The Day After Never - Covenant (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 3) by Russell Blake Page B

unfamiliar to a man who took what he wanted and was accustomed to having his orders followed without question.
    Ben adjusted his hat. “You’re welcome. Let me show you to the well.”
    Cano and Ben continued their contentious discussion as the men filled their containers, but ultimately parted ways with a handshake and a new agreement for cooperation between the Apaches and the Crew. The price would be high, but worth it, Cano believed – he just hoped Magnus would agree when he broke the news about what he’d negotiated.
    Twenty minutes later they were riding north, Sammy at the head of the procession, with brimming canteens and watered horses. Cano’s mind was racing as he considered how close he’d come to catching his quarry, and he cursed the patrol’s decision not to ride all night, which would have cut the woman’s lead time to half a day – one that could have been covered at a gallop if the horses didn’t have to go any further.
    From behind, Luis called out to Cano, who’d filled them in on the near miss as well as confirming their destination. “You going to bushwhack them in Albuquerque?”
    “Magnus will arrange something,” replied Cano curtly.
    Irritated, Luis stiffened, but he held his tongue. He filed away the dismissive snub with the litany of resentments he had accumulated, and slowed to give Cano’s horse some space, cursing Cano with each hoofbeat but secretly delighted that the woman had managed to cause the bastard such distress. Luis debated twisting the knife with another remark, but thought better of it.
    No, better to let it fester in Cano’s guts and savor the man’s visible annoyance.
     

Chapter 17
    After thirty-six hours of hard riding with only infrequent breaks to rest, Tarak stood by his horse and pointed at the orange blaze in the near distance, where the setting sun reflected off the glass of high-rises at Albuquerque Plaza.
    “There it is,” Tarak said.
    “We’ll make camp here,” Lucas said. They were on the bank of the Rio Grande, whose brown water flowed lazily south. There was plenty of grass for the horses in the deserted valley outside the city limits, and no signs of human inhabitants. Around them the ruins of homes and industrial buildings stretched as far as he could see, casualties of the collapse and the ensuing mayhem. Now the area was a ghost town, victim of countless fires that had blazed unfettered with nobody to extinguish them. The overall mood of the place was funereal, as though the spirits of the dead still lingered, reluctant to pass into the next world, their circumstance unbelievable in a former land of plenty.
    Ruby helped Sierra unpack the horses while Lucas checked Colt’s wound, which had grown worse on the ride. He was conscious and relatively alert, but the discoloration was ominous; his skin tone was slack and pallid, his temperature high, and his thirst constant.
    “Not going to win any beauty contests, huh?” Colt said as Lucas studied the leg.
    “Probably going to have to shelve the marathon, too,” Lucas said. “Let’s ride into town and find a medic.”
    “You think they’ll be able to do anything for me?”
    “Ben recommended antibiotics. Makes sense.”
    “Be dark pretty soon.”
    “Then we better get going. Tarak, you want to help me get him into town?”
    “Sure. I need to find a radio and check in with my headquarters – let them know we got this far.”
    Lucas blotted sweat from his brow with a dirty bandanna and adjusted his hat. “Take one side and let’s get him on his horse.”
    Tarak assisted, and Lucas called out to the women as he climbed into the saddle. “Keep your weapons close. Treat anything you see as a threat. I’ll be back soon as I can.”
    Sierra approached him and took his hand. “Be careful, Lucas.”
    “Not like I’m going into hell, Sierra. I’ve been worse places.”
    “Still…watch your back.”
    Lucas nodded and pressed Tango forward. Sierra’s hand slipped from his, and Colt