NaNoWriMo, Part V
Downstairs was cooler than Jay had expected. Although the flames reflected their eerie light into the basement, the heat and terror hadn’t yet descended. Morgan dug through her bag for a moment, then pulled out an old battery operated flashlight.
“That thing still works?” She flipped it on.
“I’ve been saving it for an emergency.” Morgan led the men over to her father’s old workstation. Pulling yet another bag from the table, she began throwing small boxes into it. Hunter was confused.
“What are those?” Jay was staring at his sister, just now beginning to realize the implications of her actions.
“Bullets.” He turned towards Hunter, voice soft with disbelief. “Dad used to make his own bullets down here. He’d farm the firing ranges for brass, then pack and reload the gunpowder down here.” Both men turned to watch Morgan, still packing the little boxes into her bag. “How much ammunition do you really think we need Morgan?” She didn’t even look up.
“Ammunition is both expensive and useful. You can never have too much.” There was an ominous creak from overhead, and a low whine from one of the dogs. The bag was about half full when Morgan finally turned away. “Lets go. Here’s the camping gear.” She pulled a large sack off the shelving behind the bench and threw it to Jay. He scowled, swinging it around to rest against his duffle.
“That’s all well and good Morgan, but now how do we get out of here?” Pushing through the men she led them to the other corner of the basement where a large wooden box jutted out from the wall. After tinkering with something at the side, she put her bags down. Grunting a little with the effort, she shifted the box over, revealing a tunnel through the ground. Kahn and Link rushed past them into the tunnel, obviously a trip they were familiar with. Handing the flashlight off to Jay, she pushed him into the dark.
“Stop when you find the dogs. I’ll be along in a moment.” Turning to Hunter she attempted to push him in as well, but he resisted. Putting a hand on him to enforce her silent direction, she swore, yanking her hand back. His shoulder was hot. Their eyes met in the half light of reflected flames.
“What are you doing?” He asked. Morgan glared at him, sick of having to explain herself every five minutes. Extremely irritated, she tried to shove him again, but it was like trying to shove a brick wall. A heated brick wall. She snatched her hands back from his burning chest, cradling red palms.
“Why are you so hot?”
“Answer my question and I’ll answer yours. What are you doing?” Reminded of her task, she pulled something out of her pocket. Despite the flames above them, she struck a match.
“I,” she said calmly, “am lighting a stick of dynamite.” Heat flashed in silver eyes again, easy to see despite the darkness.
“Ah.” Hunter took the dynamite from her hand and placed it against the bottom of the cement wall directly across from the tunnel. They watched the fuse burn for a moment, then Hunter grabbed Morgan’s arm and they sprinted into the dark tunnel.
They were maybe a hundred yards down the tunnel when the explosion occurred. The shock wave knocked them off their feet, causing Hunter to lose his grip on Morgan’s arm as they fell. The earth trembled for a moment, then stopped. All was silent.
For a moment Morgan just sat in the dark. The complete absence of both light and sound allowed her to become aware of her body’s complaints for the first time. Although both palms still felt tight and lightly burned from touching Hunter, she could feel blisters forming on her left hand from catching the torch, and the slow trickle of blood from where the rough wood had gouged her.
Besides her she felt the air stir as Hunter got back on his feet. Morgan felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as he looked down at her and she could actually SEE his eyes. Despite the complete lack of light, Morgan was able to pinpoint Hunter’s silver eyes exactly as he stared at her. Instinctively her knees pulled into her chest, defensively and she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he could truly see her in the dark. He reached out to help her up, but for a moment all she could do was shrink back with humanities instinctive fear of the unknown. Those silver stars in the darkness narrowed, then turned up in what Morgan could only imagine was derision. It was that thought, more than any other, that spurred Morgan to her feet. She might not know WHAT exactly Hunter was, but if he thought being different was enough to intimidate her-that being more than human was enough to scare her silly-he was wrong. her spine straightened. He wasn’t the only one who was more than ordinary.
Ignoring the stones that rolled under her bare feet, ignoring the outstretched hand and unnatural shine of silver through black, she strode past him, the taunt line of her shoulders practically daring him to keep up.
Jay was waiting for them in a wider section of the tunnel. His back was turned towards them as he dug through the supplies stockpiled against the walls. he was muttering to himself.
“Rifle, sleeping bag, ammunition, ammunition, more ammunition…MRE’s-Good Lord, I wonder where she got those? Matches, dog food…Holy crap! This first aid kit should count as it’s own mobile hospital unit. It’s twice as good as mine…” he didn’t hear them approaching.
“Why don’t you swap your first aid kit out for mine then?” Morgan spoke from directly behind him. Jay swore and turned around, flashlight bobbling in his hands. There were a couple of muted thumps as one of the dogs wagged their tail against the packed earthen floor. Morgan smiled at them, then felt Hunter pause behind her.
“Well. I’m glad to see that the brutes are finally starting to accept me, at least.”
Morgan’s smile grew as she watched Kahn and Link, tracking them by the eye shine reflected from the flashlight’s glow.
“Actually, I trained them to be completely silent down here. It would kind of give away the secret if someone heard them barking.” Jay shook his head at yet the newest sign of how his baby sister had changed. Slightly uncomfortable with it, he changed the topic.
“So where does this lead us?”
“It comes up under the Anderson’s back deck. The house has been abandoned since the start of the war, so it seemed as good a place as any.”
“Isn’t that kind of risky though? What if the deck collapsed? You’d be trapped down here.” Jay said.
“It won’t collapse. I actually reinforced it when I decided that the tunnel would come up there. Besides, I’ve got enough to live off down here for months.” Both men were silent for a moment, considering the implications of such foresight. Finally Morgan sighed, crouching down to rub Link’s head. “Why don’t we organize the gear and see what we have. Between the three of us we should be able to carry everything we need.”
“That’s good,” Hunter said “however, where exactly are we going?” Morgan’s smile turned a little darker as she turned to face him.
“I don’t know-but we can’t stay here. I have a friend who might have an idea of where we can go-but either way, as soon as they realize there is no body, they’ll be looking for me.” Morgan leaned over the pile, shifted a few things and came up holding a rifle, which she slung over her shoulder. “You two should be adequately armed, right? The Army’s usually good about that sort of thing.” Hunter couldn’t help but smile wickedly.
“You could say that.”
“Good. Grab anything else you think might be vital and let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll be gone.” Jay rolled his eyes.
“Gee, I’m glad you said that. I wasn’t sure about that whole time thing…” She ignored him, continuing to stuff things into her pockets and bag. The tunnel was silent for a couple of minutes as the three of them rummaged through the extra supplies, packing and rearranging. Finally finished, Hunter and Jay followed Morgan, Kahn and Link down the tunnel again, into the waiting dark.
Emerging from underneath the Anderson’s deck, Morgan held a hand up behind her to stop the men. Closing her eyes and bracing herself, she dropped her shields, searching for anyone who might see them. Instantly she was hit with such a whirling tide of agony, rage and buried lust that she dropped to her knees, clutching her head. Unable to help herself she gagged, hunching over herself. It was only a moment before she could raise her shields again, but still she stayed kneeling in the mud, barely aware of her surroundings. There was a touch upon her bowed back, causing her to rear up and twist, arm cocked back to swing. Half lost in the lingering waves of malignant emotion, her wild eyes met Jay’s concerned ones before she followed through to actually hit him. Although he didn’t speak, she could read the worry in his face. She shook her head, staving off any questions.
