Dying to Love Read online

  It takes some comical wrangling to get it zipped up but I’m feeling giddy from the booze so I just laugh as I play clothing twister to get it in place. I twist my hips to make the skirt sway and bounce a few times to make sure my tits will stay inside the strapless bodice but it’s tight with built-in push-up support so they bulge out perfectly and there is no need to worry about flashing the girls some nip, no matter how hard I dance. Boots, a choker, hoops, and lipstick complete the outfit and I stand back from the closet mirrors and take in the whole effect.

  “Fuck me, what a goddamn waste. Any other night, any other place, and I wouldn’t be going home from the club alone looking like this,” I tell my reflection with a frown.

  I toss my hair back and reach for my drink only to find it empty again, time to go. I’m going to knock my hen’s feathers off with this look. I stop on my way out and refill my drink for the road, grab my phone and earbuds, hit the exterior lights so I don’t kill myself later trying to get home drunk, and finally head to the party.

  It’s early yet, the sun is just dipping towards the treetops, but this is the most popular club around so it should be getting busy. The closer I get to it the more I construct my fantasy and by the time I reach the cavern entrance, Tara and Lisa have appeared on either side of me laughing and giggling. I smile coquettishly at the bouncer and he unhooks the red velvet rope with a nod for us to go through. Hot girls don’t wait in line after all. I slip my earbuds into my ears and hit play. I love the DJ at this place so much.

  The hot beats of Calvin Harris have my hips swaying as we make our way onto the dance floor. John Newman blames it on the night as the three of us bump, grind and spin to the beat while laughing. Song after song, I move my body to the music and lose myself to the fantasy. When I drain my third cocktail of the night I make eyes at the cock across the way who’s checking me out but when he caws at me I turn my back. I know a player when I see one. It does make me think about ending the night with a random hook up though. It’s been … fuck … over a year since my last orgasm and I know just the dusty, purple bad boy vibrator to get the job done. If I can find it.

  When the DJ goes retro with some C & C Music Factory, I throw my hands over my head and close my eyes as I dance. I can feel the hot bodies crowding me and smell the mix of sweat, perfume, and cologne overtop of stale beer as I rock out. Fuck, this is exactly what I needed.

  I’m feeling nicely buzzed from the drinks and even the slightly sore feet from my heels add to the picture of a time when all was well in my life and the world. I can feel the smile stretched across my face as I spin but when the music cuts out and is replaced by an annoying foghorn alarm in my ears, I stumble on my feet and my eyes fly open.

  The light in the cavern is flashing red like a strobe and for a few beats, I consider just ignoring it. Letting it all end here and now while I look hot and my head is filled with good memories. I glance at my hens though and the image of the dead tearing them apart has me squeezing my fists so tight that my nails bite into my palms.

  “ARGGGG, MOTHERFUCKER!” I scream out. “Can’t you leave me in peace for just one fucking night?”

  My chest heaves in rage as I look around the cavern - now empty of my two best friends and all the other club dancers. My perfect moment, my perfect night is gone and I know the party’s over and there’s only one thing left to do. Kill the fuckers who ruined this for me and this time, they’ll stay dead.

  Kelsey

  Istomp over to a row of metal spikes in the wall and snatch my favorite double holster already filled with two silenced handguns. I add a few extra magazines to the loops, throw the holster on, and check the app on my phone to see which area of the fence is being hit before tucking it back into my tall boot top and start running. Rage coupled with the alcohol I’ve consumed is making me stupid as I fly through the gardens toward the first fence but I just don’t fucking care anymore. If tonight’s the night I die, so be it. My hen party was starting to bring me back a little bit but this just shoved me ten steps back into the darkness.

  The sun has set but there’s still enough light for me to navigate. I should go to one of the guard platforms to get a look at what I’m facing while it’s still light out but I’m just so fucking furious that I head straight to the gate closest to the area that’s being attacked. The secondary alarm hasn’t gone off yet so I know the outer fence hasn’t been breached. So far it is just the pressure sensors that have gone off and I should be fine to pick off the zombies that are threatening the outer fence and redirect the rest.

