Resurgence: Green Fields book 5 (45 page)

“And then things changed?” Sam guessed, her voice pressed but not as full of reproach as I’d expected.

“By then I knew who he was. And he was injured. Staying alive was more important than getting our rocks off,” I explained. “And then things changed again and… it’s a long story, but a boring one, I’m sure.”

She nodded, her curiosity evidently satisfied. “You’re happy with him?”

No need to reflect on that. I nodded. “There’s a lot that has happened that I regret, but he’s not one of those things.”

Her low exhale spoke volumes how much that hurt her, but she managed to keep a lid on it for the most part. That was new, too. Sam had always been very open about her feelings, good and bad, with me—but I could see where I no longer deserved that measure of intimacy from her.
 

“You could stay with us, here,” she suggested, perking up a bit. “Your husband, too. We always need more guards. I’d have to talk to Mary and Hamish, but I’m sure they would be happy to let you both stay, if you abide by our rules.”

I’d suspected that they were the ones in charge, but something about how she extended that offer made my hackles rise. I waited just long enough to pretend to think about it but shook my head. “We belong out there. I’m happy that you have a safe, good home here, but it’s not for us.”

I dreaded her contradicting me about my assessment of the settlement, but she remained calm and collected, not a hint of unease visible in her body language. That made me relax again.
 

“You should sleep some more,” she advised. “You look like you need it. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

Closing my eyes, I left my thoughts drift—and the simple comfort of knowing there was someone watching over me finally let me fall asleep for real, staving off the nightmares.

I must have briefly roused when Sam had gotten up, because when I woke up again, she was gone but I wasn’t surprised about it. Instead of her, Margo sat in a chair by the door, looking up from where she was darning socks when she saw me move. She only had a blank stare from me, making me guess that Sam was the only one around who would have welcomed me here for an extended stay. I didn’t mind, and didn’t hold it against Margo and the other villagers, either. I was an intruder, and if not one they were scared of, still a nuisance. From what I could see the shadows outside were lengthening already, telling me that I’d slept through the afternoon. Sitting up, I had to suppress a groan as pulled muscles and strained tendons protested, but that bone-deep weariness had lightened. I made a mental note to make sure to stuff my face with any food readily available to keep my strength up, but for now I felt vaguely normal again.
 

“Where’s Sam?” I asked, hoping that I didn’t sound like a lost puppy. “And have you heard back from Dispatch?”

Margo’s lips twisted at the mention of the scavenger hub, but her tone was pleasant enough as she replied. “Samantha had to see to her duties. And yes, we got word back for you but we thought it was more important to let you sleep. The woman on the radio didn’t sound urgent so we decided the news could wait until later.”

Anger zinged through me but fear came racing right after it—there was a certain kind of news that could always wait because it would never change. Clamping down on that nonsense, I forced myself to stop panicking.
 

“Thanks,” I said as I got up, almost tripping over the unfamiliar extra fabric of the skirt. Margo watched me straighten but did nothing to move herself. “I’ll head over to the radio station now, if you don’t mind?”

I wasn’t exactly asking permission but she took it that way. “You should stay here until Samantha is ready to take you there,” she stated. “We wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

That idea was ludicrous enough to make me want to laugh, but just in time I remembered that I’d dished them the bullshit about not being able to read maps or find a car I’d just abandoned. Maybe their concern was genuine.

“Thank you, but I really need to know—“

I cut off when she let out a loud sigh and started gathering her things. “Very well. I will take you,” she offered, sounding like that was a huge concession.

The sun sitting low in the sky was still enough to make my eyes water, but after a day indoors they were less puffy than before. I did my best to appear small, keeping my head down as I took in everything around me. Still no children, and while there were plenty of people moving around, I didn’t get the sense that anyone was doing anything. Even in Harristown, when the people had gathered to gawk at us, many had been carrying tools or baskets full of clothes to be washed or hung up for drying. Aurora had been an ever bustling hub, with chores and tasks getting completed any time of the day, and even into the night where necessary. The scent of something cooking over a fire lay in the air, but that was it. I couldn’t be gone from here soon enough.

Hamish and two other men were in the radio station, chatting among themselves. When they saw us enter, Hamish gave Margo a concerned look but the others ignored us. Or rather, they finished whatever conversation had been going on before the taller of them, a blond, buff guy in his early forties, turned to leer at Margo. It was when he asked her what she was doing here that I recognized him, but my mind still needed another second to catch up. It was that damn asshole from Harristown, their mayor. I’d forgotten his name. But what was he doing here? Some little tidbit rose at the back of my mind as I did my very best not to let him catch a glimpse of my face. Hadn’t Dave said something about things changing over there, and Rita sending reinforcements? It was an uncanny coincidence to find him here, so very close to that underground complex…

But all those were thoughts that needed a fully functioning brain, and mine wasn’t quite up to the task yet.

“Good to see you’re awake again,” Hamish greeted me, ignoring that asshole’s question to Margo, just as she herself did. “Margo told you that we have news? I’ll try to establish a connection so that you can talk to the people there yourself.”

The other two men left, making me let out the breath that I’d been holding. Margo stared after them for a second, and I didn’t miss the silent exchange she and Hamish had going on. He didn’t look happy, but when he noticed me looking at him, he offered a small smile. “It’s likely good news. They wouldn’t tell us but they didn’t sound concerned.”

Another measure of ease swept through me when the voice that squawked out of the radio was one I recognized. Not Tamara’s but the next best thing—Rita’s.

“This is Dispatch actual, do you copy, Halsey?”

“Hearing you loud and clear,” Hamish told her. “I’ve got Anna here, anxiously waiting for news about her husband.”

“Anna, right,” Rita said, and I could practically hear her smirk through the radio. Her voice normalized as she continued, sounding very professional and appropriately bored. “I think we found your husband, but I need you to verify who you are beforehand.”

