Page 36 of Dyana (Love in the Apocalypse #3)

Chapter sixteen

Dyana

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the sun was much lower in the sky when I reopened my eyes.

“Feeling better?” Jack asked when I leaned back to look at him. I expected to see him half asleep, too, but his eyes were sharp and clear of any drowsiness.

“Loads,” I replied. “Sorry—“

Jack’s finger landed on my lips, silencing me. “Nope.”

I opened my mouth to protest his gag order, and he pinched my lips closed gently.

“I said no. You are not going to apologize for needing something. You have no idea how good I feel knowing that I was able to provide you with the comfort you needed. That you trusted me enough to be completely vulnerable and trust that I would take care of you. Don’t ruin it by apologizing for needing that moment. ”

The corners of my mouth lifted into a small smile as I nodded my agreement. I couldn’t deny him that request.

“Good. Now, it’s getting late, so we need to get dressed and head home. I can come back to clean all of this another day.”

We dressed, grabbed the food bag, record player, and records we’d picked out, and left town.

The hike home was uneventful, and when we got back, everyone was excited to go through the records and reminisce.

Since it was such a nice evening, we decided to have dinner together outside again.

These family dinners were becoming much more frequent and the highlight of our days.

It was nice to come together, not because there was a task that needed to be completed, but to simply enjoy each other’s company.

I was the first one to hear the sound of an engine, but Trent must have heard it too because he jumped up and stopped the record player.

“Hey!” Cora protested when the music was suddenly cut off. The roar of an engine was easily heard by everyone now, and the air became thick with tension as the sound grew closer.

“Cora, take Johnny inside and stay there,” I ordered, drawing my gun. It was never my go-to weapon because it was noisy, and the bullets were precious. So under normal circumstances, it stayed on my hip, mostly forgotten, but this wasn’t normal circumstances, and we weren’t dealing with zombies.

“I’ll do no such thing!” she argued.

I turned to look at her. As part of my whole learning to forgive myself and open up so that I can heal thing, I had told Cora and her men my whole sordid past. I was grateful I had now. “Cora, it’s him. You need to take Johnny to the bunker.”

“It might not be him,” Evan suggested. “Maybe it’s someone else.”

“It’s him,” I replied, turning back to the drive. I could feel it in my soul. The devil had come to claim me once and for all. I knew when I first saw the car drive through town that it was Harris, I just didn’t want to believe it.

“Cora, do as you’re told, baby,” Isaac ordered as he stepped beside me, gun drawn.

Surprisingly, learning about my past had brought me closer to Isaac, Remi, Trent, and Derrick.

It was like it was the last piece of the puzzle they’d needed to accept me.

Or maybe it was the last secret I had to share to feel worthy of their acceptance.

Remi helped Cora inside with Johnny and returned with four assault rifles.

He handed them out, and then we waited. We didn’t have to wait long for the car to roll through the gate.

This was it—the final showdown. When the car door opened, I expected Harris to step out.

I didn’t expect a girl to be tossed from the car.

As she got to her feet, my brain refused to accept what I was seeing.

She was older, and gone was the optimism and innocence of the kid I’d known.

Standing there, glaring at me was a cold and jaded version of Amber.

Harris jumped from the car next, grabbing Amber and holding a gun to her head as he used her as a shield.

“Don’t shoot,” I whispered in horror. All my sins were coming back to haunt me now in the hatred-filled eyes of a teenager.

“Dyana?” Bryce asked in confusion.

“That’s Amber. The girl from the church,” I replied as my mind still struggled to wrap around this new reality.

I’d never wanted to know what happened after I left the church.

I tried not to think about the people I left behind.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated that Harris would have taken Amber prisoner.

I knew firsthand the horrors she must have endured these past four years.

It made me sick to my stomach, and I had to swallow the bile that tried to come up.

“Hello, Dyana,” Harris said. The evil in his voice wrapped around me and made me tremble. “I’ve been watching you. You’ve made quite a life for yourself. Men to do your bidding. A new friend. I’ve never been with a pregnant woman before. Might be fun.”

Harris was outgunned, but his confidence that he would come out on top was firmly in place. Why wouldn’t it be? How many people had he killed in his pursuit of me? Four years and countless bodies later, he had no reason to doubt his success here.

