A Time to Kill Zombies

by Jill James

  A Time to Kill Zombies

  (Time of Zombies, Book 3)

  Jill James

  Also in Time of Zombies series

  Love in the Time of Zombies

  The Zombie Hunter’s Wife

  Visit Jill James at:

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  Jill James Writes

  Published by Gray Sweater Press

  Copyright © June 2016 by Jill James

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention.

  Cover Art designed by Elaina Lee of For The Muse Design

  This book is dedicated to my family, who make it possible for me to sit at my desk each day and bring imaginary characters to life.

  Blurb:

  Lila Sterling lied to protect the man she loved, but denied him his daughter in the process. Commander Jack Canida will brave the apocalyptic wasteland of California to find the daughter he’s lost. Together, they will save their daughter, their lost love, and create a family in the time of zombies.

  Contents

  Title Table of Contents Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Epilogue Dear Reader Letter Other books by Jill James Author links

  Chapter One

  Jack and Lila

  Outside the RV Yard

  Oakley, California

  Spring, 1 AZ (After Zombies)

  A warm breeze blew the lone tumbleweed down the middle of the road. Lila Sterling Morales gathered her tattered rags with hands that shook like it was the middle of winter. Her vision swam in and out of focus, gray fog hovering on the edges. It hurt to think.

  Had she eaten today? Or had it been yesterday. The days clumped together in a montage of starvation and abuse. Relentless. Day after day after day.

  She shuddered and dragged her mind away from her husband, Juan. That way led to madness and despair. A cough built in her throat. She covered her mouth as the moans of the undead echoed just beyond the dark, empty road in the backyards of what had once been suburbia. Her body shook as the cough wracked her too-thin body. Her other hand clutched at her ribs, praying they were bruised and not broken. She had no time to waste being injured. The thought of her daughter at the mercy of the evil and darkness in the world kept her going. She stumbled as a sharp rock tore open her bleeding foot. She slipped as her blood poured to the asphalt.

  Only have to get to the red line.

  The red line is safety.

  The line is my goal.

  The line divided safety and danger.

  Finally-dead zombie bodies littered the pavement where a red-painted line had been sprayed across the street. She’d made it. A deep breath and she grabbed her ribs on a groan. She glanced up at the walls of the RV yard and her steps quickened into a stumbling jog at the sound of human voices and a welcoming firelight seen through the gate. There was life. There were people.

  Her fingers tightened around the cold metal bars. She inhaled deeply and opened her mouth to scream. Nothing but a slight whistle of air passed her lips. She tried again.

  “Jack.” A whimpering whisper spilled from her tortured, dry throat. Her arms trembled as she shook the gate in feeble little movements. Not even enough to make them clang and get noticed.

  She had to find Jack. Her desperation aided to push strength into her voice. She could do this. She had to—for her daughter, for Selena.

  “Jack.” Her scream echoed across the yard and brought the welcome sound of pounding footsteps along with the unwelcome moans of the skinbags in the fields beyond her.

  “Jack,” she whispered, her hands locked on the gate the only thing keeping her standing. The commander rushed to the other side and gave the signal to Paul, his second-in-command. An eternity passed as the gate slowly rumbled open enough for her to stumble inside.

  All she saw was his face, his so familiar face as she fell into his arms. Her weight, slight as it was, carried them both to the asphalt.

  “Lila,” Jack whispered. “What happened?”

  “He took her,” she mumbled through the stinging pain of her split lips. “Juan took her.”

  “Juan took who?”

  She shook as Jack’s fingers cradled her head, his fingers brushing back what was left of her chopped off hair. His glance swept over her rags and the tears of anger spilled from her eyes. She didn’t need his pity, she needed his help. They were wasting time.

  “He took Selena. He ran away and took her. You have to get her back,” she yelled, grabbing handfuls of his shirt. She had to make him understand.

  “Lila, I told you. I’m not the law. He’s her father.”

  “He took her to be his whore.”

  Jack’s face whitened and he squeezed her to his chest. “Even so, I can’t do anything. It isn’t my place. I have to take care of my people here.”

  “She’s your responsibility, Jack. She’s your daughter, mine and yours, not Juan’s.”

  Everyone started talking at once, but she tuned them all out. Her focus was solely on Jack, who looked like a lightning bolt had hit him. His grip tightened and her sore ribs ground together.

  “You’re hurting me,” she hissed out, tired of pain at the hands of men.

  He yanked his hands away as if she were a fire burning his skin. She would have fallen if they weren’t already on the ground. She deserved his look of disgust. She deserved all that and more. Whatever mental punishment he dealt out, she would take. Just as long as they went after her daughter.

  Their daughter.

