Emma: Part One (Outpost Nine Book 1) Page 2

  Curious, he glanced at the fence. Must be all that juice running through the wires scrambling their signals.

  “We’re not here to hurt you.” Jack kept his hands up as if to assure her they weren’t bad men. “You’re a very good shot. I’ve rarely seen a human with that kind of aim and accuracy.”

  Max fought the urge to frown at his lifelong friend. He wasn’t just buttering the girl up either. He really was that nice—and it pissed Max off to no end. So much for cyborgs being soulless killing machines.

  “You should spend more time outside the wire. You’d see that we’re not as weak as you’d like us to be.”

  The girl didn’t lower that shotgun an inch. She stood there like some goddamned post-apocalyptic Annie Oakley—and it turned him on something fierce.

  He had been stunned to realize it was a woman manning the guard tower and firing off those shots. Originals were fairly rare, especially human women her age. Their numbers were dwindling with every generation, just like those of his people.

  Getting close enough for a look at her face had nearly floored him. She was the prettiest little thing he had ever seen, with all that black hair tumbling around her shoulders and those bright-green eyes. Sometimes his enhanced cyborg sight came in handy and today was that day. He was able to zoom right in on her sweet face and take in those full pink lips. He couldn’t help himself and wondered what it would be like to taste them.

  But she was so small!

  The humans who existed outside the cities and Outposts tended to suffer from food insecurity. They weren’t starving, but they weren’t always satisfied. She probably stood two or three inches over five feet. He couldn’t make an accurate guess of her weight in the too-large men’s clothing she wore. The khaki cargo pants and faded flannel shirt cloaked her body.

  His forehead creased as he considered that she was all alone out here picking off zombies and dealing with cyborgs. Where the hell was her father, or brothers? She needed males to care for and protect her. If she had been his woman, he wouldn’t have let her out of his sight. She was much too precious to risk.

  “Where is your father, honey? Or your brothers? Maybe some uncles?”

  She frowned at him. “Seriously, what’s with the honey? I’m not your honey. I’m Emma. And you don’t need to worry about my father or anyone else. I’m the one asking questions, remember?”

  Max squashed the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Oh, he really liked this Emma. So feisty and beautiful—he would have to see if her males were open to a trade. He and Jack were very well-respected men at the Outpost and high-ranking. They could offer Emma an extremely comfortable life with plenty of food and clothes that fit. They could keep her safe and protect her the way an Original female deserved.

  “Emma, I’m Jack. This is Max.” Jack tapped Max’s shoulder. “We’re officers stationed at Outpost 9. It’s a mid-sized military and civilian installation approximately 250 miles to the northeast of here. We’re currently on long-range scouting missions to compile a census and other recon.”

  Max watched Emma’s face as Jack spoke. He noticed the way her eyes narrowed. She was naturally skeptical. Smart girl. Jack was telling the truth, but she didn’t know that and it was wise of her to treat every word out of their mouths like lies. The world was a crazy, violent place and a sweet young thing like her could never be too careful.

  “Other recon, huh? Is that doublespeak for scouting out the human settlements to see how easy it would be to take them over, steal the women and sell them on the skin market?”

  Max was taken aback by the vehemence in her voice. “Is that what you think of us? That we kill humans without provocation and sell women into the sex trade?”

  A flicker of uncertainty crossed her pretty face. “I’ve heard stories. People talk on the Chain.”

  Max glanced at Jack. What the hell was the Chain? He decided not to let his ignorance show. Never let an enemy get the upper hand. Emma wasn’t technically the enemy, but she did have a shotgun pointed at him. “Do you believe everything you hear?”

  “Until I can get outside this fence and see it with my own eyes, information shared on the Chain is the best I’ve got.” She straightened her aim with the shotgun. “Unless you can convince me otherwise.”

  Max decided he had had enough of that shotgun in his face. “Look, Emma, we’re not your enemy. We don’t kill humans. We don’t steal women. Hell, we love human women. Do you have any idea how incredibly special Original women like you are? If you were ours, you’d never know hunger, cold or danger.” His needy gaze raked her body. “We’d treat you the way an Original should be treated.”

  “And how’s that?” Her voice was softer now, more curious.

  “Like a queen,” Jack said as he lowered his hands. “You would be pampered, provided for and protected.”

  Max saw the surprise ripple across her face. She wavered a moment before lowering the shotgun and flicking on the safety. She pointed the gun toward the ground and gestured to the gate. “Let me kill the juice so you can grab your things.”

  “Thank you, Emma.” Max followed Jack to the gate. He fought the urge to glance over his shoulder. His training told him not to turn his back on her, but something about her had earned his trust. Sure, she could put a round of buckshot in his back or lock them back out with the zombies, but he didn’t think she was that kind of person. She seemed genuinely honorable. She had been scared enough of them to fear they were going to sell her to skin traders yet she had still saved their lives.

  He and Jack waited for the gate to go dead and for Emma to unlock it before they quickly jogged out and grabbed their weapons. Back inside the safety of the fence, they strapped on their gear. Emma locked the gate and turned on the electricity. Max watched her slip on her backpack and the slings attached to the rifle and shotgun. She dropped the hoe over the edge of the platform rather than carry it. She moved with ease as she climbed down the ladder and hopped to the ground. Clearly, she was comfortable defending herself and quick on her feet.

