Page 29 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

Rush nodded. “We’ll need to figure out transportation. I assume all four of you intend to join me?”

“Definitely,” Storm confirmed.

Rush shifted his attention to Braylon as if sensing correctly that Bray was the man who needed the most convincing. This was his home. The only home he’d ever known, and though he and Riggs, and Storm by default, had been educated beyond the average person living in these times, Braylon didn’t truly know what it was like outside of his bubble.

Neither did Riggs. They’d led a sheltered life. And though they had joined their fathers in managing the family business, they were always escorted to and from the water treatment plant by armed guards. The extent of their understanding of how the rest of the world outside of the aristocracy lived extended solely to what they’d seen out the window of a moving vehicle.

Well, that was all the firsthand information they had. They also had sixteen years of real-world indoctrination from Marian. If it weren’t for her, none of them would be in this position. They wouldn’t have learned about free will or options.

Without Marian’s secret influence, there was a good chance Braylon would have taken Haley’s virginity on their wedding night without a single thought to her feelings.

Marian had been the best thing that had ever happened to any of them. They owed her for not just their technical education but also their practical knowledge. What will happen to her when we disappear?

Storm shuddered at the thought as he focused on Rush.

Rush held Braylon’s gaze. “Do you have access to the keys to this cell?”

Bray nodded. “I can manage that part. Seems like the least of our concerns.”

Rush nodded. “What about a vehicle? We’ll need something that will allow us to hide your wife while we’re traveling.”

Bray licked his lips. “Haley,” he said softly.

Storm knew how hard it was for Bray to face this man who was the father of Haley’s child. No man should be asked to endure a meeting like this. Storm was proud of Bray’s strength and determination and willingness to understand that Rush was also a victim in this hellish situation. He hadn’t wanted to provide his semen. He hadn’t had a choice.

Rush smiled politely. “Thank you. I know this is an impossible situation. If I could have refused, I never would’ve let someone use my sperm to inseminate your wife. You have to know that, right?”

Bray nodded and sucked in a breath. “I can get keys to a vehicle.”

“Good. We won’t be able to keep it for long. People will be looking for it. But if we can get several miles away from here, we’ll hide that first car and find another.”

Storm’s entire body went on high alert when the door at the top of the stairs opened and footsteps filled his ears. Fuck. He already knew what he would say if they got caught, but he would have preferred it not happen.

He blew out a breath, partially relieved when Marian appeared. What was she doing up at this hour? Had she heard them?

“I wondered how long it would take you boys to start plotting,” she commented as she reached the final step. “I’m surprised it took you this long.”

Storm licked his lips. Even though Marian was technically nothing more than a hired tutor who’d since moved on to secretly working for Bray’s and Riggs’s fathers behind the scenes, Storm had more respect for her than anyone alive.

She was like a second mother to all of them. No. She was more than that. She was more like their actual mother. The woman who’d nurtured them and kissed their booboos and held their hands when shit happened in their lives over the years.

Once again, he reminded himself how blessed they all were to have her on their team.

No one responded to her statement. There was no need.

She shifted her attention to Rush. “These are good men. You can trust them,” she informed him.

Storm found that interesting since none of them were as certain they could trust Rush. He wanted to. Hell, they had no choice, but this was a dangerous plot.

“When are you going to flee?” Marian asked, glancing at each of them in turn. She set her hands on her hips and lifted a brow. It might have been comical coming from such a slip of a woman who had more than one Ph.D. before the collapse of society but was now valued slightly less than cattle within The Republic.

No one had taken her spirit, not even when her daughter was stolen from her over seven years ago.

“We don’t know yet,” Storm informed her. “We’re working out the details.”

“You’ll need more than a wing and a prayer, you know. Did it ever occur to you to ask me for help?”

Bray flinched. “No, ma’am. That didn’t seem fair to you. We wouldn’t want you to carry the burden of our secrets.”

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