The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 74

Sneaking out of the saviors outpost had been easy. Almost a little too easy. Daryl had simply waited for the guard on duty to walk around the side of the building. Then he had taken off for the row of vehicles they kept parked along the west side of the building. The last bit of sunlight had already faded in the sky, leaving only trails of orange and red along the horizon.

Daryl chose the smallest and lightest motorcycle. It wasn't the one he normally would have preferred to ride. But the engine was the quietest. And as he was going to have to push it and possibly carry it to get it far enough away from the outpost that no one would hear him fire it up, practicality won out over his personal preference for larger heavier bikes.

He hurried along the edge of the road. He knew he probably could have fired the bike up much sooner. But he was erring on the side of caution. He walked it out at least a mile before he revved the engine up and took off towards the meeting point.

His heart was pounding as he pulled his bike into the empty lot. He didn't have any way to keep track of the time. So there was a chance he might be early. He told himself that he was probably early. Maybe Katie was on her way. Daryl fished a half smashed pack of cigarettes out of his pants pocket and lit up a smoke. He got about two puffs on it before Katie showed up. Her voice came with the audible cock of her gun.

"What in the fuck is going on," Katie hissed.

Daryl turned and put his hands up. His cigarette was still lit and a small trail of smoke rose from it. Katie had her gun pointed at him. Her eyes were narrowed into angry slits. She looked ready to shoot him before he even got a chance to answer her question.

"You and your friends left, then you sent your fucking goons here to shake us down," she accused. Katie moved a step closer, almost shoving her gun straight into Daryl's face. "What the hell do you want from me now?"

Daryl forced himself to take a slow even breath. He forgot how much he hated this woman. And he was seriously considering snatching the gun out of her hands and pistol whipping her across the face with it. But instead he reminded himself of the reason he had asked her to meet him here. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He wanted her help.

"Those goons aren't my people. They have Rowan. I'm trying to get her back," he said. Daryl's hands were clenched into fists. He moved forward. Katie's gun was only inches from his face when he spoke again. "Now get that fuckin' glock outta my face!"

Katie didn't put her gun away. But she did lower it. She ran her fingers through her short crop of fluffy blonde hair and she cursed under her breath. Daryl was partially responsible for Katie's sister's death. Amanda had deserved everything that happened to her. She deserved to die. But Katie still loved the woman despite her faults. It was hard to look at Daryl and not be angry. It was hard not to blame him.

"That still doesn't explain what you want from me now," Katie said, repeating her question.

"That has to do with what Robin said to your people when they wanted to kill you for what happened there," Daryl explained, "...when she said that 5 or ten good people are always stronger than one bad one."

"The saviors are a lot more than one bad person," Katie responded.

"That's why it's going to take all of us to stop them."

Daryl pretended not to notice when Katie finally tucked her gun away in her holster. He could see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyebrows were knitted together as she considered Daryl's words. She adjusted her hair, unconsciously moving it forward on one side to cover the angry red scars on her face. The worst was the one closest to her eye. From the position of it, she was lucky she didn't lose her sight in that eye. The scratches had warped the skin in that area, making the corner of that eye droop down. It gave the two sides of her face an uneven unappealing look to them. And it was really unfortunate. Because it was obvious that before she had been mauled she had been quite beautiful. Her lips were full and her eyes were a clear sky blue. Daryl wondered if Katie's face getting trashed had really been the accident her sister had pretended it was.

Daryl pulled a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket and handed it to her. Katie took it, looking at the item with curiosity.

"Directions to Alexandria," Daryl explained, "ask for Deanna or Rick."

Katie parted her lips to speak. But no noise came out. Her body went suddenly tense again. Daryl froze, listening for anything that sounded out of place.

"You stupid asshole," she cursed, "You were fucking followed here."

Before Daryl could turn and start looking around for the source of Katie's suspicions she grabbed him and smashed her lips against his. Then she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her full breasts against his chest.

"What in the fuck," Daryl hissed. He started grabbing for her arms, trying to pull her off him.

"Don't be stupid," she whispered back, "you are going to need an explanation for why you are out here. Unless you want to get us both killed you better play along."

Daryl groaned in frustration. He hadn't heard anything that would indicate he had been followed. But he believed Katie. And the saviors weren't stupid. Letting him sneak out and then following him to see what he was doing seemed like something they would do.

Katie pressed her lips against his again and this time he tilted his head down and kissed her back. Like he had been since he arrived at the Sanctuary, Daryl tried to think about what his brother would do in this situation. He immediately regretted this when a flood of pornographic images invaded his mind. Pretending to be Merle in this situation was not going to work for him. But if they were being watched he figured he better at least make what they were doing look believable.

Katie was muscular and thin through the waist. But in contrast to that, she had curvy hips and breasts that looked too big for her small frame. Daryl reached up, putting his hand over one of her breasts and squeezing. She bit down on his lower lip, making him wince. He could taste blood in his mouth. Guess she didn't like that. He moved his hands down and gripped her by her thighs, lifting her up so that she had to wrap her legs around his waist to keep from tipping backwards onto the pavement.

"The station wagon in the corner of the lot is mine," Katie told him before whispering into his ear, "If you put your dick anywhere near me I swear I will rip it off."

Daryl chuckled under his breath and headed for the car she had indicated was hers. He put Katie down so she could open the back hatch.

