“This will do,” I said as I stopped rowing near the centre of the lake and looked out over the pristine water.
Kyan sat up and lifted the potato sack into his grasp. He shook the fine dust out of it which was all that was left of the man we’d killed. It scattered over the water and was soon swallowed by the gentle lapping of the waves.
I watched as Kyan pulled a lighter from his pocket and set the sack alight for good measure, the dry material flaring up instantly as he held it out over the water.
Kyan cursed as the flames licked his fingers, but gritted his teeth against the pain for another few moments before releasing his hold on the tiny corner he still held. The flames consumed that before it hit the water and Kyan dunked his burnt fingers into the lake to soothe them.
“It’s done,” he announced with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“Just like that,” I agreed.
I started rowing back towards the Willow Boathouse where I could see Saint waiting on the pier with yet another bottle of bleach to clean the boat down. I had to wonder if I’d ever be able to smell that chemical odour again without thinking of this day. But maybe it was okay if I couldn’t. Because today was the start of something new.
Our bond was stronger than ever and we had new blood in our ranks.
I couldn’t say for sure what tomorrow held, but the way my heart pounded let me know I was excited to find out. Because this might have been the end of one man’s life, but it felt like it was just the beginning of ours.
My head hurt like a bitch as I gazed down at the television on the floor below, my fingers wrapped around the railings at the edge of the balcony. I couldn’t even concentrate on the TV show, zombies blurring out of focus as I yawned. What am I watching again?
I was dog tired, but I couldn’t sleep until I was sure I wasn’t concussed. And beyond that, I wasn’t sure I could sleep no matter how exhausted I was. Last night was starting to haunt me. Every time my eyelids drooped, I felt Merl’s hands on my flesh. I felt that knife sinking between his ribs. I relived the relief, then the fear.
I killed someone.
Then my mind shifted to the next part of the night when that man with the rash had reared over me, coughing his lungs up.
I lifted a hand to my throat, checking my glands, hunting for signs that the Hades Virus was eating its way into my body.
I’d used my phone to look up all the symptoms and how they developed. The fever came first, then the cough and finally the rash. A shiver darted down my spine and I didn’t know if the room was cold or if I was getting sick, but all I could do was wrap Saint’s comforter tighter around me.
God, please don’t let me get sick.
There was a sixty percent chance of death if I had it. Sixty fucking percent. Those odds weren’t at all comforting and I clung tighter to the balcony railings as my heart beat out of tune. I’d told the Night Keepers about Bait letting the looters in and knew he was going to face a hellish fate for that, but how could I even feel bad for that right now?
“Not asleep are you, baby?” Kyan’s voice carried to me and I leaned forward as he, Saint and Blake walked in downstairs.
“No,” I answered.
“Strip down,” Saint commanded them as he headed to the kitchen, grabbing out a garbage bag and pulling off his clothes as he tossed them into it. “Both of you. Now,” he demanded and they didn’t need to be told again as they all got naked before me and dumped their clothes in the bag.
My throat tightened and I inhaled sharply in fear, holding my hand to my neck only to realise it wasn’t a symptom of the damn virus, I was just reacting to the godlike men down below me with their sharply cut abs, broad shoulders and bulging biceps. I wasn’t getting a sore throat or a cough. I cursed myself, forcing my gaze back to the television and whatever the hell I’d been watching for the past five hours. It was ridiculous to think I could focus on the guys’ bodies right now. A part of me wished we could all curl up in a bed together and the press of all those muscles just might soothe me from the shock of last night. Pathetic as it was, I wanted to be held. I needed the reassurance that I wasn’t some stone cold killer. But I hated myself for thinking that I could seek it from them.
“Where’s Monroe?” I asked, unable to believe what Nash had done for me last night.
Though his actions were possibly the most believable of them all. As far as I’d been aware, I was a plaything to Kyan, a crutch to Blake and a chew toy to Saint. But it turned out, I wasn’t. Though I didn’t know what that did make me to them now. Or maybe I was still all of those things. Maybe they’d seen their precious pet about to be destroyed and none of them could stand the thought of another man tarnishing their property.
That thought sullied my mood as they headed away into
