Two zombies seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and Cade didn’t hesitate to shoot them between the eyes. The others behind them were getting closer.
He looked back at the train, its impenetrable steel exterior glistening in the moonlight.
And then it hit him all at once, that there was something more valuable than Haven, than his devoted team of road warriors.
Cade was greedy. He wanted it all. He would have the train and Haven and her family, and whatever the hell else he wanted, too.
Like Tony Montana, the world was his. All he had to do was take it.
The pungent smell of burning metal was overwhelming. Thick puffs of smoke poured out from beneath the train, and sparks lit up the dark, desolate tracks like miniature fireworks.
Haven felt the earth rumble beneath her feet. She heard Brett, Houston, and Mark’s voices yelling at her, but she couldn’t move.
Her family had to get on the train, at any cost. Even if it meant sacrificing herself. They’d be dead otherwise.
Shaking herself out of her paralysis, she jumped up and down in distress, hoping the person driving the train would see her and differentiate her from just another zombie who had meandered onto the tracks.
The brakes screeched and hissed in protest as the train slowed. She threw her arms in front of her face as the train closed in on her, but then she was tumbling away from the tracks, her body colliding with soft earth.
Houston clutched her so tightly against him she thought he would crush her.
The train kept moving, and she stumbled to her feet, her ears ringing, looking around frantically for Mark and Brett and cursing the train for blocking her view as the cars gradually slowed to a stop.
As the last car finally rolled past, she readied herself to run across the tracks to find them, but just as quickly froze in place.
She was suddenly face to face with Cade Foster, standing on the opposite side of the tracks.
And his gun was pointed right at her head.
All she could think about was Mark and Brett, and she fervently hoped they were hidden from Cade and his wicked band of marauders.
“We meet again,” Cade said, and he smiled.
She heard the hammer of a revolver click, accompanied by the sound of a door opening on the caboose.
Houston stepped in front of her, blocking Haven from Cade’s view. “I should have killed all of you assholes when I had the chance.”
“Yes. You should have.” Cade shifted and aimed his gun between Houston’s eyes.
Just as his finger hovered over the trigger, a woman’s voice shouted from the train.
“Hey!”
A mass of tiny moving shadows swaying in the distance hadn’t escaped Kennedy’s attention as she stood in the doorway of the caboose and looked down at the strangers congregated outside.
What the hell are these idiots doing?
“There’s a horde coming!” she warned them.
The man holding the revolver seemed to ponder her words for a moment, then let his arm fall to his side.
“Well, we’d all better get aboard then,” he answered calmly.
As soon as he did so, the woman in the group whirled about and looked directly at Kennedy.
Rage and fear burned together in her eyes. “You can’t let him on the train! He’s crazy!” She swung her arm in the direction of the man with the revolver.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’ve never seen her before in my life—”
“That’s bullshit!” one of the younger men exclaimed. “You stalked her for years!”
Kennedy looked past them. The shadows were getting closer.
“Shut up, pipsqueak. You don’t know shit,” the blond-haired man growled.
The man standing beside the female stepped forward aggressively and pointed his finger in the first stranger’s face. “Hey, asshole. If Haven says she knows you, it’s true.”
The other man sneered. “Get your fucking finger out of my face. I’m running from that horde, same as you.”
The brunette looked enraged. “You led them to us!” She spun around to face Kennedy, pleading. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m asking you to trust me. If you run this train, you can’t let him on.”
The boy tugged on the woman’s sleeve with urgency. “Haven, the zombies! I want to go on the train. Please!”
Kennedy glanced at Johnny B., Grady, and Jackson standing loyally beside her. They would follow whatever command she told them. They trusted her implicitly. Passengers peered out of the windows of nearby train cars.
All eyes were on her.
She had to decide.
She knew nothing about either group. Someone was lying, but she didn’t have enough time or evidence to get to the bottom of it.
What she did know was that she’d found a group of survivors, and each of those lives was priceless as they rebuilt a new world.
The strong stench of the undead violated her nostrils. They were so close now that their eyes glowed like wolves in the darkness.
Kennedy swallowed hard. If she didn’t make a call in the next few seconds, the horde would descend on both the strangers and the train.
It was either all or none.
“Get on. All of you.”
The woman glared at her, but immediately picked up the boy and hoisted him onto the train. “By letting him on,” she said quietly, “you’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Colin turned over in his bunk bed and opened his eyes to thin slits. It was still pitch-black outside. He had several more hours of sleep left. Grumbling, he shifted to his side, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders to stay warm. The windows were poorly insulated, allowing cold to seep into the space.
Suddenly, he jolted up straight in bed, cursing loudly when he bumped his head against the ceiling.
As he tenderly rubbed a spot on his scalp, he realized the train had stopped.
They weren’t supposed to get off until tomorrow morning. Had they already reached their destination?
Footsteps bounded down the hallway past his room, mixed with the sound of voices talking hurriedly, excitedly.
