Love and Decay, Kane's Law Read Online Free Page B

ignorance and how
he’d so easily set me back miles with Reagan. He’d back-fired my
plan and made her more uncomfortable than ever.
    Although, it was true. Just because I hadn’t
felt the desire to bring a girl home to share my house with, didn’t
mean there hadn’t been plenty to fill space and warm my bed in the
meantime. I’d just always tired of them before- handed them over to
other, greedier men.
    “Oh, god,” Reagan groaned and her face paled
at the insinuation that her precious virtue was in danger.
    I cleared my throat uncomfortably but didn’t
try to explain. An apology would only weaken my image of authority
and to open that particular discussion would tarnish any hope I had
that she could trust me.
    At least she could be sure we didn’t actually
eat our prisoners.
    We fell into uneasy silence as we marched
across the still wet grass. The early morning sun was warming, but
not fast enough to dry the dew scattered across the fresh spring
grass. I breathed in the clean air and felt more alive than I had
in two long years.
    I’d always loved this town and this field
more than anything else. Growing up, I’d had my time in the
spotlight as a football star; I’d paid my dues as the responsible,
mostly good son of one of the town’s most respected families and
dated enough of the girls to earn an only-slightly tarnished
reputation.
    When civilization fell, my father had been
the most prepared and most qualified man to step up and take
charge. In a way, I’d always been prepared to step up with him.
He’d raised us right, teaching us the important necessities that
went into surviving in a time without anything, instilling in us
the values and basic instincts that would keep us alive during a
future when you could trust no one. He made sure we were
competitive enough to want to always be the best and have the
best.
    Falling in line with his goals and
expectations had been easy for me. Partly, because I’d always been
that son to him, and also because I could see it was the only way.
He was going to keep us alive- keep a lot of people alive. If I
listened and helped him carry this thing out we could save a huge
portion of the remaining humanity.
    What I didn’t realize would accompany my
obedience and loyalty though, was loneliness. While I held such a
strong position of authority and command, I couldn’t allow myself
to get close to anyone else. Other soldiers would seek to exploit a
friendship with me or manipulate me in order to fulfill their greed
and selfish desires. My siblings had turned out to be more than
disappointments and any real relationship with them had been
severed back at the beginning. And women, while enjoyable for a
time, tended to drive me crazy after a while.
    However, I’d never felt like this about any
of the girls that came before today. There had always been physical
or personality flaws that kept me from growing too attached. For a
night, my bed would be full and my mind too busy to dwell on the
suffocating loneliness, but in the morning I would send them away
and return to the solitary lifestyle that both haunted me and
comforted me.
    While I hated the stillness and complete
silence of my house whenever I spent too much time there, I also
knew it was the safest way to live. There wasn’t a woman cooking or
bathing, but if an intruder even entered my property I would know.
I didn’t have friends to talk about the pressures of our job or
discuss another fatality, but I also didn’t have someone who would
spill my secrets or use me to get further in ranks. I separated
myself for a reason and while it was a double-edged sword, the
solitude suited me.
    Until now.
    Until I found the perfect companion to
complement me and my life.
    Once we reached the entrance to the former
high school, I took out my keys and prepared to let the prisoners
in. This was always the hardest part for outsiders. My father
and his trophies. It unnerved everybody and terrified most.
There wasn’t an