Kneeling to retie his boot, Booker nodded. “Thank you, Desi.”
With the stare that belonged to a much older, world weary soul, Desi shrugged and turned her attention back to Sister Agnes.
That, Caitlin realized, was a child who had seen too much too young and would never be able to forget it.
Saying goodbye, they started back towards the gym’s double doors.
Caitlin laughed to herself. “Mister Booker.”
“Don’t,” he said. “Makes me feel like my dad.”
“Uh oh, is that a grey hair I see?”
“Stop it.”
* * * * * * *
The December days were short and frigid, which left little to be done about the outer perimeter. They’d managed to maintain most of the fencing left behind when the school had turned into a rescue shelter for locals, but the back half of the property was wide open—a section of the chain link having come down when the place was overrun.
Winter brought hard frosts and snows, and the soil was too hard to try digging into. The best they’d come up with were modified razor wire lines strung between standing fence posts.
It wouldn’t stop a herd, but a couple of Geeks would get too mangled to do much harm before one of the patrol shift could dispatch it.
Caitlin found herself staring at the rows of wire every evening, frustrated and unable to come up with a better solution.
But that didn’t stop her from trying.
“Don’t like having your ass hanging out either, huh?”
Caitlin gripped the inside of her arm tight as she turned to look at Seth.
“Not particularly,” she said, trying not to seem tense.
He smiled at her, completely at ease as he leaned against the windowsill.
“Can I be honest?” He looked to the hole in the fence. “It makes me really nervous.”
She didn’t know exactly what angle he was trying for, but she decided to wait and see.
“I mean, I trust the patrol teams,” Seth continued. “I know they’re good at their jobs. But they can’t be in a dozen places at once. And that razor wire doesn’t look too sturdy against more than a few rotters…”
He ran his hand through his black hair, sighing.
“I’m probably over thinking it, right?” He offered another self-deprecating smile. “My sister always told me I was a worry-wort.”
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as being too careful now,” Caitlin admitted. “You’re not wrong. The wire wouldn’t hold against more than four or five Geeks. But we haven’t seen too many around the last few days, so maybe…” She trailed off, not wanting to jinx them.
“I was thinking of putting myself on the next patrol shift,” Seth said. “Give myself a purpose for all these sleepless nights.”
Caitlin flattened her lips into a line. “You sure? It can be a daunting shift if you’re not prepared.”
He nodded. “I think I’ll manage. But I appreciate your concern.”
The last phrase was said in a lower octave and instinctively Caitlin took half a step back.
“Hey, y’all hungry?” Booker called as he came around the corner.
Seth straightened, but his expression was neutral as Booker approached.
With a wave and a nod, Booker greeted him. “How’s it goin’, Seth?”
“Oh, you know, same old, same old,” Seth said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “See you at dinner,” he told Caitlin before wandering off.
Once Seth was out of ear shot, Booker murmured, “I don’t think he likes me.”
“Seth’s…” Caitlin swallowed back her sharpened opinion. “Just Seth.”
She struggled with the words to explain herself, unsure of how to describe the sensation that something was not right about him.
She’d known immediately Jeremiah was a cruel, abusive man the second they’d stepped onto his land.
And she knew something was lurking beneath the surface of Seth’s pleasant façade.
She just couldn’t put her finger on it yet.
Booker leaned in. “You don’t like him.”
It wasn’t a question.
Caitlin looked up at him, thankful she didn’t always need evidence to convince Booker.
“He’s… Odd. But I can’t tell if he’s just a little too… familiar or if it’s something else.”
“Familiar,” Booker repeated. “He touch you inappropriately or—”
She shook her head. “No, no, not like that. He just… keeps popping up. I can’t tell if we’re just randomly bumping into each other or…”
“Or if he’s followin’ you.” Booker frowned. “Not to sound like I don’t believe you, but we ain’t exactly on a hundred acres of land here. I see the same people twenty times a mornin’.”
Caitlin sighed, nodding as she looked to her feet. “I know, I know. It’s not that strange. I guess I’m just… Extra sensitive.”
Ducking to press a kiss to her temple, Booker whispered, “If y’don’t like him, I ain’t gonna try t’change your mind. Learned my lesson on that a long time ago.”
She smiled up at him. “Only took me screaming at you in the middle of the woods once, huh?”
“That’s right,” he drawled, lowering to kiss her fully.
Mine.
It was all she could think as he slanted his mouth over hers.
No matter what, she knew where she belonged.
Pulling back, Caitlin toyed with the neckline of his grey sweatshirt.
“How about we call it an early night tonight and make use of that room we got all to ourselves?”
Booker grinned. “Anything you want, songbird. I’m yours.”
* * * * * * *
Tossing her head back, Caitlin moaned low in her throat.
“Christ, look at you,” Booker murmured, hands gripping her outer thighs tight enough to leave marks.
Pushing her hair off her damp neck, Caitlin rocked her hips as she rode him, making a show of it to really get him going.
She loved nights like this. Putting Booker on his back, telling him just how she wanted to feel him, taking her time as she lifted up and sank back down.