“They’re still at the house.” Her voice cracked, low and hoarse. Turning away from Jay she refused to look at Hunter, ashamed that he had seen her fall apart, even as the residue of Parker’s mind still sent shivers down her spine. Silent, she slipped out into the predawn darkness. There was no looking back.
Still silent, they slipped through the lightening forest, trying to stick to the shadows. Although there was no visible path, Morgan seemed to know where they were going. She strode forth unhesitatingly, bearing consistently in the same direction, sliding from shadow to shadow, edging around clearings, and generally proving to both Jay and Hunter that she was more competent than either of them at sliding through the forest.
Following Morgan through the woods their progress slowed to a crawl as the sun rose fully above the horizon. Finally she stopped, waiting for Jay and Hunter to catch up. She was silent for a moment, green eyes distant, before focusing on them.
“We’ll stop here for a bit.” Without waiting for a response, Morgan moved a little farther away, then plopped onto the ground, leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes. Jay sighed and moved off as well, muttering something about making a ‘pit stop’. Despite her relaxed pose, Hunter had a feeling that Morgan was more than aware of her surroundings. He frowned as a familiar scent drifted past his nose. Looking around, a dark smear on the grass in front of him caught his eye. Kneeling over it, his nostrils flared as he followed the trail to Morgan. Silver eyes narrowed, he prowled over to stand towering over her. Although her eyes didn’t open, he could see her tense. “What?”
“Your feet are bleeding.” Still her eyes didn’t open.
“So?”
“Why didn’t you grab shoes?” Morgan didn’t reply. Hunter’s eyes narrowed even more, until they were barely visible. “Morgan.” Still no reaction. Crouching down in front of her, Hunter reached out to take her one of her feet, but she tensed even farther and jerked away.
“Don’t touch me.” He looked up to see emerald eyes burning back at him.
“I just want to see how bad it is.” She snarled at him, the animalistic expression strangely natural on her face.
“I don’t know what you are, and I don’t trust you. Don’t touch me.” Hunter allowed her to curl defensively away from him, but didn’t move. He raised his voice.
“Jay.”
“Yah?”
“Your sister is bleeding.” Morgan hissed at Hunter, knowing that he’d aroused Jay’s protective instincts.
“What? Where? How bad is it?” Hunter’s smile was more of a smirk.
“I don’t know, she won’t let me look at it.”
“Morgan!” Jay’s voice took on the typical exasperated older brother tone-only it had been years since Morgan had listened to it. She ignored his exasperation, and stared at Hunter, eyes hard.
“Touch me and I’ll break your sternum.” Ignoring her words he reached for her foot again. Faster than the eye could track, Morgan slid on her side and kicked at Hunter’s chest, heel aimed for the middle of his sternum. Hunter captured her foot an inch from his chest, knocking it up to relieve the momentum. Ankle caught securely in his large hand, he smiled wickedly.
“Although I would have preferred you just let me look, this works as well.” Jay came rushing over as Hunter started to brush the debris from the ground off her foot.
“Where are your shoes?” Her gaze shifted from glaring at Hunter to staring drolly at Jay.
“What shoes?”
“You didn’t grab any shoes?” Jay asked.
“Apparently not. Oops.”
“Damnit Morgan!” Jay pulled his shirt off over his head, then handed it to Hunter.
Hands gentle, Hunter wiped the mud and blood off the bottom of her foot, ignoring as she occasionally twitched. Fortunately, none of the cuts on her foot were deep, so he ripped the shirt in half and began winding it around her foot. Morgan twitched again as his warm fingers brushed the sensitive arch of her foot. She looked up to find Hunter staring at her hungrily. The pit of her stomach dropped as he brushed her arch again, this time without the cloth between their skin. Suddenly her foot felt small, almost delicate in his large, hot hands. Holding Hunter’s eyes, Morgan slowly pulled her foot up, away from the temptation he presented. Without a sound, he pulled her other foot into his lap.
Although she knew that Hunter wasn’t human and although she knew he wasn’t to be trusted, Morgan couldn’t help the shiver working its way down her spine as his agile fingers first cleared then began to massage the ball of her foot. Unashamed yet defiant, Morgan held Hunter’s gaze, even as his touch shifted from clinical to caressing. Neither paid any attention to Jay, still standing there, watching with narrowed eyes. Turning away, Jay ‘accidentally’ knocked Hunter in the back of the head with his bag, breaking their trance.
“Oh, Hunter, I’m so sorry.” Jay said, trying to work some concern into his voice. Jay could tell that Morgan knew it wasn’t an accident by the way her eyebrow was raised, but Hunter’s expression was unreadable. Morgan shifted herself upright again, this time careful to hide her still bleeding hand. While it was sweet that they both so obviously cared, it wasn’t life threatening, and they had lingered in one place long enough. Standing she winced as her feet started their protest anew.
“Why don’t you wear my shoes or something?” Jay asked, watching her grimace. Morgan laughed.
“Oh yes, that’d work out well. Can you see me trying to be stealthy then? Your feet are like twice the size of mine.” Suddenly struck by a wave of sisterly love, she rose on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “But thank you.” Dropping her shields momentarily, she caught a surge of frustrated protectiveness from Jay, before he felt her and erected his own mental shields. With a quick scan she was able to ascertain that pursuit was nowhere near. Morgan whistled for Kahn and Link, who had been roaming ahead of them. Both animals came charging through the underbrush, as excited to see her as if they had been gone days, as opposed to mere minutes.
Morgan laughed as they cavorted around her, bodies wiggling like puppies. Finally she sent them ahead again with a hand signal. Checking the angle of the sun and it’s direction, she motioned to Hunter and Jay.
“We made good time. If we push it, we should get there an hour or so after sunset.”
By the time they reached their destination, Morgan was struggling not to limp. Although she was fairly certain they would be walking into trouble, she still had the men stay hidden in the forest as she crept, alone, around the house, looking for possible dangers. Both Hunter and Jay had protested her insistence that they remain hidden in the denser woods, but had been eventually persuaded by her argument. Although it would be suspicious if she were caught sneaking about, Morgan was confident that out of the three of them she was the one least likely to be caught-and even if she was caught, Morgan had every confidence that between the two of them, Jay and Hunter were more than capable of getting her out of any trouble once the need for silence was done. It was just their stealth skills she didn’t completely trust.
Sensing that the coast was clear, Morgan walked right up the gravel path way leading to the little cottage, fully revealed by the lamp hanging over the door. Reaching up to knock, she caught sight of the large blisters formed on the back of her hand. She frowned, sighed, and switched arms.
Morgan knocked aggressively, loudly, three rapid beats, pause, one, pause, and two more rapid. Although there was no sign or sound of movement, a voice called out from behind the reinforced door.
“Who is it?” Straightening to smirk at the obvious peephole, Morgan pretended to dust off her dirty clothes, before pitching her voice an octave lower to call her reply.
“Fed Ex. Got a special delivery.” There was silence behind the door for a moment. Morgan could feel the stares of Hunter and Jay drilling into her back. Finally there was laughter on the other side of the door, and the sound of dead bolts sliding back. The door flung open revealing a lanky young man. He was about Morgan’s age, with dark brown eyes and a shock of electric red hair.
“Morgan my love!” He exclaimed, sweeping her off her feet and into a flying bear hug. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in almost a month?” He stopped, pulling back to really look at her for the first time, brown eyes turning serious. “Good God, what’s happened to you?” Morgan shook her head, laughing herself, and embraced the man again.
