Without Law 18 by Eric Vall (most difficult books to read .txt) 📗

“Yeah, we’re called the land of the free for a reason,” Anna said.

“I guess I forget that not everywhere has the freedoms we do,” Tara said quietly.

“It’s easy to forget when it’s so normal to us.” Paige nodded.

“It is,” Minji said with a small smile.

“You should stay here tonight,” I told Minji. “We’ll get you set up to stay on the ship tomorrow.”

“That’s fine with me,” she agreed.

“How about something to eat, then?” Tara asked. “I’m starved.”

“Whoa, now,” Anna teased. “You’re starting to sound like Paige.”

“Hey!” Paige said, and she swatted Anna playfully.

“I don’t know if you’re saying Paige sounds like a pregnant lady, or…” Tara thought for a moment. “No, I feel like that’s pretty much what you’re saying.”

Paige glared at her, but Tara just smiled, blew her a kiss, and headed to gather some supplies for dinner.

“She’s not gonna be laughing when she’s the one with the giant belly,” Paige grumbled after Tara had walked away.

“I heard that!” the platinum-blonde called.

“She’s like a frickin’ bat,” Paige said, and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

“A bat?” Bailey asked.

“Yeah, they have really good hearing,” Paige explained.

“Right, right,” Bailey said, and she nodded and looked back toward the fire.

“It’s a thing,” Paige said. “They have good hearing!”

“Nobody’s arguing with you,” Anna said.

It was clear Bailey and Anna were messing around with her at that point, but Paige only fed into it by spouting off several more bat facts before Bailey and Anna started cracking up laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Tara asked as she walked back over to the fire.

“Your friends seem to be picking on Paige,” Minji chuckled.

“Oooh, fun,” the platinum-blonde said with a grin.

“I’m done with all of you for the night,” Paige joked.

“Fine, then no dinner for you,” Tara teased back.

The girls continued to tease each other as Tara opened several cans of vegetables and put them all in a large pot, then she tossed in some seasonings and set it on the fire.

It wasn’t long before the wonderful aroma of Tara’s cooking filled the air, and I felt my stomach grumble in response. Once again, we’d forgotten to eat lunch that day, and I inwardly scolded myself for not reminding everyone to eat.

It was important to keep our strength up, and at the very least we all needed to be drinking plenty of water, especially Tara. The platinum-blonde shouldn’t be skipping meals at all, and I made a mental note to have her pack extra food in her go bag so she could snack whenever she felt like it. We had plenty of supplies, and my first and foremost priority right then was making sure she and the baby were okay.

Once dinner was finished, I ate my stew quickly, then I headed to the tent to get ready for bed. We hadn’t gotten as much done that day as I’d hoped, and tomorrow wasn’t going to be the same way. I wanted a full tally of all our supplies, the ship completely clean, and our plan underway. We had information on Boston troops, now all we had to do was use it.

I woke the next morning before dawn, got a fire going, and gathered the supplies to make some coffee.

“Does Tara know about this?” Ben asked as he walked over to the fire. It was still dark out, and his metal leg reflected the firelight as he walked.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” I chuckled.

“As long as I get some coffee out of it.” He smiled and sat down.

“Deal,” I told him, and I set the pot of water on the fire.

I wasn’t going to make breakfast for everyone, instead I pulled out some of Betty’s homemade granola bars for us to eat. Once everyone was up, I wanted to head back to the ship as soon as possible.

“Feels good to be back in the field, doesn’t it,” Ben said as we sat and waited for the water to boil.

“Feels like I never left,” I chuckled.

“Yeah.” Ben nodded. “Once a military man, always a military man.”

“Most of the time, at least,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah, that hair of yours isn’t exactly regulation,” Ben laughed.

My hair wasn’t long, but it definitely wasn’t military short, and my beard certainly wouldn’t have been acceptable.

“Not all of us like a buzz cut,” I joked with a point at Ben’s immaculate hair.

“You jealous?” he teased.

“Absolutely,” I said with a sarcastic smile.

Once the water was boiling, I poured in the coffee grounds, and we watched as they bubbled up to the surface and all around the pot. The water quickly turned a deep brown color, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the air.

“Mmm, is that coffee I smell?” Paige asked as she stepped out of the tent.

“It sure is,” I said with a smile.

“Did you make it?” Tara asked as she stepped out behind Paige.

“Ben did,” I lied.

“I guess I’ll accept that,” the platinum-blonde said. “His wasn’t terrible last time.”

“I hope it won’t be terrible this time, either,” Ben said, and he shot me a discreet smile.

The girls all made their way to the fire and took their seats so they could warm their hands and feet. After the coffee was finished, I poured us all cups and passed them around.

“Mmm, it smells so good,” Bailey said as she breathed in the steam from her cup.

“I’m glad you think so,” Ben chuckled. “I like to think I did a good job.”

I had to bite my cheek to stifle a laugh. The pilot was running with this bit, and he was going to accept either the blame or the praise, regardless of the fact that he’d actually done nothing.

“Mmm, it is good,” Tara said after she took