Love in the Time of Zombies (28 page)

“I
never wore ‘nothing but feathers.’”  She told him piously.  “Under the costume,
I had on a lace thong and stockings.  And then, of course, there were the high
heels.”

“Now,
you’re just being mean.”

Scotlyn
was quiet for a beat.  “Do you think Lars will be able to make a vaccine?”  She
asked.

Zeke
made a face at the non sequitur.  The woman was hard to keep distracted. 
“Yeah, I do.  He made the pink zombie gas easy enough, so he’s a
competent
lunatic.  Once he stops crying, he’ll figure it out.”

Scotlyn
didn’t respond to that.

“A
lot of humans will be saved because of you.”  Zeke insisted.  “And the humans
will save the vampires, who need their blood…. And down it goes on the food
chain, until you’ve singlehandedly jumpstarted the whole circle of life.  Now,
I never went to business school, but it seems like you’re responsible for the
hottest new product of the year.”

“The
vaccine isn’t going to do
me
any good, though.”  She said softly.  “I’m
not a human anymore.”

He
had no idea what he could say to that.  “Scottie…”

“Why
South America?”  She interrupted, like she wanted to change the subject.

Zeke
sighed and didn’t push it.  “I know a place for us to live down there.”

“So
help me, if this is another plan to get me to those nude beaches in Rio…”

He
cut her off.  “Iasia.  It’s a city for supernatural creatures, where we’ll be
safe.  I just have to find it.  And to find
it
, I have to find
the
map
.”

She
frowned.  “That’s why we need that box I dropped back at Topless Golf?  The
map’s inside?”

“Yep. 
So, we’re going back to TGW and we’re getting it.”

Scotlyn
considered that plan.  “Well, given everything else that’s happened, it shouldn’t
be
too
hard to find.  I put the box in my purse and I dropped the purse when
I got into your car.”  She shrugged.  “How many Louis Vuitton handbags can
there be in that parking lot?”

Bright side
to the zombie apocalypse:

All those
hours spent playing first person shooters weren’t a waste of time, after all.

Told ya,
Mom.

Finding
the handbag wasn’t the problem…  It was
getting
to the handbag.

Zombies
had overtaken the entire area surrounding the golf course.  The monsters formed
a solid barrier of teeth and mindless violence.  There was no way anyone was
getting through a gauntlet like that.  There were simply too many of them.

Even
in the SUV Caleb had stolen, the closest they could get was a pawn shop about six
blocks away.  The owner had installed grates on the windows and doors to
prevent smash-and-grab robberies, so it was a secure spot to hold up while they
tried to figure out what to do next.

As
an added bonus, it was also filled with jewelry and guns.

Darcy
had gold bracelets stacked up to her elbow and a Glock in her hand.  She
boosted herself up onto the counter, gem stones sparkling on every finger.  “I’m
so registering here for our wedding gifts, Joseff.”

“Why
bother?  You’re already stolen everything you want.”  He leaned against the
wall, watching her loot with indulgent amusement.  Zompocalypse and human
kidnappings aside, the vampire was more relaxed than Zeke had ever seen him. 
No doubt that had everything to do with Darcy’s bite mark on his neck.  Zeke
certainly wasn’t going to ask for any further details.

“Yeah,
that’s a fair point.”  Darcy allowed with a sultry smile.  “Since, the sun will
be up soon and we can’t do much more with the whole map hunt tonight, we really
should go see what some
other
stores have.”

Joseff
frowned, obviously having no clue what she was getting at.  “Stores around
here?
 
You must be joking.  All they ever sold on this side of town were liquor and
off-brand pork rinds.”

“She
wants to go someplace private and have sex with you, moron.”  Brewer translated. 
He went striding by with three rifles looped over his shoulder.  “Have fun.  I’ll
be up on the roof, shooting stuff.”

Joseff
stared after him, realization dawning.

Darcy
arched a brow.  “Still feel like being a present snob, King Snobby Pants?”