  I’m so mad right now that I don’t even feel the pain in my feet from running in heels and as I reach the gate on the inner fence I’m prepared to fuck some zombies up. I yank the gate open, tearing apart the ivy that’s grown across it and I am definitely not prepared for what’s waiting on the other side.

  Everything slows down as my eyes take in a man, standing sideways right in front of me, holding out a gun. His head turns my way and I catch a glimpse of shocked green eyes before that gun starts turning my way. I don’t even have to think as my next move is one that Ryan drilled us on so many times.

  Right-hand goes to the gun barrel, left hooks under and around the shooter’s arm, yanks toward me. Duck under the arm, step forward with the gun now in my hand. Another step, pivot while shifting the gun into my grip. Keep pivoting until I’m behind him and bam, Bob’s your uncle! I am now behind the intruder, his own gun jammed into his neck. Then I freeze and assess.

  The guy I just disarmed has frozen like a statue and thanks to my heels I can just see over his shoulder to the four other men that are staring our way with dropped jaws and shocked faces. A quick scan shows me three of the four are armed with handguns and the fourth is clutching his side like he’s in pain. The dead are pushing against the outer fence, attracted in part by a moaner making a racket a few feet past where the others stand, so I pull the silenced weapon from my left-hand holster and bring it up in one smooth move beside the guy’s arm in front of me and take the shot. The moans are silenced instantly from that spot but the fence still shakes as more and more dead push against it. The dead know we’re here so there’s no point being quiet at the moment. A silenced gunshot isn’t actually silenced like in the movies, it’s just not the loud bang it would normally be. I swing the barrel towards the group of four keeping buddy’s gun pressed firmly to his neck.

  “Weapons down. Now,” I order in a low but firm tone.

  As one, they all look to the guy I’m using as a shield. That’s interesting, looks like I hit the leader of this group. His head moves slowly in a nod and his outstretched hands make a lowering gesture for them to comply. Two of them do it right away and toss the guns where I indicate - a few feet in front of them. The third guy hits me with a fierce glare from ice-blue eyes and I take a minute to get a better look at him. Holy hot cakes, he is smoking hot in an angry bad boy kind of way. Thick black hair hangs to his shoulders, surrounding a jawline that could slice bread. Long dormant parts of me start to sit up and take notice but, hello? Not the time or fucking place so I repeat myself.

  “Last chance, weapon down.” My tone is even, not even a hint of anger in it as he tries to stare me down. I’m thinking I’ll have to shoot him in the leg or something when their leader guy speaks up.

  “Dev! Put it fucking down, man!”

  Dev curses but finally lowers and then tosses it toward the rest of the guns in the grass.

  I go up on my toes so I can get closer to their leader’s ear and murmur, “Thank you.”

  He turns his head towards my face not even worried about the gun in his neck and opens his mouth to say something but stops and takes a deep breath, inhaling through his nose. His eyes track over every feature of my face in the fading light and a small grin pulls at his lips.

  “First, you smell fucking amazing. Second, you could put your guns down too. We mean you no harm.”

  I’m sure it’s the booze in my veins talking or maybe it’s the sexy green eyes fr
amed by thick dark lashes that are filled with interest but my reply comes out waaay flirtier than the situation warrants.

  “Hmm, I like to use protection on the first date. Maybe next time.”

  The tiny grin on his lips grows, making me shake my head to get the thought of kissing them out of it.

  “Zombies, Kelsey. Strange men with guns! Focus!” I reprimand myself internally.

  “How many dead followed you to my fence?” I say out loud, all traces of flirtation gone from my voice.

  He winces and looks apologetic. “It’s a horde. Hundreds, maybe even more. We’ve been running for days trying to stay out in front of them. I’m sorry.”

