I grabbed the last shopping bag and loaded it to the top with books. Gage walked back in and grabbed another load of supplies. I picked up what was left and headed out.
Opening the front door of the house, I announced, “Honey, I’m home!” Quinn chuckled as she came out of her room. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying. Was she scared that I left her alone? Jesus, how would I fix that? She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Gage.
“Uh…who’s this?”
“This is Gage. I found him…or he found me. Whatever. Doesn’t matter. He’s going to stay with us. I think he will be helpful in fighting.” Gage nodded. “This is Quinn.” He nodded again. Social motherfucker. He had better keep his dirty mitts to himself or he would regret finding me. “Anyway, we cleaned out a house. Got a ton of stuff.”
“Excellent,” she mumbled as her eyes drifted to the floor. I could see that she was trying hard not to be excited. I’m sure she felt bad about stealing, but as I said before, every man for himself. She was such a good woman.
Her eyes concerned me. I approached her and quietly asked, “Are you all right?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” I murmured. “Were you scared? Did something happen?”
“Just leave it, please.” Maybe I didn’t do it right. I would have to try again at another time.
“Well, I can listen, as well.”
Her eyes began swimming with tears. Christ, I didn’t want to make her cry. I reached up to wipe the tear that trickled down her cheek, and she immediately turned away from my touch. I stood there like a damn prat, my hand still hanging in the air.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Dropping my hand to my side, I turned to see Gage watching the entire scene.
I wondered if having two men in her presence made her nervous. Well, one man and one that was pretending to be. “Let’s go,” I grumbled at him.
Within minutes, Gage and I had unloaded the truck. Quinn’s eyes were huge as she rifled through the bags that we brought into the kitchen. “I can’t believe this,” she murmured.
“It’s all necessities. We didn’t take everything. The men’s clothes are still there and a lot of the women’s. I wasn’t sure what size…” My voice trailed off as I tucked my hands in my pockets.
“That’s fine. You both did well.” Gage nodded again. “Did you know the people who lived here?” He shook his head. What was with the no talking thing? It was fucking irritating me to no end. “Well, I’m sure both of you are hungry.” She was searching for a response out of Mr. Personality.
“Yeah, starved,” I said as I rubbed my belly. Quinn picked through the supplies and pulled out enough stuff for a meal. Looking over all the processed food, my stomach churned. I preferred home cooking with natural and organic ingredients. The rubbish we were finding was definitely not that.
“Have a seat.” Quinn waved toward the table. She was taking care of me and it felt so good that I’d love to return the favor. I wanted to make her come like she made herself.
“I found a bunch of books. I don’t know if they’re anything you like…” I grabbed the bag and slid it across the table.
“I will look through them. Thank you. That was very thoughtful.” It gave me the warm fuzzies that she felt I was a mindful bloke.
Her smile was warm and soft, making me have the urge to run my thumb over her lips. I wanted those lips on my body. I wanted her to wrap… I had better stop my fantasy before my John Thomas made another appearance. I turned and Gage just sitting on the couch.
“You going to eat anything?” I asked.
He brought his social arse into the kitchen and grabbed a few things that Quinn laid out on the table. He proceeded back to the couch and away from us. All right then.
I needed to discuss Cock-up with her anyway and needed to start heading north again to find the little lass to choke the fuck out of him. “Can I talk to you about something for a sec?” I jammed a cracker that tasted like cardboard in my mouth as I waited for her response. I should’ve smeared a bit of that nasty peanut butter on it that Quinn had pulled out. I could barely choke it down with a mouthful of water.
“Yeah, of course,” she said with her beautiful smile.
Bollocks…find my bollocks. Definitely there. “I have…or had…a friend, Henry Daniels, up in North Carolina. He was near the coast around the port. I was hoping to travel there to see if he is still around.”
Quinn gave me a confused stare. “Are you asking me for permission?”
“No. Not at all. I’m just saying, at some point in the near future, I’m going to be heading that way. I just didn’t know if you would be staying here…or traveling with me.” I was practically begging her in my head to say she’d come with me. The longer we spent together, the better chance I had to get close to her.
“Well, unless our situation changes and the world comes back online all of a sudden, I suppose I will be traveling with you. I don’t really have a choice, do I?” I hadn’t thought of it that way. I grabbed another cracker, but before I shoved it in my mouth, she waved a finger at me. “Put some of that peanut butter on it. You need the protein.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. I could give you a flood of protein that you would never forget, love. I smirked and was staring at her while I smeared the peanut butter on my cracker.
“What?” she asked.
I smirked again. “Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
I laughed. “I was just having a few thoughts.” She raised a brow at me, then got up to dig through the bag of books. She must have figured out what I was laughing about because I heard her say “pig” under her breath.
Chapter 15
A week or so had gone by. I was losing track of time between all of the fucked up mayhem and me needing another fix. Gage still hadn’t talked much, just a few statements here and there. Quinn tried to pry some personal information out of him a few times, but soon gave up. He glared at me every time I spoke about heading to the port. I had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t all too thrilled with my idea of traveling to find Captain Cock-up, but I didn’t give two shits about what he thought.
