Feeling an odd mix of hope and dread, like when opening a college acceptance letter, I asked, “Well…have you, like, seen anything? Were they…involved? I mean, she seemed really happy to see him, and he seemed…sort of happy, too…I guess.”
“At the time I thought it was just a weird dream, but I saw a memory a while ago. They were together…but not romantically—at least, not that I could tell. They were with a group of friends…at a bar maybe?” Zoe shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Glancing at me mischievously, she smirked. “Do you want me to find out for you?”
“You mean, like, brain spy?” I thought about the offer—really thought about it—and shook my head. It was unbelievably enticing, and I felt bad that Zoe had to deal with the temptation to delve into people’s minds, to discover their secrets, every second of every day. “No. I don’t really want to know anyway,” I lied. And I knew Zoe knew; she could read me like her favorite, dog-eared, well-worn book—Bob Ross’s biography.
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind,” she said, then leaned across the bar and conspiratorially added, “I don’t think you have to worry anyway…Jason hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night, and Sanchez and Harper have been going at it for years.”
“What?” I squealed, then covered my mouth and bounced up and down on my toes. “Oh wow,” I giggled. “That’s so freaking juicy!”
Zoe allowed a moderately wicked laugh to escape her lips as she rounded the boulder, drink in hand, and linked her arm with mine. “Come on, I’m cold.”
Reaching back for my cup of wine, I exhaled with relief and let my best friend pull me back to the fire. We’re okay.
“Remember what I told you about Harper’s visions?” she whispered near my ear as we slowly walked back to our designated seats next to our respective men. “I think he had one when he hugged you earlier…his face looked really worried, and I could feel how upset he was.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised by her words…and by the way she bypassed both of our empty spots.
“Yeah. I wonder if we can get the details out of him.”
She led me to a vacant bench that was so rickety I was surprised it didn’t collapse when we sat down. No wonder nobody’s sitting here. Chris and Harper shared the adjacent hay bale and were locked in conversation.
“So you do agree with the H1N1/09 theory…that only those who’d been infected with that virus had the antibodies to survive this later version,” Chris stated.
“Well, not exactly,” Harper said, frowning. “I still don’t think it all adds up.”
“So you disagree?”
He shrugged and took a sip of Scotch. “I’m really not sure. Are you positive that those people on your base knew about the Virus and everything before the initial outbreak?”
“The more I think about it,” Chris said, “the more sure I am. I watched them prep the special yellow-banded uniforms before the first infections were reported.”
“If you’re right…”
“I know. Surviving the Virus might be just the beginning. If I am right, then somebody orchestrated this whole thing—all the death, the insanity, and the Abilities. But why? And how?” Chris tore her gaze from the handsome medic and studied the towering flames. “I hope I’m wrong,” she said quietly.
Zoe and I exchanged worried glances, and I figured she’d abandoned her mission to weasel info about Harper’s vision out of him.
The remainder of the evening passed too-quickly, filled with developing friendships and decreasingly tentative conversations. I was pleasantly surprised by how well our two groups blended together, finding camaraderie in the shared experience of surviving in the Virus-ravaged world.
Late in the night, I stood alone before the fire, the benches and hay bales abandoned. The others were all either acquiring another beverage or relieving themselves of the ones they’d already consumed. I shed my jacket, overwhelmed by the heat of the towering fire, and stared into the hypnotizing dance of flames and air and embers.
Without a word, Jason came up behind me, almost touching but not quite. “You look like some sort of fire spirit,” he whispered, his lips mere inches from my ear. “Watching you like that…savage and glowing…damn, Red, I want to bury myself inside you…right now.”
I leaned back into him, closing the miniscule distance between our bodies, and was pleased by his obvious state of arousal.
“I set up our tent a little ways away from the barn…I thought we’d need the privacy,” he said, slipping his arm around my middle.
“Really? I wonder why?” I asked, feigning confusion.
