The thought of living her life without Dominik in it brought a rush of sorrow to her chest, a knot of emotion wrapped in anger and accusation directed at her brother.
Damn it, what happened to you, Dom?
The Enforcers used to be honorable. They’d protected the citizens and given the outlaws a chance to reintegrate into society. Dominik had been a good leader. A good man.
So what the hell had changed? When had the Enforcers decided they liked killing? And raping? Ambushing camps and weeding out the sick?
When had her brother turned into a monster?
And why the hell hadn’t she seen it?
Hudson choked back the pain and bitterness clawing up her throat. She had to stop thinking about Dom. When she’d orchestrated her escape, she’d known it meant that she’d never see her brother again, and dwelling on the past wasn’t going to help her adjust to her future. Her fucking uncertain future.
“We keep most of the supplies in the main lodge,” Kade told her as the vehicle stopped in front of the main building.
“Get Ry inside,” Connor barked. “I’ll stash the Jeep and check the perimeter.”
Hudson’s heart did a little flip at the sound of his raspy voice. The man might be a total asshole, but she was finding it impossible to rein in her body’s response to him. He was so masculine, rippling with quiet power. And when she’d felt his erection pulsing against her leg earlier…
The second they’d come into contact, pure liquid heat had rushed to her pussy. She’d never felt anything like it.
She wanted to feel it again.
A door creaked open, and she realized Kade and Rylan were waiting for her.
Swallowing, she hopped out and followed them up the rickety steps to the double doors of the large log building. When she noticed Rylan swaying on his feet, she wrapped her arm around his massive shoulders, summoning a protest from his lips.
“I’m fine. Really.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure you are, big boy.”
Kade flicked a light switch, and a warm yellow glow illuminated the room, revealing a wood-paneled lobby in disarray. Dust motes danced in the air, flying apart as Kade stalked forward and gestured for her to follow. They climbed a small set of stairs and walked into a large dining room littered with dusty round tables and wicker chairs. Kade kept walking all the way to the back of the room, where Hudson found three tattered couches and an enormous metal cabinet filled with supplies.
She left Rylan on one of the sofas and examined the contents of the cabinet. Dozens of pill bottles, everything from painkillers to sedatives. Another cubby held bandages and gauze and a third contained surgical tools. There were syringes and sutures and transfusion equipment, even a defibrillator.
And the possession of any one of those items was an offense punishable by death.
“Where did you get all of this?” she breathed.
Rylan chuckled from the couch. “Raids. We can open a clinic, huh?”
“And face a firing squad if the Enforcers found out about this stuff.” Medicine was strictly forbidden in the Colonies – the GC held the firm belief that Mother Nature should be the only deciding factor in life and death. The sick and injured were meant to die, and withholding medical treatment was not only necessary to control a population that had once totaled seven billion, but it also served as motivation for citizens to be more careful.
Avoid injury, avoid disease, stay alive. The motto had been branded into Hudson’s head from the day she was born.
She pulled a few items off the shelves and went back to Rylan. His blue eyes dipped to her chest, a reminder that she was wearing nothing but a skimpy bra.
She turned to Kade. “You think you can find a shirt for me to wear?”
“No problem.”
Rylan laughed as his friend dashed off. “Well, nobody said he was smart.”
Hudson poured iodine on a gauze square. “What do you mean?”
“Just if it were me, I wouldn’t be hurrying to find you a shirt.” His gaze smoldered, still fixed on her cleavage. “I’m gonna come out and say it, Blondie. Your tits are amaz— Shit! That fucking stings! Warn a guy next time.”
She batted her eyelashes. “Don’t be a crybaby. It’s not attractive.”
“Neither is what you’re doing to my neck.”
He continued to grumble and complain as she cleaned him up, but quieted down when she told him to shut up so she could assess the wound. She might not be schooled in the outlaw way of bartering and trading, or making camp, or dealing with bandits, but this was where she excelled. Treating battle wounds, making snap decisions and barking out orders. Although she’d been trained to fight, she’d chosen to work in the city’s medical sector instead of joining the military, and a sense of relief washed over her as she realized she could be useful out here in this unfamiliar land. She could be an asset, if these men only gave her a chance.