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  Titus pulled out his gun, having every intention of putting a hole between Kermit’s eyes, but Hudson lunged up and threw himself at the male, sending both of them toppling backwards. As Kermit’s hands twisted and flattened against the concrete floor, the sound of more bones breaking echoed around the room.

  Hudson slammed his hand over Kermit’s mouth, drowning out a bit of the scream emanating from him.

  Anger radiated from Hudson as he glared at Kermit. “I’m going to take my hand from your mouth. Then, I’m going to sit you upright. Don’t be a pussy and scream for help, got it?”

  While he righted Kermit, Piggy woke up. Short and thin in stature, her long face looked nothing like a pig. However, her long, blonde hair did remind Hudson of Miss Piggy, or so he claimed. Titus wouldn’t know.

  “What’s going on?” she mumbled.

  He stepped over to her, placed his finger under her chin, and lifted it so she had to look at him. “Why don’t you tell us? Why were you trying to kill that male?”

  Her eyes widened as she tried to move her hands.

  “Who are you?” she whispered.

  Titus sighed, almost wishing he had stayed home.

  “Let’s try this a different way.” Roman strolled up to Kermit. “Why don’t you tell me how Daniel’s doing?”

  Titus turned as the man paled, blatant shock covering his face. He glanced over at Piggy, who held the same expression.

  Yep, sometimes, the direct approach seemed to be the best.

  “Who are you?” Piggy asked again.

  Roman smiled. “Friends of Daniel’s.”

  She grinned. “Thank goodness. Then you can let us go. We’re his followers and—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Kermit screamed.

  “Don’t tell me what to do! They know Daniel!”

  As the two argued, Titus shook his head. Sometimes, stupidity knew no bounds.

  “You don’t know that they’re friends of Daniel, you dumb bitch!” Kermit yelled.

  “They just said they were!”

  “They could be from the Saviors! You don’t know for sure!”

  Well, well, well. Daniel had shared quite a bit with his followers.

  That also shut Piggy up, and both glared at Titus, Hudson, and Roman. He could practically see the hamsters running on the wheels where their brains should have been.

  After a long silence and a stare down, Titus asked, “So, where can we find Daniel?”

  “Up your ass and around the corner,” Kermit muttered.

  “Oh, I can guarantee you he’s not there.” Hudson bent down in Kermit’s face. “But if you like that ass stuff, we can make something happen.”

  The male spit in Hudson’s face.

  Titus walked over to him. “If that’s the way you want to play it, I can move from nice to nasty in record speed, asshole.”

  He placed his gun against Kermit’s forehead. “Start talking.”

  “Fuck you.”

  He glanced over at Hudson, who nodded, and he placed his gun on the male’s kneecap.

  Kermit looked at the gun, then spit at Titus. He wiped the mess from his face, then pulled the trigger, thankful for the silencer.

  An hour later, Kermit lay dead at Piggy’s feet. He’d refused to give up any knowledge of Daniel’s whereabouts, and the more tactics they used to extract the information, the more obnoxious and defiant he’d become. Hudson had put a bullet in his skull, and all three now turned to Piggy.

  He didn’t consider himself a violent person, but he did have Warrior blood flowing through his veins. His job had been to protect his people on SR44, and he’d done the job to the best of his abilities, up until the last second when he’d stepped on the vessel with an order to carry on his race. He’d killed many Miladrids in the war, and a few Colonists. If he felt the cause was just, he could separate his emotions from his actions.

  Right now as he studied Piggy sitting in her chair and staring at the far wall, he felt as close to his old self as he’d been since he landed on this rock. He excelled at his Warrior role, and perhaps, he’d found the very thing he needed to keep his pain of losing Simon at a minimum.

  However, he knew he didn’t have it in him to kill a female, and he doubted Hudson or Roman did either. It went against every fiber in his body, and that thought made him want to vomit.

  So, what would they do with her? Sunrise quickly approached, and the construction workers would be in to start their jobs at any time.

  “What’s your name?” Roman asked.

  “Kelly.”

  “You’re Daniel’s follower, right?”

  She nodded, and Titus noted she showed no fear, not even a bit of worry. Did she think of herself as invincible? What had Daniel taught his followers? Couldn’t she see she sat in a shitload of trouble? Her friend lay dead at her feet, for God’s sake. What was wrong with her? Maybe she just thought her fate would be the same.

  “Where is he?” Hudson asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him.”

  “How did you find out about him?”

  “On the Internet.”

  Titus sighed. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it bullshit, but Micah had told him that was how Daniel recruited and contacted his followers, and more recently, Blake had said the same. Yet, they’d never been able to figure out how, regardless of how many searches they did. “How did that go? Did you just look up how to be a killer or something like that?”

  She grinned at him, her gaze raking over him from head to toe, making him want to check his fly. “Something like that. You guys have to be a part of the Saviors Daniel spoke of. That’s the only way any of this makes any sense.”

  “Here’s the deal, Kelly,” Hudson began, ignoring her last statement. “I’m tired. I want to go home. I get really cranky when I’m tired. So, start telling me something useful, or I promise you, I will make you hate the day you took your first breath.”

