Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (9 page)

Movement across the way grabbed her attention. She reached back, touching Gunther’s leg.

“You do understand I’m monogamous now, right?”

“Not that, you asshole,” she growled, pointing over to the storefront.

The movement was purposeful, not the staggering undead type of gait.

In a blink, Gunther shifted into program mode, his voice a mere whisper, “Go around the back, get inside, and alert the others. I want Josie and Thomas guarding the doors. I want you and Nick armed and stationed outside, but hidden out of sight.”

He set the bottle down and got up, leading the way back to the school. They parted ways at the trucks.

Gunther snuck around the corner of the school, squatting behind the only bushes still alive. On high alert, he had his Sig out and ready, watching for more movement.

An older man darted from behind the store to the pile of rubble on his right. Gunther looked for a way to run across the road unnoticed. Deciding to just go for it, he needed to come up behind them and halt their progression.

His quick footsteps were silent. Pressing against the front left corner of the building, he stole a glance around the side.
Clear.
Gunther ran around, heading for the back of the building.

Another glance showed him four adults peeking around the opposite corner. The older man signaled with a wave for the others to follow. The gravel crunched behind Gunther. He whipped around, his Sig aimed in front of him.

Nick.

Curling his lip into a snarl, he was irate Nick didn’t follow instructions. Gunther held one finger to his lips, then he held his hand up.

Three fingers…

Two Fingers…

Heart pounding within his chest, Nick focused on the last finger as Gunther peeked around the corner again.

He hoped Nick was ready for an altercation as he lowered the last finger. Both jumped out from the side of the building, their Sigs aimed at the strangers.

“Stand down! Stand down!” Gunther screamed. The younger man of the group reached inside his pocket. “Don’t even think about it. I will take you out without blinking.” He slid his hand out of his pocket and held them in front of his chest. “Hands up, everyone! Walk out front.” He waved his gun toward the road. “I said move!” Instructing Nick to stay behind the group, Gunther then walked out in front of them, still with his Sig trained on them. “Strip!” he yelled.

The group looked at one another. One of the women said, “Please, can’t we just–”

“Shut it! Strip, or I will start with him.” With his finger on the trigger, he aimed his Sig at the older man at the far left. “Throw your items in a pile right there.” Gunther motioned toward his feet. Once everyone was down to their skivvies, he called for Elaina. She skirted out from behind the bush and ran up behind him. “Check their clothes for weapons. If you find any, and I suspect you will, leave them in a pile behind me.” He noticed the youngest of the women was pregnant. A quick thought flashed through his mind about his own baby with Carly. He shook his head and noticed Elaina was staring at her instead of doing what he had asked. “Elaina! Now!”

“Yes. Sorry.” She knelt and checked all of the clothes. There were a few other weapons, but for the most part, all she found were knives. After two guns were emptied of their ammo, she whispered, “Done.”

“Thank you,” he replied. While keeping focused on the group, he picked up their weapons and handed a couple of the knives to Elaina, then pocketed the rest.

“You’re a pig!” one of the women shouted at Gunther, doing her best to cover herself with her arms.

Guessing she was in her early twenties, full of piss and vinegar, and quite stupid, he took two long strides and got in her face.

“What was that?” Gunther questioned with an eerie calmness that made him look like he was edging on the side of psychotic.

“Just be quiet!” the older man hissed.

“Get away from her!” the younger man growled.

Gunther pegged him for maybe sixteen or seventeen. With a smirk, he stepped up to the halfwit’s chest, squatting just enough so he could be nose-to-nose with him.

“Or what?” Gunther drawled, a twisted glimmer in his eyes.

“I will tear you apart,” he said in a low growl, chin high.

Gunther was still for a few seconds, their eyes locked. Then he burst out laughing. “Wait… Say that again, but like you mean it this time.” He rolled into a full belly laugh. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. That’s the best one I’ve heard in a while.” Elaina and Nick chuckled right along with him.

“Fuck you,” he snarled.

“First off, I’m spoken for. Secondly, I don’t swing that way. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just not my thing.” The well-proven twit shoved Gunther, which was a mistake. He laughed again, which only served to further humiliate the nearly naked boy. “You want to fight me,
lass
?” He took a step back. “All right. Let’s give it a go. Elaina, hold my gun.”

“Stop it, Eli,” snarled the young girl next to him. “Just do what he says.”

Gunther smirked and Eli stepped back. “Wise young bird…to a point,” he said, glancing down at her swollen belly. “Get dressed, all of you, then get back in line.”

After Gunther stepped back behind the pile of clothing, the group rushed out and grabbed their rags, dressing quickly. Tucking his Sig away, the smile and standing with his hands behind his back showed his confidence. Nick followed suit, but he stayed right where he was.

“Now, do tell me why you were sneaking about?”

The older man spoke up, “We were looking for a place to stay, and we were trying to see if this area was occupied.”

“Ah, yes,” Gunther chuckled. “The old sneak attack. Brill plan.”

“Fuck you,” Eli growled.

All three of the women yelled, “Eli!”

“Oh, Eli, you are pressing your luck with me. You’re lucky I have been patient.”

“What’s he going to do? Shoot me?”

“I could, or we could have some fun. I love a good fight. Sadly, you wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Maybe we should do a proper introduction. I’m Gunther. These are my mates
and
co-conspirators, Elaina and Nick,” he said, then paused. He hoped someone would reciprocate before he blew his top.

They must have figured out he was barking mad. “I’m Ben. This is Jane, Lauren, Mara, and Eli.”

“Pleasure meeting you all. Now, what can we do for you?”

“We need shelter and food,” Ben replied. “My daughter, Lauren, is pregnant. She needs to rest.”