“No,
I’ve clearly misjudged this neighborhood.”  Joseff decided and headed for her. 
“I’m thinking it probably offers some amazing registry options for us.”  He
lifted her down from the glass case and half carried her towards the door.  “We’ll
take our time and look at
all
of them.”

Darcy
laughed at that, already pulling him down for a kiss.

“I’m
not
buying them a gift.”  Caleb muttered as they left.  He sat across
from Zeke with his hands on the small tabletop.  Regular tools hadn’t worked on
the iron handcuffs, so Zeke was trying to pick the lock with jeweler’s
instruments.  “Your mate still out cold?”

“Yeah.” 
Scotlyn was asleep in the backroom, cuddled on an ugly sofa with her ugly cat. 
It would take a few hours, but her body would heal and she’d be okay, again.  Even
though Zeke knew that, it was still driving him crazy that she was
unconscious.  He should have killed that Lars guy.  It would have made him feel
better.

“She’s
going to need your help to adjust to being a shifter, you know.  Probably
hasn’t all hit her, yet.  Girl’s tough, but she’s been through a hell of a lot. 
And the moon will be full tomorrow, so she’d better get ready.”

“I
know.”  God, did he know.  “I have completely fucked up her life.”

“You
saved
her life.  At the risk of your own.  You could’ve died.”  Caleb
scowled.  “You should be resting, too, before you collapse.”

“I’m
fine.”  Zeke concentrated on picking the lock on the cuffs.  “We just need to
figure out a way to reach Topless Golf.  Once we get that map, I can get
Scotlyn out of Vegas and she’ll be safe.”

“I
know, I know, your ancient treasure map.”  Caleb’s derisive tone said it all. 
“Hey, how many times did you watch
Goonies
as a kid, anyway?”

The
last thing Zeke want to do was get Cale bitching about Iasia, again.  The
entire drive over here, he’d been complaining about the plan.  Zeke didn’t have
the energy to argue and it was too important
not
to argue.  Changing the
subject was the best option.  “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Sure.” 
Caleb agreed.  “Let’s discuss why I can smell the rest of the pack on you.”

Son-of-a-
bitch.

Zeke
concentrated on the cuffs.  “Because showering is a thing of the past,
probably.  I’m sure you smell all kinds of…”

Caleb
cut him off.  “They were in the casino, weren’t they?  You saw them.”

Zeke’s
jaw ticked.  “Yeah.”  He finally admitted.

“And
you’re just telling me this, now?”  Caleb scowled.  “What did they say?”

Zeke
weighted his options.

“Z,
what did they say?
  And don’t bother to lie, because I’ll know.”

Shit.

“Powell
said they were headed for Arizona.  They’re going to hide out in the Grand
Canyon.”  He arched a brow.  “You’re invited to tag along with them and live
like Butch and Sundance.”  Not that Zeke was going to allow that to happen without
one hell of a fight.

“Butch
and Sundance were in Utah.”  Caleb corrected absently, considering the pack’s
plan.  “You know, Powell’s idea isn’t terrible.  The Canyon’s isolated.  A lot
of wilderness out there.”

Zeke’s
lips pressed together.  “South Rim gets a couple million human visitors a
years.  Some of them are bound to be undead and still milling around.”

“So,
we’ll go down by the river, instead.  More game, less people, water…”  He
shrugged.  “Z, we could do this.”

“
No
.” 
Zeke set aside the jeweler’s tools and met Caleb’s eyes.  “Just listen to me,
alright?  I know you think I’m an idiot and a disappointment and not much of a
shifter, but just
listen
for once.”

“I
don’t think you’re any of those things.”  Caleb frowned.  “I just think you’re different
from the rest of us.”

“Maybe
I am, but I’m also right about this.  We have to get to Iasia.”

Caleb
groaned, his head tipping back in frustration.  “Z…”

“It’s
there, Cale.  I
know
it is.”

“Our
beautiful National Park is there, too!  Only it’s a hell of a lot closer and
the rest of the pack will expect us to…”

Zeke
cut him off.  “I don’t care about them.  I care about
you
.”  He shook
his head, because he knew it would be almost impossible to convince Caleb, but
he somehow had to do it.  He
had
to.  “Cale, I need to take Scotlyn to
South America.  Iasia is the safest place for her.  Joseff and Darcy will tag
along.  Seems like Brewer will too.  You have to come with us.”

