Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller(26)

“I know.”

She’d sacrificed too much to get back to this place, to build a home for herself and her children. She wasn’t running now. She wouldn’t run.

She chose love. She chose community. She chose grace.

“These are our people. I won’t turn my back on them. I’ll do everything in my power to save everyone that I can, not just myself or my family.”

Liam gave a resigned sigh. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

She holstered the pistol. “I’m sorry.”

“Never apologize for who you are,” he said, his voice husky.

She blushed. “It’s not enough to survive. I want more. We need more. I want justice. Peace. Freedom. Not just for me, but for others.”

“That’s all, huh?”

She gave him a tremulous smile. “I still want it. I still believe in it.”

“I know you do.”

She took a step closer. They were less than a foot apart. He smelled like clean sweat and wood and something musky and earthen. Her heart thrummed in her chest. Her belly knotted.

The words curdled in her throat. She was afraid to say them out loud, to make them real, but she needed to know. "Will you go?"

"Go where?"

"To your cabin." She swallowed. "Will you take the Brooks and L.J.?"

Liam tilted his head, a complicated expression crossing his features, his eyes dark and hooded, impenetrable. "No."

Relief flooded her, so intense her legs felt weak. “Are you certain? I don’t want you to make a decision because of me—”

“Hannah.” Liam placed his hand over her crippled one. His strong, calloused fingers enveloped hers. Once, she would have flinched away, but she didn't. He could have crushed her bones as easily as crushing an egg. He didn’t. She knew he never would.

Something softened in his gaze. That rugged face, those fierce eyes. She couldn’t look away.

Liam said, “If you stay, I stay.”





16





Liam





Day One Hundred and Six





Liam waited.

The seconds ticked by on his mechanical watch. Four hours remained on the General’s deadline.

And then what? that niggling voice whispered in the back of his mind. Then what?

Liam leaned back in the wooden booth of the bar at Fall Creek Inn. As usual, he sat in the furthest position against the wall, no exits at his back. His go-bag leaned against the booth along with his M4. The cleaned, polished Glock sat on the table out of Charlotte’s reach.

His gaze swept over the bar top, stools, and barren shelves, the rear exit, the front door, the empty booths in front of them.

The air smelled like stale beer and pretzels, though they’d consumed the last pretzel months ago. A portable propane heater provided warmth.

Morning sunlight streamed through the grimy, unwashed windows. Unlike many of the businesses in Fall Creek and elsewhere, the Inn still boasted glass windowpanes.

The streets were empty. So was the bar. It was closed during the day but open in the evenings and frequently packed as people sought warmth and companionship.

Dave Farris had procured some of Dominique West’s moonshine, which he traded for the usual beans, bullets, and Band-Aids.

This morning, Dave had called an emergency town hall meeting to discuss the General’s demands—and to vote on whether to turn Liam in.

Reynoso and Bishop were attending, while Perez and Hayes monitored security and patrols. They couldn’t afford to gather everyone in a large group and leave the town unprotected.

Hannah sat across from him, Charlotte on her lap. Though Hannah was a member of the town council, she had excused herself to avoid accusations of bias. Instead, she waited for the results with Liam.

She tossed Ghost a strip of venison jerky, then glanced behind her to check on Milo. The little boy sat at a booth near the door, studiously leaning over a drawing pad, his oval face scrunched in concentration.

For two days, he’d been working on his newest version of Wolverine—featuring Liam’s face.

Hannah’s gaze slid past him to the glass front door. Her frown deepened.

“What?”

She turned back around. “They’re sure taking a long time.”

He forced a wry smile. “They’re voting on whether to shoot me or turn me in first so the General can do it himself.”

“Have a little faith in your fellow man.”

Liam gave a noncommittal grunt.

She rolled her eyes. “We need a distraction.”

He felt lost and unmoored. Despair crept in on him.

He always had backup plans to his backup plans. Contingencies and alternate exit routes mapped out in his head. Not this time.

To go along with the General’s demand meant his own slow and painful death. It might not protect the town, either.

No clear answer presented itself. For the first time, he couldn’t see several moves ahead.

He was blind.

He wasn’t sure why, but he’d decided to submit to the town council. If they turned him in, he would go. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t.

The temptation to save himself never even entered his head.

Hannah was right. Fall Creek had become his home. He didn’t want to abandon them.