Murray’s gaze darted to Aodhán, who stood at the ready, his long sword clutched in a white-knuckled hand. The vampire looked at Duncan. “I need to talk to you. In private.”
“I’ll be right back,” Duncan told his friends without turning around. He joined Murray in the hallway, closing the apartment door behind him. “What do you want?”
“Not me. Maddalene. She wants you back at the complex. And she wants you to bring the necromancer.”
Duncan folded his arms over his chest. Was Maddalene starting up her shit again? “Why?”
Murray shrugged. “She didn’t say. I didn’t ask. I like having my head attached to my body, thank you very much.”
Duncan scowled. He’d been trying to get Kimber to move in with him so he could keep her safer than where she was at present. And he believed he could protect her, despite the fact she’d be also living with his queen.
Maddalene hadn’t mentioned Kimber in a couple of months. He’d thought she’d backed down on wanting Kimber’s services. But why else would she want the necromancer?
“Oh, and she said to make sure the fairy stayed behind. She doesn’t want him tainting her surroundings.” Murray gave a little smirk and then flicked two fingers in a salute. “You’d better shake your booty. You know she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Without waiting for a response, he walked down the hallway.
Duncan watched him leave. Only after the other vampire turned the corner did he go back inside Kimber’s apartment.
The three were in the same positions he’d left them in. Upon seeing that Duncan was alone, Aodhán sheathed his sword and leaned one hip against the side of the sofa. “And just what was that about?”
“Maddalene demands my presence.” Duncan looked at Kimber. “And yours.”
Her brows shot up. “What? I don’t think so. She’s not my queen.”
“Kimber.” Duncan scrubbed his hand over his chin. “If you don’t come with me now, she’ll send someone else for you. Someone a lot scarier than me.”
She propped her hands on her hips. “What does Her Majesty want?”
“I don’t know.” Duncan lifted one hand. “It’s immaterial.”
Kimber took a couple of steps toward him. “It’s immaterial? The local queen of the vampires summons me, and you say the reason is immaterial?”
“Kimber.” He couldn’t keep the exasperation out of his voice. Damn it all, did she have to fight him on everything? He took her arm and drew her to the side of the room. Keeping his voice low, he said, “Remember what happened the last time you didn’t do what she wanted?” To be fair, Maddalene hadn’t intended to injure Kimber, but sometimes what a vampire means to be a firm touch is enough to hurt a more fragile human.
Her lips thinned. One hand cupped her shoulder. The dislocated joint was long healed, but he knew she remembered the incident clearly. “And yet you say you can keep me safe if I move in with you?”
“Yes. Yes, I can, because Maddalene respects my wishes. And she needs me, so she won’t want to piss me off.” He was ninety-nine percent sure that last part was true. Well, maybe ninety-eight. Or seven. Regardless, if he gave them sanctuary, he would die before he let harm come to her or her friends. “We need to go. Now.”
She heaved a sigh. “Fine. I’ll go see what she wants. But if I get eaten by Maddalene, I’m going to haunt you.” She walked away from him. “Come on, Nat. Let’s get our weapons.”
The two women left the room, and Aodhán tipped his head to one side, studying Duncan. Finally the fey warrior said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He could read Duncan well and probably had picked up on micro-expressions on his face when he’d thought about how far Maddalene would let him go before she’d jerk back on the reins.
“There’s not really an alternative,” Duncan responded. “Unless we leave the city. Well, the state. But I gave my word to Maddalene that I’d stay as long as she need—”
“Screw that,” Aodhán muttered. He straightened. “You’ve repaid your debt to her tenfold. She’s taking advantage of your integrity, and you know it.”
Before Duncan could respond, Kimber and Natalie rejoined them. Each woman held a flashlight in one hand and their weapons—a hatchet for Kimber and a short sword for Natalie—in the other hand. “We’re ready,” Kimber said. “Well, as ready as we’ll ever be.”
Natalie had a look of false anticipation on her face. “It’ll be a grand adventure. I’m looking forward to it.”
