Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (35 page)

I spun her back to face me, wanting a proper dance with my love. Well, as proper as a naked dance could get. I guided her to the center of our room, the cold tile unforgiving under the pads of our feet.

Humming a few bars of a Jon Legend song, I held her in my arms in the middle of our room. With one hand on her ass and the other clasping hers nestled between our chests, we moved effortlessly together.

In sync. As one.

I pulled her closer, singing the lyrics in her ear. Her body broke out into goose bumps. I was so glad I still had that effect on her because I thought I had lost my touch.

I dropped her hand and held her tight as we swayed in the shadow of our former selves. Her warmth wrapped around my body, holding me together as an uneasiness washed over me.

There was so much to fear, so much that she couldn’t even understand. Between the demons, the fresh sobriety, my life status, our future… There were so many things lined up, championing to be number one.

I hated living with a black cloud hovering over me. It made everything difficult…including love. Every minute of what was left of my life, I needed to work to restore her faith that I could be the man she dreamt me to be.

Grabbing her face with both hands, I made her look up at me, continuing to sing softly as I pressed my forehead to hers. With a slight smile, she gazed into my emeralds, enjoying our profound moment.

God, she was beautiful. Her perfect face, sensational eyes, rosy cheeks, pouty lip, the way her hair tickled my chilled skin, her naked body swaying and pressing against mine… It all had me reeling. I couldn’t ask for a better woman to hold in my arms.

Jon Legend had it right on the money. Elaina was my end and my beginning. The end of one tortured, empty life; the beginning of one raptured, satiated life. How could I not be with her standing tall with me? No matter what kind of world we lived in, she was everything to me. My life was only real with her. Without her, I would be coasting to my death, one discordant step at a time.

We made love far into the night, pushing all of our worries out of the room, out of our little world. I had never felt so connected to her before. We were stitching together our love, one touch at a time. It was amazing how far we had come, even though I destroyed all that we once had.

As I lay listening to her sleep, my fear of that fracture between us crept back into my mind.

Did she think it was still there?

Would she ever feel like it was repaired?

I couldn’t answer for her but, with every fiber of my being, I wanted to believe it was.

Too quickly, morning had come and Elaina was jittery about me going back out to bring back the others. She watched me dress, meticulous about making sure my vest was just right under my long-sleeved shirt. I put on my hoodie and grabbed my cap.

“I’m going to go talk to Gunther, check on Eli, then I’ll take off. I’ll probably be taking Thomas with me, so I’ll need you available to stand watch.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

With purpose, she stood on the bed, knowing she was completely naked. I took two short strides, grabbing her in my arms.

“I’m not going to be able to leave now,” I growled.

“Oh, control yourself, you horny toad.” I groaned as I bent down for a kiss. She fluttered her lashes, then added, “I just wanted to give you one last look so you have something to come back for.”

“Believe me, love, I’ll keep this picture in my mind until I get back. Then I’ll expect to take you again.”

She smirked and turned to get her clothes. Oh, that beautiful ass of hers. She bent over, swaying her hips to and fro, so I left a nice red handprint on her right cheek.

“Henry!” she yelped, rubbing the spot.

“What? I couldn’t help myself. When I get back, I want to talk about what day you want to marry. I think I have almost everything set.”

I think her heart skipped because mine did. I felt giddy it was really going to happen. Soon, hopefully, she would be Mrs. Daniels.

Once again, my thoughts became tainted with Mara and her wretched actions. Because of it, the course of our story may change, but I wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet.

God, I wanted to throat punch that bitch.

I grabbed my rifle. Nothing like a high-powered firearm to break me out of my dizzying thoughts.

“I’m sure whatever you have planned will be perfect,” she murmured with a smile. I gave her a peck on the cheek and headed out of the room.

Cursing up a storm, I stopped at Gunther’s room. The moment I knocked, he threw open the door, stepped out, and closed it without a sound.

“Hey. I’m going to grab Thomas and go back out to get the others.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No. I need you here.” He sighed. “You still need to rest. You’re recovering, mate.” Gunther shook his head. “Is she up yet?”

“Not really. She’s had a rough morning. Been sick off and on. I had no idea being pregnant would make her sick like this. She can’t hold any food or water down. I feel guilty.”

