Текст книги "A Mad Zombie Party"

Автор книги: Gena Showalter

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

I’m trembling as I shut myself in one of the empty bedrooms and shout for Kat. What she saw...

Witnesses aren’t allowed to view romantic or intimate moments. When the screen—isn’t that what she’d called it?—went blank, she must have come looking for me. What happened...hell, it never should have happened. I knew it then, and I know it now. And not because of Kat.

I’ve been a dead man walking since Kat’s death, and Milla helped bring me back to life. I owe her, just like I’d claimed to owe Kat. But if we’d had sex today, would I have offered her more afterward? A happily-ever-after I’ve only ever imagined with Kat?

Probably not. Because, even though we’re friends, I’m not falling for her. I can’t be falling for her. Yes, she matters to me. Yes, I’m borderline obsessed with keeping her safe. Yes, I crave more time with her—to talk, because she’s smart and funny. But I told her I wouldn’t hit and run. And committing to her, just so I can touch and kiss her... I can’t do it.

Are you sure? Temptation whispers. You’re still on fire for her, desperate to be with her. Only her.

Shut the hell up.

If our history is our foundation, then our foundation is built on blood, guilt and sorrow. Whatever we manage to build will come crashing down during the first storm. I’ll lose her, and I can’t survive losing another girl.

Maybe I’d be willing to risk it, though—maybe I’d be willing to risk everything—if Milla put me first. I put my girl first, and I expect the same from her. But River is and will always be her top priority. With good reason.

“Kat,” I shout. “Let’s discuss this. Please.”

She appears between one blink and another, tears streaking down her cheeks. “How could you kiss her?”

The first spark of anger burns through me. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t cut me loose and act jealous when I’m with someone else.”

She flinches. “I’m not jealous. I just... I told you anyone but her for your benefit.”

I scrub a hand down my face. “I like her. She’s a good person, and she’s had a crap life. She’s my friend.”

“Do you usually suck the air from a friend’s lungs?”

“That’s no longer your concern, is it?”

“I know. I know.” She draws in a heavy breath, holds it, and as she slowly releases it, her eyes beseech me. “I want you with someone else, want you happy...but you can’t be with her, Frosty. You just can’t. Pick anyone else, and you’ll get my gold-star stamp of approval.”

Over the years I’ve faced zombies, toxin, injury and the death of loved ones, but this...this might be worse. “I said I would love you forever, and that hasn’t changed. I do, and I will. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me, but you’re not my girlfriend. Not anymore. If I decide to be with Milla, I will. You don’t get a vote, and your stamp of approval isn’t necessary.”

“Frosty.” She clasps her hands together, creating a steeple. “Please, don’t do this. You don’t understand.”

“Kitten—”

“You remember my cousin Teresa, right? She’s smart and pretty, and she has—”

“Kitten,” I repeat gently but firmly. “Enough.”

“No.” She closes her eyes, tears catching in her lashes. “She’s going to... Frosty, Camilla is going to die.”

“Of course she is. Death is hereditary.”

“Yes, but her death will come sooner rather than later. Ali’s vision...” Kat’s voice goes soft. “Camilla will save you...but she’ll die doing it.”

The words reverberate inside my mind—she’ll die, sooner rather than later, she’ll die—and an unholy rage overtakes me. “Tell me everything you know about the vision. Every detail. Now.”

Kat flinches, but says, “You’re inside a building. You’re cut, bleeding. Cole, Ali and the others are lined up behind you. There’s a gun trained on you, held in a very feminine hand. A series of shots go off. Camilla moves in front of you and takes the hail of bullets.”

As she speaks, a thousand-pound weight settles on my chest.

“I never thought you’d grow to like her.” Kat’s eyes plead with me to forgive her. “I thought she’d get what she deserves, and that would be that. I made Ali promise not to tell anyone, not even Cole, because I thought the end justified the means. I wanted you safe. More than anything I wanted you safe.”

“So you did to Milla what we crucified her for doing to us? You decided to trade one life for another, Kat.” Damn her! And damn the entire situation. “I can’t imagine those higher courts would approve.”

