“Katie, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Bill assured her. His huge hand reached out and touched her forearm gently. “Shane is the only one responsible for what went down tonight. Remember that.”
A sob escaped her lips as she nodded her head. Fresh tears spilled, but she smiled as she said, “Thank you for saying that. I know that’s the truth, but …” She choked on her words, unable to finish.
Jenni slid down to her knees beside Katie’s chair and wrapped her arms around her friend. “It’s okay, Katie. Every time Lloyd beat me, he told me it was my fault. I kinda believed him even though I knew it was a lie.”
Katie kissed the top of Jenni’s head and snuggled into her.
“Shane is an asshole,” Peggy muttered for the umpteenth time.
“He’ll be taken care of,” Nerit said firmly.
Glancing at Travis, Katie was comforted by his concerned gaze. Juan stood with his arm around Travis’s shoulders, providing support, but also probably keeping him from rushing out the door to find Shane.
Surrounded by people who loved her, Katie forced the accusing voice in her mind to fall silent. “What’s going to happen to Shane?”
Bill shrugged. “We’ll sort it out, Katie. You just go upstairs and rest, okay?”
“I’ll come with you,” Jenni said quickly.
“Thank you,” Katie said, kissing Jenni’s forehead. Secure in her best friend’s arms, she realized she had finally stopped trembling.
With Katie’s statement over, Jenni and Nerit escorted Katie out of the room. “I’ll be up soon,” Travis assured Katie, kissing her cheek as she passed. Travis could see Katie struggling with her emotions and was proud of her for not falling apart. He still wanted to beat the hell out of Shane, but he was calming down slowly.
Looking somber, Bill said, “We need to have a meeting about this. We need Mayor Reyes down here.”
Travis nodded, his jaw set grimly.
“I need you to be calm,” Bill added.
Travis sighed, then said, “I know. But she’s … she’s … my everything … .”
“I know. But we need to decide what is best for all of us.”
Travis rubbed his brow, then nodded again. “Okay. I want to get her settled. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“I’ll get Katie’s statement typed up,” Peggy said.
“First, I need you to take notes while I question Shane and Philip,” Bill informed her. “And try to keep the comments down to a minimum.”
“You don’t ask for much, huh?” Peggy scowled.
“Travis, meet us down here around midnight, okay?” Bill called after him.
“Okay, Bill.” Travis walked toward the door, where Juan was waiting for him. How this was all going to end was beyond him, but it felt as if they were quickly descending into chaos.
4.
The Casting of Lots
Katie could hear Juan and Jenni talking swiftly in Spanish in her bedroom while she, in the bathroom, eased her way out of the tattered remains of her once-sexy purple dress. Jenni was still in full-blown Shane must die mode and Juan was trying to calm her down.
“Let me help.” Travis sat on the counter, watching her with sad eyes.
She was hurting. She was sure the bruises would be showing up soon to add to all her other bruises. Shane had not actually hit her, but he had wrestled her with brutal intensity.
“My arm hurts where Shane twisted it,” she admitted.
Travis drew close and gently helped her out of the rest of her clothes, then turned on the shower and pulled the curtain aside. Stepping in, Katie paused and looked at his battered face. Reaching out, she lightly touched his cheek. “Come in with me?”
“If it won’t upset you,” he said.
She shook her head. “No. It won’t. You make me feel safe.”
He smiled and undressed. Climbing into the tub behind her, he tenderly rubbed her back. In silence, they helped each other wash away the blood and grime from their battle. It hurt Katie to see Travis’s bruises, but at the same time, it made her feel protected. She knew he would defend her with his life if necessary. Travis helped Katie into her pajamas, then got back into his clothes. Before they stepped into the bedroom, she drew him close and they shared several tender, affectionate kisses.
When they emerged from the bathroom, Juan and Jenni were waiting, sitting on the couch.
“How are you feeling?” Juan asked.
“Okay, I think,” Katie answered. She lay down on the bed. Travis hovered over her, gently stroking her hair. “She’s a fighter.”
