An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2) Read online

  He grunted loudly, suddenly moving close enough to jerk her into his arms. “And I can’t trust you. Dammit, Mina, I loved you.”

  Her heart cracked a bit when he used the past tense, mainly because she feared what he would let himself do if he was over his love for her. Without that motivator to control him… Taking a deep breath, she put a hand on his forearm, hoping to keep him calm. “I tried to be what you wanted, Shane, but you never gave me a choice. I just can’t spend the rest of my life with someone I don’t love, especially because I’m too afraid to say no.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have said you loved me. You bitch.”

  His fist connected with the side of her head before she even knew it was coming. Mina reeled back, knocking into the bucket of soap and water. The mixture splashed out on her feet and legs, but she was too consumed with the pain in her head to focus on the unexpected hot bath. “Please.”

  “Please,” he mocked. “Tell me the truth, Mina. Did you ever love me?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a little, but not the way you want.”

  In seconds, he had her pinned to the wall of the barn. “What I want is you. Fuck all the business of letting you decide. You’re mine.”

  “You promised not to do this again,” she said weakly, as he gripped her throat in a tight hold.

  “And you promised not to be with Coop. You promised to think about us. You promised you loved me.” He didn’t give her a chance to refute the last statement, tightening his grip and shaking her slightly. “I guess we both lied.”

  Mina gasped when he tore the front of her shirt to reveal her bra. His hand was hard and painful as he dipped inside the cups to pinch her nipples in a punishing manner. She tried to pry his hand away, and he smacked the back of her head against the wooden wall. The world spun, and though she wasn’t completely unconscious, she was subdued. As he jerked at her jeans, lowering them to her thighs with one hand, the other still pinning her to the wall, she beat ineffectually at his shoulders, earning another backhand to the face.

  He definitely wasn’t pulling anymore punches. Blood rushed from her nose, and the taste of copper filled her mouth. She cried out when he forced himself inside her a minute later, his face pressed close to hers.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen, baby girl. We’re going back to the way it was. You’re going to marry me and be the wife I deserve. You have a hell of a debt to work off, having fucked Coop, and you’re going to spend a long time doing that. The first thing you’re going to do is give me a baby.” He squeezed her throat when she shook her head. “So help me, I will bury your entire family beside Ben if you so much as utter a peep of protest. If I say the sky is green, I want you on your knees agreeing with me.”

  Mina whimpered, trying to pull his hands free. “Hurting me,” she rasped.

  “This is just a taste of what you’re going to get if you contradict me. You will do what I say when I say it. Do you understand me?”

  Darkness was tugging at her vision, and she slumped forward, supported only by his body thrusting in and out of her and his hand on her throat. Her fingers were still twined around that hand, but she’d given up trying to pull him off. She whimpered again when he shook her by the throat.

  “Do you understand, Mina? Don’t think you can pass out to escape. I’ll dunk your head in that bucket until you wake up or you’re dead if you even try.” He shook her like a ragdoll. “Tell me you understand, baby girl.”

  Tears welled and spilled from her eyes, and she nodded the best she could. Hopelessness swept through her as she slumped against him, surrendering to her fate. Shane held her immobile as he came inside her, obviously not caring about her pleasure. She had made a fatal mistake. Mina should have just taken what he offered when he was being considerate. Her hellish life would have been slightly less of a nightmare if he saw her as his cherished partner instead of a lying cheat, leaving him freed from the burden of a conscience in his dealings with her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Coop was angry as he stomped back to the house, completely consumed by all the things he wished he’d had a chance to say to Mina. And he felt awful that Shane had found out what kind of woman he was in love with that way. Shame made him squirm, knowing he’d been a party to the cheating and then hadn’t been a good enough friend to tell Shane what he’d done, even if he hadn’t known he was helping her cheat at the time.

  Talk about misjudging someone. She’d seemed so sweet. Had the rape turned her into someone with no regard for others’ emotions, or was she always like that? He didn’t know her well enough to even venture a guess, though he’d thought he had once upon a time.

