“I’m fine, I was doing push-ups and then I gave up and sat in the corner when it didn't do anything to stop the crazy thoughts.” She made a halfhearted noise, somewhere between a laugh or a sob, I couldn’t tell.
“My baby.” I pulled her into a hug and she crawled into my lap. When she began to shake as the tears came again, all I could do was whisper over and over again, “It’ll be okay.” Even though I wasn’t completely sure it would be. Because, deep in the back of my mind rang the question, who would be next? When we went back into Lakeview, who would it be? Baby? Me? Zach? Or worse, Lex? Because chances were, it was going to be someone and I didn’t want to take that chance. But we had to. We didn’t have much choice, it was them or us.
Sixty-Four | Small World
ALEXIS
I wouldn’t say I was better, but after a while I was ready to join humanity. I got the cry out, now it was time to pull up the big girl panties, pick up my gun and get this shit done.
Blake held on to me as we made our way down to the cafeteria. I had to swat at him to stop hovering when he all but offered to eat the food for me. I sat down with the group, Baby and another new face joined us, another female…I’m sure Mar…shit, well I'm sure the guys loved the influx of estrogen into the compound.
“Heather Murphey,” she introduced herself and held out her hand and even though she was dressed in sweats, I could tell immediately she was a grunt like the rest of them.
“Murphey was in basic with me,” Baby said between mouthfuls, “Small fucking world, right, Lex?”
“Small world,” I said, looking at Heather and thinking that must have been some group of women. Heather wasn’t as stunning as Baby, but she wasn’t bad looking. She was as tall as me and had a little more weight to her, all muscle of course. She had honey brown hair and striking amber eyes that drew you in.
“You were with the National Guard?” I asked.
“Yeah, I went Guard after a couple of tours. They promised I wouldn’t go in again, then this shit happens.” She shrugged and began shoveling food in her mouth in typical military fashion. I had gotten accustomed to watching people feed themselves this way, especially around this group, but it was a bit unsettling. They never stopped to breathe or taste. It’s a little fascinating, how they can put that much food in their mouths, swallow, talk and chew in only a few minutes. And then get up and run a few miles.
Crazy.
“I hate to do this to you, Alexis,” Tammi cut in, sitting down next to Heather, her plate now empty. “But, can you fill us in on your time with the gang? Anything you can tell us about their habits, their movements?”
“Where do I start? Shit.” I was talking to myself out loud, trying to get priorities straight in my head, but Tammi thought I was actually asking for prompting or clarification.
“Anything that you think will help,” she said, cop-voice in full effect.
“They run on four-hour shifts and they change them out at the typical times, noon, four, eight, which you might expect. Between shifts, they are not expected to stay sober, even the ones that are running guard duty. But that might have changed with Junior in power. Even though I don’t see him laying down the law that quickly, there were a lot of men loyal to his father and they did things like his father. They would push back if he tried to cut back on the drug usage and alcohol.”
I had all of their attention. Ivan sat down at our table and the rest of the grunts pushed in closer.
“They cook the meth outside and I didn’t see where it’s refined, but I’m assuming they have a trailer or storage shed or something. The civilians, what they call cagers or citizens, do all of the cooking and refining. They run guards on the men that aren’t allowed in the main area, but from what I can tell, it’s lax and the men are kept in check because of the women and children. They keep the women and children separated. The women are kept in the main building because of necessity and easy access to the bikers. If we went in through the main building, we would have to evacuate the women quickly, maybe through an access point in the back, or through the roof. It’s not that stable there. Most of the guns are kept in the front area, which is going to be where the main firefight will be, unless you stage some kind of distraction. I really think that might be the best bet. If we go in through the main building, they could potentially take the women hostage…or we could try and evacuate the women first to get rid of that obstacle. Then we could cut down on a lot of casualties. I suggest going through the roof.”
“That’s smart. Why do you think the roof?” Tammi asked.
“They’ve already compromised the structure when they cut some kind of hole in the roof to make for a chimney. We could easily widen it and get them out that way, or find a back exit that I didn’t notice. They had to have something there to take deliveries. It’s probably boarded up or closed off, but it might be easy to breach.”
“This is sounding better and better,” Ivan said to Blake. “They really don’t have a very organized operation. It’ll be like taking candy from a baby.”
“Don’t be too eager,” Zach said. He pushed his chair back and folded his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disagreement. “They are still very well armed and they don’t have anything to lose. We can’t get too cocky about our chances. If we do, they’ll roll right over us.”
“You’re right, Zach, and Junior, the leader, he’s prior service. I don’t know what branch or what training, but he’s straight-laced and organized, his men might not be. Who knows who he had in the wings to help him gain control,” I added.
