Tokens (After The Purge: Vendetta, Book 2) Page 7

  When Chuck stopped the Ford and shut off the engine, Gabriel swung his horse over to the driver-side window. “Your wheels are about done for, my friend. Not sure if there’s anything these boys can do for it, but I guess we’ll see. They’ll be able to save your gas in the back there.”

  Ana got out of the truck and stretched as the two men in overalls climbed into the back and began removing the canisters. Chuck and Shelby prepared to move Randall, while Kelloway, the woman, led a wagon over to them.

  Gabriel walked his horse to where Ana stood and climbed off. “I have to admit, this is the first time I’ve seen a female slayer.”

  “Then you still haven’t seen one yet,” Ana said.

  “Come again?”

  “I’m not one of them. I met Chuck and the others earlier today on the road. I only joined with them because we were headed the same way. Or we were, anyway.”

  “Where were you headed?”

  “Texas.”

  “What part of Texas?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  He gave her a curious look but didn’t ask the obvious question. He said instead, “You look like you could use a bath.”

  “God, yes. You have hot baths?”

  “Not quite, but we can do lukewarm.”

  “Good enough,” Ana said, smiling.

  What she could have really used was a hot bath, but she wasn’t going to complain about a lukewarm one, which was what she got, as promised. The apartment building Gabriel took her to had a spare room with a claw-foot tub that she filled with water and soaked in for a good ten minutes, wiping away the grime of the morning and the ambush, along with some of Mark’s blood that she found under her nails, and asking herself again why she was out here and not already back in Newton with Emily.

  Because of you, Wash. This is all your fault, you asshat.

  She sank into the water—it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t really warm, either—to wash her face and hair, then squeezed out some of the shampoo Gabriel had brought over and did her best to soap away the grunge clinging to every hair follicle. It was times like this that she wished she had cut her hair short, but short hair didn’t elicit the kind of responses she needed, especially when men were involved.

  Ana hadn’t missed the fact that Gabriel had walked her to the apartment, then come back with everything she needed to enjoy the bath. She wasn’t an idiot and knew the kind of effect she had on men. That knowledge and the willingness to use it had been how she’d managed to keep both her and Emily alive for so long.

  Still, it would have been nice to have hot water. Or bubbles. Or…

  Two quick knocks on her door, followed by a familiar voice: “You decent in there?”

  Chuck. She sat up slightly in the tub before answering. “Give me five minutes.”

  “I’ll be back in five.”

  Fourteen minutes later, Chuck was inside her apartment looking out the window at Mayfield’s main street. Ana was dressed in new jeans and a white blouse, courtesy of Gabriel. She still had her jacket, which she shrugged on inside the bathroom before joining Chuck in the living room.

  “How’s Randall doing?” she asked.

  “Town doctors are taking good care of him,” the older slayer said.

  “So they really do have two doctors?”

  “Well, one real doctor and one former medical student that’s almost a doctor.”

  “Still, one and a half ain’t bad. That’s more than what we had in Newton.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “Nebraska.” She walked over to where he stood and looked out the window alongside him. “Where you from, Chuck?”

  “Upstate New York.”

  “New York?”

  “Upstate New York.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  He smiled. “There’s only a difference if you’re from upstate New York.” Then, watching a couple of men on horses moving up the road below them, “I’m still not convinced they’re not from here.”

  “Who? The one that ambushed us?”

  He nodded. “And the ones that murdered those people at the campsite.”

  “What did Gabriel say when you told him?”

  “He’s sending people out to the campsite. The woman, what’s her name?”

  “Kelloway.”

  “Right. She hasn’t come back yet.”

  “You think Gabriel’s lying? About not knowing anything about the ambush or the killings? If they’re from here…”

  Chuck shook his head. “I don’t think he’s lying, but that doesn’t mean the ones responsible still aren’t from here. It would be a hell of a coincidence for them to be heading toward Mayfield when they set up that ambush. This place isn’t really on any map except the ones we carry.”

  “Slayers.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did the others say about this place, anyway?”

  “Nothing about it being dangerous. A few guys came through here about two years ago. Did a job for the locals and left.”

  “And there were no red flags?”

  “Not a one.”

  “That’s why you came here so willingly. You really do think they’re in Mayfield. The killers. Right now, among us.”

  Chuck didn’t answer her.

  “Chuck,” Ana said.

  “There’s a very good chance of that, yeah,” Chuck finally said.

  “So how are you going to find them if they are?”

  “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

  “How you figure that?”

  “There were six of them. People tend to notice when six people like to hang around one another. And the kind of people who committed those crimes at the campsite would stand out.” He looked over at her. “I’ll ask around. In the meantime, you can do the same. Find out what Gabriel knows. He looks like the closest thing to the head man around here.”

  “What makes you think he’ll tell me anything?”

  Chuck grinned.

  “What?” Ana said.

  “Give me a break, kid. We both know you’re no stranger to making men bend to your will.”

  She rolled her eyes. “‘Bend’ to my will? What am I, a sorceress?”