Looking less agitated than before, Jenni sighed and sat beside her friend.
“That puto should never have been released after the first time he beat her up.”
Travis nodded. “Can’t say I don’t agree with that.” Leaning over, he kissed Katie’s cheek.
“What do you think will happen next?” Katie reached out to hold Travis’s battered hand.
“Not sure. Something has to be done, but it’s not like any of us are elected officials. Bill and Curtis are cops, and people mostly listen to them, but it’s out of habit as much as anything else.” Travis rubbed his brow. “There is no easy way to deal with this. I better get downstairs and see what’s up.”
Juan stood up as well. “I’m going with you. Shane’s had run-ins with Jenni. It could have been her in there with him, or any woman, really.”
“I agree. He’s dangerous.” Travis leaned over and kissed Katie.
“I trust you to do what’s right,” she said.
Travis smiled. “I wish I trusted myself.”
As the men left the room, Jenni snuggled up next to Katie, spooning her, her body a soothing presence. The men shut the door behind them and left them in the comforting glow of a lamp.
“I punched him pretty hard,” Jenni said after a long pause.
Katie couldn’t help but laugh. “I noticed. Thank you.” She turned and kissed Jenni’s cheek. “You’re a very good friend.”
“The absolute best,” Jenni said with a wink.
Snuggling back down, Katie pushed thoughts of Shane out of her mind and slowly relaxed in Jenni’s arms until she finally found sleep.
The elevator doors opened onto a lobby full of people. There were thirty or forty people gathered there and none of them was speaking in anything close to calm tones. Voices ricocheted off the marble floor and pink granite columns. As Travis and Juan stepped into the chaos, Rosie grabbed Juan’s arm. Her brow was furrowed with worry and her lips were tight with agitation. “Is Katie okay?”
“Yeah, she’s resting,” Travis answered.
“What’s up with all this, Mamá?” Juan looked around in confusion.
“People are very upset,” Rosie answered. Her expression was strained. “About what happened …”
Juan heard Travis let out a low sigh and understood his agitation. He could feel the tension building around them as people voiced vehement opinions about the events of the night.
Bill stood in the middle of the chaos, looking remarkably calm. Curtis, on the other hand, appeared overwhelmed. Juan couldn’t blame him. The rookie cop was the only survivor of the small police department that had once patrolled Ashley Oaks, the small town that was now the wasteland around their fort. It was a good thing Bill was able to keep an unruffled, steady demeanor. Juan didn’t feel anything like composed—he wanted to drag Shane and Philip out of the fort and feed them to the zombies.
“This is ridiculous,” Travis muttered beside Juan as the two men crossed the room, heading for Bill. “This a mob.”
“You cannot allow him to stay in the fort. He’s dangerous,” Eric said to Bill in a loud voice. He shoved his glasses farther up his nose and gave Bill the sternest look he could muster. Stacey stood at his side, clutching his arm. Their small dog, Pepe, tap-danced around their feet, excited by all the noise.
“You just can’t turn him out,” Steven Mann declared. He glowered at Bill; Blanche stood at her husband’s side, frowning
.
“Why not? He’s a danger to all the women of this fort.” Stacey put her hands on her slim hips and glared at Steven. “You should worry about your wife.”
Blanche Mann rolled her eyes. “Please. I wouldn’t lead him on like that blond slut did.”
Travis took a step forward, but Juan grabbed his arm. “Dude, keep focused.”
“What a man and woman do is their own business,” Ed said from nearby. His grizzled features were emotionless.
“Ed, you can’t believe that Katie allowed Shane to—,” Peggy started, but Ed cut her off.
“I wasn’t there. Can’t say what did or didn’t happen. But whatever did go down, it’s between them.”
“So you won’t mind if Katie shoves Shane over the wall?” Juan asked. He folded his arms over his chest to keep from punching someone. He was close to losing his temper, but knew he had to keep it in check. He was already under suspicion for what had happened to Ritchie and Jimmy.
