It was too bad he hadn’t taken my advice. Hopefully, he still would.
Tom was the first one to wake. He strode out of the back room yawning as he made his way toward the window.
“Anything to report?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, pointing at the window. “It’s just flurries.”
“What?” Tom said smiling. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”
I rolled my eyes. “Because it just started happening.” I sighed and shook my head. “Nothing says it isn’t going to start back up again.”
“Maybe, but none of the others have worked that way. They’d stick around for a bit, do their damage and then vanish.” Tom pointed at the window. “This shit is on its way out and that means we need to make our final preparations.”
“I thought that’s what we did yesterday?” I said turning slightly when I heard someone moving behind us.
Bronx had pushed himself to a seated position and was watching Tom and me.
“We need to check the houses. Make sure we have everything we need,” Tom said.
“We have everything we need,” I said crossing my arms as I glanced at the bags. “More than we can probably even carry.
“I have that figured out too,” Tom said. “We’re going to wrap them in a tarp, pull everything behind us. There’s no way we can leave all this behind.”
Tom tried not to let it show, but he was worried. It seemed like he was afraid we might never see any supplies again.
“You and Bronx will check out the far house, and Molly and Nick will check out the other,” Tom said.
“But there’s only one gun,” I said with a frown.
“Sorry about that,” Tom said with a smirk, “but he’s trained.”
“How do you know I’m not?” I asked cocking my head to the side.
Tom looked down his nose at me and lowered his voice. “Please. Don’t forget I was at your grandma’s house too. You wanted me dead, I saw it in your eyes, but there was no way you were going to pull that trigger.”
I shook my head. “The only reason I didn’t was because of your son.”
“Right. Keep telling yourself that,” Tom said with a smirk. A terrible smirk that I wanted to slap right off his face. “Get something to eat. I’ll wake the others.”
Chapter 14
Even though the flakes had nearly stopped falling completely, Tom insisted we all go out in full gear. The fabric wrapped around my body was hot and it made me feel itchy, although I was sure it was better than having burns all over my skin.
It was weird walking through the piles of flakes. I thought it would be heavy and thick like snow, but my feet moved more easily than I would have thought.
I watched Molly and Nick as they trekked off toward one of the other houses. It was the house between the one Bronx, and I would be in and the new folks. If anything would go wrong, Tom had hoped that Nick would be aware.
I didn’t worry too much because I was trying to enjoy my time away from Tom. After our conversation this morning my nerves were all twisted into a tangled mess. The world had fallen apart around us, but even still, it would be better the further away from Tom I was.
“Maybe we should just keep going,” I said surprised the words had sneaked out of my mouth.
“What about Nick?” Bronx said.
“To hell with Nick,” I said.
Bronx chuckled. “I know you don’t mean that.”
“I kind of do.”
“Yeah but you kind of don’t.”
“He’s really pissing me off. I mean, the Blair thing. You saw Molly flirting with him, right?” I turned to him but didn’t wait for a response of any kind. “She was doing that right in front of Blair.”
Bronx let out a quick breath. “You know she has no idea that Nick and Blair are even a thing.”
“Were a thing,” I said. “I think he’s… Ugh. He’ll never change.”
“She’s going through some stuff,” Bronx said.
“Blair’s talking to you, but she won’t talk to Nick?”
Bronx looked at me. “Are you jealous?”
“I’m not. Should I be?”
“No. Never.” He faced forward again. “She didn’t say much. She’s afraid of what’s going to happen to her. What she’s going to look like.”
“Well, I wish she would tell that to Nick,” I said.
Bronx bumped into me slightly. “You can’t play matchmaker, you just have to let it go.”
I turned to him waiting to see if he was going to break out into song but he just looked back at me.
“I’m not being a matchmaker,” I said noting the grumpiness to my tone. “More like match-repairer.”
“Well, you can’t do that either.”
“I just wanted him to have changed.”
“Maybe he has. Give him a chance.”
I shook my head. “He’s going to screw it up.”
“Then you have to let him.” Bronx held out his hand to slow my walking down. I hadn’t even realized how fast I’d been moving my feet until I blinked and saw the house in front of me. “Let’s circle around. Check in the windows first.”
I nodded and followed him around the house. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Nick and Blair out of my head.
They were the last thing I wanted to be thinking about, yet I couldn’t help it. I wanted things to be different. I wanted Nick to be able to do the right thing when it came to Blair, but deep down, I wasn’t sure he was capable. He just wasn’t wired to know how to do relationships.
Not that I should talk. Dear God, I should definitely not talk.
When we made our way back to the back of the house, Bronx took another look into the window. I crossed my arms looking at the area around us. The flakes had completely stopped falling.
“Huh,” Bronx said pushing the door so hard it hit the wall behind it. “It’s open.”
“Hope that means no one is home,” I said, but when I drew in a breath, I knew I was wrong. The scent of death and decay was so strong I felt lightheaded. “Ugh.”
“Yeah, think they were home,” Bronx said. “And my guess is they’ve been here since the sky turned red. Stay here.”
