“Come here, my beautiful love,” I murmured as I embraced Quinn.
She tucked her head into the crook of my neck. Her voice cracked when she said, “I can’t do this.” She pulled away and waved her hands in front of her chest, walking away from me.
“Love…don’t. Don’t walk away from me.” I was upset. I wanted to hold her close for one last time. I wasn’t a fool. I knew it could be our last moments together. I grabbed her arm before she was too far away, marching her away from everyone. “We don’t have any other options at the moment.”
“I know. It just scares the hell out of me. Henry could be anywhere around here. Just thinking that I could lose both of you….” She stopped. “This is definitely the area?”
“You heard Cora. The port is back that way. I don’t know if he would have traveled in this far. And who knows if Roger actually sailed this way. I promise you, I will take care of her and she will be fine. I will take care of myself, as well.” I reached out for Quinn again and she fell into my strong arms. “I love you so much. Words can’t express it,” I whispered.
“I love you more,” she murmured into my chest.
“Don’t start with me, woman,” I growled with a playful edge. That side of me always made Quinn smile. “Wait until I get back,” I murmured in her ear and I grabbed onto her hips, jamming them into mine. “I’m going to make you come so fucking hard, you’ll scream until you’re hoarse.”
The smirk on her face said it all. She decided to play along, not wanting to spend our possible last moments together crying her eyes out. As she looked up at me with her eyelids at half-mast, she seductively said, “Is that a threat or a promise, Mr. Erikkson?” Goddamn. My J.T. was starting to try to find an escape route out of my cargoes. She shifted her hips purposely, knowing I was thickening by the second.
“Both,” I growled. “I’d do anything to fuck you senseless right now.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck. I groaned into her ear, then kissed her with need and desire. I pulled away from her before my arousal became too obvious. No one needed to see me with tented cargoes.
I took a breather before I helped everyone get down into the bunker, then camouflaged the entrance with natural debris. “You ready?” I asked Josie as I clipped the gas can to my pack.
“As I will ever be. When do you think you will be in need?”
“When we stop and rest. I should be okay for a little while.”
We began our journey. It was the first time Josie and I would truly be alone together since I rescued her. It was a little awkward because Quinn was usually there to get the conversation going.
We had walked for quite some time before either one of us said anything. “Do you think we will find anything?” Josie asked.
“I sure as hell hope so.” She frowned. Apparently, she didn’t like that I wasn’t my usual confident self. I hadn’t been lately. I was at a loss and things were looking more hopeless by the minute.
We continued walking until we came across another stretch of woods that seemed untouched. I felt it would be a good time for a break. After venturing far enough into the trees so that we were out of sight from the road, we kicked back for a bit.
“Is one vial going to be okay for now?”
“Yeah,” I replied as I hooked Josie up.
“What’s it like?” she asked.
I looked at her, confused. “What’s what like?”
“Drinking blood.”
I took a deep breath, trying to decide what to say. “At first, I didn’t like it, but then I ingested a significant amount at one time and felt my first high.”
“I’ve smoked pot a few times. Is it like that?”
I chuckled a little. “Well, I’ve never smoked pot.”
“Really? I thought everyone had lit up at least once. It’s kind of a relaxed, lackadaisical feeling. Then you want to go to Taco Bell for burritos and a taco pizza, then hit up Quik Trip for Doritos.”
I barked out a laugh. “Somewhat like that, I suppose. Depending on how much I ingest, sometimes I just feel a little relaxed; other times, I see double or everything has a haze around it. Sometimes I even hallucinate. You’ve seen me all batty.” I winked at her and she chuckled. “I get this exhilarating feeling that runs deep through my body, like I’ve been charged up or something. I feel alive. When I’m like that, I love a good night of marathon sex, not munchies. It makes it ten times better than it is normally.” I smiled, thinking about Quinn. Then I realized what I said. “But you probably don’t need to hear that, do you?” Josie laughed.