Any second now and he was going to start babbling—praising her, cursing under his breath, begging to see her come.
Cupping both breasts, she pinched her nipples and mewled as a shiver of delight ran through her.
“Cae…” Booker’s voice crackled with need.
“Told me you were mine,” she said, reaching down to rake her nails over his chest. “I’m just proving how much.”
His chuckle doubled into a groan as she swiveled her hips, grinding against him as she took him to the hilt.
“Fuck, darlin’,” he said, sliding his hands up to her waist, her ribs, the sides of her breasts. “Never in my life…”
Just as his thumbs began stroking her sensitive peaks, the liquid heat in her belly soured.
Another chill ran down her spine, and this time it spread until every inch of her pricked with suspicion.
“Booker…” She slowed her motions, glancing towards the door across from them. “Jack, stop.”
Immediately, he let go.
“What? What is it?” He asked, concern furrowing his brow.
Caitlin didn’t answer. Her pulse was too loud in her ears to hear anything, but she knew… Could sense it.
“Cae, talk to me,” Booker said, wrapping an arm loosely around her waist as he sat up.
She blinked. “I… I think someone was watching us,” she whispered.
Turning towards the narrow window in the door, Booker scowled. “Y’see somethin’?”
Shaking her head, she frowned. “No, but… I could feel it. Something wasn’t right, I…”
“Okay, s’alright,” he murmured, rubbing her back. “Hop up. I’ll go look.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said, climbing off his lap and grabbing her shirt.
Dressing hastily, they both stayed as quiet as possible while approaching
the door.
Twisting the lock, Booker opened the door only a fraction, arching his neck to see if anyone or anything was lingering in the hallway.
Pushing the door open wider, he glanced back at her.
“Don’t see nothin’,” he said. “They coulda ran off the second they saw you notice ‘em.”
Ducking under his arm to see for herself, Caitlin glowered at the dark corridor.
Empty and silent. No lights, no footsteps, no heavy breathing or undead groans.
She spun in a slow circle.
“Someone was watching us,” she said, throat tight. “I’m not crazy, I could feel it—”
“Shh, I know,” Booker said, reaching for her. “I believe you. But ain’t nothin’ out here to give us a clue as to who it was.”
Caitlin clenched her teeth.
She knew who it was. But she’d never have proof.
“C’mon,” Booker urged, guiding her back into their room.
Settling back onto their bed, Caitlin pulled her jeans off but kept her shirt on, and crawled under the sleeping bag.
Stripping, Booker joined her, but kept his touches PG rated as he kissed her forehead and ran a soothing hand over her knee.
“Sorry, I…” Caitlin shook her head. “I feel a little silly I ruined the moment now.”
“Don’t,” he said, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I believe you, songbird. Guess we better find a curtain or somethin’ for that window, huh?”
“Geeks roaming the earth and we still have to worry about toxic pervs running around,” she muttered, curling on her side as she laid down.
Facing her as he took the spot between the bed and the door, Booker wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, cradling her as she inched closer into his chest.
“Guess some things don’t change,” he said, tucking his chin to the top of her head.
Forcing her eyes closed, Caitlin focused on her breathing, on Booker’s heartbeat thrumming faintly in her ear.
She’d make it up to him in the morning, she decided.
In the light. When it would be easy to spot someone peeking into their room.
* * * * * * *
Greeting people as she passed, Caitlin headed for the teacher’s lounge—the room designated for elected official meetings. If no one was inside, she’d leave a note asking to speak to them.
About what yet she hadn’t decided.
She didn’t want to lodge a complaint, necessarily. She just needed to make someone else aware of the growing concern coiling in her gut every time she spotted Seth meandering through the halls or cafeteria.
David and Max were slowly making their way to Sister Agnes’ story time, Matilda toddling along in front of them, a hand in each of theirs.
“Look who it is, Maddie,” Max cooed. “Auntie Caitlin.”
She beamed, waving at the little girl. “Hi sweetie, look at you walking!”
“Soon she’ll be running,” David said with a sigh. “And then climbing. And then I’ll never get a moment’s peace ever again.”
Max shushed him. “At least she’s got my sense of balance.”
“And she’s also got your reckless nature.”
Slipping her hands into her back pockets, Caitlin smirked at the men.
“You two are definitely married,” she said. “And definitely parents.”
Max chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Just before they passed her, Caitlin jerked her chin at Max and asked, “Actually, can I talk to you about something? It won’t take long.”
“Sure,” he said, giving David a knowing look as he slid Matilda’s little fist into his hand.
Stepping over to the side of the corridor, Caitlin folded her arms and leaned a shoulder into the wall.
“You look very serious,” Max commented.
Caitlin tried to smile but it felt like a wince.
“How much do you know about Seth?”
Max frowned. “Seth… From the Iowa camp?”
“Yeah.”
“Not much,” he admitted. “I’ve only talked to him a handful of times. He was helping set up camp back in Oklahoma. Seemed friendly enough. Courteous.”
