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“That is true. I do think this is the best. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, or Lucy.”
“I get it. I do.”
He took her hand, locking their fingers together. It was only for a few seconds and he wanted to do so for longer. Letting go of her hand, he made sure he was always ready to fire his weapon, to do whatever it took to hurt someone who came at him.
Ready.
Waiting.
“One day we’ll get to have that walk, hand in hand,” she said.
“You can count on it.”
“Does it have to be up north though?”
He knew this was coming. She couldn’t stand his plan, and to a point, he got it. They were possibly walking into a trap.
“We’ve got to take our chances.”
“I was once told that if something sounds a little too good to be true, it probably was.”
“You’re too young to be this pessimistic.”
She chuckled. “Look around us. I think even the most positive person would suffer here.” She breathed out a sigh. “It’s so freaking hot. I smell bad.”
“Me too.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not going to want to kiss me with the way I smell.”
“Baby, it’s going to take a lot more than some bad smell to keep me away from you.” He reached out and pinched her rear.
She let out a gasp. “Look at you, teasing me.”
Tree Man suddenly stopped and all trace of peace left him. He shouldn’t be doing this. His focus should be on keeping them safe.
“What is it?” Malachi asked.
“Friend or foe, I don’t really know. Huh.” Tree Man spun in a circle. Lucy watched him.
They all watched him, but he looked a little strange.
“Nothing. Maybe nothing,” Tree Man said, and started to walk again.
Lucy, not seeing any problem, continued to walk with him.
“Okay, let’s be clear on something right now,” Sasha said. “We’re going up north because that crazy person says so. He just spun in a circle. The only thing he was missing was one of those hoop things you had as a kid.” She put a hand to her face and shook her head. “We have to go back.”
“You saw what happened in the dentist’s office. You’ve seen what trouble we face at every single turn and corner. I would go back with you if I thought it was safe. If I thought I could keep protecting you against all of those forces, but the truth is, we can’t keep getting lucky. One day, our luck is going to run out, and when it does, we’re screwed. Completely and totally screwed.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said. “We can have each other’s backs. You can trust me.”
“Sasha, I do, but look at Lucy. Look at her with her dog. Don’t you want that kind of life with her every single day? Where she could walk down the street and not have a care in the world?”
“What’s to say this new world would give her that?” she asked. “You ever thought about that?”
“If there are a bunch of people there, willing to help, offering their services and coming together like a community, then we have to take our chances.” He wanted to stop, to console her, to do anything that meant he could convince her this was the right thing to do.
“You’re right.” She let out another breath. “I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“It’s okay to be scared. I get it. We both have a lot riding on north being the right place.”
“And if he’s leading us into a trap?” Sasha asked.
“Then we have no choice but to kill him and hope we make it out alive. That’s the plan. The only plan I’m going with right now.”
“It sounds like a good one.”
They didn’t stop walking once.
Lucy and Tree Man seemed happy enough to keep on going ahead of them.
Malachi held his gun a little tighter. That army, it looked like it meant business and he had no idea what that could mean, not to women.
He hated not knowing.
Even before shit like this happened, he struggled with the not knowing. It pissed him off so fucking much.
Taking a deep breath, following Sasha’s lead, he tried to think of a way that could speed this up.
Where he could take them that wouldn’t be certain death.
He came up with nothing.
In the distance he heard a twig snap.
He knew he heard it because Tree Man stopped and moved in front of Lucy. The dog also looked behind them.
With his aim straight, he stared into the woods. It was getting dark, so he couldn’t see clearly.
Sasha didn’t make a sound or a movement.
“We’re being followed,” Tree Man said. “So close. I can smell her.”
“How do you know it’s a woman?” Sasha asked.
“Because she smells like a woman. Kind of like you.”
Sasha looked toward him. Um. Okay?
“I don’t know.”
The dog started to bark and Malachi’s heart raced. If they made too much noise, it would draw that army straight here.