“They approve of sacrifice,” she says haughtily. Then her shoulders droop and she adds, “When it’s by choice.”

“But you haven’t given Milla a choice, have you?” My bitterness is like a train that’s gone off the rails. A crash is inevitable.

“No,” she admits, “and for that, I’ll be booted out as soon as Camilla... When she’s gone.”

Gone. Dead.

I reel. I burn. “You need to go. Now.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry? Do you think that makes everything better?” I don’t give her a chance to respond. “Do you have any idea how badly I suffered when you died? I was shredded, Kat. For all intents and purposes, I was dead. Milla brought me out of the abyss. She showed me again and again how to live, how to move on, and now you’re telling me I’m going to lose her, too. That I’m going to survive and watch, helpless, as another girl dies in front of me.”

She wraps her arms around her middle. “If she doesn’t take the bullets for you, you’ll die.”

“If you think I’d rather watch her bleed out, the way I watched you, you don’t know me at all.” I stride to the far wall, away from her—I have to get away from her. My hands fist and I throw a punch, cracking the plaster, and she gasps. I throw another and another, creating a hole.

The leash on my temper breaks, and I punch and punch and punch again, my skin splitting, my knuckles cracking and swelling, but I can’t stop.

I’m not sure how much times passes before Cole grabs me by the wrist, preventing me from continuing.

“Did you know?” I demand, wrenching free.

“Not until two minutes ago.” His features are hard, determined. “To be honest, I’m not sure I would have done anything different if I had. I would have thought you’d be relieved. When Kat approached her, Camilla was your enemy. You hated her. You wanted her dead.”

“You know my feelings for her have changed. You all know.”

“We guessed. You haven’t been forthcoming with details. For all we knew, you were playing a game, hoping to break the girl’s heart and punish her for her crimes.” He adds, “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with Ali.”

I scoff. “What? You’ll spank her?” How am I supposed to cope with this? How am I supposed to go on my merry way, knowing Milla will one day die because of me?

Actually, no. I’m not. I absolutely refuse to let her die. If she isn’t protecting me, she won’t be in danger. She’ll live. I’ll die, but she’ll live, and I’m totally okay with that.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I’m leaving, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Don’t follow me. Don’t come after me.”

“You’ll get no promises from me. I’ll do what I think is best. But you better be careful out there. We don’t know where Rebecca is or what she’s planning.”

Let her come after me. Let her feel the full brunt of my wrath.

“Do what you have to,” Cole says, “but get yourself together. We’re at war, and distraction can get you killed.”

“According to the vision, bullets will do the job. But better me than Milla.” I stalk from the room.

* * *

I’m being followed, and not by my friends.

The sedan with dark tinted windows has trailed me around several corners, making no effort to hide. Now the driver is even flashing his headlights at me, despite the glare of the sun.

One of Smith’s guys hoping to chat? Well, fingers crossed.

I drive to a nearby shopping center, where fast food abounds and superstores flood the streets with traffic. At a green light, I slam on my breaks rather than speeding through the intersection, causing the sedan to bump into my tail.

I put the truck in Park, turn on my hazards and exit, my weapons hidden under my shirtsleeves.

“I’m fine,” I tell the witnesses standing on the sidewalk, watching. “No worries.”

A slender woman with milky-white skin and jet-black hair anchored at her nape emerges from the back of the sedan. She’s pretty in a military-commander type of way. If the military commander in question is posing for a pinup. Her lipstick is bloodred, a perfect complement the tight black dress and six-inch heels she’s wearing.

Rebecca Smith in the flesh.

Hatred mixes with glee, and I reach for a blade. Slow your roll. Witnesses equal cameras. Cameras equal jail time.

Okay. No flashing metal.

“You picked the wrong time for a meet-and-greet.” I smile at her. “But it’s nice to know you got your stupid back.”

“We have a few minutes before the cavalry arrives.” She drops her chin to look at me over the top of her sunglasses. “Do you really want to waste precious seconds exchanging insults?”

