“I just erased your life, the way you tried to erase ours.” Scotlyn weakly wrapped her arms around Zeke’s neck. “Now we all have to start over. This time, don’t be such an asshole.”
“God, I missed you.” Zeke carried her towards the stairs. He could already hear shouting and gunfire. So much for Powell and subtlety. “Listen, we’re going to have to go straight through the middle of this mess. If something goes wrong and we get separated, head for the parking garage, alright?”
”Don’t worry. I know this casino better than anyone left alive. Go through there.” She nodded at a door marked “Employees Only.” It led them into a long corridor with offices on the opposite wall. Unlike the cacophony of colors in the rest of the casino, everything was industrial white. “Go right until you hit the security office.” Her head lolled against his shoulder, like it had grown too heavy for her to hold upright. “There’s a set of service stairs right beside it.”
Zeke gripped her tighter. “Hang on, baby. Shifters are tough. Your body’s going to start recovering really soon.” He raced along the hallway, trying to find the security office and keep her talking. “Oh --Hey-- I didn’t get to tell you about the helicopter ride, yet.”
“Did you crash it?”
“Little bit.”
“Into lake?”
“Water hazard. Bright side is I didn’t kill anyone. Or any cat. You should have heard Cale bitching about his suit, though.”
“Your brother does have beautiful clothes.” She defended. “Next time I’ll fly.”
“No arguments here.” Inside some of the offices he could see zombies moving around. Their hands hit against the glass windows, trying to grab them as they passed. Zeke suppressed a shudder. “Good news is I have a destination in mind for our upcoming vacation.” He continued, still trying to keep her awake. “You ever been to South America, Trix?”
“No. But, I saw Alive.”
“That’s exactly what I want to hear from my pilot during the zombageddon.”
Scotlyn gave a feeble chuckle and her arms tightened around him in a hug. “God, I missed you, too.” She whispered. “I was so worried I wouldn’t see you again.”
“Then, you’re an idiot. You think one little doomsday could keep me away from you and your lingerie?”
“You were half-dead when I left you, dumbass. What was I…?.” She pulled back in concern. “Wait, are you strong enough to be carrying me?”
“Seems that way.” He was only on his feet through sheer effort of will, but it wasn’t a great time to mention it. “Okay, here’s the stairs. Now what?”
“Go up.”
“Up? We want to go down.”
She shook her head. “Up. Shopping’s on level eight. It connects directly to the parking garage through a back entrance. You said that’s where we’re headed, right?”
“Jesus.” Zeke stepped into the deserted stairwell and looked up at the clear path she’d found them. “Does anybody else know about this?”
“Only if they worked here. It’s for employees.”
He grinned. “The human was right. You are an angel.”
“Better. I’m a showgirl.”
“I promise, I will never make fun of your ex-job, again.”
“Yes, you will.”
Zeke kept smiling. “Yeah, I probably will.” He shifted her in his arms and plucked the walkie-talkie off his belt to radio Darcy about their new exit strategy. “Leia, come in.”
“Leia?” Scotlyn repeated skeptically.
“Hey, code names are important.”
Darcy’s voice came over the line. “Little busy, Z.” She sounded breathless.
“You’re supposed to call me Vader.” Zeke reminded her.
Scotlyn rolled her eyes. “Cale’s right. You’re a total geek.”
Zeke ignored her commentary and kept talking to Darcy. “Find an employee door and get up to level eight. We’re going out through the shopping mall. It connects to the garage.”
“On our way.” Darcy agreed.
Satisfied, Zeke started up the steps and resumed his campaign to annoy Scotlyn into continued consciousness. “Seriously, though, your career as a dancer isn’t all fun and games for me. In fact, picturing you in nothing but feathers has gotten me though many sleepless nights.” He paused. “Although, to be fair, the way I got through them was kinda fun.”
“I never wore ‘nothing but feathers.’” She told him piously. “Under the costume, I had on a lace thong and stockings. And then, of course, there were the high heels.”
“Now, you’re just being mean.”
