Thicker than Blood (34 page)

Extending an arm in my direction, she wiggled
her hand, causing the array of bracelets she wore to shake and
jingle. Smiling, I took her hand in mine.

“Everyone calls me Grannie!” she continued
excitedly, pumping my arm up and down. “And I have something
special just for you!”

Releasing me, she hurried back to the dresser
and disappeared behind it. I glanced up at Alex, wondering what on
earth he’d done, but he refused to look at me.

“Ta-da!” Grannie sang as she leaped out from
behind the dresser, holding in her hands a pair of pink fuzzy
slipper boots.

My mouth fell open. Despite Grannie having
said she’d cleaned them, they were still dirty and stained, the
pink faded to a peachy sort of color. There were obvious holes that
I could see, and small patches where the fur was missing entirely.
And they were absolutely perfect.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, bringing my hand to
my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“Happy birthday…?” Alex said. “Or Merry
Christmas? Whatever,” he finished almost shyly.

I glanced from him to Grannie and back to
him. “But we didn’t bring anything to trade.”

“Now, now,” Grannie said, thrusting the boots
into my hands. “That’s all taken care of. You see, I’m a betting
woman and I’ll be betting on Alex tonight. He’s promised me a win,
and in return, I’ve given him a five-finger discount on anything in
the shop.”

“You heard her,” Alex said, still not looking
at me. “Go pick some stuff out. For you and Eve.”

I gaped at him, shaking my head. “When did
you do all this?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Met Grannie
outside the Drunk Tank, got to talking…”

“Come, come!” Grannie urged excitedly. “Let
me show you what I’ve got for a pretty girl like you.”

Still smirking, Alex rolled his eyes. “I’ll
be outside,” he said, and moved to turn. I grabbed his arm before
he could leave, pulling him back to me. Juggling the slipper boots
in one arm, I attempted to hug him with the other.

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling overcome.
“I don’t know what to say, or what to do.”

Running his hand through my hair, he tugged
gently, lifting my face. “You can thank me later,” he said quietly.
“Tonight. After I win that fight.” Then he grinned.

“
That’s four,” I said, grinning
back.
Or was
it three?

“Four what?” he asked, and I shrugged.

“Never mind.”

Evelyn

“So you want to trade, do you, Wildcat?” he asked,
his tone languid yet laced with amusement. Leaning back against a
brick wall, the man crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes
dropped from my face to the can I held, then back up to my face
again.

We both knew we weren’t talking about food.
This was so much more than a simple trade; this was me doing what
I’d always done to wash away the pain, the stress, the never-ending
disappointments. Using my body, letting others use it as well, to
fill the hole, to ease the ache. It was all I’d known for so long
now, and I found myself easily slipping back into that role, like
an old friend I hadn’t seen in some time.

Hey there, how’ve you been? It’s been too
long, I’ve missed you. Let’s lose a little more dignity, shall
we?

People, like Leisel, thought of me as strong.
Brave. Fearless, even. But the truth was that I was just as weak
and as fucked up as she was. Maybe even more so.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

He smiled slowly, his dark gaze running over
me with lustful appreciation, blatant and suffocating.

“Does it matter?” he asked. “How about you
call me whatever you want, Wildcat.”

Although he was still standing there, his
muscular arms folded over his large chest as he smirked at me, his
answer almost seemed defensive. Which was ridiculous, that this big
hunk of man would feel the need to hide any part of himself from a
silly little woman like me.

I rolled my eyes, feigning confidence. “How
about I call you whatever your mama named you?”

“All right.” He laughed, a deep, throaty bark
that sent chills up and down my arms. “They call me E around
here.”

I frowned. “They?”

He nodded, still smirking. “They,” he
confirmed, without further elaboration as to who the elusive
they
was.

“
They call you E?” I asked, forcing myself
to smirk as well. “Seems kind of strange to me. Do
they
not like you very
much?”

“Not really,” he said. “Not that I give a
fuck who likes me or not.”

I paused, thinking through my answer before
replying. “So, what’s your real name?”

“Too many questions,” he said, sounding
almost irritated. “Why the fuck does my name even matter to
you?”

