Page 17 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

He nodded. “Okay. Let’s give it a try, warrior woman.”

She glanced at the foot of the bed when a shadow fell over her. Keanu was there now too. She looked at each man in turn before saying, “Maya.”

Her gaze was on Advic when she finally made that revelation, and his brows lifted. He glanced across the bed at Dario.

Maya shifted her gaze from one man to the next and back. They all looked shocked.

“Maya Trelegan?” Dario asked.

She gasped. “How do you know my name?”

Advic grabbed her hand. “You’re with The Wanderers. You’re their best scout. We were right about that part.”

She swallowed, praying she hadn’t given away too much information by revealing her name. What were the chances they would have heard of her?

“We know Rush Serpa,” Keanu added. “One of your medics.”

“You know Rush?” Rush was definitely one of the good guys. If he vouched for these people, then she was in good hands. Assuming no one was lying.

“Rush trained under me,” Dario informed her. “He joined us a few years after we went underground. He was young. He was a fast learner though. When he met up with someone from The Wanderers about three years ago, he parted from us because your people didn’t have enough medics.”

Keanu chuckled. “I think he was feeling a bit claustrophobic with us. We were often in a cramped space, and obviously, we have no women. He jumped at the opportunity to move in with your larger population. He still visits us from time to time when he needs supplies. We have more access to necessities.”

Maya nodded slowly. That all checked out. And she knew Stuart sometimes accompanied Rush and a few other people on runs to pick up supplies. Apparently, this was one of their occasional stops. “He’s a good guy. He delivered a breech baby last month in the middle of nowhere with almost no supplies. Both mother and baby survived.”

Dario smiled. “I’m so glad to hear that. And thank you for telling us your name. I could have called you sweetheart forever if you’d insisted, but it’s nice knowing your given name too.”

Keanu slid his hand to her neck to help her sit. “I think between the three of us, we can get you into the chair.”

“You say that like I weigh too much to lift.”

Keanu chuckled. “Hardly. But I don’t want to jostle you more than necessary.” As Keanu carefully eased her to sitting and then turned her so her legs hung off the side of the bed, Advic came to her other side.

Dario tucked a blanket into the wheelchair.

There was nothing graceful or modest about these two men lifting her off the bed, spinning her to the side, and helping her sit on the chair, but they did it.

It felt good to be sitting upright even though Maya held her breath. Her leg was throbbing. It hurt like a motherfucker, and she winced as Dario carefully set her foot on the footrest. “You okay?”

She nodded, lips pursed. Next hurdle. Getting from the chair to the toilet. She wasn’t sure how the hell that was going to happen, but she was bound and determined to do it on her own.

Dario pushed her out of this small room and into a hallway. It was her first look at the rest of the clinic. It was small. Just two exam rooms with a bathroom in between. A desk was in the hallway, and another door was closed behind the desk.

“Do you live in here too?” she asked. It seemed like at least one of them had been with her at all times. She doubted they’d left her alone while she’d been delirious with fever.

“Yes.” Keanu pointed at the closed door. “We have a living space in there. We can show you when you’re up to it. The main exit is through there too. That door has several safety features. We can lock it so if anyone ever breaches the living space, they can’t get to the clinic. They wouldn’t even know it existed.”

That was cool. “Is there another way out?” She twisted her neck to look at Advic, praying he would say yes so she wouldn’t feel quite as trapped.

“Yes. There’s an escape from inside the bathroom.”

She exhaled slowly. Thank God for that.

He turned her around and pushed the chair into the bathroom. It was small. The wheelchair hardly fit inside. There was barely enough space to also close the door. The room consisted of a toilet, sink, and bathtub/shower enclosure. Functional.

Advic pointed at a door on the other side of the bathroom. “That leads to a short tunnel and then a ladder up to ground level.”

“Hope I don’t have to take that route,” she muttered. Inside, she was glad the tunnel exited. It kept her from feeling like she had no way to get out of here.

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