Duncan shook his head. Women. Couldn’t live with them, couldn’t feed them to hungry vampires.
Thoughts of him sinking his fangs into Kimber’s throat, feeling her naked body beneath his as he also sank his cock into her hot depths, caused his body to tighten. With a muttered oath he opened the door and took a step back to avoid the fist coming down. His curse this time was louder. He hadn’t even heard the man in the hallway. He had to keep his libido under control or he’d get them all killed.
Carson Bishop dropped his hand to his side. “Sorry,” he said. “I was just getting ready to knock.”
Duncan knew the ex-cop lived a few apartments down with a couple of his former colleagues. Close enough to Kimber to drop by any time he wanted. And he did. A flare of jealousy surged, one which made no sense, and Duncan tightened his mouth. The damned woman was making him crazy. “We’re on our way out.”
Bishop moved out of the way. “Where’re you headed?”
“Maddalene’s.” Kimber raised her eyebrows and pulled a face. “The queen doth command our presence forthwith.”
“Not mine, I’m sure,” Aodhán interjected. “I’ll go with you as far as MLK Drive, but I’m going to head north from there and check on my people.”
“She specifically sent word that you were not to come,” Duncan said.
“Fine by me.”
Duncan looked at Bishop. “What brings you by?”
“I smelled hot dogs.” He glanced at Kimber. “And if you’re taking her to Maddalene, I think I’d better go along. Safety in numbers and all that.”
“You think I’d allow harm to come to her?” Duncan stared at the former cop. Jealousy and anger tightened his gut, made his eyes burn.
“I think you’d fight until you can’t fight anymore,” came the quiet rejoinder. “But one more watching over her can’t hurt, right?”
“She’s standing right here, you know.” Kimber’s exasperation came through loud and clear. “Men.”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Duncan said to Bishop. The man was a good fighter, and as he said, having another person to watch out for Kimber wouldn’t hurt. Duncan didn’t plan on letting her out of his sight, but another set of eyes with a warrior heart was welcome. “What about your friends?”
“Dave’s down with a cold, the big wuss, and Mark and Henry are out on patrol.” Bishop lifted his brows. “I can get them back by radio. You want them to come, too?”
Duncan shook his head. “One more is fine, three more turns us into a goddamned parade.” He started down the hallway then led the way down the stairs. They made it out of the apartment complex without difficulty—the heavy duty wire fencing the residents had put up around the building was holding the zombies at bay. Right now there weren’t any lingering around, which was good. But he didn’t let himself think that they’d be that lucky the rest of the way. The moon was up, not quite full, but bright enough to light their way. They wouldn’t have to use their flashlights.
Maddalene’s compound was only a mile and a half to the southwest, but it might as well have been a hundred miles away since they had to dodge zombies to get there. “Stay close,” Duncan murmured. He pulled his tire iron from the loop on his belt and gripped it in his left hand.
Duncan could have chosen any weapon, but he liked the way a tire iron handled. He could swing it like a bat or use it as a bayonet to stab into a zombie’s head to scramble its brain.
Before the Outbreak, necromancers were the only ones who could send a zombie back
to its grave. Now, the only way to put them down was to damage the brain so they could no longer function, which was a hell of a lot messier.
He glanced around at the group behind him. Catching Kimber’s eyes, he asked, “Are you ready?”
She gave a nod. Reaching out, she clasped Natalie’s hand and asked her the same question. Natalie whispered a shaky “Yes” and drew a deep breath. Kimber looked at Duncan. “Let’s do this thing,” she said and let go of Natalie to grip her hatchet.
She looked determined and brave and scared and too lovely to ignore. He dropped a kiss on her lips.
Her breath hitched then the usual scowl curled her lips. “Don’t do that.”
He noticed she hadn’t moved away from him. Her mouth said one thing but her actions clearly communicated something else. “Do what?” he asked, letting his hand sweep slowly up her arm.
“Kiss me.”
