Starting Over (Starting Over 1

by Kathy O'Rourke

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Marco Alvarez-Leones del Valle (the Car Guys)

  “Shelley, what a pretty name.”

  My pants are tenting just thinking about bending her sweet ass over my desk. And she’s out there somewhere within fifteen miles of here. “I wonder what she looks like?” Hell, it really doesn’t matter, but it sure would be nice if she was a looker; nice tits, long legs, smooth skin.

  My walkie talkie squawks. I can’t help but grin as I adjust my pants. “Well, if it isn’t my sweetie now.”

  “Shelley, this is Hank. Over.”

  “Damn, that’s not her.” I’m tempted to answer and scare the shit out of the dude but it’s smarter to just listen.

  That’s all that comes across.

  Growling at the idea that she already has a man, I slam my hand down on the table. “Oh Shelley, you better say goodbye ’cause I’m gonna kill him.”

  Minutes later, it squawks again. “Shelley, this your lost family member, Leo. Over.”

  Another one? I wonder how many are in her group? Doesn’t matter. I’ll find them, kill the men and take my prize.

  There’s a knock on my door. I’ve taken the master bedroom suite with its attached den as my private headquarters. The guys know they better knock and wait to be let in, or else. “Come in.”

  Adam enters with a scowl on his face. “Boss, Alberto and Trent never came back last night.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Yeah. Their stuff is still in their rooms. I think somebody got them.”

  “Shit, shit, shit.” Pacing back and forth, I stop at the bar for a shot of whiskey. “How are we supposed to operate with only eight guys? Damn it to hell.”

  “I know, Boss, we’re out recruiting but the streets are empty.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. There’s supposed to be one percent of the population left. Where the hell is everybody? I looked it up on the internet before it went down, there should be close to fifteen thousand people left in the valley. Sure, many of them would be kids and old folks but still… What the fuck happened?”

  “I think the scientists were way off on that immune number, Boss. You’ve been out there. There’s hardly anyone left.”

  “Fuck, tell me about it.”

  “Maybe we need to go over the hill into Hollywood or to East LA to recruit?” Adam suggests.

  “Not yet. Not till we find out who’s taking our guys. I want everyone out in the mid-valley area tonight.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I point at the door. “Get out.”

  Two minutes later, there’s another voice on my walkie talkie. “Hey Shell, it’s Gus, You there?”

  That makes three; Hank, Leo and Gus. That’s the same number of guys at the Home Depot fight. I grit my teeth as I figure it out. Shelley’s with the guys who killed my brother.

  “Motherfuckers.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Shelley

  For the last hour, I’ve been keeping watch through the garage door windows. It’s the best place in the house to see both ways down the street. My shotgun is on the ledge next to me, my loaded handguns are strapped on and the knife Hank showed me how to use is tucked in my waistband. I won’t go down without a fight.

  Hank is on my mind as I keep watch. He’s come to mean so much to me in such a short time. “Please come back to me.”

  My feet hurt from standing still and I really need to pee. I tighten my kegel muscles and cross my legs. Minutes later, I concede defeat. “If I don’t go now, I’m gonna pee my pants.” I rush to the bathroom and back in record time.

  Maybe twenty minutes later, a van, our van, pulls into the Garcia’s driveway across the street. I’m instantly relieved and petrified at the same time. They’re back! Where are the Car Guys? Did they get spotted?” Frantic, I grab my shotgun and run across the street waving my arms. Leo thinks I’m waving hello and gives me a mock salute from behind the steering wheel. Hank smiles at me from the passenger seat until he gets a good look at my face. The back seat is empty. Where’s Gus? Michael? Adolph?

  “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Hanks asks as he jumps out, gun at the ready.

  “The Car Guys! Get the van out of sight right now! Hurry!” I pound on the hood before bending to manually pull the garage door open.

  I raise my shotgun to my shoulder when I hear a second car. “Oh God, they found us.” My heart skips a beat when I realize it’s not them. Gus is sitting in the passenger seat of a jeep and an Asian woman is driving. What? Another woman?

  Michael is smiling and waving from the back seat and Adolph has his head out the window.