When Caitlin shifted uncomfortably, Max took note.
“Why do I get the feeling you’ve had a much different experience?”
Pushing her hair off her forehead, she let her gaze drift to the dusty bulletin board nearby advertising the end of school year jamboree.
“He hasn’t… done anything,” she said finally. “Not really. He just keeps popping up, and making these comments like… he thinks he knows me.”
Max waited for her to continue.
“I don’t know, there’s something in his tone. It feels… like he’s trying to lull me into a false sense of security.”
“Is this another ‘Ted Bundy looked normal too’ kinda thing?”
She smiled briefly at the memory. “Maybe. I’m not sure. I feel ridiculous even bringing it up, but after last night…”
“Wait, what happened last night?”
Her cheeks burned.
“Um, well.” She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was within earshot. “Last night, Booker and I were… being intimate…”
Max’s eyebrows shot up for a moment before he regained his composure.
“And I felt someone watching us.”
Immediately, he went from mildly embarrassed to horrified.
“Seth was watching you two have sex?”
Caitlin started to shake her head. “I don’t know. I think. Maybe.”
“That’s an awful lot of uncertainty.”
“I know in my bones someone was outside our door,” she said. “But when we went to check, no one was out there. But I’ve run into Seth in the halls before—early morning, no one else around, and he’s just lingering in a doorway, not making a sound.”
“Huh. Well, that is a little disconcerting,” Max said. “Still, that doesn’t mean—”
“I know,” Caitlin cut in, sighing. “I just… Can’t get a read on this guy. It’s making me nervous.”
She looked over Max’s shoulder to where David and Matilda were still making their way to the library.
“Geeks aren’t the only things we have to worry about,” she added. “And I made a promise to myself I’d do whatever I could to keep people safe. They’re my responsibility.”
Max reached for her, gently placing a hand on her forearm.
“You’re not responsible for every person in this group, Caitlin. Why do you think we have an elected council? Voting? It’s to keep the burden off the shoulders of one individual.”
Blinking back the sting of tears threatening to build, she held his stare.
“Booker and I brought these people out of the Arks,” she whispered roughly. “They keep saying we rescued them, but really we just made them trade one hardship for another. What kind of person would I be if I just left them to the whims of fate?”
“You’d be a human being,” Max told her, compassion softening his features. “And let me take this moment to remind you, that because you broke into those Arks—making people trade ‘one hardship for another’—I have my husband and daughter back.”
A knot formed in Caitlin’s throat, and the more she tried to swallow it down, the firmer it lodged itself.
“We’ll never know which call is the right one,” Max continued. “But from where I’m standing, this decision feels pretty damn great. And I’m never going to hold you liable for what happens to us next.”
Overwhelmed, all she could do was nod.
Giving her wrist a squeeze, Max smiled. “Stop trying to appoint yourself as the Reject’s Atlas. Your energy is better used elsewhere.”
It was the kindest thing anyone had said to her in a long time.
“Thanks, Max,” she murmured.
At the end of the hall, David called out to them. “Better hurry, Papa! Maddie’s outpacing you by a mile!”
Chuckling, Max turned
and waved.
“Go,” Caitlin told him. “Thanks for… Well, everything.”
“Anytime.”
She watched him jog across the polished tile, rejoining his family.
Caitlin might not be Atlas, but she still held more responsibility than not.
She waited until Max, David, and Matilda were around the corner before she slipped into the teacher’s lounge.
Chapter Seven
The days passed in strange bursts.
A couple of days could feel like only a few hours, while a single day would feel like a lifetime.
Caitlin had taken to pulling out their weathered road map and tracing the lines with her fingertip, studying their next route until it was burned behind her irises.
Once they had more supplies for lodging—mattresses, cots, sleeping bags, pillows—they would be doing a sweep of the lower right corner of Colorado, looking for more survivors or another Ark.
They had their doubts there’d be a camp. Any evidence of an Ark to the west of them either didn’t exist or was months old, possibly from when camps migrated.
Remembering she hadn’t marked the last sign she’d left an X on, she pulled the red pen out from her bag and dotted the page.
Months since they’d left Arkansas and she still made sure to leave a trail for Jorge and the others.
Just in case, she told herself.
Despite everything, she still had hope.
As she folded the map to tuck back into her bag, the sounds of rapid footfalls echoed out in the hallway.
One… then two… three people ran by, all speaking in a hurried, panicked tone that was too low for her to decipher from behind wood and concrete.
Frowning, Caitlin jumped up, yanking open the door.
“What’s—”
Edward slowed just enough to motion at her.
“Rotters broke through the fence,” he said. “You got your weapon?”
“How many?” She asked, already stooping to grab her knife and revolver from her pack.
“I don’t know,” Edward called, still running towards the danger. “Alonzo said thirty or more.”
Caitlin’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach.
“Ed, where’s Booker?”
“Outside already!”
Shit.
Taking off at a sprint, Caitlin caught up to the others in seconds.
She bolted out of the side door like a punch, knife already in hand.
Bloody Sunset Page 7
