Endless Flames (Surviving Ashes, Book Four) (6 page)

“Before my father passed, he told me of the time you went to visit him,” Maxie shared rather cautiously, causing Berke to shift in unease. That had been a private meeting between two Marines, and she knew it. Beau Denikin had served his country with pride and also ran a support group for veterans returning from combat duty. Berke understood what those men had faced and had wanted to give back. “Don’t be upset. I don’t know all that was said, but I do know you made an impact. High praise coming from my father is rare. In fact, he’s never spoken so highly of anyone as he did you.”

Berke straightened, putting some distance between them. Maxie had misunderstood her father and now she was postponing the inevitable. He needed to set the record straight.

“Respect for another Marine is inherent, Maxie,” Berke stated bluntly, done with delaying their unavoidable journeys. “You’re basing your safety and that of your son’s on the fact that your father held high regard for my service is foolish. That’s a mistake.”

“Is it?” Maxie asked in such a definitive manner that she prevented him from turning away. What exactly had Beau said to her? “It wasn’t long after he spoke of you that he gave a speech about a young Marine who went above and beyond his call of duty to save a child from an Afghani warlord who was bent on the destruction of an entire family who had betrayed the clan’s interest with the Taliban to the local American forces. Considering the size of our town and the few soldiers and Marines who had returned from war recently, it didn’t take me long to figure out who Dad was talking about.”

Berke remained silent, the distressing memories of that time never far from his thoughts. It didn’t matter what had happened to him overseas. That was then and this was now. Military members served their country and did what was expected of them, as long as it was ethical. He was no better than anyone else and she was naïve to believe otherwise just because of what her father had said.

“Sheriff Ross did a stint with the Army,” Berke disclosed, although it wasn’t anything she wasn’t privy too. “Deputy Boyega served in the Navy. I can damn well guarantee they have similar stories they can tell you. I’m not going to stand here arguing with you over semantics, Maxie. Your best shot of you and your new son surviving this horrendous disaster is to reach one of those FEMA camps. You want someone with military experience? Go ask Ross, Boyega, or the other veterans in this town to accompany you. I have—”

The clicking sound of handcuffs resonated through the humidity before the coolness of the metal hit his wrist. Berke stopped midsentence, a part of him admiring that Maxie had waited until he was occupied with his little speech to anticipate and react to what she’d been going to do. The other part of him was angry—actually, he was beyond livid and curled his other hand into a tight fist to prevent himself from reaching for her.

“Maxie,” Berke gritted out between his clenched teeth, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Martial law,” Maxie stated as if she hadn’t done something so irrational as to handcuff him to her. She held up her own arm, where the other cuff was currently attached to her wrist. “You see, I think you’re putting yourself in harm’s way by not following the directives of our government. Therefore, I’m making you my prisoner. I’m just doing my professional duty in seeing to your safety by putting you in protective custody. So you have two choices. You can either accompany me to the East Coast or you can take Jacob and me with you to Washington. Make up your mind. You’re burning daylight.”

M
axie did her
utmost best to conceal the adrenaline flowing through her veins. It wouldn’t do for Berke to know that should he really want to leave for Washington on his own…he really could without much further argument. He was so much bigger and considerably stronger physically than she was—so much that he could certainly take the small key from her in a blink of an eye, regardless that she’d hidden it against her breast inside of her bra. She never said she’d make it easy for him to take it without a fight though. She’d never hold him back from leaving if that was what he decided to do, but she would do her damnedest to be with him when he did.

“I’m only going to tell you once to unlock these cuffs,” Berke warned, holding their connected wrists up as if he were holding out a rattlesnake ready to strike.

Maxie stood her ground, even though she could hear Jacob call out to her from the van. He didn’t speak words yet, other than a few syllables that could mean just about anything. He did say mama, which broke Maxie’s heart. He kept asking for her and it was the one thing she couldn’t give him.

“Jacob, it’s okay,” Maxie called out reassuringly, never taking her eyes off of Berke. She wanted to be prepared for any move he might make. “I’ll be right there.”

Berke’s patience apparently ran a little thin, for he yanked her forward so quickly that she found the front of herself molded to his. He’d wrapped their cuffed hands around her back and made sure he had her attention. He certainly did. She could feel his heat.

“Where is the key, Maxie?”

“The only way you’re getting the key is to promise me that you’ll take us with you the whole way.”

“You’re going east. I’m headed west,” Berke rasped in a low tone, taking her by surprise when he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and held her still. His lips were inches from hers and his eyes darkened even more, as if that were even possible. “This is not up for debate. Where is the damn key?”

“Promise to take us with you and I’ll let you go,” Maxie whispered resolutely, refusing to back down and give in. She searched his heated gaze for some sign she was wrong, but all she observed was their salvation. Call it instinct, but she fully believed he had the means to survive what they were about to face and she owed it to Jacob to give him every chance possible. “Give me your word that you won’t leave us behind and I’ll give you the damn key.”

Berke could have easily searched Maxie’s clothes, with all of the pockets and places she could have hidden the object he was looking for. He would have discovered it eventually, but instead he stood there and appeared to weigh the pros and cons of having two extra mouths to feed and protect. Her heart raced a little faster, hoping beyond hope he was actually considering it.

“You could be leading that boy right to his death. It would be on you,” Berke said in warning while not giving her a definitive answer. He loosened his hold on her, but didn’t release her fully as his hand came forward and softly cradled her cheek. It wasn’t in reassurance so much as it was regret. “It’s a fifty-fifty shot if I even make it up to Washington on my own. Your odds of reaching the East Coast are a hell of a lot better than that from the start, Maxie.”