In an attempt to reassure Gunther a little so he wouldn’t feel guilty, I said, “Claire was sick like that in the beginning, too. Poor bird was green for weeks. It’s normal, I guess.”

“Yeah. Go ahead and ask Josie to go with you. We should be fine here. I can keep it under control.”

“You sure? You think Quinn will be okay with that? She wouldn’t let me take her to go fetch water.”

He rubbed his face and put his hands on his hips. “Probably not. Damn it. Be right back.”

Gunther ducked back into his room to talk to Quinn, finding her with her head in the bucket again. After her last heave, she sat back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Love…I hate to bother you, but Henry is about to leave to go get the others and I think he should take Josie with him. He’ll have Thomas, as well.”

She stared at him for a few moments, trying to process what he was saying, not realizing Henry had come back.

“I’d rather she didn’t. And what do you mean by ‘get the others’?”

“Last night, Elaina came and got me when she heard a lot of gunfire. I managed to get the truck started and found Henry, Eli slung over his shoulder, a couple miles out, running from a herd. But he can’t take Eli. He had a major asthma attack. In fact, I don’t even know how he’s doing.”

“You left last night without telling me?!” Gunther hung his head. “You could have been killed and I would have known nothing!” she bellowed.

“Quinn, please… I didn’t want to disturb you! You were sound asleep.” She glared at him. “Henry’s in a hurry to leave. Can he take Josie or not? He needs more people if there are a ton of them wandering about.”

“I’d rather he didn’t,” she snipped. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you left!”

Gunther sighed and stormed out of the room.

I was a little uncomfortable standing outside the door, witnessing the little spat between Gunther and Quinn.

He popped out of the room again, fury in his eyes. “That would be a negative. Go grab some from James’ crew.” I raised a brow at him. “I don’t know what else to tell you. She isn’t going to let her go.”

“Right. I’ll figure something out. Get some rest.” I poked him in the chest and stalked off toward Lauren and Eli’s.

When I lightly tapped on the door, a groggy Lauren answered. “Hey, Henry.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Touch and go. It was a rough night, but we finally got him settled and breathing better. He’s still wheezy, but much better. He’s sleeping, which should help. His asthma tends to be a response to emotional things.”

“Right. He was quite frightened last night. I’m glad to hear he’s doing better.”

Just as I started to walk off, Lauren called for me. “Henry?” I turned to look at her. “Thank you.” I nodded, feeling a little less guilty knowing Eli was managing.

I stopped at Thomas’ door and impatiently pounded on it. “Thomas! Thomas!” He finally opened it, still half-asleep. “Get dressed. You’re coming with me to get the others. Meet me in the cafeteria in five.”

Trudging down the hall, I passed the cafeteria and headed toward the other classrooms. I could hear a few people chattering behind the closed doors. I pounded on it, waiting for someone to answer.

I will freely admit that I never bothered to learn all the names of the group because I figured they would be out the door the day after I locked them in the gym. I’d been busy since.

A bloke in his mid-twenties answered. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I need a word with your people. Bring them out in the hall, please.” He glared at me for a moment. “I don’t have all fucking day. If you want James and Josiah back, hurry up!” The door slammed in my face, making me growl.

After a few minutes, and several laps back and forth in the hall, the door re-opened and they all filed out. They lined up on one wall and I stood across from them.

“I need at least two volunteers, preferably those who have experience with guns or knives.” As I studied each person, I realized I may look intimidating with all of my gear on, but I didn’t care. “I don’t have all fucking day! Two people!” I yelled. No one answered. “Fine. Fuck you all.” I stormed off.

“Wait!” I stopped mid-stride. “You will get more flies with honey than vinegar.”

I whipped around to find Savannah with a smug grin on her blasted face. “I don’t have time for your bullshit, Barbie.”

“I want my brother back!”

“Not worried for James?”

She scoffed. “Of course I am!”

“Then get some of your people to volunteer to help!”

“How about you ask politely?” I turned around and walked away. “Henry!”

Stopping once more, I muttered, “Fuck off, Savannah. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but you’re on my last nerve.” I stormed down the hallway and met Thomas at the cafeteria. “Looks like it’s just me and you, mate. Let’s go.”

We made it to the door before we heard footsteps running up behind us. I whipped around, ready to fuck up whoever was heading my way.

“We’ll help.”

