Relay for Life (5 page)

Andrew woke to the sound of birds chirping. While the idea might’ve been pleasant to some, Andrew wanted to scream. He had been sleeping well for the first time in weeks. He hated the noisy little bastards who insisted on chirping up a storm as soon as the sun rose. Didn’t they understand that some people were trying to sleep?

The night before was another blur of exhaustion and half-dream. However, the things he remembered were the clearest, namely that Marcel and some guy named Matthew had come for him, and they would soon be going back to sector thirteen. His eyes popped open, and he lost the ability to breathe.

He was looking up into a gorgeous specimen of man. A firm jaw outlined the guy’s lush lips, and his auburn hair was thick and just long enough to grab a hold of. He hadn’t gotten a good look at one half of his rescuing duo last night, but now that he had,
wow
. The guy was beautiful. The fact that he was holding Andrew like it was the most natural thing in the world only made him that much more aware of his appeal.

Marcel stirred at his back, grinding his morning wood against his ass in his sleep. Andrew knew it wasn’t his fault and he shouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much as he did. It felt like he was taking advantage of his friend. The man had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in Andrew sexually, and yet here he was sexualizing Marcel. His eyes went to Matthew’s relaxed face.
And apparently my other rescuer as well
. An image of the three of them tangled in a heap of debauchery rose in his mind.

Maybe it was because he’d been on the run for so long. Maybe it was because he’d thought he was going to die and needed to reaffirm his life that he was having such sexual reaction to being nestled between the two virile field agents. Whatever the reason, he was suddenly and irrevocably turned on by their presence. His erection flared to life in his run shorts, pushing against the stretchable material in an effort to break free into the cool morning air.

He tried his best to disentangle himself from their embrace. There was no way he was going back to sleep now with the birds carrying on like they were, and if he stayed here, he’d just end up doubly embarrassed when they woke and found him nestled between them, sporting an erection in a state of full wakefulness. Parts of his body were numb and in need of stretching anyway. He didn’t dare climb out of the rhododendron bushes yet, just in case there were infected running around. However, he could get a little bit of space between them to ease the immediate ache.

He tried to move, but Matthew’s arm tightened on his waist.
Crap
. Matthew’s hard cock pressed against his stomach.
How did I miss that
? Marcel gave another grind against his ass, and his thoughts scattered as a little gasp escaped from his throat.

Matthew’s eyes slowly slid open. “Hmm.” He gave a slow grind against Andrew’s torso before awareness entered his expression. “Oh shit. Sorry.” He backed off a bit, removing the hard ridge of his erection from his body. “My bad. I must’ve forgotten to set the buzzer on my watch. What time is it?”

Marcel gave a low groan behind him and began to move in earnest, humping the swell of his ass. Andrew’s eyes widened, and he squirmed in an effort to get away. Marcel’s hand tightened on his hip, keeping him still.