I sat down at the rickety table. Gage was already there, staring off into space. He specialized in that. It was his super power. “I think I’m going to head out later today for supplies.” He glanced at me. “I was hoping I could leave you here to keep an eye on things.” He grunted. Really? Was this lad part ape? What the fuck was the meaning of the grunt? “Was that noncommittal or agreement?” I asked with a glare.
“Wha’ever you want.” His voice was harsh and I simply wasn’t a fan of his attitude.
After leaning back in the chair, I rapped my knuckles on the table. “I’d appreciate a direct answer without the attitude.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Gage growled. “You think you own and operate us?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your fucking malfunction, lad?”
“Lad?” he scoffed. “You think you are head of this?” He threw his arms out.
Oh, here we go. Bring it on, you want-to-be man. I could have taught him a lesson or twelve. “A little gratitude would be fucking amazing.”
“You want me to kiss your ass? ’Cause that ain’t fuckin’ happenin’, old man.”
I glared at him. “I’m not saying to kiss my arse, but if I wasn’t there, you would still be roaming the roads, looking for a meal.”
“I coulda camped out like you have. I ain’t no fool.” He patted his chest. “I’m a survivor.”
I barked out a full-bellied laugh. “You didn’t have any weapons, food, or incidentals. How would you have survived?”
“You don’t know my story. And I don’t appreciate your laughter,” Gage growled at me once more.
The situation was getting slightly heated.
Slightly.
“Whatever, mate. Just stick around here and keep an eye on th
ings for me while I’m gone. I want to make sure Quinn’s safe.”
He rose from his chair a moment after I did. “I ain’t your mate. Nor am I taking orders from you.”
It was so bloody adorable that he was trying to intimidate me. The corner of my lips lifted into a smirk. “Whatever.” With a chuckle, I turned to walk away and Gage grabbed my shoulder, forcing me back around. “Keep your fucking mitts off me,” I snarled at him.
“You goin’ to stop me?” he snarled in my face, his head cocked to the side. He could have used a breath mint, but I wasn’t one to be rude.
With a calm voice, I said, “Don’t even try to fuck with me, lad.”
“Righ’ back atcha.”
Once again, I laughed in his face. Two seconds was all I needed to have him down and my knife popping open my lifeline.
A warm hand rested on the small of my back. “Just stop. Both of you. I don’t need this in my life.”
She stepped in between us, one hand on my chest and one hand on his. Just the thought of her touching that arsehole made me want to tear his motherfucking throat out. If he even breathed on her wrong, I’d tie the fucker to a tree and ring the dinner bell…after I drained him, of course. He finally stepped back and walked out of the kitchen. The front door slammed, rattling the old windows.
“Fuck!” I ran my hand over my head as I turned around.
“I don’t want to deal with two giant egos.” I turned back on my heels and glared in astonishment at Quinn. She poked me in the chest with her forefinger. “Not my idea of a good time.” She was scolding me?
“I’m not a child, Quinn,” I said through clenched teeth.
“I will stop speaking to you like one when you stop acting like one. You are much older than him. Maybe he needs a father figure more than an egotistical asshole trying to shove him around.”
Wow. Blow to the bollocks. Did she really think I was an arsehole? A father figure? I didn’t know how to be a father. I never even had a father myself! I pretty much wrote the death certificate to my unborn child. Oh, god…suck it up!
I choked out a breath and tried to clear my throat. “If you didn’t notice, he was the one who laid a hand on me. I could take him out in a second flat. You have no idea who I am, and you have no idea what the fuck I’m capable of,” I growled with an intensity she hadn’t seen or heard from me yet.
“Then maybe I need to leave. Because I have seen enough violence these past few weeks to last a lifetime! And I sure as hell don’t want to see any in the house I’m trying to live a somewhat normal life in!” She stormed out of the kitchen.
I barked out a string of obscenities. The only thing I could do was chase after her. She couldn’t leave. She would die out there. “Quinn. Wait a sec!” I caught her in the hallway.
“Please. Just leave me alone and go do what you were going to do.” She turned away.
“I’m sorry.” When I saw the rage in her eyes, I struggled. Just tell her, arsehole. “I…I…”
“What Gunther?”
I swallowed hard, tucking my nervous hands into my pockets. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want anything to happen to you out there.” It came out in a whisper-laced whimper, making me feel awkward and uncomfortable. I wanted to reach out and hold her so she could nuzzle her face into my neck. I wanted to make love to her.
Wait. What?
“Then cut the shit.” She poked me in my chest again, shoving me back a step. Bloody hell, she was a strong woman. I nodded once, rubbing where she jabbed her finger.
I headed off to my room and loaded up my pack. When I stalked back to the front door, Quinn was standing at the window in the living room. The sun was hitting her skin and making it glow. I was a smitten fool. Fuck me.
“Be careful,” she whispered without a glance.
“Thank you. I will be back later.”
With that, I left. I was furious at myself, but it was back to business.