  With no time for hellos, I lean in the driver’s window. “Gus, the Car guys are close, pull behind Ruth’s house. Hurry.”

  As if it isn’t crazy enough, Cindy wanders out to the front stoop with her teddy bear under her arm.

  “Shit. Sit. Shit. Why couldn’t she sleep longer.” I scoop her into my arms and place a quick kiss on her cheek. “Awake, sweetie?”

  Whining, she wiggles trying to get away. “Down. See Duff.”

  My pent-up nerves explode. I burst into tears and snap, “Cindy, stop it!” and pull her tightly into my chest. I scream over my shoulder, “Hurry everybody, get inside!”

  Gus reacts quickly and takes Cindy out of my arms. “Come here, Sweetie.” He pats me on the back and whispers, “It’ll be okay,” and walks toward the kid’s bedroom. “We’ll be in here.”

  “Shell, what’s the matter?” Hank pulls me against his chest.

  Just being in his arms calms me down a bit. “Sorry, I’m a mess.”

  “Come.” He sits in my big reading chair and pulls me down on his lap wrapping his arms around me. “Tell us what happened?”

  Michael, with a worried look on his face, hovers right in front of us. “Shelley, are you okay?”

  This is the first time he’s seen me fall apart. I pat his hand. “I’m okay, Sweetie. Promise.”

  After blowing my nose, I tell them, “The, the car guys. They, they drove down our street looking over every house.” I know I’m stuttering but I can’t seem to stop it.

  “Did they see you?” Michael asks, his eyes wide with fear.

  “No, no, they didn’t.” I place a kiss on his sweet head. “They didn’t see or hear us.”

  “What else happened?” Leo asks from his place on the sofa.

  “I heard gunshots. They were close, too. Then I heard barking and squeals of pain.” I hiccup and take a deep breath before continuing. “They found the dog house. They, they shot all of them.” I start to sob. “I heard them die.”

  Hank squeezes me tighter. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Those bastards.” Leo’s says through clenched teeth.

  Stamping his feet, Michael throws a book across the room. “Why did they kill our dogs? Why?”

  Grabbing Michael’s hand, I give the only explanation I can, “Because they’re mean, miserable men.”

  “I hate them.” Michael says as he goes over and kisses Adolph.

  “We all do.” Leo adds.

  I just now notice Leo’s hurt. His arm is in a sling and his face is a mess. “Leo! Oh my God, what happened to you?”

  “Got beat up and robbed. Mala found me and patched me up.” He points at the small woman standing near the front door.

  Pushing up off Hank’s lap, I walk over extending my hand. “I’m Shelley. I’m delighted to meet you. Sorry for the drama. Not a very nice welcome wagon, sorry.”

  Mala is beautiful in a delicate way. Everything about her is tiny but well-shaped. I’m taller than her and that’s not saying much. Her hair is dark black, but it looks navy blue when the light hits it. What I notice most is she has a distinct calmness about her.

  “It sounds like you had a few scares today, I can’t blame you for being upset.” She says with a slight accent.

  “I’m happy you’re here. We’ll have a long talk later. Maybe over tea. Welcome.”

  “Leo, why
don’t you tell Shell what happened to you.” Hank asks.

  And he does.

  Gus walks in carrying Cindy and rolls his eyes. “She wants to come in here, sorry.”

  “Down.” Cindy whines and wiggles until Gus puts her feet on the floor. She immediately runs over to Mala. “Who you?”

  “My name is Mala.” She squats, smiles and looks Cindy in the eyes. “You must be Cindy.”

  Cindy’s head bobs up and down. She points at Adolph. “Doggie Duff.”

  “I meet him already. He’s a smart dog.” Mala says as she looks around at us.

  Hank unclips his walkie talkie from his belt and puts it on the table.

  It reminds me of my conversation with Marco earlier, and my tears start all over again. “Mala, Guys, something else bad happened today.”

  Mala, nods at me then talks directly to Cindy. “I hear you have a beautiful garden, can you show me?”

  With a giggle, Cindy grabs her hand and pulls her toward the back door.

