Page 76 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER24

Braylon had never been so glad to see a small, sad, rickety shack in his life as he was when the five of them emerged into a clearing just after daybreak the following day.

And icing on that cake: a large burly man stepped out of the front door as soon as they came into sight.

Rush dropped his pack and hugged the man, the two of them rocking back and forth. “Thank God you’re here.”

The man looked at him. “Fuck, Rush, thank God you’re here. I seriously didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

Rush turned toward the others. “Stuart, this is Braylon, Riggs, Storm, and Haley.”

Stuart clasped Braylon’s hand and then everyone else’s in turn.

“Based on how fast you got here from the last post, I’m betting you all are dead on your feet. Do you want to rest here for a while or get in the van?”

“Van,” Haley said definitively.

Braylon chuckled and pulled her into his arms.

Rush nodded toward Riggs. “Before we travel any farther, I want to clean up Riggs’s wound and put a few stitches in it.”

Stuart cringed when he glanced at Riggs’s arm. “Guess you didn’t quite make it here unscathed.”

“Close,” Riggs admitted. “It’s just a graze.”

Braylon rolled his eyes while he followed the others into the cabin. He watched as Rush meticulously tended to his best friend in the world, impressed with his bedside manner and talent. In no time, Riggs was cleaned, stitched, and bandaged.

“I’ll check it again in a few days, but it will be fine,” Rush declared as he put his medical supplies back in the case they’d pulled out of a locked compartment in the cabin.

“Let’s get out of here,” Riggs declared, slapping Braylon on the shoulder. He grinned. “I’m fine. Good as new.”

Braylon blew out a breath, realizing he must have been frowning and uncertain.

Stuart led them all out of the cabin, heading for the tree line. “It will take us several hours to get to the main compound. You all can tell me the saga on the way.”

Braylon took Haley’s hand as they followed Stuart. He pulled her into his side and kissed her temple. “So close, baby.”

She smiled at him. “My legs could not have gone another mile.”

“I know. Mine either.”

Stuart opened the sliding side door of the older model van. The inside was stripped and redone with makeshift bench seats. Stuart looked at Haley. “Are you claustrophobic, Haley?”

“I don’t think so.”

Stuart popped a lever on the front bench and tipped it forward to reveal a hidden compartment.

Braylon shuddered. It was more like a coffin.

Stuart glanced back at Haley. “If you can tolerate it, you’ll be much safer riding in here. If it makes you panic, we can let you stay on top, but when we pass other vehicles, you’ll need to duck inside really quick.”

Haley stepped forward, taking a deep breath. “I think if you give me a couple of the backpacks so I’ll have a pillow, I’ll fall asleep and not even know I’m there.”

Stuart nodded. “We can do that.” He reached for her hand and helped her climb into the fucking box, making Braylon’s skin crawl.

Haley didn’t seem upset though, so he hid his reaction. Storm unzipped his pack and pulled out a pile of clothes, making her a pillow. He jammed the rest of the pack and another one alongside her to anchor her to one side so she wouldn’t roll back and forth. Lastly, he handed her a bottle of water and a protein bar.

Rush leaned closer. “Be sure you eat and drink, Haley. It’s going to be a while. You need fuel. Let us know if you need to pee or stop for any reason.”

---