Breakout Page 8

  Jack seemed oblivious to the aggression rolling off the mechanic in waves and to the tension strung between Corbin and Monarch as tight as a bow string. “Carter, I wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend, Monarch,” he said proudly.

  Monarch was still too shocked to form words, much less to dispute Jack’s referral to her as is girlfriend, which was completely ridiculous. Her mind screamed it was a lie, but his hand was still braced on her back, as hot as a brand.

  “Nice to meet you, Co-Carter,” she stammered.

  Corbin stared at her, his gaze worth a thousand words. “Same here.” He bit out, his manner saying anything but.

  Monarch’s mind was reeling. What was he doing here? Had he come here for her? He couldn’t have, she never even told him the name of the settlement she headed for or where in the Austin area it was. Besides, it was obvious he hadn’t missed her. Maybe he’d decided Mexico was too far after all or run out of gas. Or maybe his pieced-together car broke down on the way and even the all-mighty Corbin couldn’t fix it. Yes, that must be it.

  Just when the silence was becoming awkwardly long, Monarch was in for another surprise, though this one was a pleasant one. Cabernet came running out of the shadows of the garage, tail wagging furiously, and made a bee line for Monarch.

  “Oh!” was all she managed as she dropped to her knees to hug the dog around her neck, hot tears threatening to spill.

  “Well, look at that. Certainly took an immediate liking to you, huh, Monarch?” Jack laughed. “Must be able to tell you’re a dog person. Some watchdog you have here, Carter,” Jack turned to the other man, who wasn’t sharing his enjoyment.

  Monarch didn’t respond, she couldn’t without bursting into tears. Corbin didn’t move or speak at all, just stood there with those glacial eyes shooting daggers into her.

  “We usually don’t let dogs on the base,” Jack knelt next to her to give the dog a quick scratch. “But Carter wouldn’t leave her behind when he showed up at the gate. So we made an exception. We need a man with his expertise after all.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Monarch whispered as Cabernet licked her cheek. “She will be a welcome addition.”

  Jack spoke a few more friendly words though no one else in the garage heard them but him. After that Monarch released Cabernet and stood, letting Jack lead her out into the night. As soon as they made it ten feet, she gave him some lame excuse, and all but ran for her room.

  Chapter 8

  “I—I’m sorry. You want me to what?”

  “We need to take inventory of the fuel stores over at the auto garage. Can you go over there and get a measurement?”

  Lieutenant Waters might as well have asked Monarch to leap a tall building in a single bound. “Uh…can’t Sean do it? I’m trying to get the credits book reconciled through the end of last week.”

  I’m also trying to avoid the new mechanic at all costs.

  Besides, Sean typically handled the weapons and transportation supplies while she handled the food and medical supplies.

  “Sean has been reassigned to Facilities. Numbers weren’t his strength,” Lieutenant Waters replied. “If he was a CPA in his former life I’ll eat my hat.”

  Monarch managed a small smile at his joke and didn’t point out that he wasn’t wearing a hat. This was just great. She was absolutely exhausted thanks to a restless night. Jordan even threw a pillow at her at one point, frustrated because Monarch’s tossing, turning, and sighing was keeping her awake too. So now she was in no shape to head into the devil’s lair. She’d barely processed the fact that Corbin was even here.

  Her boss was still looking at her expectantly. He reached up and combed at his receding hair line while he waited, a nervous habit of his, and Monarch realized she needed to respond. “O-okay, I’ll do it at the end of today’s shift. Does that work?”

  “Sure. Hopefully we can find a replacement for Sean soon. Meg is on the hunt,” Waters said, referring to the woman who handled all the personnel files for occupants on the base.

  “Good.” Monarch went back to her reconciling, though her concentration was shot. She studied her split ends, her chipped nail polish, and the faded fleur de lis on the t-shirt she wore, the one she bought during a weekend trip to New Orleans two years earlier. But she couldn’t seem to make the numbers in the ledger make sense worth a damn.