  * * *

  Jack’s hands clenched into fists as he looked down at the woman he thought he knew. Like a bucket of icy water drenched over his head, the anger and disgust disappeared as his gaze took in Lila’s too-thin body and the rags too torn to hide the bruises on her ribs and around her neck. His heart ached even when he didn’t want it to. He wanted to stay angry. He wanted to let the anger consume him and burn away any feelings he’d ever had for Lila Sterling.

  Hiding the fact he was Selena’s father for nine years was unforgivable, but no one deserved the fate life had dealt the woman he’d loved long ago. He’d wished misfortune on Lila many times over the years, but never this. Payback for being dumped wasn’t abuse and neglect. The thought of such a man having a little girl like Selena made his stomach roil and spasm.

  “I meant to tell you a thousand times after you found us,” she whispered, her words just above the sound of the soft breeze.

  “But you didn’t,” he said, his jaw locked and tight. He pulled himself up, taking Lila with him. His hands dropped away as a million thoughts and plans pulled him in separate directions. Shoving his hands over his buzz cut, he turned to his second-in-command.

  “We’re going through with our plans. This place is useless
now with the tainted well and the psychos down the road.”

  “The church is gone,” Lila spoke up. “The men left, taking their families with them. That’s when Juan left with Selena. He choked me, left me for dead.” Her voice faded away as a shaking hand touched her throat.

  Jack grasped her hands. “I have responsibilities here.”

  “Family comes first,” Paul butted in. The man moved closer and whispered. “You have to go after the girl. I can get the others to Ryde. I’ll have Suz and Josh with me,” mentioning his wife and her brother.

  His gaze took in the diminished group huddled around them. He sighed. The RV yard had been bustling with activity and people just a few short days ago. The sudden illness had taken a large group and taking down the turned had caused a few more deaths. In a day, half of them were dead or missing. He needed to hold the shattered group together. Order. Discipline. It kept their world together. It kept him together.

  Paul’s hand rested on his shoulder. “I know what you are thinking, Jack. We can get them to the next location. You need to find your daughter. We’ll be waiting for you down the river.”

  Like a load off his chest, he took a deep breath. The others would be safe with Paul as their leader, but he had another duty. He’d never shirked his duty in the army or the zombie apocalypse and he wasn’t about to start now.

  He held his hands up and faced the crowd. “Paul will lead the group to Ryde. You always have a choice. You can go elsewhere, but that is where Paul, Suz, and Josh are going. Safety lies in numbers. As you heard, the Fruitful Harvest Church is no more, but staying here is not an option. With the well gone, life is not sustainable here.”

  He looked over his shoulder to Lila. “I have my own mission, but God willing, I will see all of you in Ryde before summer’s end.”

  Seth Ripley walked up to them as the crowd scattered to gather their belongings. The man’s hands were slammed into his pockets.

  “Emily won’t go without Michelle. I’ve promised her I’ll wait ‘til daybreak, but we can’t leave with the rest of you.”

  Jack shook his hand, hardly noticing the ever-present glove hiding the man’s missing fingers. “I wish you well. Hopefully we will all meet again down the road.”

  Seth’s gaze swept over Lila in her tattered clothing. “Emily has some stuff she can’t wear right now. You’re welcome to it.”

  Lila looked up at Jack. “Go; get some clothes and a good pair of boots. As soon as I tell Paul what he needs to take and get my own stuff, we are out of here. The man already has a lead on us.”

  She wrapped her arms around Jack and squeezed. “Thank you.”

  He stood still, his hands at his sides. Holding his tongue before he said something he couldn’t take back, he stared as she walked with Seth.

  Thank you? Did she think this was a favor? This was his daughter they were talking about. He would die to get her back. Didn’t Lila know that?

  Okay, he’d been adamant before about not stepping on Juan’s fatherly rights, but the moment Lila had said she was his, his heart raced and pounded in his chest. Nothing would stop him from getting Selena and letting her know she was his.

  Chapter Two

  Selena

  Selena’s Journal

  Walnut Creek, California

  Spring, 1 AZ

  Daddy said I could have paper and pencil to write if I shut up. No. He isn’t daddy anymore. He said I have to call him Juan. Juan says my father is dead and he is stuck with me. I think mommy is dead too. She was lying on the ground and not moving when we left even though I yelled and yelled for her. I tried to ask about her but Juan hit me so hard I fell to the ground. I won’t ask again.

  She folded the paper into a tiny square and stuck it in the pocket of her knapsack. Her fingers shook as she tucked the pencil in the pocket and zipped it shut. Juan didn’t say he would read what she wrote, but it didn’t matter since she’d only written the truth. The worse he could do was kill her, and then she would be wherever her mom and unknown dad had gone. She wasn’t sure she believed in Heaven anymore.

