Page 28 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER10

Storm hadn’t slept enough. Granted, he never slept enough. He hadn’t in years. But it had gotten worse since he’d been assigned to guard Haley.

It was ironic that his job was to make sure she didn’t leave the estate or that no one came near her uninvited. Ironic, because he was most definitely going to take her away from this estate himself.

It had been twenty-four hours since they’d learned Haley was indeed pregnant. He was both proud and concerned that she’d held it together. He’d expected her to crawl back into bed and stay there until Lorena came and dragged her down for a meal.

Instead, she’d put on a brave face, shown up for every meal, and pretended she had no idea if she was pregnant or not.

She’d even taken things a step further. When Lorena had asked her if she’d started her menses this morning at breakfast in front of every damn person in the family, Haley had given Lorena a small smile while shaking her head. As if she were excited that she might be pregnant.

The woman deserved an acting award, and Storm’s chest had tightened while he’d stood against the wall in the dining room. He’d kept his stance poised and his expression neutral as usual. He feigned indifference as if Haley’s possible pregnancy meant nothing to him.

He too deserved an acting award. Perhaps a Grammy or an Emmy or whatever those awards used to be called back when society was far more civil and polite. Before female births had slowly lowered until they now numbered about one in eight.

He’d seen old television shows many times. It was hard to believe most people used to roam around the country, free to make their own decisions without fear of recrimination.

Storm knew better than Riggs or Braylon what it was like in the real world. He’d lived outside of this estate until he was nine years old. He was pretty certain the only reason he and his father had managed to avoid being picked up by The Republic for as long as they had was because they had no women or female children living with them.

Storm was an only child. His mother had been a drug addict and left his father when he’d been only two. He had no memory of her. Her absence from his life would later prove to be a blessing.

Shaking the nostalgic thoughts from his head, he led Riggs and Braylon down the stairs. It was two in the morning. None of them were getting enough sleep these days. They plotted by night and worked by day. Tonight, it was time to talk to Rush.

Rush stood as soon as the three of them emerged from the stairwell. He wiped his hands on his jeans and took a deep breath as he eyed all of them suspiciously.

Storm made the introductions. “Rush, this is Braylon Hanson and Riggs Feldman.” He pointed to each of them in turn.

Rush nodded. “Nice to meet you.” And then he smirked. “Well, except for the circumstances. How is your uh… Is she married to one of you?”

Braylon nodded. “She’s my wife.”

“How is she?” Rush asked softly.

No one said a word for several long seconds.

Rush glanced at Storm. “Is she…”

Storm nodded. “We had her take a test like you suggested. It was positive. No one else knows yet.”

Rush swallowed hard and began to tremble, lowering himself to the cot.

Storm felt bad for this man who’d been forced to father a child against his will. Sure, he and his friends had a pile of emotional baggage to deal with, but sometimes he had to remind himself that Rush was suffering too. None of this was fair to him.

Rush finally took a deep breath and lifted his gaze. “Are you sure it’s mine? Is there any chance…”

Braylon cleared his throat. “It’s yours.”

Rush nodded. “I guess they tested your sperm count first.”

Braylon ran a hand down his face and changed the subject. “Storm says you know of a place we could go. Is that true and are you willing to help us?”

“Yes and yes. If you can get me out of here, I can get you to a safe place. But I have no idea where I am or what we’ll be up against trying to leave this estate or this city. I came here with a hood over my head. I’m sure Storm has told you I don’t have the first clue where I am. I assume the Virginia area?”

Riggs stepped forward and leaned a hip against the jail cell. “Yes. You’re correct. Where is this safe place you know of?”

“The Midwest.”

“That’s a long way,” Braylon acknowledged.

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