“What for?” Einstein asked.
“Books, my boy. It’s time we got this country back on the education train. Come on. I’ll pour you a whiskey.”
As they walked away, Dallas paused and took one last look at the baker with the Popeye arms who had risked his life to save a kid.
As she stood there looking at a man she had grown to love, Dallas felt her heart breaking. Tears slid down her cheeks as she whispered, “I’ll avenge your death, my dear friend. On that, you have my word.”
Dallas was doing pushups when the door opened. She inhaled a deep breath and prepared herself to do the unthinkable.
Rising to one knee, she was stunned to find a Hispanic woman standing at the doorway saying something to the guard outside the door.
“I don’t have much time,” the woman said quietly to Dallas as she stepped in the room and closed the door.
Dallas rose. “And you are?”
“Sanchez. I was the nurse who helped your lover escape.” Sanchez moved them away from the door. “She gave me a message to give to you so that you know I am not lying. She said, ‘We feel free when we escape, even if it is out of the frying pan and into the fire.’”
A slow smile spread over Dallas’s face. “That’s what she said to me when we left California a year ago.” Leaning forward, Dallas examined her face. “She break your nose? She has a habit of doing that.”
Sanchez nodded. “All part of her plan. She’s an amazing woman, your girl.” Sanchez’s voice was softer now, laced with trepidation.
“That she is. Thank you for helping her. That was quite a risk you took, and by the looks of it, quite a painful one as well.”
“If she lives, it will have been worth it. She reminds me of my partner, Adele. I’ve been with a lot of women, but I’ve never met anyone like Adele until Roper. I swear that girl would have chewed her own hand off to get out of here.”
“Yes, she would have. Roper can survive a lot of things, but being repeatedly raped by these dickweeds isn’t one of them. It would have crushed her spirit. She would never have recovered.”
“That became obvious the more I spoke with her.
Dallas walked over to the door and listened for a moment before stepping away. “JB thinks she was shot. He dumped her bloody clothes on the floor over there. I found a bullet hole. She was shot, wasn’t she?”
Sanchez nodded. “It was my mistake. I sounded the alarm too quickly. I hadn’t counted on her ribs to slow her down as much as they did. She was pretty broken up.”
Dallas pinched the bridge of her nose. “It was Clint, right? He was the one who beat her up?”
Sanchez nodded. “Trust me. She gave as good as she got.”
“I don’t doubt that. You took a big risk in helping her. Thank you.”
“Some people are worth the risk. Anyway, I did see her land on the other side of the fence. After that, I lost sight of her.” Commotion outside of the door made Sanchez start for the door, but Dallas grabbed her wrist and turned it over.
“While I appreciate you helping her get out, I am nobody’s fool, Sanchez. No one does something that dangerous unless there’s something in it for them. So tell me. Why did a lesbian who is clearly at the bottom of the totem pole in his community take that risk? What was in it for you?”
Sanchez looked down at Dallas’s hand on her wrist just below the pink tattoo.
Dallas let it go. “And how is it you are free?”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told your lover just before she took off. JB knew I was a lesbian because one of the guys saw my tattoo. The dumbshit hasn’t put two and two together about gays not attracting the zombies.”
“God, could he be any dumber?”
“I’m afraid he could, and I’m counting on that idiocy.”
Dallas looked at her. “How so?”
Sanchez inhaled deeply. “He swore he wouldn’t put my daughter to the test as long as I stayed in line and worked as the main nurse in the community.”
“You have a daughter here?”
A slight smile rose on her lips. “I do. I get to visit with her every night in the Playpen as long as I stay in line. That’s what we call the area where the kids are held, because trust me, if I didn’t have Hannah to worry about, I would have been long gone.”
Dallas slowly nodded. “Let me take a stab at what went down between you and my lover. Roper promised to get your daughter out of here.”