  “Come on,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’ve got to finish checking this fence. You two can tag along and help me. I’ll take you back to my place and feed you. I’d offer you my radio, but I can’t pick up your frequencies on this handheld.” Her fingers touched the small radio attached to her belt. “I’ve got a bigger transceiver at the house. Hopefully you can raise your people that way.”

  He was surprised at the way she gave orders. Did her male family members allow her to tell them what to do? That was a sure sign of weakness. If he and Jack were able to work out an acceptable trade for her, Max would have to make it clear that he didn’t take orders from a female, even one as beautiful as Emma.

  Max glanced at Jake and gave a subtle nod of his head. Jack instantly fell into step behind Emma, protecting her from the rear. Max moved between her and the fence, shielding her from whatever lurked outside.

  Emma frowned up at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Protecting you,” he answered matter-of-factly.

  “I don’t need your protection. Besides,” she laughed, “I seem to remember that I was the one who saved your asses. Seems as if maybe you need my protection.”

  Max bristled at the insinuation they needed to be saved. “We’re not allowed to engage the enemy with high-powered arsenal in unknown territory. It would put human life at risk. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have needed your help.”

  She shrugged. “Keep telling yourself that, cupcake.”

  Jack snorted with amusement. Max glared back at him but Jack had turned his gaze back toward the fence.

  “I am not a cupcake.”

  “And I’m not your honey.”

  “Not yet,” Max muttered. Her shoulders jumped a bit, telling him she had heard his words. Good, he thought. She obviously hadn’t had contact with cyborgs and probably didn’t know his type were naturally aggressive. When he saw something he wanted, he wouldn’t take no for an answer—and he wanted Emma. No doubt about it. She had awakened a burning lust inside him unlike any other woman, cyborg or human, ever had.

  Emma stopped and turned to face him. She slipped into a boxer’s stance, her position defensive and seemingly prepared for a fight. He took a small step back, silently informing her that he had no intention of ever putting a hand on her. He never wanted Emma to be afraid of him.

  “Let’s get something straight right now, big guy.” Emma pointed a finger at his chest, punctuating her words. “You and your friend are welcome to stay at my home, but that’s it. You can share my food and my roof, but I want you out of here by morning. I’m not available to be your honey, okay? So just let it go.”

  Max’s chest tightened. “You’re engaged?”

  Emma’s forehead creased with annoyance at his abrupt change of subject. “No.”

  Relief swamped Max. If she had belonged to another male, he would have immediately dropped his pursuit rather than behave dishonorably. “Then you are available to us.”

  “Us?” She looked from his face to Jack’s. “What do you mean us?”

  Max wondered if Emma knew anything about cyborgs. “We mate in groups, Emma. Usually pairs of cyborgs choose a female, but there are some units with three or four males in them. Soldiering is risky work, and we aim to keep our mates safe and protected, especially if they are Originals. If one of us dies, there is always another to continue to care for the mate and any children.”

  “What?” Emma glanced back and forth between them. Her wide eyes reminded him of a spooked deer. “Oh, hell no!” Emma put up her hands and stalked away from them. “You two are nuts. No and no. I’m not interested.”

  Max frowned as she stomped away and continued checking her fence. Jack moved closer and spoke softly. “She is an isola
ted female, Max. I doubt she’s ever known the touch of a man outside her family. The idea of mating with two males as large as us has probably scared her.”

  Max swore and kept an eye on Emma as she jabbered to herself and wildly swung that hoe. “I was simply trying to give her the facts.”

  “A little finesse next time, old friend.” Jack clapped him on the back. “She acts very brave, but I believe she is skittish. If we want to convince her that we can offer her a better life, we should tread lightly.”

  “I’ll try.” Max grunted and shook off Jack’s hand. His longtime friend had always been better at reading emotions and interacting with humans. He trusted Jack’s judgment.

  They caught up with Emma and continued to escort her. Max noticed the way she so painstakingly inspected the fence and the surrounding ground. The smallest weed was immediately slammed with the hoe and ripped free of the gravel. She took no chances and no shortcuts. Max’s estimation of the tiny little sprite rose.

  “What about the gravel on the outside?” Jack had stopped to study the tree line. Like Max, he had no doubt picked up on the horde of undead lingering in the trees. Their stink was so very faint, but easily detected by their enhanced senses. Even though Emma couldn’t smell them or see them with her human nose and eyes, she seemed to know they were there. Every now and then, her frightened gaze would flick to the trees.

  “I make notes when I see something that isn’t quite right and then power down the necessary sections to make repairs or remove weeds.”

  Max’s gut clenched. She spoke as if this were any everyday occurrence and not an incredibly dangerous endeavor. “Your males should do this,” he growled angrily. “You are much too precious to risk outside the fence.”

  “My male did do this,” she snapped back at him. “My father always protected me and put my safety before his.”

  “Protected?” Jack said carefully. “Past tense? Your father is dead?”

