The little flame symbol that looked as if it should stand for something corrosive and dangerous was the location of their initial meeting point, very near the hidden entrance to the bunker. They'd thought it was smarter not to give away the exact location just in case someone got a hold of their map and decided to investigate each marker's location.

While Dane slept, Sara studied the map, looking up once in a while to make sure no one approached them. Every now and then, she got the distinct feeling of being watched, but when she glanced around, no one was there. It was probably a symptom of being in a strange place under an even stranger set of circ.u.mstances. Still, the rational thought did little to put her at ease. She probably wouldn't feel totally comfortable and safe until she was tucked into the bunker.

On the map, she noticed a section of wavy lines, which looked to be a lake. Not too far from it was a symbol of two crossed pickaxes. That must be the quarry they were in right now. So if she read the map correctly, and she thought she did, then they had to head due west until they pa.s.sed the far end of the lake, then turn south into the hills. They'd find the bunker less than a mile from the lake, a location they'd picked on purpose for its natural resource availability.

Dane stirred, waking much sooner than Sara had antic.i.p.ated. He sat up looking not nearly refreshed enough after his quick nap.

"I haven't seen so much as a leaf move. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"I'm fine. I think we should figure out where to go and get a move on. If those guys had followed us, they'd be here already, so I think it's safe for us to head to the bunker now."

Sara motioned for Dane to join her. "I think I figured out where we are on the map. Does this look right to you?" she asked, pointing to what she thought was the quarry symbol.

Dane peered at the map for a moment before answering, then pointed to a spot just to the right, not too far from the highway. "The cabin was about here, and I'd say that symbol must be for the area we're in now. So where on this map are we actually headed to? The only thing you mentioned last night about the bunker was that it was to the west so that's the way I took us."

Without hesitation, she pointed to the flames symbol. "This isn't the exact location, but it's the meeting place to find it. That's where we need to get to."

"That shouldn't take us too long, depending on what the terrain is like. Maybe we can be there by tomorrow morning if we head out now."

"Sounds good." She folded the map and tucked it into the pocket it had come from before putting her pack on. Next she picked up her bow and quiver. She reached for the bucket of food, but Dane grabbed it before she could.

"I'll carry it for a while," he said.

As they started toward their final destination, Sara let her mind wander with daydreams about what awaited them at the bunker. Her family-her brother and sister and both of her parents. Hopefully they'd even brought their little pug, Spike. Just the thought of reuniting with her family brought tears to her eyes.

She picked up her pace. They couldn't get there soon enough. And when they did, she hoped they would embrace Dane with open arms since the only reason she'd make it there safely to begin with was because he'd saved her. A couple of times. Surely her family would hear their story and allow him to stay. And if they didn't, then she'd make them change their minds.

The outbreak had already taken so much from her. She wasn't about to let it take Dane away too. She'd fight for him if she had to, the same way he'd fought for her.

Chapter Eleven.

Dane was impressed Sara could keep up with his pace on the uneven and challenging terrain as well as she did. He was used to hiking in the area since he did it almost every weekend, but she wasn't; yet she kept putting one foot in front of the other with unyielding perseverance.

She was so much stronger than he'd originally thought when he'd found her hiding under a blanket in the back of her truck. That day felt like a lifetime ago.

They reached the lake as the sun started to set. The light, almost blinding in its beauty, twinkled along the water's surface. They didn't stop to watch, simply carried on. They still had to make it to the other side, then a little farther to the rendezvous point.

Once the sun disappeared fully, Dane realized they would have problems. The full moon from the night before was gone, replaced by a sliver of light in the sky. They pulled out the flashlights she had in her bag and used those, but even still, they only illuminated a small patch of ground. It was difficult to accurately judge the depth and distance of the rocks and logs they climbed over.

Two hours later, they'd made it to the other side of the lake, practically panting with exhaustion. The trek was infinitely harder in the dark than it had been when the sun was still up.

"I think we should stop here, eat, drink, and sleep for a while. We can get up again at first light and find the meeting place. We must be close now, right?"

"I think so. Let's get a fire started and then we can study the map."

They set to work making a camp in a small cl.u.s.ter of pines. The trees would help block out any wind or rain that might come up, but it was still open enough for them to light the fire safely. Dane got their cooking stove going while Sara looked in her bag for other useful items. When she pulled out shiny rectangles of tinfoil, he chuckled.