  Sitting on a couch with an old lady who said she could call her Auntie, she looked around the room. Boards covered all the windows in the large apartment and the only light came from candles on all the flat surfaces. Big, dark-skinned men filled the room. The only sound was their mean laughter and the clicks of their guns as they loaded and unloaded them. Even with lots of ladies moving from kitchen to dining room. None of the women said anything, just brought food and drink to the men. Her nose wrinkled. This place was as bad as the church had been. The long hair and clothing that showed the boobs on the women seemed the only changes.

  She looked up to find Juan staring at her. He smiled a smile that didn’t seem like one at all. Not like the ones when she did her dance recitals or learned to ride without her training wheels on her bike.

  “How much do you think I can get for her?” he said to the older, gray-haired man at the table.

  The man looked her up and down in a way that made her skin crawl. His words to Juan were confusing and at the same time, not. As if she could almost understand what they were talking about if she was a little older.

  “Is she a virgin?”

  “Of course. She’s only nine. I kept a good eye on her. She’s still a little girl.”

  She whimpered and snuggled closer to the comfort of the one called Auntie.

  “Hush, chica. Don’t listen to the man-talk,” she whispered. “Most times it amounts to nothing.”

  A deep breath and her whimpers ceased. How well she knew that. How many times had the man she’d known as daddy told her they would go to Disneyland or some other exciting place and it never happened? How many nights had she heard her mother crying herself to sleep when Juan wasn’t home, even when the big Grandfather clock bonged twelve times in the middle of the night? That had been before the zombies came. Before the scariest night of her life, in their broken down car on the freeway. When Commander Jack and the other men saved them.

  She settled back against Auntie and bit her fingernails. Prayers hadn’t helped when Juan took them to the church people and she didn’t know whether they would help now, but she had to try.

  Shutting her eyes, Selena prayed with all her heart. Please God, save me. Let Commander Jack and the RV men find me. I won’t ask for anything ever again. Well, maybe for my mommy to be alive. Amen.

  As if a big weight had lifted off her shoulders, she inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Juan squatted in front of her. She squealed and pressed herself back into the couch. The man moved in closer and grabbed her arm and pulled.

  “What were you doing?”

  “Praying. Just praying,” she stammered out.

  He smiled that not-a-smile again and she shivered. “Prayers didn’t help before the Z virus and they sure as hell don’t help now.”

  She stumbled as Juan yanked her across the room to stand in front of the old man sitting at the table. Juan stood behind her and held her arms down at her sides. The man grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side.

  “Humph, she’s pretty enough. Some like blonde hair like hers,” he said, letting go of her face.

  His glare and bad breath had Selena looking at the dirty carpet and holding her breath. Juan’s hands loosened their tight grip and he shoved her back toward the couch. She rushed to sit back down and accept Auntie’s warm hug.

  “I’ll have Miguel send some messages over the radio. She’ll be off your hands in a couple of days. Not like we need another mouth to feed anyway,” the old man said as he pushed himself out of the chair with a huff and walked toward the back of the apartment.

  Juan stomped over to the couch and crossed his arms on his chest, glaring down at her. “Your puta of a mother deserved all she got and more. I just wish she could be here to see you sold to the highest bidder.”

  “Do not talk to the niña that way,” Auntie said, a quiver in her voice. “You should not disrespect the dead.”

 
; Juan raised his hand and Selena ducked. She’d never feared the man before. He’d never hit her before the Z virus. Before the church. Now, it was as if he wanted to make up for all the years of doing nothing mean. Auntie glared at him and the man stomped away, muttering under his breath. An arm wrapped around her and pulled her in close. “This is a terrible world, Selena. I will say a prayer for you and pray God gives you strength to survive.”

  She stared in the direction Juan had stomped off. Hot, angry tears flooded her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

  Oh, she would survive. She would survive until she was old enough and strong enough to choke the life out of Juan Morales just like he’d done to her mother. When she was done with him, she’d take care of the rest of the men too.

  Chapter Three

  Paul, Suz, and Josh

  Paul Luther’s Log

  Temporary Command of RV group

  On the road to new base

  Spring, 1 AZ (After Zombies)

  The RV yard is no longer inhabitable. Not my first choice of options, but still the right thing to do, our group has been splintered. Commander Canida and former member Lila Morales have gone in search of the child, Selena. We were forced to leave Seth Ripley and his wife, Emily at the compound. The woman was deep in her pregnancy and refused to leave without her friend, Michelle, Teddy, and the others still missing in action.

  Given temporary command of what is left of our group, we are headed to the Antioch Bridge and the waterways beyond. Final destination: Ryde, a small community on the river.

  Paul stood on the roof of a car, binoculars glued to his eyes. He swept the area. Wrecks sat on the bridge itself, but no sign of life or the undead. “Not yet,” he muttered under his breath. The bastards seemed to appear out of nowhere, as if they could sense fresh meat and hear the humans breathing.