by L. A. Boruff
“I’m fucking crazy but at least I’m not a rude asshole.”
The SUV’s driver got out of his vehicle and approached the car he’d hit. The woman behind the wheel shoved her door open and tumbled out. She stood on wobbly legs, her face pale and her eyes glazed.
Cody spotted the handgun tucked into the SUV driver’s waistband behind his back. “This isn’t going to end well.”
The two drivers yelled at each other, each blaming someone else for the accident. The SUV’s driver’s family, a wife and three kids in the back seat, waved at him from inside the vehicle, urging him to come back. He ignored them, advancing on the staggering woman. And then she coughed.
Red blood spattered onto his white shirt. Another cough seized her, flinging blood into his face while he stood stunned, staring at the blood dripping from his hands.
Indie gasped. “Oh God, he’s exposed.”
They held their breath, stunned, as the man raised his bloody hand and wiped his eyes.
“No!” Cody slapped his palm against the window.
Jack shrank back against the seat. “Why did he do that?”
“A reflex action,” Eli tried to rationalize.
Austin shook his head. “That’s a death sentence.”
The infected woman had collapsed, convulsing on the ground. Screams carried through the SUV’s closed windows while the man she’d infected pulled out his gun and shot her in the head.
Cody sucked in his breath. “She’s better off.” Damn it! He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Cody peeked at the others and caught them nodding. Indie slid her hand down his arm to clutch his fingers while tears rolled down her cheeks.
His wife crawled across the driver’s seat and tried to open the door, fumbling with the lock. The bloodied man shook his head, and said three words they couldn’t hear, but each of them understood. I love you. He put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoed while his wife screamed. Metal sheared and glass shattered as a chain reaction accident ricocheted behind the stopped vehicles and dead bodies. A semi-truck hit a small sports car, sending it spinning toward the moving truck.
Cody stomped on the gas, reacting before he could think. He rammed the truck through the stalled traffic, forcing his way onto the highway, south toward freedom from the death and chaos.
“Go!” Austin shouted, slapping the seat like a jockey on a racehorse. “Don’t stop until we have to.”
Silence invaded the cab, shocked stillness that robbed them of their words. The sky cleared, sparkling blue in the late afternoon sun. Cody couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a more perfect day. A quick glance in the rearview mirror reminded him that it was all an illusion, and as he turned east, a burning magnolia tree marked the entrance to hell. Flaming blossoms plopped on the truck as he headed into downtown. A smoking car sat in front of a looted and charred electronics store. The restaurant next door had its windows shattered, chairs and dishes scattered on the sidewalk. In the middle of the street, two men argued over red gas cans. One pulled out a handgun, and the other immediately surrendered. The man with the gun took both cans and ran off down a dark alley.
The engine chugged, sucking fumes, no doubt. “This is the end of the line.” Cody pulled over and parked in front of a ransacked liquor store.
“Great choice of words.” Jack grumbled.
They crawled out of the cramped cab, stretching and surveying their surroundings.
Austin leaned over the steering wheel and frowned at the dashboard gauges. “We need to find gas.”
“That could be a challenge.” Jack never argued. He just pointed out the obstacles.
“I don’t care what you have to do to get it.” Austin leveled a steady gaze at him. “You and Eli get the job done. Cody, Indie, and I will find shelter.”
Jack turned to head out, but Indie grabbed his arm, holding him back as she clutched Austin’s sleeve. “We shouldn’t split up.”
“They’ll be all right.” Austin laced his fingers with hers.
Jack dug her fingers from his bicep. He kissed her cheek then guided her toward Cody. All four men shouldered their backpacks, then Eli stepped beside Jack, and the two soldiers headed off on their mission while Indie fretted.
“Don’t worry, Doc.” Cody laid his hand on her shaking shoulder. “Jack’s the best man to find what we need, and Eli’s a better guide than a bloodhound.”
“Come on.” Austin’s knuckles turned white around the barrel of his weapon. “Let’s find a safe place.” He turned down the sidewalk, leading them away from the liquor store.
