The Oklahoma Wastelands Series Box Set | Books 1-3

by Mary, Kate L.

  I gave him a questioning look. “Colorful?”

  “He was a prick most of the time,” Brady explained. “I used to joke that together we made a whole man. You know, because I’m a half-man and he was a half-wit.” He let out a good-natured laugh.

  “He had his good moments,” Ava argued.

  Brady waved his hand. “Yes, he greatly improved after he found out he was immune, but he was still an asshole to the core. Probably still is, assuming the rumors are true.”

  “The rumors that he’s alive?” Kellan asked.

  “Jim says he is, and he would know.” Brady shrugged. “Maybe if we’d continued that way, we’d know one way or the other, but once we heard the rumors, I decided it was best to stay where it was safe.”

  Ava’s mouth turned down. “I still think we could go.”

  “My dear,” Brady said, giving her a fatherly look, “if I was certain you’d be okay, I would head there in a heartbeat. Don’t think I wouldn’t. Seeing our old friends again would make the long miles worth it. But I won’t risk putting you in danger.”

  “It’s the apocalypse, and zombies are around every corner,” Ava grumbled, sounding like a teenager for the first time. “We’re always in danger.”

  “Zombies are a danger we understand. Something we know how to handle. The things I’ve heard about the CDC…” Brady let out a long sigh. “Those are things I have no desire to expose you to.”

  “You’re a good father,” I said, thinking of Jasper once again.

  “A pseudo father,” Brady said with a grim smile, “but one who is determined to make sure his child stays safe.”

  “Have you been together since you met Angus’s group, then?” I asked.

  “Yes and no,” Brady said. “At first, we all lived in my gated community in Colorado, but we were secluded, and making it through the rough winter was a struggle. Then we discovered another settlement in the town of Hope Springs. That was how we learned about Atlanta and the CDC, and how Angus got involved in the race to save humanity. He was immune, and they needed immune people, so he volunteered.”

  “But you stayed,” Kellan said.

  “I stayed, as did a few other people, although they moved to Hope Springs. Ava and her mother were two of them. After that, I was alone again.” He let out a long sigh as if thinking about the past was painful. “I would visit the settlement from time to time, but in those days, I mostly kept to myself. It wasn’t until two years later that Ava found her way to me in the middle of the night.”

  Dread built inside me at the sudden change in the story. “What happened?”

  “A horde.” Ava was the one who answered me. “I don’t know how it happened for sure. It shouldn’t have. The settlement was safe. The walls secure. In the end, it didn’t matter. A horde made it into the settlement during the night, and that was the end. I got out. My mom didn’t.”

  “We’ve been together ever since,” Brady said, patting her arm.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “It was a long time ago now,” the girl said, but her eyes were focused on the ground.

  Not that long, only about six years. Plus, the loss had to feel doubly painful considering everything they’d survived and the fact that they’d found what they’d thought was a safe place. I couldn’t imagine losing the sense of security that had kept me going the last nine years. Jasper’s death had been bad enough, but if I’d lost everyone else, too, and the shelter on top of that…

  It was a scenario I didn’t even want to think about.

  “You’re lucky to have Brady,” I said.

  Ava lifted her gaze and nodded. “I know. Believe me.”

  “Here we are,” Brady said when we reached a bar at the front of the ship.

  Inside, the windows were draped with thick, burgundy curtains, and the carpet was the same color, while the bar itself—as well as all the furniture in the room—was made from darkly stained wood. It looked like something from a movie at first glance, rich and classy. As we walked farther into the room, however, I began to see signs of wear. The sun had faded the inside of the curtains to a shade that more closely resembled pink than burgundy, and there were dark stains on the carpet in areas. The tabletops were scratched and worn, and the leather padding on the chairs was ripped in places and held together by grimy duct tape. The bar, too, looked worn, and the bottles lined up on shelves had no labels. They were home brewed, ales and moonshine, not leftovers from the old world.