  He didn’t even see Emme until he plowed right into her, making the small blonde grunt at the impact. He steadied her with his hands on her hips automatically, releasing her as soon as she was solid again. “Sorry,” he muttered, about to squeeze past her. Her hand on his shoulder stopped him.

  “Are you okay, Coop?” There was genuine concern in her calm blue gaze.

  He started to nod, but then spoke before he could think better of it. “Has Mina always been a manipulative slut, or is it a new phase for her?”

  Emme’s face betrayed shock, followed by anger. “What did you say?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Just wondering if she’s always thought it was okay to lead two guys around by the balls, and to pretend to love someone when she doesn’t?” He laughed harshly. “I guess I’m the lucky one. I’m not in love with her like Shane is.” Coop ignored a persistent voice that insisted he was deluding himself.

  “She doesn’t love Shane.”

  “No kidding.” He laughed again, without humor. “I guess poor Shane is the last to know, huh?”

  “Poor Shane, my ass,” said Emme, looking really angry now. “He lost the right to any sympathy when he raped her and beat the hell out of her.” Her hand flew to her mouth, and she looked appalled. “Mina is going to kill me. She’s so concerned with protecting everyone, and I promised not to tell.” She frowned. “That was before I knew what secret I was promising to keep, of course, but…”

  Coop stumbled back a step. “Wait, what? When did he rape her?”

  Emme bit her lip before sighing. “Last summer, in the chicken coop. That was the first time.”

  Everything in Coop resisted the claim. He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t believe it. She wouldn’t be with him if that were true.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “It’s a complicated mess, and not my secret to share. I wanted to kill the fucker, but she was afraid the poison wouldn’t work and then he’d kill me.”

  Coop scowled. “That sounds pretty unbelievable.”

  “Whatever, Coop. You can dismiss whatever you want, if it’s too uncomfortable for you to even consider it might be true. Shane has hurt her many times, until she gave in and started doing whatever he demanded.” She gave him a sad look. “I once thought you cared about my sister. I even tried to get her to tell you what was going on, thinking you’d protect her. How big a fool am I?”

  “I’d be a bigger fool to believe you.” He spoke firmly, though doubts were creeping in. More to convince himself than Emme, he said, “He didn’t look like he was going to hurt her when I left them in the barn. Sure, he was angry, but…” Coop trailed off, recalling how Mina had begged him not to leave her alone with Shane. How she’d said twice that he would hurt her, the first time in her room and the second just minutes ago.

  Emme looked alarmed. “They were fighting?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “Shane overheard me talking to her about the one time we…you know.”

  Emme’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t know.” She turned from him and started running toward the barn. “He’s going to kill her.”

  Coop wanted to dismiss it as imagined drama, but something in her frantic pace and the way she held her body stirred a hint of panic deep in him too. Instinct was shouting at him to follow her, and he set off double-time to catch up with Emme, feeling all kinds
of stupid as he did so. At most, they would interrupt a screaming match and have to explain why they’d burst in on the couple during what should be a private moment. Still, a soldier didn’t ignore his instinct, even if it seemed to be steering him wrong.

  They reached the barn a moment later, Emme shoving the door aside like it was nothing, even though she should have had trouble with the warped old thing. Coop braced himself for an embarrassing scene, but slid to a halt, mouth hanging open, as he took in the sight before him.

  Shane stood near the laundry buckets, drying his hands on a white hand towel. The smears of crimson were visible even in the dim lighting. Coop’s gaze moved past him to Mina, who sat slumped against the barn wall. Emme was already moving toward her, and he looked away as she knelt down to help her sister cover herself.

  “Leave her alone,” said Shane. “She doesn’t deserve consideration or care.”

  “You animal.” Emme ignored his dictate and started easing Mina to her feet.

  Coop’s frozen feet unglued themselves when Shane jerked on Emme’s arm, pulling her forcefully from Mina and sending her crashing into the wall. The blonde moaned when she hit the wood, but stood up straight a moment later, heading straight back for Mina.

