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Chapter Twenty-eight

T hat little shit is definitely on my kill list. I stagger to my feet as fast as possible; the fall has hurt something in my hip, but I force my body to move. I manage a few hobbling run-steps but the body behind me lets out a triumphant scream that’s far too close for comfort. I duck my head and throw myself to the side as I feel its bony fingers brush my shirt. I manage to land myself on my back and I bring my legs up immediately into the zombie’s chest. I only just manage to stop it from falling on me and tearing out my throat, but this is not an ideal situation, and I’m not going to last long. My legs are already starting to tremble from the force the corpse is using to try and push through.

If they were smarter, I’d already be dead. I grunt with effort as the body pushes harder against me. I note absently that it was a man at one point, its hi-vis vest and single work boot might indicate he was at work when he died, or he just had awful fashion sense. It draws in air through his decaying nose and screams its frustration at me, a rotten tooth flying out to land on my chest. Fucking yuck. Its bone tipped fingers scrabble against my legs, and I can feel them rip through my jeans and into my flesh. I scream right back at it as I heave it backwards and use the respite to try to get up. My hip gives out and I can only manage to scoot backwards against a large tree as the body lurches for me again, only this time I see the rest of them closing in too. There’s at least ten of them, maybe more.

I’m going to die. The thought hits me hard as the highly visible body slams into my waiting feet again. My knees try to buckle with the impact but I grit my teeth, determined to hold him off as long as possible. I bloody want to live now, dammit. There are so. Many. Possibilities. All of which I fully intend to explore if I can get myself out if this mess.

They say life is supposed to flash before your eyes when you’re about to die, but all I see is my future. All I see is sunshine and a home with a sense of safety attached to it. That safety taking the form of three hulking men. But mostly, I see my guys. I see us with no barriers, no fear, and I want it. I want it so bad.

It only takes me a second for my revelation to sink in but it’s quickly followed by reality. It doesn’t matter how much I want to live; the zombies don’t care. But I won’t give in, I’ll keep these fuckers at bay as long as possible.

The rest of the mob is nearly within striking distance, and I brace myself for the pain. I close my eyes and think of the men I found as I wait for death to close in.

The weight of the body at my feet suddenly disappears and my eyes fly open to watch him topple to the side. I blink and the next body closest to me, a fairly intact woman, falls next. Another follows after that.

Chase.

As soon as I think his name, I hear a yell coming from my left and turn my head to watch as Nate and Hunter clear the trees and fall upon the dead like vengeful angels. I use their distraction to struggle to my feet, ready to help if I can.

Clearly, though, they don’t need my help. I watch in awe as they carve through the horde, moving together as though they were made for this, had been doing it all their lives. Nate’s katana whistles as he slices it across the face of a decaying kid, not slowing at all as he reverses direction and cuts the head off a fat body lumbering up beside him with a quiet grunt.

Hunter is completely silent aside from the soft pop of his silenced handgun. He wields a knife as long as my forearm in one hand and his gun in the other. He kicks out at a body charging up on Nate from behind, forcing it to stumble to the ground, then whirls and stabs a skeletal grandpa through the eye. As the grandpa starts to drop, Hunter twists his body to shoot the zombie that managed to regain its feet, square between its eyes. He moves so fast that the first body hasn’t even hit the ground before the second is dead. They fight together for a few moments as I try to integrate myself with the tree behind me, desperately trying to stay out of their way while I’m bound and useless.

My voice freezes in my throat as two bodies converge on Hunter as he wrestles with a corpse that nearly got under Nate’s guard. They drop like rocks as I hear two quiet pops from the left and I watch Chase step out from behind a tree, mean looking handguns in each hand. He lifts one of them and squeezes out a shot and I look in time to see a lanky zombie collapse on itself, only a few feet from where Nate slices through yet another. His aim is perfect, and the thing doesn’t get back up.

He keeps his eyes on the fight as he moves closer to me, pausing to put a bullet in the head of anything that gets too close to his friends. By the time he reaches me, the guys have everything well under control as they move a bit further in to the trees to meet the straggling bodies.

I lick my lips as Chase turns his attention to me, meeting his stormy grey gaze as it searches me for bites.

“Fuck, Angel. I…” he doesn’t get to finish what he was going to say because I launch myself at him, hoping that he’ll catch me with my hands still bound behind me. He doesn’t disappoint and as he steadies me, I stretch up and seal my lips to his, deepening the kiss almost immediately. He pauses a moment, shocked I think, before returning my kiss with a deep groan that makes my breath hitch.