“It’s good to see you Paul.” She said. “Unfortunately I’m not really here for a social visit. I’ve got some people I want you to meet, then we’ve got to talk.” She beckoned Jay and Hunter towards the house. “This is my brother Jay.” Paul and Jay shook hands.
“It’s nice to meet you Jay. Morgan’s told me all about you, and it’s nice to finally meet the man behind the stories.” Paul turned to Hunter as Jay stared quizzically at Morgan, who blushed.
“Paul, this is Jay’s friend Hunter.”
“Hunter, hm?” Paul gave the other man an assessing glance. “Is that your name, or is that what you do?” Hunter looked down at the smaller and younger man and smiled, not bothering to hide the edge to his expression.
“Both.” One of Paul’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t reply to the inherent challenge to Hunter’s tone. Instead Paul chose to motion them inside the house.
They followed him down a short hallway to a huge living room, filled with people. Paul and Morgan continued forward, but both Hunter and Jay stopped, surprised by the amount. The background noise cut off instantly as everyone turned to stare at them. It was a minute before Hunter realize taht although everyone in the living room was staring curiously from himself to Jay and back-some even hostilely-no one was looking at Morgan at all, or if they glanced at her, it was the casual glance at a familiar face-someone who belongs. Morgan looked around the room as well, cataloging the expectancy in their faces. She turned to Paul.
“It would probably be best if we had this conversation in private. It’s not something I want widely known.” Paul looked from Morgan to Jay and Hunter.
“Do either of them know why you came to me?” He asked. She shrugged.
“Jay could probably figure it out, but I doubt Hunter knows.”
“I see. Alright, then I would suggest that we leave them here for now.” Paul and Morgan turned to Hunter and Jay. Paul smiled at them, gesturing to another door. “In there you gentlemen will find the kitchen-please feel free to make yourselves at home. If there’s anything you need, Tina will be more than happy to get it for you.” As they were walking away, Hunter could still hear Morgan.
“Tina? You’re entrusting my brother to Tina?” Hunter couldn’t hear Paul’s murmured reply.
Morgan followed Paul down the hall and into his office. Moving behind the desk, he motioned her to sit across from him. Fingers steepled, he waited while she gathered her thoughts, wondering exactly where to begin. Finally she decided to jump right in.
“I’ve been compromised.” Alarm turned Paul’s eyes almost black as he half rose from his seat. Morgan held out a hand, shaking her head. “Wait.” She paused, and he could almost see her collecting herself.
“I know that I’ve told you about Parker Smith-what he did the night my parents were imprisoned, how he’s been coming around, causing trouble…not because he knows what I do, but because that’s just the way he is.” Paul nodded.
“Well last night he showed up in the middle of the night, leading seven or eight men. He told me that if I had to marry him. That he petitioned the governor for the right to marry me against my will, that it was for my own good. He called it unnatural, my living alone, without a man.” Morgan’s green eyes turned hard, her voice lowering to a darker, more dangerous tone. “He burned down my house because I wouldn’t marry him, and before we escaped I threw a burning torch in his face. I can’t go back until this is resolved.” Paul hesitated for a moment, absorbing the deadly expression on her face, before speaking.
“And what are you going to do about it?” Morgan rose to her feet and began to pace, too worked up to sit still.
“I need to get Jay and Hunter out of the picture first. I want to drop them off somewhere where they won’t catch the backlash, but they don’t have to return to the Army right away. I think Jay’s going to have some serious thinking to do before he goes back.” She paused, eyes going blank. “Then I have to go back and deal with Parker.” Paul watched her pace.
“Killing Parker won’t stop the problem.”
“The hell it won’t!” She whirled to face him, indignant.
“Actually it won’t. The problem isn’t that he wants to marry you-the problem is that he got permission from the government. Do you think he would have been so bold, made such a declaration if he wasn’t positive of his power to do so? The power granted him by the government?” Morgan growled at Paul.
“Don’t you stand there and preach to me, Paul. I’m already a member, so get off your damn soapbox.” He continued to stare at her.
“Do you really think that this Parker person is the root of the problem?”
“That’s not the point!” Now Paul was staring to get angry as well.
“Did you ever consider that maybe it should be?” Frustrated, angry, exhausted and close to tears, Morgan slammed both hands down on the desk, leaning forward to shout in Paul’s face.
“I don’t care!”
“There!” Paul shot to his feet as well, barely two inches from her face, voice rising to match hers. “That is how this all came to be-that stupid attitude-‘I don’t care about anymore but myself.’” Now his voice lowered, intensifying. “Maybe you should think about that. You pledged to help improve this country when you joined me-you pledged to care. Not just for revenge, not just for whatever is best for you-but for everyone.”
“Well I just can’t anymore. Not right now.” Morgan’s voice was flat, green eyes going blank. “Maybe tomorrow-but right now it’s all I can do to care for myself. I can’t handle any more.” Slowly Paul sat back down. Even though he knew that she was capable of being so much more, he could see by her eyes, by her voice, that she believed what she was saying. He could tell by her expression that she was waiting for him to condemn her, to turn her away in her time as need, to fail her, as so many others had done before. When he spoke again, his voice was soft with regret.
“Care. Don’t care. Either way, you can’t stay here.” Spine straightening, her chin rose, emerald closing, then opening again, hardening to be as brittle as glass. Paul sighed.
“Here,” he said, handing her a piece of paper. “I have a cousin in Virginia who can hook up your brother and his friend with an Army friendly place to stay. They’ll be safe there, as well as out of the way.”
“Thank you.” They were both silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, until Morgan spoke again. “Let’s go. I don’t want them spending any more time with Tina then they have too. I also need you to distract Jay for a couple of minutes. I need to talk to Hunter.” She paused, eyes hardening again. “Alone.” Paul nodded, as if he dealt with this sort of request all the time.
Back in the kitchen, it took a minuet for the men to register that Morgan had left them completely alone-and in an area that could very quickly go against them. They had barely seated themselves at the oak island in the middle of kitchen before a woman came hurriedly through the door.
The woman was small, with a generous chest and a tiny waist. Upon seeing them, she stopped, her dark blue eyes widening as she ran a delicate hand over her dark mahogany hair. When she walked farther into the room, her hips swayed slightly, a sensual promise that her full lips and quirked smile looked ready to fulfill. When she spoke, her voice was light, breathy.
“Well, hello. My name’s Tina.” Jay sat a little straighter in his chair.
“Hello Tina, my name’s Jay. It is a pleasure to meet you.” They both turned to Hunter, who, Jay was glad to see, only appeared mildly interested in Tina.
“I’m Hunter.” Tina gave a breathy little laugh, one hand fluttering over the almost modest opening of her shirt.
“Such gentlemen! I just want to let you know that Paul told me to take care of whatever you might want, and I’ll be more than happy to take care of your every need…” Sensing Hunter’s ambivalence about her barely veiled offer, Tina turned the full charm of her sensual smile on Jay. His green eyes darkened in appreciation as he turned his own charm on back at her.
“We are more than grateful Tina, to know that such a paragon of womanly virtues has been entrusted with our care.” Jay ignored the sideways look Hunter was giving him, instead continuing to spout clichéd dribble. “It would be most wonderful if you could perhaps find us something to eat or drink? I wouldn’t want to impose more than necessary, but we’ve been traveling all day, without a chance to stop.” Her bow mouth opened a little in surprise.