I shrugged, not sure myself why it mattered,
or why I’d even asked to begin with. It was just that I’d always
asked my sexual partners’ names first; it was the only thing I ever
asked. Somehow it made the act seem less cheap, made me feel less
cheap.

“What’s your real name?” I asked again
stubbornly, needing to know it before I went any further with
this.

He studied me for a moment, his lids somewhat
shuttered, before letting out a throaty, annoyed growl. “My name is
Adler,” he finally said. “It means eagle in German, and they call
me E for short. We done with the questions now, Wildcat?”

He didn’t wait for my answer. Already pushing
himself away from the wall, he landed his hands on my waist and
squeezed. His touch, the feel of his big, warm hands on my body,
sent a jolt of sexual energy sizzling through me. Lifting them, he
rubbed his thumbs against the underside of my breasts while his
fingers dug painfully into the skin on my back.

Releasing a breath, I allowed my body to
relax, telling myself this is exactly what I needed. Once I did
this, I’d feel better, less empty. I’d always felt better after
being with Jami. He’d taken away the bad, replacing it with
something infinitely preferable—not good, but better than bad.

But E wasn’t Jami, and he certainly wasn’t
Shawn. They’d been good men, kind men, and E was the exact opposite
of good or kind. This was dangerous ground I was treading, not
knowing E or anything about him, but his hands that were now
traveling down my body sent my heart rate skyrocketing.

Like a drug addict who’d been offered a fix,
I couldn’t resist him. The lure of what he could do for me was too
strong; I knew he would numb the unwanted feelings, even if for
just a little while.

Spinning me around, reversing our places, he
slammed me hard up against the wall. I was reminded of Jami once
again, how he’d always done something similar, and a pang of
sadness rattled through me.

Because Jami was gone. Shawn was gone. And
Leisel blamed me for everything.

It was just me now.

E’s mouth had found my neck, trailing hot,
wet kisses across my throat and up my chin until his lips finally
met mine. Coarse, bushy facial hair tickled against my cheeks while
he pushed my lips apart, his tongue slipping inside my mouth. I
still couldn’t bring myself to touch him, yet he didn’t seem to
mind. Groping me harshly with experienced hands, he kissed me hard,
full of eager tongue and nipping teeth.

“I won’t be gentle, Wildcat,” he said as he
pulled away for a moment, his words as rough and threatening as his
hands. Then he bit down on my lip, causing me to gasp while his
hands painfully squeezed my breasts, as if to further make his
point.

“You’re not gonna like me when I’m done,” he
continued. “But you’ll be satisfied.”

Pulling away from me, leaving me breathless
and full of wanting, he shrugged out of his faded denim jacket and
let it fall to the ground. Then he was back, his hands on my waist,
squeezing and kneading me as he brought me flush against his
waiting erection and ground his hips against mine.

I still hadn’t touched him. Beneath all my
desire, I was still afraid of this man. He was overly aggressive,
dangerous, and didn’t strike me as the type to take no for an
answer. A small part of me wanted to run from him, but the need I
felt was greater, even if it meant lowering myself to this
level.

Because feeling anything at all was better
than feeling nothing.

His hands returned to my breasts, and with
even more force than before, he groped and twisted, squeezing them
to the point where I nearly cried out in pain.

I miss Jami.

Leisel doesn’t need me anymore.

And Shawn…oh God, my sweet, sweet,
Shawn.

Poor, poor, self-pitying me.

Suddenly, I grabbed for E, wrapping my hands
around his impossibly thick neck, crushing my mouth to his and
kissing him in the same rough and greedy fashion as he’d been
kissing me. His hands were everywhere now, exploring, grabbing,
taking and taking…

And finally, the noise in my head began to
clear, leaving only the here and now, me and E, and—

A siren wailed to life off in the distance,
the awful howling so loud, so obnoxious, it ripped me instantly
from the quiet place I’d just found. E pulled away from me, looking
angry and violent, frustrated sexual aggression radiating from him,
making the air around us seem thick and heavy.

“I need to go,” he said gruffly as he bent
down to grab his jacket.