  “Better. You’re a pretty redhead with all the right curves.”

  “Okay, now you’re just being a creepy old man.”

  The slayer chuckled. “Didn’t mean to be. Just stating the facts.”

  “Whatever. So how should I go about ‘bending’ Gabriel to my will?”

  “You don’t have to try too hard. Just be, well, you.”

  “That’s it, huh?”

  “I’d give you some tips on how to go about doing that, but I have a feeling you already know all the right moves.”

  Ana wasn’t sure whether she should be insulted by his insinuation or… Oh, who was she kidding? She was more than just a little pleased that he recognized what she was capable of, even if she had yet to show him what she could really do.

  “I’ll ask around,” Ana said. “If I learn anything worthwhile, I’ll let you know.”

  Chuck’s face grew serious. “Be careful, kid. I don’t think Gabriel has anything to do with what happened out there today, but you can never be too cautious with something like this. Whoever they were, they’re not going to like being exposed. And if they’ve been here a while, and this is their home, they’re really not going to like us outing them.”

  “I’ll be discreet.”

  Chuck looked back out the window. “It’ll be dark soon, and Randall’s healing. We won’t be going anywhere until tomorrow at the earliest, and probably not even then.”

  “Chuck, I have to get to Texas. You know that.”

  “That’s not going to happen for a while, kid. We really messed up the rims getting here, and Gabriel’s boys don’t seem all that optimistic about finding replacements for us.”

  Ana sighed and thought, I should have stayed with the Tennessee Walker. God, why did I leave the horse behind and hop into that damn truck?

>   But she couldn’t go back in time, and Texas, along with Wash, was going to have to wait at least another day. Maybe she could talk Gabriel into lending her a horse. It sure looked as if Mayfield had plenty to spare.

  Another knock on the door from across the living room.

  Ana looked over. “Come in.”

  Gabriel opened the door and leaned in. He nodded at Chuck, then turned to Ana. “Hungry?”

  “Starving,” Ana said.

  “You guys go ahead,” Chuck said. “I’ll be along.”

  Ana shot him an I know what you’re doing look.

  He returned a What? glance in reply.

  Yeah, right, Ana thought and walked across the living room.

  She smiled at Gabriel. “What are we having for dinner?”

  “Depends on what the lady’s in the mood for,” Gabriel said, smiling back.

  Eight

  “It’s a dangerous world out there,” Gabriel said as he led her down the stairs of the apartment complex. “Especially for a lone woman.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Ana said.

  “I’m sure you can. Still, pretty dangerous. The monsters may have thinned out at night, but there’s still plenty left in the day.”

  She thought of Mathison, of Mark, of the six men who had murdered the campers…

  “What did your men find at the campsite?” she asked.

  “They haven’t come back yet,” Gabriel said. “I told them to take their time so they wouldn’t miss anything. Kelloway’s in charge, so if there’s anything to be found, she’ll find it.”

  “Kelloway’s your second in command?”

  “That would imply there’s a first in command.”

  “Wouldn’t that be you?”

  “No one’s really in charge. We pretty much do everything by committee. But…I guess you could say I take care of the day-to-day operations.”

  Sounds like the Big Man on Campus to me, Ana thought, before asking, “But you believe us. About what happened out there? What we saw?”

  “Of course. I saw what your truck looked like. Those tires and windows didn’t get shot out by the harsh wind.”

  “I’m glad you’re taking this seriously.”

  He gave her an amused look. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. A lot of people would rather not get involved. It’s not like there’s any advantages to butting in on something that doesn’t personally affect them. You didn’t know those campers.”

  “Neither did you.”

  He’s got a good point. A damn good point. What am I doing here and not out there looking for Wash?

  “Is that how it is out there?” Gabriel was asking her. “People minding their own business even when they run across something despicable like this?”

  She nodded. “Like you said, it’s a dangerous world out there. It pays to look out for yourself whenever possible.”

  “Well, that’s not how we operate in Mayfield. Besides, something like this, this close to home…” He shook his head somberly. “We have to take it seriously.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  They walked across the lobby, passing Mayfield residents lingering around chatting. Almost everyone Ana had met so far wore working clothes, including the women. Ranching was the town’s main source of food, though Gabriel said they were making headway with farming, thanks to the plentiful spring water that flowed from the mountains.

  “We rely on trading with other nearby towns for most of our greens and fruits,” Gabriel had said. “But those are once a month trips. You may have noticed, but we’re not exactly surrounded by other towns.”

  “What are you guys trading with?” she had asked.

  “Beef. Lots of it. We’re not there yet with the crops, but we’ve always been lucky with the livestock.”

  Ana was looking forward to eating some of that livestock as they stepped outside onto the front porch. She allowed herself a few moments to soak in the town and revel in just how peaceful it was underneath the dwindling sunlight. There was an hour, maybe less, before nightfall. Not that the citizens look frightened of what was coming. Then again, they were surrounded by wide-open country, and as Gabriel had said, they weren’t “exactly surrounded by other towns.”