“You came in with Morgan, right? And she didn’t stop to feed you? You poor things, how does she expect you to keep up your strength without seeing to your needs?” Tina’s lips tightened as her head moved slowly side to side, highlights in her hair catching the light. “You came to the right place honey. I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” Turning away, she grabbed a pan and some ingredients from various cabinets. Hunter wasn’t surprised to notice that when Tina bent over to take something out of the cabinet on the bottom, she left her butt in the air, so that they might properly appreciate it. Although amused by the come hither glances and the not so subtle courtship ritual between Jay and Tina, Hunter couldn’t help remembering the smooth grace of Morgan sliding through the forest, or the fire in her eyes.
It was only a short bit of time before Tina was sliding plates in front of each man. Although it was only fried sausage, egg and day old bread, Hunter and Jay were grateful to have a chance to sit and eat. Even though neither knew exactly what the plan from here would be, they were smart enough to know that they wouldn’t be staying more than a day, at most.
While they ate, Tina perched on a stool across from them, ready to jump up and serve if either man looked like they were running low on food or beverage. Finally Hunter pushed away his plate, full, and allowed the warmth of the fire to stoke his contentment. Leaning over to pick up his plate, Tina allowed both men a free glimpse down her cleavage, actions betraying the message sent by downcast eyes and innocent smile. Once Jay was done eating, he stood and began helping Tina clean the dishes, obviously using it as an excuse to get closer to her. Hunter just shook his head, listening to Jay and Tina flirt.
The door to the kitchen swung open, banging against the far wall as Morgan flew in. Eyes slightly wild, they turned to slits upon seeing Tina and Jay at the sink. Although she didn’t look directly at him, Hunter knew that she was aware of him as well. Tina had shrieked, then shrunk back against Jay when the door had banged into the wall, but now she straightened, tossing her hair back in a haughty movement to stare with contempt at Morgan.
“Morgan.”
“Tina.” Morgan’s eyes flicked to Jay. “Jay, Paul’s waiting for you in the living room. There are some people out there he’d like to introduce you to.” Tina straightened to her full height, looking rather ridiculous as she tried to protect the six foot tall man with her five foot two inch frame.
“He doesn’t have to listen to you! He’s not part of our little group, and even if he was, it’s just horrible how you’ve treated these poor men, driving them all day, not stopping to eat or rest…” Morgan stared down at Tina, a vicious little smile playing about her mouth.
“Actually Tina, he does have to listen to me. I brought him here, and I am therefore responsible for his actions. Besides, I’m hoping that, even if he doesn’t HAVE to listen to me, he would chose to.” Now Tina’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would he listen to a brute like you?” She asked.
“Well, sometimes older brothers do that-sometimes they actually listen to their younger sisters.” Morgan replied.
Tina froze, twisting around to look at first Jay, then back to Morgan, for the first time understanding the significance of the same emerald eyes, the same golden brown hair…
As her dark blue eyes shifted to Hunter, he could read the calculation in them, along with what looked like disgust. Without another word, she swept out of the kitchen, head high and eyes angry. As she stalked past Morgan, Hunter could hear her muttered insult.
“Abomination.”
“Slut.” Morgan hissed back. The door swung closed behind Tina. Jay gave a silent whistle, sharing a glance with Hunter. Wisely, neither man actually commented. Taking a deep breath, Morgan reoriented herself. “Jay. Outside. Now. Go talk to Paul.” Eyes narrowed as he remembered the byplay between the two of them earlier in the woods, Jay stopped in front of Morgan. Unlike with Tina, Morgan had to look up to meet his gaze.
“Fine. Hunter, let’s go.”
“Hunter’s not going. Just you.”
“Why?” Morgan stood on her tiptoes, finger poking into Jay’s chest to reply.
“Because I have to talk to him, alright?”
“You can talk to him now, and then I can go get introduced.” Jay said. Morgan practically hissed in frustration.
”You don’t want to be part of this conversation-trust me.”
“Yes, I do.” He said. Morgan glared at Hunter over Jay’s shoulder.
“Will you tell him he’s being ridiculous?” She switched to focus on Jay again. “All we’re going to do is talk. It’s not like he’s going to throw me on the table and screw my brains out.” Hunter blanched as Jay turned white, tensed then whipped around to face him.
“Fine.” Jay’s voice was harsh, his eyes bright with anger. “Have you’re discussion. But if you so much as touch my sister…” Morgan slid around behind him to begin pushing him out the door.
“I don’t know where the hell you got such an idea, but go be an ass elsewhere for a couple minutes. After we’ll need to plan what we’re doing.” The door shut behind Jay.
Before turning to face Hunter, Morgan took a minute to breathe deeply, then lower her shields, wanting to check one last time that Hunter was different. She could feel her brother fuming in the living room as Paul squired him around, Paul was thinking about supplies he could send with them, and several of the women that Jay was introduced to were wondering if he was single. Once again, Morgan couldn’t read a single thought from Hunter. In fact, if she hadn’t just seen that he was sitting directly behind her, she wouldn’t know he was there at all. Determined to break through, she turned around to face him, narrowing all her concentration, focusing until there was just one pointed thought within her head. One of Hunter’s eyebrow’s rose curiously as she took one step, then another towards him, eyes dark with concentration. Amazingly enough he didn’t say anything as she moved closer and closer, stopping only when she ran into the table behind which he sat. Eyes completely blank now, one hand reached up, until she was touching the middle of Hunter’s forehead. Finally, finally with her fingers laid lightly over Hunter’s skin, with every fiber of her being focused on this one man, she could just barely hear his thoughts. Unlike everyone else, she couldn’t get a clear read of Hunter, despite her proximity. She could tell that he wasn’t alarmed by her actions, but not much else. Closing her own eyes, cutting off one sense to strengthen another, she felt like she was fighting through plastic wrap-she could sense something behind there, but she couldn’t see it clearly. Finally, with an inaudible pop, she broke through.
At first Hunter wasn’t sure what exactly Morgan was doing, but he was willing to sit and wait her out. However, as soon as the barrier popped, there was a reaction. Although he didn’t move physically, Morgan was thrown out of Hunter’s mind, causing her to flinch and pull back violently. Eyes animated once again, she stared at him.
“What are you?” For a moment Hunter just stared at her, both surprised and intrigued by the touch of her mind to his, however brief the contact had been. When Hunter remained silent, Morgan actually growled at him. “You owe me an answer anyway. Before we left the house you told me we’d trade answers. I told you mine-now you owe me the truth.” He considered denying everything for a moment, but something in her eyes told him that it wouldn’t be that easy. Finally he decided on a version of the truth.
“It’s none of your business.” Hunter thought Morgan was going to explode.
“That’s crap!” Morgan said. After that expulsion, she leaned forward, voice lowering. Although she didn’t realize it, her position was almost a perfect cop of how she had confronted Paul, not even an hour earlier. “Maybe, in the normal course of things, it’s not any of my business-but I’ll be damned if I risk my life…or more importantly, Jay’s life without knowing all of the facts.” Although he hadn’t thought it possible, her voice lowered even more, to rasp huskily across his skin.
“Don’t push me Hunter. You won’t like the results.” Silver eyes narrowed, Hunter could feel Morgan’s adrenaline levels rising, causing his own to rise as well, pumping through his system in preparation for whatever would come next. Slowly, carefully, he stood up, deliberately staying in her face as he rose, careful to loom over her without actually touching.