“He’s Army, did one combat tour, dishonorable discharge. Don’t know his MOS though,” Tammi said.
“Well, he’s dangerous. A sociopath, I wouldn’t underestimate him.” I didn’t think they would, but now they couldn’t say I didn’t warn them.
They questioned me for another hour and I tried to answer their questions to the best of my ability. Some things I knew, some things I had no clue about. I had never seen the children, or where they stored the supplies, but I assumed those were under tighter guard. When they were done, their questions answered, all assured me they were better informed now and had a good idea about what to expect for this raid.
They left with a feeling that this group could be taken down with minimal impact. Our side had nearly thirty skilled soldiers and officers and the Southern Clan had drug addicts and drunks who could fire a semi-competent shot. There was really no contest. The goal was to have minimal casualties on both sides. They were intent on getting them to surrender and deciding their fate when guns weren’t in hand.
Ivan thought it best to wait for optimal conditions and a full moon would be the best time to engage, so there would be more night illumination. The full moon wasn’t for another few weeks, so we had time to plan.
Tammi and Ivan would go back to their FOB and brief their group and we would all convene in five days to start planning. It was all very military and precise. I was actually kind of excited. The Clan had what was coming for them and we were just the people to dish it out.
An hour later, we gathered in the cafeteria to present the basics to the compound. The group pressed around us, faces grim. In the months that we had lived together on this tiny stretch of marsh we had become a family. We were now dealing with the loss of one of our members and an enemy that threatened the rest of us.
“In three weeks, we’re going to raid the base in Lakeview that’s been overrun by a motorcycle gang that calls themselves the Southern Clan. My intentions have never been to police this new world we inhabit, but we can’t allow behavior like this to perpetuate.” Zach stood in front of the group and laid out the bare facts. Some nodded in agreement, other’s looked down at their hands not willing to accept what needed to be done.
“They’re selling women and forcing them into the sex trade. They’re also manufacturing meth, selling guns, drugs and keeping any men that are not a part of the Clan as indentured servants. We’re unsure what they’re doing to the chil
dren, but from their other behavior we’re assuming it’s not good.” Zach looked around at the group, assessing their mood, their reactions. Our group wasn’t a democracy and they didn’t have a say in whether we went or not, but Zach wanted to make sure that the majority were comfortable with our actions. It was what made him a great leader. No one was opposing him, all looked back, still grim-faced but open to Zach’s actions.
“We’ve welcomed into our mix Lani and Melinda who have both suffered under the hands of this sadistic gang and they’ve also hurt members of our group, Alexis, and Clara. They will not stop doing what they are doing and now they know about us. I fear that we will not see the end of this group.”
“Let’s kill ‘em all and move into that fancy neighborhood!” a voice called from the back, some of the group turned and laughed revealing Duke looking embarrassed at his outburst. Duke shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Zach to continue.
“Our goal is not to take over Lakeview, but to hand it over to the Guard and State Troopers after we get rid of the gang controlling the area. Getting a respected authority into that prime location will be one step closer to getting our world back to normal. The dead wandering around here should be our only enemy, not our neighbors, not other humans. I’m not going to force anyone into participating in this raid, only volunteers. We are doing this for our compound, but it isn’t required. We are going against other human beings. There will be a chance that not all of us will return. There is a chance you’ll have to kill the living if you volunteer.
“Volunteers only, but we are doing this. We start training tomorrow. Oh-six-hundred in the warehouse if you’re up for it.” He didn’t pause for questions. He slipped his hand into mine and pulled me out of the room. We’d know if we had won them over if they showed up tomorrow.
Sixty-Five | Alexis Out
ALEXIS
We walked home in silence. Zach walked to my right, Blake to my left. Dusk had begun to settle on the island, but the day seemed much longer than usual. The days were getting longer, it was warming up. It was still cold, that wet cold that reached down into your clothes and froze your bones, but it wasn’t as cold as it was before. This year, thankfully had been milder than the winters we had previously in New Orleans. A few years ago it had snowed. That was a rare occurrence in the area, but it seemed to happen more and more.
We were thankful it hadn’t been one of those winters. We hadn’t even had a hard freeze. The crops we planted were dormant, but they weren’t dead. PreZ there was a meteorologist to warn you to protect those plants and pets. Not anymore. If a freeze took us in the night, we were screwed.
A successful crop could mean life or death to this group in the future. At some point, the supplies would run out. At some point, there wouldn’t be anything in the stores to loot. We had a couple more years before everything expired, but our group could live for a long time if we could grow crops, find animals to raise and breed. And what if we begin to have children? We had to plan for the long haul. We had begun to, but now we really needed to get things ready. This was it, this was life. We were all from the city, well, most of us, and now we would have to learn how to plant crops, prepare food and hopefully raise livestock.
