“Properly?” he asks in the dark, I hear the insinuation in his voice.
I don’t need light to find his mouth. I use my hands to stroke his cheeks, my fingers to discover his lips. I kiss him, sharing my warmth. This time there’s no hesitation on his part and he kisses me in return, robbing me of my breath and my senses. His lips trail down my jaw, down my neck to the edge of my shirt. I run my hand over his side, dipping my fingers under the fabric, feeling the hot skin just out of reach. He shifts quickly and I’m beneath him.
“Thank you for saving me that day,” I whisper in his ear. I can sense it’s something he needs to hear. “Thank you for having my back.”
&nbs
p; He shudders and kisses me harder, mouth crashing into mine. His hips are heavy, his biceps tense. An incredible need rushes through me to touch and taste him. I push his sleeve up to his shoulder, kissing the inside of his arms. He breathes deeply, chest rising and falling.
“Alex,” he mumbles, like he has something to tell me, but he pushes me back gently, lifting up my shirt before pressing his face in my belly. His lips sear against my skin, moving hip to hip, and I’ve decided there’s no better day and no better person than the one with me right now. Like Paul said, it’s the apocalypse. You take the chances you get.
But he seems to have other ideas because he lowers my shirt and smooths out the fabric. Keeping me close, he rolls to his side and groans into my hair.
“Why’d you stop?” I ask quietly.
“My body is here with you, but my head is all over the place. With the team on their mission. With the lab.” He swallows and I feel his Adam’s apple bob up and down. There’s something else.
“Chloe?” I ask.
“Always. I’m so afraid of what’s happening to her. What—” He pauses. “What I’m going to have to do.”
My heart breaks for Cole and everything clicks into place. The disconnect. The sadness. I’d been too busy with my plans and drive to take out my sister that I’d forgotten about his. Chloe isn’t just his sibling, they’re twins, and I’ve watched the sacrifice and devotion they have to one another. It nearly destroyed him when she was shot in our attempt to get away from Erwin and to the Fort. He didn’t want to leave her but he followed me anyway to the vaccine center, warning us of trouble heading our way.
“We’re going to figure something out. No one here expects you to hurt your sister,” I reassure him. “She’s a victim of Jane’s manipulations as much as everyone else.”
“I’ve been trying to come up with a solution. Down in the lab and studying Josie’s results, but I’ve also talked to Davis. There’s no way to get her out of this alive.”
Paul flashes to mind and I wonder if there’s something we’re missing. Another link in the chain. I grip his shirt. “Listen—” I start, but a loud banging on the door stops me. I hear my name called out and I scramble from bed, opening the door to find Paul outside.
“They’re back,” he says, eyes flicking over my shoulder to Cole.
“Did they do it?”
He nods. “They got the truck, but not without a fight. Parker is down in the med unit.”
“She’s hurt? How bad?”
“I don’t exactly know.” His eyes darken. “She’s been bit.”
Chapter 10
We race to the med unit and find Davis and Jude outside in a small waiting area. They’re dirty from battle, dark blood stained down the front of their uniforms. Jude paces like a caged tiger.
“What happened?” I ask. The doors are locked, quarantine sign lit above the small window.
“Everything went according to plan,” Davis says. “We definitely got the drop on them. They were unprepared and outmanned. Erwin’s unit easily fought the Hybrids while we secured the truck. Once the road was clear, we started for the base, going the detour route on the way back just in case we were being followed.”
“Were you?” Cole asks.
“No.” Jude says. “We got a flat. Tire just blew. Davis managed to keep it on the road but it was shredded.”
Davis rubs his head. “I radioed back to the unit and told them to meet us with an alternate vehicle. We were still in the Death Fields, on a narrow mountain road. We needed to get out of there and come back later for the cargo.”
The two men share a haunted look.
“What happened to Parker?” I ask.
“We got out of the truck to check the back for anything we could use. Parker stayed in the cab. I guess,” Jude says, voice wavering, “the Eaters heard the tire shred. Noise echoes out there.”