Gray (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the man, and picked up Benjamin’s shirt, checking the pockets. She patted his jacket, too, and had him turn out his jeans pockets, then motioned Coral to stand.
    “Slowly,” said the man.
    Coral stood, her arms well out, and let the woman pat her down. Benjamin was still seated, pulling on his shirt and buttoning it.
    “Where’s your gear?” said the man.
    Benjamin said, “We don’t have much.”
    “I asked where it is,” said the man.
    Coral looked at him. “I’m Coral. That’s Benjamin. I know Kathy. What’s your name, though?”
    It took him a few seconds, but he finally said, “Martin.” He was younger than the woman, Coral thought, and despite a thick blond beard, looked no older than Coral herself.
    “Martin,” she acknowledged, as Kathy completed her pat-down and moved out of reach. “Well, Martin, we’ve lost gear twice. I’m sure you know this, but there are some dangerous people out there.”
    “We know it.”
    “I’m sure you’ve lost gear, too.”
    He shook his head.
    Why not? She tried to figure out a way to weasel more information from him, but she was trying to think of too much at once. Benjamin’s arm. Escaping another bad situation before it got worse. Where the rifle was. Where the hatchet was. What Benjamin was about to do, and what she should do to the woman if Benjamin made a move for the man. Go for her gun? Grab her to use as a shield?
    Kathy picked up their rifle and deftly unloaded it, tucking the ammo in her pocket.
    Another rifle lost. Coral was tired of this. She was tired of fighting other people. She was tired of the struggle to keep what was hers. And she was underfed and physically tired. “Look,” she said. “If you take my fishing gear, too—pitiful as it is—we’re going to die. We’re damned close to it now. So if you plan to do that, just put a bullet in my brain now, would you?”
    The woman shook her head. “We’re not going to kill you.”
    “Nor will I be used as a whore,” said Coral.
    Kathy’s eyebrows shot up, as if she’d never heard of such a thing. “We wouldn’t do that, either.”
    “Huh,” Coral said, making her skepticism clear in her tone.
    “We’re—” Kathy looked at Martin. “We’ll talk about it later. We need to get going, Martin. Light’s fading.”
    “Yeah,” Martin said. “Where’s your other gear? You need to bring it along.”
    Benjamin was thinking over the situation, weighing his chances. Coral could almost read his mind as he decided there was nothing to do but go along with these people. “In there,” he finally said, nodding his head toward entrance to the snow cave. He was cradling his bad arm by the elbow.
    While Kathy crawled into the snow cave and began pitching their gear out, Coral exchanged a look with Benjamin. He shrugged.
    “I know,” she said, agreeing that for now, their best option was to cooperate. “Is your arm that bad?”
    “It’s fine,” he said, letting it drop to his side, but slowly. She could tell it was tender.
    She turned to Martin. “Can I make him a sling with that shirt hanging over there?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “Thank you,” she said. She had to tie the shirt around herself first to figure out how to convert it to a sling, and then, with another nod of permission from Martin, she went to Benjamin and slipped it around his neck.
    “I don’t need it,” he grumbled.
    “I know,” she said, but she kept adjusting the sling for his height. “There. Try walking a few steps.”
    Martin’s rifle, which had sagged, came back up.
    Grimacing, Benjamin walked a few steps, turned around, and walked back. “It’s fine, but—”
    “I know. You don’t need it,” said Coral. “So you’ll humor me by wearing it, so I don’t throw a tantrum.”
    That earned her half a smile. It made her feel better, despite the situation they were in with these strangers.
    She looked at Martin. “Can I roll up my sleeping bag, or are you going to take that away from me, too?” Kathy