  Titus stared at Kelly, hoping she would give them something. With Hudson being an assassin, he didn’t want to be around to see him torture a female. He’d definitely lose the meager contents of his stomach watching that.

  “I’m not telling you anything.”

  He turned and walked away from her, expecting to hear some bones breaking, or the slap of Hudson’s hand on her skin. Instead, silence blanketed the room.

  “Very well.”

  Titus looked over his shoulder to see Hudson cutting her hands loose. She brought them around to her lap and massaged each one.

  He then took out a phone as he stared at Kelly. Titus listened as Hudson gave them their address. “I think I heard screaming coming from the building, but I’m afraid to go in.”

  A beat of silence ensued.

  “Yes, please send someone.”

  Hudson shoved the phone in his pocket. “There’s only one way out of here, Kelly, and we’ll be watching that door. If we see you come out before the cops come, we’ll shoot you dead.”

  She glanced down at Kermit lying on the floor, a little bit of panic crossing her face as she put the pieces together. “They’ll think I did this!”

  “That’s the point, sweetheart,” Roman said.

  “But I didn’t!”

  Titus walked over to her. “Consider it payback for those you have killed.”

  Her face blanched, and he smiled. They weren’t dealing with any saint caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  If he were to ever cross paths with the simple-looking human being before him, he would never guess her as evil. In fact, he could see her as a librarian or a nurse—someone who did good deeds in the world. Yet, she knew of Daniel, and she’d all but admitted that she’d killed before. He had to peg her as a Colonist offspring.

  Because of this, he didn’t feel bad leaving her to take responsibility for Kermit’s death.

  They walked out while she sat there staring at the body at her feet. He half expected her to beg them to come back so that she could spill her secrets, yet
she remained silent until they were almost out the door.

  “I can’t tell you anything or they’ll kill me!” she called.

  He didn’t look back. As far as he was concerned, rotting in jail could be a fate worse than death.

  As they stood a block away watching the front door, the first rays of sunlight appeared, coloring the sky a light gray.

  He stared upward, watching the last of the stars fade. “I thought you were going to kill her.”

  Hudson scoffed. “What do you think I am? Some kind of animal? I could never hurt a female.”

  “Even a Colonist offspring?”

  “Even one of them. I’m standing out here, and she’s alive and well in there. The thought of laying a hand on a female twists up my stomach.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Roman asked, his eyebrows dancing. “I’ve heard about your past, and it seems to me that you liked to lay your hands on a lot of females.”

  Hudson grinned. “You know what I mean. And for the record, there’s only one female for me now, and that’s Beverly. My past is securely behind me. Sex was only one of my ways of dealing with the death of the female I loved. It was a necessity at the time. Now, it’s nothing but a distinct pleasure.”

  Titus couldn’t help but smile, and found himself surprised when Macy’s face popped into his head. He probably should have her look at his ribs as they had begun to hurt a little while ago. Perhaps later in the day or tomorrow.

  The sirens sounded in the distance, and Titus guessed them about a three blocks away.

  “And what if she comes out that door?” Roman asked.

  Titus sighed. “Can you kill a female, Roman?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Then I guess we watch her walk away.”

  He trained his gaze on the building, hoping she wouldn’t leave. He wanted her to pay for her past deeds, to suffer as much as those she’d killed.

  The cops pulled up, and the trio moved around the corner.

  “Who’s ready to head home?” Roman asked.

  “I was thinking breakfast at that little diner over on Fifth,” Hudson commented. “They should be opening soon.”

  Titus’ stomach howled at the thought, despite the death and violence he’d just witnessed. “Count me in on that.”

  Chapter 13

  Macy had slipped out of bed at five-thirty a.m., sleep eluding her for most of the night.

  She lifted her nightgown over her head, then donned some sweat pants, a sweatshirt, and sneakers.

  She rode the elevator up and wondered if the Warriors had returned from their patrols, and hoped they had fared well. If she needed to heal anyone, it would only drain her further. Of course, she’d do whatever needed to be done without hesitation, but it would mean a long, exhausting day for her.

  As she stepped from the elevator, she paused and listened. She didn’t hear any voices. The females must still be asleep, or perhaps everyone was tucked away in their beds. She hoped for the latter.

  Walking through the kitchen, she went to the door leading out of the silo. As the cool, crisp morning air woke up her senses, she grinned. A magnificent sunrise would refresh her mood. The beauty of the world around her always had the ability to do so.

  Sitting down on the steps, she faced east and waited, wishing she had grabbed a cup of coffee.

  The gray skies turned pink, then purple as the flaming orb crept upward. To her left, she saw a coyote in the distance making its way between the desert shrubs and cacti, followed by its two cubs. The time had come for the night creatures to settle themselves in bed, and for the day critters to get moving.

  Her realization of her feelings for Titus last night had kept her up. She tried to convince herself that falling for a male who only liked other males would set herself up for a world of hurt. Why want someone so badly, someone so unattainable?

  A half-hour later, the sun had fully risen, and a hawk soared above, looking for its breakfast.