  “Chuck told me you guys hired some slayers not too long ago,” Ana asked.

  “We had some issues with a pack a while back. Nothing we couldn’t have dealt with ourselves, but it was easier to hire a couple of slayers that were passing by to do the work. Honestly? We were doing them the favor more than the other way around. Paid them in beef, which they loved.”

  Ana believed him. There was nothing she had seen so far—of the place and its people—that would lead her to believe the former collaborator town wasn’t capable of taking care of the occasional ghoul problem by themselves.

  A soft humming noise began as one of the street lamps above her head flickered on, slowly growing in brightness.

  “A bit early,” Ana said, glancing up at the light.

  “The solar cells for the lamps are always full,” Gabriel said. “One thing we don’t lack around here is sunlight during the day. It’s probably a little too bright, but always better too bright than not bright enough, am I right?”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “So if you’re not a slayer, what are you doing traveling with these guys?”

  “I told you, I was headed to Texas, and they were going my way.”

  “What’s in Texas?”

  A guy, she thought but didn’t think that would help her “connect” with Gabriel.

  “We both know you’re no stranger to making men bend to your will,” Chuck had said. It was probably a little too on the nose for her liking, but she couldn’t exactly tell him he was off the mark.

  “A friend,” she said. “I promised to help them, and I like to keep my promises. But first I have to find them.”

  “Good for you,” Gabriel said. “Nothing wrong with being a good friend. Come on.”

  He led her into the street and toward a building with Lucy’s Cafeteria written in blocky letters above its front doors. Other people were already entering the same place, and Ana could see more residents inside through the windows.

  “Who’s Lucy?” Ana asked.

  “No idea,” Gabriel said. “The kitchen’s been here before any of us ever showed up six years ago.”

  “You were brought here?”

  “Yup. Like everyone else.”

  “So no one’s originally from Mayfield?”

  “Not as far as I know. I was from Missouri myself.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “I was doing work in Tulsa when the world went to hell in a handbasket. Ended up here. I guess it could have been worse.”

  “What’s worse than Nowhere, Oklahoma?”

  “Have you been to New Jersey?”

  They exchanged a grin.

  “No, but I’ve been to California,” Ana said. “Can’t be any worse than California.”

  “You say that, because you’ve never been to New Jersey,” Gabriel said.

  “Chuck’s from New York,” Ana was going to say when the bang-bang-bang! of gunshots coming from behind them startled her first.

  Ana spun around, but as fast as she had moved, she wasn’t anywhere close to Gabriel’s reaction. He was already fully turned, his right hand stabbing down to his holstered sidearm before she had even gotten halfway.

  Damn, he’s fast!

  It started with one gunshot that became two, then three, and suddenly there was a flurry of them. So many and in such a short span of time (seconds) that she lost count and didn’t know how many she’d heard, but just that there had been a lot.

  “Chuck!” Ana shouted, instantly recognizing that the shouts were coming from the middle of the second floor of the building she and Gabriel had just come out of, exactly where her room was—and where she had last seen Chuck.

  Gabriel was already sprinting b
ack across the street, and Ana struggled to catch up to him. It didn’t help that she was almost a full foot shorter than the cowboy and didn’t have a prayer of matching his long legs stride for stride.

  People in the streets were looking after them, others turning toward the apartment as Ana and Gabriel hopped up the sidewalk and burst back into the lobby. More residents were at the staircase, peering upward, but no one had gone up.

  “Out of the way!” Gabriel shouted. “Out of the way!”

  He bounded up the steps, taking them two, then three at a time.

  Must be nice to be so tall! Ana thought as she hurried after him as best she could.

  She was already winded halfway up the stairs, but Gabriel hadn’t slowed down even a little bit. Her chest was pounding out of control when she finally landed on the second floor. She reached into her jacket pocket and felt the cold grip of the SIG Sauer that Chuck had given her. It was where it was supposed to be. She hated guns, but right now it was her best friend.

  Gabriel was still ahead of her and moving up the hallway toward her room, his own pistol already drawn and gripped tightly in one hand. Unlike her, he looked at home with the weapon. He was also moving with surprising grace, like a cat in a man’s clothing. It was impressive, and the last time Ana saw anyone that fluid in a life-and-death situation, it was Wash.

  I should be in Texas right now, looking for him. Why am I here? Why am I running toward gunshots?

  Those thoughts were swirling around in her head as she hurried after Gabriel. He had already stepped through her room’s open door (The door’s open. The door’s open!) and she waited to hear more gunshots, voices, anything to indicate that the chaos she imagined was going on in there, but there was just silence from inside.

  When she entered the apartment, she discovered why—because it was already over.

  Gabriel was crouched between two bodies lying on the floor a few feet from the door. Two men she hadn’t seen before, both shot multiple times. The bigger of the two dead men was still clutching his gun, his arm extended forward like he was taking aim when he died. The weapon was a handgun, but it had a noticeably long barrel. It took a second before Ana realized there was some kind of silencer attached at the end.