HOPE(5)
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Damon placed his hand across her neck. He saw the panic in her eyes and ignored it. She clearly didn’t see the danger she posed to herself by being alone.
“I could snap your neck right now.”
“Why don’t you?”
He stared into her eyes and was struck by his depth of emotion for her. She was no one to him, and yet he didn’t want to hurt her.
“Do you have any idea what would have happened to you if I hadn’t come to you tonight?” he asked.
She licked her lips. Her gaze remained on him. “It is not hard to guess.”
“They would have taken it in turns. Five men against you, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. They would have used you until you were nothing but a shell for their fucking needs, Penny. Do I need to spell it out further?” he asked, even though he couldn’t spell.
The colour left her cheeks. Her hand covered his across her neck.
“I said thank you.”
Damon chuckled. “You’re really too innocent to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
He dropped the bag to the floor and stroked her cheek. Her skin was soft.
“Those men will come back to see if you’re alone. They were not done with you. I bet they’re downstairs wondering when I’ll be gone so they can finish the job.”
Her gaze moved past his shoulder, checking.
“You’ve got two choices, Penny. Stay here, or come with me.”
“That’s not much of a choice.”
“We can talk about it more upstairs.”
She was working it out. Her gaze kept slipping behind him at the door. His senses were on high alert even as his knuckles throbbed in protest at another confrontation.
Penny nodded her head. Tears filled her eyes.
He ignored her tears as he gathered her clothing.
It wasn’t his fault that she had no choice. He didn’t ask to be responsible for her.
Chapter Two
Penny stared at the man who’d entered her apartment. She was thankful for his rescue. If it hadn’t been for him, she’d have been in a lot of trouble. The moment she answered the knock at her door, she’d known she would be in trouble. How many times had she been told never to answer a knock? Men answered the door, not women.
Life really had changed from the books her mother used to read to her. Most of the world had prided themselves on being civilised human beings, and with the introduction of one small tablet the world had changed.
She couldn’t believe a week being away from home and she’d nearly been raped.
“Are you coming?” the man asked.
Taking one last look at her attempt at freedom, Penny followed him out of her door. He walked up the next flight of stairs and unlocked the door at the end of the corridor. Once they entered, he closed the door and then slid the six locks into place. She’d only had the one lock on her door.
“Even if I hadn’t opened the door tonight, they would have gotten in, wouldn’t they?”
“You’re not in dream land, honey. This is the real world, and a woman alone is like candy to a kid.” He removed his other jacket and then took the one he’d given her. His clothing was as used as hers. They all survived on what had been salvaged through many years of wars. Some of the old factories still had the equipment to make clothes but none of the resources to use. The man dropped her bag on the floor. She picked it up and moved behind him into the main area of his apartment. There were a couple of chairs around a table, a small kitchen, and then a sofa facing the windows. She was shocked by the fact they weren’t smashed.
Television and radio were no longer available. She’d read about them in some of the books her mother had kept over the years. For all they knew, they were the only ones in the world.
“What’s your name?” she asked. She didn’t know how they managed to survive. There were farmers who were doing everything they could to maintain crops. After the M3 was produced the scale of food production had been reduced.
Books were a good source of knowledge. Since the wars, the survivors had all needed to learn quickly how to survive in this new world. The essentials had been food, water, and clothing. She’d been told that many had sought through the rubble looking for anything of use. There were plastic containers, or glass if it wasn’t smashed. Clothing was found and used no matter what the size or shape. Books became a huge prize as they told many things from recipes to how to construct fires. Her mother had been determined to make her read. Penny remembered the fight her mother had had with her father over reading. He had felt it was a waste of time while her mother was convinced the world could revert back to the way it was before the wars. Penny’s father always got what he wanted. Her education had ended, and she’d been put to work in the fields. In her spare time she’d practised reading and writing. Her thoughts drifted to her family. They had intended to sell her out before she ran away. She shuddered, thinking about what her family had planned for her.