Love in the Time of Zombies

by Cassandra Gannon

  “We need to go there and rescue the pack, then.” Caleb insisted.

  “There’s a plan.” Darcy snorted. “Go storming Fremont like Mel Gibson in The Patriot and stage a jailbreak. Jesus, it’s a good thing you guys are pretty, ‘cause you sure wouldn’t survive by your wits alone. Joseff won’t hurt them.”

  “Well, we have to do something.” Caleb snapped. “You think so, too, or you wouldn’t still be in town.”

  “I’m only here because I can’t leave without gathering all my belongings. And one of them is a pain-in-the-ass to pack.” Darcy picked her glass up, again. “Now, since I’m probably going to be starving to death in the near future, I’d kinda like to enjoy my breakfast while I can.” She focused on Scotlyn. “Speaking of which, what are you? O pos?”

  “Darcy…” Zeke’s complaint was cut off by a crash at the front of the club.

  Scotlyn turned, her eyes frantically scanning. She didn’t have to see them to know that the zombies were inside Prowl. Someone let out a scream and there was a sudden push of panicked people surging in every direction. Scotlyn was knocked to the ground in the mad dash. She hit the dirty floor coming face-to-face with Pucci who was peering out of her carrier with feline apathy.

  “Fuck!” Zeke grabbed for her, shoving people out of the way. “Scottie!”

  Scotlyn barely had time to seize Pucci’s carrier before Zeke was hefting her up like she weighed nothing at all. He all but tossed her over the bar, away from the mob. She landed on the opposite side of it, vaguely processing a stampede erupting in the club. Tables and chairs scattered as everyone fled. Karl had been right. Supernatural creatures were just as terrified of the zombies as the humans had been.

  Zeke vaulted over the bar and turned back for his brother. “Move it!”

  Caleb climbed up onto the bar top, his (really lovely) Italian loafers knocking over glasses of blood and alcohol.

  “I just paid a hundred bucks for that drink.” Darcy complained.

  Caleb reached back to snag Darcy’s arm and lifted her up beside him. “It’s all just toilet paper remember?” He jumped down next to Zeke, dragging Darcy along with him.

  Zeke’s eyes fell on Jacqueline the bartender. “Is there another way out of this place?”

  Jacqueline pointed towards the back, huddling under the sink.

  Zeke didn’t need to be told twice. He hustled Scotlyn towards the rear of the club, slamming his elbow into a blue man in a cowboy hat to clear the way. “Cale, we’re going through the kitchen!”

  “I see it.” Caleb kept one hand locked around Darcy’s arm. He physically tossed two more guys aside with his other hand, his gaze sighted on the swinging door that read “employees only.”

  “I can’t go outside.” Darcy protested. “The sun is too high!”

  Zeke dragged Scotlyn into the kitchen. The whole place was filthy. Thank God she hadn’t ordered the Siamese. “What happens if vampires go into the sun?” She demanded.

  “Don’t you watch movies? It kills us.” Darcy kept her eyes on Caleb. “I’ll die I go out there. You know that.”

  Caleb stared down at her, breathing hard. “You’ll die if you stay here. I know that, too. We can’t leave you behind.”

  “I’m a vampire, asshole. It takes more than dead humans to beat me.”

  Scotlyn highly doubted that. She looked back through the pass into the dining room and saw the zombies dragging bar patrons to the ground. There were just too many creatures for the club goers to fight.

  Glasses broke and people yelled and the juke box switched to a-Ha’s Take on Me. It was a massacre, with zombies appearing, one after the other, and attacking in relentless waves of carnage. No matter how many were struck down, more pushed forward. They didn’t care about the other zombies they walked on in their advance, or the pleas of the victims, or the physical damage they sustained. All they cared about was feeding.

  Not even the supernaturally powered beings at Prowl could withstand an army like that.

  A guy with leopard spots on his skin raced into kitchen behind Caleb and barreled straight into a stove. Pots flew everywhere, boiling water dumping all over him. The guy didn’t seem to even notice. He kept going, dashing into the alley behind the building, without slowing down. Several more people dashed after him, but then the zombies reached the kitchen.