“If it comes down to not shooting that girl or saving my son, I’m killing the girl, Dyana,” Isaac said softly.

“I understand,” I replied. I’d do everything in my power to save Amber, but keeping Cora and Johnny safe was the priority.

“You’re trespassing on private property,” Isaac said firmly. “Kindly leave before we’re forced to take further action.”

“I’m a cop, asshole. I’m the one in charge,” Harris replied.

“Not here, you’re not,” Jack said.

“I’ll make this easy for you,” Harris said. “Hand over Dyana, and I’ll leave you all alone. You’ll never see me again.”

“Not a fucking chance,” Evan growled.

Harris clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Dyana, you should probably tell your fuck boys what I do to people who stand between us. Because of her, my entire town fell. It’s time for her to answer for her crimes.”

“Let Amber go and leave, Harris. This won’t go the way you think it will,” I told him.

“I could never leave my little girl,” Harris replied, hugging Amber to him.

“Unlike you, I’m not a monster. Leaving her all alone to listen to her people die, all because of you.

I’ll tell you what, Dyana. I’ll give you a chance to do the right thing for once.

I’ll be in town. I’ve set up shop in the old police station.

You have until sunset tomorrow to turn yourself in.

If you don’t... well, I don’t think I really need to tell you what will happen if you don’t.

” He shuffled back to the car with Amber still shielding him, making it impossible to get a shot off without hitting her.

“Get in the car, girl,” he ordered. “I’ll see you soon, Dyana.

One way or another. You decide how many more people will die for you. ”

We watched him back out of the yard, and nobody moved as we listened to the sound of the engine fade.

Once we were sure Harris was gone, Jack grabbed me by my shoulders.

“If I find out you’re actually thinking about going down there, I’ll turn your ass red and tie you to the bed, Dyana,” he growled.

“I’m not,” I assured him. “But he will be back. We need to be ready when he does. And just because he came through the front gate this time doesn’t mean he will again. We need to be prepared for anything.”

We all sat back down to finish eating dinner, more out of necessity than appetite.

By the time we had finished, we had a game plan, including shifts in place to stand guard.

Derrick was going to take the first shift, then one of my guys would take over.

We tried to come up with every possible plan of attack that Harris might devise and plan accordingly.

The biggest precaution, and the one Cora pushed back on the most, was that they would sleep in the bunker until Harris was handled.

That way, if there were a sneak attack in the night, they would already be in the safest place possible.

“Remember,” Derrick said when we were leaving, “Just signal with your flashlight when you’re on duty so you don’t have to come all the way down here in the dark.

“You got it, brother,” Bryce replied.

The walk to the tower was quiet. I found myself mentally chewing on another path we hadn’t considered and wondering whether I should bring it up to the guys or not. Deciding it didn’t hurt to at least talk about it, I waited until the door closed behind us to speak.

“So, I was thinking,” I started.

“No,” they said in unison.

“What the hell do you mean, no?” I asked, hands on hips.

“Red,” Evan sighed, “Whatever has been banging around in that pretty head of yours, just let it go. We have a plan we’ve all agreed to.”

“You could have at least heard me out before shutting me down,” I pouted.

“Ok, Doll,” Jack replied, sitting at the counter. “Go ahead. What were you thinking?” Bryce and Evan also sat, and they all watched me as they waited for me to tell them my idea.

“I think waiting for Harris to attack first is a mistake. I could always—“

Bryce cut me off. “Let me stop you right there, Sweetheart. Any plan of yours that starts with anything but we is automatically vetoed.”

I made a frustrated sound in my throat. “How about some tea?” I suggested. “I’m going to need something to hold to keep myself from smacking the next person who interrupts me before I finish speaking.”

“If you need something to hold, I can help with that,” Jack purred.

I smiled at him sweetly. “I don’t think you’re going to want me holding that. I might accidentally pull it off.”

I put the kettle on and started preparing the teacups. “As I was saying, I could sneak into town to draw Harris out, and we could attack him there, away from our home.”

“We’re safest here,” Evan replied. “Everything we need to defend ourselves is here. Plus, we know the forest is relatively void of zombies. In town, we risk fighting more than one enemy.”

“Don’t worry, Doll. He’s outnumbered and outgunned. We won’t let him hurt you again.”