you home. You can tell me how many guns you own on the way.” He was genuinely curious. Where had she gotten them from, in a city where firearms were even more expensive with the rise of zombies?
The smile fled from her face and she fastened her gaze on the floor. She kicked her right foot out the way a kid would, sitting up on a high perch, then abruptly pulled it in and tucked it behind her left. “I am home.”
He studied her. Yeah, the right foot was twisted. However, she tried to use it too often for her to have been born with the condition. Then her statement sank in.
Not a lie.
“You live here.” It was a clinic. The windows to all the above floors were boarded up. They couldn’t be livable.
She refused to meet his stare but lifted her chin in a sharp gesture. “Upstairs. The floors above the clinic are abandoned space. Landlord hasn’t been able to rent out any of them as flats, in this building or the ones on either side, since last year. No one wants to live in them as they are and he’s too cheap to renovate them to make them worth the rent. Says he’d make more in insurance at this point.”
She bit off the last couple of words. Color rose up in her cheeks as she tensed with real anger. “If they’re abandoned, there’s no heat or water going to them.” He lifted his lip and bared his teeth. He didn’t like the idea of her in the cold, curled up with no comfort.
“I wash up down here before Brian gets in for the day.” She swept her arm out to indicate the whole of the clinic. “I’d sleep down here, but we lock it up and set alarms with motion sensors in every room but the kennels. I wouldn’t be able to move around at night at all. And Brian would know if I didn’t set the alarms at night. It’s what keeps the clinic, the whole building, safe.”
“Why doesn’t your friend know you’re squatting in abandoned flats?” He could remember the man’s name, but couldn’t say it. The attempt came out in a snarl.
Her friend should have known, should have seen through the farce. She deserved to be cared for much better than she’d been.
“Brian still has a family to care for, a mother and two younger siblings. Too many mouths to feed, and what we make at the clinic isn’t enough for him to stretch to cover me too. Even though he’d try. I’m saving up. I’ll have enough to afford a place of my own in time.”
Still...
“What happened to your family, Maisie? Where are your other friends?” A steady calm settled over him as he watched her. He was hunting now, hunting for the truth. It was important for him to know. He’d consider why later.
Her hands tightened on the edge of the stretcher and her shoulders hunched.
He waited. He didn’t push her more and wouldn’t ask again if she refused. The question was out there and whether she answered at all would determine if he’d come back.
“Do you fight with your...your pack mates? Is that what you call them?” she asked after a long moment.
“Yes.”
“Do they forgive you?”
* * *
Maisie studied the man standing in the middle of the room. Still shirtless, he didn’t seem to notice or care. He stood tall and confident, every fiber of him speaking of independence and strength.
Oh, he had a temper. She’d watched his rangy frame shake with it. It hadn’t scared her. Maybe even was a bit of a turn on, if she’d admit it to herself. More than a bit.
Amazing he hadn’t smelled it off her.
But then, she’d only just sponged him down in disinfectant an hour or so ago and had it all over her hands too. It would’ve been a miracle if he could smell anything besides the stuff.
“Most of the time, my pack mates will forgive.” He rolled his shoulders and muscles rippled across his chest. “They might not forget, and they might find a way to get even, but most of the time we forgive each other.”
She nodded. Her chest tightened. “Like a family.”
“Yeah.” His brows drew together in a scowl. Family seemed to
The smile fled from her face and she fastened her gaze on the floor. She kicked her right foot out the way a kid would, sitting up on a high perch, then abruptly pulled it in and tucked it behind her left. “I am home.”
He studied her. Yeah, the right foot was twisted. However, she tried to use it too often for her to have been born with the condition. Then her statement sank in.
Not a lie.
“You live here.” It was a clinic. The windows to all the above floors were boarded up. They couldn’t be livable.
She refused to meet his stare but lifted her chin in a sharp gesture. “Upstairs. The floors above the clinic are abandoned space. Landlord hasn’t been able to rent out any of them as flats, in this building or the ones on either side, since last year. No one wants to live in them as they are and he’s too cheap to renovate them to make them worth the rent. Says he’d make more in insurance at this point.”
She bit off the last couple of words. Color rose up in her cheeks as she tensed with real anger. “If they’re abandoned, there’s no heat or water going to them.” He lifted his lip and bared his teeth. He didn’t like the idea of her in the cold, curled up with no comfort.
“I wash up down here before Brian gets in for the day.” She swept her arm out to indicate the whole of the clinic. “I’d sleep down here, but we lock it up and set alarms with motion sensors in every room but the kennels. I wouldn’t be able to move around at night at all. And Brian would know if I didn’t set the alarms at night. It’s what keeps the clinic, the whole building, safe.”
“Why doesn’t your friend know you’re squatting in abandoned flats?” He could remember the man’s name, but couldn’t say it. The attempt came out in a snarl.
Her friend should have known, should have seen through the farce. She deserved to be cared for much better than she’d been.
“Brian still has a family to care for, a mother and two younger siblings. Too many mouths to feed, and what we make at the clinic isn’t enough for him to stretch to cover me too. Even though he’d try. I’m saving up. I’ll have enough to afford a place of my own in time.”
Still...
“What happened to your family, Maisie? Where are your other friends?” A steady calm settled over him as he watched her. He was hunting now, hunting for the truth. It was important for him to know. He’d consider why later.
Her hands tightened on the edge of the stretcher and her shoulders hunched.
He waited. He didn’t push her more and wouldn’t ask again if she refused. The question was out there and whether she answered at all would determine if he’d come back.
“Do you fight with your...your pack mates? Is that what you call them?” she asked after a long moment.
“Yes.”
“Do they forgive you?”
* * *
Maisie studied the man standing in the middle of the room. Still shirtless, he didn’t seem to notice or care. He stood tall and confident, every fiber of him speaking of independence and strength.
Oh, he had a temper. She’d watched his rangy frame shake with it. It hadn’t scared her. Maybe even was a bit of a turn on, if she’d admit it to herself. More than a bit.
Amazing he hadn’t smelled it off her.
But then, she’d only just sponged him down in disinfectant an hour or so ago and had it all over her hands too. It would’ve been a miracle if he could smell anything besides the stuff.
“Most of the time, my pack mates will forgive.” He rolled his shoulders and muscles rippled across his chest. “They might not forget, and they might find a way to get even, but most of the time we forgive each other.”
She nodded. Her chest tightened. “Like a family.”
“Yeah.” His brows drew together in a scowl. Family seemed to
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