“Perhaps you will.”
Chapter 4
He lifted his shirt over his head and I couldn’t help the wince I made as I saw his back. The stitches seemed to pull with every movement and it seemed there was little there but scar tissue. Low on his side was the puckered scar where the bullet had gone through him.
Whenever I had mentioned it, he just commented that it was a flesh wound. The bullet had gone straight through, after all, and it had done little damage. Even so, I couldn’t help the worry that brought.
“I have to see your mum today.”
He turned his head just enough that he could see me from the corner of his eye and he grinned that infuriating grin of his. It was pure mischief and mockery. He wore it to annoy people or when he was genuinely amused by someone else having to deal with an issue he had created.
His laughter rang out as he ducked the pillow I threw at him in response and he skipped aside as I reached for another. He threw his hands into the air, smile genuine.
“I surrender. No more.”
My arm lowered, a little, and I scowled at him. “Did you have to tell her?”
“Probably not.” He waved his hands as I raised my arm once more. “Now, now. If I hadn’t she wouldn’t have believed me anyway. Not with Evelyn whispering in her ear.”
“True enough, I suppose.”
Whether it was true or not, it left a problem that I would need to smooth over. I needed Evie to stay on the island and eventually move across to the Isle of Man. If they decided to leave to get away from Ryan, that was a problem.
“How’s the invasion going?”
I pushed myself up to a sitting position, realising that I wasn’t going to have the option to go back to sleep any time soon.
“I spoke with the Admiral yesterday evening. They have secured the three landing zones and established their beachhead. Work’s ongoing to secure those places before they transfer their supplies from the ships.”
“How long before they head inland?”
“Another day, at least. Perhaps two.”
He nodded and pulled on his jeans, gaze distant as his thoughts were clearly elsewhere. I knew what he was thinking and while I’d agreed to him being first off the boat with his acolytes, I would draw the line at him taking much more of a part than that.
“No,” I said and he blinked, mind dragged back to the present.
“What?”
“I don’t want you to go. I know I can’t stop you, not really, but I don’t want you to go. You are barely healing as it is.”
“You know I’m fine. I’ve had a couple of weeks to recover now.”
“No! You nearly died! Don’t dare try to say you didn’t.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile and I refused to be drawn in. He was not going to charm his way out of it.
“I didn’t die. I came home, as I promised I would. I don’t break my promises.”
“Then promise you won’t go and fight on the Isle of Man!”
He blinked at that and his smile vanished, a coldness entering his eyes that I had seen before. A shiver ran through me. He would never hurt me, I knew that, but that look was the look of the killer and it scared me a little sometimes.
I always feared the killer would remain and the man wouldn’t come back.
Then it was gone, as quickly as it had arrived and I shivered again as he smiled and approached the bed. He settled himself onto it and took my hand in his, which surprised me more than a little. He wasn’t one for such gestures.
“I swore that I wouldn’t lie to you and I would always keep my promises. I won’t make one that I don’t intend to keep.”
“Dammit, Ryan!” I pulled my hand from his and folded my arms across my chest. He didn’t look away from my glare nor did his smile slip. “Please. I need you here. I can’t lose you. I know it’s irrational of me, but you almost didn’t come back to me.”
“True. But there are going to be times when I need to go and do things that will be dangerous. Things I need to do to protect you.” He reached out and touched my stomach lightly, his smile growing slightly. “And our children. I will do what I need to do, no matter the danger, to make sure you all survive.”
I looked away, refusing to let him see the tears in my eyes. The crazy thing was that he was right. More than that, if I stopped him doing what he needed to do, he would resent the hell out of me. I was being more than unreasonable.
“Sorry,” I said and his arm slipped around my waist as he pulled me close.
He smelt of the soap he had used to wash and beneath it, there was that odour that was all him. Something about it had my heart beating faster and set fire to my blood. I turned my head, my lips meeting his and for a little while, I lost myself in him, in us.
Later, as he dressed once again, I watched him and pressed my hand to my stomach. He was the father of our children and I just wanted him to be there when they were born. It wasn’t too much to ask.
“When do you go?”
He glanced back at me, eyebrows rising. “A few days yet.”
I nodded my head and tried to hide the worry I felt. It was weird since I had never really worried about him not coming home. Not really. I had worried, sure. It was only natural when someone you loved was in danger.
But at the same time, I’d always known he would be back. He’d be safe. Something had changed though and whether it was the pregnancy or the fact that he had very nearly died, I couldn’t stop worrying.
It was irrational, I knew that. At the same time, I couldn’t stop. Even though there was a small voice in the back of my mind telling me that if I pushed too hard he would just leave and not bother coming back.
“What are we going to do about these Genpact people?”
That had infuriated me when he had finally been able to tell me everything that had happened. The architects of the end of the world and they had bunkers set up around the globe. I knew that they wouldn’t want to share the world with us and it was just one more thing to worry about.