I unhooked her and dumped back the vial. I rinsed it out with a little water and tossed the vial back into my pack.
“No. I think I’m good without knowing about your sex life. It’s bad enough that sometimes I hear you guys. And have caught you guys.” She scrunched up her face.
I smirked. “Sorry about that.”
“Yeah, right.” Josie leaned back against her pack on a stump. She sipped on a bottle of water and tore open a small pack of nuts. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to sink my teeth into a tomato right about now.”
“Mmmm…that sounds good. Or a Caprese salad drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar.” My mouth watered, almost tasting the fresh basil. I relaxed against a tree with my eyes shut.
“Oh, I know,” Josie said, dreaming of a nice meal. “A nice roasted turkey with all the sides, including bacon cornbread dressing… Yum.”
“Okay, stop. You’re making me hungrier than I already am.” I stood up and held out my hand to help her up. She took my icy hand and I pulled her up. “Feeling all right to keep going?”
She smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Chapter 39
Quinn sat on the couch and watched Kate and Silas put together a puzzle on the floor. Cora was off to her right, nursing Callie. She felt like she was connecting with Cora right away. “So how long have you two been together?”
“Several months. I resisted him when he first was hitting on me, but then I gave in.”
“How could you resist him?” Cora leaned in and whispered, “Good god, he’s gorgeous.”
Quinn smiled. “Yeah, he is. You should see him sans clothing.” Quinn giggled, then blushed. It was nice to have a moment of girl talk, rather than survival worries.
“Aren’t you worried about them going off like they did?”
If Cora only knew the worries that ran through her mind. “Absolutely. I’m scared out of my mind, but I have to trust that he will bring her back. I don’t have a choice. This is him. This is how he is.”
“Well, we will say a few extra prayers tonight.”
“I would appreciate any sort of help to get through this.” Quinn fiddled with her fingers.
“I understand your worry.” Cora smiled sadly and looked down at Callie. “Asleep already. She loves nothing better than this.” Quinn smiled as she watched Cora tenderly care for her youngest. It made her miss those days and miss helping care for Max. If only she wasn’t infertile. She would have loved to give Gunther the child that he wanted.
Dusk came quicker than I expected, but Josie and I had made it to the town center without incident. It was hit pretty hard. A few of the places were burned to the ground, others looked to be piles of lumber. There was one storefront and a partially demolished restaurant but, for the most part, I couldn’t even tell what kind of businesses they were. To me, it looked like storm damage, rather than bombing. The school Cora told us about was still standing and looked to be untouched. Essentially, the rest of the town was destroyed.
“Well…I believe this is what Cora was talking about and I don’t see a single vehicle anywhere.” I sighed and cursed a blue streak. “Fuck me.” I didn’t like wasting time and energy, but what could I have done? I had to check it out.
“At the very least, maybe we can find supplies. Maybe those stores over there have something we can use.” Josie pointed off to the left to the few buildings still standing.
“I hope so.” Doub
tful, I shook my head and headed to the first store.
The glass door was completely intact. I tried the handle and it was unlocked. That’s not a good sign, I thought. I paused for a moment, looked around the area, and pulled out my Sig. When we stepped into the dark store, it looked like it had been stripped clean.
“Fuck,” I grumbled. The stress of the situation was getting to me. “Damn it!” I kicked the empty shelving unit that was to my right.
Josie sighed. “This was a great trip. Nothing better than walking fifteen miles for nothing.”
I didn’t appreciate her attitude at the moment. “We had to try,” I snapped. She could see the stress and guilt that was crippling me. “There are three little ones that need to eat, not to mention us.”
“I know,” she mumbled.
I know she hoped I wouldn’t have another one of my epic meltdowns without Quinn nearby because I was pretty sure Josie couldn’t talk me off the ledge. I needed to keep my composure. I walked out the door to take a moment to cool off, leaving Josie in my wake.