Sighing heavily, Sanchez blinked quickly to keep the tears from falling. “Yes. I figured I had nothing to lose by helping her. If anyone could get my Hannah out of here, it’s your girl. I could see that in her just like I saw it in my Adele. She’s a fighter, that one.”
This made Dallas grin. “Well, you’re not wrong there.”
“I’m sorry, Dallas.”
“For?”
“Your loss. My loss. I thought for sure she had a chance.”
Dallas patted Sanchez’s back. “No apology necessary, Sanchez. For as long as I’ve known her, Roper has always done whatever the hell she pleased, but don’t count her out yet.”
Sanchez looked confused. “I thought you said—”
“JB assumed the zombies ate her. Zombies don’t eat us, right? All he had was bloody clothes with a bullet wound. That’s not evidence of anything.”
“Oh Dallas, I think that’s just wishful thinking on your part. I heard the gunshot just as she was at the top of the fence. Then she fell off it. I saw her land on the other side.”
“Then let me ask you this. Where are her boots and underwear? Think the zombies ate those, too?” Dallas grinned. “I’m betting my Roper has a few more lives left.”
“And if not?”
Dallas shrugged. “I’m not willing to think like that.”
Sanchez sighed. “Understood. Well, as much as I hate delivering this to you, I have one last message. JB said for you to prepare yourself for your first…caller.”
Dallas tilted her head. “You mean those three thugs who groped me last night weren’t ‘callers’?”
“Three guys came in here? They’re not supposed to.”
This made Dallas bark a laugh. “You’re kidding, right? JB can’t be everywhere at once. Trust me. His seemingly effective process for impregnating women is nothing more than God-based prostitution with JB as the pimp.”
“He’ll never see it that way.”
“No, I don’t imagine he will. My goal is to make him see it a minute before I kill him, and if Roper is out there, I have no doubt I’ll get that chance.
JB was sitting on his couch with a shot glass of whiskey in his hand when Sarge pushed Dallas through the door, her wrists tied in front with yellow cable ties.
“Please. Sit. Can I offer you a drink?” Dallas remained standing.
“I don’t drink.”
“Of course you don’t, but you will sit.”
Reluctantly, Dallas sat down, her bound hands in her lap.
“You understand why we had to shoot your guy, right?”
A million retorts filled her mind, but Dallas managed to keep any from jumping from her mouth.
“Only the fit survive, Miss Dallas. To start over, you have to tend to the strong and cut your weak from the herd. The weak use valuable resources. It’s what was wrong with this country before the apocalypse. All that welfare money to people too lazy to get jobs. All those immigrants who wouldn’t learn our language.” He shook his head. “We were weak and getting weaker. Putting a black man in the White House? It’s a white house, for God’s sake.”
“Why did you call me here? I’d rather not listen to this bigoted bullshit about how you justify this shit.” Dallas rose. “Let’s be done, shall we?”
“Sit. Down.” JB waited for Sarge to push her back down.
“I called you because for some ungodly reason, my youngest boy has taken a fancy to you of all people.”
Dallas tossed out a bemused laugh. “A fancy? You mean he wants to fuck me?”
“You
know, I miss the days when women spoke proper and not like sailors on leave at a brothel.”
“You probably miss slavery, too, so is that all you wanted? To tell me I’ll be bearing you a not-so-grand child someday?”
JB motioned for Sarge to move away. “My boy is...well...he just turned eighteen and he’s never laid with a woman. His mama worked real hard to impress that fornication before marriage was a sin. Things are different, now.” He shook his head. “Now, I sure wish he woulda been drawn to them younger ones who came with you, but there’s no accountin’ for taste.”
“I’m sure your wife can attest to that sentiment.”
“And since I promised him a woman when he became a man, it is now time for me to deliver.”
“I see. So why not just send him in. Why this little tête-à-tête?”
JB set his glass down and leaned forward in the chair. “I want this to be…special for him. I’ve brought you here to ask that you treat him kindly. Make it special.”
Dallas realized her chance. “What do I get in return?”
“What do you want?”