  She stood, thinking she heard an engine in the distance. Surely enough, an SUV drove down the driveway followed by a cloud of dust, and she realized she should have just counted the cars to see whether the Warriors had returned. She quickly did so and noted that only one SUV had been missing.

  The black Yukon parked, and Titus, Noah, Roman, and Hudson exited. Her heart pounded at the sight of Titus.

  He waved, and she smiled. It seemed that no one had been hurt, and she sighed in relief as she walked over to them.

  “Greetings for a wonderful morning,” she said in their native tongue. All replied with tired smiles and their own wishes of a great day.

  Noah turned to the males. “I’m heading to bed. I’m glad I met up with you guys for breakfast. We’ll go over what happened in more detail a little later, okay?”

  “Sweet dreams, sunshine,” Hudson called as Noah climbed the stairs to the silo.

  “Everything okay here, Macy?” Roman asked.

  She nodded. “Everything’s fine. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to watch the sun rise.”

  “Why couldn’t you sleep?” Titus asked.

  Because I kept having unintentional thoughts about you.

  “I’m not certain.”

  She followed them into the silo and watched as they all headed their own ways. Titus stayed back and turned to her when they’d been left alone.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  He sighed. “It was difficult. So many things reminded me of Simon, but I made it through the night.”

  She laid her hand on his forearm. “That’s wonderful, Titus. You should get some sleep now.”

  He nodded.

  “May I bring you lunch later?”

  He stared at her a moment, his dark eyes searching. Her breath hitched, and she longed to press her cheek against his chest and feel his strong arms around her just for a moment. She hated feeling so alone—could that be the reason she’d developed feelings for him? Perhaps she just needed someone—anyone—to hold on to, just as she had done with Roman in the bunker. But then again, why didn’t she just go back to Roman? Because, she had no desire for him. She longed for Titus, not Roman, and it had taken something as stupid as him going out on patrol for her to realize it.

  “You don’t need to do that,” he whispered.

  “I know, but I would like to.”

  He nodded. “Very well. I’ll see you around lunchtime.”

  Chapter 14

  Titus stretched out on his bed, naked and still wet from his shower. Exhaustion rolled through him, yet sleep seemed to be eluding him.

  He wished he could find it within him to feel some type of remorse for the torture and killing of Kermit, but he didn’t. He remembered what the Colonists had been capable of before he had been sent away from his beloved home. He’d watched his mother and father slaughtered before his eyes on the city streets. How he’d escaped himself, he didn’t know, but it had to have been sheer luck. As if a force had protected him because the Colonists had moved past him as he lay on the ground watching his family die before his eyes.

  There had been nothing he could have done except return to the military, numbly realizing that his world as he knew it had ended and nothing would ever be the same again.

  He’d never had time to mourn his loss as he’d left the next day and soon found himself under Micah’s command.

  He and Simon had become fast friends, bonding to help each other survive Micah’s wrath. The sexual tension between them had grown and morphed until one night, it couldn’t be denied. How he missed Simon’s hard body against his and the way his strong arms embraced him, making it seem as if all would be right in the world, at least for a little bit.

  He sighed, his thoughts returning again to the previous night. Never had he doubted that they did the right thing, but the female, Piggy, bothered him. She’d watched them try to get the information they needed out of Kermit, who’d refused. Never did she flinch. Her eyes had widened with glee when the final bullet had been delivered. He’d assumed
fear would take over at some point and she would want to talk to save her life. She’d called their bluff and remained quiet, not offering up anything they hadn’t already known. Time had not been their friend, and they’d left her for the police. At least, they’d accomplished getting two Colonist offspring off the streets, so the night hadn’t been a total failure.

  Shutting his eyes, he considered Macy. There had been something different in the way she’d looked at him, yet, he couldn’t place exactly what it had been.

  Back in bed with nothing to occupy his mind, the pain returned full-force. He moaned as it twisted his heart and made his bones ache, as if they were on the verge of snapping in half. As sleep finally visited, he drifted off with thoughts of Simon, and a lone tear trickled down his cheek.

  What he wouldn’t give for one last kiss.

  Chapter 15

  Macy spent the morning with Alaina, Sophia, and Megan, cleaning out the garden for the coming spring. They also discussed what would be planted during that time—or the late winter to most of the United States—and decided they’d try some onions and carrots. The hard, desert ground made it difficult to till the land, but they’d managed roses, tomatoes, and chili peppers this year. They’d made a lot of salsa, which she loved.

  Her watch read almost one, and she decided to take down Titus’ lunch. As she excused herself from the garden and made her way into the silo, excitement rushed through her at the thought of seeing him, but she tried to quell it and wondered if these sudden feelings for the male were real, or if loneliness had moved in as her companion. If it were the latter, then she could always go to Roman to get the physical contact she needed. However, a small voice told her that wouldn’t be enough, nor did she want Roman’s touch. She wanted an emotional connection, something Roman wouldn’t be capable of. At least, they’d never had one before, and she certainly wouldn’t be getting that from a male who mourned the loss of his dead mate.

  Sighing, she prepared his lunch, then rode the elevator down to his floor. As the panels separated, a dim light illuminated from under his door. She knocked quietly and pressed her ear against the thick oak panel to see if he responded.