I just wanted to survive. That was all.
But it just wasn’t that simple.
The funny thing was that back before all of this, before Zombies and dictators and Mexican warlords and the Parker brothers, my life was simple. So simple. I lived in small town Iowa and went to a small town school. I studied hard and played hard. I tried at cheerleading and my social life and I had a pretty nice future mapped out in my teenage mind. But all of it was simple. And small. And easy.
And then overnight everything changed.
I was popular in high school, but there weren’t that many kids in my class. It wasn’t that hard.
Now I was popular in the Zombie Apocalypse and it was the very last thing that I wanted. I didn’t even have to try. It just happened.
It happened to me. And I was sick and tired of things happening to me.
Matthias happened. Kane happened. Diego happened.
Hendrix leaving me happened.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I would be in control from here on out, so help me.
Diego stalked forward and got right in my face. I felt his hot breath on my jaw and smelled the earthy cologne he wore. His nose brushed against mine and my hand twitched to slap him.
“I should kill you myself,” he growled. “Then I would get to enjoy every second of it.”
Vaughan and Hendrix were between us in the very next second. Vaughan shoved Diego away from me, earning the attention of all of his men and all of his guns. Hendrix caught me around the waist and pulled me back against his chest.
I was surprised to find myself fighting him. I wanted to hurt Diego in a way that was foreign to me, but right. I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and never let go. I wanted to punish him for all of the unnecessary drama in my life.
“Calm down,” Hendrix demanded, his lips hot against my ear. “Reagan, relax.”
I stilled in his arms. His voice had that effect on me. But my heart still beat rapidly in my chest and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
“I want to kill him,” I breathed so only Hendrix could hear.
“And you may still get your chance. But let’s use him for what he’s good for first. Yeah?” Hendrix kept his mouth pressed against my ear. His arms had wrapped around me so tightly that I could feel every inch of him behind me.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Can you be calm now?” Diego demanded. “Can you be civilized?”
His words were like ice water in my face. I was the uncivilized one here? Um, no.
Okay, well in this specific moment, I was a little savage. But he was the ex-cartel slave trader. I just wanted a life where everybody wasn’t trying to kill me.
“I can be civilized,” I hissed in a voice that sounded decidedly the opposite.
Diego waved his men down and they dropped their guns. He took a step forward and brushed Vaughan off. He straightened out his shirt and glared at me as if I’d morally offended him. I let him see me roll my eyes.
“Wild,” he stated. “You’re wild.”
I decided to ignore him. Andy led the conversation then and we discussed exactly how we would go about taking down Matthias.
It was decided that I should be held in Diego’s jail when Matthias finally showed up. I would be the bait to lure him in.
I didn’t like this and either did Vaughan or Hendrix, but it also seemed like the best option. Tyler, Miller and Hendrix would stay with me. Adela, Haley and Page would stay with Joy back here. Nelson would stay with them and so would Luke. Andy, Vaughan, Harrison and King would hide out for the surprise attack.
We would get Matthias alone or with only a few of his men and then we would focus on killing only him. Without a leader, we hoped the army would either retreat back to America or turn their loyalty to Diego.
Honestly, we didn’t know how that part would go and it wasn’t wise to guess.
If they decided to fight us, well, Diego had his own army and we promised to stay and fight with him.
Sure we would.
Just kidding.
I would take the Parkers and the Allen children and we would get the hell out of there as fast as possible. While the two armies battled it out, we could make a clean getaway and say adios to all of our problems.
Was this a perfect scenario? Absolutely not.
But it was the best advantage we had to date. And I was all about being opportunistic.
Or at least I had been for the last twenty-four hours.
Meet Reagan Willow, the go-getter.
“So you will come with me now?” Diego pulled off his sunglasses and his beady eyes found mine, lit with expectation.
“Uh, no. I’m not spending the night in your prison.”
He scoffed, “Word needs to spread that I have you in my possession for our plan to work. Everything will be ruined if Matthias finds out that you are not with me.”
He was right. I looked up at Hendrix for guidance. I didn’t want to go with Diego now. I wasn’t ready.
Hendrix frowned down at me before turning to Diego. “Spread the word that you have Reagan and send for us when you hear that he is on his way. Simple.”
“That could be tomorrow,” Diego growled with his thick accent.
“Or it could be in a week. We’re not going to willingly turn ourselves over to you until we absolutely have to,” Hendrix argued.
“I’m allowing you to stay armed. You’re hardly turning yourselves over to me.”
“And yet, we’ll be locked in a prison,” I reminded him. “You also have more men than we do.”
“And I could have brought them with me, couldn’t I have? I could have brought them and dragged you back there with me. Take care to honor our agreement.” He glared at me with promised retribution. We had just struck a deal with the devil and I was sure that in some way we would lose.
No matter what Diego promised, too much evil was in play for this to all go our way.
“You do the same,” Vaughan finished the conversation. He turned around without waiting for Diego to get in his car. Hendrix and I followed him.