Bronx closed the door and looked out of the small window before walking away. I heard each step he took in the empty house and then I heard a door close.
He stepped out from the hall brushing his hands together. “There, that should take care of it, a little bit anyway.”
“It’s better already,” I said raising my brows as I spotted a can of air freshener on the counter. I released a long steady stream into the air not stopping until I couldn’t smell anything any longer. “See?”
“A headache in a can,” Bronx said as I set the air freshener down on the counter. “Where should we start?”
“See if we can find backpacks?”
We spent a long time going through closets searching for bags, blankets, clothing and anything else that was on the piece of paper that Nina had given us. I pulled the fabric further down my face when I found a T-shirt that was my size. It smelled of fresh, floral laundry detergent. Something I hadn’t smelled in a while.
I started unwrapping my mummy-like fabric so that I could change my shirt.
“What are you doing?” Bronx asked.
“Changing,” I said with a little shrug.
“Why now? Just take it with us,” Bronx said wearing a little smile as he shook his head at me.
I chewed my lip. “But it smells so good.”
Half of my wrappings dropped to the floor and I turned my back. Before I could pull on the new shirt, cool hands were lightly gliding around my waist.
My body tensed and I shivered. But then, my body did something I hadn’t expected. I leaned back and relaxed into him.
“Mmm,” I said as his hands glided all over my exposed skin. Every inch of my body tingled and prickled with excitement. I smiled as I drew in a breath. “We can’t do this.”
“Are you
kidding?” Bronx said his voice so low it rumbled through my body. “We have to do this. When will we get another chance like this?”
“They’re waiting for us. Hell, what if they get worried and come here looking to see what’s taking us so long?”
“I like the way you think. Let’s make this take a long time,” Bronx said kissing down the side of my neck.
I shook my head and took a half-hearted step away. He turned me and pulled me closer. My breath felt as though it got stuck in my throat as I looked up into his eyes.
When our lips touched, I knew there was no turning back. I melted into him and let my desire overtake me.
My hands moved fast to unwrap him like a present I wanted more than anything on Christmas morning. When I finally got to his shirt, my fingers trembled as I peeled it off of him and pressed my palms to his warm, muscular flesh.
He pulled me closer, our skin pressed against one another. I could feel every single inch of his need and it made my heart pound against my chest. My breathing was rapid. I felt out of control… and I liked it. I needed it.
My hand darted down to his pants and undid the button. The pounding of my heart increased when I heard his pants hit the floor.
Bronx yanked my pants down in one quick motion before he wrapped his hands tightly just above my hips. He lifted me off of the ground and lowered me on top of the counter.
I wrapped my legs around him as he kissed down the front of my neck. He didn’t stop even when he got to the fabric of my bra. My head tipped back as he kissed my breast.
“Oh God,” I whispered. It was like my words floated right out of my mouth and into the air like white puffy clouds.
I gasped when Bronx pressed himself into me. He held my hips as he rocked into me so hard my brain tingled.
It was everything I had imagined and more. His hands felt as though they were everywhere. His lips igniting sparks of absolute bliss throughout my entire being.
I had never wanted anything more in my entire life than I had wanted Bronx at that moment. He was everything. He was my oxygen. My life.
“Jesus, Gwen,” he breathed into my ear.
I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding him even tighter. It felt that if I let go, I might be rocketed off of the planet and I didn’t want to be away from Bronx. Not now. Not ever.
We moved together in perfect harmony. Every muscle in my body tensed as we drove up the cliff of our pleasure.
When we reached the top, we dove down together, crashing into a pool of absolute and utter delight. My breathing was heavy and my heart pounded frantically inside my chest as I smiled at Bronx.
“Wow,” he said pressing his forehead to mine. “That was something.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” My cheeks tingled from the smile that was glued to my face. Suddenly my eyes widened. “Oh shit!”
I pressed my palms to his shoulders and slid down off of the counter. Bronx’s hands slowly slid up my back, as I bent down and pulled on my pants.
“Mmm,” he said, sending a shiver up my spine.
“Come on, Bronx. We have to get dressed,” I said as he yanked me back against him. “We still have work to do.”
“Let’s just stay here forever,” Bronx said.
I straightened myself, but he spun me quickly, wrapping his arms around me as he held me close. He kissed me and I melted into him. For a second, I forgot everything… everything except him.
“Okay,” I said breathlessly. I felt lost in his eyes. Each one was like a warm fluffy blanket on a cold winter’s night.
“Seriously?” Bronx said cocking his head to the side. “Because God dammit, I’ll do it. I’ll tell the others to go fuck themselves.”
I bit back my laugh. I blinked several times. “Whoa! Where is this coming from?”
“If we stay, we’ll be safer,” Bronx said.
“We don’t have the supplies,” I said narrowing my eyes at him. “Not to mention there are dead bodies rotting away somewhere inside this home.”
He hesitated for a long moment before running his hands through his hair. “Shit. You’re right.”
