“Good.” Apparently, there weren’t going to be any consequences to that particular decision right now. “Keep her in the loop when practical and tell her to stay put as long as she’s safe where she is.”
Sam switched over to Tac One after ironing out a few more logistical points with the commander. Sam would call back to base with further updates as things on the ground developed. For now, he had a moment to warn Emily to be careful.
“Emily? Come in, Em.” He kept his voice low though the woods here were dense and full of wildlife. Sam had climbed a tree to get a better vantage point and now rested against the trunk, most of his weight on a large, branching limb.
“I’m here.” She sounded competent and eager, which translated in pilot terms to scared and anxious.
“Bad news. This is going down now. One zombie just made three more. They haven’t risen yet, but it’s only a matter of time. The team is on its way.”
“Tell me what I can do.”
“Sit tight and don’t leave the building. Don’t even leave the room. Hole up and wait for the all clear from me or one of the team. Their ETA is under four hours. There are at least four infected creatures now, maybe more. By the time the cavalry arrives, there could be a lot more. Keep the weapon I gave you loaded and on you. Don’t go anywhere without it. Just be careful who you shoot. That toxin is as lethal to living people as it is to the creatures. One shot, and whatever you hit is dead. No going back.”
“I get it,” she replied. “But is there anything I can do to help you? As you said before, it’s not good to feel useless.”
“Right now, the best way to help me is to keep yourself safe.”
“I’ll do that. And you do the same, okay?”
“You may not be able to reach me on the radio. I’ll probably be on the phone a lot of the time or otherwise unable to talk.” He didn’t want her to worry over much if she tried to reach him and couldn’t. “If you run into trouble, remember what I told you. Get out of Dodge and head for the hills. Help is already on the way and they’re better equipped to deal with this particular problem than you, or anyone, for that matter.”
“I understand. Sam . . .” She hesitated, which was out of character for her. “I . . .” She was having a hard time spitting it out, but he thought he understood. The situation was dire enough that he wanted to get something off his chest. Maybe she did too. And maybe if he went first, it would make it easier.
“I didn’t want to say it this way but . . . I think I . . . I love you, Emily.” Silence met his soul-bearing, so he tried to give her an out. “Stay safe for me. We’ll sort the rest out later, okay?”
He’d thought it might make it easier, but maybe he’d just made everything a lot more awkward. He waited, breath held for her to speak. Finally, she broke her silence and her voice was breathy with emotion.
“I think I love you too, Sam.”
Damn, but he loved the gentle way she spoke the words that made his heart lift. He’d never wanted to hear those words from a woman as badly as he had in that moment. He felt about ten feet tall but this was the absolute wrong moment to be sharing such intimate thoughts.
“I want to kiss you so bad right now, Em.”
“Me too.”
“But it’ll have to wait. I sure picked a bad time to bare my soul, huh?” He chuckled into the headset wishing he had her right there, in front of him, in his arms. “I’ve got to go now but remember what I said and sit tight. I’ll be back before you know it. Love you, Em.” He tried out the words, savoring the feel of them on his tongue. They felt right.
“Love you too, Sam. Stay safe and come back to me.” The love word felt even more right when she said it to him. He could listen to her say that over and over. Maybe for the rest of their lives.
But he had things to do first before he could go back to that sleepy little town and claim his woman. First he had to make things safe for them to spend the next couple of weeks holed up in bed, solidifying the claims they’d just made on each other. He looked forward to that with every fiber of his being.
First things first. He had zombies to track and kill. And a mad scientist and his buyers to stop. Nothing would stop him now. Not with Emily and the promise of love that could last a lifetime waiting for him back in town.
Chapter Fifteen
O
ne by one, the three dead men began to rise. Jennings stood up and began to gesture as the creatures started walking toward the balcony, stopping just below as if wondering how to get up there to their quarry. Luckily for the men who watched from above, climbing seemed beyond the zombies’ poor intellects.
They creatures stood and watched. All but the last one was mostly intact, though they were all stained red with their own blood. The last one had fared much worse, having been nibbled on by its maker. His nose was gone. Only a red, gaping hole marked where it had been. Gruesome was a good word to describe it, Sam thought from the safety of his makeshift tree stand on the perimeter of the woods. He could see the details through his binoculars, the area between the barn and house well lit by floodlights.
Jennings was holding forth, like a lecturer in a college class who liked to listen to himself talk but at length he finally turned to survey his creations. It looked like he was giving them simple orders to walk to the barn and back again. They did this a few times before Sam spied the rifle. Jennings had it leaning up against the balcony rail. He must’ve placed it there before Sam had gotten on scene. It wasn’t visible until Jennings picked it up and took aim at one of the zombies.
He shot five times and Sam heard right off that the retort wasn’t that of a regular weapon. Sam was familiar with the sound. It was a dart gun. Apparently Jennings had come up with his own version of the toxin that destroyed the zombies.