“That thing still works?” She flipped it on.
“I’ve been saving it for an emergency.” Morgan led the men over to her father’s old workstation. Pulling yet another bag from the table, she began throwing small boxes into it. Hunter was confused.
“What are those?” Jay was staring at his sister, just now beginning to realize the implications of her actions.
“Bullets.” He turned towards Hunter, voice soft with disbelief. “Dad used to make his own bullets down here. He’d farm the firing ranges for brass, then pack and reload the gunpowder down here.” Both men turned to watch Morgan, still packing the little boxes into her bag. “How much ammunition do you really think we need Morgan?” She didn’t even look up.
“Ammunition is both expensive and useful. You can never have too much.” There was an ominous creak from overhead, and a low whine from one of the dogs. The bag was about half full when Morgan finally turned away. “Lets go. Here’s the camping gear.” She pulled a large sack off the shelving behind the bench and threw it to Jay. He scowled, swinging it around to rest against his duffle.
“That’s all well and good Morgan, but now how do we get out of here?” Pushing through the men she led them to the other corner of the basement where a large wooden box jutted out from the wall. After tinkering with something at the side, she put her bags down. Grunting a little with the effort, she shifted the box over, revealing a tunnel through the ground. Kahn and Link rushed past them into the tunnel, obviously a trip they were familiar with. Handing the flashlight off to Jay, she pushed him into the dark.
“Stop when you find the dogs. I’ll be along in a moment.” Turning to Hunter she attempted to push him in as well, but he resisted. Putting a hand on him to enforce her silent direction, she swore, yanking her hand back. His shoulder was hot. Their eyes met in the half light of reflected flames.
“What are you doing?” He asked. Morgan glared at him, sick of having to explain herself every five minutes. Extremely irritated, she tried to shove him again, but it was like trying to shove a brick wall. A heated brick wall. She snatched her hands back from his burning chest, cradling red palms.
“Why are you so hot?”
“Answer my question and I’ll answer yours. What are you doing?” Reminded of her task, she pulled something out of her pocket. Despite the flames above them, she struck a match.
“I,” she said calmly, “am lighting a stick of dynamite.” Heat flashed in silver eyes again, easy to see despite the darkness.
“Ah.” Hunter took the dynamite from her hand and placed it against the bottom of the cement wall directly across from the tunnel. They watched the fuse burn for a moment, then Hunter grabbed Morgan’s arm and they sprinted into the dark tunnel.
They were maybe a hundred yards down the tunnel when the explosion occurred. The shock wave knocked them off their feet, causing Hunter to lose his grip on Morgan’s arm as they fell. The earth trembled for a moment, then stopped. All was silent.
For a moment Morgan just sat in the dark. The complete absence of both light and sound allowed her to become aware of her body’s complaints for the first time. Although both palms still felt tight and lightly burned from touching Hunter, she could feel blisters forming on her left hand from catching the torch, and the slow trickle of blood from where the rough wood had gouged her.
Besides her she felt the air stir as Hunter got back on his feet. Morgan felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as he looked down at her and she could actually SEE his eyes. Despite the complete lack of light, Morgan was able to pinpoint Hunter’s silver eyes exactly as he stared at her. Instinctively her knees pulled into her chest, defensively and she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he could truly see her in the dark. He reached out to help her up, but for a moment all she could do was shrink back with humanities instinctive fear of the unknown. Those silver stars in the darkness narrowed, then turned up in what Morgan could only imagine was derision. It was that thought, more than any other, that spurred Morgan to her feet. She might not know WHAT exactly Hunter was, but if he thought being different was enough to intimidate her-that being more than human was enough to scare her silly-he was wrong. her spine straightened. He wasn’t the only one who was more than ordinary.
Ignoring the stones that rolled under her bare feet, ignoring the outstretched hand and unnatural shine of silver through black, she strode past him, the taunt line of her shoulders practically daring him to keep up.
Jay was waiting for them in a wider section of the tunnel. His back was turned towards them as he dug through the supplies stockpiled against the walls. he was muttering to himself.
“Rifle, sleeping bag, ammunition, ammunition, more ammunition…MRE’s-Good Lord, I wonder where she got those? Matches, dog food…Holy crap! This first aid kit should count as it’s own mobile hospital unit. It’s twice as good as mine…” he didn’t hear them approaching.
“Why don’t you swap your first aid kit out for mine then?” Morgan spoke from directly behind him. Jay swore and turned around, flashlight bobbling in his hands. There were a couple of muted thumps as one of the dogs wagged their tail against the packed earthen floor. Morgan smiled at them, then felt Hunter pause behind her.
“Well. I’m glad to see that the brutes are finally starting to accept me, at least.”
Morgan’s smile grew as she watched Kahn and Link, tracking them by the eye shine reflected from the flashlight’s glow.
“Actually, I trained them to be completely silent down here. It would kind of give away the secret if someone heard them barking.” Jay shook his head at yet the newest sign of how his baby sister had changed. Slightly uncomfortable with it, he changed the topic.
“So where does this lead us?”
“It comes up under the Anderson’s back deck. The house has been abandoned since the start of the war, so it seemed as good a place as any.”
“Isn’t that kind of risky though? What if the deck collapsed? You’d be trapped down here.” Jay said.
“It won’t collapse. I actually reinforced it when I decided that the tunnel would come up there. Besides, I’ve got enough to live off down here for months.” Both men were silent for a moment, considering the implications of such foresight. Finally Morgan sighed, crouching down to rub Link’s head. “Why don’t we organize the gear and see what we have. Between the three of us we should be able to carry everything we need.”
“That’s good,” Hunter said “however, where exactly are we going?” Morgan’s smile turned a little darker as she turned to face him.
“I don’t know-but we can’t stay here. I have a friend who might have an idea of where we can go-but either way, as soon as they realize there is no body, they’ll be looking for me.” Morgan leaned over the pile, shifted a few things and came up holding a rifle, which she slung over her shoulder. “You two should be adequately armed, right? The Army’s usually good about that sort of thing.” Hunter couldn’t help but smile wickedly.
“You could say that.”
“Good. Grab anything else you think might be vital and let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll be gone.” Jay rolled his eyes.
“Gee, I’m glad you said that. I wasn’t sure about that whole time thing…” She ignored him, continuing to stuff things into her pockets and bag. The tunnel was silent for a couple of minutes as the three of them rummaged through the extra supplies, packing and rearranging. Finally finished, Hunter and Jay followed Morgan, Kahn and Link down the tunnel again, into the waiting dark.
Emerging from underneath the Anderson’s deck, Morgan held a hand up behind her to stop the men. Closing her eyes and bracing herself, she dropped her shields, searching for anyone who might see them. Instantly she was hit with such a whirling tide of agony, rage and buried lust that she dropped to her knees, clutching her head. Unable to help herself she gagged, hunching over herself. It was only a moment before she could raise her shields again, but still she stayed kneeling in the mud, barely aware of her surroundings. There was a touch upon her bowed back, causing her to rear up and twist, arm cocked back to swing. Half lost in the lingering waves of malignant emotion, her wild eyes met Jay’s concerned ones before she followed through to actually hit him. Although he didn’t speak, she could read the worry in his face. She shook her head, staving off any questions.
