Jason’s eyes flicked open, and he leapt to his feet, taking Massimo by surprise. He knocked the vampire off balance. Jason threw himself on top of Massimo and tried to bite him, and as the vampire pushed him away, Jason’s saliva dripped onto Massimo’s face.
Fuck this! Massimo’s hands went to Jason’s head. Massimo heaved and twisted it, snapping the vicar’s neck. Jason’s dead body dropped to the floor and Massimo went back into the church to get some answers from Andrew.
What the fuck was going on?
Ryder and Carter examined the bear they had just killed.
“That was your chance to run away, so why didn't you?” Carter asked Ryder. The kids surrounded the two adults, anxiously awaiting her answer.
Ryder thought before she spoke because this was her best chance of getting any help. Carter could protect himself. She would need someone like him if she were to have any chance of getting Terrier and the others out of the bunker.
“I couldn’t abandon someone in trouble, especially a child. And I need your help.”
Carter looked down at Tommy, the boy who would have been eaten if Fluffy hadn’t intervened. “Why do you need my help?” Carter twisted his beard, grinning.
Ryder told him about the kids being held in the bunker. She left out the part about rescuing Terrier because she knew he’d just judge him as he did her. “Some of the kids may be from your settlement,” she added.
Ryder could see in his eyes that he wanted to help, but he shook his head gravely. “There’s no way the two of us can break into the bunker and free those kids. It would be a suicide mission.”
“I didn’t just mean the two of us,” she said. “We need more than that.” The kids looked at one another with wide eyes. “I didn’t mean you, kids. We need more adults.”
“Hey, we captured you, didn't we?” Jacob asked. She had been introduced to all the children after their fight with the bear. Jacob was a scrawny boy with dirt streaked on his face. Carter ruffled the kid’s blond hair, and Ryder couldn’t help but smile. Jacob was right.
“Do you think the others at the settlement will help me?” Ryder asked Carter. Carter grinned so widely that Ryder thought he might break his jaw. “You’re a smug fucker, aren’t you? What do you find so funny?”
“The fact that you think the people in the settlement would help one of Afana’s men,” Carter snapped back.
This time, it was Ryder’s turn to injure her jaw, but it was from grinding her teeth tightly together. “I’m not one of his men.”
“And how do you plan on convincing others of that when you have his mark on your neck?” he asked.
Ryder hated the tattoo on her neck. “I can cover the tattoo, but if they ask, I’ll tell them the truth.” She knew it was a long shot, but what else did she have? “And you can tell them that I’m not lying.”
Carter looked at her like she’d just asked him to kiss her ass. “And why do you think would I do that?”
“Because you want to free the people Afana took as well. He took someone you care about, didn’t he?”
Carter looked at the ground. “My sister.”
“Then don’t do it for me. Do it for your sister.”
“If I do help you, you’ll owe me,” Carter said. “And I'm not promising they won’t cut your head off when they see your tattoo.”
What is it with chopping heads off? she wondered. “Fair enough.”
“Tommy, lead the way.” Tommy was a little shaken, but he led the group toward the settlement.
Fluffy walked beside them, not so close that they could attack him, but close enough that he could protect Ryder if anything came at her.
“Does he let you out of the bunker much?” Carter asked. “Is he a monster like people say?”
Carter was interested in Ryder, but she wanted a quiet walk, not to have to talk. Faking a deeper voice was annoying. Ryder had thought she was finally free of hiding the fact that she was a female, but apparently not yet. She had a feeling that the world outside the bunker was the same in the way in which they judged women. That they were the weaker sex.
“No, and yes.” Ryder decided to keep her answers short and hope he’d get the hint, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t. He’d already shown he was a chatty type of guy. He would have fit in quite well with Decso and the other gossips in the bunker.
“Yes, he let you out of the bunker? No, he’s not a monster? Then why didn’t you leave earlier?”
“Don’t be a—” She paused before saying “dick.” Ryder looked at the kids. She didn’t know why she was cursing around them. Ryder was good at stopping herself with the kids in the bunker. “One-eyed snake. You know it’s the other way around.”
Carter started to laugh. “A one-eyed snake?”
“You know what I mean! Kids about, and all those space slugs!”
Carter didn’t try to contain his laughter. Tears rolled down his face. Even the kids were laughing.
“Space slugs?” Carter asked. “What the fuck?”
Now it was Ryder’s turn to laugh. It sounded so ridiculous when she heard it out loud. A snort escaped her lips as her laughter crept out, and it didn’t stop. Her ribs were aching with laughter.
“Hey, you just cursed!” she accused.
“These space slugs know more curse words than me, and clearly you,” Carter said, wiping away his tears as he smiled through his matted beard.
I wonder what he looks like under the beard? Oh, shit! Ryder realized that she’d been staring at Carter too long. Blokes didn’t stare at other blokes.
“What have you got in your beard?” Ryder asked in her deepest, manliest voice.
“Braids. Jessica is the best in our settlement.” A young girl with braided hair beamed at the compliment. “Not that you’d need her skills, since you’re as bald as a baby.” Carter tried to knuckle the