  Emma swallowed hard and nodded. “Four years ago. He caught the flu in New Town on a market run and developed pneumonia. He was dead before I could get a doctor to our home.”

  Max tried to wrap his mind around what she had said. Was she admitting that she had been alone out here for four years? “But you have a mother? A sister? Some aunts?”

  Emma shook her head. “My father was the last surviving member of my family. It’s just me now.”

  In that moment, a feather could have easily tipped Max back on his ass. This human—this fragile, innocent, tiny woman—had survived four years on her own in the Outlands? Simultaneously horrified and indescribably proud, Max simply stared at her. No wonder she had been such a good shot up there in that tower. She had been defending her home from zombies, skin traders and worse for four long and lonely years.

  It infuriated him that she had been left alone. Her father should have seen to her care and should have made provisions for her upon his death. Emma should have been taken in by a larger family or sent to the more easily defended settlements at New Town or Borden’s Crossing.

  Thinking of all she had survived in those four years, he wondered how much more luck she had on her side. Eventually, she would make a mistake during one of her walks outside the fence. She could be kidnapped or bitten or worse. The violent imagery of what might happen to her twisted up his gut.

  Max made up his mind to the imaginary screams of Emma being taken down by a swarm of zombies. “You are coming home with us tomorrow.”

  “The hell I am!” Emma lifted the hoe menacingly. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll leave my house and my farm on my own terms, not when some mercenary on steroids tells me to do it.”

  Max’s jaw dropped. “I am not a mercenary, and I’ve never used steroids in my life.”

  “Wow!” Emma scoffed. “Way to completely miss the point, Max.”

  “Perhaps,” Jack interjected diplomatically, “we should table this discussion until tomorrow.” His gaze jumped to the sky. “We’re losing light, and I have no idea how much fencing you have to check.”

  “Not much,” Emma said. “I’d already checked three-quarters of the fence by the time you two showed up at my gate.”

  Max hated the way Emma warily sized him up before lowering the gardening tool. Without a word, she pivoted and walked away from them. Jack hurried to catch up with her. His mouth was shielded from Max so he couldn’t make out what his friend was saying. No doubt it was exactly the right thing.

  Max sensed he had gone too far, too quickly with her. It wasn’t in his nature to be as thoughtful and patient as Jack. They had been created for different purposes. Jack had been bred and enhanced for extreme patience and intelligence to ensure his work as a sniper and scout always proved successful. He would happily lie in wait in the nastiest muck imaginable for days if it meant a kill.

  Max wasn’t like that. He had been bred and enhanced for strength, physical prowess and the ability to lead and act. He had commanded some of the most successful units in the Cyborg Forces. He did that by taking no shit from anyone and making split second decisions, some of them ugly and painful. The success of the mission was his only care.

  But he was quickly realizing that style wasn’t going to work on a girl like Emma. If he wasn’t careful, he would alienate her completely. What if she chose Jack and another cyborg instead of him? Max’s belly soured at the very idea. Jack wouldn’t betray him like that. They were blood brothers, sometime lovers and had promised one another they would share their female, if they ever found one.

  Emma was that female. Max believed that with every fiber of his being. Now he just had to get his shit together and not scare her off. Jack was right. Issuing orders wasn’t going to work. This was one time where finesse was needed.

  Max’s mind raced with scenarios as he took up the rear position. Dozens of sexy ideas sprang to mind. His cock throbbed in his tactical pants as he considered all the ways he could persuade Emma to return to the Outpost with them. They had the whole night ahead of them. By sunrise, Emma would be theirs.

  2 Chapter Two

  Jack loved the way Emma smelled. The pleasing scent of lavender swirled around him and tickled his nose. The light notes of the lavender suited her very well. She seemed like such a natural, outdoorsy type of young woman. He imagined she spent a good deal of her time out on her land. Her small plot probably required a great deal of work, especially for one person.

  The way she handled her firearms impressed him. As a sniper, his skills were unparalleled, but he would have gladly taken Emma under his wing as a sharpshooter if she had been an Enhanced female. That she was an Original made her abilities all the more surprising. They weren’t supplied with the neural implants that allowed him to calculate and compensate for wind speed or other factors. She had simply taken one look down that scope and fired on instinct. And not one miss! She had pegged every zombie chasing them. That was real talent.

  “How long have you lived here?” Jack halted as she reached out to whack at a weed with that mean hoe of hers. He glanced back and saw Max keeping a safe distance. The other cyborg looked out toward the trees. The set of Max’s jaw told Jack all he needed to know. Max was worried about that group of monsters tracking them through the trees.

  “My entire life,” she said as she resumed her slow walk. “Twenty-one years. My parents and their parents settled here a while before I was born.”

  “How long before?”

  “Eleven years, give or take a few months.” She shot him a confused look. “Why?”

  Jack shrugged. “Just curious. We haven’t been at the Outpost very long. We’re still trying to get our bearings and meet the settlers at Borden’s Crossing and New Town. Are there others like you?”

  “Human females?”

  He smiled. “No, I meant settlers in the outlands.”

  “Oh. Well, yeah. More than you’d think.”

  He noticed her cagey answers. He decided to press her to see just how much she would divulge. “How many?”