“What is it? What’s that noise?” I asked,
realizing that I was suddenly cold, chilled to the bone from his
touch. Wrapping my arms around my body, I rubbed my bare biceps,
trying to warm myself.

“It’s a warning,” he said gruffly. “The
camp’s shutting down. You need to get inside.”

Shrugging his jacket up and over his massive
shoulders, he turned and began to walk away without even a
good-bye. He was quickly enveloped by the crowds of people, nearly
lost in the chaos as everyone scrambled to gather their things.

“A warning for what?” I yelled after him.

He abruptly stopped, forcing the surrounding
people to find another way around him. “Rotters,” he said, turning
to look at me. “A horde of them are headed our way.” He continued
to stare at me, his gaze hard and unwavering. “We’ll finish this
later, I’ll find you,” he said, his words a hard promise. Then he
turned, the crowd engulfing him once more.

I stood there, still trembling from the
aftereffects of E’s violent touches, feeling cheap and used despite
nothing having actually happened between us. But now I was scared,
as well.

A horde of infected were headed this way? I’d
heard of hordes before, back in Fredericksville I’d overheard the
guards discussing some of the things they’d seen while out
scavenging. Large groups of infected roamed the country, growing in
numbers as more infected added themselves to their walking
collection of horrors.

A wall of death, that was what they’d called
it.

“Wildcat, you need to get in here!”

Glancing up toward the voice, I found Dori
leaning precariously out of a second-story window, gesturing wildly
to me. Realizing that she’d probably seen everything that had
transpired between E and me, I felt my cheeks flush with heat.

“My name’s Eve,” I snapped at her, not
wanting to be reminded of E at the moment.

“E said you’re Wildcat,” she retorted, “and
no one argues with E. Now, get in here!” Disappearing from view,
she slammed the window shut behind her.

I stood there a moment, still in a daze, not
sure exactly what it was that I was supposed to be doing. The camp
had grown silent, an eerie quiet befalling the entire place.
Slowly, I crept toward the corner, my steps soundless. Stopping at
the edge of the building, I watch the stragglers, the remaining
people still moving about and gathering their things. Fires were
being silently extinguished, food was being boxed and taken away.
All around me and up above me, windows were being shut, doors were
being locked, and within minutes the place was empty and
lifeless.

I was still standing there staring, wondering
why everyone was going to such extremes when a heavy fence, wired
with electricity, surrounded this entire place. Yet, even the armed
guards who always manned the fence had gone. Everyone was
just…gone. Everyone except me. I was still standing here, gaping
like a moron, when there was an obvious threat approaching.

“Shit,” I cursed, willing my legs into
motion. I had to get back to Leisel, had to make sure she was
inside and safe. Not that she needed me anymore. Not that she
wanted me anywhere near her. She’d made her disdain for me
painfully obvious with her parting words.

I’d just turned the corner when a hand came
down hard on my shoulder, gripping my shirt, the sound of tearing
fabric echoing in the silence. Before I could let out a scream, a
hand covered my mouth and then I was dragged backward, my feet
stumbling underneath me as I was pulled through a doorway and into
darkness.

I kicked out in fear, expecting at any second
to feel the teeth of an infected sink into my skin, then begin
tearing my flesh from my bones.

“Calm down, Wildcat!” a familiar voice
admonished me.

I went still, blinking through the darkness,
waiting for my vision to adjust. Finally it did, and Dori’s face
came into sight. Rolling forward in her wheelchair, she flicked her
hand in the air, and the hands holding me fell away.

“What the fuck?” I yelled, and almost
instantly a hand was clasped over my mouth. I struggled for a
moment before realizing that struggling wasn’t going to get me
anywhere. Another second passed, and the hand released me.

“What the fuck, Dori?” I whispered, glaring
first at her, then over my shoulder at the tall man behind me.

Pressing one slender finger to her pursed
lips, she grinned wickedly. Jerking her thumb over her shoulder,
she began rolling down the hall. I glanced again to the man behind
me who offered me a glare in return, showing no sign that he’d
allow me to pass anytime soon. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I
started after Dori down the hall.