Page 122 of Savagely Yours
“Damn, who didn’t you tell about me?” I joked.
Larke introduced herself and repeated the information about what we’d brought from Dr. Okoro. The more Larke explained, the more Tayler’s eyes lit up, and I felt another spark of hope. We might not be able to bring people back, but we could save the people we had and rebuild from there.
“You two must be tired,” Dr. Diaz said. “And please, call me Tayler. Gage, will you grab the items and take them to my new lab? Larke, Dez, I’ll escort you to a room.”
I wagged a finger from Tayler to Gage. “So, are you two the head of the camp then? Like, you run it together?”
Tayler looked down at the ground. “Oh, no. The head of the camp, his name’s Allen.”
Memphis grunted. “No, he’s not. We call Gage ‘boss’ for a reason. Allen’s a bitch. The doc and Gage run the camp. When they’re not running the camp, they fuck in the supply closet.”
Tayler looked like she wanted to die.
Gage, eyes closed, massaged his forehead.
I flicked my thumb over my shoulder. “Not gonna lie, they’re growing on me.”
“Yeah, it’s weird how they do that,” Gage said. “Tweedle-Death and Tweedle-Danger, grab the items from the van and take them to Tay’s lab. Omar, keep an eye on them. I’ll send help. Tay, I’ll come with you. Dez and Larke are fine, but Sabine and Tamra might need a security escort.”
Dallas grinned.
Memphis shrugged.
“Memphis, Dallas, after you’re done grabbing the research items, do a perimeter search,” Gage added. “Maybe later, if they’re up for it, you can properly introduce yourselves to our new guests.”
The twins left like a couple of gymnasts.
Gage discreetly squeezed Tayler’s hand before indicating with his head for us to follow them. Still on my “I found my family” high, I scooped Larke up again. She settled her head in the crook of my neck and snuggled into my embrace.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
DEZ
There was no credit system.
No one walked around wearing uniforms.
Every position served a purpose.
I met Allen, and regardless of what Gage claimed, it was Gage who had everyone’s respect. From the way Allen watched him, it was apparent there was bad blood between them, and it didn’t come solely from Gage rising above whatever rank Allen had held before. So, I kept my own watchful eye on Allen. If he didn’t yet understand how me, Gage, and Julien operated, he would soon learn and in the worst possible way.
When Julien saw me, he hugged me like the kid brother he was to our team, although he was only five years younger than Gage and two years younger than me. Then, I held Ari close, and they introduced me to Thandie, who was as cautious about new people as her father. Still, I managed to get a smile out of the cutie.
It made me wonder about the future.
I would never ask Larke to put her life in jeopardy via a pregnancy during these wild and uncertain times. The only pregnant camp resident was a woman named Dana, and according to Julien, the worry wasn’t whether Tayler’s expertiseincreased the likelihood of a healthy delivery. It was the father’s identity. Dana was on the more “popular” side, so the child’s paternity was, essentially, a toss-up.
Dinner was held in a large communal space.
That evening, we had a hearty rabbit stew with rice and beans and actual cornbread almost as good as Mae’s. Afterward, Larke and I yawned all the way back to our room.
It wasn’t as nice as what we’d had at Woodhaven or Juniper, and it was even less “posh” than Sanitation, but it was cozy. It was safe. It was ours for me to, despite all my yawning earlier, do the corniest, most cheesiest thing I’d done since we met.
“I want to preface this by saying I haven’t done this in a long time, so this is all muscle memory,” I warned.
Larke was seated across from me on a matching metal folding chair, slightly pitched forward, her bottom lip between her teeth.
She shook her head. “That’s fine.”