  A few feet behind me another moaner hits the fence and starts calling for his friends so I step back and pivot enough to take another shot through the fence at head height, silencing him.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I turn back to leader guy and catch him looking through the gate on the inner fence but thankfully the corn growing there should block most of his view of the jackpot treasure they just stumbled upon. I place my hand on his back and feel way too many muscles ripple under my touch and push him towards his friends.

  “Ok, go to your friends and all of you take a seat. I’m going to need you all to be quiet while I take care of this before they breach the fence. Once they’re gone, we can talk.”

  I see him nod and when he moves toward the others I quickly close the gate to keep any more eyes off my home. Once he moves out of the way and sits down, the others have a clear view of me in the dying light and the expressions on every one of their faces shift to disbelief. Not sure if they haven’t seen a woman for as long as it’s been since I’ve seen a man but their reaction to me is a little over the top. I reach for my phone and that’s when it hits me that I’m standing here strapped with weapons in a fucking sparkly, strapless party gown and high heeled boots. The first living people I’ve seen or spoken to in four hundred and thirteen days and they’re going to think I’m a goddamn lunatic. Ok, I kind of am at this point but we could have worked up to that fact. Fuck my life.

  “I-I was at a … a hen party so …” I wave vaguely at my outfit and then just shrug. Fuck it, it is what it is. After that I mostly ignore them, too embarrassed to see the judgment on their faces as I get to work opening apps and making the first call.

  I hear Dev, the icy blue-eyed hottie mutter. “Who the fuck is she calling and how …” But I hit him with a glare and hold up a ‘wait for it’ finger, cutting him off. Two beats later, the song “Who Let The Dogs Out?” comes blaring out from further in the forest on the other side of the fence. It only takes seconds for the dead to unhook their bony claws from the fence and start to move away. I peek up and see grins on three of the five faces staring at me as I make a few more rapid taps on my phone. I switch apps to security and see all green on the fence line map so I tap back to the next level and send the call.

  “Somebody call 911, shorty fire burning on the dance floor.” Can be heard but from further away than the first song. I keep at it until the next song is barely a whisper in the air and finally hit the last measure to ensure the dead will keep streaming that way. I tap the button and drop my phone to my side, look up and just wait until the first firework soars into the sky and bursts into life. I space the next two shots five minutes apart for the best coverage and as soon as the last one goes off, I wave the men to their feet, putting a finger to my lips in warning so they’ll stay silent and motion for them to move down the path between the fences away from where their guns are piled and in the opposite direction than the horde came from. I frown when I see two of them help a third to his feet and almost carry him between them. I keep a safe distance from the others with my gun carefully trained on leader guy’s head as we follow from behind. We move along until we reach a corner. I wave them on but place a hand on leader guy’s broad back causing him to freeze in place as the others keep walking. I move up close and rise up on my toes again so I can whisper.

  “Your friend is injured. Was he bit?”

  Once again, he turns his head so our faces are close together and takes the opportunity to look me over again, causing me to bite my bottom lip. When his eyes go straight to my mouth, shit starts fluttering down south.

  “No, a jagged piece of metal sliced him on his side as we were dodging the dead. It’s why we climbed your fence. He can’t run anymore.”

  I pat his back twice and nod to let him know he can keep going and also – muscles to feel. When we’ve made it halfway down the path and I see the huge tree on my home side of the fence I whisper for them to stop. I step back a few feet as they all turn to look at me and chew on my lip while I think of the best way to play this. On the one hand, people! On the other, strange people – men, who could kill me and take over my home. The light of the day is gone, leaving them barely outlined, so I activate the flashlight on my phone and angle it towards the inside fence just in case there’s still any dead nearby. The ivy is a thick barrier covering both fences making it hard for anyone to see in but best to not take any extra chances. Now that we can see each other again, I wave them back down to the grass and crouch down, keeping a tight grip on my gun in case one of them makes a move.

  Inspiration hits me with a half-ass plan but it’s all I’ve got so I run with it. I tap out a text message on my phone to Tara’s old cell and send it in full view of them and then turn my best hard-ass look their way.

