Life After The Undead (Book 1) (80 page)

My heart leapt into my throat. I should have known he wouldn’t let this go. And there we were—alone, secluded. He could do anything to me. I shook, so I folded my arms across my chest to keep the spasms under control.

“I
thought
I
left
my
sweatshirt
in
the
truck.” There. Even if he saw me shaking, he’d assume I was cold.

Liet
frowned.
“Why
would
you
want
it
if
you
did?”

“It’s
my
lucky
sweatshirt.”

Liet
walked
past
me
to
the
truck.
He
opened
the
door
and
closed
it just
as
quickly.
“Was it
in
there?”

I
shook
my
head.
“No,
I must
have
left it
somewhere.”

He
leaned
against
the
truck
and
placed
his
right
foot
on
the
step.
“I’
m sure
this
truck
will
have
to
be
cleaned
before
you
take
it
out
again.
How
did
you
stomach
that
smell?”

“We
rode
with
the
windows
down.”

“Isn’t
that
dangerous?”

What game was he playing? I eyed him suspiciously, but wasn’t going to question anything. He was being civil. If I wanted to get away from him, I needed to be civil too.

I
shrugged
one
shoulder.
“Not
any
more
so
than
heading
into
the
West.”

Liet
pushed
himself
away
from
the
truck
and
approached
me.
I tried not to jerk away, but I did flinch. He
moved
a
piece
of
hair
from
my
shoulder
and
slid his
hand
down
my
arm,
resting
it
above
my
elbow. It didn’t make me comfortable to have him that close. Was he going to hit me?

“I’m
relieved
you
came
back.
You
had
me
worried
sick.”
He
hugged
me
tight.
“I
think
Quinn
has
served
his
purpose.”

I
pulled
away
from
him. “What
do
you
mean?”

“I
mean,
we
don
’t
need
him
anymore.
He
taught
you
what
you
needed
to
know. You
know
how
to
survive
in the
West
. You
can
train
others.”

Panic
gripped
my
chest. If
I said
that
I
still
needed
Quinn,
Liet
might
figure
out
that
we
were
actually
together,
but
if
I said it
was
fine, I
might
never
see
Quinn again.
I
could
always
visit
him on
the
ranch,
but
then
I
risked
other soldiers
knowing
how
to
find it.
The
only
reason
Liet
had
brought
this
up
was
to punish
me.
I
needed
to
think
of
something
fast
so I
could
still
gather
supplies
with
Quinn.

“Look,
I
know
I’
m not
your
father,
but
I’m
older
and
the
only
family
you
have.
You
’r
e
still
young. Someone
has
to
protect
you.”

The shaking worsened. I tightened my muscles to keep it under control. I had to get away from him, and there was only one way to accomplish that
.
“You
’r
e
right,
Liet,
and
I’m
sorry
I
ran
away.
I
promise
it
won
’t
happen
again.”
I
forced
a
smile.
The
words
were
like acid on
my
tongue,
and
I
suddenly
felt as if I
needed
another
shower.
“You
know,
I’m
kind
of tired,
and
we
have
a
long
day
ahead
of
us
tomorrow.
I
think
I’
m going
to
go
to
bed.”
I
squirmed
out
of
his
grasp
and
headed to
the
courthouse.

“This is
the
last
time,
Krista.
The
very
last time,”
Liet
called
behind
me.

I
cringed.

I
didn’t
sleep
well
that
night.
I
worried
that
Liet
would
change
his
mind
and
make
me
stay
behind.
I also
worried
he
’d
show
up in
my
room
again.
There
was
also
the
fear
that
he
’d
hurt
Quinn,
who
slept
on
the
couch
in
the
living
room.

A
sense
of
relief
washed
over
me
as
the
pink
hue
of
morning
shone
through
my
bedroom
window.
My
eyes
felt like
sandpaper,
but
I
was
going
to
leave
in a
few
hours.
I
got
up
and
went
to
make
a
pot
of
coffee.

Bill,
Kyle,
and
Quinn
were
still
sleeping
as I
walked
to the
kitchen.
I
tiptoed
past
the
living
room
and
tried
to
be
as
quiet
as
possible
while
grabbing the coffee and filter.
I
was
in there
for
two
minutes
before
I
turned
to
see
Quinn
standing
behind
me.
He
smiled
and
said
good
morning,
and
it
took
every
ounce
of
self-
control
to
keep
from
kissing
him.

“Why
are
you
up
so
early?”
  He
yawned.

“I
couldn’t
sleep.”
I
scooped
some
coffee
into
the
filter.
“You?”

“I
always
get
up this
early.
Work
on
the
ranch
starts as
soon
as
you
can
see.”

I
clicked
on
the
coffee
pot,
and
it
hissed
to
life.
“We
might
have
a
problem,” I
whispered.

“What
kind
of
problem?”

“I’l
l
tell
you
about
it
later.”

Kyle
and
Bill
stirred,
and
I
went
to
grab
some
eggs
out
of
the
fridge.

After
we
finished,
we
headed
downstairs
to
climb
into
the
trucks.
As
usual,
Liet
waited
for
us,
but
this
time
he
had
two
soldiers
with
him. He
smiled
as
we
approached.