Cody pulled out his sidearm and handed it to Indie. “Remember what we taught you?”
“Take time to aim.” She nodded and took it from him.
“Good. Safety’s off. You’re a lethal weapon now.” He winked at her as she caught up to Austin, keeping close with the firearm raised and ready.
Austin paused in front of a small grocery store. The metal accordion gates had been stretched closed and locked, but someone had obviously broken through. He stepped through the jagged hole and frowned at the nearly bare shelves. “You take the left side,” he nodded in the direction Cody should go. “We’ll go right. Stay close,” he muttered to Indie.
Cody patrolled as ordered, wishing he’d been trusted to accompany Indie, but understanding she was safer with the rock-solid major than an unstable risk-taker like him.
A gunshot rang out, and they all froze, waiting for the inevitable chaos. But none followed and silence descended over them.
“Hope that wasn’t one of our guys.” No doubt Cody said what they’d all been thinking.
“Finding anything useful over there, Sergeant?” Austin called to him over the stripped shelves.
Wooden kitchen matches lay scattered across the shelf next to a bag of rubber bands and a box of pitted prunes. Hell yeah, he could put that stuff to good use, but he decided to keep those wild ideas to himself. “No.”
“Everything’s gone, and what wasn’t taken is damaged beyond repair.” A hollow metal clang echoed down the aisle as Indie slapped her hand on a bare shelf.
Cody kicked aside a stray soup can as he wandered back toward the front of the store. Black scorch marks streaked the narrow hallway between the buildings. He peered into the dark and spotted something that looked out of place.
“Major.” Cody called him over to a descending staircase. “There’s another store downstairs.” He’d barely seen the brightly painted welcome sign. “Maybe it was overlooked.”
“Good thinking, Sergeant.” No matter how many shenanigans Cody pulled, the major always praised him when he did something right. Austin crept down the stairs, rifle first. When he reached the bottom, he squinted through the door’s frosted window then tried the handle. “Door’s locked.”
Heavy boot thumps mingled with light sandal steps as Cody and Indie strode down to meet him. “Want me to burn it down?” Cody grinned. Why’d he leave the matches behind?
Austin gaped at him like he was nuts. “No, I want it intact in case we need to defend ourselves on the other side.” He jiggled the knob again, but the door didn’t budge. “Can you pick the lock?”
Despite his rigid regulation enforcing habits, the major often took advantage of Cody’s non-regulation skills. “Damn straight.” He patted his pockets, felt nothing useful, then reached over and patted his commanding officer’s ass.
Austin flailed away from him. “What the fuck?”
Nothing useful there either. “I need a tool to stick in the hole.” Cody winked then eyed the silky black bun nestled at Indie’s nape. “Can you spare a hairpin, Doc?”
She pulled one out and handed it to him.
Austin cocked an eyebrow. “A tool for the hole?”
“Yep.” Cody slipped the hairpin into the lock. “Ease it in, feel around, and then, ahh…she releases.” He turned the knob and the door opened a crack.
Austin shook his head. “How the fuck did you make that
dirty?”
“Everything’s dirty if you try hard enough.” Cody winked. “Now, push your gun into the crack and slip inside.”
“Good lord.” Austin rolled his eyes and Indie giggled. The major glared at Cody and stepped forward. “Get behind me.”
Cody snickered.
“Not like that.” Austin grabbed Cody’s shoulder and pushed him ahead. “You go first.”
“Yes, sir.” Cody hauled his mind out of the gutter and focused on his task. There could be someone with a gun on the other side of that door, waiting to shoot him right between the eyes. There could be someone in trouble—sick—or dead. He eased his hard steel barrel into the beckoning space—what the fuck is wrong with me?—and sucked in a breath.
The powerful scent of old leather and ink wrinkled his nose. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined three walls and made three rows between them. A long counter ran along the wall beside the door, a cash register at one end and display cases loaded with fancy chocolates at the other. The space in the middle of the store was furnished like a comfortable home with a wooden table and four chairs sitting opposite a plush couch. None of it had been disturbed. No damage, nothing stolen as far as he could tell.
