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

“That sounds better to me,” Vin replied. “As soon as my friend wakes up and I’m sure he’s okay, we might try it.”


“A punk decided he wanted to play tough guy. He didn’t know I was around. He took a swing at him with a baseball bat. My friend didn’t duck fast enough and got a blow to the head.” Vin chuckled low. “I got the bat away from the punk and after a couple of hits he saw the error of his ways, as they say, and beat it.”


“High five,” the first guy said and Davie heard the slap of hands. Then the guy said, “We’d better get out of here. It’s almost lunch time which—well I guess you know it’s good pickings out there if you get lucky.”


A moment later Davie heard the door close.


“I know you’re awake,” Vin said. “I could tell by your breathing.” The edge of the bed sank down as he sat. “How are you feeling?”


Opening his eyes, he saw Vin looking at him with a worried frown, so he said, “My head hurts, but I’m good.”


Chapter 41