Suddenly, Josie felt a cool hand cover her mouth. “Don’t scream,” a low, gritty voice with a familiar British accent filled the quiet. The cool, boozy breath from the lips that were pressed against her ear made her shiver. “I’ll take those.”
He pulled her pack off and patted her down for any weapons, discovering a gun neatly tucked away in the back of her pants. Her body was riddled with panic when he took her gun, and she began shaking. Josie knew it had to be Henry.
Knowing he could drain her at any moment and it would all be over caused tears to form in her eyes. She felt his big body press into hers again and his cool, tainted lips made it back to her ear. “I want you to go out there and bring Gunther back in here. Tell him you found something rather…brilliant that he absolutely needs to see.” His voice was sadistic and he even chuckled a little, making Josie’s hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “I have two others stationed outside. They have been instructed to shoot when I signal. If you run, you will become true dead. Are we clear?” Josie replied with one slow nod. “I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth. If you scream, I will drain you. Understand?” She was absolutely terrified. Henry removed his hand from her mouth, but he still held a tight grip on her arm. Josie swallowed hard. “Go.” He shoved her toward the door.
Gunther’s back was turned to the storefront. She could see him looking around, running his fingers through his grimy hair. Josie felt like there was lead in her shoes. The muscles in her legs weren’t responding. Fear had taken over.
“I said to go…now!” he barked.
It took every ounce of energy that Josie possessed to take one step forward. Her jaw was trembling and the tears were flowing, which she wiped away with the sleeve of her jacket. She managed to make it to the door. His impatience was scaring her, but her body wasn’t cooperating. She could hear him seething behind her. She put her hand on the handle and pushed the door open.
Josie opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. When Gunther turned around and saw her face, he immediately suspected something and pulled out his Sig. He turned around quickly and looked around, aiming in every direction.
“Josie…,” he whispered.
“C-come in here. Th-there’s something…” She wasn’t able to finish what she was supposed to say before Gunther yanked the door wide open and stormed inside. Josie stood pressed up against the glass, unsure of what she should do or where she should go.
“Well, well, well,” Henry laughed maniacally. Gunther had his Sig aimed at Henry’s head. “Look who decided to grace us with his presence.”
Chapter 40
Elaina rushed back into the school’s cafeteria, Claire’s and Nick’s pillows under her arm in effort to make Claire more comfortable. She was getting really worried about her and the baby. Something was off, but Elaina had no idea what it was.
She stepped into the cafeteria and saw Claire on the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach. “Claire!” Elaina screamed. She threw the pillows down and ran to her side. Claire was unconscious. “Claire!” Elaina shook her. “Claire…please, wake up!”
Claire stirred. With eyes fluttering open and in a groggy voice, she said, “Elaina…what happened?”
“I don’t know!” Elaina was in a panic. “I left to get you a pillow and when I came back, you were unconscious on the floor. I’m going to go find Nick.” As she stood, Claire grabbed onto Elaina’s leg and screamed. Elaina dropped back down and saw blood leaking through Claire’s pants. “Oh, my god! Claire, you’re bleeding!”
“It hurts, Elaina. Help me!” She curled up into a ball around Elaina’s leg and cried out again.
“I need to go find Nick.” But Claire wouldn’t let go.
“No, please stay with me. Don’t leave me alone,” she cried as tears flowed from her eyes. The blood was pooling between her legs, trickling onto the floor.
“Let’s get you to the clinic.” Elaina grabbed her by her arms and pulled her up, but she couldn’t stand straight. She steadied Claire, and they slowly walked to the clinic. A staggered trail of blood marked their path. “Did you hit your stomach?”
“I don’t know,” she panted. “I had a really sharp pain and then… I don’t remember what happened.”
“Jesus, Claire. You’re bleeding everywhere.” Elaina opened the door to the clinic and made her hold onto the door frame while she spread sheets on the cot. “Come on. Let’s get you up here, then I’ll go find Nick.” With Elaina’s help, Claire climbed up on the cot. “I’ll be right back,” Elaina reassured. Sobbing, Claire had a death grip on Elaina’s hand. “Please, let me go get Nick.”
