“Hey, didn’t you say you had a chocolate-covered granola bar?” Dante asked, raising his eyebrow.
Ace crossed his arms. “Hey, just because you wasted yours on an asshole cop that died five seconds later, doesn’t mean you’re entitled to mine,” he said with playful haughtiness.
“But mine wasn’t chocolate-covered,” Dante shot back. “It wasn’t even one with little marshmallows in it.”
“The humanity!” Bailey exclaimed, and the four of them shared a laugh at her sarcastic outburst.
Ace rolled his eyes and then pulled out the granola bar in question, tearing into it and breaking it in half. He offered the smaller half to Dante, who took it with a smile.
They got up and headed back to the gym where everyone had filtered off to do their own thing. Abigail waved Bailey over, and she offered the others a smile before heading to spend time with her family.
Dante stared out over the beginnings of their little farm, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He thought of his sister, trapped with those QXR assholes. What were they doing to her? Or making her do? He clenched his jaw.
He knew that he couldn’t have done anything differently. He knew that he couldn’t have saved her at the time, that she was too far away from him. He even had overcome his guilt in not staying with her, because he’d managed to get Bailey out. Had he stuck around, she would have been captured as well, and that would have been just one more person he couldn’t save.
“Hey,” Lily said quietly, and he looked down at her, snapping out of his trance. “You okay?” she asked.
Dante looked to his left and realized that Ace had wandered off to talk to Francis, who was finally relaxing in the corner instead of hauling dirt.
“Just worried about Grace,” he said, running a hand over his hair. “I can’t stop thinking about what could be happening to her right now.”
She squeezed his hand gently. “That’s a dangerous path,” she said. “You’ll just drive yourself crazy with that thought process. Best to think about a plan of action.”
He nodded, smiling down at her. “You’re right.”
“Shit, you’re built like a brick house and you admit I’m right?” she said, putting a hand to her chest. “I hit the jackpot.”
He laughed, and it felt good. They headed for the planning table, surrounded by their companions that grew stronger by the day.
At least for now, Dante could have hope.
END
Coming Soon: The survivors in the Lowcountry face new threats as they continue to rebuild after the zombie apocalypse.
Up Next: The Second Month begins in the main Dead America series as a zombie horde a million strong marches towards El Paso in “Dead America: Creeping Death”.
The main Dead America Series can be found here. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RWMXVNJ
Follow for new releases! http://www.DeadAmericaBooks.com