“I’ll kill them,” he said without any real emotion in his voice, as though he were speaking of a chore that needed to be done.
“Just like that, huh?”
“Sure. I know the location of their base in England. Once the Isle of Man is secure and people are moved over there, I’ll go looking.”
He’d leave again. That’s what he was saying. He’d leave and put himself in danger while I was stuck governing a people who hated me.
“What are you going to do about, Wells?” he asked and it was my turn to be surprised.
That was an awkward question. We’d not got a court system set up so it wasn’t like I could have a trial. I couldn’t just execute him since I had already done that to two other people and had soon realised that wasn’t the way to do things.
But, at the same time, he was sitting in the basement of the very sports centre where I slept and while he lived, he was a threat. But, at the same time, if he were dealt with in the wrong way he could become a martyr.
“I don’t know.” I arched one brow at him and grinned. “What would you do?”
“Enlist him into the CDF.” That was a surprise and I was sure it showed on my face as he grinned. “You can’t just kill him, but enlist him and put him on the front lines. Send him into battle first and make sure he doesn’t survive it.”
Ah, I thought, that was more like him.
“Not sure that would work, my love.”
“Either that or agree that I can just go down there and slit his throat.”
“That definitely wouldn’t work.”
He laughed and buckled on his belt, positioning the two knives so that there was one on each hip.
“When does Samuel get back?”
“Due in tomorrow,” I said. “He found quite a haul of food and supplies at the bunker and has a small convoy of trucks bringing it back. The boats should be loaded today and they will head straight here.”
“Good. Charlie has l
ocated some other potential targets. I’ll have him start sending more groups out to locate them.”
“Whatever we can get will help,” I said. “Though until we have the island secure I’m going to keep everyone on half rations. Perhaps even till we get the first crops planted.”
“I get that. Too much can go wrong.”
“Yeah, I doubt many on the island will though.”
Jinx whined and I looked over at her. She lay on the end of the bed, ears pricked as she looked at the door. A moment later, a knock sounded. Ryan crossed the room and pulled it open, secure in the knowledge that there would be no danger. Not with the Dead standing guard.
“Sister,” he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “What do you want?”
“Ryan!” I said, shaking my head. “Be nice and invite her in.”
I threw aside the covers as Evie walked in and she waved me back. “Please, don’t get up for me.”
“Need to start getting ready anyway,” I said with a smile. “Got a long day. What brings you here?”
“You wanted to meet with me and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone.”
Which sounded ominous. I very much hoped she wasn’t going to announce her imminent departure from the island.
“Very well, please, take a seat.”
I gestured at the sole chair in the room that was beside the desk and she settled into it. She looked tired, her eyes red-rimmed and her skin pale, as though she had been up much of the night. She glanced at her brother and my heart sank a little as I prepared to hear her out.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Ryan said and Evie raised her hand.
“No. I need to speak with you too.”
Ryan seemed a little surprised at that but he shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed with as much patience as he could muster. Jinx pulled herself across the bed to rest her head in his lap and he scratched behind her ears.
“Mum’s upset.”
“Understandable,” I said. “If there’s anything I can do…”
“No. She’ll be fine in time. It’s going to take an adjustment but she loves him.” She inclined her head towards Ryan when she said that. “It won’t be easy for her but if there’s anything my parents know, it’s how to forgive.”
“I’m sorry,” I said and she nodded her thanks for that.
“Dad won’t understand. His health’s been getting worse lately. After Gabriel was, was… killed.” She swallowed then and looked away for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, he took it hard.”
Ryan was unmoved by her distress. I could see it in his face and how he held himself. He was simply bored and waiting for her to get to the point. Once again, I had to ask myself how I could have fallen in love with a man with so little empathy for others.
More than that, what sort of father would he make?
“We’ll not tell him,” I said and nudged Ryan with my foot. “Right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Good. Thank you.” She paused and looked directly at Ryan. “I can’t forgive you. Not yet. I want you to stay away from me and my son.”
“Okay.”
Just that. No argument or protest. Just a single word response to his sister effectively cutting him off from her and his nephew.
“I’d like to remain here,” she continued and I breathed a little sigh of relief. “And I want to be here for you, Lily.”
“You’re welcome to stay. We have thousands of people who could use your help and I want these babies to know you and all of their family.”
Evie nodded and swallowed again as though fighting some strong emotion that was no doubt related to her feelings for Ryan just then.
“Let me know when you will be around and I shall be absent,” Ryan said.
“I would appreciate that. Mum will reach out in her own time. Till then, I want you to stay away from us all.”
“Fine.”
She shook her head and pursed her lips, eyes shining. “We really mean nothing to you don’t we?”
My heart ached for the pain in her voice. It was clear that despite everything that had happened and all that she knew about Ryan, she still loved him. He was her brother and that was a bond that it seemed she couldn’t break.