Deliberately misunderstanding, he murmured, “If you insist,” and lowered his head to touch his mouth to hers again. Her lips softened under his, coming open on a gasp as he swept his tongue along the seam of her mouth. When he lifted his head she blinked up at him, then the familiar scowl darkened her features. He felt a grin coming and fought it back. Now wasn’t the time to continue his assault on the defenses she’d built up against him. They needed to get moving.
“If you two lovebirds are finished, can we maybe go already? I’m really looking forward to fighting off ravenous zombies so we can go cozy up to some hungry vampires.”
He slid a glance at Natalie. “Smartass,” he muttered. He opened the lock and undid the chain.
Aodhán pushed the gate of the metal fencing open and they all went through, waiting for Duncan to latch the gate before turning toward Main Street. “All right, then,” Aodhán said. “I’ll be with you for the first mile.”
“Are you sure you’ll be all right going north on your own?” Kimber asked, her voice soft and concerned. “One of us should go with you.”
“I’ll move faster on my own, lass.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “But I appreciate the offer.”
“Let’s go,” Duncan said. He wasn’t worried about Aodhán. The fey could move even faster than vampires; Aodhán could take care of himself. The only reason he was with them was that he owed Duncan, and Duncan had asked him to help protect Kimber. Right now the sooner they got on their way the sooner they’d know what size horde they faced.
They actually managed to make it two blocks, keeping close to the edges of buildings, skirting around abandoned, rusted vehicles, before they saw the first zombie. And it saw them. They’d been doing this for six months as a team, going out scavenging for supplies, and they had it down pat. Without a word, Duncan kept leading the way while Aodhán headed toward the straggler. He dispatched it in less than a second and rejoined them. He wasn’t even breathing hard.
The next ones Duncan heard before he saw them. He held up one hand. Everyone flattened themselves against the nearest building and waited. The shuffling sound of a zombie was distinctive, plus many of them made low grunting or groaning noises when they walked. Not all of them did. Duncan had come to the conclusion that the newly infected were the ones making the noise, as if there was still some part of them inside that recognized what was happening even though they were powerless to stop it.
Or, more prosaically, it could be escaping gas resulting from their decomposition.
He waited until the first dead man lurched around the corner before he acted. He grabbed the zombie’s shirt and jerked him around, slamming his back against the wall and the tire iron through his skull in one seamless move. He yanked the weapon out of the zombie and turned to face the next one.
Kimber leaped past him, her hatchet swinging through the air. She buried it in a zombie skull with a low grunt, turning her head to avoid having the spray of blood hit her in the face. She jerked the blade free and watched the corpse hit the ground. She looked at Duncan with a grimace. “Oh, yuck. I really, really hate this.” Her voice was quiet but full of revulsion. She tipped her head to one side. “Ew. God, there’s something sliding down my neck.” The last word was a whispered wail.
He scooped the bit of zombie off her skin and flung it aside. “You’re such a girl,” he murmured and fought against the urge to kiss her again.
“Shut up. And stop looking at me like that.”
“I’d do a lot more than look, if you’d let me,” he muttered. Before she could respond, he jerked his head, indicating they should move, and they set off. In another two blocks they killed two more zombies and finally reached the intersection of Main and MLK.
“This is where I say farewell,” Aodhán murmured. He and Duncan clasped hands briefly. “I should be home in three or four days.”
“Be careful.” Kimber moved over to him and threw her arms around his waist, her cheek resting against the muscled chest covered by a thin T-shirt.
The fey warrior’s muscled arms returned her hug. “Don’t worry about me, mo chara. The portal to my people isn’t far.” He bent his head toward her and smoothed his big hands up and down her back.
Duncan’s entire body tightened at the sight of the embrace. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t sexual in nature. Some other man was touching his woman.
His nostrils flared. When had he started thinking of Kimber as his? She wasn’t, and while he certainly wanted her, he wasn’t planning on anything serious. Or lengthy. He’d learned a long time ago that getting romantically attached to a human never ended well. The human always ended up wanting more than a vampire’s nature allowed him to give.