  A woman in a sequined top and Hello Kitty pajama bottoms was torn back from the kitchen doorway by a dozen grasping hands. She let out a high-pitched, inhuman shriek that blew out the glass in the windows as they dragged her towards the bar. Blood gushed from her neck as they ripped into her.

  Scotlyn turned away in horror.

  “Fuck!” Caleb shot four zombies with a spray of bullets, driving them back from the kitchen. He shut the swinging door, leaning against it to try and keep it closed. There didn’t seem to be a way to lock it. The zombies didn’t understand that they could pull the door out. They seemed to be trying to shove their way in.

  Caleb’s loafers slid across the linoleum as he struggled to stop them. “Zeke!”

  Darcy slammed her body against the door, adding her weight to Caleb’s. “Get the refrigerator!”

  Zeke was already on it. He wrenched the ancient Frigidaire away from the wall with brute strength and shoved it towards the kitchen door. “Cale, count of there. One.” He pushed it into position. “Two.” He flattened his palms on the avocado green side. “Three!” Caleb and Darcy scrambled out of the way as Zeke toppled the refrigerator sideways in front of the door. The freezer popped open and Ziploc bags full of dead kittens spilled out.

  Scotlyn gasped at their little frozen faces.

  “That you’re upset over?” Zeke demanded.

  “They’re just babies, you insensitive ass!”

  “It’s not going to hold.” Caleb looked down at Darcy. “We can’t stay here.”

  The door slammed inward, over and over, the refrigerator inching forward. At the pass, zombies were trying to crawl over the warming racks and get into the kitchen. Caleb was right. The zombies were coming and nothing could stop them.

  Zeke reached the back entrance and quickly checked the alley. “It looks clear.”

  “What about Darcy?” Scotlyn asked.

  Zeke’s eyes narrowed in frantic thought.

  “Leave me.” Darcy ordered. “You have to get the human out of here. She’s too important.” Her eyes stayed on the dining room door. Hands were wedged through the small opening, fingers grasping. “Just get to Joseff. Tell him what happened to me, so he doesn’t search.”

  “Important?” Scotlyn echoed. “Why am I important?”

  They ignored her.

  Caleb ran a hand through his hair, looking hunted. “I’m not leaving you, Darcy.”

  “You always have to be the goddamn White Hat, don’t you? You leave behind anyone who can’t keep up! Those are the pack rules.”

  Caleb shook his head, with suicidal resolve. “You’re my sister. I won’t leave you. Zeke and Scotlyn can go, and you and I will try to hold the zombies back.”

  Darcy looked over at Zeke. “If I knock him out, can you carry him?” The question was deadly serious.

  Caleb’s expression darkened. “I will kill you two before…”

  “You’re both coming with us!” Zeke roared at the same time. “What the hell are thinking…?

  “All of you shut-up!” Scotlyn shouted as they continued to bicker over who got to die.

  Caleb and Darcy turned to blink at her.

  Zeke waved an expansive hand. “Finally! Scotlyn, make them see sense. Use that mean voice you use when the phone company wants to get paid.”

  Scotlyn disregarded that. “We’re a team. All of you start acting like one or none of us will survive.” She jabbed a finger at Cale. “Zeke’s not going to leave his brother and I’m not leaving him. Deal with it.”

  Caleb’s head tilted, looking bemused.

  “And Darcy,” Scotlyn turned to her, “ignore these two dimwits and concentrate on bending
the vampire rules.” She pointed out to the bright desert daylight. “Now, does the sun have to actually touch vampires to do damage?”

  “Yes.” Darcy still seemed sold on her plan to beat Caleb unconscious, but she focused on Scotlyn. The phone company voice had that effect on people.

  “So if we had a blanket to put over you…”

  “It wouldn’t work. Light goes through fabric.”

  Scotlyn looked around. There had to be something in the kitchen they could use as a sunshield. Maybe they could rip the door off its hinges and use it like awning.

  Before she could try it, though, the sounds of automatic gunfire came from the dining area. It sounded like the police attack on the Wal-Mart, a ceaseless wail of high powered ammunition hitting bone and flesh and anything else in its path.

