Flesh 02 Skin (29 page)

“You’re sure about that?”

He made a show of combing the little tufts of hair with his fingers before placing a gentle kiss on her mound. “Yes. Perfect.”

Her body shook with laughter, lips trembling trying to hold back a smile. “I hate you.”

He paused, the wet washcloth still covering her sex. So many times he’d heard those words come out of her mouth. This time, she didn’t mean it. No doubt about it. He knew that. It still stopped him.

“Shit,” she said.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Nick. Look at me.”

After a moment he did. Her hand beckoned him closer and she started to sit up. Which was dangerous. She could easily hurt herself.

“Hey. Be careful.” Quickly he put an arm behind her, helping her up. Her arms wrapped around his neck and hung on tight. He took as much of her weight as he could, letting her catch her breath.

“Oh,” she said with a wince. “That’s a bit sore, actually.”

“Do you want to lie back down?”

“No.”

“Hang on. I’ve got your pain meds and antibiotics.” He picked up the neatly labeled pills and the bottle of water, popped the tablets into the palm of her hand. No way would she be getting an infection or something and getting sick. “Here.”

She put the pills in her mouth and drank half the bottle of water in one go. Her face was still pale. Bruises lingered beneath her eyes. “I’m okay.”

“You should lie back down,” he said. “You need to rest.”

“Shh.” Gently she kissed him, over and over, until she’d covered his lips entirely. He held still and let her go on for as long as she liked. Forever would be fine. That would work for him. Her lips were so soft. But eventually she sighed and rubbed her nose against his. “I don’t hate you. I don’t. I never should have said that. I promise I will never say it to you again. I—”

“Nick,” Sean bellowed, his timing fucking horrible. He ran into the room with a set of keys jangling in one hand and a rifle in the other. “Time to move. We’ve got a situation.”

“What?”

Sean shoved a key into the lock, swung the door open. Nick had seen that tight-lipped look on the captain before. It never meant anything good. Dread sunk his stomach.

“Locals have put together a lynching party,” said the captain. “Guess who they want to hang from a tree on Main Street?”

“Where are the guns we came in with?” Roslyn asked, letting Nick help her to her feet. This wasn’t so bad. Her head spun a wee bit, but she’d manage. These yokels had left her with no other option. Over her dead body they’d hurt him. “They’re not touching you.”

Nick just looked at her.

“I’m serious,” she said. “Pull any more of that self-sacrificing bullshit and I’ll shoot you myself.”

The man looked to Sean, eyes trying to communicate something. Did he think she was a complete idiot? Honestly? Without further ado she thumped him in the belly with her good hand. Nick gave a startled
oomph
. Truly, in her current mood, violence suited her.

“You think I don’t know what it means when you make eyes at him?” She pushed past him.

The idiot winked at her. “Don’t be jealous, Ros. I still like you best.”

“You’re not even mildly amusing.” She stalked up to Sean the Viking. “Our weapons. Where are they?”

“They boys and I have agreed to help get you out of here, but that’s it. You’re on your own. I don’t want this getting out of control,” said Sean, his forehead bunched up.

“Then don’t let it. They are not taking him. So you need to get us
both
out of here safely,” she said, not-so-quietly fuming. “We’re going to need our guns for outside your fence line.”

Sean stared at her for a moment then nodded and crossed to a large locked cabinet on the wall. The keys were produced once again and an impressive cache of firearms revealed. “If either of you break the peace out there I will use whatever force necessary to stop you. Is that understood?”

“Perfectly,” she said.

Nick came up behind her. “Ros—”

“No, Nick. I’m not staying, and you’re not getting killed by these inbred, redneck imbeciles. It’s not even up for discussion.” Anger boiled up inside her. That these people would attempt to do such a thing blew her ever-loving mind. She grabbed her fancy gun with the silencer and torch combo then nabbed a second pistol, just in case. Looked like the bulk of what they’d arrived with had been confiscated and moved to the cop shop. Handy. Managing the weapon with her left arm in the sling would be annoying, but removing it would sic Nick onto her instantly. It stayed put for now. “Neither idea is acceptable. You feeling me?”

He was quiet for a moment. “That wasn’t what I was going to say.”

