I tossed and turned even though I was terribly exhausted. My mind wouldn’t rest. I listened to the silence, waiting for some kind of noise that would destroy whatever amount of safety we had. But there wasn’t anything except for the occasional movement from Nick changing his position.
At some point, I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, the flickering light caught on Blair’s face. She was lying next to me, and Nick was sleeping deeply in the spot where she’d been earlier.
I hit the pillow several times with my hand and rested my head back down. Bronx was sitting at the table watching me.
“You’re going to wake the others,” he whispered.
“I can’t sleep,” I said mostly mouthing the words.
Bronx curled his finger at me and then pointed at the chair across from him. “It’s almost time for your shift anyway.”
I closed my eyes wishing I would instantly fall asleep, but when that didn’t happen, I got up and sat in the chair.
“It’s a quiet night out there,” Bronx said.
“That’s good.”
“I thought I saw a light flicker in the sky, but it might have just been lightning in the distance or something.”
I shook my head slowly. “The last thing we need is more rain.”
“At least it’s drying up here. Means it’s receding or evaporating.”
“Maybe both,” I said sighing as I rested my face on my loosely curled up fist.
“What’s wrong?” Bronx asked leaning forward. He reached across the table until his fingertips touched the top of my hand.
I blinked hard. “You mean besides the fact I can’t sleep?”
“Yeah… besides that.”
“It’s just that it took us the whole day to walk across the city. It’s going to take forever and a day to get to my grandma’s farm.”
The candlelight touched Bronx’s dark eyes and melted them into sweet chocolate. My heart fluttered as he wrapped his fingers around my hand.
“We’ll get there,” he said.
Bronx stared out the window while he held my hand. I could hear the other’s slow breathing as they slept.
He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. “I’ve been hoping to get some time alone with you.”
“We’re not really alone,” I said raising my eyebrows. I didn’t know what else to say. The way he was looking at me was sending a rush of heat through my every vein.
“Yeah.” Bronx looked down at our hands, and a smile grew on his face. “I can’t stop thinking about that night in your apartment.”
“Which night?” I asked playfully, unable to stop my lips from curling slightly at the ends.
Bronx moved closer. His eyes moved down toward my mouth.
“Maybe you need a reminder,” he said.
With the way he was making me feel, there wasn’t anything I wanted more than a reminder.
Bronx inched closer until our lips gently brushed together. My body tingled, and I wanted nothing more than our light kiss to turn into much, much more.
Bronx’s kiss had a way of making me forget about everything. I forgot about my past. All the loss. All the heartbreak just poofed away. Hell, it even made me forget there were others in the room with us.
It was a kiss. Just a kiss. And I wanted more.
I slid my hand around his neck and pulled him closer. Our lips glided hungrily together… hard… passionately, but when someone shifted their weight, and the bedsprings squeaked, I pulled back. It was like I was back in high school getting caught making out on the sofa with my boyfriend during a movie.
My fingertips moved up to my lips as if I was doing what I could to hold on to the feeling of Bronx’s lips on mine. I looked over my shoulder at the others still sleeping sounding in nearly the same positions they’d been in.
“I want to,” I whispered, looking up into his warm eyes. “But I can’t.”
Bronx squeezed my hand. “I understand. Maybe we should have gotten our own room.”
“Maybe.”
Bronx cocked his head to the side flashing me a little frown. “Is something wrong? Doesn’t sound like you’d like that.”
“Oh, no, of course, I would,” I said.
“Is this about Jamie?” Bronx’s voice was so low I felt it rumble through my body.
“What?” I said shifting in my seat nervously. The heat rising inside me made my clothes feel itchy against my skin.
Bronx shook his head. “I see how he looks at you.” He hesitated. “And how you look at him.”
My stomach clenched tightly. Any remaining traces of a smile that had been on Bronx’s face dissipated.
I didn’t know what to say. Because I didn’t know how I felt. About anything… anyone… or even the conversation.
“All that matters right now is getting to my grandma’s house,” I said, each word stung the back of my throat.
“Yeah,” Bronx said leaning back in the chair.
“Bronx,” I said, tightening my hands into fists. “I really care deeply—”
“Don’t,” Bronx said, turning back toward the window. He opened his mouth to say more, but he shook his finger before standing abruptly. “I should get some rest.”
He took a step around me, and I tried to grab his hand. I wanted to explain that I didn’t want my heart broken. I wanted to tell him that I couldn’t let myself fall for him, or Jamie, or anyone. My heart couldn’t take it. But he slipped out of reach.
Chapter 7
It was early morning, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how Bronx and I had left things. No one could understand just how damaged my heart was after everything I’d been through with my family. Over the course of my entire life.
Losing my mom to suicide had been traumatic enough, but it didn’t end there. It felt as though I’d also lost my brother after all the drugs he wasn’t the person I knew any longer. One of my earliest memories was attending my father’s funeral. He’d had a heart attack. I barely remembered him, and now I didn’t even have a picture of him or my mom anymore.
I’d forgotten their voices. Next, I’d forget their faces.
