This Would Be Paradise (Book 3)

by Iverson, N. D.

  I refused to talk to him so I walked around him to the others. I could feel his eyes following me but I kept walking towards Tough Guy and Rose who were at the forefront.

  “What are you guys fighting about?” I asked as I peered around the corner.

  There were infected randomly milling about the courtyard and beyond, like cows in a field grazing. As I was about to turn back to the others, the front doors to the hospital flew open and two guards poured out. One of them was Josh. I crouched down and motioned for the others to do the same.

  “She killed herself, man, there’s nothing left!” one guard shouted at Josh. They must have stumbled onto Amelia’s body right after we left. They were heading towards the only truck parked in front.

  “We can’t just leave everything. All the research! We were so close, I know it!” Josh screamed back, his voice an octave too high.

  “I ain’t going back in there, man.”

  “Yes, you are,” Josh said as he pulled a gun on the guard.

  “You ain’t going to shoot me, you need me,” the guard sneered.

  “I need to make sure you keep your mouth shut.” And Josh shot the guard in the head.

  The guard fell to the ground as the gunshot echoed through the area. Shit. Now the aimless infected would be heading our way. We needed that truck for a quick getaway. I was sure John had brought a vehicle, but would have parked it away from here to avoid detection. We might not be able to get to it when all the infected started to converge on the hospital.

  Josh leaned over the body and started rummaging through the guy’s pockets. He straightened up with the keys in his hand. If I was going to do this, I had to do it now. I jumped up and bolted around the corner, leveling my gun at Josh. He twisted around, his mouth wide. Before he could react, I squeezed the trigger and Josh landed dead next to the guard. I ran up to them and searched for the keys, hoping I would find them in the overgrown grass around the bodies.

  “Damn, girl,” Rose said as the others caught up to me.

  “What? We needed the truck,” I said briskly. My hand ran over the key ring and I scooped them up. They had a little bit of blood on them.

  “I hated that guy,” Tough Guy said as he kicked Josh’s dead body. “He always made sure they brought in the biggest dead ones for me.”

  John’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean brought in?”

  “I’ll explain later,” I said, hoping maybe he would forget. I didn’t really feel like relaying what had happened so soon after. “We need to move. I assume you guys parked your vehicle nearby?”

  “Follow the entrance path down and take a right. We’re parked under some trees for cover,” John said. I knew he would have been smart about it.

  “Everyone hop in,” I said, pulling open the driver’s side door.

  John got in the cab and everyone else piled into the bed of the truck. It was tight, but they all fit. I started the truck and reversed just as the first line of infected reached the hospital. The slow girl screamed as one infected groped at them. Ethan took it out with his rifle and told the girl to be quiet. I straightened out and tore down the path as fast as I could with a full load of people in the back. I didn’t want anyone to go flying out. I snorted out loud at the thought, and to his credit, John didn’t bat an eye. He was probably getting used to my weird quirk.

  I spared a glance out the rearview to see Tough Guy batting down every infected he could with my old bedframe as if he were a frat guy bashing mailboxes. He was grinning widely. I couldn’t hold that against him; it actually looked like fun. Man, I really was becoming unhinged. I’d have to worry about that later.

  I slowed and rounded the corner to the right as John kept an eye out for their vehicle.

  “There.” He pointed toward an area where there was an abundance of green.

  We came to a stop and John and Ethan jumped out to uncover our other mode of transport. Rose jumped out of the back and climbed into the passenger’s seat.

  “You ridin’ back with ‘em?” she asked.

  “No,” I said. I had no desire to be stuck inside a vehicle with Ethan right now.

  “Well then, I dibs ridin’ upfront.”

  I was about to argue, not wanting to have to spend who knew how long with Rose in a confined space, when John knocked on my window. I rolled down the window with the ancient hand roller.

  “We brought a large SUV so we can take some of the people in the back,” John said. “I take it I won’t be able to convince you to ride with us?”