He backs me up against my tree again, holstering one of his weapons so he can tangle his fingers in my short hair and angle my head to deepen the kiss. His huge body presses me hard against the trunk of the tree and bark bites in to my bound hands, but I don’t care. His kiss is incredible and it tastes a lot like claiming, both of us claiming the other. Chase drifts his hand from my hair down my neck to cradle my head in his large hand. A rattled breath from our right has Chase breaking the kiss. He raises his gun and puts a bullet between the eyes of the corpse that snuck up on us and I watch its brain matter fly out the back of its skull. I blink rapidly but Chase hasn’t moved from where he has me pinned and he leans back down to seal his lips to mine as if nothing happened.

I’m a little messed up because I near about swoon into a puddle right there on the forest floor.

This kiss is only short though and he breaks off with a sigh.

“Maybe this isn’t the best time. Sorry.” I manage to breathe out.

Chase chuckles and tucks my hair behind my ear, trailing his long fingers along my jaw before tilting my head up to place a sweet kiss on my forehead.

“Anytime.” He declares, “Is a perfect time, for you to kiss me like that.”

I swoon a little more.

At a grunt from Nate behind him, Chase turns and fires off two rapid shots, giving Nate and Hunter some breathing room around them.

“Hmm, maybe now isn’t the best time though.” He concedes and I grin at him.

“If you untie me and let me borrow a gun, I could probably be less distracting.” I murmur.

Chase frowns at me, clearly having missed my bound hands. I turn my back to him and wave my fingers at him. He makes a growling noise in the back of his throat, and I hear the snick of him drawing one of his blades. The next minute he slices through the rope, and I bring my hands to my chest to rub my burning wrists. I roll out my shoulders as I turn back to face Chase, who looks thunderous as he glares at the rope in his hands. Heat flashes through me and I try to shake it off as I step forward and remove one of his firearms from its holster at his side. I check the chamber, and Chase wordlessly hands me more ammo. Once I’m finished, I look up at him to see he’s still murderous and I smile.

“Tell you about it later, big guy. Let’s go rescue the other two first, though.” That gets a chuckle out of him and we both stalk forward to help Hunter and Nate. Well, Chase stalks, I kind of hobble like an angry granny chasing down a manager at the discount drug store. But between the two if us we pick off the incoming stragglers, those dead that were drawn in by all the commotion, and Hunter and Nate finish off the last of the horde.

Once the other two join us, the guys try to circle up around me as we retreat, but I manage to push myself out so that I become part of their group instead of being sheltered by it. I don’t get a chance to greet Nate and Hunter like I did Chase, because Hunter has us all moving before I can even blink. He herds us away from the bodies, reloading his gun as he moves. Chase takes the lead, gun raised and sweeping the surrounding trees, Nate takes up a position beside me and we each guard a flank. Hunter follows behind us, walking backwards to watch our backs, trusting that we have him covered at the front.

We move at a rapid walk, the guys going as fast as I can manage, pausing to take down any dead that happen onto our path. I’m glad they don’t push the pace faster, because my right hip is screaming at me and causing me to limp and shuffle along to keep up with the guy’s long strides. By the time we reach the familiar wrought iron fence, I’m about ready to pass out.

I note absently that the front gate has been left wide open as though the guys left in a hurry and didn’t think to close it. The moment I step inside the gate my legs give out and I hit the ground with an audible thump and a groan. Nate is by my side in a second, helping me roll onto my back and checking for injuries. Chase and Hunter loom above me, matching looks of concern on their handsome faces. I give them a reassuring smile, but it must lack lustre, because they both continue to frown at me.

Nate growls as he checks my body. Presumably I’ve made more work for him.

“Chase, Hunter, go clear the house, I need to get her inside and grab my bag.” He snaps out and immediately the two looming figures retreat from my view.

Nate leans over me as he brushes dirt from my face. “Stay with me, Trouble.” He murmurs. His lips are so close to mine that all I want is to push up and claim a kiss, like I did with Chase.

So, I do. It takes a lot more strength than I’d like to admit, but I manage to close the distance between us, molding my lips to his and folding one hand into his black shirt to pull him back down with me.