"Have any baked potatoes in there? I could really go for one with sour cream and bacon bits right now."

"These aren't for cooking, they're for sleeping." She opened one of the packages and unfolded a large silver sheet. "These blankets are supposed to help you retain your body heat. I thought maybe we could put one under us and the other one over us. Unless you'd rather wrap up in your own blanket."

"I don't mind sharing," he said. "Maybe we'll find other ways to increase our body heat, too."

"Not even the end of the world can inhibit a man's libido, can it?"

"Not mine. And thank G.o.d for that. Because that would be a world I wouldn't want to live in."

"It's good to know your priorities are sound."

They worked together to make a meal, which like earlier in the day was fast and tasty. As they ate, Sara unfolded the map in front of them, near the light of the cooking fire.

"I think if we go a little farther, we'll reach this old fire pit. That's our meeting place. I doubt anyone is still hanging around there waiting for me, but we still need to hit that location to get to the bunker."

"We should be able to find it easily after we're rested and there's more light. Then where do we go from there? If you don't mind me asking, of course." There was still a chance she could change her mind about telling him the exact location of the bunker. By the sound of her family, they'd planned ahead and no one would find their location without specific instructions.

Sara paused, putting her hand on his thigh. "I want you with me and that means you need to know where it is. I told you, I don't care what my family says. You're with me now and they can deal with it."

He nodded. "So where do we go?"

"Once we hit the fire pit, we head northwest into the hills for about half a mile. When we get to the big boulders, we're basically at the front door. It's hidden, but it's there."

"Sounds very Batcave-like."

"It is. You won't believe it."

He put their empty dinner dishes beside the cooking fire that was still burning to give them light, then settled back in beside Sara, drawing her close. "You know what I don't believe?"

"No," she whispered.

Dane cupped her jaw in his palm, his fingertips threading into her silky hair. "I don't believe how amazing you are. Every second I've known you, you've surprised me with your knowledge and planning for this unexpected moment."

"Except for my lack of knowledge about weapons, right?" she teased.

He smiled. "n.o.body's perfect. But you're pretty d.a.m.n close."

Dane kissed her. It didn't matter what was going on in the world or even what would happen in a few hours when he met her family at the bunker. The only thing that mattered was this moment, kissing Sara. Her sweet lips parted to invite him in. Her hands traveled across his stomach, leaving behind a wake of tingling nerve endings.

"Be with me. Here, in this moment."

"I thought you'd never ask." Sara pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on a log. He made quick work of his pants and boxers, pausing only long enough to realize he didn't have a condom with him. Or his wallet. He was basically naked, figuratively and literally.

"c.r.a.p," he muttered, sitting on the silver sheet Sara had put out earlier.

"What?" she asked while wiggling out of her panties and tossing them onto the rest of her already discarded clothes.

She stood before him, naked, silhouetted by the firelight behind her. The sight of her made his predicament even more painful.

"We can't."

"What do you mean?" Kneeling beside him on the blanket, she looked concerned. And hot. Holy s.h.i.t, the girl was hot. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were firm and perky; her nipples already budded in the cool night air, as if teasing him. What he wouldn't give right now to suck one into his mouth. d.a.m.n he wanted to be with her. But he couldn't.

"I left the cabin without anything. No extra clothes, no wallet...no condoms. I know it's a survival kind of situation out here so modern conveniences might not be available, but do we really want to risk bringing a child into that? So we can't."

Sara c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at him, her expression cunning and sultry at the same time. She didn't speak, simply grabbed her backpack and started rooting around inside of it. A second later, she held a square packet in her palm.

"I always come prepared." She offered him her treasure, which he eagerly accepted.

"Yes, you do. And you shall be greatly rewarded for your preparedness."

Dane kissed his way to Sara's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, teasing them into even harder peaks, then continued down along her stomach. When he got to the junction of her thighs, he stayed put until she quivered beneath his mouth and called out his name. His name had never sounded so awesome before.

When he finally thrust into her, he kept his pace slow, taking the time to enjoy every sensation she offered his body. As far as he was concerned, they could stay in this moment forever and he'd die a happy man.

Dane woke with a kink in his neck. He shifted his head only to find a rock poking him in the temple. He couldn't lie there any longer. He had to move and hopefully he could do it without waking Sara. She shifted slightly as he wormed his way out from underneath her, but quickly settled back into a peaceful sleep.