  I shook my head and John sighed. “All right. Well, stick close then and honk if there’s any reason you can’t keep goin’.”

  George and the three we had liberated from the cafeteria piled into the SUV, while Tough Guy and Leo remained in the back. I could tell that the younger girl who had thrown herself at Leo didn’t want to leave him, but he convinced her to go with John and Ethan.

  Leo slid open the back window to the truck cab and said, “You sure we can trust them?”

  “Of course,” I said. “You’re little girlfriend will be fine.” Wow, that sounded bitter.

  Leo bristled at my comment. “Wasn’t the younger guy the boyfriend who betrayed you?” he pressed on.

  I turned and glowered at him. “I trust John with my life and if…” I paused. “…if Ethan does anything else like that again, I’ll kill him myself.”

  Chapter 11

  My cold words had shocked me, but I forced my expression to remain stern. Even Rose had seemed stunned with my words as her eyebrows shot up comically high on her forehead. Leo seemed to accept my answer and settled down for the ride back to Hargrove.

  Oh god, how was that going to go? I hadn’t gotten a chance to even think about Hargrove. Wyatt, Grant and Oscar were the reasons I was abducted. How had they even managed to get my body out of Hargrove without anyone seeing? I would have to solve that mystery later.

  John mentioned earlier that they had questioned Wyatt. What else had they done? They couldn’t expect me to be okay living with Wyatt and the others in Hargrove. Either they would have to go or I would.

  “So, did that kid really betray you?” Rose asked, breaking me from my concentration.

  We were currently barreling down a residential road. It was obscenely dirty judging from the dirt being thrown up by John’s SUV. No doubt Tough Guy and Leo were choking on it in the back.

  “He told the crooks who used to be in charge about my immunity,” I admitted.

  “Used to be in charge?”

  “They were covering for a psychopath who was murdering people. Now they’re no longer in charge.”

  “What happened to the psychopath?”

  “He was exiled.”

  Rose made a scoffing sound. “Should’ve killed the bastard. Ain’t no room in this world for a person like that.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “What happened to the others? The people who used to be in charge?”

  “They’re still there—as far as I know. John didn’t get to tell me everything,” I said.

  “You gonna exile them too?” The way she said exile made it sound like she was definitely against that plan.

  “I don’t know. We have to get there first.” Maybe I’d come up with a solution by then, or maybe we’d all be eaten alive by then. “By the way, where were you before you got taken by the mad scientists?” I asked.

  Rose barked out a laugh. “Mad scientists. That does fit those assholes.” Then Rose peered out the window, her face away from my view. “I was pretty much on my own—easier that way. I’m startin’ to see that wasn’t the best plan.” I wasn’t sure I heard that last part correctly.

  I couldn’t believe what I was about to say, but I knew I had to say it. “You can stick with us if you want.”

  “I don’t need your pity,” she muttered into the window.

  “Fine, just offering.”

  She turned to me. “What about the others?”

  “They can stay too. I’m not promisi
ng it’ll be some paradise or anything.” I was suddenly transported back to when Darren and I were trying to convince Colin to come back with us. Great, I really had become the type to take in strays. When did that happen?

  “We’ll see,” she said with her nose very much in the air. I rolled my eyes. Her ego wouldn’t let her say thank you.

  We sat in silence for a little while longer until she asked, “So what’s the cowboy’s deal?”

  I scrunched up my face, not liking where this was going. “What do you mean?”

  “He … with anyone?”

  I wanted to lie and say he was gay, but she would eventually see through that. I sighed.

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  John hadn’t seemed to be romancing any of the ladies at Hargrove, but then again, I wasn’t with him twenty-four hours a day. And he was a man. Ugh, I didn’t want to think about this. He was like a father to me.

  Rose seemed placated with my answer and peered out the windshield at the SUV in front of us. Perhaps I should tell John that Rose was bad news. I accidently hit some debris and the truck lurched over the lump, tossing the guys in the back like a pancake in skillet. They hit the bed with a thud when they came back down.

