Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 106

NADINE’S P.O.V

"Talk?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course. If we’re going to help you then we need to have constant conversation."

"Help us? You’re not helping us."

The tatted man next to Lilian laughed humorlessly. "Aren’t we? Are you going to kill Trent on your own, Nadine? You need us."

"Just as much as you need us. Killing Trent isn’t for our benefit, it is for the benefit of everyone alive. You need him dead as much as we do."

The man laughed. "We’ve lived here without problems."

"And you think that cannot change in a second? Wake up, everyone is in danger here. Don’t act like you’re doing us a favor because you aren’t. You are doing what any decent person should. You are protecting the people you’ve gathered here."

He opened his mouth to speak but Solomon held up a hand. "Enough, Sam. She has a point."

The man- Sam- pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. He clearly wasn’t pleased with being dismissed but he said nothing. He just leaned back into his chair, watching Rowan and I with wary eyes.

"I can see why you and Caine are together now," Solomon mused. "He said something similar to Sam this morning. I don’t think he liked that."

"I don’t care if he liked it. It’s the truth." I crossed my arms over my chest. "So what do you want to discuss?’

"How exactly are we going to get Trent out of that bunker? As long as he is in there, he is safe."

"I have an idea for that," Joshua cut in. "If I may. Can I have a radio?"

I could tell Solomon was equal parts intrigued and suspicious but he nodded. He called over a guard and whispered something in his ears. I watched as the guard disappeared, only to return later with a radio.

The radio was placed directly in front of Joshua who fiddled with it for a moment. We all watched him carefully, neither of us truly knowing what he was doing. I glanced over at Roman, a silent question in my eyes but he just shrugged. He was as confused as I was.

"Done," Joshua whispered and placed the radio on the table.

He hadn’t done much, merely turned the knob a few times. There was no sound coming out of it, absolutely nothing. It was quiet.

"What exactly have you done?" Edith asked over her lashes. "You just pushed a few buttons-"

"What time is it?"

"Two."

"Just wait."

"Wait for what?"

Before she could finish her statement, the radio crackled for a moment. "Systems are secure. Food is stable. Over."

More silence before another voice followed giving the exact same report. It happened three times and then... silence.

"What the hell was that?" Solomon asked.

"The bunkers. The ones in the vicinity anyway. My father used to give the report for ours. He showed me how to tune in. They give reports every hour."

"What does that have to do with killing Trent?"

"You send your reports the same way, don’t you?"

Solomon nodded slowly. "That’s Sam job. He is surprisingly very good at tech."

"If you can find a way to pass across a message on that frequency. Everyone will hear it. Every bunker in the vicinity will know the truth. They will know that Trent is behind this. He will be forced to leave the bunker."

That was a fucking good plan actually. It was no surprise he didn’t tell us sooner. He wanted the element of surprise and he got it because I was impressed.

Even though Solomon tried to hide it, it was clear that he was impressed too. The corner of his lips tipped up into a small smile that he tried to hide. Even Sam, for all his scowling seemed intrigued by the idea.

"I can try," he said finally. "But you’re assuming that the people don’t already know."

"I don’t think they do," I cut in. "In the bunker, Trent’s lab was hidden and there was only one man inside there. He wouldn’t risk telling anyone because he knows that not everyone might understand. I’m sure that the other don’t know."

"That’s a lot of assurance."

"It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

Sam was silent for a moment before nodding. "Fine." He turned to Joshua. "You and I will work on it every day until we find a way."

Joshua’s eyes widened in shock and excitement at the prospect. "Of course."

The corner of my lips tugged into a small smile. I was happy for him, happy that he’d found something to do that he seemed excited about. We ate the rest of our meal in silence, the table thick with tension, but no one dared to speak on it.

The moment I was done, I rushed to my feet, hoping to hightail it out of there as quickly as possible. Rowan was right behind me, Amy too, the only person who lingered was Joshua and it was because he’d somehow struck up a conversation with Sam.

We’d only taken two steps when Edith approached me. "Nadine, right?"

"You know that’s my name."

Rowan turned to me, a silent question in his eyes. I knew if I asked him to stay, he would, but the truth was, I wanted to hear her out.

"I’ll be fine," I assured him.

He didn’t linger, didn’t ask me if I was sure. He just kissed my forehead and walked ahead, leaving me standing there with Edith who was watching me with an amused expression.

"How did you end up with him?" she asked.

"He was my guard."

"Figures," she laughed. "I take it your father wasn’t a huge fan."

I snorted. "He hated it. He wanted us apart at any cost. He asked me a couple of times to end things."

"Why didn’t you?"

"Because I didn’t want to."

Her lips curled. "Have you given any thought to what I said earlier?"

I hadn’t actually. I’d been so caught up in everything. But now that I thought about it, it didn’t sound so bad. I enjoyed my time with the women in the kitchens, but I knew that wasn’t something I’d want to do for a long time.

"I’ve never been a soldier before," I told her. "The only training I have is with a knife and basic self-defense. Rowan tried to teach me on the run but-"

"You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Nadine. You may not have been a guard but you’ve survived months on your own."

"I wasn’t on my own. I had help."

She laughed. "Don’t sell yourself short, darling. Jennifer tells me you have wicked aim."

I shrugged. "I don’t miss." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Good."

She stepped closer and I got a hint of something from her, something flowery. She had an air around her, it was both sultry and terrifying. She was the kind of woman who would stick a knife in your chest and you’d thank her for it.

She was dangerous and anyone with half a brain could clearly see it.

"You have so much potential, Nadine, and you will do so well with my girls."

I wanted to say yes, but I still wasn’t sure. "I don’t know-"

"You don’t have to make a decision now," she told me. "Why don’t you come and watch us tomorrow? We train in the morning."

"Where?"

"Don’t worry about that, Jennifer will come and get you," her grin seemed wider and more sinister, but it wasn’t terrifying. "I’ll see you tomorrow, Nadine."