"Keep laughing asshole and I'll tell your wife about this," Katie threatened.

This only made Daryl laugh harder as he climbed into the back of the car after her. Katie leaned over the seat and rolled the back windows down to let some fresh air into the car. She had parked her car between two long abandoned delivery vans which thankfully blocked most of the view that whoever was watching might have of the car. The backseats were already collapsed, leaving them enough room to lay down even if they couldn't stretch out completely. Daryl used his legs, kicking the hatch door enough to make the car move. Now Katie was the one trying to hold back laughter.

"That's why I don't sleep with men anymore," she snorted.

"Anymore?," Daryl asked as he toned down the amount of force he was using to move the car.

"I was married back before the turn. Had a little boy too. A little farmhouse with a white fence and shit." Katie paused, deciding if she wanted to reveal anything more. "My husband was a gentle soul. When the turn happened he couldn't handle it. He hung himself in our stairwell."

Daryl stopped moving his feet. Katie didn't tell him what happened to her son. But as he hadn't seen the kid around anywhere he could only guess the boy was dead. Daryl reached over and placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Mmsorry," he whispered.

There was really nothing else to say. They had all lost someone. And most people had lost everything. But the mention of Katie's child had him thinking about his own baby. He loved Rowan and their baby so much that even the thought of losing either of them made him physically ill.

"How long do you think we need to stay in here," Katie asked. Her voice was back to normal now, the brief moment of vulnerability gone.

Daryl shrugged and fished out a cigarette. He lit it and took a long drag. Katie reached over and Daryl handed her his smoke. They passed it back and forth, filling the car with a cloud of blue grey smoke. When it was gone, Katie popped the hatch back open and climbed out. She made a big show of adjusting her clothes. Daryl climbed out behind her and did the same. Katie wrapped her arms around him and gave him one last kiss. This one felt different from the fake kisses they had shared next to his bike. Her lips felt softer and one of her hands rubbed over the soft stubble on the back of his head.

"Well if they don't kill you, maybe I'll see you again sometime," Katie said.

Daryl only nodded. He waited until she was behind the driver's seat of her car before he headed back for his bike. He could feel it now. What Katie must have felt earlier. There were eyes on him. He was being watched. Daryl knew he couldn't let on that he knew someone was there. He leaned on his bike and watched as Katie pulled her car out of the lot and headed back towards her home. Daryl pretended not to hear the quiet footsteps approaching him from behind. He didn't turn until he heard a gun cock.

"What the fuck man?," Daryl asked as he turned around to face his aggressor.

That long haired asshole was the one with the gun. Jared. But he wasn't of any concern to Daryl. Gavin was standing behind him with his arms crossed. Daryl's instinct was to stay cool and calm the situation down. But he wasn't himself at the moment. As far as the saviors were concerned he was his brother. Daryl whipped his own gun out and pointed it back into Jared's face.

"What the hell are you doing out here Merle?," Gavin asked.

They had rules. That's how they kept everyone in line. And rules were not to be broken. Gavin knew the rules had been clearly explained to this man. Because he explained them himself. Sneaking out after lockdown was against the rules. Taking a bike and using up the gas on an unapproved mission was against the rules. And while it wasn't specifically listed, meeting up with a woman from one of their tribute groups in the middle of the night was definitely against the rules.

"Is gettin' my dick wet fuckin' illegal now?," Daryl asked.

"It is when you are sneaking out and stealing Negan's bike to go do it," Gavin answered. His voice was laced with a hint of irritation. But Daryl didn't catch any real anger coming off the man.

"Yeah," Jared added, "I should shoot him dead right now."

"Not if I fucking shoot you first," Daryl spit back.

Gavin was not impressed with either of their behavior. He ordered both men to put their guns away. Daryl waited until Jared lowered his gun first, which he did with a lot of arguing and cursing. Then Daryl quietly lowered his own and put it back in the holster.

"There's women back at the outpost if you need to get your dick wet," Gavin said, bringing the conversation back to the point.

"None that look like that!," Daryl insisted, pointing in the direction that Katie had driven off in.

"Yeah, they all have a whole face," Jared snorted, laughing at his own bad joke.

Daryl surged forward and punched the taller man straight in his laughing mouth. The hit knocked Jared back a step. He lifted his hand and held it over his bleeding lip. Gavin stepped between them and pushed Daryl back. He got in Daryl's face and told him he better not do that again. Daryl could tell the normally calm and collected man was starting to get more than a little pissed off at him. He decided he better reign himself in. Daryl knew he could kill these two men and get away. But that would destroy all his plans. He couldn't get inside the Saviors compound unless they let him in. Daryl put his hands up with the palms facing out.

"I knew her back before the turn, okay," Daryl lied, "I just wanted a piece of ass and I didn't know it would turn into such a big fucking thing."

Gavin stepped closer, staring Daryl down. Daryl stared back, making direct eye contact with the man even though it made him slightly uncomfortable. Merle always had a bad habit of getting into people's personal space. So Daryl moved forward as he stared, forcing the older man to move back or bump chests with him.

"You are on kitchen duty for a week," Gavin announced, "...and if I ever catch you doing some stupid shit like this again I will kill you myself. You understand?"

Daryl nodded. He understood. And he wasn't going to take a risk like that again. He had done his part. Now he was going to have to trust Katie to do hers.