Long term. This was it. This was our life. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I could reverse things, bring it back to before Z, just wave a wand and have it all go back to normal, would I? No Z meant no Blake and no Zach.
Unthinkable.
“I can almost hear your brain churning,” Zach said as we made it to our house. Charlie was outside waiting for us and he bounded over to us in greeting. He was becoming almost like a normal crazy dog now that I wasn’t doing our daily training rituals. He even looked like he might want to jump up and give me a lick, but with a look from me he sat on his haunches and gave one bark of greeting.
I patted his head and scratched behind his ear.
“Just thinking about the future,” I said to Zach.
“Is it a good future?” Blake asked.
“It can be,” I smiled.
“Do we play feature roles?” Zach asked.
“Definitely, it wouldn’t be a very good future if you two weren’t in it.”
“I agree,” Blake said, leaning over and kissing me, a light pull on my lips.
“Come on, let’s go inside.” Zach pulled on my hand as we ascended the stairs. Blake followed on our heels. When we got through the door, we held it open for Charlie, who padded inside and went to his customary pillow near the back windows.
I turned and faced the men before I asked, “We’re home, now what?”
Zach came up behind me and pulled me to him, moving my hair from my neck and kissing me in that sensitive spot under the ear that makes a girl’s knees buckle. Blake watched and I just closed my eyes, savoring the feel of Zach’s lips on my skin, the feel of his hands as they trailed over my body.
He pulled off my jacket and then slipped his hands underneath my shirt, trailing his cold hands across my stomach.
I yelped and tried to pull away, but he held me in place. His warm lips trailed a hot mark down my neck, a crazy comparison to his hands, which were now lifting and pulling my shirt away. The instant the cold air hit me, I felt goosebumps break out all over my body and my nipples tightened up to hard pebbles.
“You are so beautiful, Lex,” Blake said as he stepped forward. He placed his hands on my hips, pushing me into Zach’s hard body. I could feel the length of Zach’s erection pressed against me. Pressed between the two men, my brain finally stopped going a mile a minute.
Blake leaned forward and kissed me, his tongue tangled with mine as Zach continued to explore my neck and collarbone. He reached up from behind and cupped my breasts, pulling at my nipples with his fingers, rolling them between his knuckles as Blake’s kiss deepened.
We hadn’t made it out of the front entranceway of the house and I could feel Blake fumbling with my jeans, pushing them open and down my thighs. He broke away from our kiss and knelt before me, yanking my jeans down and urging me to kick them off. I did have to stop and peel off my shoes first, which got kind of awkward since Zach didn’t want to let me go.
Finally I was nude and Blake was on his knees in front of me. He lifted my leg up gently and moved closer, positioning himself between my legs and pulling my leg over his shoulder. I had to press back into Zach to keep from losing my balance, but he had no issues holding me up.
Blake spread me open with his fingers and licked me gently, causing me to shiver, my head fell back onto Zach’s shoulder. He began to lick me harder, sucking my clit into his mouth and pushing up against me with his tongue and lips. He set a fast pace, licking and sucking on me with the sole intention of getting me off. He added his finger to the assault, slipping it inside of me and pushing it in and out just like I wanted him to do with other parts of his body.
Zach held on to me tightly as I began to squirm, moving my body against Blake’s face and hand. He gripped me by my stomach, one hand on my belly and the other on my breast.
“I love watching you come,” Zach said as I began to moan loudly in response to Blake’s intense oral assault.
Blake’s rhythm picked up and he pushed his tongue into me over and over again, his motions fast and hectic as he all but begged me to come on his face.
“I’m coming,” I moaned as the orgasm ripped through me, pouring out of my body. Blake moaned as he licked me harder and sucked in the evidence of my pleasure.
I collapsed into Zach’s arm as Blake got to his feet and took my mouth, the taste of my arousal on his tongue.
“Let’s retire to the bedroom,” he said and he turned away, expecting us to follow. How could we not?
Blake was undressing when we walked in. I was already nude and I wanted them down to skin with me. I watched as Blake pulled off his boxers, his beautiful cock sprung out of his pants, erect and begging for me to touch it. I turned to watch Zach undress, and he was also gloriously erect and perfect. How did I get so lucky
?
I pushed Blake onto the bed, motioning with my hand for him to get further onto the bed. He laid on his back, putting his hands behind his head, his dick jutting out from his body. I crawled over him and licked down his shaft, sucking his balls into my mouth. He moaned and his hands went to my hair, pushing it away from my face as I licked up and finished with a quick suck on his head, the pre-come salty and inviting.
Live (NOLA Zombie Book 3) Page 21
