Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (17 page)

“Gunther, after we get this stored away, I was hoping you would go with me back to that hardware store. I want to start getting some things together for the ceremony.”

He looked at me like I had two heads, then furrowed his brows. “You want me to help you?”

“Well, I will need help with some projects I have in mind.”

“Yeah, sure…” He was still confused. “I guess I can help.” We headed down the hall and saw Elaina and Quinn coming out of our room.

“You good on a fix? Elaina gave me and Nick both a vial back in town.”

“I’m fine. What do you suppose they’re up to?” Gunther asked, focused on his woman.

“When Elaina’s involved, you never know.” I smiled at her. “There you are, love. I was wondering where you took off to.” We met each other halfway down the hall. She seemed upset. “Are you all right?”

Stacking my load on top of Gunther’s, I wrapped my arms around her. Gunther and Thomas dodged into our room.

Quinn touched Elaina’s arm. “I’ll wait for you in the cafeteria,” she said and Elaina nodded.

“I was just talking to her about…,” she lowered her voice, “the church.”

“Ah, yes. I’m pleased you have someone you can talk to, especially Quinn. She’s a great woman. Brilliant and compassionate.” I picked her chin up with my finger.

“Yeah, she really is. I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed.”

Just as I pressed my lips to her forehead, Gunther and Thomas walked out. Gunther headed down the hall, and Thomas went to his room.

“We’re going to go back to the hardware store and pick up a few more things.” The worry exploded across Elaina’s face. Immediately, I tried to reassure her, “Don’t worry. We can handle it.” Then I winked at her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Be careful,” she whispered in my ear, leaving a small kiss.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, I said, “Love, as you are already aware, careful is my middle name.”

“You are
so
not funny, Henry Daniels,” she growled. I laughed, but she really wasn’t finding me humorous at the moment. “Do you think you should take someone with you?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

“I promise you, we won’t be gone long. Don’t worry yourself. I’m fine and Gunther said he was set for now.”

Elaina leaned in and kissed me, lingering to allow our tongues to touch. I groaned and ran my hands up and down her sides. After I squeezed her meaty ass, she pulled away.

I wanted to fuck her madly. “Give me ten minutes? You already got me throbbing.” I pushed my hips into her.

“Go do what you need to do. We’ll have fun when you come back, okay?”

“Meh. Not cool, love. I will only be able to think about burying myself in you the whole time.”

“Then so be it. It’ll get you home quicker.” She smiled, pressing her lips to mine. “I love you, Henry Daniels,” she murmured against them.

Stroking her cheek with my thumb, I whispered, “I love you, too, soon-to-be Elaina Daniels.” Once again, she stunned me with her smile.

So beautiful
.

I walked her to the cafeteria. Quinn was saying goodbye to Gunther, and judging by her teary eyes, it was apparent she was having the same fears Elaina was.

Ben and Mara came in and sat at a table near the window, watching everyone. Then Nick and Josie strolled in, chatting and laughing. Apparently, his melancholy moment had passed.

Elaina’s cheeks flushed and her face twisted with anger. “I’m going to have to have a chat with him,” she growled.

“Let it be, love. It’s his life to do as he wishes. He deserves a little happiness.”

“Just a minute ago, he was dragging ass and now this? I’m worried he has forgotten about Claire and Willow,” she growled, her fists clenched at her sides.

“That’s not the case, and you know it. I need to ask him to keep an eye on things.” Walking over and grabbing Nick, I pulled him aside and away from Elaina’s critical gaze. “Gunther and I are taking off for a few to get some stuff for the ceremony. I need you, Thomas, and Josie to keep an eye on those fools.” I motioned my chin over at Ben and Mara.

Nick smirked. “No problem. I’d love to.”

Glancing at Josie, I asked, “Did she find out anything?”

“Nope. She said Ben came out of their room, but she quickly went into hers so he didn’t think she was following him. She said she peeked out a few times, but didn’t see or hear him.”

“All right. Keep a close eye on them and watch for anything odd. If you have to, restrain them. Keep Cora and the kids out of range, as well. Gunther will kill them if they even breathe near them. I don’t want anything getting out.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

I turned around and half-smiled at Elaina just as she ran up to me, giving me a bear hug. I left my usual comforting words into her ear. “I love you so much. You make life worth living.” She pulled away. Her eyes were damp with tears, and her teeth were biting her bottom lip. “Don’t fight it, love. It takes more effort to fight it than to just let it go.”

