Page 69 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

She rushed from the bathroom, coming to a brief stop when she found Dario, Keanu, and Advic pacing in the living room. They turned to look at her.

“What’s going on?” Dario asked.

She glanced at them and then rushed past them to get her boots from next to her pack. “I have to go,” she informed them as if this were perfectly normal. She dropped down onto the floor to put her boots on and lace them up.

“Maya, you’re not ready. You can’t walk far enough yet on that leg,” Advic implored.

She lifted her gaze toward him. Her reality kept shifting back and forth from the past to the present, jarring her, yanking her back to reality.

Keanu crouched down near her, putting her at eye level. “Come sit and eat some breakfast, okay?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have time.”

“Hon, you have time,” Keanu insisted. “Talk to us. Tell us what happened. What set you off like this?”

Maya rose to her feet. The three men had furrowed brows, concern etched on their faces. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, especially strange men.”

Dario stepped closer. “Sweetheart, that’s a good policy, but we’re not strangers anymore. You know us. Let us help you get stronger before you leave.”

Maya shook her head. She was partially aware she was wavering back and forth between the past and the present but she couldn’t stop it. “I have to go.” She grabbed her pack, heaved it onto her shoulders, and turned toward the stairs.

“Maya, stop. Please. Talk to us.” She wasn’t sure who spoke. Maybe all of them. It didn’t matter. Maybe she was having a nervous breakdown. The only way she knew to stop the madness was to get out in the open and breathe some goddamn air.

She grabbed the rope to disconnect the hatch and climbed the stairs. When she reached the top, she pushed the hatch open. The moment she lifted it out of the way, bright sunlight blinded her.

She hesitated, blinking several times until she adjusted to the daylight. Finally, she climbed the last few steps and emerged. She wasn’t alone though. Someone was behind her.

Taking a few wobbly steps over the dirt ground, she spun around to get her bearings. She didn’t know where she was. She hadn’t considered that detail.

It only took her a moment to figure out which way was West though. She knew how to use the sun to get around.

“Maya, please,” someone begged.

She started walking, ignoring the voice. She instinctively knew if she faced the man, he had the power to convince her to go back underground, and that wasn’t happening.

She headed for the tree line. Always the best option. Get out of the line of sight in case a helicopter swooped in. Get out of the open in case a car went by. Survival skills kicked in.

Wait. She did know where she was. She’d studied the map closely yesterday to help Ana and her men get to a safehouse. She smiled to herself as she remembered her coordinates and kept walking as fast as she could.

Her leg throbbed. She tried not to limp, but it was impossible to ignore the atrophy. Even though the wound had healed on the outside, her muscles weren’t ready for a long-distance walk. That was okay. She would go as far as she could today and pick up again tomorrow.

“Maya.” The voice was insistent.

She jerked her gaze to her right. Dario was beside her.

“Please, Maya. Talk to me.”

She kept walking. By the time she got inside the tree line, she couldn’t go another step. Her leg was threatening to give out. She wiggled free of her pack, set it on the ground, and dropped down on a fallen log to rest. She reached for her calf, rubbing it.

“Your leg isn’t ready yet, sweetheart.” Dario’s voice was gentle as he lowered himself next to her.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll go a little bit each day. I just won’t be able to go as far as I used to in one day.”

“Look.”

She glanced at him and then shifted her gaze in the direction he was pointing. The hatch that led into the clinic. It resembled the hatch that led into the bunkers The Wanderers used. But that wasn’t the important part. It was about twenty yards away.

She gasped and then dropped her gaze to the ground in front of her. Shit.

“I’m going to go close it and tell the guys we’re all right. I’ll be right back.” Dario stood and jogged the few feet to the opening. He leaned down and spoke, but she couldn’t hear him, and then he closed the door and returned to her.

Maya slid off the log so she was sitting on the ground. She set her chin on her knees and wrapped her arms around her shins, staring at nothing in the distance.

Dario dropped down beside her, also on the ground. He stretched out his long legs and leaned against the log.

For a long time, she took deep breaths as her mind cleared and she centered herself.

Dario said nothing. He simply sat beside her. His gaze was also in the distance when she glanced at him.

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