I looked at what was standing in front of me. “Can you fight?” They looked at each other. I waited a moment. “Hello?”

“Maybe. We’ve done okay so far.”

“Can you fill me in a little? Because I want to know that if I get into trouble out there, I can count on someone to fight beside my mate, Thomas, and bring the others back.”

“Well, neither one of us have ever used a gun before.”

“It’s not hard. You aim it and pull the trigger.” They looked at me with a blank stare. “Christ. I’ll be right back.” I took off back down the hall to the weapons room, grabbed two double-sided axes, and headed back to the door.

Elaina opened our door as I walked by. “Henry? Why are you still here?”

“I swear to you, Elaina. I’m going to fucking snap.” She smiled. I didn’t have the energy to deal with her sarcasm. “What?!”

“You look like a psycho. A rifle, two axes, and who knows what else you have in your pack and under your shirt. And the look on your face… Killer, but
trés
sexy.” She winked and gave me a slick smile.

“I’m trying to be angry right now.”

“I know. But I don’t like Angry Henry, so I’m working on getting my Sweet Henry back.”

“Yes, but Sweet Henry can’t go out and annihilate undeads like nobody’s business.”

“Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?”

“I do believe I did.” She laughed. “Oh shut it, bird.” I sped off toward the door where Thomas and the two from James’ crew were waiting. “Here. One for each of you. Can you handle these? All you have to do is swing and take off their heads. Make sure you damage their brains. It’s the only thing that will make them true dead.” They both looked each other. “What are your names?”

“I’m Chris and this is Jake.”

I looked at both of them thoroughly, memorizing their physical characteristics. Chris had a slim, athletic build, dirty blonde hair, and seemed to be about my own age. He had that All-America football star quality about him. On the other hand, the scarred one, Jake, had brown hair, was ridiculously tall, and had a lean build. There was a relatable vapid look about his eyes, like he had a lifetime of serious shit stacked up against him.

Jake noticed me looking at his scars. “Car wreck about ten years ago.”

Nodding, I said, “Let’s go.” I pushed open the door and began the trek back to the bunker. I walked at my own clip, not worrying about pacing myself. The others had to keep pace with me, not the other way around.

Jake caught up to me. “What are you?”

Shit. Time to play innocent again.
“What do you mean?”

“Well, I think it’s odd you’re maybe the same age as we are, but you are some sort of Rambo whack job or something.”

I smirked. “Whack job… I like it. I’m highly trained in the art of self-defense and weaponry.”

“Military?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Would you care to elaborate?”

“Not really.”

“Okay…,” he whispered.

“Listen, I’m not in a chatty kind of mood thanks to your friend, Savannah.”

“She’s a nightmare. Very entitled. And, just for the record, she’s not my friend. We’re just traveling together.”

“Well, she isn’t entitled to shit in my house. You have to work for what you get. She keeps up her attitude, she’s going to find herself on her ass out here.”

“So you are the president here, so to speak?”

I glared at Jake. “Don’t refer to me in that way. I’d prefer you called me the head asshole rather than that.” He laughed.

“Henry, ten o’clock,” Thomas said in his usual calm demeanor.

There was a single undead lumbering around just inside the trees. I pulled my hunting knife out of my vest, Jake watching me the whole time.

“You’re loaded to the hilt, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea,” I alluded before jogging off and stopping about ten feet from the undead man. “Hey!” I yelled and he sniffed the air. “Come on, you bugger.” He staggered toward me as I drew him out into the open.

In a whisper, Jake asked, “Is he barking mad?”

“Pretty much. Watch how he does this,” Thomas said, a hint of pride in his voice.

I held the knife up and took one step toward the undead. When he lunged at me, I jammed the knife into his head and twisted, hearing that lovely sickening crunch, then he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Damn,” Chris said. I wiped the knife off on his shirt and put it back into my vest. I kept walking without even acknowledging what just happened. “If I did that, I’d be looking for a high-five, a fist bump…something. But he just walks on like it’s no big deal.”

“He’s a machine,” Thomas mumbled.

“Remind me not to piss him off,” Jake said tentatively.

I chuckled to myself as I listened to them chat.

We walked on for a while until we spotted the herd a short distance away, along with the tire tracks where Gunther skidded to a stop to pick up Eli and me.