“The odds of us making it there alive might be better, but what about when people realize that life as they know it is over? What happens to us then?” Maxie didn’t look away from Berke, wanting his honest answer. They both were aware of what happened when society broke down. “Are you telling me it will be safer in a FEMA camp overrun with thousands of people who they won’t be able to feed after the first thirty days? Or with a unit of Marines who have been trained to handle anything, adapt to nearly any condition, and survive with dignity? I’m betting Jacob will be better off with the latter. So do I have your word that you will take us? Help us to help ourselves?”

Berke closed his eyes in frustration as the length of the muscle in his jawline ticked in a rhythm that Maxie could have snapped her fingers to. He finally dropped his hand from her face and she found it odd that she missed his warmth. She wasn’t the type of woman who ever relied on anyone other than herself, so asking or rather begging for someone to help was alien to her. Her father had taught her to be self-sufficient and that’s what she’d always done. Now she needed a Marine to survive and rescue her new son from Mother Nature’s fury.

“Berke?”

“Fine. I give you my word for what it’s worth,” Berke agreed evenly, finally putting what distance he could between them while not giving away what he was thinking, even as he lifted his lashes. He met her gaze and then held up his hand, thus raising hers. “Key?”

Maxie believed Berke was a man of his word, or else she never would have reached into her shirt and down her bra for the small trinket that could separate them. She held it up for him to take, allowing him the honor to unlock the handcuffs and then take another step back. Her throat closed when she saw him turn away, but relief was like a tidal wave when he popped his tailgate.

“I take it you’ve already packed something for your trip?” Berke asked in a rather cold manner, but Maxie didn’t have time to soothe his hurt feelings about being placed in a no-win situation. She had Jacob to think about. “I’ll take the bags while you get Jacob’s car seat stowed behind my seat. That way you can reach him when you need to…do whatever it is you need to do.”

Maxie remained quiet as she opened the driver’s side door to the minivan, popping the hatch. It wasn’t easy to pack away her life in one duffel bag. She was leaving behind everything that defined her, but she’d managed to turn off her own emotional response to the situation because she was more worried about Jacob. The little boy had already been through so much and yet he still smiled at her with that happy, crooked grin of his—like he was doing now. If he only knew.

“Hey, champ,” Maxie said soothingly after she’d slid open the side door. He was already reaching for her as she unclasped the buckle on his car seat. His rosy cheeks told her that the air conditioning she’d left running hadn’t done an adequate job, but they wouldn’t have to worry about the humidity for much longer. According to what she’d heard on the radio as she packed up some clothes, it wouldn’t be long before the ash cloud rose high enough to block the sun’s rays and cooled off the entire planet. “You ready to go ride in a big old pickup truck? We’re going to go on a trip for a couple of days.”

Jacob didn’t exactly answer, but he sure did flail with excitement as his wide eyes looked behind her. Maxie thought he was looking at the truck, but it turned out his captivated gaze had landed on Berke’s hulking shape. She could understand why. His height and muscular build was quite imposing as he loaded up the three bags she’d brought with her. Traveling with a child wasn’t going to be easy.

“That’s Berke,” Maxie explained, as she set Jacob on his feet so that his small, chubby hands could hold the seat in front of him while she worked on getting the car seat unbuckled. It had taken her close to a half an hour to get the sucker in properly. “He’s going to drive us to a safer place up in the mountains.”

Jacob said something in a shrill tone that made no sense, but Maxie kept talking to him in the same reassuring manner she’d done since she’d found him on the floor next to his dead mother. One would never know that now, especially with him bouncing up and down on his little knees. He’d yet to take his first step, but that didn’t surprise her. She’d read every book ever made on toddlers and the stages they went through. It wouldn’t be much longer, but given the circumstances, she was quite grateful that he wasn’t very mobile. She finally got the buckle unfastened and stepped back, only to bump into Berke.

“Hey there, big guy,” Berke said in a tone she’d never heard before as he leaned down so that he would be eye level with Jacob. It wouldn’t matter. He only ever came to her and was wary of everyone else, which he had every right to be.

“Jacob won’t—” Maxie cut off her words when Jacob surprisingly held up his two arms in eagerness. She stepped back with the car seat in hand, unsure of what had just happened. The little boy looked up at Berke in almost awe, similar to how she was observing the two of them. Maxie had always been the one Jacob turned to, so the shot of jealousy wasn’t unexpected…but it wasn’t totally unwelcome. “I didn’t know you were so good with kids.”

“Children are easy to socialize with,” Berke replied, shifting Jacob to his side while reaching for the car seat. He took both and started walking toward his truck. “It’s all those damn civilians I can’t stand. Now move your van and leave the keys in it. We won’t need it and it’s likely someone else will at some point in the foreseeable future.”

Maxie didn’t move as he’d instructed, but instead stood there for a moment looking after them. Berke had left the driver’s side door open, but he had to set the car seat on the ground while he swung open the back half door to get at the rear bench seat of the super cab. He then wrapped his fingers around the large plastic handle and lifted the entire contraption, pushing it so that it was situated behind where he would be sitting. There was plenty of room for a car seat and a one-year-old, even while accommodating Berke’s long legs.

Maxie didn’t blame Berke for being angry with how she’d handled this, but what other alternative did she have? He wouldn’t have listened to her under any circumstances unless he’d been forced. And she’d done that and gotten the results she needed in an impossible situation.

Was she making the right decision now? Maxie adjusted her utility belt, not worrying about weapons or ammo. She’d seen the stash in the bed of his truck. They were more than equipped to handle anything that came their way and she was more of an asset than he realized. She was trained in law enforcement and could certainly hold her own against any adversary now that the gloves were off. Maxie slowly turned and then slid the side door closed with a thud, the alternative choice reminding her that yes…she was making the right choice.