  Caleb and Darcy ducked behind the sideways refrigerator. Scotlyn hit the ground, Zeke on top of her. The clangs and pings of metal striking metal were added to the cacophony, as the bullets passed through the wall and into the kitchen. The screaming and gunfire and breaking objects all blended together in her head until Scotlyn thought it would never end. Until she didn’t remember what the world sounded like without them.

  She was losing her mind. She could feel it happening.

  All she knew was chaos and noise and… Zeke

  The man who was nobody’s hero protected her with his body, the scent and feel of him breaking through the confusion and giving her something to hang onto. Scotlyn focused on his strained face, which was hovering inches from hers. He was the only real thing left. Green eyes met lavender.

  Without even thinking about it, Scotlyn leaned up to press her lips to his. He understood what she needed. His mouth opened against hers, kissing her back. Keeping her grounded. Everything outside of him ceased to exist. There was just the taste of him and the warm feel of his skin and the absolute rightness of the man. When she was with Zeke, she always felt safe.

  When he finally lifted his head, Scotlyn realized that the terrible sounds had ended. Whoever had been shooting must have killed all the zombies, because she heard voices calling out, looking for survivors.

  “Princess Darcy!” Someone bellowed.

  “Where is Darcia Laurent?” Another man demanded.

  “Those are Joseff’s men.” Darcy scrambled to her feet and clambered over the refrigerator. She pushed open the swinging door against the weight of the bodies blocking it. “I’m here!”

  Instantly, a dozen vampires decked out with an arsenal worthy of Predator were shoving their way into the kitchen. For a second, Scotlyn thought they were there to help. Then, she noticed they had their guns aimed at Caleb and Zeke.

  And her.

  “In the name of King Joseff, you’re all under arrest.” The largest of the men reported grimly. Two more guys seized Darcy and began shrouding her in some thin reflective fabric. It looked like a thermal blanket, so it must’ve been designed to allow vampires to go safely into the sun.

  “This is bullshit!” Darcy tried to shove them off. “Joseff wouldn’t okay you manhandling me.”

  “He said to do whatever was necessary to get you back alive.” The biggest vampire retorted. “And to bring whoever was with you, especially if they were shifters.”

  Other vampires were already slapping some kind of weird looking handcuffs on Caleb and Zeke. The brothers automatically tried to resist, but they were staggeringly outnumbered. Scotlyn gave a cry of alarm as one of the vampires slammed the butt of his gun into Zeke’s face and Caleb was shoved to the floor.

  “Joseff has no authority over shifters.” Caleb snapped. “What the fuck is this about?”

  Not seeing another choice, Scotlyn held up her palms as a vampire stalked towards her.

  “You touch her and I’ll stake you out in sun.” Zeke snarled.

  “What the hell is she?” The vampire demanded, checking her wrist like he expected to see the jagged tattoo Caleb and Zeke shared.

  She swallowed. “I’m a Scotlyn Summerline.”

  “She’s mine.” Zeke’s attention stayed fixed on the guy, even as other vampires tried to drag him towards the door. “Be careful with her. Unless you want to explain to Joseff why you let the most valuable person here get hurt.”

  “Valuable?” The biggest vampire scoffed. “The woman’s got a nice rack, but…”

  “She’s a human.” Caleb interrupted. “Possibly the last one in Vegas.”

  All twelve vampires stared at her like she was the Holy Grail.

  Scotlyn suddenly realized what Darcy had meant by calling her “important” and what both shape shifters were now doing to ensure her safety. She was part of an endangered species. A species that the vampires desperately needed to survive. These men wouldn’t harm her, if they knew what she was.

  “Her blood can help keep us alive.” Darcy put in, in case the other vamps couldn’t piece that together for themselves. “No matter what happens to the rest of us, the human has to be protected.”

  Chapter Seven

  Bright side to the zombie apocalypse:

  Ever wanted to live in the White House? Well, now’s your chance!

  The pedicurist painted her nails a vibrant red.