The tears trickled down her face and, embarrassed, she looked down. I kissed the top of her head and left her standing there, but looked over my shoulder for one last glance…just in case. She wiped her tears as she watched Gunther and I leave. It made my chest ache seeing her like that.

What I wouldn’t give for a little normalcy, but we all knew the reality of the situation. Any time one of us ventured out beyond the walls, the chance was there.

For the second time that day, I pulled up to the hardware store.

“Holy Christ,” Gunther mumbled. “The three of you made all of them true dead?”

“Yeah. Nick ran around, drawing them toward him. He shot a couple, emptying his Sig. I shot a bunch with the rifle, then it jammed. Oh, that reminds me. We need to clean the guns. Anyway, then Elaina started hacking off their heads and I followed behind her, smashing in their skulls.”

The recounting of events seemed so nonchalant, like it wasn’t a big deal or bizarre by any means. I shook my head over the oddity that it was the norm…kill or be killed.

“Damn,” Gunther muttered in amazement. We both jumped out and headed into the hardware store. “Pretty nice for a small town.”

“Yeah, they have a little bit of everything.” I walked straight to the lumber. He followed behind like a loyal subject.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you…” I looked back at him. “How have you been doing? You know…with the whole alcohol thing?”

“I’m not going to lie. It’s hard. I crave it constantly. I always think of a situation where it would be great to chug a bottle.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m happy you’re working hard at kicking it.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond and stared at him with furrowed brows. His statement baffled me. Feeling the heat, Gunther turned away. “Thanks,” I said, turning back around. “So… I want to build an arbor and a few benches, painting everything white. Nothing too complex, since we don’t have power tools, but something nice. She deserves it for putting up with my shit.”

“I think we can swing that. You have any plans drawn up yet?”

“No, not really.” I pointed to my head. “I have them up here, though.”

His eyes glanced at my head. “It may get lost in that tangled mess of hair.”

I ran my hand through it. “Yeah, no kidding. Remind me to have someone cut it. If I keep this up, I’m going to have dreads.”

“I have a battery-operated razor. Quinn usually takes mine off. I had a nasty gash from being pistol-whipped, so she wanted to keep the area clean until it healed.” He tipped his head down, parted his hair, and showed me the scar. “Great fun that was.”

“That looks like it smarted a bit.”

I saw the scar before when his hair was trimmed, but I just assumed it happened in the program. We both have surgical scars on our heads. I reached up and touched the area of my skull that had been fractured. Bad memories.

Gunther stacked the lumber I had pulled down. He continued, “Yeah, it was pretty bad. Long story, but I almost turned. Quinn and Josie saved my arse. Then I had an infection and was sick for a while. Same time when I was shot.” Gunther was quiet for a moment, looking lost in thought. Then he said, “I wonder if there are batteries in here. We can use some for our flashlights.”

“Yeah.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “I think there were some down another aisle toward the front.”

Gunther found a pad of paper so I could draw out my vision. He added his two cents, and we came up with a plan for an arbor and simple benches. We rounded up all the supplies we would need—tools, wood glue, nails, and paint. Then we went through the rest of the store and grabbed all the candles, matches, lighters, and batteries we could find.

While Gunther finished loading the truck, I decided to check out a small jewelry store next door. We needed wedding bands. Ours were probably still in the church back in New York.

After I picked the locks and entered the store, I froze while my eyes looked around, absorbing the simple details. There were only a few cases. One had necklaces, another held bracelets and watches, then I spotted the case with the rings.

I had no idea why I was so bloody nervous, but it was like starting the whole process again. I had to remind myself Elaina had already agreed to be my wife, and we were minutes from walking down the aisle when the virus broke out.

Approaching the case, I wrapped my palms around the thin metal edge, working to keep my thoughts at rest and my feelings stable. I focused on the rings, eyes zooming in on one at a time. My body relaxed.

Because of the lack of lighting, I couldn’t see much sparkle, but from what I was seeing, there were some nice pieces available for purchase at the fantastic low price of free.

The door swung open and Gunther came in. “What do you think of those?” I pointed out a section of bands.

He padded to me and bent over the case. “Not bad. Pull them out.” I leapt over the counter, picked the lock, and opened the case. I pulled out a simple men’s platinum band with a little crosshatch pattern engraved into the edges. “Try it on,” he coaxed.

Nervously, I slid it on my finger. “Fits,” I whispered. I hated to think it, but I liked it better than the original wedding band Elaina and I picked out together.
Fresh start for a new life.

