“Right.” She hobbled over and then gasped when she saw Ronnie’s body lying on the floor.
I smacked her arm. “Focus.”
The sounds of clicking and moaning were getting louder. The zombies had to be right outside.
“Okay,” she said in a shaky voice. "Let's do this."
Between the two of us, we managed to push the couch against the largest window and flip it over so it blocked most of the glass.
“Do the same thing with the other furniture,” I shouted as hands slammed against the windows.
I grabbed the recliner and dragged it in front of an open window while Eden moved one of the big speakers against another window.
Glass shattered.
“They’re coming through,” Eden shrieked, her eyes wild.
We backed away from the windows.
Bloody arms and legs pushed their way inside.
“Shoot them,” I screamed, raising Nero’s gun.
Eden raised Carlos’s gun and fired on the first zombie, who pushed his way past the couch.
It was Jerry.
“The head. Aim for the head,” I cried, remembering Reed’s advice. I glanced over at his unconscious body lying in the hallway.
We have to protect him.
Eden’s next shot took off the top of Jerry’s skull.
He went down and stayed down.
Mrs. Munoz and her kids stumbled over the recliner.
Eden stepped forward, but then lowered her gun.
“Eden, shoot!”
“I can’t. They’re kids,” she cried.
“They’re monsters.”
Her hands shook. The gun wavered in the air.
Crap. “Get back.” I pushed her behind me and unloaded into our neighbor and her ten- and thirteen-year-old boys. The kids were faster and harder to hit than the adults. I emptied the handgun before they finally hit the floor.
I threw down Nero’s empty gun and drew Duncan’s revolver.
“I’m out of ammo. What do we do?” Eden screamed.
“Take this, protect Reed.” I gave her my knife and pushed her toward the hallway.
I continued firing on the zombies, but as soon as one collapsed, another creature seemed to take its place.
The living room soon filled with them. Some had black veins mottling their faces and skin. Others had horrific wounds to their necks and torsos. All of them clicked their teeth excitedly as their frosted gazes fixed on us.
I stumbled back toward Eden and Reed. How can we possibly survive this?
We could barricade ourselves into one of the rooms, but how long before the zombies broke through? Minutes? Seconds?
The sound of rapid gunfire made me jump.
“Machine guns,” Eden gasped, a startled expression on her face.
While my mind struggled to process what that might mean, the front door crashed open.
A dark-haired giant wearing military fatigues and a tactical vest covered in knives stormed into the house. He turned to face the zombies and, in movements so quick they barely registered, threw a succession of knives at the creatures.
Every single one fell to the floor, a knife embedded in their forehead.
“Wow,” Eden said under her breath as she watched him retrieve his knives from the corpses.
Wow is right.
Not only did he have perfect, deadly aim, the man was gorgeous. His bulging muscles, chiseled cheekbones, and full lips made my heart pound harder. I nearly swooned when he turned his attention to us huddled in the hallway. “Are you okay?”
Eden and I nodded in unison.
“Have any of you been bitten?”
We shook our heads.
A tall, muscular, dark-skinned woman also decked out in camo prowled into the house. She pointed her assault rifle at the bodies on the floor. Seemingly satisfied there was no threat, she turned to the man. “Sarge, I’ve eliminated the infected outside the house, but more will come.”
With a grunt, he looked down at her. “The list?”
The female soldier reached into her pocket and handed him a piece of paper.
He looked at it for a second, then pinned us with his black gaze. “Is Eden Walker or H. Lee Walker here?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice coming out as a squeak. I cleared my throat. “I’m Lee and this is my sister Eden.”
“Good.” He folded the paper and handed it back to the woman. “I’m Sergeant Dominic Rosario with the U.S. Army, and this is Corporal Darcy Ross. We’re evacuating civilians from the Valley. Come with us.”
Hope pulsed to life inside me. We’re being rescued.
I pointed at Reed. “Our roommate is with us too. He’s hurt, but he hasn’t been bitten.”
The sergeant’s expression tightened. “He’s not on the list. He stays.”
I reared back. “No. He comes with us.”
“My orders are clear, Ms. Walker. Only those on the list come with us.”
I met the sergeant’s scowl with one of my own. “Screw your list. Either Reed comes with us, or we stay.”
We’ll take Uncle Duncan’s truck and get the hell out of town.
Darcy let out a huff of air. “Ungrateful civvies. We should leave ‘em, Sarge.”
The sergeant took a step closer to me. “If you don’t come with me right now, you’ll be dead within twenty-four hours.”
Cobbling together my last bit of strength, I lifted the revolver to show him I was armed. He didn’t need to know I was out of ammo. “I might surprise you.”
His gaze swept over me. His lips quirked up. “I think you might.”
I straightened my spine, not liking the way my body warmed under his gaze. “Reed is coming with us.”
He sighed and motioned us toward the door. “Fine. We’re burning daylight.”
“I’ll get, Goldilocks,” the female soldier said, throwing Reed over her shoulder and marching out the door.
My jaw dropped. It’d taken all my sister’s and my strength to drag Reed inside and Darcy had deadlifted him with one arm.
“Be careful. He has a head injury,” Eden called out, running after the super soldier.
Super soldiers. Zombie hordes. Gangsters. It was too much. Feeling dizzy, I stumbled over a corpse.
Moving in a blur, the sergeant caught me and hauled me against his chest. “Are you always this much trouble, Ms. Walker?”
The heat of his skin sent tiny electric shocks down my body. Gasping for breath, I gazed into his dark eyes. Something indefinable passed between us and, for a moment, I was hit with the strangest feeling that I belonged to this man.
I immediately rejected the ridiculous idea. I’d never belong to any man. Not Javier. Not Reed. And certainly not this guy.
Lifting my chin, I countered, “Are you always this much of a pain in the ass, Sergeant Rosario?”
The sergeant stared at me as if I’d whacked him with a two-by-four. Then he let out a deep rumbling laugh and carried me outside.
20
Hunter
Reaching the city limits, I cloaked myself and began the hunt for my former master. I tried to ignore the static crackling inside my ears. It was an ever-present reminder that Jen was gone. Our bond was broken and the chaos that wrought on my mind and body threatened to overwhelm me.
To keep from losing it, I focused on how I was going to kill Dom. I’d creep up to him while he was unaware and whisper my brothers’ names into his ear. He’d spin around, and I’d show no mercy as I ripped off every one of his limbs. When he was a shrieking stump on the ground, I’d devour him alive.