“I need to speak with Adela,” Diego called after us.
I whirled around, “I told you that you couldn’t have her.”
“I’m not going to take her,” he said impatiently. “I need to talk to her about her father.” He paused and reluctantly admitted, “And I would like to properly say goodbye. You will grant me this.”
I wondered if I had a choice. “I’ll ask her,” I finally told him. “I’ll leave it up to her.”
He nodded his consent. He didn’t look worried at all. This wasn’t the first time I wondered what was actually between Diego and Adela.
Inside the house, Adela was waiting for us. “Do I have to go with him?” she asked immediately.
I couldn’t tell if she looked terrified or anxious. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wild, but she didn’t look exactly resistant to the idea either.
“No, you don’t have to go.” Vaughan put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “We’ve bargained for your freedom if you want it.”
Her eyes widened further and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Really?”
“Really,” I promised. “He is willing to let you go.”
“What did you have to give him? What did he make you give up?” She was breathless; her hands had started to shake. Relief? I wasn’t sure.
“We’re going to help him take out Matthias,” Vaughan explained. “And after that he’s going to let us all go.”
“It’s a miracle,” Adela whispered. “He must really want this man dead.”
Unease churned in my stomach. I didn’t know what to think about any of this. Only time would tell if Diego would keep his word.
And if we’d really be able to take out Matthias.
“He does want to talk to you,” I told her. “He wants to say… goodbye.”
Her eyes narrowed and she looked out the window to where he waited patiently for her. She
hissed something in Spanish that none of us caught except for maybe Andy. But he stood in the doorway, watching Diego carefully. I wasn’t sure he was paying attention to us.
Adela didn’t say another word to us but stormed through the door and straight to Diego. I couldn’t stop from smiling when she threw her hands in the air and started screeching at him in their language.
I expected her to act like an abused victim. She did not act like that in any way. Diego patted the air and tried to get her to calm down, but she was livid.
Their behavior only confused me more.
And made me trust her less.
What was going on here?
“Do you think there is something between them?” Hendrix asked quietly.
“It looks like it.” I let out a weary sigh and glanced back at the bed where Haley had Page curled up with her. Page had her hand on Haley’s huge tummy and the two of them were laughing sweetly. The baby must have been moving.
“Then why is she so anxious to leave?” Hendrix sounded absolutely confused.
I didn’t have an answer except that love could hurt. In the worst ways. If Adela had feelings for him and he had hurt her profoundly, I could understand why she was desperate to flee.
Hendrix stepped closer to me and dropped his voice to a low rumble. “Do you really trust him?”
“Not even a little bit.” I turned to look up at Hendrix and met his direct gaze. “But I’m not sure if we have another option right now.”
A small smile played on Hendrix’s lips. They were dry and in desperate need of some Chapstick. But they were still enticing.
My tongue swept over my lower lip and I tried not to lean into him.
“At least he’s not in love with you.”
His joke yanked me out of my stupor. “Was that a joke?”
“No,” he laughed. “I’m for real.”
“I can’t help it if I’m hot!” I was mostly joking, but his eyes darkened in the best way.
“I guess not,” he murmured.
“He’s also given up on the idea of killing me for now. That’s another popular favorite among the menfolk.”
“Among the menfolk?” Hendrix’s small smile turned into an amused grin.
“Mmm-hmm.” I couldn’t stop from leaning forward then. He had turned on his gravitational pull. I felt it. I couldn’t stop it.
“You think you’re clever.”
“I know I am.”
Hendrix’s smile disappeared, but he didn’t step back. “I think you’re dangerous.”
I felt him start to pull away. I stepped into him, anxious to keep the flirtatious atmosphere between us. “Well, obviously, I’m that too. Dangerous and clever. I’m basically a Bond girl.”
He laughed unexpectedly. “I’ve been thinking that same thing all day. It must be this shirt. It’s so sexy.”
“I’m going to shoot you in the kneecaps, Hendrix Parker. How dare you make fun of my shirt! This is very sexy!” He raised an eyebrow at me. “It’s got these paisley flowers… and these buttons. And it’s only two or three sizes too big for me. I’m just amazed you’re able to keep from drooling.”
His smile returned. “It’s not easy. I have to work very hard to keep my hands to myself. This is the kind of shirt that just begs to be ripped off. And thrown into the nearest fire.”
I laughed at his playful dig, but I couldn’t help myself when I said, “So you’ve been thinking about ripping my shirt off?”
He grew serious again and in a gruff whisper admitted, “More than I probably should.”
Then he left me. He just turned around and walked away.
Gah!
Not fair.
He moved into the living area to talk to Nelson. I turned around too, not wanting to get caught gaping at him. I stared out the front door at Adela and Diego. She had calmed considerably and Diego seemed to be the one in control of the conversation, but I could hardly concentrate on them with Hendrix invading every one of my thoughts.
He was obviously flirting with me. And I shouldn’t question it. I should just go with it. This was what I wanted.