Bronx let out a breath and then shook his head. He blinked several times and then started to get dressed.
“It shouldn’t have to be like this,” he said.
“Maybe one day it won’t be,” I said trying to sound optimistic which wasn’t at all like me. But maybe, at that moment, I was.
“Just know that I wish I could stay with you here forever,” Bronx said as he started wrapping the fabric around my body.
I cocked my head to the side. “Here?”
“I don’t care exactly where as long as it’s you and me.” Bronx cupped my face. “Got it?”
“I got it,” I said feeling my body start to warm again from his closeness. God, I don’t know what it was about him, but I couldn’t get enough.
Bronx kissed me on the forehead and let his hands slide from my face. “Let’s finish up and get back to the others.”
Chapter 15
We had everything packed and ready to go. I was pretty sure we had more than we’d be able to take with us but Tom had everything on a folded tarp with a rope attached to it for pulling. We’d take turns. He insisted it would work.
“I walked over and talked to them when you guys were out,” Tom said looking at Bronx and I. “Still not sure why it took so long and you guys barely brought anything back.”
“We were thorough. Wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything important,” Bronx said with a slight shrug.
I nodded, but I was sure my cheeks were redder than a raspberry. Nick eyed me suspiciously, but then, turned away when Molly giggled and touched his arm.
“Anyway, they’re going to come on over when they’re ready,” Tom said. “They want to make sure the flakes aren’t going to start falling again.”
Nick chuckled. “You’re letting the new folks make the calls now, Tom?”
“Do I have a choice?” Tom asked the muscles in his face tightening. “They’re the ones that know where we’re going. That means they get to say when it’s time to move.”
Nick opened his mouth to make what would surely be some smart-ass comment, but he quickly closed it and turned away. “I’m going to double check our supplies.”
“I’ve already doubled checked them. Hell, I triple checked them. And then Nina checked them,” Tom said shaking his head.
“That’s great,” Nick said as the veins in his arms popped out. “Now I’m going to check them. So, we can all be really sure we have everything we need.”
Tom held up his palms and walked back over to the window. Molly followed Nick like a lost puppy. She jumped when he kicked out his frustrations on the side of the shelving unit.
Bronx and I sat by Blair trying to convince her to take bites from various snack foods. She’d chew a crumb for several minutes and then say she didn’t want any more. We tried offering everything from granola to fruit snacks.
“Are you feeling sick?” I asked, worried the wound might have done something worse than we knew. But Tom wasn’t having any problems from his injury.
“No,” Blair said without looking at me. “I’m just not hungry.”
It didn’t matter though, we weren’t going to stop trying. She’d nursed me back to health after I’d eaten the poisoned wolf, this was the least I could do for her.
Several hours had passed before Tom stood up. He held up his hand and waved at someone outside of the window.
“They’re here,” he announced.
Tom walked over and opened the door allowing the three strangers into our space. Bronx and I stood.
One of them was wearing a baseball cap, but the other two didn’t have their head protected at all. They had an extra layer of fabric over their legs and arms.
“Hey,” the tall one said stepping inside the room and looking around. I was pretty sure he was the one that had stopped by when they first came into town. He offered us all a little wave. “I’m Timothy.”
“I’m Renee,” the petite woman with short, wild hair next to him said as she crossed her arms.
The man to her right bobbed his head. “Erik.”
Tom introduced all of us one by one, leaving Milo for last. It was almost as though he didn’t want them to notice him.
“A kid?” Timothy said softly.
“My son,” Tom said.
“Okay, then,” Timothy said. “You guys ready? Long walk ahead of us.”
I couldn’t stop my eyes from shifting to Nick’s leg. His cane was up against the wall. He hadn’t needed it since we’d arrived, but that was probably about to change.
“We’re ready,” Tom said.
“What’s all that?” Erik asked.
“Our supplies,” Tom said looking at them proudly.
Erik and Timothy exchanged a glance. Erik wiped the bottom of his nose and snorted. “Did you pack the entire town?”
“Yeah,” Tom said. “Well, as much of it as I could anyway.”
“They’ll have stuff there,” Renee said.
“Well, then they’ll have even more,” Tom said with a pasted-on grin.
Timothy pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He held it up and pointed to a dot on the map.
“This is where we are,” Timothy said sliding his finger upward. “And this is where we need to go.”
“How do you know it’s safe?” Nick asked.
Timothy shook his head. “The road to get there probably isn’t, but that’s where survivors need to go.”
“How do you know that?” Nick asked.
“The posted signs. They’re everywhere.” Timothy said.
“Haven’t you guys seen the helicopters?” Renee asked narrowing her eyes.
Tom shook his head. “There haven’t been any helicopters. Or any vehicles for that matter.”
“Then you haven’t been paying much attention,” Renee said. “We’ve seen several.”
“Where would they be refueling?” Tom asked.
Renee shrugged. “How am I supposed to know that? Guessing they do though.”
“So, they’re flying down here to put signs up?” Nick asked trying to cover his grin with his fingers.
The Red Sky Series Box Set Page 52