  Darcy might’ve work as a mechanic, but she loved nail polish. The combination meant she had to visit a salon twice a week to maintain a respectable mani-pedi. Darcy didn’t mind. The new vibrant color she’d chosen completely fit her mood. Darcy was a girl who knew when something interesting was about to happen and today called for Sinful Scarlet.

  When the dark shape swept into the day spa, she smiled like she’d been expecting him. Maybe she had been. They’d been playing this game for a very long time.

  Joseff the Unconquered scanned around the interior of the room, dismissing everyone present. “Leave.” The deadly voice and the mind control behind it had the humans meekly filing out the door. He very slowly closed it after them, sealing the two of them into the pink, frilly space.

  Alone.

  Darcy stared up at Joseff’s rough, unhandsome features, every nerve ending in her body lighting up like the 4th of July. He was the most dangerous vampire in the world. Hewn through battle and command and endless death. He’d never lost a fight.

  From the time she was a little girl, this man had been a threat to her very existence, but she’d never been afraid of him. She’d always known that Joseff wouldn’t hurt her.

  “Come for a waxing?” She asked casually.

  “I’m here to kill you.” He snapped. “Someone who’s eluded me this long deserves death by my own hand, so I’ve come to finish you myself.”

  But he didn’t move to attack her. Instead, his eyes flicked down to her bare feet, lingering on the cherry red polish. There wasn’t any hatred for his greatest foe burning in their ebony depths.

  Instead, she saw lust.

  Joseff glanced away, as he always did when they reached this point in the game. He wanted her so much it charged the air, but he never made a move towards her. Darcy deeply suspected he never would, without a little push in the right direction.

  It was the one battle he didn’t think he could win.

  “You should be far more careful about scheduling your days.” He muttered, lecturing her about a future that she couldn’t possibly have if he carried out his threat to annihilate her. “I’ve told you before, anyone can track you if you don’t take more precautions.”

  “Why would anyone want to, though? Even you?” She tilted her head, deliberately allowing the white spa robe to slip down her shoulder. “Do you think I’m such a big threat to your empire?”

  His gaze slipped to skin she’d revealed and she saw him swallow. “You could… challenge for the crown.” He tried. “You’re the rightful heir. Many would follow you.”

  “But, I don’t like to be followed. Except by certain people.” Black eyes met hers and she smiled knowingly. “So how will you do it?”

  “Do what?” He was distracted by the red polish, again.

  “Kill m
e, of course. Are you going to chop my head off?”

  Joseff blinked. “No.”

  “Burn me?

  “No!”

  “Briar patch?”

  Joseff made an annoyed sound. “Stop it. You know I’m not… I wouldn’t…” He trailed off, looking like he was out of things to say.

  Darcy smirked. The man had sacked kingdoms. He was the most feared vampire alive. But he was always so adorably unsure when he faced her. It was like he had some badass threatening speech all prepared… and then he saw her and his mind went blank.

  She loved that.

  Suddenly, Darcy knew how to sweep the board, once and for all. Or maybe it wasn’t so sudden. Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe that was why she kept dangling herself under his nose, daring him to find her. Because, she’d been waiting for this.

  For him.

  “Well, since you’re not going to heave my naked body into the sunlight, what are you planning to do with me?”

  His jaw ticked.

  “Hey, I have an idea.” She purred and played the biggest trump card in vampiredom. “Pleasure me, Joseff.”

  The three small words changed everything.

  It wasn’t like Darcy could force him or anything. As near as she could tell, the words just made it really hard for a male vampire to resist. The request supposedly felt like the woman taking the length of him into her mouth and suckling. A virtuous few said no, but most of the time the males were thrilled to comply.

  She already knew Joseff wasn’t going to be one of the ones who walked away.

  In fact, he just… stared at her, his expression going slack.

  There was something almost vulnerable about his disbelief. Did other woman not demand his services? Apparently not, since he looked flat-out astonished. Everyone else was probably too frightened of him. Or not attracted to the rough angles of his brutal face.

  Fucking idiots.

  “What?” He finally blurted out, sounding utterly lost.

  Darcy deliberately untied the sash of her fluffy robe. All she wore under it was a thin undershirt and panties. “I want your mouth on me. Feel free to begin anytime.”