Skin (Flesh 2)

“A gilded cage is still a cage, Nick.”

“You betrayed me.”

“You never trusted me, Nick, so how exactly did I betray you?” Roslyn looked away and sucked in a breath, shoulders hitching. “Look, let’s just stop. Let’s go back to the school and regroup.”

“They’re dead, Ros. Everyone at the school is dead.”

She stopped, stared. “You’re lying,” she whispered.

“Why would I?”

“To t-try and keep me.”

“No. It’s the truth. Your friends screwed up and let in an infected. Apparently your old friend Neil didn't secure the gates well enough after we left. I should have told you earlier. Maybe you would have thought twice about bolting.

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Janie was infected. I stayed with her …”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Probably because he was an idiot, just like she’d told him many, many times. An idiot to think it could work out between them. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to upset you. Stupid, huh? Me worrying about your delicate feelings. You have no f**king clue when it comes to life these days. Sheltering you was wrong.”

“But …” She just kept blinking at him. “They’re dead? All of them.”

“Yes.”

Silence. Her face blanked.

Oh, shit. Second thoughts filled him, along with third and fourth. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her like that, just blurted it out.

All he could think of was the infected clawing at her, about to bite her foot. She didn’t have a f**king clue how close she’d come to death. He wanted to howl every time he thought about it. The woman needed a dose of reality. Needed to know how serious things were, so hopefully she’d think before she acted. This couldn’t happen again; it would f**king kill him.

“Roslyn.”

She shook her head, turned and walked away.

Fine. They both needed time. They also needed blankets or they were going to freeze their asses off. He set about searching the rows of shelving lining the walls. No comment from her. Not a peep.

He was not the bad guy here. He wasn’t. He’d done every-fucking-thing he could to please her.

Some crappy old camping gear stood in a corner. A moth-eaten canvas tent and a sleeping bag that had seen better days. A ratty-looking tarp with a couple of burn marks. A moth took flight when he nudged the tarp. He shook the sleeping bag out and clouds of dust filled the air. Quickly, he turned his face away before he copped a lungful of it. Roslyn stood by the pickup with her arms wrapped around herself.

The infected’s mouth had been bare centimeters off sinking its teeth into her toes. Its filthy fingers had been clawing at her legs. If she hadn’t been wearing jeans, if he hadn’t woken when he did and heard her screaming. If he’d been a second later, just one second, it would have been too late. He couldn’t think about it. Couldn’t stand it, but it wouldn’t stop repeating inside his head.

If he’d lost her … No.

Nick cracked his jaw and bundled up the tarp, took it and the sleeping bag over to the vehicle. It should be enough to keep them warm at least. He doubled the tarp over the ratty old mattress and placed the sleeping bag between the layers. “We’ll sleep up here. Come on.”

She gave him a blank look.

“You’ve got no shoes on. No jacket. It’s cold.”

She nodded dully and moved to the end of the bed, climbed up. The tarp crackled as she slipped beneath it, into the sleeping bag. Nick switched off the pickup’s parking lights then followed, pulling off his boots. He hadn’t stopped to put on socks. She’d be dead now if he had.

Having both of them in the sleeping bag made it cozy. He put an arm beneath her neck and the other over her waist. Her feet felt freezing so he pressed them between his, trying to warm her. She didn’t fight him, but she didn’t exactly help either.

“You should have told me,” she said.

“You were upset enough that day.” His stomach growled, loudly. Sex always made him hungry. It had been hours since they’d eaten and it would be hours before they stood a chance of finding food—tomorrow morning at the earliest.

A mattress spring stuck into his hip. He’d slept on floors that were more comfortable. The air in the shed was frigid. They should have been in the cabin, curled up in bed with a roaring fire. They should have been f**king like bunnies. Everything else smelled like dust but she smelled like sex and feminine sweat. His dick gave signs of life and he angrily ignored it.

No matter how pissed he was at her, he still wanted her. Not a surprise.

There’d be no sleeping. He wouldn't risk leaving her unguarded. This place didn't feel that secure. Besides, every time he closed his eyes he saw that thing about to sink its teeth into her. One second later and she’d have been gone. Maybe he should take her to Blackstone. She’d be safe there, even if he wasn’t welcome. The walled community was still probably a hundred people strong. They were organized. She could have a life there.

The thought of it made his guts burn. Maybe she’d given him a stomach ulcer. But maybe Blackstone was the only choice.

Had their cabin burnt to the ground yet? Probably. Place had gone up like someone had poured on kerosene. What a balls-up. All of his plans had turned to shit. How would he protect her now?

“Were you really coming back?” he asked in a hard voice. He needed to know for sure. Inside of him felt like a f**king mess. He couldn’t make sense of the feelings.

“Yes,” she said.

“Why? You finally got away from me.”

“I told you. I realized we needed to talk things over.”

“Like what?”

“Like everything.” Her voice was so quiet that he had to strain to hear her.

“Because we f**ked?” he asked, choosing his words with care.

She sighed. “Honestly, Nick, I don’t know.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Roslyn stood patiently on the curb and watched as Nick broke into a clothes shop. They’d already gone through the drugstore across the street. Or he had. She’d been instructed to stand outside within view and wait. Like a dog being trusted off its chain, barely.

He still wouldn’t give her any more of the details of what had happened at the school. It had obviously been bad. The lost look in his eyes when she’d asked had stalled further questions, for now. It seemed surreal. Her brain wouldn’t quite wrap around the information.