But wasn’t he done with me?
Men were so confusing.
Or, er, one man was so confusing.
The rest of the men I knew pretty much went after what they wanted. Like Diego with the whole killing Matthias thing. And Matthias with the whole tracking me down and killing me thing.
Oh, my god… did I just wish that Hendrix would be more like Matthias?
“Reagan!”
I jumped back and banged my elbow on the door. “Ow! Geez, Vaughan, I’m right here.”
“I’ve been saying your name for a full minute.” He swept a concerned glance over my face. “Are you okay?”
Nope. Not even a little bit. “I’m fine.”
“You look worried.” He leaned forward and checked on Adela. “Is everything going okay?”
Adela stepped away from Diego. He reached out for her but she gave him a hard shake of her head. She turned toward us and hurried into the house. She ran for the room that used to be the bathroom. Well… it was still the bathroom, but basically it was the only room in the house a person could get any privacy. The door slammed shut behind her.
Diego stared at the house with furrowed brows. I thought he might try to run after Adela, but then again, he didn’t really seem like the kind of guy that chased girls.
Hunted them, maybe.
But not like this.
I waved enthusiastically at him just to piss him off.
“I’ll send for you, Reagan. And you will come to me,” he called from near his running car.
I gave a cheesy thumbs-up and an open-mouthed smile, but I didn’t verbally reply. He cursed me in Spanish before jumping into his car and leaving Andy’s property.
“You love pissing him off, don’t you?” Vaughan chuckled.
“It’s my main source of entertainment since you know… TV died.”
Out of my peripheral I watched Vaughan shake his head at me. “Come on, we need to go debrief the others.”
I turned with him as we walked to where Hendrix and the other Parker brothers stood. “You mean sell them on the idea.”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Vaughan groaned. “I hope you’re up for this.”
I looked at Vaughan straight in the eyes and gave him my most serious stare. “You hope I’m up to kill Matthias Allen? I’m up for it. I’m ready. In fact, I might not have ever been more ready for anything in my entire life.”
King sprung to life, buzzing with energy. He turned to us and asked, “We’re going to kill Matthias? How? When? Soon?”
Vaughan gave him a patient smile and launched into the explanation and our tenuous deal with Diego.
I added what I could when I needed to, but mainly I replayed that same deal in my head.
My heart hammered with the possibility of victory. My mind raced with predictions of the coming confrontation and what success would mean for us.
A new life.
A free life.
A life without psychotic men hunting us, or the constant threat of death hovering over us.
Of course, there would still be the Zombies, but they seemed easy compared to our recent woes.
And then there was Hendrix. I glanced over at him and caught him watching me. Could destroying Matthias Allen mean hope for us too?
If we didn’t have this added stress or the constant need to run and hide, could we find a way to be together again? To forgive the past and move beyond our regret?
Yes, some inner instinct whispered. Yes, it’s possible.
Chapter Four
Page
“Page, come on,” Miller whispered from near the back door.
I looked at Haley, but she was paying attention to Vaughan now and not me. They were talking about killing Matthias again.
Miller stood by the door looking more nervous by the minute. He didn’t want to hear them talk about killing his dad.
He
hated his dad. But then sometimes… he didn’t.
I hopped up from the bed and slipped on some flip-flops that used to be Luke’s. He was the kid that lived here and he’d given me a bunch of his old clothes. His jeans were big on me, but Reagan had rolled them up so they would stay on. His t-shirt was a little too small, but I didn’t complain about it.
I was just happy to be clean.
Vaughan said he would find me better shoes before we left this house, but these would do for now. I liked them. My toes felt free. I liked that I could wiggle them easily and that they weren’t as hot as my boots.
Haley said people used to wear shoes like this all of the time, but it was getting harder for me to remember. I had been in boots or tennis shoes every day for a long time. My toes always felt scrunched and trapped.
I had already decided to keep these. Even if I couldn’t wear them again, I wanted to keep them with me just in case we ever got to the place that Reagan was taking us to.
I walked over to Miller. He stared at me the entire time. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but he hadn’t stopped staring at me all day.
I knew he had been afraid when I was taken. He told me this morning. He told me more than that this morning, but I had already decided not to think about what else he said.
He had scared me. And I didn’t want him to scare me. I loved Miller. He was part of our family. I didn’t want to have bad thoughts about him.
Miller pushed the door open and waved for me to go through. I could see Luke standing in the garden waiting for us.
“Page, where do you think you’re going?” Vaughan asked from across the room.
I turned around and felt my cheeks heat. I hated it when everybody stared at me. I didn’t mind when it was my brothers, but there were so many new people now. I didn’t want them to think I was a bad kid.
“We’re just going in the backyard,” Miller answered for me. “Luke and I will watch her.”
Vaughan frowned at me. He looked like he didn’t want me to go. I stepped away from Miller and decided to go sit back on the bed with Haley. If Vaughan didn’t want me to go outside, I wouldn’t go outside.