My life was filled with loss. And I cared so much for Bronx and Jamie that I couldn’t let them in. I couldn’t get close to them because it would just lead to heartbreak.
I had to protect my heart, but I also had to do the right thing and protect them. Maybe I was cursed. I couldn’t knowingly let them into my mess.
“Sun’s up,” Nick announced, letting the curtain fall to the side. “Grab something to eat. We’re heading back out in five.”
Bronx hadn’t looked at me all morning. I wished I could have explained, but maybe this was for the best. It wasn’t something I wanted to explain.
If only I could force my brain to stop thinking about how Bronx had made me feel. Whenever he was around, I felt warm and safe, but now it had turned it into a coldness I could barely tolerate.
I’d screwed things up. Whatever had started between us, I managed to blow it all up because that’s what I did. That was what I always did.
It wasn’t like we could have been anything anyway. I had to try to push everything out of my mind and focus on our mission.
Everyone started pulling on their backpacks, slowing their movements when Nick held up his hand. “Hold on.”
His eyes narrowed as he peered at something from between the thick, dirty maroon-colored curtains. I swallowed hard as my fingers wrapped tightly around the strap of my pack.
“What’s going on?” Bronx asked stepping up next to Nick.
“Help me move the table,” Nick said in a breath. Together he and Bronx moved the table in front of the door.
“What is it?” I whispered as Nick blew out what was left of the candle.
Nick was back at the window, his head moving slightly as he looked around. “I thought I heard screaming.” His eyes widened. “I definitely heard screaming… there are people out there.”
“What the hell are they doing?” Bronx
asked, trying to get a better look.
“They’re… they’re running from something.” Nick breathed heavily. “They’re coming this way.”
Bronx peeked out the side of the curtain. “What the hell is that?”
The terror in his voice curdled my blood. I was at Nick’s side in a heartbeat peeking out of the curtain just beneath him.
There were two women and a man running as fast as they possibly could from the largest bear I’d ever seen. Not that I’d seen a lot of bears, really I’d only seen the ones at the zoo, and they probably were elderly bears enjoying their retirement. But this one… this one was huge.
The fear on the faces of the people running made my heart pound so hard it was like a bass drum pounding next to my ears.
Their feet pounded against the soggy ground, but the bear was gaining on them. There was absolutely no way they were going to outrun the angry beast.
“What do we do?” I asked glancing at the gun. “Shoot it?”
Nick shook his head. “I… I don’t think I can get a shot with them in front of the bear.”
“Maybe you should try?” My voice squeaked.
I could feel Nick glaring at me. “Maybe you should try.”
His dry tone agitated me. “If only I knew how,” I said tasting sour bile at the back of my throat.
“Yeah, right,” Nick said with a groan. “I wouldn’t be able to line up a shot that wouldn’t put each one of them at risk and neither could you no matter how good of a shot you were.”
I didn’t know what to say. One of the many things Nick had bragged about when he was in the academy was his accuracy. It was just too hard to stand there and do nothing.
If there was something, I couldn’t think of it, and neither could anyone else. My palms were sweating. My breaths were short and rapid.
“Shout we let them in? Open the door?” I asked, each breath pinching my lungs hard.
“Point the bear to all of us? That thing will knock down the door, maybe the wall,” Blair said shaking her head. “Yeah, let’s give him a feast.”
“He wouldn’t fit through the door,” I muttered, but maybe she was right.
I just hated feeling helpless… and I hated watching them as they ran toward the hotel knowing they probably wouldn’t be able to get inside any of the rooms before the angry beast devoured them.
The bear opened its mouth and launched himself at the people. Their horrified scream felt like salt on a wound as the man tumbled to the ground with the bear landing on top of him.
The woman stopped running, grabbing on to one another desperately trying to think of a way to help the man on the ground. His arm shot up, and the bear’s teeth cut into his flesh like a cleaver. The bear jerked his head roughly side to side, and the man’s arm popped out of its socket.
The woman screamed again.
Sourness filled my throat.
“Jesus!” Nick said before single-handedly pushing the table away from the door. He grabbed his gun and dashed out of the door before anyone could say anything. It was like he was a police officer again, running into a dangerous situation to help those in need. The version of Nick I barely got to know.
The women were off to the side giving Nick more than enough space to line up his shots. He took several before the bear jumped off of the man and lunged at Nick.
“Nick!” I shouted, but he stood there holding his ground confidently. Stupidly.
He kept shooting, but the bear kept moving toward him. It took at least three more shots before the bear howled out in pain and turned away from Nick. It didn’t make it more than four steps before it collapsed down to the ground.
I watched its large body draw in a deep breath only to have it quickly exit, making the bear look as though it was deflating.
The women looked like they were in shock as they stared at Nick. Their eyes were glazed over, and it seemed as though they weren’t sure if he was real.
Nick walked over to the man, but he shook his head. I was pretty sure there was nothing that could be done for him by the way his body was contorted in a pool of his own blood. He was flopped out, legs bent like a doll with too little stuffing.
