Homeless and hiding from his mother's abusive boyfriend, Davie -- along with his friend Grey -- accept an offer to move to a safe haven called the Encampment. Owned by Slade, and overseen by Maddox, and Ran, it's a well-protected site in the mountains for endangered street kids. Among the present residents is the very taciturn loner, Vin. To everyone's surprise, Davie and Vin become friends of a sort.<br><br>Soon after arriving, Davie discovers there is more to the Encampment than it appears at first glance when Ran, with Vin's help, begins training him in various forms of self-defense.<br><br>Davie finds out why when Slade sends him and Vin on an assignment to stop a vicious gang of slavers preying on homeless teens. From there things get interesting, to say the least, as the two young men try to survive while dealing with their growing attraction for each other.

The Encampment

“No clue,” Davie replied. “Hopefully not another tour of the fences. It looks like rain and it’s barely noon.”


“When you leave here, you can get a job on a ranch as the official fence inspector.”


“Yeah, right. That and taking care of the garden. Do ranches have gardens?”


They bantered some more about what life on a ranch would be like as they ate. Then, after doing the dishes, Davie took off.


When Ran let him in, Davie saw Slade seated in one of the armchairs and Vin on the sofa. Ran took the second armchair, leaving the other end of the sofa for Davie.


Slade directed his first words to Davie. “There’s a job that needs to be done and it’s up to you and Vin to carry it out.”


Nervous, Davie almost replied, “We need another garden?” Wisely, he refrained, only asking, “What sort of job?”


“A small group of men is preying on the homeless.”


“And this is new why?” Davie said dourly.


Chapter 19