“I want you to die.”

“And I want Tiffany.”

“Aw. Look who’s finally grown a heart. You normally don’t give a shit about your agents.” As long as I’ve known her, she’s only ever used others as shields.

Kinda like what I’ve been doing with Milla.

I swallow a curse.

“Everyone in my employ means something to me right now,” she says. “I’m rebuilding my business, and good slayers are hard to find.”

“Still trying to unlock the secret of immortality?” My tone is as dry as a desert. The thought of someone like Smith, with no moral compass, having no expiration date—horrifying.

She tsks. “Go ahead. Continue to scoff. If I’d succeeded, your girlfriend would still be alive. But who knows? Maybe we’ll save the next one.”

I take a step closer, and she takes a step back.

She lifts her chin. “Look. These past few months, I could have killed you and your friends a thousand times over. Did I? No.”

“Maybe because you’ve been too busy cloning zombies.”

“Would you rather I make new ones?” She pushes her sunglasses up her nose. “I’ve been content doing my work and allowing you to do yours. I’ve kept my distance, only sent one agent into your midst and only so I could keep track of your activities and ensure you weren’t coming after me.”

“Tiffany claims you paid her to poison us. Oh, and did I forget to mention she slit the throat of one of my friends?” My best friend.

Smith blinks in surprise. Or what she wants me to believe is surprise. “Well, that certainly explains why the girl ran from me when she ran from you. I didn’t tell her to harm anyone, and I’ll punish her for acting out of turn.”

“Taking you at your word isn’t something I’m willing to do.”

“As for the poison,” she continues as if I haven’t spoken, “that was payback, plain and simple. Ali took my abilities, so I took hers.”

“And the red flames?”

She shrugs. “Tiffany acted out of panic. The serum was meant for zombies, to make them hunger for each other rather than humans, but Miss Marks gave chase and Tiffany hoped the serum would slow her down.” One of her perfectly plucked brows arches. “See? I can be one of the good guys, too. If zombies only feed on each other, your precious humans are no longer in danger.”

There’s a catch. With her, there’s always a catch. “You—”

“No more questions. Either you give Tiffany to me, or you go to war with me. Your choice.”

“We’re already at war.”

Her lips pull back in a snarl. “You don’t want to take me on, Frosty.” She hands me a business card. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to release her. You do, and I’ll share the antidote to rid Miss Marks of red flames. You don’t, and I will kill you all.”

I get all up in her face.

“What are you going to do?” she taunts.

She’s lucky I hear sirens in the distance. I walk backward, unwilling to give her an open shot at my back. I slide behind the wheel of my truck and peel out, spitting fumes in her face.

So much for taking a little time to think about the future. I rage the entire drive home. A home Rebecca Smith just threatened.

I may not trust her, but I do trust that she’s evil and she’ll stay true to her roots. She’ll attack us, whether we relinquish Tiffany or not. She may or may not give us an antidote for thánatos. She may or may not even have one, might even give Milla something to make her worse.

No matter what Smith says, our group stands in the way of her ultimate goal. Eternal life. She’ll do anything to stop us from stopping her. Lie. Distract. Destroy.

Turn around. Put a bullet in her brain now, before it’s too late.

Temptation again.

You might spend the rest of your life in prison, but at least your friends will be safe.

Maybe. But for the first time, I get why Ali let the bitch go last time. Two evils do not make a right. If I kill Smith, someone else will simply rise from the ranks and take her place.

There has to be a better way.

Black and white, Milla once said. And she’s right. In this, there are no shades of gray.

I reach the tall, wrought-iron gate at the front of the driveway and press my thumb into the brand-new scanner for a fingerprint ID. As the gate swings open, an alert is sent to the cell phone of every slayer in residence, including Milla. No one comes or goes without everyone finding out. Where is she? What’s she doing? Hating me for abandoning her?

I park in the massive underground garage and storm upstairs to the kitchen, where Cole and Ali are waiting for me.