“Then what?” she snapped.

With a grim face he took in the gun. “Calm down. Concentrate on what you’re doing. Are they both loaded?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and cupped her face in his hands. His poor, beautiful head had taken such a beating. She hated the scar she’d put on him. Not that he hadn’t deserved it at the time. The second one these people had added, however, made her furious.

“Alright,” he said after a moment. “We get out of here nice and quietly. You stay behind me, okay?”

“Okay.” She’d see how it went. Maybe for the moment he’d forgotten this was a partnership, but she hadn’t. Till death do them part and all that stuff.

“I’m serious.”

So was she. “Yes, okay. I heard you. Let’s get moving.”

His eyes narrowed but he let it go. “Sean, are there any shoes here for Ros?”

“Lila dropped off her boots earlier.” Sean grabbed her footwear from a bag in the corner.

“Thanks.” Putting boots on one-handed was harder than it looked. Nick knelt and wrestled them onto her bare feet. At least she wouldn’t be adding to the cuts and bruises from the gravel back at the cabin.

“She’s going to get cold,” he said. “Is there a jacket or something?”

“I’m fine.”

“Here.” Sean stripped out of his own smart leather jacket and handed it to Nick. Her man seemed less than impressed at the thought of her wearing it. He rolled the righthand sleeve up just the same and proceeded to put it on her. The thing was size huge, falling off her left shoulder without her arm in the sleeve to keep it in place. He did up a couple of buttons and stuffed her pills into a pocket. She added her spare pistol to another.

“You’re all sorted,” he said.

“We need to move,” Sean said. He grabbed an extra pistol and relocked the cabinet. “Come on.”

Out front the night seemed still, at first. Shouting could be heard from Main Street, the rumbling hum of lots of voices. Though there didn’t seem to be much light coming from any direction. Windows were sealed and the streets were dark. Without the aid of the moon she’d have been stumbling in the dark. However hyped up the people of Blackstone were, they weren’t inviting infected to the party if they could help it.

No, they just wanted to hang an unarmed man. Nick would have been a sitting duck, stuck in that jail cell.

She shivered inside Sean’s coat. The air was crisp to the point of brutal, everyone’s breaths steaming in front of them. She felt chilled, inside and out.

Several more people waited outside. Sean didn’t stop to introduce anyone, but Nick nodded to the two other men. They all seemed to know one another, though the looks ranged from frosty to friendly. Frosty wore an army jacket, while Friendly dripped with guns. So at least the right people were on their side. Friendly looked like a walking paramilitary team rolled into one thoroughly oversized fellow. But when you were that big, you could probably pull it off. He didn’t quite reach Sean the Viking’s height, but he was built.

“This way,” said Sean, heading away from Main Street at a brisk trot. “Erin and Finn are trying to calm down the crowd.”

Frosty snorted. “Good luck with that. Tom’s been stirring shit for the last two days, since you arrived.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Never mind.” Nick kept an arm wrapped around her, helping her along. The meds were slowly sinking in, making her mind turn to mush. Things dwindled, the anger and fear fading, seeming not as sharp as they had been just moments before. Not good—she had to keep her focus. Had to stay with it.

They moved quietly down the darkened street. A door slammed shut as they jogged past and light seeped out from the sides of curtains as strangers snuck a peek. People were obviously expecting something and had taken cover accordingly. The ones who hadn’t had joined the mob on Main Street. Civilization had obviously fallen by the wayside while she’d been stuck in that school. Shit like this shouldn’t have continued to surprise her, but it did. Humanity had fallen fast and far.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” said Nick.

He barely breathed hard and she puffed away beside him. Past houses and across the remnants of a park they went. Like everywhere else, this area had been turned into farming land. Mulch and wood smoke scented the air. A children’s swing set sat in the middle of a crop of zucchini. An old slippery slide was surrounded by neat rows of beans. A cow gave a low, plaintive cry not too far away. These people were so lucky, so fortunate, and yet they wanted to kill. There’d been so much death. How they couldn’t have already have had their fill of it, she did not know.

Ahead of them a refrigerated van minus its tires sat on an angle. It was surrounded by rubble from destroyed houses. She could just make out the crushed forms of cars embedded further along. The people of Blackstone had used everything at their disposal to build the wall. Had she been in a better frame of mind she’d have respected them for their ingenuity.