  As Shane lifted his hand again, obviously preparing to hit Emme, Coop intercepted it. His arm shook with the effort of keeping Shane from bringing that hand down. They locked gazes, and he was chilled by the complete lack of emotion he saw in his friend’s eyes. He looked inhuman.

  “Stay out of this, Cooper, before you’re next.” Shane suddenly jerked his arm away. “I should kill you for fucking Mina, but I doubt she bothered to tell you she was mine.”

  From the corner of his eye, Coop saw Emme get Mina to her feet and start toward the opened barn door. “Nah, she didn’t enlighten me that you were terrorizing her. If she had, I would have stopped you.”

  Shane’s cold laugh sent shivers down his spine. “You can’t stop shit, man. What you can do is get out of my way and stay away from my woman, or you’ll end up like Santiago.”

  Coop frowned, not entirely understanding that reference, except the young man was dead.

  “He pushed him out the window,” said Mina, her voice hoarse.

  He groaned silently when she spoke, once again focusing Shane’s attention on her. Coop followed when the other man marched over to try to jerk her against him. Emme clung to her sister, though she was fighting a losing battle.

  With a soft snick, Coop cocked his pistol and put it against the back of Shane’s head. “Let go right now. I don’t want to have to shoot you, but I will if you touch either one of these women again.”

  Shane turned slowly, practically daring him to shoot. “You’re really going to shoot me, Coop? How many times have I saved your ass?”

  “About as many as I’ve saved yours.” A quick glance at Mina showed her face was bruised and bloody, reminding him starkly of the way she’d looked that summer. “The moment you became a psychopath, I no longer owed you anything.” Without wavering, he said to Emme, “Get her out of here.”

  “Mina, if you try to leave, it will be worse for you later.”

  “Get out of here,” barked Coop.

  “It can’t be any worse,” said Mina, looking like it cost her a huge expenditure of energy to speak. She leaned heavily on Emme as the women exited the barn, moving more slowly than Coop would have liked.

  Shane stirred suddenly, knocking the gun out of position with his forearm as he punched Coop in the gut with the other hand. Somehow, he retained his hold on the pistol as burning agony filled his stomach, almost driving him to his knees. The other man was out of the barn as he lined up the shot again, and Coop missed with the first round.

  With a groan, he stood up straight again, cradling his stomach with one hand while grasping the gun with the other. He stumbled out of the barn and after Shane. To his surprise, his former commanding officer moved around Mina and Emme, running toward the farmhouse. Maybe the shot he’d fired had persuaded him Coop wasn’t fucking around.

  He caught up with the women and automatically reached for Mina when she started to sway. “Hold this and point it at Shane. If he tries anything, pull the trigger. The red dot is a laser sight that will help you figure out where to aim.”

  As Emme took the pistol, Coop bent down a bit to lift Mina into his arms. She was close to unconscious, and he hoped she didn’t notice his grunt of effort. Lifting her made his stomach burn with renewed pain.

  Emme was calling for help as they neared the farmhouse. Shane had reached one of the vehicles, but turned to look back as Coop and Mina approached. His cold expression practically screamed that he wasn’t finished with them yet. He reached for the gun in his holster, his gaze homing in on Mina.

  “Shoot him,” screamed Emme, as Hector and Owen came running. They were scanning for a threat, obviously not realizing Shane was it. “Shoot Shane.” At their aghast looks, she cursed and aimed the gun herself. Shane started to duck into the vehicle as she fired, and they all heard him scream a second later. The bullet must have hit him, but no one knew where or how seriously.

  “Stop him,” said Coop to the two men standing frozen. By the time Hector and Owen raised their rifles, both looking uncertain about actually firing, Shane had started the Humvee and was tearing down the drive. Owen fired, taking out one of the tires on the vehicle.