Matthew’s lips stretched into an amused smile. “I think he likes you.”
Andrew knew his cheeks were bright red. He felt the hot scald rise up. “He sleeps like the dead. Always has. I guess we’re a little too close.”
“Sweetheart, you’re definitely not close enough,” Matthew teased, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Marcel groaned. “But he seems to be getting there.”
“Oh god!” Andrew said. “You are so crass.” He squirmed, trying to dislodge Marcel, but he felt like he only accomplished to provide a counter rhythm for him to work against. He groaned. “Help me.”
“You sure you want help?” Matthew asked, indicating Andrew’s own prominent erection with a quick downward glance.
“Yes!”
Matthew reached across his body and gave Marcel a hard shake. “Marcel, you’re dry humping your run kid.”
The grinding stopped. “Christ,” Marcel rumbled. “I’m so sorry, Andy.”
“It’s okay,” Andrew said. He sounded a little breathless to his ears. “It happens.” He tried to make a joke. “Good dreams?”
“Great dreams if the size of his erection is any indication,” Matthew said. He sat up and looked down at the two of them. He had the prettiest gray eyes. He crossed his arm over his chest, stretching his shoulder. “I’ll go out first and see if the coast is clear. You two straighten
that
out.”
“Like you’re any better. You’ve got wood the same as I do,” Marcel snapped, clearly embarrassed. Matthew didn’t respond, just grinned and grabbed his gun before shimmying under the bush and out of sight.
Andrew rolled over to face Marcel. “Sorry,” he said. What he was apologizing for, he wasn’t entirely sure. However, he knew that he had to apologize for it.
“It’s not your fault,” Marcel assured. He gave Andrew an awkward pat. “If anything I should apologize to you.”
“Um, it’s okay. It’s not like you meant to.” There was another long awkward pause where Marcel looked like he was about to say something only to change his mind and shut his slightly parted lips. Andrew swallowed and tried to break this uncomfortable spell. “I know I said it last night, but thanks for coming for me.”
“I would’ve come for you by myself if I would’ve had to. I would’ve walked in,” Marcel said, his eyes shifting away.
Andrew smiled. “Thanks, Marcel. You know you’re the closest thing to family I have. It’s nice to know someone cares that much.”
“I do care. A lot. I mean, I care more than I care about anything.” Marcel stared at him with this weird expression on his face. Andrew’s heart started pounding. He looked like he was going to kiss him
. Do I want this to happen
? He licked his lips.
Matthew’s voice rang out from beyond their hiding place. “Things are all clear. But Brook’s com is out. The tracking is working, but the two-way vid is toast. We need to move.”
The spell broke. “Coming,” Marcel said, sitting up.
Andrew followed suit and grabbed Matthew’s bag where he left it. Marcel dragged his pack with him under the branches and out of sight.
Today is starting out very strangely
. He crouched low and shimmied under the low braches toward open ground. He couldn’t help but notice Marcel’s tight buttock in his standard issue camouflage pants.
No. He doesn’t feel like that about me
. But it had certainly felt like he did when he’d been holding him and grinding against him. He banished the thought. It had been a dream. It probably hadn’t even been about him. Besides, it was wholly inappropriate to fantasize about someone in the middle of a zombie crisis. There would be plenty of time to examine the feelings later.

Matthew tried not to notice the two of them. Marcel had been right. Andrew Ainsley was absolutely beautiful. At five eleven with bright green eyes and blond hair, he was a hell of a catch. Matthew would have hit on him in a split second given the opportunity. When he’d woken up with his arms full of the run kid, a sense of rightness had filled him. Watching Marcel work against him in sleep had only ratcheted up his desire. The fact that he noticed how Marcel’s dark good looks contrasted beautifully with Andrew’s light ones made him feel guilty. He should be more worried about his family than his newfound attraction to the two men. It was a visceral reaction, something that needed to be put aside for the time being. Yes, he was attracted. However, he knew next to nothing about either one of them. It wasn’t like him to get his head turned and his priorities mixed up over a few pretty faces.