“Come on,” Sean said, calling them closer.

One of the other men fiddled with a chunk of metal and Frosty joined in, slowly pushing it aside. The thing had to weigh a ton. A lot of grunting and heaving was involved in the sloth-paced process. The interior of the van must act as a tunnel through the wall. This was how they’d get out.

“Guess you don’t trust these people as much as you’d like them to think,” said Nick.

“Always have an exit strategy,” said Sean. “You know that. Directly across the train tracks there’s a warehouse. Inside are some vehicles kitted out and ready to go. Take one and do not come back here, ever.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” said Nick. “Don’t worry, we won’t be back. I don’t think Blackstone suits us after all.”

Her and Nick against the world. Fine. If this was what remained of humanity then they were better off alone. Sure as hell they were safer.

The chunk of metal seemed to be taking forever to move. No one spoke.

The sound of footsteps drew close and Nick suddenly shoved Roslyn behind him, between him and the wreckage. She clung onto the back of his shirt to keep upright.

“Lila. Damn it, I could have shot you.” Sean swore profusely beneath his breath. “What are you doing here?”

“Take these for Roslyn,” Lila said, pushing a backpack at Nick, her pretty face tight with concern. “There’s some food and medicine in there. Keep the wound as clean as you can. Good luck.”

Frosty growled. “You told her about moving them?”

“No,” said Sean, sounding not the least bit apologetic. “But she knows about the exit. I trust her.”

“Yeah?” said Frosty, stomping from foot to foot, looking all kinds of hostile. “Well, clearly they don’t.”

The surly prick was right. A shadowy group moved fast through the playground toward them. One of them turned on a flashlight and shone it in their faces. The light blinded her. Gray and white blobs danced across her vision. Fear had a throttle-hold on her chest. She wouldn’t let them take him.

Frosty faced the pack with his rifle but Friendly kept working at pushing the metal aside. She couldn’t see Sean, but she heard him just fine.

“Tom,” he said.

“I warned them you were planning something,” the other man answered. “All of you will go down for this.”

“We’re not going to let you lynch him, Tom,” said Sean. “That’s fucking insane and you know it. We haven’t fallen that far. We’re not savages.”

Roslyn had her doubts, but it was nice to know some people retained a shred of decency. Meanwhile, her head reeled from the meds. She leant her face against the back of Nick’s shirt and kept a tight grip on her gun. They were escaping, whatever she had to do. The scent of him soothed her, but she still flicked off the safety on her gun. Nick’s hand reached around at the noise, pulling her closer against him. The thought of losing him was untenable. She’d only just found him; she wasn’t giving him up. Not yet, not ever. These people were no better than Justin and she’d mowed him down.

“The town will decide what happens to all of you,” the man Sean had identified as Tom said. He had a sneery know-it-all voice. She hated him and she hadn’t even seen him yet. “Did you really think we’d let you take our only medic away?” Tom laughed. It was a distinctly brittle sound. “She’s ours.”

“You’re out of order, Tom. What I do is none of your business,” Lila answered in a tight voice. “I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”

“Get over here!” Tom ordered.

“Do not talk to me that way,” Lila said, her voice climbing higher and higher.

“Lila—” Nick started.

Ros could hear guns being cocked. Angry murmurs. The men with Tom were backing up his sentiments. But how many men had he brought with him? Frosty faced the party opposite with absolute calm. Friendly slowly turned to face their foe. The way had been cleared. A dark hole almost the size of a man sat opened at ground level, leading into the back of the fridge compartment. They could get of here, now. Escape sat right there, waiting, a bare few footsteps away.

She heard voices, yelling, and a multitude of feet stomping this way. Many more flashlights shone in their direction. Oh, no. The cold slid beneath her skin and took up residence next to her heart.

The mob was coming.

Nick drew a deep breath and let it out slow. Fear and anger stank up the air. Mobs like this one had gathered outside the hospitals and police stations soon after the plague first broke out. Volatile, pissed off people without a clue. Just like the people at the airport. The situation was about to go five ways to hell. Ros could not be here when that happened.