  “Ok, first up. There are other guns on you right now so any funny business and they’ll take you out. Second, stay off the fences. They’re alarmed so you have no chance of sneaking anywhere. Third, I’m going to need to see that injury to prove it’s not a bite. If it is, you all go right now and take your chances out there. If it’s not, then you’re welcome to stay here for the night to give your friend a chance to rest and recover. You will be perfectly safe as long as you stay off the fences and someone will come to talk to you in the morning.”

  Four of them turn their heads and have one of those silent conversations only long-time friends or family can have without saying a single word out loud. Tara and I could do that. We could pack an entire bitch session into one loaded look. I get a hard suspicious look from Dev but the other three nod at me and two of them help the injured guy pull his shirt up enough that when I shine my light on it I can see a long angry-looking slash in his side that’s still bleeding a little bit.

  I make a pained face. “That needs to be cleaned out and stitched up or it’ll get infected.”

  Dev rolls his eyes at me. He. Rolls. His. Eyes. At. Me!

  “No shit. Kinda been busy running for our lives to play doctor but hey, so sorry to have disrupted your party, Princess.” He shoots at me bitterly.

  I huff out an excuse-me-laugh and push to my feet. “Right, then. Have a nice night!”

  I turn with a swish of my skirt, toss my hair, and start walking back the way we came when leader guy calls out softly.

  “Wait!”

  I stop but don’t turn around, waiting.

  “What’s your name?”

  I actually have to think about that for a few seconds. Do I want to tell them? I haven’t heard my name on another’s lips since Tara left me. I close my eyes, my voice barely more than a whisper on the wind but it's loud enough for him to hear. I tense up as I wait for another snarky comment.

  “Thank you, Kelsey. Thank you for letting us stay here tonight.”

  I swallow down the lump in my throat and just nod and start walking again, not wanting them to hear the tears choking me at hearing someone saying my name after so goddamn long.

  I’m almost running by the time I hit the corner and I skid to a stop as soon as I turn it, digging my earbuds out of my cleavage and jamming them into my ears. I tap like a demon on my phone until I get the right app open and select the monitor in the tree I left them under. I can’t make any decisions until I know just what kind of men these guys are.

  “…ing spoiled little princess! Did you see what she was w
earing? At a party? For fuck’s sake!” Hisses through my earbuds. Tara shows up beside me in the dark and leans her head close to mine with huge gleeful eyes that scream “Can you believe this fucker?” I shrug and listen closer.

  “Stow it, Dev! She got the jump on me and could have easily killed us all. Instead, she saved our asses and gave us sanctuary for the night. Don’t put your baggage on her.”

  “Ooooh, he’s damaged and broody. Me likey!” Tara whispers in my ear while wiggling her eyebrows. I motion for her to zip it just as a new voice comes through that I haven’t heard before.

  “Um, hello, that was the hottest chick I’ve ever seen both pre and post-apocalypse and the badass move where she stripped Linc of his gun in like two seconds flat was just the cherry on top of a sundae I would like to eat. I would very much like to beg her to let us stay so I can try and be her date for the next party she goes to. Especially if she’ll wear a dress like that again. I never thought I would see another woman, let alone one so beautiful. So, yeah, Dev - stow it.”

  Tara makes a silent “eeek” of excitement at that and bounces up and down. I ignore her and the hot blush heating my cheeks.

  “Stop thinking with your dick, Gray. A woman like that is nothing but a headache that’ll get you dead, especially now.”

  “Enough, help me clean up this wound. Whatever she is, she’s right about it needing to be cleaned up. Judging by the fever he has, it’s already infected.” A quiet new voice says.

  There’s some mumbling I can’t make out after that so I start walking back to where their guns are and I use the top layer of my skirt to gather them all up and carry them back inside the gate, making sure to lock it behind me. Tara doesn’t stick around to help me, the brat.