  A man stood behind the bar, watching us approach with curiosity gleaming in his gray eyes.

  “Brady.” He nodded when we stopped in front of him.

  “Mark.” Brady peered up at him from the other side of the tall counter. “We have a few people in need of rooms.”

  “How many?” Mark had already pulled out a book and was flipping the pages.

  “Three,” Logan said, yet again.

  Yeah, he was definitely trying to assert his position of authority.

  The corner of Kellan’s mouth twitched like he was trying to hold in a smile, but it was the only reaction he gave.

  Behind Logan, Ash didn’t try to hide his smirk.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” Mark said, turning back to face us. “We have plenty of space.”

  “Great,” Kellan said before Logan could speak. “After that, we’re going to need to talk to the captain.”

  Mark’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity, but he didn’t ask. “Let’s work on the rooms first.”

  9

  The room was small and dated, but clean and well maintained. There was a queen bed and a few overstuffed chairs that bore signs of wear in the form of rips and snagged fabric, as well as a dresser and a table that had probably once supported a television but was now bare. Like the main room, the bathroom was miniscule and out of date, but perfectly functional. Thank God. I’d gotten splattered with more than a few drops of zombie blood on the way in, and I would be wanting a shower soon.

  We didn’t have anything to unpack, so while Kellan unloaded the few weapons he had, I headed toward a door on the other side of the room, pulling it open to find a veranda. Warm air tinged with moisture swept inside, lifting my hair and swirling it around my neck as I stepped out. Using my fingers to tame my wild locks, I combed my hair down before twisting it into a knot at the base of my neck. Even so, tendrils fluttered around my face, tickling my cheeks and brow. I barely noticed. I was too focused on the scene in front of me.

  Long forgotten parts of the country sailed by as the American Queen cut through the water, appearing both forlorn and beautiful at the same time. Houses and hotels had been reclaimed by nature, their walls covered in ivy and trees growing where people had once trod. Everything we passed was bursting with greenery. Flowers, too, and amidst the brush and overgrown lawns, bursts of yellow, red, pink, and white dotted the landscape, the wildflowers and weeds making the world appear almost cheerful.

  “Hey.” Kellan walked out behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “You okay?”

  “Just blown away by all this,” I said, nodding toward the bank.

  Movement caught my eye when a deer stepped through a mass of foliage. He paused, his ear twitching as he watched us with obvious curiosity, and it occurred to me that this creature might never have seen a human until now. Not a living, breathing one, anyway.

  “I thought we’d never leave Oklahoma,” I told Kellan, watching the deer until he’d disappeared from sight. “I thought the time for traveling the country had gone extinct nine years ago when everything else did.”

  “Me, too,” he said. “We were both wrong. There are people out there, like Jim, who never stay in one place.”

  “It sounds so risky. Scary.” I leaned my head on his shoulder when he shifted so he was at my side. “I can’t imagine not having a home.”

  “I got the impression Jim had hoped to have a home at one time, but something happened.”

  I looked up into Kellan’s big, brown eyes. “He lost someone?”<
br />
  “Someone he loved so much he couldn’t stomach the idea of living without them.”

  “Still seems like a pretty drastic step to take. Leaving the safety of the walls so you can wander a zombie-infested country.” I shivered. “I wouldn’t want that life.”

  “No,” Kellan said, “but I understand where he’s coming from. If you were gone and I didn’t have the others, I don’t know that I’d want to stay at the shelter and live with the memories.”

  I swallowed, again thinking about Jasper and how he wouldn’t be there to greet us when we got back. Part of me wanted to pray that Andrew was gone for good, but another part of me wanted him to come back. He needed to pay for taking Jasper’s life. In fact, if I ever saw him again, I would make sure he met a very horrible end.

  Until now, I’d never considered myself a sadistic person, but I couldn’t deny my feelings. I wanted Andrew to suffer, and part of me thought watching his torment might be the sweetest victory I would ever experience.

