Page 52 of Refuge (The Wanderers 2)

Chapter 16

The previous afternoon…

“What’s the matter?” Ariel asked Tarin when he stepped into the clothing exchange. His expression was grim as he came toward her.

She panicked for a moment, thinking something had happened to Stuart. “Stu?” she asked, her voice shaking.

He frowned and then shook his head. “No. Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Stu is fine. Kester has to go out the other direction to make a pickup. I came to get you so you could see him off. He’s rushing around to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“Okay.” She glanced over her shoulder at Elias who waved her off.

“Go,” he said. “See you later.”

She had to nearly jog to keep up with Tarin. “Why are you so serious?” she asked. “You look nervous.”

He rubbed his temple. “I don’t know. Just a feeling. No reason.”

“What feeling?” Her heart was racing now. She didn’t like Tarin’s feeling.

He stopped walking, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his embrace, working hard to unfurrow his brow. “Sorry. I’m being ridiculous. It’s just a run like any other. Jay called it in. Kester’s going to pick up a woman and come right back. Easy peasy.”

She swallowed as he released her and they continued walking. “Except you don’t believe that.”

He didn’t say anything else as they reached the conference room near the main exit where most teams gathered before heading out on a run of any kind. Last-minute instructions. Making sure they had all the supplies they needed. That sort of thing.

Kester was in the room. He was pacing. Gray Tillson, one of the council members, was also there. He was leaning against a wall, rubbing his face. A glance across the room indicated the two other council members were also present, sitting at the conference table—Barak Winther and Willa Schama.

“Kes?” Ariel asked softly as she stepped inside.

He turned toward her and immediately smiled, though it was forced and not the least bit genuine. “Hey.” He reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar.” She tried to smile. “Talk to me.”

Gray was the one to finally answer her questions. “The woman Kester is heading out to rescue is pregnant. I can send Rush Serpa with him. He has medical training, but Julie Imes isn’t here right now, and she’s too far away to get there as fast as we need her. We’re worried the woman might be in labor and alone.”

Ariel released Kester to look at Gray. “Why do you need Julie if Rush can go?” She was missing something here.

“Don’t need Julie so much as we need a woman to go. There’s no way I can send two men to pick up a pregnant woman. She’d panic. She wouldn’t be able to trust them. Hell, she might shoot them.”

“Oh.” Now Ariel understood.

Kester stepped toward the table and stuffed a few last items into his pack. “We have to get going now, Gray. No time to waste. It will be dark soon. We’ll just have to take our chances and do our best to talk her into trusting us.”

As he spoke, Rush hurried into the room. He was out of breath. “I’m ready.”

“I don’t like it,” Willa stated. “I’ll go.” She stood from her chair. “Give me two minutes.”

“Not a chance, Willa.” Barak shook his head. “You haven’t been on a run in a long time. It’s not safe.”

She humphed at him. “Better than no woman going.”

Ariel drew in a breath, knowing she was about to cause a world war here. “I’ll go.”

“Fuck no,” Kester stated.

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