  “What the fuck are you doin’, girl? Watch the damn road!” Tough Guy bellowed.

  Both Rose and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  “It ain’t funny!” Tough Guy yelled.

  And of course we laughed even harder. I had to wipe away the tears in my eyes so I could see the road. Wouldn’t want to accidently toss them again.

  “Did you ever catch his name?” I asked Rose.

  “It’s some hillbilly name like Cletus or Adolph or somethin’,” she said and we started laughing again.

  I would probably have to learn his real name eventually if he was going to say at Hargrove. I couldn’t just call him Tough Guy forever. We both stopped joking when we passed by a building that had its side spray-painted with the mercenaries’ hand and eye symbol. I heard Tough Guy spit at it as we passed.

  “We gotta keep an eye out for those bastards,” Rose said.

  The only time I had actually seen the faces of the mercenaries was when they had tried to abduct me at the apartments, and now they were both dead. Then there was the time they had shot up John, Roy, and I while driving, but again, they were dead. The only living ones I’d had contact with were the one on the radio and the ones who brought me to the hospital—but I had been unconscious for that trip. I wouldn’t be able to recognize one unless they wore their pendants with the hand and eye symbol or, you know, a shirt saying, “Hey, I’m a mercenary.”

  “Would you recognize any of them?” I asked her.

  “Only the ones that ambushed me,” she said, her voice harsh. “But I’ll tell you what, if I ever come across ‘em again, I’m killin’ ‘em all.”

  I didn’t verbally agree with her, but inside I was agreeing. Like hell they would be capturing me again. Not that they had someone to turn the immune over to anymore. The hospital and their messed up experiments had died with Amelia.

  “I went back to kill Amelia,” I admitted.

  “So that’s where you disappeared to,” Rose said. “Please tell me that bitch got what she deserved.”

  “She killed herself.”

  “Damn, wasn’t expectin’ that,” Tough Guy said, making us both jump.

  His face was right outside the open slot in the cab back window.

  “By the way, my name ain’t Cletus or Adolph. It’s Lucas,” he huffed.

  I tried really hard not to laugh that he had been listening to us the whole time, even as Rose poked fun at him. Rose was currently fighting it too as she chewed on her thumbnail with the corners of her mouth upturned.

  “She’s really dead?” Leo asked, shoving Lucas to the side.

  “Shot herself in front of John and I, so, yeah.”

  “Good,” Lucas said while nodding. Well maybe he was nodding, it might have been from being bounced around in the bed of the truck. “Good that she’s dead, I mean, not that you had to see that.”

  I lifted a brow at that. Maybe Lucas was learning to play nice with others. Stranger things had happened. He muttered something and settled back into a seated position with his back against the cab.

  “I’m sorry for what I said earlier,” Leo said. “I shouldn’t have brought up your boyfriend.”

  I waved it off. After all, I had kind of started that. “It’s fine. You can stop calling him my boyfriend, though.”

  An awkward silence fell over everyone as no one knew what to say next. I had meant what I said. Ethan was no longer my … anything. What about Chloe? My anger shifted to panic as I thought about Chloe. She was a little sister to me now, in every way that mattered. Could I just leave her behind? It wasn’t her fault her brother was a dumbass. She would be devastated if I left and there was no way she would leave Ethan. Shit.

  Chapter 12

  Hargrove looked the same as I had left it. I half expected it to be up in flames when we got back; civil unrest having taken over inside. But no, it was still intact with guards at their posts. John stuck his head out the window and they opened the gate for us. I was suddenly very conscious of my attire and condition. It was obvious we had been through the ringer at the hospital. I hoped that Wyatt would have to see—not that he would care in the end.

  We got out of the vehicles, the new additions sticking close to me, unsure of the approaching crowd. The slow girl ran over to Leo and latched onto him. George gave me a curious glance and I gave him a thumbs up. John walked over to me.