Ryan didn’t answer just looked back at me and smiled. “We done?” I nodded and he rose to his feet, heading towards the door. Jinx rose and moved to follow but he looked at her once and said, “protect.”
That was it. Jinx settled back down on the end of our bed and he left without a word. Evie watched him leave and then turned back to me.
The floodgates opened and she began to weep for both the brothers she had lost.
Chapter 5
Gregg was waiting for me at the end of the hallway and I greeted him with a nod. He scratched at the scars below his eyepatch and tilted his head towards the door.
“Problem?”
“No.”
He seemed to accept that and fell in beside me as I made my way through the cavernous halls of the sports centre. My footsteps echoed on the polished floor, those vast rooms empty of all but a few black-garbed minions.
“What’s the plan today, mate?”
“Couple of days till we need to head back to the Isle of Man,” I said with a half-shrug. “Till then, I’m sure we can find something to do.”
“Why does that fill me with a sense of foreboding?”
I just flashed him a grin and kept on walking. Almost as soon as I reached the main entrance, four black-hooded minions fell into place around me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as Gregg laughed.
We moved south towards the main road, ignoring the curious looks of the people that milled around aimlessly in the streets. Lurking in doorways, and loitering on their doorsteps. There was a sense of gloom hanging around them and I couldn’t have stopped my sneer if I had wanted to.
They had no sense of purpose. Each and every one of those people could have opted to do something, anything, to make their lives on the island more palatable. Instead, they chose to waste their time and then complain about it.
It was a pointless waste of the lives and considering that at least some of them had likely been saved by better men and women, those who risked their lives to save others, it was infuriating. I smiled at that and considered that it was a good thing that Lily had taken charge and not I.
Weeds were poking up beside the road and between the houses. The gardens we passed had waist-high grasses and weeds, the shrubbery spreading out wildly. Leaves and other detritus filled the gutters and covered the pavement.
The town was a mess and it was clear to see that no one was bothering to take care of even the most mundane maintenance. With a population of twenty odd thousand people with nothing to do, it should have been easy to assign some tasks to people.
If nothing else, it would give them some kind of purpose.
But that was something I would discuss with Lily later. Just then, I had other things to do and I was more than a little interested in how those things had turned out.
“Where we going, mate?” Gregg asked as we turned into a side road that was bordered on both sides by single storey buildings of corrugated plastic and aluminium. “What is this place?”
“Mechanics shop, a delivery company and a few other such places,” I said with a nod towards a sign above one gate that declared it to be a plumbing merchant. “All those things you need when your only other option is to wait for something to arrive from the mainland.”
“Right, but what’re we doing here?”
“You’ll see,” I said with a secretive smile that I knew would infuriate him.
He grumbled and muttered beneath his breath but he kept on following me. I was pretty sure that Lily had asked him to hang around to keep me out of mischief and I was fine with that. It was probably a good idea as I didn’t endure boredom too well.
The occasional car or van still sat on the cracked tarmac of the road. Dirt and leaves had settled over them and their tires, if not alread
y deflated, were well on their way. It was easy to imagine that the rest of the world was suffering much the same. Their towns and cities falling apart with no one to maintain them.
“Great, bloody starting to rain,” Gregg said, holding out his hand before him to feel the raindrops as they fell.
“We’re here,” I said and waved at the large building before us.
It was perhaps eighteen to twenty feet high and all one storey. The lower part of the wall was made of white painted breezeblocks, long since fading to a dirty grey. The upper part was corrugated aluminium, painted the same white.
The roof was made of panels of the same material and there was a wide porch out front which cars and vans could park beneath. That was held up by two pillars of piled brick. I ignored Gregg’s curious look and headed straight for the front door.
I ignored the fact that one of the minions dashed ahead to make sure he went in first. Some things it was easier not to waste energy on arguing. If they were anything dangerous in there, I was pretty sure he would die and I’d get to kill it anyway.
Inside it was surprisingly well lit and Gregg stopped before the door, staring around with his eye opened wide and jaw hanging open.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Machinery had been shoved to the sides of the wide space and the centre had been filled with shipping containers. Several minions were hard at work on those containers and I shaded my eyes against the hot glare of the welder's flames.
“What is this?” he repeated and I ignored him once more.
A black-clad minion came running over and skidded to a stop before me, slamming her fist against her breast with bruising force. Her left hand had two fingers missing, a sign of previous failures back in Glasgow.
“My Lord Death.”
I didn’t roll my eyes. That title seemed to mean something to them and Lily had managed to somehow convince me that they needed it. Since it didn’t really affect my life if they kept using it, I had stopped trying to stop them.
“How is the work progressing?”
“Well, my lord. We have the first one completed and ready for testing.”
“Excellent. And the test subjects?”
Killing The Dead (Book 16): Infected Page 3