Connor didn’t contradict his friend’s statement. Nor did he seem at all concerned about the two dead Enforcers at his feet. He pointed to a large cabinet against one of the cinder-block walls and asked, “Do you know how to use any of this shit? Xan’s our tech junkie and he already took what he needed, but if there’s anything you might want, grab it now.”
She wandered over to the cabinet, but almost everything inside it was way too advanced for her. Technology continued to thrive in West City, evolving faster than even she could keep up with. She rifled through the shelves and was surprised when she came across a stack of computing tablets that she did have experience with.
“Do you guys have a way to get online?” she asked over her shoulder.
Connor nodded.
She held up one of the tablets. “Then I might be able to use these.”
“Take ’em all, then.”
She tucked the devices into the duffel, then left the command room. A little too eagerly, probably, but she didn’t care. She wanted to get out of this facility as quickly as possible.
Rylan came up beside her as she loaded the duffel into the back of the Jeep. “So. Your intel paid off,” he remarked, sounding grudgingly impressed. Then he grinned. “You’re more than just a pretty face, aren’t you, gorgeous?”
“Damn straight.” A little burst of joy went off inside her. She’d proved herself useful to them. Now she just had to keep doing that, and maybe they’d actually let her stay.
The more time she spent outside the city, the more she realized that she couldn’t survive alone. She’d thought her self-defense skills and medical knowledge would be enough for her to make a life for herself out here, but she’d been wrong. Survival hinged on finding supplies, on finding a camp, on finding other people to watch your back.
She clung to the reminder as they left the storage station less than an hour after raiding it. She had to prove to Connor that she could be a good addition to his group, but that conversation would have to wait until later. It was impossible to talk when they were speeding through the dark landscape on Connor’s motorcycle.
She settled in for the long ride back to camp only to blink in surprise when Connor pulled off the main road less than thirty minutes later.
Her heart lodged in her throat as the road became bumpier, more and more overgrown. Eventually a faint light became visible through the dense trees, and the road smoothed out, gravel crunching beneath their tires as they followed a winding driveway deeper into the trees.
A few minutes later Connor slowed the motorcycle, and Hudson caught sight of a split-level house in the distance. All the windows were curtained, but light and shadow moved behind the thick drapes.
“What is this place?” she demanded.
Connor killed the engine and dropped the kickstand. “A house.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Hudson snapped. “Where are we?”
Panic flooded her belly when he didn’t answer. Was he planning to leave her here?
He chuckled at her expression. “There’s nothing to be scared of, sweetheart.”
She swallowed. “No?”
“No.” He smiled, his straight white teeth gleaming in the darkness. “This is what we always do after a run. We unwind.”
“Unwind?” Her throat went impossibly dry.
“You’re an outlaw, right? You know the kind of things we do to relax.” His voice lowered. It was husky, raw. “The world is so fucking bleak. So much pain everywhere you look. That’s why we take pleasure anywhere we can get it. It’s our way… Isn’t it, Hudson?”
Our way.
Shit. He was testing her again. He still didn’t believe her story, and now he was going to… to what?
What on earth was she going to find inside that house?
5
Candles illuminated the front hallway. The pale yellow glow cast shadows on the dark paneled walls and danced over the hardwood floor beneath Hudson’s feet. The scent of wax and incense wafted all around her. And the sounds…
Sex.
The house pulsed with sex.
Husky noises and soft moans echoed from the back rooms, from the corridor to Hudson’s left, from the arched doorway off the entrance. It was everywhere, thickening the air and heating her skin, prompting her to look at Connor in suspicion.
Rylan and the others trudged ahead of her, ducking through the heavy oak doors that led to a room Hudson wasn’t sure she wanted to enter. She grabbed ahold of Connor’s sleeve before he could follow them.
“You brought me to a whorehouse?” she hissed.
He furrowed his brow. “There are whorehouses like this all over the free land. You can’t tell me this is your first time visiting one.”
“My group never got around to it,” she answered in a tight voice.