Savage (The End 1)

Lucy had a can of peaches opened and was scooping them out with her fingers and shoving them in her mouth. Malachi had a little more grace, and Sasha saw that another can was waiting for her, the lid already open.

Taking a seat beside her sister, she took a bite of the canned fruit, loving the taste as the sweetness exploded on her tongue. This was the best thing she’d eaten in a long time, and how sad was that?

One day at a time. That was all she could do. Take it one day at a time. For Lucy, she would do everything, even put up with this new … complication in her life.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sometimes there’s no rainbow after a storm

“Fuck,” Malachi growled out just as the vehicle sputtered to a stop. He pulled over to the side of the road, the gas gauge showing they were on empty. For a second he just sat there, Hands on the steering wheel, Sasha and Lucy’s gazes strong enough that he felt them. He glanced at Lucy. “Sorry,” he muttered and exhaled.

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked in a soft voice.

“We’re out of gas, which means we need to find some or we’ll be walking to wherever he’s taking us.”

There was a bitter note in Sasha’s voice, but then again, Malachi knew telling her that he wanted her as his would lead to backlash. Then again, he’d never been one to watch what he said. He called it like it was and fuck the repercussions.

He didn’t say anything, just got out of the car, grabbed his stuff out of the back, and headed around to the front of the vehicle.

Sasha and Lucy were making their way out too, their bags slung over their shoulders, the air tense around them.

The three of them started walking down the long, deserted road. Malachi had his gun at tucked at the small of his back, a knife in his boot, and another one in his hand. Although he didn’t want Lucy to have a firearm, he’d given her a metal pipe, something to keep her safe in case she needed to use it as protection.

He looked over at Sasha and saw a stoic expression on her face. She was tough, that was for sure. That was one of the reasons he was so attracted to her, why he wanted her so badly.

She might hate him now, think that she had no choice but to stay with him, and no doubt loath him, but the truth was, she’d come around sooner or later.

He saw the way she looked at him, the desire in her eyes, the knowledge that he was the only one who could protect them fully.

And he’d do just that, using his last breath if need be. He might have been a piece of shit criminal before the world went to shit, but he could make up for some of that negative karma by doing a little good.

Of course he was selfish as well, telling Sasha he’d help her but she had to be his.

He wasn’t a saint. What could he say?

Time started to pass the longer they walked, and when he checked his watch, he saw it had been an hour already.

Lucy was starting to grow tired, her movements slowing and her little voice whining. And then he saw the sign for a town ahead, and he stopped them, holding his hand out front and looking around.

It would also be getting dark soon, and depending on if they found gas, maybe some more supplies, they might have to set up camp in town. That was safer than trying to make it back to the car at night.

“Why are we stopping?” Sasha asked and he felt her gaze on him.

“It’s a town, which means there might be people there. We have to be careful.”

He motioned for them to follow. “Stay close,” he said under his breath. He had pulled the gun out from the small of his back and kept it pressed to his outer thigh. Before long they were entering the town named Butecrest.

It was small, almost quaint.

“I’m going to check those two cars up ahead for gas. Keep close and don’t wander.” He said that a little harshly, maybe too harshly. But in the short time he’d been with them, Malachi couldn’t help but admit that keeping them safe was of the utmost importance to him.

He checked the first car and then the next. Both empty.

“Let’s keep going.” He saw the pharmacy, tucked that in the back of his mind. They’d need to check there to see if there were any meds. Chances were most of the stores here would have been ransacked and looted. But they still needed to check.

There weren’t too many vehicles, but then he saw a small pediatric doctor’s office.

“Let’s see if we can find anything in there.”