Taken Over (The Ravening #2)(40)
Author: Erica Stevens

He had been back for almost three days now, but much to everyone’s displeasure, he refused to talk about what he had gone through, what he had seen. He had also tried to keep me from Bishop. For the most part Cade still seemed like the person I had lost, but there were other times when he was distant, almost harsh. There was a current of hostility thrumming through him that only eased when we were alone together, which was far rarer than I wanted or liked.

The first night had been spent making our way through the dark, staying to the woods as we moved toward Boston. We had stopped to stay in an old house sheltered in a cove deep in the woods. Unfortunately, there weren’t many rooms and though we slept at each other’s sides at night, we were never alone.

Those onyx eyes slid toward me, his strong jaw clenched tight. There was a smoldering heat in his gaze that warmed the very marrow of my bones. “I do need a fresh sample though, if you don’t mind Bethy. You’re off the antibiotics now.”

“Ah sure,” I answered absently. Cade took a step toward me; he looked as if he was going to protest but remained silent. It was moments like these, when he looked about ready to punch something that had everyone weary of him, and me more than a little concerned.

I was rolling my sleeve up for Bishop when a shout rang out. Leaping from the chair I had been sitting upon, I pulled the gun swiftly from my waistband. Something flashed through Cade’s eyes; he reached out as if to stop me, but seemed to reconsider it as his hand fell back to his side. He moved with me as I hurried through the house. Bret and Aiden were out there somewhere; they had gone out with a group of people to help scavenge for food.

Terror for them hammered through me, I was sprinting by the time I slammed into the screen door. The weight of my body caused it to fling open but Cade grabbed hold of it before it slammed closed. I flew across the porch, coming up short, my gun raised as I took in the crowd gathered in a circle. Darnell and Lloyd stood at the front of the circle, their guns leveled at the young man that stood in the center with his hands raised above his head.

“I come in peace,” he quipped, using his raised fingers to flash the Vulcan salute. He was grinning brightly despite the fact that he was teetering on the edge of being shot. I kept my gun aimed at the man’s chest; I was at a good angle on the porch to fire if I had too. Even if he was human. None of us kidded ourselves into believing that the aliens were our only enemies anymore. There were humans we would have to fear too. Humans that would want to take from us what little we had.

The smile slipped slowly from his face as he seemed to finally realize that he was in real danger. His hands raised minutely, his dark eyebrows lifted slightly as he surveyed the crowd. Cade stepped forward suddenly, blocking me as the young man’s dark eyes swung in our direction. There was something about Cade, something dark and deadly. We may have had guns but for one stunning moment, I became certain that he was the deadliest one amongst us.

The young man’s eyes rested upon Cade for a moment, narrowing slightly before sliding toward me. There was a moment, one brief intense moment, when I could almost feel the crackle of tension that filled the air. I would have thought that perhaps I was imagining it, but several heads turned in our direction. In Cade’s direction. One of them was Bret, who studied Cade with a weary expression that left me feeling oddly hollow. The two of them had not ended things on a good note and the lingering hostility between them was starting to grate on my nerves but for one instant Bret stared at Cade as if he didn’t even know him and it scared the hell out of me.

“What do you want?” Darnell demanded sharply.

The man’s dark eyes slid slowly toward Darnell. He was supporting a buzz cut; his hair was black stubble against his skull. His dark olive skin gleamed in the fading light of the day. He was striking, and seemed affable enough, but there was obviously something about him that Cade did not like. “I just want some shelter, maybe some food. There is safety in numbers, isn’t there?”

There was a long moment of silence. “Are you by yourself?”

The man nodded. “I am. Can I lower my hands now?”

“Never told you to raise ‘em,” Darnell retorted with amusement.

The man grinned. It was a devilish smile that caused more than a few of the women in the group to melt as the moved closer to him. He was fresh meat and it was more than obvious that they were interested in him. Apparently pickings were slim in the group; it wasn’t something I had noticed until Cade’s return. The women had been very interested in Cade when he had appeared, but he paid them no attention, and they had quickly realized that he was not available.

“We have some food if you want,” Darnell told him.

“And a place to stay?”

Cade stiffened. I took a step forward but he nudged me gently back. I opened my mouth to protest but the slight shake of his head silenced me. “We’ll see,” Darnell told him. “Lloyd take this man to Molly, I’m sure she has some food for him.” Darnell leaned close to Lloyd and said something that caused Lloyd to nod in response. He stepped forward as the man’s gaze slid back toward Cade and then focused on me. My eyes widened slightly as he stared at me for a long moment, a strange light shining in his dark eyes.

“Go inside Bethany,” Cade ordered softly.

I balked against his commanding tone. “Cade…”

He turned toward me, his face tense and his eyes burning. He grasped hold of my shoulders, turning me toward the door. Though he was trying to be casual as he slipped his arm around my shoulders and led me in, his body was tight, and I caught the backwards glance he threw over his shoulder. I wanted to protest his movements but the tautness of his body silenced my words. He was obviously disturbed about something, obviously upset the man had arrived.

“Do you know him?” I inquired.

“No.”

I frowned, the disquieting notion that he was lying to me again filled me as I studied the stiff set of his jaw. “You seem upset by his presence.”

“Don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“And you think he’ll hurt someone?”

Cade shrugged. “We can’t trust him until we know him, but it’s foolish to give him the chance to do something. Things can go wrong very quickly.”

That was a fact that we were both well aware of. The screen door opened, causing us both to turn as Darnell came stomping inside. “We’re moving again. Let Bishop know.”

“But we just got here.” I hadn’t seen Jenna standing in the doorway of the downstairs bathroom until she’d spoken. Her hair was in wet curls as it hung around her shoulders. Her sky eyes were wide with dismay as she surveyed Darnell.