas. You did just fine.” Jared picked up the little boy and held him gently to his chest, patting his back.

It surprised Kyle to see his older brother being so caring. He was usually impersonal with people. Of course he cared as a mediko, but he held back his emotions most of the time, which left the impression that he was cold. Kyle had a flashback to when he was about Thomas’s age and he had hurt his knee. Jared cared for him and comforted him. It was Jared’s nature to heal anyone who was hurt.

He shook his head as he put those thoughts away. He had to concentrate on what was happening now. He needed to find Rachel. He took hold of his communicator.

“I need everyone to be on the look out for Miss James. She has walked off on her own.” Kyle put his hand on Thomas’s back. “I’ll find her, Thomas.” He turned and walked off.

Kyle felt horrible inside. Something was off. His instincts had never steered him wrong before. Everything in him screamed that Rachel was in danger. He had to find her.

*****

Rachel knew she was being stubborn and stupid. She had started walking down the dark tunnel and gotten twenty feet in before she felt uneasy, like she was being watched. Every horror movie she had ever seen involved a blonde girl or cheerleader going down a dark deserted pathway, then a killer with a big knife or a chainsaw coming out and mutilating her. She hated those horror movies and it was worse was that she was both blonde and an ex-cheerleader and walking around a dark tunnel all by herself. 

“This is stupid.” She had let her emotions get the better of her. It was completely irresponsible and idiotic to be out here all alone. She was acting like a child having a temper tantrum. Unlike her old neighborhood back home before the nukes, this was not the time or place. There were real dangers out there in the dark spaces.

She turned to head back but a scuffling sound to her right had her heart beat increase. Someone was definitely out there watching her, following her. She picked up her speed and was almost jogging when something hit her from her left side and knocked her down. She felt strong, hard hands grip her.

“Let me go!” She tried to kick the man who had landed on her, but her legs were trapped and he was too heavy to shove off of her.

An unfamiliar voice called out in dark. “Get her mouth shut now before someone hears her! We need to leave like five minutes ago.”

“Help!” Rachel tried to scream but the man holding her down crammed something in her mouth. The guy quickly tied her hands together with rope. She had to do something before they dragged her to another location.

She tried to remember all the defense lessons her father had taught her and Maggie before the nukes hit. She hadn’t had to use those moves in a long time, but she remembered a few. She pretended to stop struggling and allowed the two men to lift her to her feet. When she was standing, she stomped on the foot of the guy holding her from behind and shoved her elbow in his stomach.

“Ouch!”

Rachel yanked free from the man’s hold and sprinted forward, running as fast as she could. She didn’t have time to pull the cloth from her mouth. Both men jumped at her and knocked her down. She struggled with all her might while on her stomach, but it was pointless. She was flipped over to her back and the saw the fist coming for her face but could not move out of the way. The pain was instantaneous and the last thing she saw before everything went dark was a pair of angry brown eyes staring at her. She was in a shit world of trouble.

*****

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Kyle was yelling at his security team.  

“Sir, we found signs of a struggle near the north tunnel, but the tracks are misleading. It does not show whether the north tunnel was taken for an escape or not.”

“There are only two directions they could go, north or south. Send men in each direction!”

“Yes, but on both ends there is a cross section where an unused tunnel intercepts. We do not have enough security to check in possibly four to six different directions and keep the tribe area secure.”

Kyle ran a hand through his short hair.
Damn it
. Lieutenant Burk was right. They needed to send off for more help to search for her. But he didn’t want to wait either. He took a moment and used his communicator to relay the situation to the command ship. His father told him he would send twenty down to help.

Kyle ended communications and looked at Lieutenant Burk. “How many men can we spare to help me search the tunnels?”

We have six security detail, not counting the two of us.”

“I’ll take four men to help me search the tunnels now, and leave two with you to secure the tribe area. Then you can redirect the men that come down.”

“Shouldn’t you remain here, sir?”

Kyle shook his head. “No, I want to lead the search party. Call the men in so we can organize them.”

“Right away.”

Kyle saw Mrs. James approaching him with a worried look on her face. He wanted to reassure her they were going to find Rachel. “We’re pulling men in so that we can search the tunnels.”

“It’s not like Rachel to run off like this. Something’s not right. She wouldn’t worry me like this.”

Kyle put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. “I’ll find her. If anyone hurts her they will wish they never existed.”

“Go bring our girl back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He walked away toward where his men had gathered. He felt something inside gripping his heart at the thought of something horrible happening to Rachel. She wasn’t as strong as Maggie and had never really had anything bad ever happen to her. How was she going to handle it? He had to save her.