THE ALPHAS Box Set Read Free Page B

it at him. “We could test that theory. Get out of here.”
    He stepped forward until his chest was pressed against the gun. Without flinching she pulled the slide back, chambering the round.
    Memory snapped over reality and everything but the insurgent in front of him disappeared. His reflexes were sharp as ever and he grabbed the wrist, pushing down with a twist. In one smooth motion he spun the insurgent and locked him in a headlock. The gun pointed skyward and a single shot rang out.
    The shouting, English and not Arabic, pulled him back to reality and he dropped Roxanne to the ground. She was still coughing when Ryan ran up, gun drawn.
    “What happened? Did you see something?”
    Roxanne waved a hand dismissively. “Swallowed a goddam bug,” she said. “No emergency, just target shooting, sorry, should have warned you.”
    Ryan levelled his stare at Damian. “You’re military, you should know better.”
    “This situation is new for all of us,” Damian said. “Just go tell everyone that the coast is clear.”
    “Yes sir.”
    “They respect you,” Anne said, climbing to her feet. “When were you discharged?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “The PTSD. When did they kick you out for being unstable?”
    He shook his head.
    “They listen to you. I’m betting Ryan and Sean aren’t used to taking orders from a woman, and Matt doesn’t want to take orders from anyone but at least you’re scarier than I am. Stay. You can be in charge, you can give the orders, but every decision comes through me first.”
    “So all of a sudden you want me to be your puppet? What do I get in exchange?”
    “Food, shelter, no one asking questions about your mood swings or other PTSD symptoms, a few extra guns at your back …”
    “At my back or pointed at my back?”
    “I won’t hesitate to protect these people, even if it means shooting you. But I’m not a power-hungry trigger-happy lunatic either.”
    “Good, because you have nerves of steel. Where did you learn to handle a gun?”
    It was her turn to shrug and the way she smirked at him stirred something low in his gut. He shifted, trying to put the thought from his mind before it became obvious that he liked what he saw. She turned and reached to retrieve her gun; while it kept her from seeing the way his pants tightened, the view of her ass did nothing to calm him.
    “I need to set up a watch for tonight,” he said. “I’ll come back and we can discuss where we’re taking this circus next.”
    She turned to reply but he was already jogging away.

X.
    He didn’t return until after dark. There were a few fires burning and some tents set up around them, but she had set her tent up on the outskirts. She sat chewing on an apple watching the silhouettes of the others moving around camp.
    He dropped down beside her and held out a water bottle. Her smile was forced but she accepted it.
    “Were we right to come out here? Wouldn’t we have been safer on the outskirts of Bismark?”
    “Those kids would have ended up slave labour in one industry or another, or soldiers in a territory war.”
    “And out here they’re bait for coyotes and bandits. There will be bandits soon too.”
    “Road gangs, but yes, same difference. They’ll start popping up sooner or later. They’ll probably hole up at the gas stations and hoard the fuel but they’ll lose that edge pretty quickly.”
    “On foot or in a vehicle, they’ll be just as dangerous, won’t they?”
    He nodded and accepted the water bottle back. “Where do you want to go next?”
    “It’s going to be the same story everywhere, isn’t it?”
    “Most likely.”
    “The town people wanted mechanical and electronic stuff. We should see if we can find abandoned cars or houses. We need to scavenge things to trade. And we should keep moving. We don’t need to set such a gruelling pace now, since there is nowhere for us to go.”
    “You’re starting to think like a survivalist.”
    She looked up and their eyes