  As if sensing my dark thoughts, Kellan’s arm tightened around me, and I leaned into him. For about the millionth time today, I said a silent prayer of thanks to whoever might be listening.

  Thank you for saving him.

  I looked up, smiling, but his hair shadowed his eyes. He tried to flick it away, but as usual, it didn’t obey and instead flopped back over his forehead

  “You could use a haircut.”

  Kellan shoved his hand through his hair, grinning from ear to ear. “You think it’s time?”

  “Don’t you think it would be more comfortable? It’s always in your eyes.” I twisted from his grasp and turned so we were standing face to face. His gaze held mine as I ran my fingers through his dark hair, pushing it off his forehead. “I’m sure there are scissors on board somewhere. I could cut it for you, if you wanted.”

  “Sure. Sounds good.” His brown eyes lit up, but the twinkle in his eye said his mind was on something else. “Although…” He lifted his eyebrows and looked toward the room—or more specifically, toward the bed.

  I laughed, and as the sound came out, I had the sudden urge to grab hold of it and bottle it somehow. To cling to this happy moment so I could remember it forever. After the last few horrible days of torment, there was something so sweet about the teasing light in his eyes, about the feel of his hands on my hips, about the way he looked at me. Like I was the only thing in his life that mattered. I understood the feeling.

  Lifting myself up on my toes, I clung to his shirt as I pressed my lips to his. His hands tightened on my hips as he kissed me back, holding me in his firm grip.

  My eyes were closed as we kissed and the sun on my face was warm, but not too sweltering thanks to the damp breeze sweeping over us. Still, in seconds, I felt like I was burning from the inside out as our kisses deepened. Kellan’s hand moved under my shirt and up my back, and he pulled me against him, his mouth moving faster. I grasped his face between my hands, savoring the feel of his tongue on mine. Memorizing how it felt to have him pressed against me.

  “I love you, Regan,” he murmured between kisses.

  “I love you,” I said.

  I knew we should go inside, but there was something so magical about the balcony, so when he tried to pull me in, I resisted. Breaking the kiss, I smiled up at him, holding his gaze as I pulled my shirt over my head.

  “I thought you might still be a little weak,” I said as I tossed my shirt into the room.

  He copied the gesture, returning my smile.

  No one else was on a balcony at the moment, and if anyone could see us on another level, I didn’t know. I also didn’t care. Not when I undid Kellan’s pants, pulling them down. Not when he kicked them aside, not when mine followed, and not when we were both naked.

  Kellan took a seat in one of the chairs, barely breaking the kiss before pulling me down, urging me onto his lap. Like before at the hotel, I straddled him, easing down slowly and savoring the exquisite feeling as we kissed. As he touched me, caressing my curves, kissing his way down my neck, using his tongue to tease me until I had to sink my teeth into my bottom lip to keep from crying out. It was a moment that had almost never happened. It was a moment I would remember for the rest of my life. It was a moment of us celebrating our love as we sailed down the river, headed home after barely escaping our destruction.

  We found Logan and Beth in the dining room, already talking to Brady. Another man was with them, a map was spread out on the table in front of them, and the group was so engrossed in studying it that they didn’t look up even when we stopped next to the table.

  “It’s over a hundred miles to where the Arkansas meets the Mississippi,” the man I didn’t know was saying.

  “Is the river deep enough to go as far as we need?” Beth asked.

  “Didn’t used to be,” the man replied, “but the river’s locks are pretty much useless at this point, which means the river is much wider and deeper than it used to be.”

  “Fortunate for us,” Brady mumbled, almost to himself.

  “It’s helpful, that’s for sure,” the man said, nodding in agreement “We will have a couple stops along the way. Here and here.” He tapped his finger against two places on the map before looking up, his gaze moving briefly over Kellan and me before he turned to Logan. “We can’t miss those stops.”

  “We don’t expect you to,” Logan replied, his head bobbing as he talked. “And we appreciate your willingness to take a detour.”