  She hadn’t been able to get Corbin out of her head since she had seen him last night, not that he had been far from her mind before. But now she was filled with questions. Why was he here? What were his plans? Did he feel anything for her? God, it was so frustrating! Monarch began to hate herself, the constant angst so not her usual style. In her old life she would never have spent time pining over a man. The end of the world was really bringing out distasteful sides to her nature.

  As much as she dreaded it, she might as well make the trip to the garage now. Maybe Corbin wouldn’t be there, or maybe he would be in an area far from the fuel stores. She could get in, make her count, and get the hell out of dodge. It was almost time to call it quits for the day anyway, and Waters was never a hardass about clock-watching.

  Monarch said a quick goodbye to the lieutenant and headed across the parade ground. All too soon she reached her destination, resisting the urge to duck behind the trucks as she passed them, as if she was being chased.

  Such a wimp.

  She spotted the large barrels that stored the fuel, the original tanks on base exhausted. Monarch did her best to estimate the measurements, jotted them down in such a hurry she could only hope she would be able to read her handwriting later, and turned to leave.

  But then she hesitated, her head turning toward the garage, her loose red curls swirling over her shoulder. She could hear something. Muffled music was playing in the back of the building. As she crept closer, she could tell it was some old rock band, and it made her smile. Memories assailed her.

  Dare she look inside? Her curiosity was burning, though she told herself it was Cabernet she was interested in seeing, not Corbin. It was a flimsy excuse, but, hey, denial wasn’t just a river in Egypt. Before reason could take over, she entered the garage, setting her notepad down on a nearby cart.

  Monarch crept further inside, taking note of a small room to the right, which was probably once an office of some sort. It now clearly served as Corbin’s bunk room. Looking into the darkened room, and seeing his rumpled bedding, made Monarch’s pulse race. It wasn’t long ago that she shared a bed with him, lying with him, touching him…

  Strong hands gripped her from the dark and pinned her against the nearest wall, making Monarch gasp. His face was partly hidden in the shadows, but what she could see, looked darker, angrier than she had ever seen him. “Come to see how the other half lives?”

  “Corbin?” She gasped. “What are you doing? Let me go!”

  “It’s Carter, remember? The guy you acted like you just met yesterday,” He hissed, gripping her arms even tighter, his knuckles whitening.

  “Oh yes, Carter,” she snapped back, “Well, maybe I did just meet you. That could be your real name for all I know!”

  “As if you care what my name is.” Corbin leaned in, pressing his body against hers. “You didn’t waste any time did you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Monarch lied, trying to wrench herself away from him, her traitorous body melting against his in a heartbeat. She needed to get control of this situation before she made a complete fool out of herself.

  Corbin pressed her harder against the wall, effectively ending her struggles. “You couldn’t wait to forget about the time you went slumming, lettin’ a convict between your sexy little thighs, lettin’ him inside you because you were lonely and desperate.”

  Monarch gasped at his words, both turned on and outraged. “You’re such an asshole. You don’t know shit about what I think or feel. How dare you!”

  “Yeah, how dare me. Since I can’t compete with Mr. All-American, your new boyfriend.”

  Corbin’s teeth were cle
nched, his manner seething.

  Typical man. How dare he act like he gives a shit now. He’s probably just pissed his easy lay isn’t available.

  That thought helped to steel her some, which was good since his close proximity was very distracting. “He’s not my boyfriend. Not that it’s any of your damn business.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I saw his hands on you. Touching what’s mine.”

  Monarch sputtered, ready to argue with him. His eyes blazed with heat, his anger palpable, as if any moment he might unleash.

  Why would he be so upset unless…unless he was jealous. Could it be?

  “He’s not my boyfriend. And. Neither. Are. You.” As she spat the last word she pushed against him, bringing their bodies even tighter together, her core thrumming at the feeling of his hard-on pressed tightly against it.

  Corbin sucked in a breath and pulled her hands over her head. “No, that’s right. I’m not your boyfriend. I’m just the guy you screw,” he said and slanted his mouth over hers.