“Looks like it’s meant to be,” Gunther murmured as his eyes roamed the case.

I smiled and pocketed the ring. Without another thought, I pulled out the band I spotted for Elaina…another platinum band. It was slender and had princess cut diamonds all the way around it. “It would match her engagement ring.” I bit down on my bottom lip for a second. “What do you think? Think she would like it?”

“Well, I don’t know her very well, but I’m sure any woman would be pleased to wear a stellar ring like that.”

I shoved that one in my pocket, as well, then searched under the cases for ring boxes. “You should pick out a set for you and Quinn,” I murmured, popping back up.

I swear I heard breaks screech in Gunther’s brain, and he had a dumbfounded look on his face. He swallowed hard. “Ah… I don’t know… I’m not sure she would even want to be engaged to me, let alone marry me.”

“Go on. Pick something out. They may not be here when…
if
we can make it back.”

He let out a nervous sigh as his eyes darted around the case. His hand shook when he pointed to a lovely oval cut solitaire with circle cut diamonds around the band. “That looks like something she would like…I think. Not that I know what kind of jewelry she likes.”

I reached into the case and pulled it out. “It’s nice, mate. Kind of like Elaina’s, except hers is square.”

Gunther twisted it around in his fingers. After a nervous breath, he dropped the ring in his pocket. He looked around at the case and saw a band he would like for himself. It was just a thick, heavy, plain platinum band. I grabbed it out of the case and handed it to him. He slid it on his finger and took a long, staggering breath, quickly pulling it off and pocketing it.

“That one looks perfect for Quinn.” It was an infinity band. One part of the ring was covered in diamonds; the other part was plain, like the one he just pocketed for himself. He dropped that ring in his pocket as well, drew in a hard breath and exhaled with a loud sigh. “Okay. Let’s get out of here before I have a nervous breakdown.” I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“I know the feeling. After I bought Elaina’s ring, I lost more sleep than normal, worrying about whether or not she would say yes. It was a rough couple of weeks. But when she said yes, it was the happiest I have ever been in my life.”

“I hope she says yes,” he said in a low voice.

“She will. Pleasure doing business with you. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.” I leapt back over the counter and we headed out.

After starting the truck, I glanced down at the instrument panel. The low fuel light was on. “Well, looks like this is the last bit of our gas. Once we get back, we will have to walk to get water and come back here.”

“Fantastic. It’s, like, fifteen miles to the water pump. That’s an all-day affair.”

“Yeah… Good while it lasted, I suppose. I could use the workout, though.” I patted my paunchy belly, then put the truck into drive.

“I’m going to whip your pudgy arse into shape,” Gunther said with a grin.

“Honestly, I need it. I don’t really like the way I look,” I muttered. “I look even worse naked. I can’t even believe Elaina is still attracted to me.” I felt a bit embarrassed admitting that to him.

“Well, we’ll workout every day until you get the results you’re looking for.”

Appreciative of his offer, I said, “Sounds good.”

The art room was somewhat dark and smelled of crayons and newsprint. Elaina grabbed a sheet of paper off one shelf. Quinn had found an old soup can full of pencils. They sat at one of the tables and drew out a memorial for Sophie.

After several sketches and a lot of discussion, they decided on a wooden cross made from wood, painted white, with painted flourishes in different colors. Elaina was happy Quinn offered to do the lettering and flourishes.

She walked around the art room and found everything they needed, except the lumber and the paint for the cross. “It looks like we will have to run to the hardware store for everything else,” Elaina said, a little disgruntled. She really wanted to get started on it, needing instant gratification.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find what we need. Let’s go see if our fearless men are back. I’ll talk to Gunther about getting what you’ll need.”

“Thanks. That would be great.”

They walked out of the art room, seeing Henry and Gunther carrying stacks of lumber and other stuff down the hall toward the technology room. A huge smile spread across Elaina’s face. She glanced at Quinn and they nodded at one another. Sneaking back into the art room unnoticed, they waited until Henry and Gunther walked past again.

Giggling like children, Elaina and Quinn ran down to the room and stole a saw and a single piece of lumber. Luckily enough, Henry had grabbed a couple cans of paint. They stole one of those, as well.

When they made it back to the art room, the construction of Sophie’s cross began. After painting it white, they decided to leave it to dry, hiding everything under one of the tables just in case someone decided to be nosey.

Once Quinn and Elaina made it back to the cafeteria, Elaina decided she needed to talk to Nick about what she had been witnessing between him and Josie.