  “No problem, really,” the man said. “Being able to transport people and goods safely is one of the major benefits of a traveling settlement.”

  He was probably in his mid-fifties, with long, stringy gray hair that had been pulled back and fastened into a ponytail at the base of his skull. His skin was weathered and brown and spotted with freckles and age spots from the sun, making him look older than the blue eyes that swept across the group gathered around him. They were bright and intelligent and seemed to take in everything with a single look.

  “We keep a pretty loose schedule, for the most part,” he continued. “It’s just a few stops that can’t be put off. If they are, we never know when we’ll run into our contacts again.”

  “Contacts?” Kellan asked, inserting himself into the conversation.

  Logan frowned, but said nothing.

  “This is the captain,” Brady told us, speaking up before anyone else could. “Meet Kellan and Regan, the couple we were telling you about.”

  “Captain Stephen Jessup of the American Queen.” He stuck his hand out, offering it to Kellan. “Going on twenty years now.”

  “Twenty?” I said as the two men shook hands.

  “More than ten years before the apocalypse, and nine since,” Stephen replied. “The second those bastards started coming back, I headed here. Being on the water seemed like the best way to avoid getting a chunk taken out of me. Plus, it’s always been the place I felt most comfortable, so it only made sense.”

  “It was a good idea,” Kellan said, nodding in approval. “Who are these contacts you’re supposed to meet?”

  “Just people who show up now and then, either to trade goods or information. Sometimes I pull into a port not sure if anyone will be there, but other times I have an appointment to keep. Like this time.” He tapped his finger against the map again, drawing my gaze to it. “We’ll try to make it quick.”

  “We appreciate the help,” Kellan said.

  Logan cleared his throat, drawing the captain’s attention, as well as a frown from Beth. “How long will you be docked?”

  “Depends on whether my contacts are waiting. It’s difficult enough keeping track of the days that pass on the boat, but a hell of a lot harder for people who are always on the road. Sometimes we’re off by a day or two. If we show and no one’s there, I’ll need to wait forty-eight hours just to be certain.” Stephen shrugged. “I’m sorry it can’t be more accurate, but that’s just life these days.”

  Two days. My gaze moved to the map again, tracing the r
oute we’d be taking. First the Mississippi, then the Arkansas River before we even made it to land. So much distance to travel, and between time on the water and possibly waiting two days at two separate ports, we could be looking at a week before we made it home. It was killing me, but there was nothing we could do about it. Kellan and I were at the mercy of others.

  “Whatever you can do,” Brady said.

  “Ah, well, you know me.” Stephen chuckled as he folded his map. “Always willing to help. Only wish I could do more.”

  “As do I, my friend,” Brady replied, giving the other man a wry smile.

  “It’s the plight of the honest man these days.” Stephen stuffed the now folded map into his shirt pocket. “Always wanting to help but knowing there isn’t much that can be done.”

  Kellan snorted his agreement while Logan nodded. Beth and I remained quiet, although she probably agreed with the statement as much as I did. It always seemed like there was nothing we could do to change the way things were going. Even when we tried, it didn’t often work. We still lost, people still got hurt, and the world kept on spinning, regardless.

  “Thanks for your help,” Kellan said, shaking the captain’s hand before he took his leave.

  Logan said nothing, but the expression on his face told me what was going through his head. He wasn’t happy about having another strong male presence in the group.

  Beth seemed to see it too and rolled her eyes. “Drinks?”

  “I’d love to,” Kellan said before I could reply that I was dying for a drink, “but I don’t think we can take advantage of any more of your hospitality. You’ve done enough.”

  “Nonsense.” Logan straightened his shoulders like he was trying to make himself seem taller.

  Beth rolled her eyes before turning to the bar. “I’ll get a round.”

  “We’ve saved dozens of people,” Logan said, ignoring her, “and we’re happy to do it.”

  I was very familiar with all of Kellan’s facial expressions, which meant when his mouth twitched, I could tell he was amused even though he did a great job of masking his feelings.