Tamar

We speed down the road, my cheek pressed against Kage’s back as I hold on tight to his muscular form, my gut in knots at the thought of something happening to Lars. We’ve already lost Virgil and countless others. We can’t lose Lars too. I know that if Kage loses another brother to Huntington, it’ll push him over the edge to insanity, and even I may not be able to bring him back from what it would do to him.

We slow to a stop at a four-way intersection, but as we look around, trying to figure out which way Lars and Huntington may have gone, there’s nothing to indicate one direction over the other. Kage shakes his head in frustration. “Fuck. There’s no way of knowing.”

“No there isn’t. But maybe that means they didn’t slow down enough to turn, so they went straight? Though… I hate to say it, but we don’t even know if this was the direction they headed in from the compound. They could have gone in the opposite direction entirely.” Which meant there was no chance of us catching up to them, which really fucking sucked. “All we can do is keep looking for them.”

“Lars will catch up to the bastard eventually.” Kage leaves the rest unsaid, since we both know that once he catches up with Huntington, it’s going to go one way or the other. “And he won’t waste time doing it either. Which means we’ll eventually find them.”

Except that we don’t.

We head down each road possible, but there are countless possibilities, and in the end, Kage figures Lars may have headed home.

Except that he hasn’t.

“Where the fuck is he, Tamar?” Dessa is freaking out, grabbing my arm and shaking me, her eyes darting from me to Kage and back again. I don’t need to ask her who she’s asking about to know she’s asking about Lars, and probably doesn’t even know we’ve lost Virgil.

“We were hoping Lars had made it back here. It all went to hell, and he went after Huntington. But we lost him in the chaos. We tried to find him. Rode up and down every road surrounding that compound for miles out. But we had no luck, Dessa. I’m really sorry.” I pull her into my arms and hug her, hating to see her so upset, especially when I’m about to make matters worse. I swallow down the lump in my throat and squeeze my eyes against the burning tears that want to fall.

Dessa pulls away to look at me, and her eyes go wide with panic. “What’s happened? What haven’t you told me?”

Yet I can’t get the words out. They stick in my throat as I choke down a sob, refusing to let it escape, when Kage puts a hand on my shoulder and tells her what I can’t. “Benji went after Tamar. Must have been following the convoy. He pulled a gun on her and was going to hurt her. But… Virgil… he pushed her out of the way and took the bullet for her. I’m sorry, Dessa. I know he was like a father to you two, but, he didn’t survive.”

Anger flares in her blue eyes, even as her tears spill over. “Tell me that fucker, Benji, is dead.”

“He’s dead. I’m just sorry I didn’t take care of him years ago.” I swipe at my own tears as they finally fall free, and when Kage pulls me to him, I let him.

We leave Dessa to pace near the window, grieving for Vigil while worrying about Lars, as we head over to check on Felix and the rest of the men. Things could have gone a whole lot worse, and though we could have easily taken more casualties, the mood is still somber since good men were still lost.

We knock on the open door to Felix’s room where he’s laying back, propped on some pillows, his arm and torso bandaged. He looks like he’s in a fair bit of pain, but he’s straight to business the moment he sees us. “Did you get him? Is that fucking bastard dead?”

“Lars is still out hunting him. And you know what he’s like. Like a dog with a fucking bone.” Kage lets out a ragged breath, running a rough hand through his tousled hair, clearly worried and frustrated. And he has every right to be. Huntington isn’t an easy man to kill, and he’s deadly, even without his men. “Now that Huntington is on the run, there’s no way Lars is going to give up, just to have that asshole find us when we least expect it. Huntington needs to be dead. It’s been a long time coming, too. How about you? Was the doc able to patch you up?”

Felix shifts a bit in bed, using his good arm, and then waving away Kage’s concerns. “Yeah. No worries here. Doc’s got me stitched up and gave me a dose of antibiotics to keep any infection at bay. If I end up needing more, he’s got a small supply stashed away. Won’t need it though. The arm was a through and through, missing anything of importance, and though the one in my side was a bitch to get out, it could have been worse.”

“Glad to hear it. You rest up now. In the meantime, I’m going to make sure Huntington’s building gets cleared out of the dead, and swept for any traps, so that Cashwell can get started on bringing the grid back up. We’ll keep you updated.” Kage grabs my hand as we leave Felix in his room to recover, pulling me into the room we’ve shared.

The moment the door is closed behind us, he wraps me in his arms and kisses me, slow and sweet, though the tension in our kiss makes it clear that this isn’t about sex. It’s about needing to take comfort in each other’s presence, knowing that we somehow managed to survive something that could have stolen one of us from the other. And it’s about finding a way to stave off the worry hounding us about Lars.

With our kiss slowly coming to an end, I wrap my arms around him, letting him hold me tight, knowing that we only have a few stolen moments to spare before we need to get back to work. “He’ll show up, Kage. You know he will. There’s no way he’s going to let Huntington get the upper hand. And there’s no way he’d leave Dessa behind.”

“No, he wouldn’t.” He lets out a ragged breath and seems calmer for it. “Come on. We need to get a group over to Huntington’s to clear it. I don’t think Cashwell will fair too well if he ends up seeing the place in its current state. And we need to make sure he’s able to focus on getting the power back, instead of getting freaked out about things.”

We head out to where the men are gathered, and Kage pulls several of the men aside, and puts them in charge of cleaning the building, as I head over to Dessa where’s she’s pacing the floor and practically climbing the walls. Not that I can blame her. I’d be no better if Kage was the one missing. And though I don’t think Dessa had told Lars how she feels about him, even a blind man would be able to see that the two of them are destined to be together.

“He’ll come back, Dessa.” I step in her path, keeping her from pacing since she needs to put her focus elsewhere before she makes herself crazy worrying. “Look, we’re in the process of clearing Huntington’s encampment, which means you and Cashwell will be able to get to work bringing the grid online. And Lars will be back long before then. There’s no way he’s going anywhere when he’s yet to win you over.”

“I was such a jerk to him, Tamar.” She shakes her head, looking miserable before her stubbornness kicks in. “But in my defense, he just figured he’d crank up the charm and my panties would fall off. Like I was easy or some shit.”

I have to laugh. “Um… you realize that no one would ever think you’re easy. And I hate to break the news to you, but that’s not all Lars wants from you. Not even close.”

Because if he’s anything like Kage—and I know he is—then Lars isn’t just looking to get laid. He could easily get his needs met elsewhere if that’s all he wants. Nope. He wants a whole lot more, and he’s going to find a way to win Dessa over. Not that she’s isn’t already in love with him. She just refuses to admit it, even to herself.

“Well, it won’t matter what the hell he wants from me if he doesn’t get his sorry ass back here. What the hell was he thinking going after Huntington on his own? Stupid macho shit… going to get himself killed.” Of course, she doesn’t know about Lars and Kage’s brother and what Huntington did to him. Though I’m not sure it’s my place to tell her.

Yet before I can say anything more, there’s a commotion and they’re pulling up one of the garage doors.

And wouldn’t you fucking know it. It’s Lars riding in with one very dead Huntington draped over his bike.