“Sergeant?” Austin waited behind him.
Cody stepped aside and waved him in. “Come.”
Austin gave him a funny look as he passed by, but then he surveyed their surroundings and relaxed. “We’ll wait here until Jack and Eli return.”
“Oh my God, it’s a secret bookstore.” Indie’s squeal echoed among the stacks as she spun in the center of the room, arms spread wide as if hugging all the books.
Cody wished he could make her smile like that. He’d made her come many times, but he’d never made her eyes light up like a giddy librarian. He elbowed Austin. “Now, if watching her get excited about books doesn’t fire your rocket launcher, then you ain’t human.”
“Got that right,” Austin grunted.
Indie’s spin faltered and she stopped suddenly, nearly falling over herself. “Chocolate!” She clapped her hands together and ran to the counter. “Pastries, cookies, and coffee. And books! We’re in heaven.”
“That’s not right because I’m here.” An angel like her could never exist alongside him for long.
Indie laughed and shoved Cody’s shoulder. “Want some coffee?”
“Anything you want, darlin’.” His heart fluttered, jealous of the coffee.
Indie opened the bottled water Austin had found in a mini-fridge and poured it into the coffeemaker while Cody ground the coffee beans, filling the store with the rich scent.
“I missed chocolate so much.” Indie stuck a dark square in her mouth then grabbed every single piece off the display and shoved it in her bag.
Austin laughed at her. “Got enough?”
“Never.”
The door creaked and slowly swung open. Their laughter ceased as Cody and Austin scrambled for their weapons, training them on the men who’d descended the stairs.
Jack peered down the barrel of his rifle then shrugged and lowered it. “See?” He turned back to grimace at Eli. “Told you it was them.”
Austin lowered his weapon and signaled Cody to do the same. “How’d you find us?”
Eli nodded toward Indie, still pointing her handgun at them from behind the coffee machine. “We smelled the coffee.” He smiled and stepped toward her. “Stand down, doctor.”
“Oh. Right.” She tucked the weapon away.
“Did you accomplish your mission?” Austin asked.
“Yes, sir,” Jack reported. “The truck is gassed up and ready to go.”
“The fire is moving away from us.” Eli volunteered information Austin hadn’t asked for but needed to know. “As long as the wind keeps blowing it north, we’re in a safe location.”
“Good.” Austin acknowledged his soldier’s assessment with a nod. “We’ll rest here for a while.”
“And then?”
“Consider all options.”
“All right. Meanwhile, I’m going to check out the books.” Eli disappeared among the long rows of bookshelves.
Cody had rounded up five mugs, filling them to the brim with hot coffee.
Austin took one and handed another to Jack. “How’d you get the gas so fast?”
“I thought you said you didn’t care.” Jack accepted the mug and met his commanding officer’s gaze with equal authority.
“I don’t.” Austin sipped his coffee, doing his best to look casual while waiting for Jack to tell the story.
Jack shot a skeptical glance at Cody, then strolled over to sit at the table. “We caught up with the guy who stole the gas cans. His truck was full of TVs, computers, expensive shit.” He spoke to everyone and no one in particular.
“Necessary survival gear?” Cody pulled out a chair beside him.
“Not exactly.” Jack took a deep drink. “We asked him where he was headed with all that stuff, and he flipped us off.”
Austin leaned back against the nearest bookshelf. “Nice guy.”
“His fingers were covered with blood. We thought he might’ve hurt someone, but then he coughed up more blood.”
Indie scooted her chair closer to Jack, examining him without touching. “You kept your distance, right?”
He indulged her concern with a smile. “Yes, doctor, and we used the latex gloves Eli had in his backpack when we carried the gas cans back to our truck.”
“He just handed them over to you?” Austin scowled over the rim of his mug.