“Let the boy go.”
“The boy?”
“Einstein. Let him go free. Let him remain free. Let him leave here alive and get away from this place without fear of reprisal.”
JB cocked his head. “What a strange request. He’s just a boy.”
“He’ll be nothing but trouble to you now that you killed his girlfriend. I don’t want to see him punished for the acting out that is soon to follow. I know him well enough to know what’s coming down the pike, and it won’t be pretty. Do us all a favor and cut him loose before he hurts someone or himself.”
“So now you care about the welfare of my people?”
“Absolutely not. I don’t give a shit about you or your people. I hope you all get eaten by those man eaters out there. I care about Einstein. I know that boy well. He’s going to explode. Do us all a favor and let him do that someplace else. That’s what I want.”
“So, I give your boy his freedom and you’ll guarantee a memorable time for mine.”
Dallas nodded. “That sums it up. I will make sure your son has a moment he will never forget, but I want to be there to see Einstein go. I want to talk to him. Assure him it’s going to be okay. Sorry, but I don’t really trust you.”
JB picked up his glass and swirled it as if it really had ice in it. “Done. But let me be perfectly clear, Miss Dallas. You step outta line—you don’t fulfill your end of our deal—after I have you beaten within an inch of your life, I’ll beat one of yours in front of you until there’s nothing there but a mound of bloody flesh. Are we
clear?”
Dallas rose. “Your threats are not needed. I’ll take care of your boy, if you take care of mine.”
“Excellent. Then we’ll remove him from the compound immediately. At which time, you can go back to your room and make yourself pretty. Do something with that hair.”
Dallas started for the door, her heart both heavy and relieved.
If anyone could figure a way out of this mess, it was Einstein.
He stood at the gate trying not to cry. His eyes locked onto hers, his hands balled into fists at his side. “Dallas, you know I don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell out there by myself.”
Dallas laid her palm on his cheek. “Sure you do. Look, you kept Butcher, Roper and me alive all this time. We are alive because of all you have in that poindexter head of yours. I owe you. I believe in you. You can do this. You have to do this.”
“Do what? I’ll never make it back there alone.”
“Yes you will. You will and you can.” Dallas lowered her voice. “If Roper is out there, find her. If you don’t find her, go back to Butcher and Luke. They’ll know what to do.”
Tears came rapidly to his wide blue eyes. “But—what about—”
“It’s just a body, Kiddo. They can’t have the rest of me. I can hang on as long as I know you’re doing everything you can to get us out of here.”
Tears spilled from his eyes. “He killed them, Dallas. That asshole killed them.”
“I know. I know how badly you want to kill him, and you’ll get your chance, as long as you can stay alive. Let your hatred fuel you. Trust me. I have complete faith in you.”
“Is she…is Roper really...”
“Alive? I don’t know. I do know she wasn’t eaten. I also know she still has her boots.”
Einstein frowned. “Her boots? Her favorite cowboy boots?”
Dallas grinned. “Those very ones. Look. Don’t spend too much time trying to find her. It’s possible she’s half way to Angola by now.”
“Possible but highly unlikely. She’d never leave us, Dallas. You know that.”
“Yes, I do.” Dallas gazed down into his freckled face. “ I’m so sorry about Cassie. If I could have stopped it…”
Einstein looked away. “Churchill...he...he saved my life.”
“Yes he did. I don’t imagine he expected to be shot, but he did what he did because he cared about you…about all of us. Don’t let his death be in vain.”
“He did what he did because he was just that kind of guy. If it takes the rest of forever, Dallas, I’ll find a way to destroy JB and all these other redneck hillbillies. I’ll never stop until he is dead at my feet.”
“I’m sure you will, but save that energy for now, okay? Just get help. Don’t be a hero. Get help.” Hugging him tightly, Dallas gave him a quick squeeze. “I love you, Einstein. Now go. Go before JB changes his mind.”
Einstein started out the gate and turned back one more time as the gates closed.
