Page 72 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER23

Rush was stressed as the five of them stopped for a much-needed break from walking. They sat in a clearing and pulled out some dried fruit and nuts. He hated that he’d needed to leave the walkie-talkie behind. At least he’d managed to connect with Maya again before they’d left. If he hadn’t made that call, she would have been freaking out the entire day.

He’d had to keep it brief, though, letting her know they were leaving that outpost immediately and heading for the next. It would take them two days to get there, and he and Storm hadn’t slept, but staying behind and risking those two men returning hadn’t been an option.

The hairs had been standing up on the back of Rush’s neck for the last several hours, and unfortunately, he wasn’t surprised when they got company.

“Fuck,” he muttered the moment he heard a dog barking. It wasn’t unusual for militants to use dogs to sniff out their prey. He knew in an instant he and his friends were the prey.

Jumping to his feet, he grabbed his gun before nodding toward Storm and then Haley.

Storm understood immediately, grabbed his pack, took Haley’s hand, and rushed her off into the tree line. There was no way to hide all of them, but Rush had to hope that Storm and Haley would get away while the rest of them stood their ground.

He hoped to God it would be three against two. If those men had amassed more people, they were toast.

Sure enough, moments later, the same two men from that morning stepped into view.

The darker man smirked. “My my my. Looks like we have a liar on our hands.”

The white guy narrowed his gaze. “Now, where did these other two men come from, asshole?” He lifted his gun, but this time Rush was also holding his out. So were Riggs and Braylon. If those two men wanted a shootout, they would also lose their lives.

“You don’t want to shoot us,” Rush informed the militants. “It won’t go well for you.”

The white guy snorted. “It will if we shoot first.”

“You underestimate us,” Bray stated.

Rush was impressed with the level of calm Bray presented. His arm was steady. His gun was lined up. His gaze was locked on the darker man.

Luckily, the dog came to the white man’s feet and sat obediently instead of continuing his search for humans. Rush prayed Storm and Haley were running as fast as they could, though he suspected that was not the case.

Storm would be torn between protecting Haley at all costs and saving his friends. He would never leave men behind. He would hide Haley and return. Except that determined woman was probably right next to him, gun raised, ready to shoot.

Rush nearly groaned as those thoughts flitted through his mind. He needed to concentrate on this standoff, preferably ending without shots fired.

“You’re traveling the wrong direction,” the white guy pointed out. He looked around the surrounding area. “Since I know you’re a liar, I’m wondering if you’ve also got a woman and a Black man around here somewhere.”

“That’s ludicrous. Met up with these two and decided to hang with them for a few days.”

“Is that so?” the darker man stated, glancing at his friend. “I’m not buying it. How about you, Merv?”

“No, Deke. Not for a minute.”

“Why does it matter?” Rush asked. “We mean no one any harm. You don’t have to shoot us for walking across the land.”

Merv narrowed his gaze. “It’s our land. You’re trespassing.”

“Ah, well we didn’t know that. How about you let us get off your land and we’ll all go our separate ways.”

“The boss don’t like strangers roaming around in this area,” Deke told him.

Rush had suspected the men weren’t alone. Now he knew for sure. They were with a larger group of militants, which didn’t bode well. As soon as shots were fired, more people would come this direction, and the odds wouldn’t be good.

“We have no intention of staying, and we don’t want any trouble. Put the guns down and we’ll all walk away,” Riggs stated.

Deke glanced down at their packs. “Those backpacks you’re carrying sure are fucking nice. Too nice for this part of the country. Where’d you say you came from?”

“We didn’t say. We traded for these packs a few days ago. Got lucky. They are nice,” Riggs responded.

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