Page 11

Chapter Eleven

T he strange happiness I feel doesn’t last long. Worry for Chase starts to pull at me. I haven’t heard a single shot, but I can hear the faint screeching moans of the dead horde, coming way back in the direction of our safe house . Our house. A sense of melancholy falls over me at the thought of never seeing the place again, never sleeping soundly, tucked into my makeshift bed and surrounded by men willing to keep me safe instead of making me prey. It was the first place I felt truly safe since the apocalypse started, somewhere I got to let down my walls and learn to trust in others again.

And since when did I let my walls down? I think to myself as we plough through the forest. Nate’s hand tugs on mine as he helps me step over a fallen log and I realise the answer to my question is as soon as I met them . The second I saw these guys all my fear and pain and anger just died. Well, mostly. Then they just kept piling dirt on with their sweet words, comforting presence and fresh bath water. I never stood a chance against them. Add into the mix their recent collective change from their respectful (almost to the point of shyness) attitude towards me, to this new and mind-boggling dynamic where it seems like they are nearly competing for my attention, and, well, let’s just say I’m glad they decided to keep me with them. I’d hate to become a stalker. But , I realise, if they left me that’s what I would become, I’d stalk them to the ends of the earth because I don’t just want them (which, after everything I have been through is amazing in and of itself) but I need them . There is no other way around it, each one of these three guys has played a major part in helping me to heal mentally and physically, and in doing so it seems like they have well and truly gotten under my skin. All three of them. There is no conceivable way that I could choose between them, choose one over the others. And that’s a bit terrifying, given their new interest being shown in me. But, if I can’t have all of them then I’ll have none of them and that’s just the way it has to be . I repeat that a few times to myself until it doesn’t sting so much, and I feel like I might actually have a chance of sticking by it. Gods, how my life has changed in just four short days. Or is it five? I never asked how long I was unconscious for.

A sharp tug on my hand from Nate pulls me to an abrupt stop, just an inch or so from running into Hunter’s broad back. Geeze, I really need to work on my spatial awareness, I think as I take a step back, straight into Nate’s solid chest. He wraps his arms over the front of my stomach, without letting go of my hand, and leans in to whisper in my ear “You should really watch where you’re going, Trouble. One day you might run into something really mean.”

“Hmm.” I hum in agreement, “You mean instead of just regular mean, like Hunter?” I whisper back. I feel his chest vibrate slightly as he chuckles silently against me.

“Knock it off you two” Hunter growls at us without turning around. Nate snaps up straight under his warning tone but doesn’t let me go. I try to lean around Hunter, to see why he’s stopped but it’s impossible to see around his massive frame in the cage of Nate’s arms. Eventually, I flop my head back to lean on Nate’s chest and stare up at the outline of his handsome jaw. Absently, I notice a light blond scruff starting to grow in and I wonder if it’s as coarse as it looks. My hand twitches, as if to test the theory of his stubbles scruffiness, but Nate pulls me tighter against him, likely squishing my backpack between us into his abs. Without looking at me he ducks his head and whispers so quietly I barely hear him, even with his mouth hovering just above my ear, his breath tickling my earlobe and making my whole body shiver. “You need to stop staring at me, sweetheart. I’m trying to focus.” His arms tighten around me a little more and he breathes “And you’re making that really hard.” My heart is thundering in my chest with his proximity and all I can manage is a quick nod, which scrapes my check against his stubble, and I let out an embarrassing, breathy sigh that I desperately hope neither of them hears. No such luck, Nate sucks in a sharp breath before abruptly stepping away from me. Confused I look around only to meet Hunters pissed off glower, I quickly look down at my feet as my cheeks flame.

“If you’re both done?” Hunter snaps lowly “Get the fuck away from her if you can’t do your job properly Doc, I will not ask again.” I cower slightly away from Hunter’s tone, absolutely mortified that I distracted Nate and put them in potential danger. Briefly, I flick my eyes up to Hunter, in time to see his face soften slightly before he turns away with a growl. When I look to Nate, he won’t meet my gaze as he lets go of my hand and steps away, facing back the way we came with a ridged stance.

Pathetically, my eyes start to burn as I stand quiet, hugging my injured arm to my chest, trying not to make a noise or be a bigger distraction while I mentally berate myself for being so complacent. I could have got us all hurt or killed, all because I can’t control my damn primal response to these men. I have no one to blame but myself though, so I just wait miserably until Hunter gives the all clear and we sprint across a stretch of road and into the woods on the other side. When Nate goes to take my hand again I quickly snatch it away, not wanting to cause more conflict than I already have between the two guys. He sighs and takes up a position behind me as we trudge further into the forest.