Travis was silent beside Juan, but he was fuming. Juan could see him clenching his hands at his sides.
“Now, I didn’t say that,” Ed answered. “Just sayin’ that it’s a personal thing between them.”
“She was leading him on,” Blanche said. “We all saw it.”
“Actually, we all saw her getting cozy with Travis,” Peggy drawled. She gave Blanche a look of disgust.
More voices chimed in. Frustration and anger made them harsh with emotion. People argued with one another in small groups.
“All I know is that man is nasty and he shouldn’t be allowed to stay!” Lenore stomped her foot and put her hands on her ample hips as she glared at Blanche. “I don’t care what the Bitch Barbie says.”
“We gotta do something,” Curtis said to Bill. “We can’t let Shane go around assaulting women.”
“What do you we suggest we do? Due process isn’t around no more,” Bill reminded him.
“Then we find a new way,” Juan interjected.
People murmured in agreement.
“A fair and just way to deal with situations like this,” Rosie added, supporting her son.
“Because this won’t be the last time someone breaks the law,” Curtis said in a morose tone.
Travis spoke for the first time. “We are civilized people. We need to remember that.” His calmness seemed to cut through the noise that filled the lobby. People fell into silence. Travis rubbed his chin slowly and thoughtfully, scanning the crowd.
“What do you want, Travis?” Juan heard the harshness in his voice but did nothing to soften it. He was pissed off about what had happened, and Katie wasn’t his girlfriend. He couldn’t imagine how Travis was feeling. The need to protect the women they loved was a trait they shared.
“Yeah, Travis,” Peggy said. “What do you want to do about Shane?”
Travis lowered his hand and sighed. “My inclination is to feed Shane and his buddy to the zombies, but that isn’t the right thing to do.”
“Hey, I’m fine with feeding them to the zombies,” Lenore said.
“Me, too,” Ken chimed in next to her.
“He is a danger to this fort as a whole,” Eric said firmly. “He can’t be trusted.”
“I think this discussion should be handled in a more discreet setting,” Manny, the mayor, said as he moved to the center of the crowd, getting everyone’s attention. He had not attended the party, explaining earlier that he wasn’t feeling well. Now he stood before them in his robe and pajamas. He was a fading figure in the politics of the fort, but he had the respect of many in the town. He was known for being amiable, good-natured, and a peacemaker—all of which had helped him keep the peace with both a cantankerous city council and the opinionated townsfolk of Ashley Oaks.
Juan thought Manny was right; the discussion needed to be taken elsewhere before the crowd became a mob. He looked at Travis.
“I’m willing to discuss this in a calmer setting,” his friend finally said.
“Good. Bill, Curtis, Juan, Peggy, and Travis, please join me in my office in city hall.” The crowd murmured, but seemed somewhat satisfied. Smiling like a true politician, Manny shook the hands of a few people as he made his way back through the crowd.
Juan followed, his agitation settling into his shoulders. He felt tense and angry. He glanced at Travis, sure the other man was even more wired. Surprisingly, Travis looked calm, but Juan knew him well, and saw the tension in his neck that gave away his internal turmoil.
“It’s going to be okay, man,” Juan assured him.
“I keep telling myself that,” Travis replied grimly.
A few people patted Travis on the shoulder as he passed them.
“We’re behind you on this, Travis,” Eric said.
“I say we throw him over the wall!” Lenore said loudly again.
Juan sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked toward the office. Tonight was a bitch and only bound to get worse.
Travis entered the office and looked around the room. The mayor was hunched down behind his desk, his fingers playing with his pen while Peggy slid into a chair near him. Bill and Curtis took their places in deep leather chairs. Juan slid onto a folding chair while Travis leaned against the wall.
“So, are we throwing them over the wall?” Juan asked.
Bill somberly shook his head. “Philip and Shane are both sticking to their story that Katie asked Shane for sex and Travis assaulted them.”
“That’s bullshit.” Travis couldn’t believe Bill’s words.