He mumbled grumpily, about to pull his pillow over his head to drown out the noise, but then he paused.
One of those voices sounded familiar, but not from someone he would have recognized on the train.
He jumped down from his bunk and grabbed his pants, crumpled in a pile next to his bed. After fully dressing, he tucked his firearm into his jeans and walked out into the hallway.
People rushed past him, and before long, Colin found himself running alongside of them, pushing ahead, his legs picking up speed as he drew closer to the commotion.
He’d just reached the observation car when he came to an abrupt halt, catching a glimpse of long, dark hair passing by the entrance of another car.
He shook his head, certain it was a mirage of sorts.
It’s not her, you bloody idiot, he chided himself in frustration.
“Take their weapons,” he heard Kennedy demand.
“I’m not giving you anything as long as he’s on the train.”
“Then you can get off the train right now,” Kennedy shot back. “You can have them back later, but for now, you’ll either give them to us or leave.”
“Haven, please. I don’t want to go back out there,” a kid’s voice pleaded.
When Colin heard her name, his heart skipped a beat or two, his breath catching in his throat.
He took a few tentative steps forward.
“Haven?” he asked in bewilderment.
He saw the woman freeze and then slowly, she turned around.
Colin felt the air go out of his lungs, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Seeing her again was painful and incredible all at once, exquisite torture.
Even covered in dirt and blood, she was the most stunning woman he’d ever seen. She was still his partner in crime, his fierce warrior woman.
Fire burned through
her veins, and he wanted nothing more than to be near her again, to be scorched by her presence.
“Colin,” Haven uttered softly. Her eyes widened. The same honey-brown eyes he had fallen for, the ones he wanted to lose himself in every single day.
Something heavy and metal dropped from her hand and clattered to the floor, and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
At first, he held her loosely, unsure if he was just imagining her presence. His fingertips dug gently into her waist, and he stepped back as if searching for proof that it was really her. Once he felt the warmth of her body and inhaled the sweet scent of her skin, instinctively, he enveloped her in his arms and buried his face in her hair, clutching her tightly, afraid that if he let her go, he would never see her again.
Was this real? Was he dreaming?
All of the feelings he’d been trying to suppress since he left the farmhouse resurfaced.
“You left us,” she whispered. He felt her back shake ever so slightly and realized she was crying.
“I didn’t want to,” he told her, his lips brushing past her ear. “I swear, Haven, I didn’t want to.”
Everything seemed to be mired in time until Kennedy cleared her throat awkwardly. She and her men were still standing between the newcomers, trying to keep them separated.
Colin pulled away so he could see Haven’s face. “How did you get here?”
Tears threatened to fall, but she forced them down so that they remained tiny pools captured in her eyes. Lifting her chin, she pointed. “He tried to kill us.”
A man with close-cropped blond hair rolled his eyes. “She’s lying.”
Colin didn’t like him already. The way he scowled at Haven… he had never seen a person look at someone with so much hatred.
“You have to kick them off the train. You don’t know what he’s capable of,” Haven insisted, this time looking to Colin for support.
“Colin?” Kennedy asked him. He could see she was at an impasse.
“If she says it, it’s true. I can vouch for her,” he responded. His eyes never broke away from Haven’s, searching hers for answers. But her expression was broken, pained.
He noticed Brett and embraced him warmly.
“It’s good to see you, man,” Brett told him.
Colin recognized Houston and saw that his jaw was tight, his fists clenched at his sides. “Hey.”
Houston didn’t respond, only giving him a curt nod.
Colin turned around in confusion. “Where’s Faith?” When no one answered him, he looked back at Haven.
She shook her head and covered her face with her hands. Colin reached for her and hugged her again. “I am so sorry, sweetheart.”
As he held her, feeling her brokenness and knowing it meant Faith was gone, he observed something out of place.
All of them were stricken with grief.
But somehow, the man with the close-cropped blond hair was smiling.
After taking their weapons, having them examined for bites by Grady and Jackson, and ensuring their nurse, Vetta, care for one of the men’s leg injury, Kennedy and Johnny B. led them to a cabin in the sleeper car.
“You all can have this cabin,” she said as she unlocked the door. “We want to keep families together.”
Haven, Houston, Brett, and Mark walked into the small space, looking around cautiously. There were two sets of bunk beds in the cabin and a stack of folded clothes on each one.
Mark ran up to the closest set of beds and climbed into the top bunk. “This is mine!” He patted the dark blue blanket happily. His hand stopped midair as though he suddenly remembered something, and his face fell. “Tex would’ve loved this. He could have slept in this bunk with me.”
Haven turned around and faced Kennedy and Johnny B. “Can I talk to you?” she managed in a less than friendly tone.
The redhead raised an eyebrow at her and then gestured for her to move into the hallway.
“What can I help you with?” Kennedy asked.
“You can’t let him stay on this train.”
Kennedy crossed her arms. “Who exactly?”