“Do you have their coordinates?” Marcel asked, stepping in beside him as Andrew dusted himself off.
“Yeah,” Matthew said, forcing his mind off the two of them and the erection he was hoping was hidden by his fatigues. “I’ve got it set. We just need to get moving.” He motioned to his pack. “Get some breakfast bars out. We need to eat.”
Andrew tore into the breakfast bar the same way he’d eaten the meal packet from last night. It was obvious the guy had lost some weight since being out here, but he must’ve been resilient enough to find some kind of food supply, because he wasn’t anywhere near emaciated. Andrew gave him a weird look. “You’re staring at me.”
“Sorry, just assessing your fitness level. I don’t want to push you too hard. A lot of times people are worse off than they initially appear.”
Translation: I am not being a creep. I swear
.
Andrew smiled shyly and popped the rest of the bar into his mouth. He chewed a few times before swallowing. “I’m fine. I knew I was dwindling on reserves, but I’m not too bad yet.” A look of embarrassment crossed his face. “Do you think we have time for a bathroom break before we go?”
Matthew couldn’t help but laugh. “Go but not too far. Take my bag. We’ll be right here. Scream if you need us.”
He gave him a grateful smile and hauled Matthew’s bag further up on his shoulder before taking off toward thicker forest. Matthew turned his back in respect, and Marcel did the same. “Is he as sweet as he seems?” Matthew asked.
“More so,” Marcel said, giving him a strange look. “Andy has a heart of gold and always has.” He frowned. “Interested? He’s not the type for a casual hookup.”
Matthew laughed at the protective note in his voice. “I’m not that guy, Marcel. Would you be offended if I said I was attracted to both of you?”
“You don’t know us.”
“I know you’re both beautiful, and I like what I see. How would you feel about a celebratory dinner at my place when this whole thing is done?” Embarrassment hit him at the incredulous look Marcel gave him. “I mean, unless you don’t do poly relationships. In which case, I get it, and I know you have feelings for the guy already. I’ll back off. I’m sorry. I overstepped.”
“You have to be the boldest person I’ve ever met,” Marcel said, his expression hard. Matthew bit the inside of his cheek. Marcel continued, and visage softened. “But you’re actually really respectful. I can respect that. I don’t know if I’d be into a three-way relationship like your uncles have, but I’ll consider it. Is that good enough?”
Matthew’s eyes shot wide in surprise. “For now. That’s absolutely good enough.”
“Okay, back,” Andrew announced from behind them. “Your bag is ridiculously heavy, man.”
“Here,” Matthew said, taking it from him. He glanced at the com device he’d taken from Marcel earlier when he’d tried to contact Brook. “The coordinates are showing them about three miles south and moving northward. That’s good. We’ll head to the original meeting location and see how they travel from there.”
“I wish we could get in touch with Brook,” Andrew said. “I’ve just seen the outskirts of the mob the Necro king has.” He shuddered. “There has to be at least fifty of them just on the outskirts.”
An idea occurred Matthew. “I’ll call that other guy. I think his name is Damon or something.”
“Daniel,” Andrew corrected. “Brook is sweet on him.”
Well, that explained the chubby guy’s insistence to watch Brook’s back. He couldn’t imagine letting someone he cared about walk into a situation like this one. It was as bad as Europe. His dad might’ve been bold enough to walk into the hell zones some parts of Europe had become, but Matthew was far from suicidal. Being so far from one’s home turf was insane. He would lose his mind if his lover, if he had one, walked into a situation like this.
“How do you know that?” Marcel asked.
Andrew turned his face toward Marcel. “Brook told me he was interested. I didn’t know if he ever got around to asking him out, though.”
All of which was irrelevant to what he needed to know. “His number is on the com device. I’ll call him. He might be able to get a better idea of where the mob is.” He hit the red button and waited for it to connect with the Deadzone satellite. Com devices were typically only used to transmit short distances between connected devices much the same way two-way radios worked back in the day. The fact that these were equipped with long-range capabilities was actually impressive. SCAB officers had them, but for the most part the infantry didn’t. He didn’t know of any regular field agents that weren’t SCAB that had them, including the UMF.
The vid screen popped up to reveal a very exhausted-looking Daniel. His eyes had circles underneath them, and he looked like he’d been crying or hadn’t slept, one or the other. “You find Brooklyn?” he asked.
“No,” Matthew said. Daniel’s face fell, but Matthew pressed on. “We’re heading to meet him. Do you know what happened to his com?”
“Necro smashed it when it ran into him. He was calling me for directions on z movements when it happened. I haven’t heard from him since. The com is moving, but there are no guarantees some Necro didn’t pick it up.” Daniel swallowed. “Please find him.”
“I will. I need z movements, though. What’s our safest route from our current location? We were going to go meet him at the drop-off, but it’ll probably be safer to just go to him and make our way out from there. Can you route that?”
“Of course I can.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m sending you the most current numbers from the satellite images. I’ll be here if you need updates.”
“You look like you need to get some rest.” The guy looked about ready to drop.
Daniel ran a hand over his face before he spoke. “I will when you find him.” The link closed and the directions popped up.
“Poor guy,” Andrew said.
“He’ll be all right,” Matthew assured.
Just like Brook. He would be all right as well
.

Marcel didn’t know what to think of Matthew or the offer for dinner that he’d made. Matthew hadn’t mentioned anything to Andrew, but then again he was worried about his cousin. Marcel didn’t know if he would have been as level-headed in the same situation. He glanced up in time to see Andrew laugh at something Matthew had said. The expected jealousy didn’t flare nearly as badly as he anticipated.
Weird
.

“So you’re a SCAB man?” Andrew asked, sending a flirtatious look sideways at the other agent. Marcel felt a pang of longing.
Why doesn’t he look at me like that
?

Matthew smiled. “Yeah. I am. Being an agent was never really a question, but I got bored with regular field work. SCAB work, until recently, kept my interest.”