Scotlyn was quiet for a beat. “Do you think Lars will be able to make a vaccine?” She asked.
Zeke made a face at the non sequitur. The woman was hard to keep distracted. “Yeah, I do. He made the pink zombie gas easy enough, so he’s a competent lunatic. Once he stops crying, he’ll figure it out.”
Scotlyn didn’t respond to that.
“A lot of humans will be saved because of you.” Zeke insisted. “And the humans will save the vampires, who need their blood…. And down it goes on the food chain, until you’ve singlehandedly jumpstarted the whole circle of life. Now, I never went to business school, but it seems like you’re responsible for the hottest new product of the year.”
“The vaccine isn’t going to do me any good, though.” She said softly. “I’m not a human anymore.”
He had no idea what he could say to that. “Scottie…”
“Why South America?” She interrupted, like she wanted to change the subject.
Zeke sighed and didn’t push it. “I know a place for us to live down there.”
“So help me, if this is another plan to get me to those nude beaches in Rio…”
He cut her off. “Iasia. It’s a city for supernatural creatures, where we’ll be safe. I just have to find it. And to find it, I have to find the map.”
She frowned. “That’s why we need that box I dropped back at Topless Golf? The map’s inside?”
“Yep. So, we’re going back to TGW and we’re getting it.”
Scotlyn considered that plan. “Well, given everything else that’s happened, it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I put the box in my purse and I dropped the purse when I got into your car.” She shrugged. “How many Louis Vuitton handbags can there be in that parking lot?”
Chapter Fourteen
Bright side to the zombie apocalypse:
All those hours spent playing first person shooters weren’t a waste of time, after all.
Told ya, Mom.
Finding the handbag wasn’t the problem… It was getting to the handbag.
Zombies had overtaken the entire area surrounding the golf course. The monsters formed a solid barrier of teeth and mindless violence. There was no way anyone was getting through a gauntlet like that. There were simply too many of them.
Even in the SUV Caleb had stolen, the closest they could get was a pawn shop about six blocks away. The owner had installed grates on the windows and doors to prevent smash-and-grab robberies, so it was a secure spot to hold up while they tried to figure out what to do next.
As an added bonus, it was also filled with jewelry and guns.
Darcy had gold bracelets stacked up to her elbow and a Glock in her hand. She boosted herself up onto the counter, gem stones sparkling on every finger. “I’m so registering here for our wedding gifts, Joseff.”
“Why bother? You’re already stolen everything you want.” He leaned against the wall, watching her loot with indulgent amusement. Zompocalypse and human kidnappings aside, the vampire was more relaxed than Zeke had ever seen him. No doubt that had everything to do with Darcy’s bite mark on his neck. Zeke certainly wasn’t going to ask for any further details.
“Yeah, that’s a fair point.” Darcy allowed with a sultry smile. “Since, the sun will be up soon and we can’t do much more with the whole map hunt tonight, we really should go see what some other stores have.”
Joseff frowned, obviously h
aving no clue what she was getting at. “Stores around here? You must be joking. All they ever sold on this side of town were liquor and off-brand pork rinds.”
“She wants to go someplace private and have sex with you, moron.” Brewer translated. He went striding by with three rifles looped over his shoulder. “Have fun. I’ll be up on the roof, shooting stuff.”
Joseff stared after him, realization dawning.
Darcy arched a brow. “Still feel like being a present snob, King Snobby Pants?”
“No, I’ve clearly misjudged this neighborhood.” Joseff decided and headed for her. “I’m thinking it probably offers some amazing registry options for us.” He lifted her down from the glass case and half carried her towards the door. “We’ll take our time and look at all of them.”
Darcy laughed at that, already pulling him down for a kiss.
“I’m not buying them a gift.” Caleb muttered as they left. He sat across from Zeke with his hands on the small tabletop. Regular tools hadn’t worked on the iron handcuffs, so Zeke was trying to pick the lock with jeweler’s instruments. “Your mate still out cold?”