A shudder raced through him, remembering Willow’s birth. “And how do I know you won’t harm my people?”

“How can we? You took our weapons, asshole,” Eli growled.

“Eli, if you don’t shut the fuck up, I will beat you down myself.” Mara looked at Gunther. “Gunther, was it?” He nodded. “Please excuse this asshat next to me. He’s a douchebag.”

Gunther smirked. “I gathered that, but before I make any decisions, I need to address my whole group.”

“How many do you have?” Ben asked.

“That’s none of your concern. Elaina, Nick…watch them. I’ll go in and address the rest of the group.”

“No problem, bossman,” Elaina replied with a salute.

“That a girl,” he murmured. He winked and walked off, but then had a thought and stopped in his tracks. After a short purposeful pause, he turned back around. The evil glimmer had returned to his eyes. “Just in case you are wondering if you can overpower my mates here, think again. I have snipers ready and waiting.” Gunther’s lips curled into a devilish grin as the group looked around, trying to find the imaginary snipers. He stalked off to the building, stifling a chuckle.

When he made it to the side door, Quinn was there with a Sig in her hand.
Did these people not know how to follow instructions,
Gunther thought. She unchained the door and opened it.

With a more worried tone than normal, she asked, “Is everyone okay?”

Gunther stroked her cheek with his thumb to ease her mind. “Of course. I need to address everyone. We’ll meet in the hallway outside Henry and Elaina’s room. Go find Cora and Josie. I’m going to go get Henry and Thomas. Hurry back.”

“What’s going on?” Quinn asked as they jogged down the hall together.

“There’s another group outside. Just go find them, then I’ll address everyone at once.”

Quinn took off toward the cafeteria, and he headed down to the hall where the rooms were. Gunther rapped on Henry and Elaina’s door.

I released a loud groan when some fuckface knocked on my door again. Without waiting for my permission, whoever it was opened it.

“It’s your B.F.F. I need you awake.”

The urgency in Gunther’s voice got me to sit up quickly, making my head spin. “What’s going on?” There was more gravel in my throat than in a driveway.

“Just get up. I need to have a brief meeting with everyone. Can you stand, or do you need help?”

“Yeah, I think I got it.” Rising to my knees, steadying myself with my arms out, I grabbed my shirt, but lacked the energy to put it on.

“If you’re okay, I’m going to go find Thomas.” I waved him off. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

I slowly brought myself to my feet, staggering and weaving to the doorway. Latching onto the doorframe, I pulled myself into the hall. While I was leaning against the wall, everyone appeared one-by-one.

“Okay, everyone, listen up,” Gunther barked as he marched back down the hall, herding the others.
Christ, why must he be so loud?
I cringed and rubbed my temples. “There’s a small group outside who need shelter and food.”

My hands stopped rubbing my temple and started to rub my face. I really wanted to go back to bed rather than deal with anything. I couldn’t wait for the bloody detox to end.

“No. Absolutely not,” Cora countered. “I’m not putting strangers in here with my kids.”

Placing his hands on his hips, Gunther looked at her. “One of the women is pregnant. She’s young,” he added.

“How far along is she?” Quinn asked.

“I have no idea. She’s quite potbellied. Maybe sixteen or so. There’s one lad who’s a little feisty, but I can handle him.”

“You’ve searched them?” I asked.

“Yes,” Gunther replied. “We’ve confiscated all their weapons.” He jammed his hands in his pockets and pulled out an array of items.

I sighed. “How many?”

“Five. Older bloke, woman, and three late teens/early twenties.”

“Family?” No matter how many times I tried to clear my throat, my voice stayed gravelly. Sweat beaded up and I wiped it away with the shirt in my hand.

“Yeah.”

“I think we should go ahead and allow them a place to stay,” I said.

“But what about my kids?” Cora asked in anger.

Gunther stepped in front of her and took her by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “I will protect them with my life. I promise you,
nothing
will happen to them.”

“How can you promise that?” The group was antsy, feeling the nervousness radiating from her. “I couldn’t bear losing one of them.”

“I know,” Gunther said tenderly. “But I assure you they
will not
be harmed. If I have to stay with them every second of every day, I will.” He turned around and addressed the group again. “Everyone who’s in, raise your hand.”

Everyone raised their hand, except Cora. She looked around at the group with her mouth agape. We waited for her vote.

“Fine,” she growled, raising her hand. “I will hold
you
accountable, Gunther,” she snipped as she jabbed her finger into his chest.

“I’m fine with that. Quinn, lock up the food and water. Josie, lock up the weapons. Thomas, lock up the clinic. Henry, go back and lie down. I’ll give you a couple minutes to get situated before I bring them into the cafeteria.” Gunther rubbed the back of his neck.

Quinn raised her brows. As Gunther walked past her, she grabbed his arm. “You doing all right?”

Their eyes met, and judging from the look on her face, they were fading. “Yes. Later, though…” She threw Gunther a concerned glare. “I’m fine, love.” He smiled at her and walked away.

“Okay,” she breathed out, then stormed off.

Pushing myself off the wall, I stumbled and weaved back into my room, hoping for a few more minutes of rest before I actually had to entertain new people’s critical glares.

Heading out the side door again, and in his most casual swagger, Gunther strolled over to the group. “All right. Listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. “You are welcome into our home. I would like to lay out a few ground rules.” They all nodded. “You are
not
to carry a weapon without my permission, which includes knives. You will
not
have free access to food because it is being rationed. Also, we have three young children inside.” Then he growled, “I expect everyone to stay away from them, or I will show you no mercy.
Have…I…made…myself…clear
?”