His mouth parts in surprise and I take full advantage, sliding my tongue between his lips to sweep over and tangle with his. He responds immediately, seeming to forget for a moment that he’s worried about my injuries. Good. I want this power over the dominant doctor. I want to be the only reason he forgets things. When his thigh slides between my legs I gasp and he uses that moment to overtake our kiss, hijacking control from me so swiftly my head spins. Or maybe that’s the blood loss. Either way, it’s amazing. I’m completely lost in the sensation of his hard body poised over mine, his muscled arms on either side of my head keeping his weight from pressing down on me, while his thigh pushes solidly into my core. Heat and need flare through me and I push back, grinding my hips on his leg to try to get some friction. Nate groans into my mouth, breaking our kiss to trail his lips along my jaw then down my neck.

A soft cough has Nate leaping to his feet, hand already wrapped around the handle of his katana. I blink dazedly up at the darkening sky for a moment before managing to turn my head to look at Hunter, who’s looking back at me with an expression I can’t read.

“House is clear, there’s a bath running in her room. Chase will be on first watch while we get her patched up.” He says to Nate. Nate clears his throat and nods. He looks between me and Hunter and back again, gives another nod and then with a lingering heated look at me, jogs off towards the house. Leaving me alone with Hunter. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me since he came back, not even while he was talking to Nate or when Nate left us. I stare back at him, taking in his other-worldly good looks and dark, sparkling eyes. Of all of them, Hunter makes me most nervous, I can never really tell what he’s thinking. Whether he wants to kiss me stupid because I’m safe or spank me for getting in trouble again in the first place. I find that either option appeals to me right now.

I raise my eyebrow at him in silent challenge and he lowers his in a dangerous look that sends tingles down my spine. I lift my arms to him, and he hauls me up, holding me close to his body. Not in the bridal style I expected, he holds me to him with one leg on either side of his hips, my feet able to twist together behind him, I wind my arms around his neck as his arms band across my back and under my ass.

The hold brings me face to face with him and I stare into his dark chocolate gaze, clearly able to read the heat in them for the first time today. He must read my intentions because he doesn’t wait for me or ask permission, his lips just crash into mine and I’m helpless to do anything but open for him. And I like it because this, this is Hunter. His kiss is wild and uncontrolled as he grips me tight against his body. His tongue leads mine as he nips and sucks at my lower lip. I don’t even realise we moved until he pushes me up against the doorframe of the house. I moan into his mouth as he pushes his hips up into me, grinding his already hard dick against my core. I try to push back, try to grind myself against him too, but he has my body locked down and won’t let me move. I make a frustrated sound that makes him grunt. He pulls his lips from mine and starts to nip along my jaw and down my neck, on the opposite side to where Nate was just kissing me moments ago. I’m burning up and my head is spinning wildly as I push my chest up against him, panting. He growls as he nips lower, along the tops of my breasts. I’m gasping for breath when he stops suddenly and I whine in disappointment, but when he looks up, I can see what stopped him. My blood covers his mouth and is smeared across his chin.

Oh. Damn. That shouldn’t be sexy, right?! Also, how did I get blood up there?

He obviously sees the heat in my eyes because he huffs a laugh but, disappointingly, pulls me away from the door and carries me upstairs. I let my head rest in the crook of his neck as he moves up the stairs, breathing in his scent and letting it soothe the last of my worries. As soon as my body starts to relax, I can feel the drain of blood loss and the deep throbbing pain coming from my hips and legs again, the reason I collapsed inside the gate.

Nate meets us halfway down the stairs and together they rush me to my room, I feel groggy and disoriented now, the walls spinning around me as they place me gently on the bed. Two large sets of hands strip me down to my underwear and the heat I was experiencing earlier makes itself known again. I have to give myself a stern pep talk to avoid rubbing up against them as they slip my shirt over my head and my pants over my hips.

Hunter hisses out a breath between his teeth when he gets a good look at my body and Nate curses. I wearily sit myself up to check myself out and immediately wish I hadn’t. I’m covered in scratches, like, covered. My arms and torso sport hundreds of little cuts from branches I didn’t even feel. But I feel each and every one now, as I look at them, they start to smart and sting. But they’re nothing compared to deep gouges along the outside of my thighs and calves from the bones of the zombie’s fingers. Some of those are definitely going to need stitches.

Along the right side of my hip an ugly bruise is starting, spreading across my waist and halfway down my butt.

“Yep. That fucking hurts.” I hiss as I try to pull my legs up. Nate grabs my ankles to stop the movement before quickly letting go.

“Let’s get you in the shower Trouble, wash off all the blood so I can see what we are really looking at.”

I perk up and grin at him because he said shower, not bath. I get my wish. I just had to be kidnapped and covered in blood, but I get my shower.