“I’m glad you came back.” She wrings her hands. “We need to talk.”

“We needed to talk weeks ago. Now it’ll have to wait.” My tone is sharp, cutting. “We’ve got bigger problems.”

Word of Frosty’s encounter with Rebecca Smith spreads through group text.

Gavin: Anyone else listen in on Frosty’s convo w/our Mom & Dad?? Yeah. Me neither.

Mom and Dad. Ali and Cole?

Love: Deets! Gimme!

Gavin: I don’t like 2 gossip, so make sure U get what I’m saying the 1st time. Frost ran in2 Smith—there was epic battle w/words, promise of blood & gore. Looks like we’re back @ war, folks.

Justin: We’ve been @ war. Dibs on Smith!

River: Fine but after U do her, I get 2 kill her.

Justin: My “do” is gonna involve knives. Tag team?

River: R U asking me 2 have a 3-way w/U? Always knew U had a crush on me. Alas, I must decline. I’m a lone assassin.

Justin: Screw U

River: So that’s a yes to the 3-way???

Gavin: Can U make it a 4-way? The ice queen is giving me the freeze out & I could use a little warming up

Jaclyn: Say goodbye to UR penis, Gav.

Gavin: If U can’t have it, no 1 can??

Love: Get a room! All this violent flirting is making me sick.

Gavin: We have a room, thanx. We’re currently cuddling

Justin: My mind needs a bleach bath

Jaclyn: U guys suck—I’m nowhere near UR room, Gav & I never will B again. Every1, we need 2 prepare 4 Smith’s strike.

Bronx: I’m always prepared 4 anything.

Reeve: That’s no joke

I’m furious that Frosty had a semishowdown without me. I knew the moment he left the house, of course, an alert sounding on my phone. I should have gone after him instead of licking my wounds in our room.

He kissed me. I liked it. Actually, I more than liked it. I loved it. I wanted more and would have given him everything. But despite his promise, he would have bailed on me afterward, just like all the others. There’s no doubt in my mind now. When Kat appeared, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

Never good enough.

“Household meeting in the gym.” Cole’s deep voice echoes over the speaker system wired into every room in the house. “Five minutes.”

I’m already dressed in a tank and jeans, and I stalk into the hall. River is at the corner, coming my way.

“Hey,” he says as we head to the stairs together. “I’ve been looking for you, wanted you to know I called for reinforcements earlier today. Three members of our crew have already arrived.”

Something about his tone... “One of them wouldn’t happen to be a former boyfriend of mine, would he?” Though I kept my relationships secret, River always knew who slipped into my bed.

“Two of them, actually. You gonna be okay?”

My stomach twists, wringing out bile, but I say, “Of course.” How much rejection will I have to endure in one day?

Well, we’re about to find out.

Gavin is waiting at the gym doors. On the lookout for Jaclyn? When I pass by, he hooks his arm around my waist to draw me back. He mashes his fist into the top of my head. “Good work capturing those Zs.”

“Thanks,” I say, kind of loving the brotherly attention.

He lets me go when River tugs on my arm. We enter the room. Justin, who’s sitting on the edge of the boxing ring, winks at me. Love, who is sitting beside him, nods at me. Cole and Ali stand in the far corner, talking quietly with Frosty.

My stupid heart skips a stupid beat.

Chance enters. Marty, Eric and Roger—the latter two the ones River warned me about—trail behind him. All three spot me and scowl.

“I’ve told them not to speak to you. Don’t even acknowledge them.” My brother leads me to Love. “Sit here.”

Not exactly great planning on his part. Wherever Love is, Chance will show up.

An-n-nd right on cue, Chance locks on Love and stalks over with the three amigos in tow. Eric and Marty are actually vibrating with fury, I realize.

I lift my chin, refusing to fidget. They hate me for putting them in danger. They’ll always hate me, and forgiveness isn’t even a blip on their radar because I never meant anything to them.

Well, screw them. I’m worth something, damn it. I’m smart. I’m beautiful. Frosty said so. I’m strong, and I’m loyal. Loyal to a plethora of faults, yes, but I’m willing to die protecting the ones I love. How many can say the same?