“They’re still at the house.” Her voice cracked, low and hoarse. Turning away from Jay she refused to look at Hunter, ashamed that he had seen her fall apart, even as the residue of Parker’s mind still sent shivers down her spine. Silent, she slipped out into the predawn darkness. There was no looking back.
Still silent, they slipped through the lightening forest, trying to stick to the shadows. Although there was no visible path, Morgan seemed to know where they were going. She strode forth unhesitatingly, bearing consistently in the same direction, sliding from shadow to shadow, edging around clearings, and generally proving to both Jay and Hunter that she was more competent than either of them at sliding through the forest.
Following Morgan through the woods their progress slowed to a crawl as the sun rose fully above the horizon. Finally she stopped, waiting for Jay and Hunter to catch up. She was silent for a moment, green eyes distant, before focusing on them.
“We’ll stop here for a bit.” Without waiting for a response, Morgan moved a little farther away, then plopped onto the ground, leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes. Jay sighed and moved off as well, muttering something about making a ‘pit stop’. Despite her relaxed pose, Hunter had a feeling that Morgan was more than aware of her surroundings. He frowned as a familiar scent drifted past his nose. Looking around, a dark smear on the grass in front of him caught his eye. Kneeling over it, his nostrils flared as he followed the trail to Morgan. Silver eyes narrowed, he prowled over to stand towering over her. Although her eyes didn’t open, he could see her tense. “What?”
“Your feet are bleeding.” Still her eyes didn’t open.
“So?”
“Why didn’t you grab shoes?” Morgan didn’t reply. Hunter’s eyes narrowed even more, until they were barely visible. “Morgan.” Still no reaction. Crouching down in front of her, Hunter reached out to take her one of her feet, but she tensed even farther and jerked away.
“Don’t touch me.” He looked up to see emerald eyes burning back at him.
“I just want to see how bad it is.” She snarled at him, the animalistic expression strangely natural on her face.
“I don’t know what you are, and I don’t trust you. Don’t touch me.” Hunter allowed her to curl defensively away from him, but didn’t move. He raised his voice.
“Jay.”
“Yah?”
“Your sister is bleeding.” Morgan hissed at Hunter, knowing that he’d aroused Jay’s protective instincts.
“What? Where? How bad is it?” Hunter’s smile was more of a smirk.
“I don’t know, she won’t let me look at it.”
“Morgan!” Jay’s voice took on the typical exasperated older brother tone-only it had been years since Morgan had listened to it. She ignored his exasperation, and stared at Hunter, eyes hard.
“Touch me and I’ll break your sternum.” Ignoring her words he reached for her foot again. Faster than the eye could track, Morgan slid on her side and kicked at Hunter’s chest, heel aimed for the middle of his sternum. Hunter captured her foot an inch from his chest, knocking it up to relieve the momentum. Ankle caught securely in his large hand, he smiled wickedly.
“Although I would have preferred you just let me look, this works as well.” Jay came rushing over as Hunter started to brush the debris from the ground off her foot.
“Where are your shoes?” Her gaze shifted from glaring at Hunter to staring drolly at Jay.
“What shoes?”
“You didn’t grab any shoes?” Jay asked.
“Apparently not. Oops.”
“Damnit Morgan!” Jay pulled his shirt off over his head, then handed it to Hunter.
Hands gentle, Hunter wiped the mud and blood off the bottom of her foot, ignoring as she occasionally twitched. Fortunately, none of the cuts on her foot were deep, so he ripped the shirt in half and began winding it around her foot. Morgan twitched again as his warm fingers brushed the sensitive arch of her foot. She looked up to find Hunter staring at her hungrily. The pit of her stomach dropped as he brushed her arch again, this time without the cloth between their skin. Suddenly her foot felt small, almost delicate in his large, hot hands. Holding Hunter’s eyes, Morgan slowly pulled her foot up, away from the temptation he presented. Without a sound, he pulled her other foot into his lap.
Although she knew that Hunter wasn’t human and although she knew he wasn’t to be trusted, Morgan couldn’t help the shiver working its way down her spine as his agile fingers first cleared then began to massage the ball of her foot. Unashamed yet defiant, Morgan held Hunter’s gaze, even as his touch shifted from clinical to caressing. Neither paid any attention to Jay, still standing there, watching with narrowed eyes. Turning away, Jay ‘accidentally’ knocked Hunter in the back of the head with his bag, breaking their trance.
“Oh, Hunter, I’m so sorry.” Jay said, trying to work some concern into his voice. Jay could tell that Morgan knew it wasn’t an accident by the way her eyebrow was raised, but Hunter’s expression was unreadable. Morgan shifted herself upright again, this time careful to hide her still bleeding hand. While it was sweet that they both so obviously cared, it wasn’t life threatening, and they had lingered in one place long enough. Standing she winced as her feet started their protest anew.
“Why don’t you wear my shoes or something?” Jay asked, watching her grimace. Morgan laughed.
“Oh yes, that’d work out well. Can you see me trying to be stealthy then? Your feet are like twice the size of mine.” Suddenly struck by a wave of sisterly love, she rose on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “But thank you.” Dropping her shields momentarily, she caught a surge of frustrated protectiveness from Jay, before he felt her and erected his own mental shields. With a quick scan she was able to ascertain that pursuit was nowhere near. Morgan whistled for Kahn and Link, who had been roaming ahead of them. Both animals came charging through the underbrush, as excited to see her as if they had been gone days, as opposed to mere minutes.
Morgan laughed as they cavorted around her, bodies wiggling like puppies. Finally she sent them ahead again with a hand signal. Checking the angle of the sun and it’s direction, she motioned to Hunter and Jay.
“We made good time. If we push it, we should get there an hour or so after sunset.”
By the time they reached their destination, Morgan was struggling not to limp. Although she was fairly certain they would be walking into trouble, she still had the men stay hidden in the forest as she crept, alone, around the house, looking for possible dangers. Both Hunter and Jay had protested her insistence that they remain hidden in the denser woods, but had been eventually persuaded by her argument. Although it would be suspicious if she were caught sneaking about, Morgan was confident that out of the three of them she was the one least likely to be caught-and even if she was caught, Morgan had every confidence that between the two of them, Jay and Hunter were more than capable of getting her out of any trouble once the need for silence was done. It was just their stealth skills she didn’t completely trust.
Sensing that the coast was clear, Morgan walked right up the gravel path way leading to the little cottage, fully revealed by the lamp hanging over the door. Reaching up to knock, she caught sight of the large blisters formed on the back of her hand. She frowned, sighed, and switched arms.
Morgan knocked aggressively, loudly, three rapid beats, pause, one, pause, and two more rapid. Although there was no sign or sound of movement, a voice called out from behind the reinforced door.
“Who is it?” Straightening to smirk at the obvious peephole, Morgan pretended to dust off her dirty clothes, before pitching her voice an octave lower to call her reply.
“Fed Ex. Got a special delivery.” There was silence behind the door for a moment. Morgan could feel the stares of Hunter and Jay drilling into her back. Finally there was laughter on the other side of the door, and the sound of dead bolts sliding back. The door flung open revealing a lanky young man. He was about Morgan’s age, with dark brown eyes and a shock of electric red hair.
“Morgan my love!” He exclaimed, sweeping her off her feet and into a flying bear hug. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in almost a month?” He stopped, pulling back to really look at her for the first time, brown eyes turning serious. “Good God, what’s happened to you?” Morgan shook her head, laughing herself, and embraced the man again.
