Born to Fight (Can't Resist You Book 1) Page 7

  Darkness came again. And this time, the memories that had plagued her for years did not come with it.

  ***

  Hunter cradled Rain in his arms, hugging her close to his chest as he continued running forward, moving as quickly as he possibly could. They were so close.

  He remembered when his father had told him the story about the woman screaming, the woman he saved, the women he carried for miles in his arms. Hunter never understood how he’d done it, what pushed him forward.

  Now, he did.

  As Hunter looked down at the angelic face of his Rain, he knew exactly what his father must have felt in that moment.

  He couldn’t put a name to it, but Hunter just looked down and knew beyond any doubt that he could never forgive himself if anything happened to the woman he held in his arms. He knew that the world would be even dimmer without her in it, that she was the only light he’d known since he watched his parents get ripped from this world before their time.

  His arms screamed, his muscles spasmed, but he continued onward. No amount of pain would keep him from getting Rain the help she needed.

  Besides, Rain had saved his ass back in those woods when he was all but dead. He owed her one.

  Sure, let’s pretend that’s why you’re doing this for her.

  Hunter pushed forward.

  ***

  Rain opened her eyes, but not to the beauty of nature she’d seen before. Instead, all she saw were white lights. Way too bright. She squinted and brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the light before it blinded her.

  Her eyes slowly adjusted. She looked down and saw her toes. They were clean, a sight she hadn’t seen in years.

  She lifted her arm and… pain. A pinch.

  There was a tube in her arm. A long, thin tube that she followed up to a clear bag. It was filled with fluid. Water? Was water going into her arm?

  And there was something on her finger…

  Were they- testing on her?

  She became aware of a beeping around her, one that was steady moments ago but now came quicker, louder. Rain began to panic and the beeping only intensified, as if matching her level of worry.

  She sat up and prepared to run, or fight, or whatever else she had to do, when suddenly a door opened.

  “Oh!” exclaimed the white-haired man who waltzed into the room. “Well I was wondering when you’d wake up!”

  She stared at him for a moment, and then her eyes scanned the room searching for a weapon.

  “You won’t find one,” he said as if reading her mind. “And you certainly don’t need one.”

  His eyebrows raised, the wrinkles on his face thinning ever so slightly with the motion. She just stared at him like a deer in headlights.

  “My name is Dr. Greene, but you can just call me Christopher. I’m here to help.”

  “Where is here?” Rain asked. Her entire body was rigid and still as she waited for an answer.

  The old man smiled and the creases by his eyes deepened. “You are safe with the Resistance, now.”

  Her heart was going to burst from her chest. The beeping came faster and she wanted to find the source and drive her fist through it. She searched the room.

  “Here,” he murmured, pulling the small clip from her finger and clicking a button on the machine by her bed. The beeping stopped. “Better?”

  He smiled again.

  “Thank you,” Rain said.

  “Would you like to know what happened to you?” he asked her.

  She knotted her hands together and nodded. “Please.”

  Dr. Greene - Christopher - cleared his throat. “You were eating when you were shot with a tranquilizer dart. You were the only one that was hit with one of those.” Rain swallowed. “One of our men was able to extract from a witness that the intention was not to harm you, but to harm those with the Resistance. You were hit with a tranquilizer and expected to fall, and that was when the attack would occur. You were not to be harmed.”

  Attack?

  “I don’t think the soldiers sent to retrieve you knew the caliber of the warriors you were breaking bread with,” the doctor chuckled. “They were taken out very quickly. No Resistance member was harmed.”

  “W-why am I here? If it was just a tranq, then why am I just now waking up?” she asked.

  He cleared his throat again. “Have you heard the word ‘allergy’ before?” Rain shook her head. “Well, as it turns out, the chemical they used in the tranquilizer caused your body to have an adverse reaction. It began attacking itself in an attempt to rid itself of the chemical. Which, by all means, should have been fairly harmless.”

  “W-why?”

  The doctor lifted his shoulders. “We don’t know why these things happen, they just do and we respond accordingly.” He placed a reassuring hand on her knee. “You’re safe, now, though, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “How do I know I’m safe?”

  “You’re here with the best fighters in the world. The smartest, the bravest, the strongest…” his voice trailed off. “I mean, Hunter Kane carried you in his arms for miles. He would’ve torn his muscles right from his bones before he put you down to let them rest.”

  Rain’s heart fluttered in her chest, and she felt grateful that the machine had been unplugged. She had a feeling it would’ve been beeping quite loudly, again.

  “Who attacked us?”

  “UNR soldiers.”

  A chill ran through Rain’s body.

  “Did any escape?”

  The doctor raised his eyebrows and shook his head at the ground. “There were no survivors.”

  “Good.” Rain heard the ice in her voice, felt the shiver of realization when she heard what she’d said. She didn’t change her mind. She was glad that nobody lived to tell… him.

  “Is-” she paused and wondered about whether or not she should ask this next question. Screw it, she thought to herself. “Is Hunter here?”

  He smiled. “He was at your side nearly every moment. Haven’t a clue where he’s gone, but I’m sure he had many matters to attend to. He’s an important man!” the doctor exclaimed.