Roger, staring at me, runs his tongue over his teeth. Usually an action of flirtation, he somehow makes it a physical threat.

Eric blows me a kiss, all teeth and bite.

No one notices. Or so I think.

Frosty strides over and drills Roger in the back of the head. As Roger crumples, Frosty slams a fist into Eric’s nose, breaking the cartilage. A pained howl rings out.

“Anyone else want to try and make Milla uncomfortable?” Frosty glances around the room, tense and ready to throw down.

Silence reigns.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. If you change your mind, you know where to find me—or I’ll find you.”

I’m... He... He defended me? Even though he ran out on me?

Does he still like me? Am I still in the game?

Do I want to be?

Ali claps her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “All right, folks, playtime is over. Here’s what we know.”

She relays the story about Rebecca approaching Frosty. Everyone agrees we should give the antidote a shot—if we can get our hands on it—but no one trusts her to actually deliver it. Some are willing to trade Tiffany, others aren’t.

Then Reeve tells us what she and Weber learned from the captured zombies. “If I were to cut off a chunk of my skin, new skin would grow. Right? Well, these new zombies operate just like that. When a spirit rises from a body, a shell, a new spirit grows.”

It’s a terrible cycle.

She continues. “These zombies have different levels of toxin, each creation weaker than the last. However, Rebecca told the truth about thánatos. When I introduced a sample of Milla’s blood to the zombies, each one had the same reaction, becoming frantic to feed on each other. One bite caused their toxin levels to strengthen exponentially.”

Great. If they bite me, they’ll strengthen and only want more of me. Basically I’m a walking zombie juice box. “I didn’t want to eat zombies,” I say. “I wanted to eat...” Ugh. I can’t say it.

“Like to like, remember?” Frosty says.

Our gazes meet...hold. I shiver.

“What do our witnesses say about all this?” Bronx asks.

“Ask them yourself,” Ali says as both Kat and Emma appear. “They’ve ensured everyone will be able to see them.”

The room grows quiet.

Beside me, River stiffens. “Her.” He grits the word, leaving me confused. Her...who? Kat?

Frosty, I notice, turns his head, as if he can’t bear to look at either girl.

“We’ve petitioned for answers,” Emma says.

“Meanwhile, Camilla is the one who felt Tiffany’s blade across her throat.” Kat scans the room. “She’s the one dealing with thánatos now. Let her decide what to do with the girl.”

Every eye lands on me, but I focus on Frosty again and—

–in the blink of an eye, the walls of the room vanish. I’m suddenly surrounded by Anima agents. Each has a gun aimed at my chest. My attempt to break into the warehouse to save my brother has clearly failed. These guys were waiting for me all along. They knew I’d be coming, as if the bread crumbs I’d followed were purposely left. They probably were.

I’ve been beaten to hell and back, my jaw is on fire and the friends I convinced to join me are lying dead at my feet. All but one. Bettina. Like me, she’s restrained by two agents.

We should be dead like the others, but for some reason, we were spared, punches pulled, no one shooting or stabbing us.

A pale-skinned brunette smiles and walks a circle around me. “Do you know who I am?”

Oh, yes. I’ve seen pictures. She’s the epitome of evil, greed and everything wrong with the world. Her name is Rebecca Smith.

I spit at her feet.

She nods at the agents holding Bettina. Both men lift daggers and stab, stab, stab her in the chest and sides. She screams and screams.

I scream. “Stop! Please, stop.” I struggle for freedom. My wrists are twisted behind my back, the backs of my knees kicked. My knees hit the floor.

And the guards...they just keep stabbing Bettina, blood spraying and pouring and dripping—blood and now other things. I want to look away, but I hold her gaze until the end—I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. She goes quiet, slumping in their arms. They let her go when her bowels empty. She drops with an unceremonious thump.

“Now you know I’m serious,” Rebecca says. “Your brother, like your friend, is currently in my care. I would hate for something so tragic to happen to him.”