“It’s good to see you Paul.” She said. “Unfortunately I’m not really here for a social visit. I’ve got some people I want you to meet, then we’ve got to talk.” She beckoned Jay and Hunter towards the house. “This is my brother Jay.” Paul and Jay shook hands.
“It’s nice to meet you Jay. Morgan’s told me all about you, and it’s nice to finally meet the man behind the stories.” Paul turned to Hunter as Jay stared quizzically at Morgan, who blushed.
“Paul, this is Jay’s friend Hunter.”
“Hunter, hm?” Paul gave the other man an assessing glance. “Is that your name, or is that what you do?” Hunter looked down at the smaller and younger man and smiled, not bothering to hide the edge to his expression.
“Both.” One of Paul’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t reply to the inherent challenge to Hunter’s tone. Instead Paul chose to motion them inside the house.
They followed him down a short hallway to a huge living room, filled with people. Paul and Morgan continued forward, but both Hunter and Jay stopped, surprised by the amount. The background noise cut off instantly as everyone turned to stare at them. It was a minute before Hunter realize taht although everyone in the living room was staring curiously from himself to Jay and back-some even hostilely-no one was looking at Morgan at all, or if they glanced at her, it was the casual glance at a familiar face-someone who belongs. Morgan looked around the room as well, cataloging the expectancy in their faces. She turned to Paul.
“It would probably be best if we had this conversation in private. It’s not something I want widely known.” Paul looked from Morgan to Jay and Hunter.
“Do either of them know why you came to me?” He asked. She shrugged.
“Jay could probably figure it out, but I doubt Hunter knows.”
“I see. Alright, then I would suggest that we leave them here for now.” Paul and Morgan turned to Hunter and Jay. Paul smiled at them, gesturing to another door. “In there you gentlemen will find the kitchen-please feel free to make yourselves at home. If there’s anything you need, Tina will be more than happy to get it for you.” As they were walking away, Hunter could still hear Morgan.
“Tina? You’re entrusting my brother to Tina?” Hunter couldn’t hear Paul’s murmured reply.
Morgan followed Paul down the hall and into his office. Moving behind the desk, he motioned her to sit across from him. Fingers steepled, he waited while she gathered her thoughts, wondering exactly where to begin. Finally she decided to jump right in.
“I’ve been compromised.” Alarm turned Paul’s eyes almost black as he half rose from his seat. Morgan held out a hand, shaking her head. “Wait.” She paused, and he could almost see her collecting herself.
“I know that I’ve told you about Parker Smith-what he did the night my parents were imprisoned, how he’s been coming around, causing trouble…not because he knows what I do, but because that’s just the way he is.” Paul nodded.
“Well last night he showed up in the middle of the night, leading seven or eight men. He told me that if I had to marry him. That he petitioned the governor for the right to marry me against my will, that it was for my own good. He called it unnatural, my living alone, without a man.” Morgan’s green eyes turned hard, her voice lowering to a darker, more dangerous tone. “He burned down my house because I wouldn’t marry him, and before we escaped I threw a burning torch in his face. I can’t go back until this is resolved.” Paul hesitated for a moment, absorbing the deadly expression on her face, before speaking.
“And what are you going to do about it?” Morgan rose to her feet and began to pace, too worked up to sit still.
“I need to get Jay and Hunter out of the picture first. I want to drop them off somewhere where they won’t catch the backlash, but they don’t have to return to the Army right away. I think Jay’s going to have some serious thinking to do before he goes back.” She paused, eyes going blank. “Then I have to go back and deal with Parker.” Paul watched her pace.
“Killing Parker won’t stop the problem.”
“The hell it won’t!” She whirled to face him, indignant.
“Actually it won’t. The problem isn’t that he wants to marry you-the problem is that he got permission from the government. Do you think he would have been so bold, made such a declaration if he wasn’t positive of his power to do so? The power granted him by the government?” Morgan growled at Paul.
“Don’t you stand there and preach to me, Paul. I’m already a member, so get off your damn soapbox.” He continued to stare at her.
“Do you really think that this Parker person is the root of the problem?”
“That’s not the point!” Now Paul was staring to get angry as well.
“Did you ever consider that maybe it should be?” Frustrated, angry, exhausted and close to tears, Morgan slammed both hands down on the desk, leaning forward to shout in Paul’s face.
“I don’t care!”
“There!” Paul shot to his feet as well, barely two inches from her face, voice rising to match hers. “That is how this all came to be-that stupid attitude-‘I don’t care about anymore but myself.’” Now his voice lowered, intensifying. “Maybe you should think about that. You pledged to help improve this country when you joined me-you pledged to care. Not just for revenge, not just for whatever is best for you-but for everyone.”
“Well I just can’t anymore. Not right now.” Morgan’s voice was flat, green eyes going blank. “Maybe tomorrow-but right now it’s all I can do to care for myself. I can’t handle any more.” Slowly Paul sat back down. Even though he knew that she was capable of being so much more, he could see by her eyes, by her voice, that she believed what she was saying. He could tell by her expression that she was waiting for him to condemn her, to turn her away in her time as need, to fail her, as so many others had done before. When he spoke again, his voice was soft with regret.
“Care. Don’t care. Either way, you can’t stay here.” Spine straightening, her chin rose, emerald closing, then opening again, hardening to be as brittle as glass. Paul sighed.
“Here,” he said, handing her a piece of paper. “I have a cousin in Virginia who can hook up your brother and his friend with an Army friendly place to stay. They’ll be safe there, as well as out of the way.”
“Thank you.” They were both silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, until Morgan spoke again. “Let’s go. I don’t want them spending any more time with Tina then they have too. I also need you to distract Jay for a couple of minutes. I need to talk to Hunter.” She paused, eyes hardening again. “Alone.” Paul nodded, as if he dealt with this sort of request all the time.
Back in the kitchen, it took a minuet for the men to register that Morgan had left them completely alone-and in an area that could very quickly go against them. They had barely seated themselves at the oak island in the middle of kitchen before a woman came hurriedly through the door.
The woman was small, with a generous chest and a tiny waist. Upon seeing them, she stopped, her dark blue eyes widening as she ran a delicate hand over her dark mahogany hair. When she walked farther into the room, her hips swayed slightly, a sensual promise that her full lips and quirked smile looked ready to fulfill. When she spoke, her voice was light, breathy.
“Well, hello. My name’s Tina.” Jay sat a little straighter in his chair.
“Hello Tina, my name’s Jay. It is a pleasure to meet you.” They both turned to Hunter, who, Jay was glad to see, only appeared mildly interested in Tina.
“I’m Hunter.” Tina gave a breathy little laugh, one hand fluttering over the almost modest opening of her shirt.
“Such gentlemen! I just want to let you know that Paul told me to take care of whatever you might want, and I’ll be more than happy to take care of your every need…” Sensing Hunter’s ambivalence about her barely veiled offer, Tina turned the full charm of her sensual smile on Jay. His green eyes darkened in appreciation as he turned his own charm on back at her.
“We are more than grateful Tina, to know that such a paragon of womanly virtues has been entrusted with our care.” Jay ignored the sideways look Hunter was giving him, instead continuing to spout clichéd dribble. “It would be most wonderful if you could perhaps find us something to eat or drink? I wouldn’t want to impose more than necessary, but we’ve been traveling all day, without a chance to stop.” Her bow mouth opened a little in surprise.