“The
rest of the pack needs me.”

“No,
they don’t.  They have Powell, and Ricardo, and fifteen other people.  They’ll
be fine. 
We’re
the ones you have to worry about.”

Cale
wearily rubbed his forehead.  “They’re my pack.”

“And
I’m your brother.”

Caleb’s
eyes slashed to Zeke and stayed there.  “We can’t be sure of that.”  He finally
said, but Zeke had his full attention, now.  “The pack doesn’t keep track of
family…”

Zeke
cut him off.  “I’m sure of it and so are you.  Even if I
wasn’t
sure, it
wouldn’t matter.  You’d still be my brother, because you’re Caleb.”  He leaned
closer to Cale across the table.  “You’re the guy I’ve idolized since I was a
kid.  You used to let me sit on your lap and drive the car.  You bought me my
first beer.  You came looking for me when zombies attacked.  You are my
brother
,
Cale.”

Caleb
blinked at him.

“All
my life, you have looked out for me.”  Zeke continued pulling out everything he
had.  “All my life, I’ve given you shit for it.  But now, I’m asking for your
help. 
Stay
with me.”  If he couldn’t get Caleb to agree, he didn’t know
what he’d do.  It turned out he needed people after all and Cale was pretty
damn high on the list.  “It doesn’t matter if you believe in Iasia or not. 
Just come to South America with me because you’re my big brother and I’m asking
you to.”

Silence.

“Alright.” 
Cale whispered.

Zeke
frowned, the simple word forestalling his next argument.  “Alright?”  He
echoed.

“Alright. 
I’ll go to South America with you.”  Caleb cleared his throat.  “What the hell.” 
He shrugged like it was no big deal.  “I’ve already seen the Grand Canyon,
anyway.  We’ll do it your way.”

Zeke
grinned, relief filling him.  “That was way easier than I thought it was going
to be.”  He reached over to give Caleb’s shoulder a squeeze.  “You’re kind of a
pushover for the ‘brother’ angle, huh?  I’m going to remember that.”

Caleb
batted him away.  “Just get me out of these cuffs, dickhead.”

“I
always knew I was your favorite.  How could I
not
be?  But, this just
proves it.”  Zeke picked up the tools and refocused on the lock for a beat. 
“Hey, Cale?”

“What
now?”

“Thanks.” 
Zeke said quietly.

Caleb
gave him a half smile.  “Yeah, well, I can be part of this new pack, just as
easily as the last one.  Besides, I kinda like being with people too stupid to
leave anyone behind.”  He rolled his eyes.  “And you actually
are
my
favorite.”

“Told
ya.”

“But,
I’m still going to hold this stupid plan over your head forever when we end up
lost in an Ecuadorian rainforest.”

“We’re
going to Peru.”  The left handcuff finally popped free and Zeke started on the
right.  “The map really is going to lead us to Iasia.”  He wanted his brother
to believe him.  “It’s a place for us.”

“And
if it’s not?”

“Then
Joseff’s thinking we’ll just have to conquer ourselves a new kingdom.”

“Oh,
he’ll do that, anyway.”  The second cuff opened much easier than the first and
Cale sat back, rubbing his wrists.  “No matter what we find at the end of that
map, the vampire will be trying to take it over within a week.”

“Sooner
than that, knowing Joseff.”  Zeke got to his feet and prowled over to look out
the window in the direction of TGW.  “Doesn’t even matter until we can get to
Topless Golf, though.”

“There
are about five thousand zombies between us and that golf course, Z.”

“I
know.”  He scraped a hand through his hair.  “We need like… a tank or
something.”

“Or
a helicopter.  Too bad you crashed our last one, huh?”

“Oh,
shut-up.”  He glanced back at Caleb and saw that he looked as drained as Zeke
felt.  They both needed to recuperate for a few hours or they’d be no good to
anyone.  “When’s the last time you slept, Cale?”