BURN - Melt Book 4: (A Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series)
Page 30
“Do you have any unexplained cuts?”
“No.”
“How much do you make each year? Salary-wise? Sixty-thousand dollars? In that range?”
“I’m much more senior than that, Petra. Think double that. Why?”
“I want to offer you double your annual salary to come to our house and take care of Midge until she’s recovered. That would be two or three months, right? Perhaps shorter if she’s lucky.”
The other end of the phone was silent for a few minutes. “Cash?”
“Sure.”
“Text me the address, I’ll be there when I can.”
“Bring two nurses you trust. A doctor, if you can. I’ll pay them the same as long as they are disease free and can prove it.”
“I don’t know that I can convince people to leave their posts. They haven’t met you; I have.”
“I’ll pay you a twenty-thousand dollar bonus for each extra person you bring. Forty thousand for a doctor.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Petra turned back to the house.
“This isn’t a good idea, sis.” Aggie was quieter, solicitous.
“It’s my fault she’s blind. I waited too long because I didn’t want to be solely responsible for giving them permission to do the surgery. I wanted someone to come rescue me.”
“But you couldn’t have foreseen…”
Petra pushed past her sister and rejoined the crowd in the kitchen. “Where will you go? North? West?”
“I’m thinking,” said Jim. “If this area is under quarantine or soon will be, how do we protect Petra and Midge?”
“I let no one in or out,” said Petra. “We’ll create a true exclusion zone, right here.”
“If that’s possible, I don’t see why we can’t all stay,” said Mimi. “Staying together is the best remaining plan. It’s not what I would call a good plan, because ‘good plans’ don’t include a granddaughter with head trauma and a nurse with a chest wound, but given where we find ourselves, I vote we stay put.”
“We can’t stay put, because the food will run out,” said Sean. “If we all stay and none of us can go in or out, we’ll decimate your stocks in a few months.”
“Hear me out,” said Aggie. “I’ve found us the perfect place. No one knows about it and we’ll be able to come and go as we please.”
“Tell me about this miracle location,” said Mimi. “How can no one else have found it? Why are you the chosen one?”
“It wasn’t me. It was Dad. I went to the abandoned mines he’d flagged on his maps. There’s a salt mine that’s remote, hard to access, deep and wide. We get there and we’re home free.”
Petra slapped her sister on the back. She really was a genius. She might have saved them all.
“If it’s so inaccessible. How are we going to get our supplies in and out?” said Mimi.
“Horseback.”
The car coming down the driveway halted all discussion. Cassie had taken it upon herself to bring Midge all the way home. It was shocking that they’d made it to the cabin so fast, but then Betsy probably knew all the back roads and short cuts. They needed to get Midge to safety and protect the compound from possible contaminants.
“Jim and Sean, with me.” Petra held Jim’s gaze, willing him to understand her. “Aggie, we’ll need you, too. Midge is delicate. It’s going to take all four of us to move her. Mimi, put some coffee on. You’re going to need to sober up if you’re going to be useful.”
Petra collected her ACP on the way out the door. She didn’t need to check that it was loaded. She’d done all the checking back at the Durango.
Betsy waved from the front seat, all smiles. She was a trooper. Who got shot in the chest and made it home the next day?
Cassie waved. Not chipper. Her bandaged hand was out of sight.
Petra waved back, her gun held loosely behind her leg.
When Cassie was clear of the car, Petra shot her once. Through the heart. Clean shot. She’d never have known it was coming.
“She had a wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding,” said Petra. “We’ll burn her along with the other bodies. I don’t want a trace of this ‘plague’ left behind.”
She took a deep, calming breath, just as her yoga teacher instructed, and re-centered herself. In that moment she understood why it had never worked for her before. Her “center” had been occupied by fear. She’d never been there and owned it herself. She owned it now. “Look out world, here I come. Mess with me and mine and I’ll take you down.” Petra had been reborn. All she had to do was save her pack against incoming threats—be they human, bacterial, viral, or other—and all would be well. She would make it and Midge would too. And/and all the way.
MELT – Book 5
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Many thanks to my awesome Beta Team, without whom none of my books would be possible. -Mike
Though writing is usually a solitary act, we're lucky enough to have two brains to bash together to keep us on story-telling track. Beyond the names on the cover, there's a team of professionals behind the paper curtain who make us look like we know what we're doing. I'd like to thank my editor, Erin McCabe, who's wit, wisdom, and brilliance keeps me from sailing into obscurity; the talented Christian Bentulan for his beautiful covers; and our dedicated team of Beta-readers, who give their time, talent, and opinions freely. Any errors that have slipped through the net are mine and mine alone. – JJ Pike