  Now Rain furrowed her eyebrows. “He is?” she asked.

  Laughter. “Oh, yes! He hadn’t told you? Oh, that boy…” he looked to the ground and shook his head, smiling to himself about a thought he didn’t bother to share. Then he nodded. “He always was the most humble leader of our little group.”

  “Wait,” Rain stopped him. “Leader of…”

  “The Resistance, of course!”

  Rain stared. Then the room spun. And finally, her hand slapped to her mouth to hold in whatever would come next.

  ***

  Hunter’s hand brushed against the dark wall, the rough bedsheet, the wooden table. He smiled to himself. It was good to be home.

  When they got back, he’d simply rushed Rain over to Dr. Christopher, who had assured him she was fine and simply had a bad reaction to the tranqs. Then he sat with her and waited, watching her sleep and listening to the beeping of her heart on the monitor.

  When he was certain she was okay and Derek came in to ask what he wanted done with Jerry, well, he decided he should go attend to those matters.

  He had forgiven Paul after the kid led Sawyer and the crew back to the spot they’d left him, but Jerry… he wanted to wring that one’s neck. Somehow, though, when he got face to face with the bastard, he didn’t feel as pissed as he thought he was. He let the kid go with a warning.

  And finally, after all his time away, he was back in his room again.

  Hunter sat on the edge of his bed, his gaze falling to the bedside table. All of his belongings were untouched, including the red leather-bound book that he’d been trying so hard to read before things turned to shit out on that mission.

  He picked up the book, thumbing over the spine and tracing along the pages until he found the marker that he used to indicate where he’d left off. Hunter opened the worn pages and saw the familiar scratchy handwriting.
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br />   Several months back, on a raid, they had come within inches of taking out the leader of the nearest district. While Hunter and Sawyer engaged in a firefight with the redshirts, the governor was ushered away to safety, but not without leaving behind his personal journal.

  Hayden had scoured the pages for intel, but there was nothing strategically useful in the damn thing. Still, Hunter couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to get into his enemy’s head.

  Just as he went to read, a knock sounded on his door. He snapped the book shut and tucked it away in a drawer in the bedside table.

  “Hunter?” Hayden’s voice sounded through the door. “We’re ready for you.”

  Hunter looked down to the drawer that housed his book and whispered the word ‘later.’ Then he bounded towards the door and yanked it open.

  Hayden stood there, staring with an almost blank expression, but Hunter could see there was something swimming beneath the surface. “We’re ready for you,” Hayden said.

  Hunter nodded and took his place at Hayden’s side as they walked down the makeshift corridor. He swore he saw Hayden eyeing him from the corner of his eye, and he turned to see him facing forward, expression still blank.

  Hunter threw his arm around Hayden’s shoulders. “I’ve missed you, brother,” he said, pulling them both to a stop.

  Hunter expected Hayden to attack him, to at the very least punch him once or twice. He didn’t. Instead, Hayden wrapped his arm around Hunter and patted him quickly on the back before pulling away.

  “We thought you were dead,” Hayden said, refusing to meet Hunter’s gaze.

  “I’m not,” Hunter smirked.

  The corner of Hayden’s lips twitched, which was as close to a smile as Hunter would get with him. “I’ve missed you, too, brother,” Hayden nodded.

  They continued walking in silence.

  When the door at the end of the corridor opened, light flooded in. Hunter squinted and then felt arms tighten around him.

  He looked down at small woman hugging him and smiled, again, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing. When her light brown hair shoved aside and her shimmering eyes found his, they both broke out into smiles.

  “Oh, Hunter,” she exclaimed, pressing her face into his chest and hugging him once again. If he hadn’t known her better, he would’ve sworn she was trying to squeeze the damn air from his lungs.

  “I’ve missed you, too, Kayla,” he said as he squeezed her shoulder. He looked around for Hayden, but he’d pulled a disappearing act. Typical.

  She pulled back. “Come, come!” She urged him forward. He obeyed.

  “Am I about to be surprised?” he asked as he took in the scene. “You know I don’t like surprises.”

  “Which is why I’ll tell you right now to put on a happy face and be nice!”

  A groan escaped Hunter. He should’ve expected this crap from them.

  “Kayla,” he called before they entered the room where there would undoubtedly be the majority of their little group. She paused and turned, hand still on the doorknob.

  He touched her forearm and she moved closer to him, angling her head up so that he could see her full face.

  “I need you to do me a favor,” he said. “I told you that you never owed me anything, but-”

  “You know that I owe you my life, Hunter.” He let out a breath. Hunter worked very hard to save people, and when Kayla was a young girl of only fourteen years old, he’d thrown a mission to pull her back from death’s door. She’d been here ever since and he’d never once held that over her. Until now.

  “I met a woman out there, and I brought her back with me. She will need help adjusting. Will you help her?” He ached to be with Rain, but he wasn’t sure she’d want to see him when she woke up. Not after all the whispers she’d shared in her state of delirium.

  “It’s done,” Kayla smiled. She hugged him once more. “Anything you need!”