“How do I do that?” I asked, not sure what she wanted me to say. Talking in code that no one had established wasn’t exactly easy.
 

She cleared her throat. I thought she was hard-pressed not to laugh. “When I talked to him this afternoon, he told me that there’s a quote you should know. Can you tell me the rest of it? 'I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it when I sorrow most…’”

It was not what I’d expected, but the answer came up in my mind before I even had time to properly think about it. “‘’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’” I swallowed, adding, “I was sick a while ago, and he read me poems from that book he brought with him.”

Rita was incapable of holding a loud bray back now. “Seriously, if anyone tortures me with Tennyson while I’m on my deathbed, I’d come right back to haunt them,” she said, making me wince internally. So much for that—but at least now I knew that she’d recognized me.
 

“There’s no accounting for taste,” I told her, making sure that the smirk I wanted to don didn’t make it onto my face. My voice was still somewhat sharp, making Hamish raise his brows, but he likely attributed that to women bitching each other out, independent of knowing each other.

“There truly isn’t,” Rita agreed with me, still snickering under her breath. “Looks like I found your, what was his name. Oh, Daniel.” I made a mental note to punch her in the face next time I got close enough. “He’s with another group right now who picked him up in the middle of nowhere. They’re in a region with really bad reception, so I can’t patch you through. They already agreed to bring him to your settlement to pick you up. Not sure when I get them on the radio again so I can relay the good news, but I estimate that they will be there in two days from now, maybe three.”

“Thank you,” I said, just as a male voice called over me from the door—the ex-mayor had returned.

“Our settlement doesn’t allow that scavenger scum in here. Only traders.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Rita replied, but her voice had turned about as cold as ice. “Daniel and Anna are both traders, and the group he’s traveling with are bringing some supplies to a drop-off close to you. They’re guarded by some government troops.”

A puzzling statement, but then I realized that this must be the cover story they got together since my first call. I still didn’t know anything about this settlement but Rita likely had all the records right in front of her, including their allegiances. I wondered how the guys intended to pull that claim off, but I was sure that Nate wouldn’t leave anything up to chance—not when it concerned getting me back. That realization made my throat close up, and I sounded appropriately choked up when I thanked her again.

“You really did me a solid there,” I said. “I owe you one.”

“No, you absolutely don’t,” Rita replied with a vehemence that was at odds with her previous teasing. She seemed to realize how that sounded and softened it with a quipped, “That’s what we're here for. Getting you silly traders back to safety. That’s why we keep telling you that you shouldn’t go out on the road unprotected. Bet you won’t make that mistake again.”

She signed off, and I let Hamish do the same on our side. When I turned around to get up, I found that asshole leering down at me. I tensed, incapable of squashing the impulse, but cast my eyes down, still hoping that I hadn’t been busted yet.

“You must be really grateful, eh? That we rescued you, like a stray dog right off the street,” he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorjamb, effectively trapping me inside the room. It was rage rather than fear that made me uneasy, but he must have interpreted that differently. “Don’t worry, you are safe here. But if you feel like you want to show some of that gratitude—“

“She’s married.” Margo interrupted him, surprising me with the vehemence of her outburst. She looked the part, too, a little like a spitting, hissing cat as she stepped up to me and came to a halt between us. “And as you just heard, her husband will soon be here to take care of her again. She is our guest, and should be treated as such, too.”

Beyond the asshole I could see two more guys step up to him, both of them eyeing me with way too much interest.
 

“Don’t worry, we’d show her a good time,” one of them called out, making the other two laugh. I was itching to tell them exactly how much I appreciated that “offer” but held my tongue. That Margo rolled her eyes rather than tensed let me know that she wasn’t afraid of them—just apprehensive.

The three of them turned away to leave, just as I saw Sam hurry toward the building. Even with my vision not the best it only took me a second to realize that she must have been crying, her face still red and blotchy. Contrary to Margo, she stiffened as she approached the men, but the way she held her head high, trying to ignore them, spoke volumes. The other two let her pass but the ex-mayor asshole held out his hand, blocking her way.

“Lovely Samantha,” he drawled, giving her a smile that was way too wide and too familiar. “So good of you to join us. I thought you were occupied with your chores?”

Her gaze flitted to the other two men before it skipped back to him. Her jaw was tense with how hard she was gritting her teeth, but her voice only held the slightest edge as she replied, “I’m all done for today.”

“I think you’re not,” he said, gripping her upper arm and nudging her to turn around. She resisted but only until she saw him glance my way. Then she relented, and he didn’t exactly need to push her anymore. “Don’t worry,” he called back to me over his shoulder. “I’ll bring her back to you as soon as I’m done with her.”

No one spoke up, but from the way Hamish studied a splintered board on the floor and Margo held on to her basket of socks I could tell that they were both uncomfortable as hell. I knew that I should have spoken up but didn’t. Whatever was going on—and it wasn’t that hard to guess what that was—it was business as usual. Suddenly, Mary stressing to Sam that she should explain the “rules” to me—that Margo had mentioned again—made a lot more sense. Why she had neglected that made a lot of sense, too.

As soon as the other men had stepped away, Margo nudged me to accompany her, and she very industriously marched me toward the food hall. Hamish didn’t follow us. Inside, dinner was in full swing, bread and stew getting passed around. I sat down at the table Margo indicated—the same as in the morning—and forced myself to eat the bowl she set down in front of me. Mary was there, too, and I recognized a few of the other women as well, but couldn’t recall their names. One of them was more staring at her food than eating it, and another kept scratching her arm in a tick-like behavior that looked very much like stress-relief to me. This time the perpetual silence that hung over the room felt very different to me than it had in the morning.