“Yeah.” Scotlyn was asleep in the backroom, cuddled on an ugly sofa with her ugly cat. It would take a few hours, but her body would heal and she’d be okay, again. Even though Zeke knew that, it was still driving him crazy that she was unconscious. He should have killed that Lars guy. It would have made him feel better.
“She’s going to need your help to adjust to being a shifter, you know. Probably hasn’t all hit her, yet. Girl’s tough, but she’s been through a hell of a lot. And the moon will be full tomorrow, so she’d better get ready.”
“I know.” God, did he know. “I have completely fucked up her life.”
“You saved her life. At the risk of your own. You could’ve died.” Caleb scowled. “You should be resting, too, before you collapse.”
“I’m fine.” Zeke concentrated on picking the lock on the cuffs. “We just need to figure out a way to reach Topless Golf. Once we get that map, I can get Scotlyn out of Vegas and she’ll be safe.”
“I know, I know, your ancient treasure map.” Caleb’s derisive tone said it all. “Hey, how many times did you watch Goonies as a kid, anyway?”
The last thing Zeke want to do was get Cale bitching about Iasia, again. The entire drive over here, he’d been complaining about the plan. Zeke didn’t have the energy to argue and it was too important not to argue. Changing the subject was the best option. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Sure.” Caleb agreed. “Let’s discuss why I can smell the rest of the pack on you.”
Son-of-a-bitch.
Zeke concentrated on the cuffs. “Because showering is a thing of the past, probably. I’m sure you smell all kinds of…”
Caleb cut him off. “They were in the casino, weren’t they? You saw them.”
Zeke’s jaw ticked. “Yeah.” He finally admitted.
“And you’re just telling me this, now?” Caleb scowled. “What did they say?”
Zeke weighted his options.
“Z, what did they say? And don’t bother to lie, because I’ll know.”
Shit.
“Powell said they were headed for Arizona. They’re going to hide out in the Grand Canyon.” He arched a brow. “You’re invited to tag along with them and live like Butch and Sundance.” Not that Zeke was going to allow that to happen without one hell of a fight.
“Butch and Sundance were in Utah.” Caleb corrected absently, considering the pack’s plan. “You know, Powell’s idea isn’t terrible. The Canyon’s isolated. A lot of wilderness out there.”
Zeke’s lips pressed together. “South Rim gets a couple million human visitors a years. Some of them are bound to be undead and still milling around.”
“So, we’ll go down by the river, instead. More game, less people, water…” He shrugged. “Z, we could do this.”
“No.” Zeke set aside the jeweler’s tools and met Caleb’s eyes. “Just listen to me, alright? I know you think I’m an idiot and a disappointment and not much of a shifter, but just listen for once.”
“I don’t think you’re any of those things.” Caleb frowned. “I just think you’re different from the rest of us.”
“Maybe I am, but I’m also right about this. We have to get to Iasia.”
Caleb groaned, his head tipping back in frustration. “Z…”
“It’s there, Cale. I know it is.”
“Our beautiful National Park is there, too! Only it’s a hell of a lot closer and the rest of the pack will expect us to…”
Zeke cut him off. “I don’t care about them. I care about you.” He shook his head, because he knew it would be almost impossible to convince Caleb, but he somehow had to do it. He had to. “Cale, I need to take Scotlyn to South America. Iasia is the safest place for her. Joseff and Darcy will tag along. Seems like Brewer will too. You have to come with us.”
“The rest of the pack needs me.”
“No, they don’t. They have Powell, and Ricardo, and fifteen other people. They’ll be fine. We’re the ones you have to worry about.”
Cale wearily rubbed his forehead. “They’re my pack.”
“And I’m your brother.”
Caleb’s eyes slashed to Zeke and stayed there. “We can’t be sure of that.” He finally said, but Zeke had his full attention, now. “The pack doesn’t keep track of family…”
Zeke cut him off. “I’m sure of it and so are you. Even if I wasn’t sure, it wouldn’t matter. You’d still be my brother, because you’re Caleb.” He leaned closer to Cale across the table. “You’re the guy I’ve idolized since I was a kid. You used to let me sit on your lap and drive the car. You bought me my first beer. You came looking for me when zombies attacked. You are my brother, Cale.”
