“Only in a good way,” Jenni answered flirtatiously.
Juan laughed and kissed her again.
Jenni felt better now. Everything felt more solid. Lloyd's specter seemed like a bad dream.
Ed drove the small bus out of the newspaper building garage. The bright lights blinded Jenni for a second. She raised her hand to shield her eyes. She could make out Nerit and Felix already tucked inside.
Bill motioned for Katie to grab Nerit's red Ram 1500 truck. Katie looked like a badass. She had her rifle slung over her shoulder, a bowie knife tucked into a sheath at her waist and her pistol in its holster on her hip.
“I better get my ass in gear. We got people to save and zombies to kill,” Jenni said.
Juan touched her cheek and kissed her one last time. “Hurry back. ”
Jenni smiled. “If Jason wakes up before I'm back, tell him I love him. ” She hurried past Roger and Katarina as they climbed into another truck. Travis was already there, sharing a moment with Katie.
Travis would take care of Katie no matter what. That made Jenni feel secure. Her own mortality felt fragile. It made her think about the ones she loved and who would take care of them if she was gone.
Katie would be safe with Travis. But Juan…
She looked back toward the tall Mexican-American with the gorgeous green eyes and knew she would never leave him. Even if she died, she would watch over him. She couldn’t imagine their love ending even with death.
“Let's go, children!” Nerit's voice was a hard bark in the night.
Jenni slung herself up into her old seat and strapped herself in.
Slamming the door shut, she gave Juan the thumbs up.
Katie shared a few more soft kisses with Travis then slid into the driver's seat.
“Take care, you two,” Travis said, his worry puckering the flesh between his eyebrows.
“We're Wonder Woman and Super Girl,” Jenni chided him.
“Sheesh. ”
“We'll be back for breakfast,” Katie assured him.
Travis forced a smile and shut the door.
“Men are such worriers,” Jenni grumbled.
Katie laughed. “Yeah. We're just heading out into the deadlands.
No reason to worry. ” She turned on the truck and it roared to life.
“Piece of freakin' cake,” Jenni declared.
“Of course. Absolutely!” Katie placed her slightly-shaking hands on the steering wheel, guiding the truck out of the garage.
Jenni could feel the adrenaline rush. It had her trembling, but she embraced it. That surge reminded her that she was alive. Heading out into the dead world was always terrifying, but she trusted the people she was with. It would be okay.
Katarina and Ralph were in another big truck, this one black. They were the first into the lock system. The bus followed. Jenni and Katie followed last in Nerit's red truck.
It felt strangely good to be back in the old truck. Anxious to get out there and see who they could save, Jenni drummed her hands on the dashboard. Jenni missed Jack sitting in the back seat like he had during the first days after the outbreak.
“You're so wired,” Katie remarked.
“I just want to get going. ” Jenni pouted.