He grazed his lips along the side of my neck and whispered, “You know why.”
Twisting in his hold so I could see his face, I said, “I’m not sure…you may need to remind me.”
Jason’s answering grin was wolfish and hungry. He immediately led me away from the fire and into the woods beyond the barn where everyone else would be sleeping. As we hurried along, I could barely contain the heady anticipation humming through me.
Wiggling into sweatpants was difficult considering that all of my muscles—and possibly some of my bones—had recently been turned into quivering gelatin.
“What are you doing?” I asked Jason as he sat up on top of the sleeping bags and reached for his boxer briefs.
“Coming with you.”
“No. Don’t. I’m just peeing. I’ll be, like, a minute.” Seeing the concern still creasing his brow, I added, “I’ll be fine, really. I’m a big girl.”
“Anyone could be out there,” he said, but remained seated. “At least wait until my Ability works again.”
“Oh,” I said, laughing and shaking my head. “I’m not holding it just because you turn into a super null every time we have sex.” He scowled, and I smiled.
As I unzipped the tent’s door, I assured him again, “I’ll be fine.”
51
ZOE
Loosening my hair from its braid, I idly combed through it. I couldn’t shake the heavy uncertainty I’d hoped to shed once I saw Dani. It still tugged at me, gnawing on my consciousness.
The sound of the barn door sliding open and then shut was followed by Jake’s footsteps. As he changed into sweats, his body alone was enough to make me whimper. I crawled into the sleeping bags, devouring the sight of him in the candlelight.
His brow furrowed slightly at my whimper. “You okay?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I admitted as I wiggled further into the sleeping bag, imagining the warm pressure of his body against mine. “Just admiring the view.” Picking up on the husky tone of my voice, the corners of his mouth pulled up in a smile. “There are definitely perks to getting into bed first,” I added.
“Yeah? Like what, hogging the sleeping bags?” he teased.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was talking about.”
Pulling the hem of his sweatshirt down, Jake crouched down and appraised the space beside me.
“What’s wrong?” I lifted myself up, resting on my elbows.
Glancing at me, he said, “It’s interesting how someone your size needs so much space.” He gestured between me and the stall’s wall a couple feet from me. “And I only get this.” He looked down at the small space to my right. “Between you hogging the bed and your scattered clothes all over the place…I’m wondering if I should find somewhere else to sleep.”
“Sorry,” I said, scooting over a smidge.
As Jake crawled into the sleeping bags beside me, I curled into his sheltering arms. My thoughts were shadowed by the night’s festivities, and I expelled an exhausted sigh. Why am I anxious? Dani and Jason are here. They’re safe. Although I’d been ecstatic only minutes earlier, I still felt…wrong.
“What’s wrong?” Jake whispered.
“Nothing,” I lied. “Why do you ask?”
“You keep sighing.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t noticed. I rolled over, facing his inquisitive, warm, brown eyes. They scoured my face. “I think I’m sort o
f in shock, actually.”
The events of the evening replayed in my head. “It’s so strange to have everyone here. I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s like there’s nothing to worry about anymore, and I feel a sort of emptiness…or something.” And that was exactly what it felt like—a hole I didn’t know how to fill. I no longer had to fret about how and when I’d reach Dani and Jason. They were finally with me.
Brushing a loose ribbon of hair from my eyes, Jake stroked my cheek. Involuntarily, I thought of Dani and Jason together, and the hole I felt immediately filled with concern.
“I don’t know what to do about my brother.”
“You mean him and Dani,” Jake said. When I nodded, his eyes focused on me intently. “You don’t think they should be together?”
I grunted, my emotions a mix of excitement for Dani and distrust in my brother, and rolled onto my back. “It’s not that. I’m just worried about…you don’t understand. Cam just died, and my brother’s a heartbreaker. He always has been. And Dani’s been in love with him her entire life…” I paused, imagining her devastation when Jason eventually decided to move on.
