It only made me gag a little bit when I took a gulp.
Come to find out, it was something that Bubba had been making and explained the awful smell that was coming from the back of the barracks. Moonshine and concentrated orange juice wasn’t exactly refreshing, but it was potent.
I liked potent.
“This is surreal.” Baby came bearing plates and set one down in front of me, pushing Zach out of the way so she could sit down.
“Where’s mine?” he said affronted.
“Get your own,” she shooed him and Blake and they grumped off in search of food. I wasn’t complaining. I dug in with a vengeance. There was actual meat in here. Where it came from, I wasn’t asking. But it was damn good. It was covered in a brown gravy with sides of instant mashed potatoes and canned corn,
heaven
.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” I breathed, shoveling it in my mouth.
“Bubba’s been saving the meat. I think it might be deer or something.”
“Deer, he shot one that was grazing near the shore the last time he went fishing.” Blake set down his plate, followed by Zach, and their big bodies upped the heat of the air around me by a few degrees.
“Bubba needs to go fishing more often,” I joked. Baby’s eyes were on me and she was looking at the two men questioningly then back to me.
Did I have a booger or something?
I made a face and shook my head as if to say, “what?”
All she did was smile and roll her eyes looking pointedly at Zach and Blake,
nosy bitch
. I just ignored her and ate my meal.
Kirk had begun to play and all of us turned to face him. His voice was melodic and surprisingly good. His guitar playing was also worth stopping and listening to. His fingers flew over the strings and his voice carried over the crowd well. The song I recognized, it was an oldie, but a favorite and it was about triumph and survival. It was perfect.
When he was done, we all stood and applauded. He nodded shyly and just went into another song. This one was upbeat and enticed a few people to get up and dance. The kids jumped around in excitement, new toys clutched in their hands, new clothes on their backs.
“This is amazing,” I breathed, sitting back and laying my head on Zach’s shoulder.
“It is,” he agreed. I looked up to find Blake’s eyes on us. I twisted my head to look at Zach and with a jerk of his head he changed everything. I patted the chair next to me and Blake took a seat. I slipped my hand into his. The tingles were now evenly dispersed down both sides of me.
“We made it.” I could hear the smile in Blake’s voice and I couldn’t agree more.
THIRTY-TWO
Alexis Out
My mind kept wandering as I sat between the two men, the two men that I loved. I kept thinking about what might happen next, what could happen. What did I expect? Did I think that we would all go back to our house and fall into the big bed together and live blissfully happy as the perfect little threesome?
Sister husbands,
I snorted.
But it worked for that family in Las Vegas on the reality show that was so popular. Why couldn’t it work with my men and me on my survivor island? We could find something that worked for us. It didn’t mean that we all tried out new moves that we’d only witnessed in a porno. it could mean that we each shared days, like chores. T
hat thought was terrible. I didn’t want to be a chore.
Okay, maybe chore was a bad way to think of it, but really, that could work. Zach could have Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Blake could have Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I could take Sunday off. Both boys were well endowed and not lacking in the stamina department., I would need Sunday off.
Wow
, my own thoughts were freaking me out. We would have to talk about this. I hadn’t done anything like this before. I just knew I loved both of them and I wanted both of them. I wanted both of them together, but would respect their wishes and take them however they felt the most comfortable with. It was a new world. We could make our own rules.
Something tickled at my awareness and I glanced around the room to find Clara’s eyes on me. They weren’t friendly. If looks could kill, and all those other poignant phrases, I would be dead. She probably did want to kill me. If I was her, I would want to kill me too. But then again, if I was her, I would have realized Blake was a lost cause. Even though that trek across a state to save her might have sent up a few mixed signals,
Blake was an idiot.
The man in question realized where my gaze was focused and sighed.
“She’s going to be a problem. I don’t know what more I can tell her.”
“At this point, there really isn’t anything you can tell her. You’ve made your feelings clear.
Hopefully, she’ll just get over it, realize how good she has it here, and move on.” I tried to stifle a yawn that was creeping from me.
“You’re tired,” Zach said. “Why don’t we pick up and head home. I know I didn’t sleep for shit last night.”
He stood and I grabbed his hand before he could walk off.
I think we should all sit down and talk tonight. Are you willing?” I looked from him to Blake, who had also stood leaving me sitting, at waist level to them. Dirty thoughts of where this could lead raced through my head and I tried to squash them.
“Yes,” they both said,. Blake with a little more eagerness than Zach.
“Thank you.” I stood and kissed Zach, but my hand found Blake’s and squeezed.
“Let me go to the bathroom and then we can go home.” I liked saying that word “home.” It felt right. It was our home. Blake had only been there one night, but he was meant to be there.
I walked giddily to the bathrooms, which were located at the back of the barracks. I wasn’t paying attention. Why should I be? We were safe in the barracks. Someone had hooked up a few speakers and had some songs going, the music pumping loudly with a zydeco tune. Bubba was showing off a few of his moves and shouts from the crowd urged him on.
She hit me hard. Her small frame slammed into me and pushed me into the wall with a crunch. I may have hit my head. I must have because I saw stars.
Did she hit me with something?
I heard the clang of something metal on the floor, maybe something she dropped?
My head?
Then she was yanking at my arms and I heard the unmistakable click of a chamber being loaded.
“Get up, slut, we’re going for a drive.” I felt the metal of the gun press into my neck, her fingernails digging into the skin of my arm. She pushed me forward and I stumbled, my balance off. My head was swimming and there was a pulse of sound in my ears, my blood, I could hear my arteries pumping blood through my veins, whoom, whoom, whoom, whoom.
“C’mon, faster, bitch.” She pulled at my arm and the cold air of outside washed over me as she yanked the backdoor open.