  All coherent thought threatened to run screaming from Monarch’s mind as she fought against the passionate onslaught. She wanted him to take her, right here, in this garage, where anyone could walk in. She wanted him so badly she ached. But she couldn’t submit. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be this way.

  She pulled away from the hot kiss, and turned her head, breathing hard. Her resistance was holding on by a thread, and if he pushed it, she might crumble. “No, Corbin, not like this.”

  “Not like what?”

  Monarch fought to stay strong, though the way he was moving against her made it hard. “You clearly hate me. I’m not into grudge-sex or whatever this is.”

  Corbin shoved his pulsing erection against her apex. “Does this feel like I hate you?”

  She bit back a moan at the hot feel of him. Then she made one last ditch effort, reaching up to place her palm flat against his chest, over his heart. “No, but this does.”

  He shoved away from her as if she had struck him, leaving her lonely and panting against the wall. Part of her wanted to call him back, to beg him to cover her again. “That has nothing to do with this,” he hissed at her.

  “Maybe that’s the problem!” Monarch yelled. “You’re all but a stranger to me. I know Jack’s entire friggin’ life story!”

  The reference to Jack had Corbin’s face turning to stone, the veins in his neck straining. But when he spoke, it was methodical and soft. “Stranger huh?” He leaned back in, his mouth inches from hers. “You know my favorite Skynyrd song. You know I’m a light sleeper, that I have a weakness for Twinkies and redheads.” Corbin lowered his voice even more, til it was all but a caress as his breath fanned across her lips. “You know that I was a Longhorn fan. And that I used to own my own garage. You know I have calluses on my palms. And,” he paused as he wiped his thumb across her bottom lip, “you know what my seed tastes like.”

  Monarch wrenched herself from his grasp, her anger renewed. His crude words hurt, serving as a bitter reminder that to him their relationship was just about sex. When he lunged for her again she darted quickly out of reach. Though her heart was sinking, her libido was still flying high. If he touched her again she knew she’d be gone. “You’re disgusting. I shouldn’t have come here. I won’t make the mistake again.” She strode from the garage, collecting her notepad on the way.

  ****

  Monarch sat on an old blanket with Jordan, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. It was Sunday, and when the weather was nice, people on base often gathered on the parade ground to hang out if they weren’t working. This afternoon was particularly beautiful, and hundreds of people were out and about, children running around with glee while the adults relaxed or exercised.

  “I’m so glad you joined us,” Monarch said to Lindy, the woman sharing her blanket whom she had befriended a few months earlier in the cafeteria. Lindy was sweet, though withdrawn. She lost her four-year-old son to the virus the year before, at the very beginning of the outbreak, and she was still grieving. Monarch invited her friend to join them whenever possible, hoping to draw Lindy out of her sadness.

  Lindy smiled. “I’m glad too. It’s such a beautiful day.”

  Their blanket was also occupied by Cabernet, who came trotting over to Monarch as soon as the dog appeared on the field with Corbin. It was the first time Monarch laid eyes on either in days, having avoided Corbin since their confrontation in the garage.

  The three females were chatting as they watched several of the men play football. Jordan squealed with delight every time she saw Ian catch a pass. Monarch was more subdued, pretending not to see every move Corbin made as the quarterback for the other team, pretending not to see the way the muscles in his arms bunched and flexed with every throw. Luckily the sunglasses she wore helped to conceal her study. She wanted so badly to ignore him, but she just couldn’t. So she gave up and watched behind her shades as she pet the dog.

  “Who’s the hot quarterback with the tattoos? I haven’t seen him before,” Lindy asked, twirling her shoulder-length sable hair in her fingers, as she sat cross-legged.

  Normally, Monarch would have been ecstatic that Lindy was showing any sort of interest in anything, especially a man. But unfortunately she was noticing Corbin. Tall, muscular, hot Corbin.

  “He’s the new automotive mechanic,” Jordan replied, before Monarch could get the words out.

  Monarch almost got whiplash, her head swiveled toward her niece so fast. “How do you know?” She squeaked.

