Rosario pushed the tent flap aside and stepped in, eyes narrowing at the sight of me. I faked a startle and stumbled back a few steps, while I silently urged him to continue forward. I had faith that Bear would hear if things went to shit and come back us up, but none of us wanted it to come to that.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded, trying to sound just the right amount of panicked. A few more feet and Nick would have the drop on him.
Rosario swept a quick look around the tent then, apparently satisfied we were alone, pulled the Taser from his jacket and advanced on me. “Looks like I’m taking you in—”
“Drop the weapon now,” Nick ordered as he stepped from behind the bins. Rosario pivoted, but went still at the sight of the gun in Nick’s hands. Nick wasn’t a big guy, but Rosario obviously had enough experience to see beyond size and note the calm expertise and the rock-steady aim.
Jaw tight, Rosario placed the Taser on the ground. I drew my gun and held it on him as Nick retrieved the Taser and did a quick patdown, then pulled a set of handcuffs from his jacket and secured Rosario’s hands behind him.
“He’s clear,” Nick said tersely then retreated to cover Rosario from a safe distance.
“Don’t bother trying to run,” I said. “You wouldn’t make it two steps. But I’ll be nice as long as you cooperate.”
“I don’t intend to run,” Rosario said, drawing himself up. “All I care about is the safety of everyone at this festival.” He spoke with calm authority. “Angel, you need to unlock the cuffs and come with me for your own good.”
I made a show of cleaning my ear out with a pinky. “Say what?”
“You’re destabilizing. Kristi—” He caught himself. “Dr. Charish has evidence that you’re suffering long-term effects from Saberton experiments.” He lifted his chin toward me. “The grey. The rot. It’s obviously progressing. If you destabilize completely you could kill dozens before you’re stopped.”
Nick darted his gaze my way, but his gun didn’t waver.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You actually believe that manipulative psychopath?”
“She’s not a psychopath,” Rosario replied with heat, then visibly controlled himself. “She only wants to help you.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “She only wants to cut me into little pieces!”
“What? No!” He shook his head. “She would never do that.”
“Only because I won’t let her get close enough.” I cocked my head. It sure as hell looked as if the dude was in love with her. I had no doubt whatsoever that Kristi had played him like a cheap fiddle and was still doing so. “After you helped her escape the Dallas lab, she gave you those videos—the ones you then passed on to Grayson Seeger. But what I can’t figure out is why.”
He stiffened. “Dr. Charish and I intend to shine a spotlight on Saberton’s cruelty to zombies. The videos were meant to increase public sympathy for zombies—for you—before it hits the news.”
“Generate sympathy with that awful Zombie Are Among Us!! mockumentary?” I asked, incredulous.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like that!” Rosario insisted. “It was supposed to be an exposé, disguised as entertainment, of cruelty to zombies. An icebreaker to get people thinking about zombies in a different light—before we unmask Saberton. Grayson Seeger and I had a deal. I gave that son of a bitch the footage and paid him to make a short film that showed zombies as victims.” Impotent fury washed over his face. “But the studio decided to go bigger, hit harder, and changed it to that hate-promoting garbage. Seeger didn’t see fit to inform me.”
“And Seeger was a paranoid mess the night of the premiere because he thought you’d take it out of his hide.”
Rosario’s expression darkened. “He was a cokehead who thought everyone was out to get him. Though if I’d seen the film Friday, his paranoia might have been justified for once.” He exhaled. “Enough. Angel, we’re running out of time. Unlock the handcuffs. You need to come with me.”
I lifted my hand in a hold on gesture. The roar of ATVs had been a steady background noise for the last few minutes, but my extra-sharp hearing picked up what sounded like a half-dozen four-wheelers as they peeled away from the parade route and headed through the maze of booths and tents in our direction. I held my breath as the throaty engine noise grew closer and loud enough to rattle the tent wall. The roar abruptly died, only to be replaced by laughter and boisterous conversation. Wonderful. A bunch of rednecks decided to park not fifty feet from the tent entrance. C’mon, Bear. Run these assholes off.
Rosario was listening as well. I twitched my gun up. “Don’t do it,” I warned him, voice low. “If we get discovered, your dirt—industrial espionage, attempted kidnapping of yours truly, and let’s not forget the murder of Judd Siler—sees the light of day right along with mine.”
His jaw worked, but he gave a tight nod. He knew I was right. To my relief, the voices moved off a few seconds later. That’s a good Bear. Looked like we still had a bit of a wait before us. Then again, it gave me time to poke a few holes in Rosario’s dream-girl vision of Kristi Charish.
I tapped my finger against my chin as I regarded Rosario. “If your dearest love Kristi is so pristine and kind, why didn’t she give you the rest of those videos?”
“What are you talking about?” He gave a derisive snort, as if I was grasping at straws. “She selected clips. So what.”
I lowered my gun. He wasn’t going anywhere. “Why not let you help choose what to pass to Seeger? Did you even stop to wonder why she included clips that portrayed us as monsters when your goal was supposedly the opposite?”
“It was to show the cruelty,” he said, but the first hint of doubt shimmered over his face. “It’s what was available. She was in a rush. She—”
“But not so much of a rush that she couldn’t edit the clips.” I lowered my head. “Kristi left out some great stuff, like in the video where I’m mauling the big blond guy. You missed the bit right before it where McKinney shot him twice in the chest then gave me a choice: let him die or try to turn him into a zombie.” In my periphery I saw Nick waver. “Or how about the video where I smashed McKinney’s head and ate his brain. A minute or so before that, he shot me four times.” I held back a smile as tension hummed through Rosario. “You really should watch that one again. Not only can you see the bullet holes in my shirt, but if you look real close you can see Kristi Charish behind that glass right before she runs the hell away.”
“You’re lying,” he gritted out.