Caleb blinked at him.
“All my life, you have looked out for me.” Zeke continued pulling out everything he had. “All my life, I’ve given you shit for it. But now, I’m asking for your help. Stay with me.” If he couldn’t get Caleb to agree, he didn’t know what he’d do. It turned out he needed people after all and Cale was pretty damn high on the list. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in Iasia or not. Just come to South America with me because you’re my big brother and I’m asking you to.”
Silence.
“Alright.” Cale whispered.
Zeke frowned, the simple word forestalling his next argument. “Alright?” He echoed.
“Alright. I’ll go to South America with you.” Caleb cleared his throat. “What the hell.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’ve already seen the Grand Canyon, anyway. We’ll do it your way.”
Zeke grinned, relief filling him. “That was way easier than I thought it was going to be.” He reached over to give Caleb’s shoulder a squeeze. “You’re kind of a pushover for the ‘brother’ angle, huh? I’m going to remember that.”
Caleb batted him away. “Just get me out of these cuffs, dickhead.”
“I always knew I was your favorite. How could I not be? But, this just proves it.” Zeke picked up the tools and refocused on the lock for a beat. “Hey, Cale?”
“What now?”
“Thanks.” Zeke said quietly.
Caleb gave him a half smile. “Yeah, well, I can be part of this new pack, just as easily as the last one. Besides, I kinda like being with people too stupid to leave anyone behind.” He rolled his eyes. “And you actually are my favorite.”
“Told ya.”
“But, I’m still going to hold this stupid plan over your head forever when we end up lost in an Ecuadorian rainforest.”
“We’re going to Peru.” The left handcuff finally popped free and Zeke started on the right. “The map really is going to lead us to Iasia.” He wanted his brother to believe him. “It’s a place for us.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then Joseff’s thinking we’ll just have to conquer ourselves a new kingdom.”
“Oh, he’ll do that, an
yway.” The second cuff opened much easier than the first and Cale sat back, rubbing his wrists. “No matter what we find at the end of that map, the vampire will be trying to take it over within a week.”
“Sooner than that, knowing Joseff.” Zeke got to his feet and prowled over to look out the window in the direction of TGW. “Doesn’t even matter until we can get to Topless Golf, though.”
“There are about five thousand zombies between us and that golf course, Z.”
“I know.” He scraped a hand through his hair. “We need like… a tank or something.”
“Or a helicopter. Too bad you crashed our last one, huh?”
“Oh, shut-up.” He glanced back at Caleb and saw that he looked as drained as Zeke felt. They both needed to recuperate for a few hours or they’d be no good to anyone. “When’s the last time you slept, Cale?”
Caleb checked his Rolex. “Four days ago.”
“That’s what I thought.” Zeke sighed tiredly. “Look, we’ll figure out how to steal a tank tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”
“You go ahead. Someone’s gotta keep watch.”
“Brew’s doing it.”
“You trust Brewer, now?”
“To kill a hoard of advancing zombies? Hell yes.”
Caleb made a face, having to concede that point. “I swear to Christ, he’s been waiting for this opportunity his whole life. He’s getting more and more excited. I’ve never seen someone so thrilled about living inside Zombie Massacre.”
“That was a good game.” Zeke allowed.
Cale hesitated. “Does Brew know the rest of the pack is headed for Arizona?”
“Probably.”
“Why is he sticking with us?”
“We’re his favorites.” Zeke shrugged. “Who’d have figured? Plus, he’s stoked to be part of a team.” He herded Caleb out of his chair and towards the rear of the pawnshop. “Either way, he’s not going to let anything near this place, so we rest until evening.”
Cale stopped arguing.
The backroom must have been the spot where employees took their breaks. It was filled with mismatched furniture, a decade old TV, a mini-fridge filled with beer, and three vending machines.
Love in the Time of Zombies Page 19