  “Alright,” Hunter sighed. “Let’s get this over with!”

  He moved towards the door, but a small hand stopped him. He turned and looked back to Kayla.

  “You know,” she began, “you bring people back all the time. Men, women, children. You’ve never asked me to help them before.” She raised an eyebrow, implying her question.

  Hunter turned away. “They’ve never been her.”

  He moved towards the door and mentally prepared himself for the ambush.

  ***

  It had been a few hours. Rain wore jeans now, a form-fitting pair that were such a light shade of blue they could have nearly been white. In addition to her new jeans, Rain wore a black V-neck tee shirt.

  While she still wasn’t so sure about being there, she was very happy with her new clothes. She’d been wearing the same two pants and three shirts for years, and this was a pleasant change of pace.

  The door to the room opened and Dr. Greene strolled in.

  “Rain,” he smiled. “You’re looking beautiful in your new clothing!”

  She smiled and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.” She rubbed her hands on her thighs and considered her next sentence. “May I leave this room soon?”

  The doctor laughed. “Of course, sweet girl!” he exclaimed. “Come, come with me. They are throwing a party in your hero’s honor. Come, I will take you. He’ll be so happy to see you looking alive and well, again.”

  Rain had plenty of questions, but held her tongue and followed the doctor.

  The halls were dark, uneven, with wooden planks providing support for them. Every so often, Rain could spot roots in the dim lighting, confirming her suspicions that they were underground. So that’s how the Resistance has stayed hidden all this time…

  She was surprised that the doctor hadn’t asked her more questions, but surely, it was only because the privilege was being saved for others.

  They crossed through a doorway that led into a large room, filled with people. Rain couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen so many people.

  She knotted her fingers together, ducked her face beneath her thick hair, and felt a bead of sweat forming on her neck. Rain hadn’t interacted with people in years, and then Hunter entered her world and upset all of that. And now, here she was, surrounded by at least fifty people. Maybe a hundred. Maybe a thousand. Rain was so overwhelmed by it all, she couldn’t even tell.

  Just as it was getting to be too much, she spotted Hunter, and an odd sense of calm swept over her.

  She suddenly thought about their kiss, how amazing his body had felt against her. Everything after that had happened so fast, they never got the chance to talk about it.

  She swallowed.

  Hunter may get mad about her being here. She wasn’t sure, but Alan had always grown angry when others looked at Rain.

  She could feel their eyes on her and took a deep breath, ready to make her retreat. She’d done enough for one day.

  She turned to run and was grabbed. She nearly screamed, until the familiar masculine scent of Hunter filled her nose and she just about melted into his arms.

  “Oh, Rain,” he breathed, “I am so glad to see you.” His voice was filled with desperation. Why?

  “I’m glad to see you, too,” she said against his chest, squeezing her arms tightly around him and soaking in the feeling of safety that he gave her. She hated when he pulled away from her, but he left his hands on her shoulders, boxing them in and shielding her from the rest of the room.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I’m good.” She laughed. “It’s a bit overwhelming in here,” she admitted.

  Hunter smiled. “How long was it that you were alone?”

  “Two years.”

  “Damn.” He drew circles along her collar bone with his thumb. “We can get out of here if you want. If it’s too much.”

  She shook her head. “I’m okay. Really.”

  His smile spread slowly across his face. She noticed that he had shaved. While Rain didn’t think it was possible for Hunter to
not be the most handsome man in any room, she did miss the stubble. It added something extra to his charm. It fit him well.

  “I’d like to introduce you to some people. If you’re okay with that.”

  Rain stared up at him. “Sure,” she nodded.

  Hunter took her hand and led them forward, but she stopped, worry still lurking in the shadows of her mind.

  Rain’s eyes darted around the room, taking in the people. They were young, they were old. There were children running about. So many people. So many eyes.

  Hunter turned and walked back to her, using his massive shoulders to shield her from the rest of the room. “Are you still upset with me?”

  Now she was confused. “Upset with you?”

  “While I was carrying you, after you’d been shot with the tranq, you were mostly passed out, but you were talking a bit.”

  Rain felt her stomach climb up into her throat. “What was I saying?”

  “You were muttering on about how you can’t go to the Resistance. You said ‘don’t want this’ quite a few times, but fuck Rain, you weren’t waking up.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair as Rain stared down towards his feet. “You told me that I betrayed you.”

  Now she had to snap her head up and correct him. “Hunter, I was dreaming. And not of you.” She was dreaming of her mother, of her father, of the parents who should have loved her but couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

  He raised an eyebrow. She sighed.

  “I didn’t want to go to the Resistance. That part is true. I was comfortable in my sad little home and wanted to stay there. But everything else I said… it wasn’t directed towards you.” She bit her lip and wanted to end it there, but she knew he had more questions. “I don’t really want to talk about it, but I’m sure you can understand from my circumstances that my life hasn’t been very easy up to this point.”

  Hunter ran his hand up her arm, sympathy flashing across his face. “I’d never let anything bad happen to you, Rain.” She loved the way he touched her, shielded her, claimed her.

  She smiled. “I know that.”

  “Are you sure you want to be here?”