  As soon as Mala slides the patio door closed, Hank growls, “What else happened, Shelley?”

  “Some guy named Marco was on our walkie talkie channel. He told me he’s gonna come get me.” I take a deep breath and add the rest. “He wants a woman. He said some really gross things.”

  Hank slaps his hand on the coffee table. “Sounds like the Car Guys. The two guys who tried to take Michael said they were looking for women.”

  “We never heard anything! We really must have been out of range,” Gus tells me as he plays with his walkie talkie.

  “I was worried he could track us. I turned mine off and removed the battery.” I put my hand on Hank’s shoulder. “Sorry if it scared you.”

  “We can make a secret code and switch channels daily. That would let us keep using them.” Leo suggests.

  “Great idea. Can you work out a simple code for us?” Hank asks Leo.

  “Sure. Piece of cake. And Shell, they can’t locate us. Walkie talkies don’t have GPS in them and besides, the internet is down. Not possible.”

  “Oh, thank God.” I tell him with a hesitant smile.

  Mala comes back in the house and takes a seat next to Gus on the couch. “I kept her outside as long as I could.”

  Cindy with her arms out like an airplane, flies down the hall, climbs up on the couch next to Mala and grabs her hand. “New friend.”

  Michael rolls his eyes and lets out a huff. “Kids!”

  This breaks the tension and we all laugh.

  “So, Mala, I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’m happy to see another survivor, especially a woman.” I tell her.

  “I’m glad to meet you, too. You don’t mind me being here with your family?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m thrilled. Tell me about yourself.”

  When she’s done talking, I tell her, “I can’t believe our luck. You’re a nurse, that’s wonderful.”

  Leo interrupts, “An emergency nurse, that’s even better.”

  I nod my head in agreement. “Yeah, it sure is.”

  “I’ll be happy to take care of everybody. Remember, I’m not a doctor but I can do most things.” Mala tells us as she reaches down to pet Adolph. “I can even take care of him; my cousin was a vet and I helped him on the weekends.”

  “Fantastic. After you’re settled in, I’ll have you look over our first aid supplies and make a list of what we still need.”

  “You can take a house for yourself if you want.” Hank chuckles and adds, “God knows, we have plenty of room.”

  Mala shakes her head. “I talked it over with Leo. I want to stay in the extra bedroom at their house. I really don’t want to be in a house alone.”

  “Or you could stay here in my guest room, if you’d prefer.” I suggest.

  Leo looks at Hank. “I thought you were in the guest room? Where are you staying?”

  I answer first. It’s time they know about Hank and me. “He’s staying with me, in my room.”

  Gus slaps his leg. “I knew it.”

  Michael’s eyes bug out as his eleven-year-old brain figures it out. “Hank is your boyfriend?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  Mala gives off a nervous laugh. “Even more reason for me to stay with Gus and Leo.”

  “Whatever you want, Mala.” I add, “We want you to feel safe.”

  Leo grunts in pain as he pushes up off the couch. “Gonna show Mala around and help her get settled in her room.”

  “I’ll do it.” Gus says as he moves toward the door. “Bother, you’re too beat up. Go rest.”

  “He’s right, I could use a rest.” Leo moans.

  “Okay, be careful out there and remember, no noise.” Hank tells them and then turns to Michael. “Can you watch Cindy for a while, I’d like to have a private word with Shelley.”

  Michael giggles at him. “You just want to kiss her.”

  My face grows hot, because he’s right. Hank chuckles as he answers, “Yeah, I want a kiss her, but we need to talk, too.”

  Hank leads me to our bedroom. “Come talk to me.” He locks the door before pulling me into his arms. “I was so damn worried when you didn’t answer your walkie talkie.”

  His mouth comes down on mine, his tongue begging for me to open. I spread my lips and he devours my mouth. He grabs my hair, pushes my head to the side and kisses up and down my neck.

  My body tingles as he bites my earlobe. “I’m sorry. I thought I did the right thing turning it off.”

  “You did.” His hands move to the zipper in my jeans. “It was strange.” He kisses my cheek. “I had a premonition you needed me.”

  Zip.