I move on autopilot, following Hunter’s big frame, as I mentally cuss myself for being so useless at everything. The warm fuzzy feeling of actually belonging that I was starting to feel has disappeared, leaving behind a dull ache that I am all too familiar with. It’s more than pathetic that something as little as harshly spoken words can send me spiralling straight back to the miserable pits of depression. With every step I take the tears burning behind my eyes threaten to fall, but I refuse to let them slip out, I will not be more of a burden to these men.

Eventually we come upon an old log cabin, buried so far in the woods it would be near impossible to find unless you knew exactly where it was. The forest looks like it has encroached on the cabin long before the apocalypse began, a moderately sized tree growing straight through the roof is evidence of that. Hunter pauses by the tree line of the little clearing the house perches in, scanning the area for danger. Eventually he gives the all clear again and we move into the space cautiously. As soon as Nate clears the forest, we hear a rustling from in the cabin. Before I can even blink, Hunter and Nate step in front of me, blocking my line of sight while simultaneously pulling weapons from the arsenal that’s strapped to each of their bodies. Hunter pulls a wicked looking Magnum and Nate draws his Katana with a deadly hiss. Both men are tense as more noises come from in the cabin and I belatedly reach for my own gun. Nate and Hunter start to move forward together, and I move with them, turning so I can keep an eye on our backs, trusting them to handle any threat at the front. They stop only a few feet from the cabin’s door, everyone is radiating tension, when a familiar voice calls out to us.

“Don’t shoot, I’m friendly” Chase’s voice sounds like he’s holding in a laugh, as usual, and Hunter holsters his weapon with a curse.

“We could have killed you, idiot. Next time use the call.” He snaps at Chase. But I’m barely aware of that as I drop my backpack and stuff my gun back in its holster, already moving toward the smirking giant standing in the crumbling doorway. He sees me coming and opens his arms to me with a huge smile and I couldn’t stop myself from jumping into his comforting embrace even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. Chase scoops me up into his arms as I wrap my own arms around him as best I can, burying my face in the crook of his neck. I don’t let my tears fall but I can’t seem to stop the whole body shakes that have me in their grip. Now that Chase is back the whole days stress has suddenly set upon me once more and crushing disappointment in myself makes it hard to breathe. I just want to stay curled up in Chase’s warm embrace forever, but I doubt he will want to comfort me once he realises I could have gotten his friends killed by distracting them.

Chase seems to sense my distress, and he shifts his grip to be able to run his large hand over the back of my head and neck, pressing me even closer to him. I wrap my legs completely around his abdomen and just let myself drink in his comforting presence as his murmured words rumble through his entire body “It’s ok baby. It’s alright, I’m here, your safe. I got you.” His confusion is evident in the sound of his voice but he continues to comfort me none the less, until I finally stop shaking and can gather my thoughts again.

Once I start to wiggle, Chase puts me gently back on the ground. He peers down at my no doubt red face and a dark scowl marks his features as he looks deep into my glassy green gaze. I drop my eyes and try to move away from the anger on his face, thinking somehow, he already knows what I put the others through. But instead, he grabs me and pushes me somewhat behind him as he squares off with his teammates.

“What the hell did you do to her?!” he demands, staring straight at Hunters frowning face. Hunter just grunts and waves Chase’s comment away, as if it were nothing important. Which I guess it’s not to him. That kind of hurts. More than it should. I try to squish in between Chase’s back and the pack he’s carrying, wanting to disappear. I chance a quick look at Nate and find that he looks just as miserable as me, his eyes zeroed in on the contact between me and Chase.

“Nothing.” Hunter snaps in reply to Chase’s question, but his eyes are on me when I look back at him. “Make your report. What did you find?” Chase looks down at me with a frown and tucks me into him a little more tightly before answering Hunter in a clipped and formal tone.

“The initial count of the horde was off. Instead of the fifty we estimated there appears to be more than sixty. More seem to be joining the horde from the forests, likely drawn by the noise they are making.” Hunter nods curtly and Chase continues “I only got one hit in before I was distracted by a lurker.” Everyone looks sharply at Chase, but he just nods as he continues. “One male, unknown age, wearing the same clothing as those previously following Angie. He came from the run down chicken coop behind the barn. I am unsure how long he has been there. The last property patrol was yesterday morning and we found nothing out of the ordinary.” Nate nods at this and I assume they were out on patrol together. “With the horde closing in he had no choice but to break cover and run. I put a clean shot through his neck and watched to ensure the horde cleaned up after me.” I feel my eyes go wide at this, never really imagining that my gentle giant could be so ruthless. Honestly, it’s kind of a turn on. God, I’m so messed up. “There were no others in the area. I made sure of it before I left.” Chase concludes.

There’s a little silence as everyone contemplates Chase’s report. Except for me, I already know what it means. I start to shake violently against Chase and his hand comes around immediately to rub soothing lines up and down my side. The terror sets in so strongly that I can’t even think, can’t breathe. Because I know how the knight’s work and I know what one watching our house means. They’re coming for me.