Edge of Fear: An EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival Prepper Series (American Fallout Book 3) Alex Gunwick (free reads .txt) 📖

Aside from that, a military man like Luke wouldn’t betray someone with the skills and training Derek possessed. Luke wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have killed Derek to take over the shelter. Luke would have shared the bounty with Derek if he’d been the one to find it first.

They still had to deal with the remaining members of the Children of the Bomb. As long as they were alive, they would remain a threat. They’d have to be handled quickly.

Up ahead, Luke tripped over a stone peeking out from the snow. The older man regained his footing quickly enough, but Derek was still concerned. Carrying all that weight had to be rough after a while.

“Here, let me take a turn.” Derek reached out and touched Sierra’s shoulder. Luke jerked away. Derek grabbed Sierra’s cold, rapidly stiffening arm instead.

“Don’t touch her.” Luke snarled. His eyes narrowed to slits as his gaze flitted to where Derek touched Sierra’s arm. His eyes widened as they took in the bruising around her wrist.

“I can explain!” Derek let her arm fall and took a half step backward.

Luke sputtered, unable even to form coherent speech. He carefully set Sierra’s body down in the snow and examined both of her wrists.

“What is this?” Luke demanded. “What. Is. This?”

Derek sighed and held up his hands in supplication.

“She followed me. She shouldn’t have. I had to do it. I didn’t want her to reveal the bunker’s location until I was ready.”

As Luke stood, his entire body trembled with rage.

“She followed you.” His voice was exceptionally calm, but his eyes were black with rage. “She followed you, and instead of sending her home to her parents, you, what? Tied her up?”

“I swear I wasn’t ever going to hurt her.” Derek took another step back as Luke stalked toward him. “You have to believe me.”

“No, I don’t have to believe shit!” Luke jabbed a finger back toward Sierra’s body. “I want the whole story. The whole thing. From beginning to end. And I swear to God, if I think you’re lying to me, you’re going to wish for a merciful death.”

Derek winced. Luke was going to kill him if he didn’t talk really fucking fast.

“I never would have hurt her.” Derek stumbled over a rock as he continued to retreat. “If she hadn’t insisted on throwing herself at me—”

Luke snarled and launched himself at Derek. He drove Derek back against the rough bark of a tree. Derek didn’t resist when Luke took hold of his jacket and slammed him against the trunk a few times.

“Don’t you sully her memory, boy. Tell me what happened. From the beginning. Now!”

Derek launched into his tale. There was no point in lying. Luke would see right through him if he tried it. Derek told the truth in its entirety. He didn’t hold anything back, except the part about Sierra’s inappropriate touching. It wasn’t relevant to the story anyway, and he couldn’t risk getting killed by Luke. Not now. Not after finding the shelter.

As Derek spoke, Luke relaxed a little. The rage in his face dissipated. His grip slackened. By the time Derek finished his story, Luke barely held on to him at all.

“My daughter is dead, and you’re partly to blame.” Luke didn’t look at Derek when he spoke. His voice was monotone, almost numb. “But I don’t think you did enough to deserve to die.”

Luke released him and walked back over to Sierra. He lifted her body over his shoulder. His dark eyes met Derek’s.

“I’ll be watching you, boy. I’ll be watching you.” Luke took off down the trail.

Derek stood against the tree for a moment. He’d dodged a bullet. Thank God Luke was a reasonable man. Derek took a deep breath. From now on, he’d have to trust Luke. Their fates were entwined now. Derek would be much safer in a group versus trying to go it alone.

After giving Luke a bit of a head start, Derek followed. The men didn’t speak again for the rest of the long journey back to the cabin. Luke didn’t slow down or take any rest breaks. He was a man on a mission.

Derek followed silently. He no longer dared to offer assistance. If Luke wanted to carry her the whole way, so be it.

As they approached the cabin, Kyle was the first to notice their return. He burst through the door and ran up the path toward the two men. Derek dreaded the boy’s inevitable heartbreak.

12

When Kyle’s piercing scream reached Liz’s ears, she knew right away her daughter was dead. She dropped the dish she’d been washing and ran out the cabin’s front door. As she raced toward her husband and Derek, she tried to cling to a glimmer of hope. Maybe Kyle’s scream was of excitement, not horror. But in her heart, she knew the truth.

When she caught sight of Sierra in Luke’s arms, Liz couldn’t deny the truth anymore. A primal scream ripped from her throat.

“No!” she wailed.

Kyle clung to Luke, pressing his face into his dad’s leg. Luke just stared at her as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Liz dropped to her knees. She stared up at Sierra’s pale face.

Dead! Her baby was dead!

“Give her to me!” She stood and grabbed for her daughter. Luke gently lay her in Liz’s arms.

“No! No! No!” Kyle screamed over and over. He shook his head from side to side. “It’s not real! It’s not true!”

Liz threw an arm around his shoulder. She embraced both her children, the living and the dead.

She’d failed Sierra. She’d failed as a parent. No mother should have to bury her daughter. It wasn’t natural.

She brushed Sierra’s hair back from her face and rested her daughter’s head in her lap while she sniffled through more tears. She couldn’t hold back the pain any longer, and she sobbed until her nose was clogged and her throat went raw.

Luke, obviously exhausted, collapsed in the snow. She could hardly look at him. Although she knew it was completely irrational to blame him, she wanted