Read Road's End: Apocalypse Riders for Free Online Page B

time. The barn was empty except for scattered piles of straw. They looked like the most comfortable place we'd seen to sleep in days.
    He quickly lit a tiny fire going in the center of the room. It was too dark to see anything, but he expertly used some papers and matches from his bags to get it started, then added hay from around the barn. It bathed the huge space in dim, dancing light.
    Usually he released my wrists for a little while - just to eat and wash up. Just until he would need to sleep. He’d been ignoring me since we’d stepped inside, though. "We're running out of food," I said. At least the rain would fill his canteens. He'd managed to kill a bird or two as we traveled, but not enough to feed us if the cans ran out. And despite finding a few here and there as we traveled, we were almost out.
    "Gas, too. I'll deal with that tomorrow. There's something else we have to do tonight." My heart skipped a beat. That couldn't mean anything good. "Sit down. Take your pants off."
    "What? No!"
    His lip curled. "You still think I want to hurt you? You still don't trust me." I clenched my jaw shut. "I'm not going to fuck you." He spat the words out. "I'm just going to mark your hip."
    I blinked. "What? Like a tattoo?"
    He nodded and crouched by the fire. Wearing one heavy glove, he held something into the flames. "More like a burn, since I have no ink. But the mark will buy you help from any of my brothers if we get separated."
    "Brothers? Devil’s Ashes?" This sounded more like branding than marking.
    "Yes. With the mark and my name - my real name - it’s like having the club password. They'll take care of you."
    "Yeah? And will they refuse to let me go, too? Are you sure this doesn't just make me your livestock?"
    He glared at me. The fire danced in his eyes. "Low blow, Josie. I'm not a monster. Now sit the fuck down."
    "I don't want it."
    "I don't care. I'm protecting you now, and this is part of it." He sighed. "Don't make me force you, Josie. I really don't want to, but I will."
    Finally, slowly, I removed my pants. The underwear stayed, of course, but still my heart beat fast and hard in my ears. I felt way too exposed. I folded the ratty old jeans and used them as a barrier between my ass and the hay as I sat on a small bale nearby. My hands shook; I did not want this. It would hurt and it would scar; I had enough pain and scars for a lifetime already.
    I flinched as Adam leaned over with the needle. "Hey." He rested a hand in my arm and I flinched again. A looked crossed his face. Hurt? He's holding me captive and he's hurt that I'm afraid? "It only burns for a minute. It fades fast. Promise."
    I gasped when he pressed the red hot needle against the skin on my hip. It hissed. "You bastard."
    "I'm sorry." He made a small line before he had to turn back and reheat the bit of metal. I cringed again when he laid it against my skin.
    We didn't speak as he worked. I watched at first as he formed a letter, taking care to make the lines straight and neat. “D” was the first to appear. The smell of my own burning flesh filled my nose, but he was right - the pain did fade to a dull ache pretty quickly.
    And something else was happening. He was working close to my underwear, and he came dangerously close to brushing against me there as he stretched my skin taut for his needle.
    The pain should have dulled whatever arousal his proximity might cause, but it didn't. Not at all. My lips parted as I tried to ignore the growing heat between my legs, tried to slow my breathing, but it was no good. Adam and his fucked up branding session was turning me on.
    Maybe he won't notice. My hips twitched when he touched me; I hoped he would assume it was in anticipation of the burns. But I gave myself away. When he looked up at my face, I blushed.
    "Shit, Josie. You're going to drive me crazy."
    "I don't know what you're talking about." I wanted to sound more offended, but I breathed the words, and licked my lips. My denial was downright