“Cade. You have to kill him.”
Kennedy held up her hands. “Take it easy. We’re not killing anyone.”
Haven shrugged. “Then kick him off. I don’t care.”
Kennedy brought herself inches from Haven’s face. “Listen, honey, I make the rules around here. It’s your story versus his, and I don’t know either one of you well enough to make out who’s telling me the truth. So until then, I suggest you and yours be real grateful you are on this train, and that the people on it are willing to keep you safe. We help survivors; we don’t abandon them.”
Haven didn’t flinch. “Yeah? You help people who kill innocent animals for sport? They killed our dog to scare us. Threw Tex through a window after slitting his throat. Cade’s a regular class act,” she said sarcastically. “And while we’re at it, he doesn’t just go after animals. He has a thing for rape, too. He stalked me in high school, and if I hadn’t fought back, he would have raped me. He’s a threat to every woman on this train.”
Haven noticed this seemed to concern Kennedy, the redhead stiffening as she spoke, but she quickly regained a neutral visage.
“Look,” Johnny B. started, his tone gentler than usual. “We put him in a cabin with other men, no women around. We’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry.”
Kennedy narrowed her eyes at Haven, but her expression softened. “I’m not going to let anything happen to the people on this train.”
She turned to leave, then paused and looked over her shoulder. “Tucker will come by around eight this morning. He’ll give you a tour of the train and then drop you off at the dining car so you can eat breakfast. Get some sleep.”
Houston closed the door once Haven came back inside the cabin. He sat down on the bed and ran a hand over his jaw.
The others joined him, all four of them pressed together on the lower bunk. Brett put his arm around Haven, and Mark copied him.
“Don’t worry, Haven,” Mark told her, producing something from his shoe and showing it to them. It was a pocket knife with a wood handle. “They didn’t check me for weapons,” he said with a smirk. “See? The three of us will protect you.”
Haven gave him a small smile, but her eyes met Houston’s, and she saw the same grave apprehension reflected in his features that she knew was written across her own.
Haven awoke the next morning after no more than two or three hours of restless sleep to Mark shaking them.
She scrambled for her gun on the nightstand, thinking they were under attack, but it wasn’t there. “I hate not having my gun!” she groaned.
Mark radiated energy beside her. “It’s almost eight, and we’re going to get a tour of the train!”
Houston mumbled something beside her. Although they each had their own bunk, Haven had wanted to sleep in Houston’s. It took her what seemed like hours to fall asleep, even after Houston rubbed her back and wrapped his arms around her.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Cade.
And when she did finally succumb to exhaustion, her dreams were the same haunting visions they always were each night since Faith had disappeared… nightmares of a rotting Faith screaming at her, warning her, begging her to wake up.
Brett pulled a beanie over his curls and stood to yank on his jeans. “Yeah, buddy, thanks for waking us.” He looked at Haven. “You look terrible.”
She sighed and reached for the hoodie they had left for her. The room was warmer with the four of them in it, but she still felt so cold. “I didn’t sleep much.”
Houston stroked her back gently. “Why don’t we get some food in you?”
She shook her head. “I think I’m just going to stay here and catch up on sleep.”
Mark looked aghast. “You don’t want to see the train?”
“Maybe later,” Haven assured him. “You go on the tour, and then you can give me one after when you’re a pro.”
<
br /> “I don’t really want to leave you alone.” Houston turned to Mark and Brett. “You guys go on ahead.”
“No, please go,” Haven implored. She didn’t want them to stay because of her. She just couldn’t bear to go out there.
“I’ll stay here with you,” Houston offered. “We can both get some more sleep. I don’t mind.”
She leaned in to him. “I’d actually just like a little time alone,” she whispered.
Houston seemed unsure, but he nodded. “Okay, babe. Whatever you need. Just keep the door locked, and don’t let anyone in after we leave.”
He kissed her cheek, and the three of them left the cabin. Haven closed the door behind them.
She returned to their bunk and sat on the edge, her body decompressing from the chaos and terror from the night before.
Her hands trembling, she ran them through her hair then lowered her head, hot tears plopping onto the cold metal floor below.
Someone knocked on the door.
Haven eyed the door warily. “Who is it?”
“It’s me. Colin.”
She wiped the tears from her face.
When she opened the door, he was standing there, hands in his pockets, staring at the floor.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“I… um… I just wanted to be sure you settled in alright. You okay?”
Haven wrapped her arms around herself protectively. “I’ve been better.” When she said it, her lower lip started to quiver. She dug her fingernails into her arms to keep her tears from spilling over again.
“I saw your family with Tucker just before. Why aren’t you on the tour with everyone else?”
“I didn’t feel like it.”
He met her gaze and searched her eyes for a moment. When he noticed she had been crying, he took her hand. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Chapter Twelve
“I think I say this every time, but this here is my favorite place of all of them,” Tucker announced, quickly stepping across the platform from one car to another.
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