It had been easy to drift off on the hard ground after the lack of sleep they'd had in the last twenty-four hours, on top of all the exercise they'd done, hiking and otherwise. He'd love nothing more than to drift off into a dreamless sleep for another twelve hours or so, but that couldn't happen. He'd give Sara another few minutes to rest then they should get up and make the last leg of the trip.

Dane left the cl.u.s.ter of pines still lit by their fire and let his eyes adjust to the darkness beyond them. He wandered a few feet from camp. While relieving his bladder onto a bush, he peered around in the darkness, trying to make out the difference between the hills and the valleys in the dark. But everything looked like dark on more dark.

Everything except the grouping of tiny lights, twinkling and swirling, from back the way they'd come earlier. He cursed. The movement of light wasn't that of anything natural. Nope. It was the movement of flashlights climbing over the rough trail, practically following their footprints.

He bolted back to camp, waking Sara quickly with a gentle shake. "Get up. Get dressed."

Dane pulled on his own clothes and shoes while Sara struggled into hers, clearly still in a sleepy fog. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I was wrong. We were followed. By the looks of the lights, there are at least three of them. Possibly more."

Fear flashed across her face. "I can't let them find the bunker, but where else can we go?"

Dane gripped her shoulders. "You're going to the bunker, now, in the dark, alone. I'm going to take the flashlights and head back toward the cabin around the other side of the lake. Hopefully they'll think we're going back and will follow me."

"No. I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, you are. We both can't make it to the bunker with them following us. You said it yourself. We can't let them find it. This is the only way."

"No!" Her voice broke. "Don't leave me. Come with me. We'll fight them together."

"You're a much better fighter than you were a few days ago, but look at what happened with the guy at the cabin. I didn't even kill him and you looked at me like a monster. I'm going to have to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, even if that means taking them down. Permanently. I'm not sure you can do the same."

Dane kissed her, wishing he could imprint the memory of her lips on his. He wished more than anything that he could take her all the way to the bunker, but he couldn't.

He pulled away and grabbed the flashlights. He shouldered his guns and his bow and forced her to do the same, ignoring the tears on her cheeks.

"I'll fight. I promise, just stay." She pleaded. He wanted to give in. "I won't let you go without me. I won't lose you."

He racked his brain trying to come up with some solution that would save them both. "Okay. Here's what we'll do. You go in the dark to the fire pit and wait for me for a couple of hours. I'll lead them away from the location and try to take them out so they can't follow us again. Then I'll double back to you."

She nodded, wiping away her tears. "Promise you'll come."

"I'll do whatever I can to get to you. But you have to promise me something, too."

"What?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"If I don't come by the time the sun is high, you go without me."

"No."

"Yes, it's the only way." He pulled a handgun from her bag and shoved it into the waistband of her jeans. "Keep this close, just in case."

He kissed her again. This time it felt like good-bye. "Now go. We don't have time to fight about this. I'll meet you later at the fire pit."

He waited long enough to watch her stumble off into the darkness, weighed down by her heavy gear and weapons. Dane hated that his last words to Sara were a lie, but he didn't see any other option.

Flicking on his two flashlights, he started off in the other direction hoping to see the lights behind him follow.

They did.

Chapter Twelve.

Sara paced around the circ.u.mference of the fire pit. Again. It was only her sixteenth lap. Other than her footprints in the dry dirt, there was no sign that anyone or anything had been here before her. Her family either hadn't come through the dirt or hadn't been here at all yet. She had a sinking feeling she was on her own. Except for Dane. Wherever he was.

How long had she been there already? How much longer should she wait for Dane to come? It wasn't yet daylight; the stars were still out and twinkling.

What would she do when she was done waiting?

She stopped walking at the sound of a noise in the bushes. A figure stepped out of the darkness from between the trees, but it wasn't Dane.

Sara instantly recognized the short man from a few days earlier, one of the initial scouts who'd come to the house. The one who'd originally been hiding in the tree line while the tall one got her to open the door.

If only she'd been smarter that day and not made any noise. Not opened the door. Maybe they would have gone away and left them alone. Maybe they never would have learned that Dane had guns and ammo.

"All alone today," the man asked, coming into the clearing around the fire pit.

"I could ask you the same question."