Questions swam through his eyes, but he merely gave a nod. “Has the killer been stopped?”
“Yeah. It was Ed Quinn—the paramedic. But he’s in Costa Rica now since it kinda wasn’t his fault. He was coerced and brainwashed by Kristi Charish to kill zombies. It’s a long story, but Kristi had your head—frozen—then Pietro got it back, and Dr. Nikas here did the work of regrowing you.”
“How long has it been?”
“Ed attacked you about a year and a half ago.”
He wheezed something in a language I didn’t recognize. “So much time lost due to my own hubris. I should have listened when you warned me of the threat.”
“Yeah, well, I can be smart sometimes.”
“I have little doubt.” A faint smile flickered across his mouth then faded as if it was too much effort to maintain it. “You look well.”
“I am. Now, at least.” I winced. “You’ve missed a lot.”
“You’ll catch me up—” He broke off, eyes flicking to the door. A half second later the sound of running footsteps reached my ears.
Crap. I darted to the door and punched in the code, yanking it open just as a red-faced Pierce reached it. “Kang’s awake!” I announced with a cheery smile. “I was about to come tell you!”
The red darkened a shade. “You should have notified me immediately,” he snarled and pushed past me. He stopped at the foot of the bed, crossed his arms and gave Kang a fierce smile. “And now we can finish our conversation.”
Kang gave a slow blink. “Who . . . the fuck are you?”
I stifled a giggle. “Oh yeah, that’s another thing you missed. This is Pietro! Though now he’s known as Pierce Gentry.”
Pierce shot me a furious look.
Kang began to make an odd gasping sound. Alarm shot through me until I realized he was laughing.
“I wondered how long you . . . would tolerate that aged form, forced to watch others fight your battles, itching to wade into the thick of the action.”
“The Pietro identity was a necessary sacrifice for the good of my people,” Pierce said through his teeth. Though he kept his arms folded over his chest, the muscles stood out like cords. “I didn’t abandon it for selfish reasons.”
“Of course not. You are an ever-suffering saint.”
Pierce bristled. “There are only a select few who know Pierce Gentry is the same person as Pietro Ivanov. It’s best if we keep it that way.” He stabbed a dark glare at me.
I was immune to them by this point. “Jeez, I know! But this is Kang. Like your zombie daddy wouldn’t know you?” I glared right back at him. “And surely Kang would need to know you’re a Pietro-Pierce mashup if y’all were going to finish some super special conversation.”
Before Pierce could squash me like a bug, Dr. Nikas stepped in, breathless. I gave him a triumphant grin. “Dr. Nikas, look who’s finally awake!” I gestured brightly to Kang then let out a sour hmmf. Kang’s eyes were closed, and the activity on the monitor was back to his pre-waking levels. “Well, he was awake.”
Pierce rounded on Dr. Nikas, face suffused with rage, and hands tightening into fists. “Wake him up, Ari. Now.”
“I will not,” Dr. Nikas replied, voice as calm as a crisis counselor on Valium. I started forward to defend him, shocked by Pierce’s sudden fury, but he gave me a micro head shake.
“I’ve waited long enough already,” Pierce growled. “Wake. Him. Up.”
Dr. Nikas remained icy cool in the face of Pierce’s heat. “No.”
For an instant I was certain Pierce would strike Dr. Nikas, but then he spun away with a guttural cry and slammed his fist into the wall, penetrating the heavy plywood. Teeth bared, he yanked his bloody hand free and stormed out.
Silence descended.
I gulped and tore my eyes from the hole in the wall. “What the hell was that about?”
Dr. Nikas let out a small sigh. “It’s all right. The rage will pass soon enough.”
Frowning, I peered at him. “You’ve seen him like this before.”