Page 8 of Darkness I Become
With that, he left, and Asha cursed him for the way her stomach flipped on the way he saidgood girl.
It should be illegal for a hot, muscular man with a gruff voice to ever utter those words.
The trip was long, much longer than the one to Little River, and after five hours of walking through mostly wooded areas, Asha’s feet werescreaming for relief. The men didn’t seem as bothered; they must have been used to a lot of foot travel.
Leo stuck to Asha’s side, and she soon realized that this was as much for her protection as it was to prevent escape. The soldiers in black only stole curious glances at her every so often, but the plainclothes gangsters openly ogled her at every opportunity. She supposed she should be used to it, but she still didn’t enjoy being looked at like a piece of meat. It was too much like she’d always been treated by past partners, and, eventually, her assigned husband in the compound.
Eric always been the ‘fuck her and fall asleep’ kind of guy, and he barely paid attention to her when he used her. She doubted he would’ve noticed if she’d decided to read a book midway through. After the first couple times of him essentially jacking off with her body, she’d refused him…and that had exposed what a sham the marriage was. He had zero interest in her when she wasn’t acting as a warm hole for him to fuck, and she had no interest in being his human sex doll.
It probably makes me a bad person since he’s dead, but I sure don’t miss that asshole.
“The Blackguard wouldn’t do anything to you,” Leo said conversationally at her side, rifle pointed at the ground as they walked. “But we can’t be sure that a few of the regulars aren’t stupid enough to try something. We’ve been traveling around for a couple weeks, so they haven’t been around women that much lately.”
“Charming,” Asha replied sardonically.
“Hey, there’s only so much ball sack you can see before you get desperate for an alternative,” Leo said, amused.
She was surprised at his humour and openness with her, since so far, most of the Wastelander men had treated her like she was subhuman. Leo spoke to her like a person, perhaps even an equal. It was jarring after the last few days…but it was also nicer than she’d expected.
“What’s the Blackguard?” Asha asked. “That the name of this gang?”
He hesitated, then replied, “It’s complicated.”
She frowned. “The name of your gang is complicated?”
“Yeah. Short version: guys in black, like me, are Blackguard. The rest are Guardians, but technically, we’re also all Guardians.”
“That cleared up nothing.”
Leo grinned. “Told you it was complicated.”
“Who’s Cade, then, in this group? He acts like your leader, but isn’t Angel the leader?”
“Yes,” Leo replied, looking discomfited. “Cade is more like our commander. But I wouldn’t worry about it now. Just focus on putting one step in front of the other.”
She took his advice for a while, walking alongside him for a long time in silence.
“So, what’s the plan here?” she felt comfortable asking after a couple hours on the road. “Cade said we’re going to the old capital.”
“Yeah,” Leo answered. “We live in what used to be a gated community, I guess. For the elderly, in the Old World. Had a golf course. Must’ve been a nice spot, back in the day.”
She swallowed. “And it’s not now?”
He chuckled. “Well…it’s better than a lot of places.”
Not exactly reassuring, given the state of Little River, but whatever.
She tried not to allow her anxiety to win over her, which was no small task, given that she had no home, no family or friends, and no real idea of her future. She focused again on putting one foot in front of the other.
At noon, the men broke for a meagre lunch of dried meats, which they seemed to have no intention of sharing. The carriage was stopped, and Angel was consulting with his men as one of the others led the single horse they’d brought to water.
Asha’s stomach growled as she rested her back against a tree trunk, but she pretended that she had no interest in their food, even as her mother’s succulent butter chicken turned in her mind’s eye. She hadn’t eaten in more than a day.
Cade left his place by the carriage to join them. He’d lowered the covering over his nose and mouth, and she more clearly saw his face. He was unfairly handsome, just as his stormy grey eyes had suggested, with a sharp jawline, full lips, and shockingly nice-looking teeth. Everyone else she’d encountered so far, except for Leo, had had teeth practically rotting out of their heads. He was mostly clean-shaven, but there was a hint of five o’clock shadow along his jaw. He’d removed his helmet to reveal that his hair was cropped close to the scalp, in the closest approximation of a buzzcut one could get without electric clippers.
“Cap,” Leo said in acknowledgement, with a tip of his head. “How’s things?”
“All’s calm,” Cade replied, but he was looking at Asha. “Why don’t you go check on His Highness over there? He’s complaining about his back again.”