Sam started counting, trying to gauge how effective Jennings’ concoction was. It was a full two minutes before the creature staggered to a halt and fell to its knees. It didn’t dissolve the way Sam was familiar with. Instead, it lay on the ground in a large, lumpy pile. It was immobilized. That was the important thing. But Jennings’ toxin didn’t seem half as potent as the stuff Sam had loaded in his handgun at the moment.
The other three zombies saw what happened to their friend and scattered. Jennings fired after them but only hit two of them and only with one dart each from what Sam could see. The man couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a flamethrower and he’d just turned his gunmen into zombies. That wasn’t great planning on his part.
It’d be up to Sam to track the creatures through the woods, then quietly take them out when he was far enough away that the sound of his gunfire wouldn’t be noticed. Sam had had more difficult missions, but he wasn’t sure when.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath as he dropped from the tree he’d used as his hiding place.
Now he’d have to hump it through the dark forest after a couple of zombies to make sure none got into town. He had three creatures on his hands. He didn’t want to let them multiply the problem by creating more.
Emily had absolutely no warning when the door to her room at the B&B burst in. She was caught completely off guard with no way to defend herself.
Added to that was the shock. The intruder was none other than Scott Southerland and he had a huge gun in his hand, trained on her chest.
“Scott?” He was the dead last person she’d expected to see. She’d thought she was relatively safe as long as she stayed inside the B&B.
“You’re coming with me, bitch.” His voice was a low, urgent snarl. “And if you make one sound on the way out of this mausoleum, it’ll be your own grave.”
Yeah, now that was pretty clear. The jig was up.
“Why?”
He actually laughed, though it sounded more like a disgusted snicker.
“You’ve interfered in my plans for the last time. I plan on making a clean getaway and my friends will know what to do with you to keep it that way. Now come on.” He waved the gun again and she stood, glad she’d put the ankle holster on under her jeans when she’d changed a few minutes ago. The phone was in her pocket. She only hoped Scott didn’t notice it. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
“Who?” She tried to bluff but knew it was going to be an uphill battle as she preceded him out the bedroom door.
“The new pilot,” he sneered. “Come on, I know he’s been poking around in my business. Just like you. And for that, you’re going to pay.” He nudged her with the barrel of the gun as she hesitated at the top of the stairs.
She walked downstairs, trying to think of how she could get out of this. Nothing came to mind. Scott had the gun and he looked ready to use it.
“I don’t know where he went.”
“Maybe so,” Scott allowed. “But I guess it doesn’t matter. If he’s out in the woods, he’ll be dead by morning.”
She gasped allowing some of her dismay to show. Let Scott think what he wanted. He’d always underestimated her as a pilot because she was female. Maybe she could use that to her advantage somehow in this situation.
He prodded her toward the front door, which was unlocked. It shouldn’t have been at this time of night. That’s when she looked over her shoulder into the living room and saw Mrs. McGillicuddy tied to a chair, her eyes wide and full of tears with a gag in her mouth.
At least Scott hadn’t killed the nice little old lady. That was something, she supposed. There weren’t a whole lot of other guests, but somebody would find Mrs. McGillicuddy at some point, so she should be okay. Emily’s future was less certain.
She didn’t see any alternative but to get in the red Porsche waiting at the curb. The roads in the town were empty this time of night. Most of the respectable citizens of the sleepy burgh were fast asleep in their beds. Although it went against her better judgment to get in the vehicle, she went along with Scott’s demands for now. She’d get her chance . . . she hoped. She just had to wait for the right moment.
As it turned out, the two who’d been hit with one dart apiece were relatively easy to track. Sam followed them over the ridge line and dropped them within sight of the B&B, though they’d have had a hell of a time getting down the incline the way they moved.
The new ammo and increased range of the weapon made it a lot easier for one man to take out multiple targets from farther out in faster time. The two creatures were down to piles of organic goo in mere minutes.
He’d totally lost track of the third one though. Sam dropped markers on his two kills and took a quick look around. It was hard to tell in the dark woods without proper night vision gear, but he couldn’t pick up sign of the third creature.
Deciding to circle back to the ranch, Sam took only a moment to check that the light was still on in their bedroom and their rental car was still in its parking spot behind the B&B. Emily was safe enough for now. She’d stay put while he dealt with the threat in the woods.
Strengthening his resolve, Sam turned back to the dark forest and wound his way back through the trees, keeping a sharp eye out for the last of the three amigos. It didn’t sit well with him that there was definitely a creature out there, bent on killing, but Jennings was the real target. Sam had to keep eyes on the scientist and his buyers to be sure they cut off the head of the snake.
Prioritizing two awful choices, Sam moved back into sight of the barn and ranch house. Jennings and his two buyers were still on the balcony. They were seated around the table now, talking earnestly. Sam guessed the bidding was on.
He called in to base to give them a sitrep and have them warn the drop team that there was at least one zombie on the loose in the woods between their drop zone and the ranch. Maybe they’d get the bastard on their way in. In a perfect world, they’d get him before he managed to kill anybody else and spread the contagion.