  Jordan gave her the look, the one that teenagers have been giving adults for ages. The one that says you are so weird, how can I be related to you. “Um, I work in the cafeteria remember? I meet lots of the people at the camp. I served him breakfast a couple days ago.”

  “What’s his name?” Lindy asked, casting admiring glances at him under her long lashes, making Monarch want to claw her sweet, sad friend’s eyes out.

  “Carter.”

  “Cor, er, Carter.”

  Both Jordan and Monarch answered at once. It was Jordan’s turn to flip her head toward Monarch, her freckled nose crinkling as she narrowed her eyes. “So you’ve met him too?”

  “Jack introduced us. You aren’t the only one who knows things,” Monarch gave her niece a playful slug on the arm, trying to play it cool and aloof.

  “Ow, that was hard!” her niece complained.

  Not surprising. I’ve always sucked at cool and aloof.

  “Sorry.”

  “Well that explains it,” Jordan said a few moments before shrieking again over some halfway decent play that Ian made.

  “Explains what?”

  “Explains why he asked about you,” Jordan turned to her aunt. “When I met him. Jack was next to Carter in line and told him I was your niece. He asked me some stuff.”

  Monarch’s heart picked up pace.

  You don’t care, you don’t care…

  “What did he ask?”

  “He said he was still trying to adjust to camp life and asked how you and I fared when we first came here.”

  Monarch swallowed a lump of dread, the spectators’ cheers over a touchdown drowned out by her pounding heart. Why did she always have to pull teeth to get Jordan to tell a whole damn story? “And what did you say?”

  “I said I adjusted just fine. But I told him not to worry, that you took a while and you were kinda sad in the beginning. Hope you don’t mind. I felt bad for the guy. He’s adorbs.”

  Monarch couldn’t respond, her mind was too busy buzzing with a myriad of thoughts. On the plus side, Corbin asked about her. On the downside, he knew she’d been sad, which was embarrassing. Lord only knew what he could read into that.

  “So are you gonna tell me what’s really up with you and Mr. Goodwrench or what?” Jordan finally asked, her tone dry.

  She feigned ignorance about her niece’s pointed question as Lindy studied them both with interest. Monarch suddenly became absorbed in checking Cabernet for fleas. “I don’t know what you me
an.”

  “Oh, cut the shit, Monie,” Jordan said, sounding irritated. “I can tell by the way you’re acting that something’s up. Stop treating me like a child. Can you please do me that small favor?”

  Monarch sighed. Jordan was right. She was keeping secrets, the exact thing she was pissed at Corbin for doing. And it was disrespectful to Jordan, who deserved her trust and was certainly mature enough to handle it. People aged in dog years in the apocalypse. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Jordan.”

  “Apology accepted. Now spill it. What’s between you? You and hot Carter are totes doing it aren’t you?”

  Monarch burst out laughing. “If you want me to treat you like an adult stop talking like that. I met him before I came here.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, remember that I told you my car broke down and I found someone to fix it for me?”

  Monarch proceeded to tell Jordan and Lindy the whole story, omitting his real name, the part about him being an escaped convict, and a few other more juicy details. But it felt good to share it, and she was glad her niece had forced the issue.

  Jordan’s face went from shocked to smiley as Monarch finished. “Oooh! This is so romantic! He came after you!”

  Lindy agreed, a dreamy expression replacing the usual stricken one. “He totally did! He’s into you!”

  Do these chicks have ears?

  “It’s just a fluke, a cruel twist of fate that he’s here. Didn’t you hear me? He practically kicked me out of the house.”

  Jordan rolled her eyes. “He thought that’s what you wanted. I mean it’s so obvious. He’s in love with you.” At that moment, Jordan was an innocent teenager again, sounding childlike, as if everything was so simple.

  Monarch shook her head. “It’s much more complicated than that.”

  Her niece pressed. “Is it?”

  Monarch smiled and said, “Totes,” making light of her niece’s abbreviated vocabulary.