Nick was talking to the women as he placed his hands on their shoulders. They looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language.
I breathed slowly, trying to ignore the pounding of my heartbeat in my head as he ushered the panic-stricken women toward our room.
Chapter 8
The women sat on the sofa hugging one another as we stared at them. They were still trying to catch their breath. If they blinked, it wasn’t often.
After several minutes, Nick spoke. “You’re safe in here.”
The woman with reddish, curly hair looked around nervously as if she hadn’t even considered the possibility that they might not be safe until that very moment. She tightened her grip on the other woman’s arm and shuddered.
“What are your names?” Nick asked as he crouched down next to the women.
“Shannon,” the one with curly hair said. “And she’s Monica.”
The other woman nodded, but she kept her eyes focused on the floor. She was frail, with hair as dark as the night sky and it hadn’t been combed in days. Both women looked like they were in their early twenties and would have been gorgeous if not for the current wildness.
Nick introduced us slowly, but the women barely looked up at us as he said our names. They were still in shock, or maybe they didn’t care.
“What were you doing out there?” Nick asked, his voice soft and comforting like freshly washed sheets.
“We came into the city looking for help, food, and a place to stay,” Shannon said rubbing her fingers together. “Instead, we found Danger. I don’t mean the environment, I mean the guy. He said his name was Danger.”
Nick and Bronx exchanged a glance. The woman, Shannon, noticed.
“We only knew him for a few days. Monica and I met him on our way to the city,” Shannon said.
“He helped us,” Monica said in a tiny voice. “And we couldn’t help him.”
Nick shook his head. “There wasn’t anything you could have done for him. That thing… it was a beast.”
“Maybe it broke out of the zoo,” Blair said with a shrug.
“That thing was massive,” Bronx said.
“Anyway,” Nick said turning back to the women.
Shannon rubbed her palms on her thighs. “That wasn’t our first encounter with a wild animal. It doesn’t matter where they came from, but they were hungry.”
“They? What else did you see out there?” Nick asked.
“Wolves mainly,” Shannon said. “At least that’s what Danger said they were.”
“And there was a really angry squirrel in a tree,” Monica added.
Shannon scratched the back of her neck. “Danger thought that all the animals were starving which made them desperate.”
She hesitated for a long moment.
“Anyway,” Shannon said clearing her throat, “we didn’t know him well, but he was good to us. He didn’t deserve what happened out there.”
“No one would,” Danny mumbled.
Blair’s eyes shifted to Danny, and she shook her head. “I could think of a few people that deserve something like that.”
Nick shot her a look that hit her so hard she was forced to take a step back.
The women looked confused but seemed to sense the tension that had suddenly tightened the room. Shannon took Monica’s hand into hers and pulled her up as she stood.
“We’re sorry to have troubled you,” Shannon said squeezing Monica’s hand. “Thanks for trying to help him. We appreciate it, but we really should be on our way.”
“Is there somewhere you need to be?” Nick asked. His eyes darted back and forth from woman to woman. “Maybe, you should come along with us for now.”
I managed not to roll my eyes. It didn’t surprise me that Nick wanted to be their knight in shining armor.
“There isn’t anyw
here we need to be,” Shannon said.
“Nick,” I said before either of them could say another word. “A moment please?”
He flashed Shannon a smile and placed his palm on her shoulder. Blair’s groan hadn’t been loud, but I’d heard it.
“I’ll be right back,” Nick said looking into Shannon’s eyes. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She blinked repeatedly as she looked at him. There was a twinkle in her eyes and a pinkness to her cheeks. Another foolish woman falling for my brother’s charms.
“We won’t,” Shannon said, and the women lowered themselves back down on the sofa.
I jerked my head back toward the bathroom and Nick followed me. It was a small bathroom, but we both squeezed inside.
The toilet bowl and the tub had rust stains. I winced at the strong scent of mildew that overwhelmed my nostrils.
“Before you say whatever it is you’re going to say, let me just say that they’re harmless,” Nick said. “They need help too.”
“Danny needed help, and you wanted to send him away. But in walks a pretty face or two and suddenly you turn to jelly.”
“You think we should just send them on their way? Let them fend for themselves,” Nick chuckled. “That’s strange coming from you after you fought to keep Danny here. Shouldn’t we help everyone we can?”
I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. “Please. We don’t know anything about these women.”
“We didn’t know anything about Danny.”
“This just doesn’t seem like you.” I shook my head.
“Like I said, they’re harmless. They’re not armed… they’re just scared.” Nick smirked as he scratched the back of his neck.
I let out a heavy sigh and twisted my hair between my fingers. “It’s just that I’m not sure we can trust them.”
“Now you sound like me.”
“Maybe you need to sound more like you,” I said wishing I could take back the words when Nick’s entire face curled into a smile.
“Well, you kept Danny,” Nick said stepping around me and moving closer to the door. He raised his brow and his hands to the sides. “I’m keeping them.”
The Red Sky Series Box Set Books 1-4: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series Page 20