The outside air washed away some of the fuzziness as she pushed me into the night air.
One of the SUVs was parked right outside the back of the building. We left the keys in the ignition in case we had to head out fast. Doors jimmied so they wouldn’t lock automatically.
“You’re driving. Get in on the passenger side and crawl over to the driver’s seat, so you don’t try anything.” I did as she asked and thought maybe I could get in fast enough before she could get a shot off, but she was right behind me, the gun pointed at vital parts of my anatomy as I crawled over the console and got behind the wheel. The gun never wavered.
“Drive through the gates, go as fast as you can. We’re getting the fuck out of here.”
“What are you doing, Clara?” I asked, starting the SUV and putting it in gear.
“We’re going for a drive, slut, and only one of us is going to come back.”
“That’s going to be me, Clara. Zach and Blake won’t let you back on the compound if you do something like this.”
“Drive and shut up.” She waved the gun at me and I slammed on the gas, my head whirling as I tried to think up ways out of this mess. If I crashed the SUV, or tried to wrestle the gun away from her, it could go off. Her finger was on the trigger and it was directed at me. If it went off, I was getting shot.
I drove. I took it at a fast clip like she wanted, the gates now in my sight. Isaiah was on guard duty. He had just qualified. He wasn’t that good of a shot though, only barely qualifying. There was no way he could take out a tire or Clara’s head.
“Crash through the gates. They’ll go down easily in this thing.”
“You know you are putting everyone’s lives in jeopardy if we do this? Without a gate, anything could walk up and attack. Clara, please, we can work this out.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that,” she spat.
“Your sister is back there, the kids–Blake is back there, Clara. Isn’t this about him? You are putting his life in jeopardy.”
“My sister made her choice, she’ll have to deal with her own mistakes…and of all the people on this compound, Blake can handle a broken gate. Just shut up and gun it.” The gun pressed against my temple as she leaned over the seat.
I hit the gate hard and winced as it flew apart hanging on its hinges as I sped through, little damage to the SUV, a lot of damage to the gate. They needed to secure that better.
“Where are we going, Clara?”
“Not far, this area is full of great places to leave a nasty whore,” she laughed. “Maybe you can find another group of men, I’m sure they would love someone like you.”
“You really don’t think this little scheme is going to work, do you, Clara? What, you’re going to leave me in the marsh and then drive back to the compound…and say what? Turn it around, say I tried to kidnap you and kill you? Maybe play the victim? I was going to kill you, but you got away from me?”
At her silence, I knew that I was right. She really planned on playing some kind of victim role, a role she seemed really good at.
Come save me, help, I’m just a helpless victim.
“Shut up,” she said with clenched jaws. “Turn here,” she said after about ten minutes of driving. We had made it to Highway 90 and we were turning west toward Slidell and a lot of marshland. I had to do something.
Trying to go unnoticed, I kept talking as I slipped the knife out of my cargo pocket, clenching it in my palm, ready. She was still up on her knees in the passenger seat, the gun wavering, but still held in my direction.
“They aren’t going to believe your story, Clara. Blake saw how you were staring at me tonight. It’s going to be obvious what happened. We had plans tonight. He will know I wouldn’t break our plans so I could kidnap his ex. He isn’t stupid.”
“He will believe me, he always believes me. I’m his wife. He loves me, not you. He needs me. He’s just a soldier. He needs someone to direct him and think for him, tell him what to do. He’ll believe me when I tell him about how much of a lunatic you are just like he believed me about the baby.”
“You’re wrong, Clara, and you know it. You also know that Blake doesn’t need any direction from you. You should have realized that when he never came to Houston the first time. He’s smart, one of the best men I’ve ever met and he’s amazing. He can make up his own mind and he’ll see through your shit. The fact that you had to make up a pregnancy shows just how desperate you are.… He wouldn’t come for you, only his unborn child.”
“He did come for me!” She was screaming now. “He will believe me! He loves me! He doesn’t love you. He just likes to fuck you! You stupid, stupid slut!” The gun was swinging wildly and I knew this was my only chance. I slammed my right arm up pushing her wrist down and away from me as I was reaching over and embedded my knife into her thigh, hopefully missing vital organs. I didn’t want to kill her, just distract her from her plan.
The SUV swung wildly crashing into the guardrail a few times, but luckily not going over and into the marsh. I let up off the gas and it came to a squealing and very loud stop as it scraped along the metal of the rail.
“Ahhhh!” she screamed and her finger squeezed the trigger. It wasn’t pointed at my head, but a few inches above. The discharge exploded in my ear, the concussion stunning me as glass from the driver’s side window sprayed all over me. My ears were ringing painfully and it took me a few seconds to pull it back together. The blast had also stunned Clara who was holding her ears and looking at me wide-eyed.
It didn’t take much to yank the gun out of her hand and elbow her in the face. For the second time in as many days, I watched as she slumped over, knocked out due to a blow from me. I needed air, so I pushed the door open and fell out. My head throbbed
in pain, my hands now scraped and bleeding from the impact with the cement and the glass that was scattered all around me.
A stinging at the back of my neck had me reaching back and touching
the sensitive area. My hand came back covered in blood, revealed by the dim lights of the SUV’s dome light. The bullet had either grazed me or it was from the glass of the window.
Now that I was free of Clara, what was I supposed to do with her? Drive back and we would what, lock her up? Let her go on her way to kidnap me again or should I just leave her here, a taste of her own medicine?
I tried pushing myself up to my knees and my whole body ached. My hands stung and I wiped at them, trying to rid them of glass and debris that was embedded into my palms.
When I managed to stand and looked into the SUV, Clara had come to and was sobbing and wailing, but I barely heard her. My ears must be damaged from the gunshot. She was clutching at the knife in her thigh, too afraid to yank it out.