I almost panic. I want to panic. This is my worst nightmare. I would rather die a thousand deaths than let my brother suffer a single moment of agony. He saved me, so many times he saved me. Now it’s my turn to save him. I can’t fail.

“You want something from me or I’d be dead too,” I say. “What is it?”

“Ali Bell.”

“I don’t know an Ali Bell.”

“You will. I’ll make sure of it.”

“But—”

“From now on, you will do what I say, when I say it. In return, your brother will walk away tonight. He won’t know we met, and you won’t tell him.”

I nod. What else can I do?

“If you disobey me even once, I’ll turn my sights to your brother once again, and we both know what will happen if I do.” She motions to Bettina.

“Touch him and I’ll—”

“What? You’ll watch?” She smiles at me. “You’re outmanned and outskilled, Miss Marks, and you know it. But if you need more incentive...” She holds out her hand. A guard gives her a small black remote. When she presses a button, a blind opens on the window behind her, revealing a small room.

Chains hang from the ceiling—River is attached to them, his arms trapped over his head. A blindfold covers his eyes, and a ball-gag fills his mouth. He’s shirtless, and strips of flesh are already messing.

“You’ll have to excuse his condition,” Rebecca says. “He’s one of the strongest slayers I’ve ever had in my lab, and I’d like to know just how much pain he can withstand before his mind breaks.” She pushes another button, and River’s body begins to shake and jerk, his limbs attempting to curl into his torso. “Right now, volts of electricity are shooting through him. It’s excruciating, he could die any second—”

“Stop!” I shout. “Just stop! I’ll do what you—”

–River is patting me on the back. “Milla! Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

I shake myself from the past. I’m trembling. I can’t stop. And it’s okay, I’ll be okay, because Frosty strides across the room and throws his arms around me, offering comfort and support. I can feel his heart racing just as quickly as my own.

“What happened?” River demands.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Frosty combs his fingers through my hair. “Whatever you decide, Milla, I’ll back.”

Black and white. Right and wrong.

My voice is soft, and it trembles like the rest of me as I announce, “We can’t let Tiffany go. She tried to murder me, and she would have succeeded if you guys hadn’t intervened. A girl like that can’t be loosed on the general public.”

Cole nods. “It’s settled, then. We gear up and let Rebecca come to us.”

* * *

One day passes. Two, then three, but nothing happens. Not from Rebecca’s end.

I and the other blonde females in the house dye our hair brown. That way, Rebecca and her men might hesitate to take a shot, mistaking us for Tiffany.

The first time Frosty got a glimpse of my new hairstyle...well. I still haven’t come down from the high.

“What the hell did you do to yourself?” he barked. “Change it back. Now.”

He should be happy. Now I look more like the girls he picked up at the club. “No,” I finally said.

“No? That’s it? Just no?”

“Oh, good. Your ears are working.”

“You were perfect the way you were, Mills.”

Perfect? Me?

So why has he stopped sleeping in our room?

And if he doesn’t want me, why does he watch me? In fact, his gaze is never far from me. He tracks me like he’s a starving and I’m on the menu. But if I glance in his direction, he hastily looks away.

I have hope again.

Only one other time has he spoken to me, though, and only to ask about the visions. He wanted to know why the last one revealed my encounter with Rebecca. With a little Q and A, we came to the conclusion our thoughts direct the visions. He’d wondered about my meeting with Rebecca right before it happened. Just like I’d wondered about his name before the previous one.

These visions...they may be the complete opposite of Ali’s, but they’re helping us get to know each other better than any conversation. Which is why I love them almost as much as I dread them.

“An-n-nd...yes! We’re done!” Love’s excited announcement draws me from my thoughts. She pushes out of her chair. “I’m gonna spend the morning with Ali and just, I don’t know, be a girl for a bit.”

“Sounds nice.” We’ve been monitoring the security cameras in twelve-hour shifts and last night Love and I were paired.

“Want to come?” she asks me.

