Willie scoffed. “Finding his way home will be the real problem.” Willie chuckled. “Boy may know electricity, but he don’t know his right hand from his left.”
Andre shuffled toward his office and sighed when the electricity went off. He felt the warm air of the HVAC dwindle and knew that it would become chilly quickly inside the building. He nearly jumped when Carol slipped in behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. “No worries, darling. I’ll keep you warm.”
“You read my mind,” he replied softly, keeping their conversation as much to themselves as he could. “Are the others bedding down in their offices?”
She nodded gently. “Luckily, they all have couches.” She looked up at him and sighed. “Unfortunately, mine is very narrow and doesn’t pull out.”
Andre turned and stared at the black silhouette along his far wall. “I didn’t even look at that one.”
“Let’s pray for a futon.” She pushed away and disappeared into the darkness. “Dammit.”
“It’s not a futon, I take it.”
She plopped onto the couch and shook her head. “No, but it is wider than the one in my office.”
He fell into the cushion next to her and sighed heavily, his body sliding down and crashing into hers. “You make a nice pillow.”
She scoffed and grunted as she scooted to the arm of the couch and pulled his head to her lap. “It’s been a demanding day, hasn’t it?”
He nodded in the darkness. “But a good one.” His eyes opened and he looked up at her. “A productive one. We are no longer trapped in a tunnel underground.”
“And we helped people.” She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair.
“Yes, we did.” He fought the yawn, but the yawn won. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She twisted slightly and used the end of the couch as a support. “Tomorrow we’ll see about getting each of us actual quarters with real beds.”
“Sounds perfect,” he whispered as he drifted off to sleep.
She tried to bend down to kiss him but couldn’t quite reach. She chuckled to herself as she kissed her fingertip and pressed it to his forehead. “Tomorrow is a brand new day.”
Simon sat quietly in the corner of Veronica’s trailer. “I just don’t know what to do.”
Vee sighed heavily and looked up at him. “There is something else that…” She cleared her throat, unsure that she should breach the subject and share the rumors spreading through the camp.
“Go ahead. Spill it.”
She lowered her eyes and licked her lips, praying that he didn’t explode with rage. “There are rumors spreading through the camp.”
“About me?”
She shook her head, unable to see his facial features in the near total darkness. “About Lana.” She looked up and hoped to see a change.
“What are they saying? That’s she’s as crazy as she really is?”
Veronica cleared her throat again and leaned forward, her voice barely a whisper, “That she was heard at one of the biker’s trailers this afternoon.” She raised a brow at him. “Apparently she’s quite vocal when…aroused.”
Simon didn’t react and Veronica wasn’t sure how to read that. The silence was almost awkward when he seemed to nod and lean forward. “Yeah, she is quite vocal.” His face appeared in the pale moonlight coming through the rear window and she sighed with relief that he seemed completely calm.
“It took a while for the rumors to make it to me but some of the residents know that we’re friends. They thought you should know.”
Simon chuckled and sat back. “We’re more than friends, though…aren’t we, Vee?”
Veronica felt her face flush in the darkness and was glad he couldn’t see her cheeks redden. “They said that she was over there for quite some time.”
“Let me guess.” He sighed and crossed his legs. “This afternoon. Between one and four, right?”
Veronica’s face went slack. “You knew?”
He shook his head. “She said she went for a walk. I knew that was bullshit the moment it left her lips.” He glanced out of the window to the other side of the camp. “Who was it?”
“Big Tony.”
Simon nodded. “Makes sense.”
It was Veronica’s turn again to be surprised. “You expected something like this?”
Simon sighed and gave her an animated shrug. “She’s either looking for another man to step up and be alpha or someone to challenge me for the job to make me want it.”
“I don’t follow.”
He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “When we were infected, it was a…pack mindset.” He looked up to her to see if she understood. “There is definitely a pack leader in every group of them. An alpha.” He sat back and gently hung his head. “I was that alpha.”
“And she wants you to return to that role?”
He slowly shrugged his shoulders. “She has this need to have another alpha in her life. And she’s determined to find one.”
Veronica sighed and rubbed at her neck. “It sounds like she has some serious mental issues.”
“You’re just now realizing this?” Simon scoffed. “She hung a bloody carcass on your door and wrote threats in the blood.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Veronica stood and slowly paced the narrow living room. “And you think she’s choosing Tony to replace you?”
He shrugged again. “She’s screwing him to get him under her control.” He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “He’s big enough to cause trouble and too stupid to see through her.”
“You think you’re going to have to face him?”
Simon leaned his head forward and gave her a blank stare. “No. But that’s what she wants.” He blew his breath out slowly and met her gaze. “I think the smartest thing to do would be to simply stand down when he tries to make his power play.”
“And you expect him to?”
Simon nodded. “No offense, but Lana is squirrelly enough to play this guy like a fiddle. If she wants there to be an altercation, you can damned sure bet money that there will be one.”
“And you think if you back down, that will be