“I’m so scared,” Claire cried.
“I know, sweetie.” Elaina didn’t want to tell her she was scared out of her mind.
After a quick kiss to Claire’s forehead, Elaina took off like a bat out of hell. The side door flew open when her palms punched the bar. She ran to the front of the school and looked around, seeing and hearing nothing. Movement in the storefront across the way caught her attention. She ran to the door and tore it open.
Henry continued his maniacal laugh as I had my Sig trained right at the center of his forehead. I envisioned a bullet invading, making a perfect circular hole, blood dribbling down his face, the back of his head exploding.
The door whipped open behind me, breaking me from my visualization. Two others walked in carrying guns. Josie screamed when the larger of the two grabbed her, covering her mouth with his hand. A muffled scream made its way through his fingers and her tiny body was flailing around, trying to get free.
“Tell your bird to chill the fuck out or I will have my mate, Nick, drain her. It’s been a while since he has had a large quantity, and I do believe he’s past ready for one.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Josie. “Calm down, love. It’s going to be all right. I will get us out of this.” A shared laugh between the three of them made my blood boil. She stopped fighting, but I watched her small body continue to quake with fear.
“Now. Let’s conduct business like gentlemen, shall we? By the way, little bird,” Henry addressed Josie, “proper introductions, yes? I’m Henry, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. And these are my mates, Nick and Thomas.”
“Let her go. She has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me.” I was stern but calm, feeling my program voice on the verge of taking control.
“Hmm…” After a quick scratch at the short beard on his blasted face, he said, “No. I don’t think so.” His smile was evil to say the least. It reminded me of Roger’s.
“So help me, if you harm a single hair on her head…”
He waved his finger at me. “Tsk, tsk, now. She is a little young for you, isn’t she? I thought you were a better man than that. Taking a lass as a lover. You sick, demented, want-to-be man,” Henry growled.
I was a mere moment from shutting him up forever. “She is not my lover,” I growled back.
“Righ
t.” Henry laughed, which pissed me right the fuck off. “I know how you are. I never knew a man who dipped his wick more than you.”
“Fuck you.” I still had my gun trained on Henry, my finger hovering closer to the trigger.
“Lower your weapon,” Henry ordered, but I stood firm. “All right. Thomas.” Two soft shuffles and the business end of a gun was pressed into the back of my head.
Josie started screaming and flailing around again. Henry laughed at the alarmed look on my face. “Shut it!” he screamed at her. “This is glorious, absolutely fucking glorious.” He held his hands up, making a rectangle by putting his fingers and thumbs together. “I wish there was electricity. I would post this picture on every social media site available.” He lowered his hands to his sides again.
“Just let her go. You can have me. I will surrender to you,” I muttered.
Surprise crossed his face. “You? Wave the white flag?” Henry laughed again. Apparently, he thought this situation was a bloody sitcom. “Now that would be brilliant, yeah?”
Then I stepped closer, unafraid of the gun pressed to my skull, and pressed my Sig into Henry’s chest. “Do it,” he growled, but I stood silent. His lips curled up into a twisted smirk. “That’s what I thought. No bullocks whatsoever.” Henry swiftly grabbed my Sig from me. “Thomas, take off his pack.” He did as Henry instructed and handed my pack to him, all while still holding the gun pressed against the back of my head.
“You may step back, Thomas. Mr. Erikkson deserves some respect. I suppose I should respect my elders. And Nick, you may let the girl go, as long as she can keep her bloody mouth shut. The first time she screams, enjoy.”
Josie ran to my side when Nick let her go. I wrapped my arm around her, pushing her partially behind me.
“So this was the army you organized then? Did you eat everyone else? What’s the deal?”
“I didn’t form an army,” I snipped.
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