“No, I shot him.” Jack admitted the deed like it was an everyday occurrence. At one time it had been. “Didn’t kill him. I’m not that guy anymore.” He wrapped both hands around his coffee, staring into the black depths.
“You did the right thing.” Austin declared him not guilty. “You couldn’t let an infected person leave.”
“I know.” Jack blinked, clearing away the past.
The fleeting image of an old ghost did not escape Cody’s notice. “You probably should’ve killed him.”
“I can’t imagine how he must be suffering.” Indie shivered and clutched her hot coffee.
“Yeah.” A wry smile twisted Jack’s lips, and he laid a hand on Indie’s knee. “Here I was trying to be the good guy, and I fucked it up.”
Cody recognized a kindred fuckup when he saw one, and while he and Jack were completely different brands, they’d bonded long-term. Somehow Jack had risen above his mistakes to become a better man than he thought he was. Maybe someday Cody would get there too.
Eli wandered back, so immersed in a book that he didn’t see the group seated at the table and walked into Cody’s chair.
“His Twisted Choice.” Cody read the cover. “What the fuck is that?”
“An erotic romance novel. I read the first two books in the series and got hooked. This is steamy stuff.”
Cody rose and peeked over his shoulder. “You read romance novels?”
“I read everything,” Eli sneered without looking away from the page.
“I expected you to bring back a volume of Shakespeare or Dostoyevsky, not this mindless crap,” Jack scoffed.
“I like it because it’s mindless.” Eli looked down on them like they were simpletons. “I don’t have to think, just enjoy. My brain needs a break once in a while.”
“I get that.” Jack nodded. “It’s an escape.”
“Exactly. And it’s stimulating in other ways.” Eli flipped through the pages. “The boyfriend is telling her to imagine a threesome with his best friend.”
“Imaginary threesome?” Cody rolled his eyes. “Amateurs. We can do better than that.” He winked at Indie, but she didn’t respond.
He stood and signaled the guys to huddle up, and as they circled around him, he lowered his voice. “Doc’s still agitated, but I got an idea. Follow my lead.” Without waiting for their cooperation, he broke formation and strode over to Indie, approaching from behind. Her shoulders hunched at his touch, but when he slid his arms aro
und her waist and dipped his head to nibble her neck, she sighed and relaxed in his embrace. “Hey, darlin’, are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I can’t help wondering if I missed something. If there’s something else I could’ve done.” The light in her eyes dimmed, and she hugged her shoulders.
She needed a major distraction. A sergeant, a chief, and a lieutenant too. “I think you need some cock therapy.”
He expected her to agree, and no doubt she expected him to drop his pants, but Cody had other ideas.
A spark of interest flickered in her beautiful brown eyes. “Do I, now?”
“Come here.” His hand slid down her arm to link with hers, and he led her to the table where Jack sat munching on a cookie. “I’ve got one to offer you.”
Jack licked crumbs off his lips and leaned back, spreading his legs wide to show off the bulge inside his pants.
Indie smiled but hung back. “Just one?”
“As many as you want.” Cody bowed to her then spun to face his fellow soldiers. “Line up, men. Pants down, cocks at full attention.”
Austin stiffened, but not the way he was supposed to. “I don’t take orders from you.”
Contrary major had to go and fuck up his plans. “This isn’t about us.” Cody hissed through gritted teeth. “It’s for her.”
“All right, then.” Austin acknowledged Cody’s demands with a single nod, as close as he’d ever get to saluting a subordinate officer.
Zippers screeched, jeans rustled, and belts hit the floor with heavy thuds. Jack’s bare thigh brushed Cody’s as the four men lined up with their backs to the table, facing Indie, who took a seat on the couch while they showed off their best goods. Cody leaned forward a bit and peered sideways down the line, comparing their equipment. Eli’s cock was by far the biggest overall—frightening, almost—but Jack’s girth held a scary sexy appeal to both men and women. Austin’s dick claimed the length title, but Cody’s left-leaning curve left his conquests clamoring for more.
