Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller(27)

And yet, he expected them to betray him. Their children’s lives were on the line. What other response was there?

Hannah could put everything on the line for the greater good, but most people couldn’t.

Most folks worried about putting bread on the table and keeping their loved ones breathing. That was it. He couldn’t blame them, either.

Still, the thought of the town he’d bled and fought for voting for his death twisted his guts. He dreaded the pronouncement he knew was coming.

“Hey.” Hannah studied him, her eyes a brilliant green in the sunlight filtering through the windows. “You okay? How’s your side?”

He winced and touched his dressings beneath his shirt. “I will be. Just need time.”

No amount of time would fix the crushed discs in his spine. Only surgery, and that option was long gone.

Evelyn had examined him this morning after his early training session with Quinn. Evelyn wasn’t happy with him, but then, she seldom was. If she had her way, he’d be bedridden for weeks.

The infection wasn’t spreading; that was the important thing. Pain was something he could live with.

Charlotte giggled. She bounced in Hannah’s lap, gnawing on a colorful teething toy as she cooed and gurgled at Liam.

Tense as he was, he couldn’t help but smile back at her. She wore an airplane onesie beneath a little jean jacket, her knit winter hat tilted over her big blue eyes.

From the floor, Ghost gave an exasperated chuff. Hannah tossed him another piece of venison jerky, which he scarfed down in a single mouthful, then turned his soulful eyes upon her once again, begging for more.

She sighed and tossed him another piece. “You big baby. One more. That’s all.”

“How’s Quinn?” Liam asked in a low voice, slanting his chin at Milo.

“She’s doing better.” Hannah chewed her lower lip. “She thought killing Sutter would fix something inside her. In the end, she realized it wouldn’t. She’s talking about it. That’s a good thing. Her and Milo, though…it’s like she’s afraid to be around him. I’m not sure what to do.”

Milo and Quinn still circled each other like ships passing in the night—both apprehensive, skittish, and hurting.

Liam had no suggestions. He wasn’t good at this stuff. Couldn’t figure out his own crap, let alone anyone else’s.

Hannah studied the yellowed table, frowning. “This world steals their innocence.”

“That’s what it takes to survive.”

“I don’t like it.”

“It’s the price everyone has to pay,” Liam said.

“I wish I knew it was worth it.”

He understood the darkness. He’d lost himself to it.

A man haunted by his past, by his years overseas, but also everything that had happened since the EMP—the things he’d had to do, the choices he’d made.

He closed his eyes and saw it again. The plummeting plane, the careening wreckage, the dead bodies everywhere.

His brother lying in the street, unmoving. Jessa on the bed, blood staining her legs, her chest, the sheets beneath her.

Save him, Liam. Save my baby…

He forced his eyes open. He had saved L.J. and Jessa’s parents. And Hannah.

It was Hannah who’d brought him back, who’d saved him in return.

Quinn would find her way, too. He would help her as best he could. If he was still around.

“In this world, there’s no choice,” Liam said. “You struggle through and make it to the other side, or you don’t.”

Hannah wiped drool from Charlotte’s chin and nodded. She understood it, too. She’d faced her own demons and come out the other side, stronger and tougher.

“You’re right. As always.”

He snorted. “I doubt that.”

“Since we’re still waiting, I could use your help.”

“What do you need?”

She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolded it, and pushed it across the table. “We have a couple hundred volunteers to help with the spring planting. I have a list. Dave, Annette, and I have organized them into teams and assigned each one a specific farm.

“We need armed patrols with each group to keep watch while people are working. I could use your input on which people to put where, to best use their strengths.”

Liam raised his brows. “I’m impressed.”

“Organization and leadership are key. We have hundreds of seedlings growing in the greenhouses we’ve built. Jamal and Tina have constructed some hydroponics farms with solar grow lights. They can build more with the proper supplies.

“We need PVC pipes, plastic tubing, Styrofoam containers, buckets, and pea gravel. We also need more fencing for the goats, chickens, and cows we want to keep in town. It’s getting harder to source what we need. And of course, it’s impossible to send out scavenging parties with the General breathing down our necks.”

“I’ll make the list, but I need every soul we have to man the perimeter and blockades.”

Hannah sighed. “I figured.”

Liam reached into his pocket and withdrew his everyday carry—a hard-shelled sunglasses case. It contained his multi-tool, stainless steel tactical pen, small LED flashlight, two lighters, a folding knife, lock-pick set, and a handkerchief wound with paracord.