Sykes answered before the first ring faded. “Sitrep,” he barked.
Sam filled him in on events since their last call had ended.
Suddenly, a red Porsche sped up the drive, spitting gravel as it came to a stop in the pool of light between the barn and the house. Jennings stood, agitated as he yelled something down at the man who stepped from the driver’s side.
It was Scott Southerland. Now that wasn’t what Sam expected. He watched as the scene unfolded.
Scott was obviously shouting up at Jennings and Jennings was shouting back, his expression angry. Trouble in paradise, perhaps?
Scott stalked around to the passenger side and threw open the door.
“Son of a bitch!”
“What is it?” Sykes asked sharply but Sam didn’t respond. He was too busy watching the scene unfold.
Emily stood from the passenger side of the car and for one heart stopping moment, doubt crept in. Was she there voluntarily? She wasn’t tied up or anything. Not that he could see.
Then sanity prevailed. No way was Emily playing for the wrong team. She had to have been coerced to accompany Scott out to the ranch.
A moment later, Sam saw the handgun Scott held. Sam tried his best to see if he could tell the model and barrel size. He couldn’t tell if it was the gun Sam had given Emily being used against her—in which case the ammo was absolutely lethal and he couldn’t afford to let Scott get off even a single shot. If it were a regular gun with regular ammo that was bad enough, but the toxic frangibles were a lot worse.
Scott prodded her with the gun barrel toward the house but Sam still couldn’t tell from this distance whether it was her gun or not.
“Sam! Are you there?” Matt Sykes’ voice came to him as if out of a fog and Sam had to refocus.
“I’ve got to go, sir.” Sam had to do something. He didn’t know what yet, but he’d better come up with something real fast.
“No way, Sam. Wait for backup.” It was clear that was an order even though Sykes didn’t say the words.
“I can’t, sir. Scott Southerland just pulled up in a Porsche. He’s got Emily. He’s holding her at gunpoint in the hot zone.” Sam dropped from the tree and prepared for action. “I hate to do this, but I’m going Elvis on you. Sorry, sir. You can court martial me later. If I make it.”
“Dammit, Sam!” Sykes was clearly losing patience. “The team is almost there. Wait—”
Sam cut him off, closing the phone and tucking it into its holder at his waist. He’d never disobeyed a direct order before. Then again, he’d never seen the woman he loved held hostage by a couple of zombie-making madmen before either. Today was a day of firsts. Hopefully it wouldn’t be his last.
Sam maneuvered around the perimeter to edge closer to the house. Closer to Emily. There was a point, still in the tree line, that was only about fifteen yards from the house. Sam hadn’t used it before because it offered no view of the balcony, only of the barn door and part of the space between the house and barn, where the Porsche was currently parked.
He’d trade visibility for proximity and hope it didn’t come back to bite him on the ass. Or that nothing else got close enough to bite him, come to think of it. There was still a zombie unaccounted for. Which only spurred him to greater speed in closing the distance between himself and Scott. He wanted to hear what the bastard was saying to Jennings. As Sam got closer, he began to be able to make out the words.
“—she’s been nosing around this operation too long. I found her in that little town just over the ridge.”
“How did you track her?” Jennings seemed to have calmed down from when Scott had first shown up, if his voice was anything to go by.
“She wasn’t hiding her movements. She called in to the office this afternoon and had herself taken off the flight schedule. She’s never done that before. I placed a few calls and found out where she’d last used the company credit card. Bingo. Back-of-beyond, Idaho. Too much of a coincidence not to check it out.”
“Good thinking, Scott. You’ve done well.”
Why did the scientist’s tone suddenly set Sam’s teeth on edge? The man was planning something. Sam went on even higher alert. Scott still held Emily in front of him like a prize—or a shield.
“You going to let us into the house or do I have to yell up to the balcony all night?” Scott finally asked, sounding suspicious.
Jeez,
now
the man finally realizes he’s been stuck in the open? Sam didn’t give the guy credit for much in the brains department.
“The house is locked up,” Jennings replied. “But don’t worry. You’ll be all right down there. We’re just concluding our business. Stay put until we’ve finished the meeting.”
With that, Jennings stopped talking and Sam could only assume he’d returned to his meeting with the buyers. Scott shifted his weight uncomfortably. It was easy to see he didn’t like being dismissed.
Sam spotted movement at the doorway to the barn. On the far side.
Oh, crap.
That last zombie was back and he was stained red with blood. He’d made at least one kill while he’d been out in the woods. And now he was stalking Scott Southerland from behind. When no warning came from the balcony, Sam knew Jennings had left both Scott and Emily to the wolves.
Sam couldn’t let that happen.
He didn’t give a rat’s ass about Scott Southerland, but Emily’s life was worth any sacrifice. He broke cover and ran toward them, firing on the run.