“You came in with Morgan, right? And she didn’t stop to feed you? You poor things, how does she expect you to keep up your strength without seeing to your needs?” Tina’s lips tightened as her head moved slowly side to side, highlights in her hair catching the light. “You came to the right place honey. I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” Turning away, she grabbed a pan and some ingredients from various cabinets. Hunter wasn’t surprised to notice that when Tina bent over to take something out of the cabinet on the bottom, she left her butt in the air, so that they might properly appreciate it. Although amused by the come hither glances and the not so subtle courtship ritual between Jay and Tina, Hunter couldn’t help remembering the smooth grace of Morgan sliding through the forest, or the fire in her eyes.
It was only a short bit of time before Tina was sliding plates in front of each man. Although it was only fried sausage, egg and day old bread, Hunter and Jay were grateful to have a chance to sit and eat. Even though neither knew exactly what the plan from here would be, they were smart enough to know that they wouldn’t be staying more than a day, at most.
While they ate, Tina perched on a stool across from them, ready to jump up and serve if either man looked like they were running low on food or beverage. Finally Hunter pushed away his plate, full, and allowed the warmth of the fire to stoke his contentment. Leaning over to pick up his plate, Tina allowed both men a free glimpse down her cleavage, actions betraying the message sent by downcast eyes and innocent smile. Once Jay was done eating, he stood and began helping Tina clean the dishes, obviously using it as an excuse to get closer to her. Hunter just shook his head, listening to Jay and Tina flirt.
The door to the kitchen swung open, banging against the far wall as Morgan flew in. Eyes slightly wild, they turned to slits upon seeing Tina and Jay at the sink. Although she didn’t look directly at him, Hunter knew that she was aware of him as well. Tina had shrieked, then shrunk back against Jay when the door had banged into the wall, but now she straightened, tossing her hair back in a haughty movement to stare with contempt at Morgan.
“Morgan.”
“Tina.” Morgan’s eyes flicked to Jay. “Jay, Paul’s waiting for you in the living room. There are some people out there he’d like to introduce you to.” Tina straightened to her full height, looking rather ridiculous as she tried to protect the six foot tall man with her five foot two inch frame.
“He doesn’t have to listen to you! He’s not part of our little group, and even if he was, it’s just horrible how you’ve treated these poor men, driving them all day, not stopping to eat or rest…” Morgan stared down at Tina, a vicious little smile playing about her mouth.
“Actually Tina, he does have to listen to me. I brought him here, and I am therefore responsible for his actions. Besides, I’m hoping that, even if he doesn’t HAVE to listen to me, he would chose to.” Now Tina’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would he listen to a brute like you?” She asked.
“Well, sometimes older brothers do that-sometimes they actually listen to their younger sisters.” Morgan replied.
Tina froze, twisting around to look at first Jay, then back to Morgan, for the first time understanding the significance of the same emerald eyes, the same golden brown hair…
As her dark blue eyes shifted to Hunter, he could read the calculation in them, along with what looked like disgust. Without another word, she swept out of the kitchen, head high and eyes angry. As she stalked past Morgan, Hunter could hear her muttered insult.
“Abomination.”
“Slut.” Morgan hissed back. The door swung closed behind Tina. Jay gave a silent whistle, sharing a glance with Hunter. Wisely, neither man actually commented. Taking a deep breath, Morgan reoriented herself. “Jay. Outside. Now. Go talk to Paul.” Eyes narrowed as he remembered the byplay between the two of them earlier in the woods, Jay stopped in front of Morgan. Unlike with Tina, Morgan had to look up to meet his gaze.
“Fine. Hunter, let’s go.”
“Hunter’s not going. Just you.”
“Why?” Morgan stood on her tiptoes, finger poking into Jay’s chest to reply.
“Because I have to talk to him, alright?”
“You can talk to him now, and then I can go get introduced.” Jay said. Morgan practically hissed in frustration.
”You don’t want to be part of this conversation-trust me.”
“Yes, I do.” He said. Morgan glared at Hunter over Jay’s shoulder.
“Will you tell him he’s being ridiculous?” She switched to focus on Jay again. “All we’re going to do is talk. It’s not like he’s going to throw me on the table and screw my brains out.” Hunter blanched as Jay turned white, tensed then whipped around to face him.
“Fine.” Jay’s voice was harsh, his eyes bright with anger. “Have you’re discussion. But if you so much as touch my sister…” Morgan slid around behind him to begin pushing him out the door.
“I don’t know where the hell you got such an idea, but go be an ass elsewhere for a couple minutes. After we’ll need to plan what we’re doing.” The door shut behind Jay.
Before turning to face Hunter, Morgan took a minute to breathe deeply, then lower her shields, wanting to check one last time that Hunter was different. She could feel her brother fuming in the living room as Paul squired him around, Paul was thinking about supplies he could send with them, and several of the women that Jay was introduced to were wondering if he was single. Once again, Morgan couldn’t read a single thought from Hunter. In fact, if she hadn’t just seen that he was sitting directly behind her, she wouldn’t know he was there at all. Determined to break through, she turned around to face him, narrowing all her concentration, focusing until there was just one pointed thought within her head. One of Hunter’s eyebrow’s rose curiously as she took one step, then another towards him, eyes dark with concentration. Amazingly enough he didn’t say anything as she moved closer and closer, stopping only when she ran into the table behind which he sat. Eyes completely blank now, one hand reached up, until she was touching the middle of Hunter’s forehead. Finally, finally with her fingers laid lightly over Hunter’s skin, with every fiber of her being focused on this one man, she could just barely hear his thoughts. Unlike everyone else, she couldn’t get a clear read of Hunter, despite her proximity. She could tell that he wasn’t alarmed by her actions, but not much else. Closing her own eyes, cutting off one sense to strengthen another, she felt like she was fighting through plastic wrap-she could sense something behind there, but she couldn’t see it clearly. Finally, with an inaudible pop, she broke through.
At first Hunter wasn’t sure what exactly Morgan was doing, but he was willing to sit and wait her out. However, as soon as the barrier popped, there was a reaction. Although he didn’t move physically, Morgan was thrown out of Hunter’s mind, causing her to flinch and pull back violently. Eyes animated once again, she stared at him.
“What are you?” For a moment Hunter just stared at her, both surprised and intrigued by the touch of her mind to his, however brief the contact had been. When Hunter remained silent, Morgan actually growled at him. “You owe me an answer anyway. Before we left the house you told me we’d trade answers. I told you mine-now you owe me the truth.” He considered denying everything for a moment, but something in her eyes told him that it wouldn’t be that easy. Finally he decided on a version of the truth.
“It’s none of your business.” Hunter thought Morgan was going to explode.
“That’s crap!” Morgan said. After that expulsion, she leaned forward, voice lowering. Although she didn’t realize it, her position was almost a perfect cop of how she had confronted Paul, not even an hour earlier. “Maybe, in the normal course of things, it’s not any of my business-but I’ll be damned if I risk my life…or more importantly, Jay’s life without knowing all of the facts.” Although he hadn’t thought it possible, her voice lowered even more, to rasp huskily across his skin.
“Don’t push me Hunter. You won’t like the results.” Silver eyes narrowed, Hunter could feel Morgan’s adrenaline levels rising, causing his own to rise as well, pumping through his system in preparation for whatever would come next. Slowly, carefully, he stood up, deliberately staying in her face as he rose, careful to loom over her without actually touching.