  “Could’ve mentioned that guy was deaf. I was talkin’ to him for a good ten minutes before one of the others informed me he couldn’t hear,” John said.

  “Not like I had time to facilitate introductions, you know,” I pointed out. But I knew how John felt; the same thing had happened to me. “Speaking of that, what did you guys do with Wyatt and his crew? You can’t expect me to stay here with them.”

  “I wouldn’t do that to you. We have ‘em locked up in the condo we used to hold Byron. There’s a guard posted at all times till we decide what to do with ‘em.”

  “Do I get a say in that?”

  John pursed his lips. “Depends on what you want to do with ‘em. Would you hold Ethan to that same punishment?”

  I held eerily still. “He told you then?”

  “He told me he made a big mistake in tellin’ those guys about you bein’ immune before you and Chloe even showed up. Before he knew they were bad news.”

  “Well he did tell them and I got punished for it. He can go to hell.” My fists were shaking again. I didn’t care if he felt bad. He shouldn’t have betrayed my secret regardless of whether he thought Wyatt was a good guy or not. That wasn’t for him to share.

  John placed a hand on my shoulder. “I ain’t goin’ to tell you to forgive him, but you have to deal with him. You got others besides him to consider.”

  As if he had summoned her with his words, Chloe came running up to us. She looked at Ethan, then swung her head around until she saw me, then ran straight for me. I braced myself for the impact, but my stomach was still sore from the punt I had taken. I let out a pained sound and Chloe loosened her grip.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said, looking up at me.

  “You injured worse than I can see?” The ever-watchful John asked.

  “Just some bruising,” I said, trying to sound blasé about it.

  “What happened?” Chloe asked, still not fully letting go of me. I cursed Ethan again for putting me in this situation.

  I gently pushed Chloe off. “You know me, just getting into some fights.”

  John’s eyes narrowed. “You should get that looked at.”

  “By who? The guy who helped send me off?” I said harshly. “Maybe he should have to look me over, so he can see firsthand.”

  “No, Oscar is locked up as well. Crystal was unofficially shadowin’ him, mostly after Sheri
was shot. She can have a look,” John said.

  “I’m not the only one,” I said, motioning to the others we had brought back. Rose was injured for sure, and I didn’t know if any of the others needed something looked at.

  “All right everyone, follow me,” John barked at us.

  We walked together to the medic center, Chloe hanging on me the whole time.

  “There she is,” Chloe said.

  I turned to see what she was talking about. Zoe stopped just before me and looked me over. Tears filled her eyes, and she gently gave me a hug.

  “Oh my God, I thought I’d never see you again. Those asses wouldn’t let me come with them to find you!” She pulled away and shot an accusing glance at John. He looked away. “How injured are you? What happened? Who are these people?”

  I held up my hand. “Whoa, one at a time.”

  She shook her head. “Never mind. I’m just glad you’re back,” she said with a smile. “Did John tell you about what they did with Wyatt and the others?”

  “Being held prisoner?” Just now I saw the irony in that.

  “After John worked Wyatt over.”

  I looked at John for confirmation, but he was already ushering the rest of the group into the makeshift medic center.

  “He told me he questioned him,” I said.

  “Well, that too. If John hadn’t done that, Wyatt might never have broken down and told us what happened. Unsurprisingly, the town didn’t object to using force,” Zoe said.

  I couldn’t imagine John doing that. Me, yes—but not him. My eyes threatened to water as I felt a sudden rush of emotion. John cared enough about me to put aside his own set of rules in order to find me. That’s what family did. I discreetly wiped at my eye.

  We walked into the condo and it was a rush of activity inside. Crystal was running around and Sheri was writing furiously onto a clipboard. She looked up and shot me a grin.

  “Glad to see you’re back.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now go to the operation room so Crystal can examine you.”

  I did as I was ordered. After ten minutes of poking and blood pressure taking, Crystal finally gave me her diagnosis.