I’m floored by the invite. And warmed. “Yes, actually, I do. But I missed dinner, and I’m starved. Let me grab a sandwich first.”

“Okay, see you in a bit.”

I make my way to the kitchen, where I find Chance pouring orange juice.

I swipe the glass and drain half the contents. “Thanks.”

He snorts. “Anytime, apparently. Where’s Love?”

“Headed to Ali’s room.”

He confiscates the juice and drinks the rest. “Well then, to Ali’s room I go.”

“First, bad Chance. Bad. She wants a girls’ night, and you most definitely aren’t a girl. Second, you are sooo whipped.” I make a tsking sound.

“You mean I’m so happy.”

“Wow. Way to rub it in.” I lightly punch him in the stomach, just hard enough to make him lose his breath. “What about now? Still happy?”

He laughs, bends down and rams his shoulders into my midsection, then straightens with me draped over his shoulder. “Just for that, I’m taking you to Love. You damaged her property, and you’ll have to pay her fine.”

“Certainly...after I tell her about the time you tried to collar a zombie, but actually collared yourself.”

He smacks my behind. “You know what happens to rats, don’t you?”

“They bite anyone who holds them?”

He gives me another smack, and I playfully kick at him.

“Put me down. I’m hungry.”

“Put her down. Now.” The new voice is as hard as steel.

Frosty! I still, even as my heartbeat speeds up.

“Why? I’m not hurting her.” Chance sets me on my feet. “I don’t hurt my friends.”

Frosty approaches us, trapping me in the middle of a testosterone sandwich. “Where were you a few months ago, when River kicked her out? She was sure hurting then.”

“I know where I wasn’t,” Chance snaps. “At the bottom of a bottle, or in some random chick’s bed.”

Frosty draws back a fist, ready to strike.

“No!” I shout. “No. This isn’t happening. We aren’t fighting amongst ourselves. And over what? A little teasing?” I give Chance a push toward the exit. “Go tell Love good-night, then go to your own room like a good little boy.” I stare him down until he shuffles off—then I turn to Frosty. “What the hell was that?”

He leans down until we’re nose-to-nose. “He’s with someone else. I won’t let him lead you on.”

“You mean the way you led me on?” My cheeks flash with heat. “Are you concerned for my feelings...or jealous?” I say the words to taunt him, but they echo in my mind and I gasp. Is he jealous?

“I’m not jealous.” He steps away from me and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m your friend.”

“Uh, you aren’t my friend. Friends talk to each other. Especially after they’ve kissed.”

“Well. This is kinda awkward.” Ali stands in the doorway, rocking back on her heels. “I came to get some cookies for girls’ night, and if my craving wasn’t so savage, I’d come back at another time.”

Frosty opens his mouth, but the shatter of glass registers, then a loud thump. It comes from above us, and the three of us take off in unison, running for the stairs, palming weapons. Other slayers come out of their rooms, hastily dressing.

“Did you hear that?” Justin asks.

“Where’d it come from?” Jaclyn demands.

Pop, pop, pop.

Gunfire! “There!” I rush toward the door to Ali and Cole’s bedroom.

Frosty grabs my arm to yank me behind him, making him the first to enter. Another round of gunfire rings out– courtesy of Frosty. I move beside him, determined to defend and protect, and see a black-clad figure propel out the shattered opening in the window, as if pulled by a rope.

I race over as violent gusts of wind lift strands of my hair. The sky is black, but it doesn’t fully camouflage the helicopter hovering just above our roof. Once the black-clad guy is secured inside, the copter flies away.

Chance shoves me aside, looking as though he plans to jump. Blood trickles from a gash in his forehead and gushes from a wound in his chest. He’s been shot.

“They took her,” he croaks. “Took Love. There were three of them. They shot me as I entered the room.”

“We have to do something.” Ali’s chin trembles. “Fast.”

“First, let’s get you patched up, Chance.” I reach for him.

He steps out of reach. “Bullet only grazed me. I’m fine. I don’t care what the rest of you do, but I’m gearing up and going after my girl.”