Josie’s hands shook with fear as she lifted a single slat of the dusty blinds that covered the basement window next to the outside door. Stealing a quick glance, a shaky breath escaped her tiny, not quite one hundred pound body. Her big brown doe eyes ticked back and forth, looking for any sign of the walking corpses in the backyard. She looked for the courage to go outside, which she hadn’t since the outbreak.
Josie paced, lifting a single slat each time she passed by the window. She tugged on her dark brown, almost black, short locks. “Come on, stop it! Just go out there!” she snarled.
Coaxing herself into opening the door, her breath caught in her throat from the worry of the unknown. She was in pursuit of water. There wasn’t a drop left in the house and the faucets weren’t giving her any, either. There was a garden hose located on the patio, and Josie hoped there would be at least a mouthful of water left in it.
Desperation filled her. She dashed out the door, not realizing she hit the lock on the door, slamming it shut behind her. She grabbed the hose and lifted the end to her mouth.
Nothing.
“Fuck!” she screamed and kicked her tiny size five into the siding. She turned and slid down the side of the house, plopping her pint-sized behind on the cement patio. Tears formed, forcing her to drag the back of her dirty hand across her eyes. Drawing her knees into her chest, she wrapped her thin arms around her legs, hugging herself. Her body shuddered as she tried to hold in her cries.
A low grumbling sound woke Josie from her mini-meltdown. When she looked up, a rotting, naked corpse was staggering toward her. He had a huge bite wound right down to the bone on his thigh, causing him to drag his leg.
“Shit!” she screamed, jumping up and turning back to the door. After twisting the knob with fury, she discovered that she was locked out. “No! Damn it!” She turned back around to face the walking corpse still stumbling toward her. Seeing that he was less than ten feet from her, she looked around to see what was available to defend herself.
There was a brick barbeque to her left. She launched herself behind it and grabbed the long fork that was hanging on the side. It was all she had. He tumbled toward her, swiping his hand at her. She lunged, stabbing him several times with it, but doing nothing to stop his advances. He snapped his jaw at her.
Josie continued to stab at him with the long fork. She jammed it in his face, arm, and abdomen several times, taking chunks of dead flesh with every stab, but he still came at her. She began to shut down and screamed for help.
“Hey!” She peeked around the barbeque when the rotting, naked corpse ungracefully turned. A giant man was entering the backyard through the open gate. She hoped he was going to save her and not do ungodly things to her.
Chapter 16
I pulled into yet another cookie cutter, bland development off of the main road in the country-like setting. It was somewhere in between “Stepford Suburbia” and “Redneck Rural”. I couldn’t understand why people would want to live in the exact same houses that only varied by a shade of beige.
I was quite surprised the development was still standing. There were many twisty, hilly roads around the small neighborhoods with a decent amount of distance between them. Maybe the landscape was what saved them. It seemed like it would be a good place to check out. I was looking for supplies to take back to my small misfit group and, of course, looking for people to save or drain.
I really am a serial killer. Fuck me.
I truly loved to save people. It was some sort of a hero complex in my minutely flawed personality. People needed me as much as I needed them. Even though all the devastation was getting to me, I needed to build an army of worthy candidates in order to complete my mission. I needed to get to Cock-up, and doing it alone didn’t look to be an option, which pissed me off. The thought of not getting to him and facing punishment myself made my insides crawl.
Driving my Tahoe into the development, I crept down the street with my windows rolled down, listening and scoping out everything. It was eerily quiet…until I heard a female’s blood-curdling scre
am. My Sig was at the ready, like always.
Stopping in the middle of the road, I threw the truck in park and hopped out. Her screams seemed more urgent as they continued. Her desperate words, “Please! Help!” were repeated over and over, but it didn’t make me walk any faster because I didn’t know what I would be walking into. For all I know, it could have been an army of undeads on the hunt.
Quietly, I lurked around the side of the house, following the distinct sounds of the undead finding its prey. It was like a rabid animal going after its next meal. That always got my adrenaline pumping.
As I peered over the fence, a terrified, young lass—very gaunt and seemed as if she was barely out of school—was defending herself from behind a brick barbeque. I admired her self-defense skills for a second, then the familiar prickle of adrenaline coursed through my body, making me shudder.
I tip-toed through the open gate and made my way into the backyard. The decaying, naked undead man was swatting and snarling at the lass. I smirked, noting the streaker.
She had a long-handled fork in her hand and stabbed him a few times, all of which would be unsuccessful in making the undead true dead. I let out a quiet chuckle. He swatted at her, nearly hitting her in the head. Time to intervene.
“Hey!” I yelled. Both the lass and the undead man turned toward me. I was rather in control with my dominant pose. I raised my gun and spoke loudly, “Don’t move, love. I’m going to draw him to me.” She was frightened, but nodded. “Hey! Come on now! Come to poppa.” I licked my dry lips and rolled my neck, hoping for some relief from the taunting pain within the next few minutes.
I rather enjoyed the cat-and-mouse game. I was getting closer to the undead, while the undead staggered closer to me. At some point, we were going to meet in the middle and true death would be handed out with ease.
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