He was the predator; they were the prey. It was the way things had been for centuries. As Kimber and Aodhán’s hug continued, Duncan narrowed his eyes. He had no reason to believe anything would be different with Kimber. Or that something would be different for him than it had for any other vampire.
But if that goddamned fairy didn’t take his paws off her, he was going to get Duncan’s tire iron up his ass.
The two objects of his displeasure drew away from each other, and Duncan relaxed. When he saw the sadness and fear that drew Kimber’s pouty mouth into a frown, he tensed again. He understood her concern for Aodhán’s safety. Hell, he even shared it. But he didn’t have to like it that another man’s departure could move her emotions like this.
Shit. He was so twisted up in knots over her, he could feel rage burning deep in his gut. “We need to go,” he muttered, taking hold of her elbow, his grip tighter than he meant, but he couldn’t make himself let go of her.
Aodhán lifted one brow, then the other when he looked at Duncan’s face. The fey warrior’s lips pressed together. Duncan shot him a glare, daring Aodhán to comment on the sudden and irrational possessiveness that was holding him so rigid next to Kimber.
“He’s right.” Aodhán lifted a hand in farewell. “Be careful.”
“You, too.” Natalie gave him a once over, letting her gaze linger on the large weapon in his hand. “You and your mighty sword.”
His lips twitched into a grin. He lifted a hand in silent farewell to Bishop then looked at Kimber. “I’ll be back at your place Monday morning, early afternoon at the latest.” He glanced at Duncan. “If that’s all right with you.”
Kimber frowned and tugged on her arm. When Duncan didn’t turn her loose, her face deepened into a scowl. “He doesn’t have any say, Aodhán. It’s your place, too, as long as you want it to be.”
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment and turned away. Duncan stood with the others and watched him for a few moments then he turned, urging Kimber along with the hand on her arm. “Let’s get moving.”
The rest of the journey to Maddalene’s was strangely anticlimactic. As the gates of her compound were swung open to allow them entrance, Kimber edged closer to Duncan. He caught the dark scent of her fear and put an arm around her. “You’ll be safe here, I swear.” He glanced over his shoulder at Natalie and Bishop. “All of you.”
* * *
Kimber walke
d alongside Duncan, tucked against his side. She should be more nervous than she was, walking into the lion’s den as it were, but with his arm heavy around her shoulders, holding her against him like she was precious cargo, she had a hard time drumming up the appropriate level of anxiety. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t afraid. She was. Because she wasn’t stupid. But Duncan made her feel safe.
Except for that one episode with Maddalene, he always had.
And he always made her want more, especially when he kissed her. She wanted more than she should, more than was possible in this new world. Every day she lived was a day closer to dying. Each time she was victorious over a zombie was one time she was closer to her luck running out.
She’d made all of her friends promise that if she was ever bitten, they’d kill her outright. She’d stared them down until they’d vowed not to wait until she turned. She didn’t want them remembering her as a ravening undead creature. They, in turn, had forced the same promise out of her.
But here, with Duncan, she wasn’t afraid of zombies, and not just because Maddalene’s compound was so secure. She wasn’t afraid because she was with him. She just couldn’t relax enough to enjoy that feeling or really delve into why she felt so safe, especially since in just a few minutes she’d be in the same room with the vampire queen herself.
As they entered the main complex—once an eight-story factory building which had been converted to office space in the nineties, then into condos around 2010—Kimber glanced around at the vampires gathered in the lobby. While she, Natalie, and Bishop weren’t as well fed as they had been six months ago before the Outbreak, they were still in much better shape than these guys seemed to be. Some of them looked downright skeletal.
Her brows dipped and she looked up at Duncan’s face. He was certainly hale and hearty enough, not appearing to be on the brink of starvation like the others.
At her unspoken question he murmured, “There are perks to being the right-hand of the queen.” He dropped his gaze to her. “As long as you’re under my protection, you’re safe.”
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