  It spun in a half-circle, and Shane stuck his arm and part of his head out of the window. There was blood all over his face. He started firing in a wide arc, forcing them all to hit the ground. A moment later, he hit the metal gate and kept going in the crippled Humvee, which still managed to move too fast even with one flat tire.

  “Should we go after him?” asked Emme, cocking his handgun like she’d done it a thousand times before.

  Coop bit his lip, but shook his head. “No, there’s no point. Mina needs help.” He nodded to Hector and Owen as Dana appeared at his side. “Double the watch, and do not let Shane back in here. We need to get that fence repaired as quickly as possible.”

  “The fuck’s going on?” asked Hector.

  “I’ll tell you all later. Right now—”

  A shriek interrupted him, and they all looked at the porch. Kelly knelt beside Janie, screaming her lungs out. A large red splotch spread across the front of Janie’s blouse.

  Emme dropped his gun on the ground and ran for her mother. Dana scooped it up and put it in Coop’s holster for him as he ran with Mina in his arms. Near her mother, he set her down carefully, kneeling beside her to keep her upright.

  Emme was frantically tearing at the cloth covering her mother’s wound, though the other woman looked pale and glassy-eyed. Watching her, Coop didn’t see her chest rise at all.

  “Mommy, open your eyes,” demanded Emme as she revealed the hole in her mom’s chest. She gasped, reeling back a bit.

  Coop wasn’t medically trained, but he knew enough about weak points to realize Shane had shot Janie Marsden through the heart, killing her instantly.

  “My fault.” Mina started sobbing. “All my fault.”

  “No.” Coop spoke firmly. “Shane did this.”

  “He told me he would. That first time, he mentioned killing my mother first. He killed my momma.” She started rocking, her gaze looking unfocused. “Should have done what he said…”

  A keening sound broke from Mina, and she didn’t respond when he called her name. Emme was preoccupied with her mother, so he couldn’t get confirmation, but he suspected this was one of the episodes she had warned him to watch for. Slowly, he reached out to touch Mina, trying to bring her back.

  The moment his hand grazed her arm, she started screaming and thrashing. It was akin to the sound of a wild animal caught in a trap. Even when he took his hand away, she continued to howl, her voice sounding raw and hoarse.

  “Shut her up,” said Hector.

  “How?” asked Coop.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Knock her out.”

  Coop did
n’t bother replying to that suggestion. Hoping it wouldn’t make things worse, he picked her up and settled her on his lap. She kept yelling, so he started rocking, since she seemed to find that soothing. Emme came over to kneel beside her, touching Mina’s face and calling her name. Janie’s blood was still on her hands, marking Mina’s skin in the process.

  As abruptly as the screaming started, Mina fell silent. It wasn’t the normal silence of someone who had exhausted their voice. It was an eerie stillness, as though she was one of the electronics that had been crippled by the solar storm and just stopped, never to start again. It was the silence of the broken, and as he rocked her, Coop wondered if they could even begin to help her mend with a lack of resources and no experts on mental health.

  *****

  Shane drove until the pain in his face was too much. The flat tire making the vehicle continuously joggle didn’t help matters. He parked the Humvee at an awkward angle. Half-delirious with agony, he slid from the vehicle and stumbled away. It had started to snow, and he was vaguely aware of the danger of wandering around, but too disoriented to make a plan or go back to the Humvee.

  He walked until he stumbled, falling face-first into the snow. The cold substance provided a slight numbing effect, and he buried his face in the soft snow, letting the lack of sensation soak into the wound. Blackness danced on the edge of his vision, and he succumbed to it, briefly wondering if he could drown in snow.

  The next time he woke, his face was on fire, but he was more lucid. Shane sat up slowly, using the early morning light to look around him. He had no idea where he’d left the Humvee, but got to his feet and started walking in what he hoped was the right direction. It took more than an hour before he stumbled across the vehicle, the door still standing open. Amazingly, no one had come by and stolen it, which would have been easy with a quarter-tank of gas and the keys in the ignition, even with a flat tire.