He really wanted that werewolf woman but he had no idea where Reggie would have gone. If he’d have known the man had burned down his home, he’d have followed him from the store. Bobby took a deep drag of the cigar and held it in his mouth and then let the smoke blend into the warm night. He cocked his head when he heard gunshots. They had been able to pick up more ammunition and a few more guns. He was pleased about that. This whole take over the world scheme hadn’t quite worked out like he’d hoped.
He now had to reassess his plans. Did he really want to go to Avery’s cousin’s place or did he want to find his own? He was fairly sure there were plenty of places out there, nice places that he could take over. Hell, he had the weapons now to do an effective job of defending himself. There had to be easy pickings out there. It only took a determined man and he was that man. There were very few things that got in his way when his mind was set on a course of action. In the morning, he had one thing he needed to do before he left Huntsville. Then he and Avery could hit the road with their supplies and find someplace to sit this thing out in comfort.
He grunted with satisfaction and leaned over and put the cigar out. He took one last drink of his beer and threw the bottle out onto the lawn. He stood and looked around his neighborhood and saw several bodies wavering in the distance. He wished he had a Gatling gun; he could make a mess of things then. He chuckled to himself as he went into the house and shut the door softly behind. He walked through the familiar spaces and heard Avery’s snores in the guest bedroom. He’d insisted the man grow a pair of balls and sleep by himself. He sighed, he really wished he could find Reggie and that she-bitch. Man, oh man, to have a dog like that.
SEVEN
Rose sat at the large wooden kitchen table and watched her new friends eat. She had gone out early and collected eggs. Ethan had accompanied her out to the chicken coop just before dawn; he’d insisted on sleeping in the chair by her bed. She was touched that he was such a sweet man and that he worried for her. She was so used to caring for others, treating others. It was rare that it was reciprocated. Her scratches were sore but seemed to be healing. Her heart twisted once more at the thought of her uncle. He’d been a sweet man and would have been horrified to think that he’d inflicted harm on her or anyone else. It tore at her heart that he was dead, but she was profoundly grateful he wasn’t walking around like the rest of the poor souls out there, the zombies. Her mind still reeled at the notion of animated dead people.
She and Ethan had sat on the porch, late into the night talking quietly. He was a shy man, but he was beginning to open up. She thought he wasn’t used to talking to women, he seemed unsure of what to say. He told her of his job with the CIA and she was both horrified and fascinated, a sanctioned assassin. No wonder he’d been so good at putting the creatures down. She’d thought him military or police at first.
She moved the salt across the table to Reggie while she watched Xander and Zahara and still marveled that they were werewolves. If she’d not seen Zahara transform, she’d not have believed it. To also know that the sweet little girl, Shay, would someday become one of those creatures was mind boggling. Ethan said Xander and Zahara were also CIA agents. She wondered if that was why the government had hired them? As weapons? She thought about their conversation as she refilled coffee around the table. At least the children had good appetites. Even Lauren was eating, though she’d shoved her pancake around the plate at first. But then after the first couple of bites, she began to eat in earnest.
Last night in the dark, she had asked Ethan if he knew how this terrible virus struck. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know or not.
“Xander and I’ve speculated, but really, that’s all it is. We have no idea, just as you, about how this all got started. We only know the world we knew has ended.”
“Will you continue to work for the government?” she asked and couldn’t see his expression in the dark, but his words were solemn.
“No. I’m done. I’d been tasked to execute Zahara and I did not like that assignment at all. I felt it was a betrayal. Our people go into harm’s way to protect the United States. We want to believe that we are doing right, but when our own government wants one of us put down, I just had a hard time with that. Not to mention that more than likely, Zahara would have killed me for the trying,” he said softly and laughed. She’d not thought it was funny and thought maybe it was a private joke between Ethan and Zahara.
“Can I have more pancakes?” Mike asked, his sweet face smeared with syrup.
“I’ll get it,” Reggie said, holding up a hand to stay her in her seat. Ethan said the man was associated with the KKK or had been before the disaster. She knew there were many such groups in Alabama and
