Siege (As the World Dies #3)(12)

Feeling bad for the harshness in her tone, Katie hugged him. “It’s okay, Curtis. We’re all freaking out just a bit.” He clung to her for a second, then sheepishly stepped back. His face was so red, Katie felt embarrassed for him.



Jenni stomped in, hair damp, face flushed, dressed in a big bathrobe with a bag slung over one shoulder. She was holding her boots in one hand and wrinkled her nose at Katie.

“Charlotte declared my clothes totaled. I really liked those jeans!”

Katie grinned, snagging Jenni’s free hand. “Oh, c’mon. It’s just an excuse to go dig a new pair out of the inventory.”

“Yeah, but still! They looked good! I looked five pounds smaller!”

“You are five pounds smaller,” Katie pointed out. The people in the fort were slimmer now. Food was carefully distributed at each meal. Though people ate their fill, they were not overeating. Also, the hard work that always had to be done was whittling the fat off of beer bellies and strengthening muscles.

Katie noted Curtis making his escape, but she let him go. The poor guy was so easily flustered. She felt bad for the young man. He was the youngest of the Ashley Oaks police force and its only survivor. “I got stuff to show you!” Jenni patted the bag at her side. “I had fun out there until...” She waved her hand, wiping away the pain that lingered in her eyes. “Enough of that. I’m back. Safe. Sound. Move on.”

Katie knew better than to push Jenni. “When do I get to see?”



“In your room. It’s top secret stuff.”

“I will not be treated in this manner!” The sharp female voice rang out in the lobby, slicing through the drone of conversation. A big candle hurtled through the air and slammed into a painting, sending it to the ground with a loud crash. Blanche Mann, the town’s richest woman before the zombie rising and the meanest bitch most of them had encountered, stomped into the lobby, her high heels clicking loudly against the tiles.



Linda, Juan’s younger cousin, ducked as another candle hurtled over her head. “You said you would give me the Imotrex if I cleaned your hotel room!”

“You call that cleaning? That is the most piss poor job I have ever seen! You didn’t even polish my shoes or iron Stephen’s clothes!” Blanche was in a fury.

“Look, bitch, give me the Imotrex! We need it for the clinic!” Linda was a lithe little thing and easily ducked another candle. She wasn’t about to be intimidated. She put her hands on her hips and glowered at the other woman. “I did what you asked. Pay up!” “I caught you going through my things trying to find something to steal!”



“I was looking for the pills that you promised me!”

“You’re a thief and I’m going to report you to Bill!” Blanche tossed back her heavily sprayed hair and began shouting for Bill.

“Call him, you stupid bitch, and I’ll tell him how you scammed me!” Linda kicked a chair with agitation.

“You stupid, thieving spic!”

That was enough for Katie. She stepped between Blanche and Linda. “Calm down, Blanche, and give it a few minutes. We’ll get this sorted out. You don’t need to resort to insults.” Katie said in a soft, calm voice.

“Get out of my face!”

Blanche shoved Katie back with both hands. Linda caught Katie as she stumbled back. The next few minutes were sheer chaos. Jenni swooped in like an avenging angel, shouting in Spanish. Curtis tried to intercept her, only to be pushed out of the way. Blanche commenced screaming about her sister, the Texas state senator, and why she deserved to be treated better. Katie wasn’t hurt by Blanche’s push, but everyone seemed to think she should sit down, much to her chagrin.



It wasn’t until Bill showed up that any semblance of order returned to the hotel lobby. He got everyone separated and ordered everyone not involved to move on. “She said if I cleaned her pigpen of a room she would give me Imotrex. Manny is suffering really bad migraines, and I wanted to get him some pills. We ran out a few weeks ago, and none of the supply runs have brought in any more.” Linda explained with her voice edged with her anger.



“She did a shitty job, tried to steal stuff, and has no right to lip off at me!” Blanche tossed back her hair and glowered at Bill. “Besides, I don’t have the Imotrex here. She’ll have to go to my house and get it.” “What? You didn’t say that!”



Katie caught Linda’s arm before she could launch herself at Blanche. Jenni grabbed Linda’s other arm and whispered something to her in Spanish.

Bill sighed softly and shook his head. “Blanche, we took everything we could use out of your house.” “You thieves! How dare you!”



“Calm down. We told Stephen all about it. We take what we can to maintain the fort wherever we can. You know that.” “You’re a bunch of thieves! I can’t believe this!”



“Fuck this,” Linda growled. She pulled away from Katie and Jenni, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I was fooled by that bitch! I’m not doing a damn thing for you ever again!” She stalked off. Curtis fell in behind her, motioning to Bill that he’d calm her down.

Bill shifted his belt up over his belly. “Blanche, you best just let this drop. You did Linda wrong and everyone knows it. You ain’t making many friends around here.” “I don’t need friends. I should have left when my sister told me to. I’d be with her, safe and sound, and not dealing with you disgusting hicks.” Blanche whirled around on her high heels and stalked off.