“Yeah. But they are corroborating each other’s stories,” Bill answered.
“And I’m corroborating Katie’s. I saw what Shane was trying to do!” Travis felt his temper rising. “She was fighting him!”
Manny hesitated, then said, “Shane and Philip have been invaluable to this community through their salvaging expeditions. We need to take that into consideration.”
“They also tried to rape Katie,” Travis snapped.
“And Shane beat her up before, that day when she shot his brother because he got chewed up by a zombie,” Peggy added. “She was doing us all a favor before he turned.”
“He’s shit on our heels,” Curtis said.
“He deserves some sort of due process,” Bill said firmly. “We just need to figure out what due process is here at the fort.”
“He deserves to be thrown over the wall!” Juan shouted. “There is no fucking due process anymore. You even said that! The world ended. All that is in the past!”
“C’mon now, Juan. We can’t be going off all half-cocked and pissed off and start throwing people over the wall. You know that,” Bill said sternly.
Peggy sighed heavily. “And you know that we’re the ones everyone looks at when there’s trouble. Bill, those people out there expect us to do something. You, especially.”
“That doesn’t give us the right to choose the fate of these men.” Bill shook his head. “I don’t want that kind of power. Do you?”
“Toss them over the damn wall,” Juan repeated. “I’m willing to take that power.”
Bill gave Juan a sharp, thoughtful look. Travis reached out and touched Juan on the shoulder, silently urging him to calm down. The last thing Juan needed to do was draw even more suspicion on himself.
Manny said in a tired voice, “I can’t condemn a man just because there is a consensus by a lot of angry people that he did something wrong.”
“You have to believe Katie,” Travis protested. “You have to believe us. You know those guys are trouble.”
“They are entitled to some sort of due process, Travis,” Bill said determinedly. “Whatever the hell that is. I’m not even sure anymore, but we gotta come up with something.”
Curtis snorted. “They gave that up when they attacked Katie.”
“And who makes that choice?” Bill’s gaze swept over those in the room. “When did we decide that? And by ‘we,’ I mean the whole damn fort. I thought we were trying to make a new civilization, not chaos. No
one of us should have the power to put a man over the wall because a bunch of people believe he did something wrong or because they don’t like him. We leave them to the zombies, and we’re all guilty of murder.”
Travis winced at the police officer’s words and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to focus himself and not let his deep anger overwhelm him.
Peggy fumbled with her collar nervously. “I won’t feel comfortable if they stay here.”
“But they do contribute to our society as a whole,” Manny interjected. “They’ve brought in many supplies. We have food to eat because they risked their lives to get it. They are not bad men. Maybe stupid, but not ba—”
“Manny, rape is bad! Okay—it’s bad. Stop being an idiot,” Peggy snapped.
The mayor winced and drew back in his chair. Before he could answer, the door opened unexpectedly.
Calhoun shuffled in with his camera. “I am now filming a top secret city council meeting that was not announced in the public notices. I am filming all conspirators—”
“Gawddammit, Calhoun!” Curtis said. “This is not a city council meeting.”
“And it’s not top secret,” Peggy added. “The mayor announced it in the lobby.”
“The city secretary speaks. She is devious and the secret power of this town. She controls the mayors as they come in and out of office. She is the one that sets the true agenda.”
“Gawddammit, Calhoun, anyone worth their salt knows the true power in small-town Texas is the city secretary,” Peggy responded. “Shit, it’s a big joke when I go to Austin with all the city secretaries for election school. Most of us don’t even see the mayor except for when we phone ’em up to sign paperwork. Manny wasn’t in the office but for a few hours each damn day. So stop jabbering about what everyone knows! No offense, Manny.”
Manny sighed as he mopped beads of sweat away from his forehead with a tissue.
Calhoun looked speechless, then turned the camera toward himself. “I now have recorded a full confession of an Amazonian takeover of all the small towns in Texas.”
“I so give up on him,” Peggy drawled out, and threw out one hand. “Someone else deal with the ol’ coot.”
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 51
