Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(19)

I raised my knife, my gaze flitting to the backseat of the car to find the skeletal remains of the rest of the family. Oddly, I found myself giving each skeleton a name—Mary, Jack, and sweet little Katie—and suddenly wished I could give them a proper burial, not leave what was once probably a happy loving family out here in the middle of the road like a circus sideshow.

The infected groaned, drawing my attention back to its snapping jaw. Without hesitation, I raised my blade and brought it down swiftly, burying it deep within its head, and the infected stilled instantly. With an easy tug, the knife pulled free, dripping black sludge that splattered against the pavement. Wrinkling my nose at the gory mess, I stood up and turned to Alex, offering the knife back to him, but he shook his head at me.

“That’s yours now,” he said, handing me the sheath that had been strapped to his thigh. “Now help me move this thing.”

It only took us a few minutes to realize we couldn’t move the car; it was too heavy and too mangled. Deciding to use our vehicle to push it out of the way, we made our way back to the truck.

Leisel was still sound asleep, softly snoring, yet I decided to wake her so we wouldn’t scare her senseless with the sound of metal rubbing against metal. When I shook her gently, she bolted upright, her hand immediately reaching for the gun resting between her thighs.

Standing just outside the truck, Alex glanced from me to Leisel with his ever-present scowl firmly in place. His gaze finally landed on me, and he pointed to the driver’s seat. “You drive, I’ll push.”

Putting the truck into gear, I began slowly driving the truck forward. With Alex as my guide, I brought the truck head-to-head with the car and began to nudge. The noise was truly awful; the screeching metal on the blacktop was louder than I’d anticipated, the pop of glass resonating as one headlight exploded. I winced, hoping we weren’t going to break our own in the process.

Mercifully, after fifteen minutes we were able to move the car enough to give us the space to pass through.

“You okay?” I asked Leisel as I slid across the bench seat, giving Alex back the driver’s side.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, and let her head fall to my shoulder.

“Promise?” I asked her.

Lifting her face, she offered me a small smile. “Promise.”

I studied her for a moment before planting a kiss on the top of her head, and fell silent.

? ? ?

“Town up ahead,” Alex announced loudly, the sound of his voice making me jump.

He was an odd one, going for hours without uttering a single word, then out of nowhere he would speak, scaring the shit out of everyone. I turned to frown at him, but his eyes stayed on the highway as he slowed down in front of an exit sign.

“Keep going?” he asked, rubbing one hand over his short black hair. “Or check it out,” he added, answering his own question. He spared a glance in our direction, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

I shrugged. “Check it out?” I said, unsure, my gaze skimming over the town’s welcome sign.





Welcome to Covey

Population 1,600

Have a Nice Stay!





“Why wouldn’t we check it out?” Leisel asked, her voice timid and laced with worry. “We need supplies, right?”

“Women like you are currency,” Alex answered, his expression still infuriatingly blank.

Leisel’s sharp intake of breath resonated through the cab of the truck. “Then keep going!” she cried out softly. “Keep going!” Leaning forward in her seat, she looked at me, staring at me, willing me to agree with her.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I didn’t answer right away, instead thinking of our options.

“Eve,” she whispered, sounding desperate.

Pressing my lips together, I shrugged my shoulders again. “We don’t even know if anyone is there, Lei. And we need supplies. We’re not going to make it much farther with what we have.”

“We’re going to need gas,” Alex said, glancing toward the fuel gauge. “Soon.”

“Eve!” Leisel whispered harshly, grabbing for my hand and squeezing it hard.

I knew what she was afraid of; I was afraid of the same thing. Running into people much like the ones in Fredericksville, who thought themselves entitled to whatever the infection had left behind.

Or worse. And when it came to worse, the possibilities were endless.

“It could be abandoned,” I continued. “Maybe some infected roaming around, but nothing we won’t be able to take care of.”

At least, I was hoping that was all we would run into. A few infected would be easy enough to get rid of. Unless the town was overrun.

“There’s too many possibilities,” she said, homing in on my thoughts.

“We need to make a decision.” Alex pointed toward the sky. “We’re running out of daylight.”

Scowling at him, I turned back to Leisel. For someone who’d been so uncommonly helpful, he was largely insensitive to Leisel’s fears.

“Let’s check it out,” I said, not entirely sure of my decision, but needing to make one regardless. And Alex was right, night was coming and we needed somewhere to spend it. Somewhere safe, and a car with no gas was not a safe place to be.

“Please, no! Eve, please.”