Page 86 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

Maya glanced up to find herself surrounded by strangers. The woman was tall and gorgeous with thick brown hair in a ponytail. Her brown eyes were furrowed with concern.

Two other men stood close. Both were huge like Franklin. One was Hispanic. One was dark-skinned.

“What happened is this woman has a death wish much like yours,” Franklin stated as he glanced at the woman.

She put her hands on her hips, scowled at him, and then shoved him to one side even though he outweighed her by double.

The dark-skinned man chuckled.

The woman took Franklin’s place facing Maya. “Ignore him. He needs his ego stroked now and then.”

Franklin growled. “Bethany…” he warned.

Bethany ignored him and held out a hand. “Obviously, I’m Bethany.”

Maya shook her hand. “Maya.”

The Hispanic man cleared his throat. “I guess this means the rumors were true. There was a woman in the docs’ bunker. I assume this is her.”

“Yep, and she nearly got us killed, and those doctors of hers are going to have my head on a platter when they get here.”

Maya flinched and then pointed a finger at Franklin. “Thanks to you we don’t even know if they made it away or got shot to death.”

Franklin rolled his eyes. “Thanks to me, we made it out of there alive, and we’ll live to see another day.”

“Are you injured?” Bethany asked, pointing at Maya’s calf.

“It’s nothing.” Maya slid off the edge of the table, not wanting all this attention. She winced the moment her foot hit the floor. It was going to be sore for a few days. She’d done far more than she should have on it.

Bethany turned toward the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water, handing it to Maya before glancing at Franklin. “Do we need to get underground?”

“No.” Maya shook her head. “Please.” She couldn’t take spending more time underground. She needed to be here where she could see and hear when the van pulled up.

Franklin ran a hand over his head and grumbled. “I don’t think anyone saw us.”

Bethany nodded. “Good.”

Maya smiled. It was nice meeting another woman who could stand her ground. She paced toward the window. “They should be here by now.”

Franklin sighed. “No, they shouldn’t. We don’t even know they aren’t still being chased.”

Maya pursed her lips and stared out into the clearing. She would start pacing if she thought her leg wouldn’t give out. Instead, she was forced to stand still, watch, and wait.

After a few minutes, she started to panic. After ten minutes, she was frantic. She kept watching out the window though. They would be here. Any minute. Right? They had to come for her. If they didn’t…

She shook that thought out of her mind. It was unacceptable. Instead, she set her forehead against the windowpane and tried to breathe. When she closed her eyes, flashes of each man rushed through her mind’s eye to taunt her.

Advic’s hand holding hers every time she woke up that first week to find him keeping vigil at her side. Keanu’s expression as he slid his cock into her. Dario’s face when she held his erection in her hand for the first time.

Fuck. She was so stupid. She’d been so pigheaded that she hadn’t even told them how she felt about them. Why?

She’d spent every waking hour making sure they knew she was only going to stay until she was healed enough to travel. How had that made them feel? They’d laid their hearts on the table for her, and she’d brushed them all to the floor with a sweep of her arm and trampled on them.

What if something happened to them today and she never got to see one or more of them again? She was such a bitch. She’d treated them like they didn’t matter to her. She’d pushed them away every chance she’d gotten. She’d even set rules before she would have sex with them, insisting they not ask her to stay after they’d been inside her body.

She shuddered at the memory of what it felt like to be surrounded by them, their hands all over her, their mouths… God, when they’d been inside her… They’d ruined her. Shattered her resolve. Made her theirs in every possible way.

And what had she done? The first chance she got when she woke up, she’d insisted on leaving with Stuart without giving them so much as a glance. She was a coward, not wanting to face them.

She’d rationalized if she didn’t see the expressions on their faces, she could pretend she hadn’t hurt them. But in the end, she had looked. She had seen. She’d felt every emotion that wafted off of them as they insisted she leave with Franklin. All they’d wanted was for her to be safe.

A tear slid down her cheek and she swiped at it quickly before anyone noticed.

Franklin and his family were leaving her to herself, letting her watch out the window without hounding her. She was grateful for their hospitality. They spoke in soft voices behind her, giving her the much-needed space she craved.

She tipped her head back and nearly groaned as she considered making a deal with whatever deity might listen. If she could just have her men back. She would make things right. She would tell them how much she cared about them. She wouldn’t let another sun set without making sure they knew how important they were to her.

She had no idea what kind of life she might have with them. It was impossible to visualize a situation that would work out to everyone’s benefit. But she would do whatever it took. She had to. Even if it meant giving up traveling or staying underground longer than she liked.

She was in love with them.

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