Will he break her heart? I thought of how careful he was with her, how taken he was by her mere presence, and I wondered if that was even a possibility. “He seems to really care about her…at least he believes he does, I know that much.” I just hoped his interest in my best friend wasn’t as changeable as his mood always had been.
Jake’s thumb traveled to my face, grazing my bottom lip. “Jason seems…serious enough. I don’t think he’ll hurt your friend if he really cares about her.”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “He’s an ass, but I don’t think he’d do that to her. She’s not just some random girl. She’s Dani.”
“You two talked a lot tonight,” Jake said idly as his fingers trailed down my belly, eventually playing with the elastic waistband of my sweatpants.
I smiled, remembering my conversation with Dani about Jake and Harper. “Yeah,” I said, but my smile faded as I realized I’d forgotten to ask Harper about his vision.
“Zoe,” Jake whispered, his lips suddenly hovering by my ear. His suggestive tone caught my attention. “Stop trying to find something to worry about. You’ve been waiting for this day since I met you.” He pulled back, and his eyes latched onto my lips before moving slowly up to my eyes. “I think we should celebrate.”
A smile splayed across my lips once more, and I shuddered as his warm breath caressed my face.
“You’re so bad. Four people are, like, seven feet away,” I admonished quietly, barely able to contain my anticipation.
“I don’t care anymore,” he growled, unbridled lust emanating from him. His mouth lingered over mine, his eyes waiting for an invitation to consume me in all possible ways. I giggled in consent, and he pulled me closer with a determination I had no interest in protesting.
Leaning down, Jake gently brushed his lips against my neck and then my jaw before capturing my mouth. A delicious heat swept through me as he ventured lower, kissing the swells of my breasts that protruded from the top of my scoop-neck shirt. Wrapping his leg around my thighs, he pulled me under him. His hips rested over mine, and I could feel his arousal.
Desire throbbed between my legs as I liquefied beneath him. I coveted the sheer weight of his body pressed against mine. “God, I want you,” I moaned. My hands clenched around the hem of his sweatshirt, pulling at his clothes impatiently.
Breathing raggedly, I heard a sharp cry shatter the stillness of the night, interrupting the pounding of my heart.
“Shhh.” I grabbed Jake’s arms, waiting for my breathing to slow. Fear washed over me as another scream pierced the quietness. I froze in absolute terror.
That’s Dani’s scream!
“Dani!” I yelled, pushing Jake away like he was nothing. Jumping to my feet, I ran to the door. “Dammit!” I shouted as I struggled with the latch. “Dani!”
Finally, I opened the latch and pulled the door open. I barely heard Jake calling after me as my sock-covered feet carried me out into the frigid darkness.
“DANI!”
EPILOGUE
DANI
Waking, I attempted to open my eyes and assess my surroundings. A searing white light stabbed into my skull, and I snapped my eyelids shut before the glare could make my pounding headache any worse. What the hell happened?
“She’s awake,” I heard an unfamiliar female voice say softly.
A large, warm hand slipped into mine and squeezed.
I groaned. “Uh…Jason? Zo? What…?”
“Dani?”
At the deep, familiar tone, all thoughts of headaches and bright lights momentarily subsided, and my eyes snapped open again. I turned my head on the pillow and caught my breath when I saw the man sitting there…beside my bed…holding my hand.
“Um…am I dreaming?” I asked hoarsely.
Looking disheveled and wearing pale green scrubs, MG pressed his lips together and shook his head. “No. And call me Gabe.”
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INTO THE FIRE
BOOK TWO OF THE ENDING SERIES
FALL 2013
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lindsey Fairleigh is a former history teacher and current experimental cook who lives in Napa with her supportive husband and confused cats.
Lindsey Pogue is a history addict, traveling fool, and food lover who dreams of the day she can go horseback riding, write, and read, all in a day’s work.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
Epilogue
Other Book
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
After the Ending Page 51