  “I did need you.” I pull his shirt off over his head. “Plus, I was worried the Car Guys would find you.” I play with his nipples. “That they would take you away, maybe kill you.” Bending, I run my tongue over his dragon tattoo.

  “My turn.” He pushes my jeans down my legs, taking my panties with them and kisses my belly button.

  I pull his zipper down.

  Soon, we’re both naked, heated up and ready to go. He walks us backwards to the bed, pushes me down on my back. His eyes are full of lust as he tells me, “Shell, I need you.”

  “I know.”

  “This is gonna be quick, sorry. I need you too much to go slow,” he grunts as he spreads my legs.

  Passion takes over and pulls and tugs us till we fall apart in each other’s arms.

  After, he pulls my head to his chest. “I don’t think I could survive this apocalypse without you.”

  “I’m not planning on going anywhere,” I tell him. “You’re stuck with me.”

  He chuckles, “Good.”

  We lay in silence for a minute then he sighs and admits, “I’m worried. The Car Guys know someone lives around here. They’re gonna send scouts out to watch this area real close.”

  He’s right. The way the dog house was set up, it’s obvious people were taking care of them. “We’ll just have to be quieter and sneakier.”

  He places a kiss on my head. “I don’t see how we can do that with a dog and a three-year-old. Adolph barks and Cindy is like a fire house siren when she gets going.”

  I pinch his nipple and snort. “You’re right, she is.” Kissing the spot I just pinched, I whisper, “I was fortunate she was napping when the Car Guys came by today. I hate to say this, but, maybe it’s time we leave. Find a new place, far away.”

  He smacks my ass. “No, not yet, we’ve worked too hard on this place, but it is time to go on the offense. I’ll get with Gus and Leo and figure it out. To be honest, I don’t think Marco has that many guys. How could he? There aren’t that many people left.”

  “So, we go after Marco?” I ask.

  “Exactly. Because, the way they recruit, I don’t think all the members are bad men. They’re just following orders.”

  Our conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door.

  I ask, “Who is it?”

  “Me, Michael. Open up, please.” He sounds frantic.

/>   Hank and I start grabbing clothes. We answer at the same time. “What’s the matter?”

  His little voice is full of panic. “Cindy ate a whole bottle of vitamins.”

  We rush to dress.

  Hank, with just his pants on, opens the door and sticks his head out. “You mean the gummy ones?”

  “Yeah.”

  As soon as I’m dressed, I grab Michael’s hand and rush him to the front door. “Go get Mala. Be careful you aren’t seen.”

  He starts to cry. “I’m sorry. I only took my eyes off her for a minute, I swear.”

  Poor kid. “It’s okay, we’ll get her fixed up. Now go get Mala.”

  Michael points to the coffee table in the living room. “She’s under there,” then takes off across the street.

  Even though this is serious, I can’t help but smile at her hiding place. Only the top half of her is under the coffee table; everything from her waist down is sticking out. She reminds me of an ostrich with its head in the sand.

  Hank, who is now fully dressed, is standing next to me, smirking and shaking his head. “Cindy, sweetie, I can see you under there. Come out so we can check if you’re okay.”

  “Don’t wanna,” she whines and kicks her legs.

  Hank walks over to the table and squats down. “Cindy, come out of there right now.”

  “Don’t wanna.” Her whine is now twice as loud.

  Hank pulls on her legs and she goes into full tantrum mode; a wiggling, kicking little monster with blood curdling screams. He growls, “Not gonna stop us from checking you out, little girl.” Despite her best efforts, he manages to pick her up and hold her tight against his body. “Calm down. Right. Now.”

  Mala comes in the door with Michael, Gus, Leo and of course Adolph. She smiles at Hank’s attempt to control Cindy. She whispers to me, “Let me try.”

  She slowly approaches Cindy, still wiggling in Hank’s arms, and puts her hand on her cheek. Speaking in a calm soothing voice she says, “Cindy, be a sweet child, and come with me.”

  Cindy instantly stops fighting, quiets down and answers, “K.”

  Hank puts her down on the floor and Mala takes her into the guest bathroom and closes the door.

  We look at each other like we’ve witnessed a miracle.