“I’ll be back,” he said, sounding like The Terminator.
Dallas waved, forcing herself to smile. He had grown up so much in the last year and yet, still remained so young. She had to believe he had the skills to stay alive. Otherwise, she’d just punched his ticket.
“Godspeed, Einstein,” she whispered. “Godspeed.”
When Dallas returned to her room there was a red lace teddy laid out for her on the bed with a note that said if she didn’t keep her end of the deal, he would send guys out after Einstein and return with just his head.
“Oh, I’ll keep my end of the deal, you crazy son of a bitch,” Dallas muttered to herself holding the teddy up as if it might have cooties. Turning it this way and that, she was unsure just how to get such a tiny piece of fragile material over her head.
“How can women stand to wear these things?” she muttered, trying it on. Once it was on, she looked down at her feet. She needed these boots on, but wasn’t at all sure how to do that without being questioned.
When the door opened, she expected it to be JB with his son. It wasn’t.
Sarge was carrying a dirty brown bag and he dumped the contents on the bed. There were dildos, lube, oils, and something that looked like a butt plug.
“You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me,” she said, looking at the various sized accoutrements.
Sarge leered at her, his eyes never leaving her chest. “You clean up pretty good.” He reached for her but she batted his hand away.
“Pretty sure JB would not be thrilled with his son getting your sloppy seconds.”
Sarge unzipped his pants and pulled out a python of a dick. It was thicker than a large cucumber.
“Jesus Christ is that thing real? You should have been in porn.”
Sarge looked hard at her. “Oh yes. It’s all real. And when Junior is done with you, I’m gonna ride you so hard, so hard and so deep, you’ll beg me for mercy.”
“Let me guess. That’ll turn you on more.” Dallas’s back was against the wall now. “I doubt you have the goods or the ability, and if I begged for mercy, it would be because you were so piss poor at using that ugly ass thing. Now put it away. They’ll be here any second.”
“Touch it.”
“No way.” Dallas stood firm, betting it was too risky for him to hurt her. “That is the ugliest fucking thing I have ever seen. I think
you broke my cornea.”
“I won’t tear your ass open later with it if you just touch it now. Go on. Just stroke it.”
Sighing, Dallas stepped up and hefted it in her hand. It was heavier than she expected. “I’ve never touched a man’s brain before.”
He let out a satisfied breath.
Dallas got right up to his face, dick still in hand, and whispered, “When you come to get it from me, I guarantee it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” Then she shoved him away so hard, he crashed into the vanity.
“You fucking bitch.”
“I’m a bitch, all right, and I’m sick of all your petty little threats. I’m bored silly, really. Touch it? Seriously, you sick fuck? What are you, twelve? Tuck that ugly-ass thing back into your pants before JB gets here and tears us both a new one.”
Just as Sarge zipped his pants, the door opened and in walked JB, followed by a younger version of him.
“Everything okay in here?”
“Everything’s copacetic,” Dallas answered. “Sarge brought us a bag full of toys.” JB jerked his head toward the door and Sarge exited the room.
“Dallas, this is J Junior. You can call him Junior or JJ.”
The boy, who looked all of fourteen, nodded. “Ma’am.”
Dallas could have sworn his voice cracked.
“Now Junior, she is gonna take good care of you. If she doesn’t do everything you ask, you use that taser on her, you understand? Then you come tell Papa what she didn’t do and I’ll make sure she does it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. She knows the consequence of not doin’ as she’s told. ” JB cast his gaze to the paraphernalia on the bed. “You do whatever my boy wants to do, and all your loved ones will remain safe. Do we have an understanding?”
Dallas nodded.
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Have fun, son.”
When JB left, Dallas stared at the closed door. The only understanding she had right now was an eye for an eye—only Dallas was going to take a whole lot more than an eye.
A whole lot more.
Hearing someone running along the ridge, everyone drew down.
Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 3): Eat Asphalt Page 13
